Last weekend was an interesting one for me and my family. It was the weekend where one of my relatives got married. He is actually the son of my cousin which would make him my nephew. The irony is that he is my nephew and he is getting married before me. Well.... from where he come from, it might not be that uncommon for people to marry early. That is because he is from my father's hometown which is a small place in Johor. It is a fishing village where most people go by their days as fishing and tending to their farms. Time slows down at small villages like this as it has not been ravage by the effects of modernisation.

The weekend started with a short drive in to Johor through the second link and then straight up to the town called pontian. It is famous for its noodle which has made a name for itself in Singapore. The seafood is also particularly cheap and many Singaporeans would head up there to have a nice cheap meal. Therefore, this occasion serve as a nice chance for us to enjoy the good food there. The first stop was to my uncle's place at the heart of the town. It is nice to be back at his place as it was a long time since I last visited him. The place still looks the same since the first time I went there some 15 years ago. It is a small place but cosy located at one of the main intersection in the town.

The next stop was to the beachside house where the wedding dinner would take place. It is quite different from what I expected because a wedding dinner is usually held at a restaurant. Nevertheless, all the relatives gathered there for the buffet dinner to celebrate the big day of this newly wedded couple. It was a pleasant experience because it has been a while since I last had a chance to visit a small town like pontian. It is soothing and the walk to the beachside house was refreshing with the seabreeze gushing.

As we waited for night to fall and dinner to be served. I had some time to catch up and get to know some of my cousins, nieces and nephews. The kids there are much more simple than those here in Singapore. They are not as demanding and are more approachable. We caught on pretty quickly and soon I was playing with them. But kids being kids, they are always mischievious and looking for fun. We came up with plans to catch some fishes. As it was low tide, some fishes are stuck in puddles of water on the beach. We put baits into styrofoam cups and teethered them by a fisihing line. The cup is then lower onto the puddle and we waited for an unsuspecting fish. The idea was simple and effective. We manage to catch some fish after a few try!

As dinner was served, people started eating and chit chatting while some sang along to the music being played on the Karaoke system. It was a vibrant atmosphere as people celebrated with the couple. As we were eating, a shower of fireworks caught our attention and added to the jubilant atmosphere. All good things must come to an end and eventually we had to part with the party and head home. The journey back was nothing but smooth because of the notorious traffic at the Johor-Singapore customs. We finally reached home past mid night.

What are the guilty pleasures that one can indulge in? One of the best form of indulgence comes in the form of good food especially in a food haven like Singapore. I always enjoy having good food with friends. I have promised to bring some of my school friends to this place that I got to know of from a colleague during my internship. The place is a pretty run down coffee shop at the corner of a street. The first impression of the place would turn most people off from going into the coffee shop. That is because it is far from being clean and it has a permanent gloom to the place irregardless of the time of the day. The surrounding buildings and trees block out most of the sun from reaching the inside of the coffee shop. Thus, the appearance of the coffees shop might turn away some innocent passerby.

However, those who knows what this place is famous for would even take the time to queue up for up to an hour just to get seats. That excludes the next 30 mins or so of waiting for the food to be served... So what do they sell that makes it so irresistible to some people? The giveaway to this question is the smell that permeates the streets leading up to the shop. The unmistakable smell of black pepper and chili makes it distinctly unique. You are right... the shop is famous for its CRABS!

I fell in love with the heavenly crabs when I first ate it with my colleagues. The crabs are specially flown in from Sri Lanka and they are each as big as a ping pong bat! The crabs are real fresh as the meat comes out in chunks and there is meat all over the crab. The cooking style greatly enhances the tenderness of the crab meat by adding a little spice to it. The black pepper would get you kicking while the chili mix makes a good dip for some bread. The best part of the meal was when all of us got down and dirty with our hands trying to squeeze all the meat out of the shells. There were shells flying all over the place as we ate. It was wonderful dinner and my friends really enjoyed the feast. The pleasure was short lived because the bill came up to over 25 dollars per person. The initial reaction was silent disbelief but everyone just paid their share and noted that it was money well spent.

The new year has rolled off without much hicups. School has since started for about a week now and things are starting to fall into a routine. I would wake up early these days when school start to get ready for early classes and hit the sack earlier too because of that. I sort of like having a routine in my life because that makes planning my time much less of a hassle. But too much of a routine makes life boring too when every day comes and goes without much excitement. That is why we must try something new everyday. For me, I like seeing new places and trying new things once in a while. Going to a new place to check out the food is something that I look forward too.

For this week, the highligth is visiting a new place in town which is much talked about lately. It is the new terminal 3 in Changi airport. However, my purpose of visiting the place is not solely for a first hand look at the new terminal but to send my friends off. Some of my friends are going on study and work exchange to China and Japan. That makes for a perfect excuse to check out the new terminal at the same time while bidding them a final farewell.

The new terminal gives one a sense of awe because of its sheer size and large empty spaces. I particularly like the cascading waterfalls in the departure halls which are decorated with wines running along the whole height of the artificial walls. It gives the hall a good mix of ultra modern architeture with a bit of nature in it. The wide use of glass also creates a sense of space and adds a touch of class to the whole place. The shops and dining places at the terminal are high end outlets like gucci, burbery and crystal to name a few. You know who they are targetting now!

Anyways, the trip to the airport is the highlight to and otherwise routine week. I kind of enjoy the trip down because I got to see the new terminal and also catch up with some old friends as we waited in the departure hall. It was a good break for me in the week where schoold just starts. Hopefully next week would have a few more surprises!

It is the new year and time for some new year resolutions... Well, I guess the first one should be to keep this blog updated since it really have been a while since I last pen something for my blog. I have received feedback from friends that my blog have not been updated for ages and I guess I should continue what I have started. It is always hard to take time out to the things that are not as pressing like finishing my final year project report, preparing for exams and even meeting up with friends. But I also believe that people should take time out to think about the future and not wait for the future to chance upon you. That is why I think writing entries into this blog can serve as a time of reflection and also a good place to pen down some of these thoughts. There is a saying that goes like this, "Plan like you are going to live forever but live like there is no tomorrow". I guess this is a saying with a lot of truth in it. I believe strongly in planning for everything you do. But sometimes it is meaningless if you do nothing but plan and fail to act when the time comes. Living for every moment means taking time as something precious and making the best out of it. For me, I try my best to take time out to look at where I am going right now and make the effort to prepare for my next big undertaking. As of now, my main concern for the future is to get a good job that can fit me well. I want to do something that is challenging and fulfilling. It must allow me to use my skills and knowledge while at that same time give me opportunities for training and development. Having this in mind, I am starting my job hunt in the hopes of finding a dream job. I guess I shall leave it at this for now and tell you guys more when the time comes....

It has been some time since I last updated my blog. The reason being that school has started and things are getting real busy. People say that time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Well, that is a good sign because school have started for almost 3 weeks now and I have yet to realize it. Only while I was clearing up my room to make space for studying did I realise that 3 weeks have already passed. I started to get worried.....

I have been away from school for about a year since I was on attachment and overseas exchange for half a year each. This makes school all the more distant from me. It takes a lot for me to get myself ready for school life again. I hope it doesn't take too long because time is running short. School work is like interest charged by the banks. It adds up with time and usually it grows exponentially. Work is already starting to pill up and I am feeling the heat.

This year is the final year of study for me. It is a year of great challenges and anticipation. The effort for the last 3 years now falls on this all important year of study. There are many projects to complete, exams to prepare and completing the final year project thesis all while trying to enjoy what is left of school life. There is not much left of it because it would only last about another 9 months.

The final year brings with it mixed feelings. On one hand, I feel like getting over with all the work now and graduate to join the work force. On the other hand, I wish that I could stay in school and enjoy the carefree life of a student. Graduation brings with it much more problems and challenges. It brings with it freedom because we are no longer bounded by schedules of classes, assignments and exames. But freedom comes with a price. The price is the responsibility of being independent. Earning a living is a constant headache, not to mention the endless datelines, demanding bosses, back stabbing colleagues and etc.

Come to think of it... live in NTU has been a preparation for what is to come in the working world. The endless work that never seems to finish, the professors who give you tutorials that are out of this world and the ever so 'kiasu' students. Well... school isn't so different after all. I guess what is learnt in school last a lifetime.

The next stop in our summer trip after boston is the all so famous Niagara Falls. It is located right smack at line dividing america and canada. This in fact created the debate of which side of the falls is more magnificent and beautiful. It so happens that the falls is divided into two parts lying on each half of the border.

Both side of the falls are equally grand and awe inspiring to me. Seeing the falls from afar is just half the experience. The experience is complete only by feeling the gushing wind and water mist due to the falling water. It is really a very relaxing feeling to feel the element of nature and taking the time to take in the majestic view. It is no wonder why some many tourist visits the falls every year. We were all dressed up for the day because it was perpetually drizzling because of the crushing water from the falls. Look at the line of people catching a glimpse of the falls! Although there was no clear winner in the contest of the best waterfall... personally I had a great time there taking in the breeze and sight. I guess this is not something you see every other day!

Another interesting book that I had read recently, it is titled the design of everyday things. It is a pschology book disguise under the cloak of the topic of design. This is because it focuses on how people react to the designs of the everyday things that we use. There are many poorly designed things out there in this world and it confuses a lot of people about its usage. The message from this book is that such confusion can be rid of it only designers pay more attention to how people interact with these things and also how they perceive these things.

A lot of the designs of the things around us are arrived at without much thought of how people are going to use it. This is because the main consideration is the object's functionality and its cost. This makes the final product usually perplexing to the first time user. More often than not, most of these things come with thick user manual that are less than helpful. This brings to the point that everyday things should be designed in such a way that people can figure out how to use it just by looking at it.

New and revolutionary designs are always needed to meet the changing needs of the people. The Japanese are particularly apt at this aspect. But the purpose of having such contraptions are questionable....

This is where the concept of pschology comes in. The idea of using natural mapping and constraints come into play. Natural mapping employs the visual input of the design to give clues about the operations of the thing. For example, the knob to turn on the stoves are usually arrange in the same pattern as the stove itself. This gives the user a mental map of the operation of the equipment.

A high tech solution to a simple everyday task....

The use of constraints also help people in making the right choice about what to do with the thing. The constraints limit the choice people can make in operating the thing. A good example of this would be the fitting of the key into a keyhole. Usually keys are designed to fit in one way so that you would not fumble at it during an emergency. A key seat or guide would do the trick as this ensure that the key only fits in one way. Another case in point would be the diskette used in computers. The diskette is designed with constraints such that it fits in one way only.

I found this book rather intriguing because it points out issues that are happening around us but then little is done about it. More often than not, we wouldn't be too bothered about a bad design but then we would complain about a highly priced product that lack functionality. This goes to show that people today are more concern about the cost and functionality of the product than how well it can be used. There are many things that we use today around us which we still can't figure out its use. Remote control that have a all sorts of buttons, a fridge that have a mind of its own and a car that looks more like an airplane cockpit. What good is a gadget that comes pack with functions that only the designer can figure out how to use?

The door of the future from Japan!

The next stop in our summer trip is the city of boston. Boston is famous for its beautiful harbour and many world class university. MIT and Harvard is located in the outskirts of this city. The universities are like mini cities within a city. They are built around a small town or should I say the town came about because of the university. They have shops, eating places, pubs and cinemas within walking distance from the campus. Not to mention the mega book stores found in these towns. They are usually selling second hand books which are move within the budgets of the 'poor' undergraduates.

The boston skyline seen from across the river along the edge of MIT. What a view... there were many sail boats along the river and it was a beautiful day at a wonderful school. The student center and administrative block in MIT. Makes for a good backdrop.

This is so MIT! On the walls of some of building there were graffitis. It is nor unusual to find graffitis on the wall of buildings in the US. But the difference about this wall art is that it is formulas and not some drawings. But on closer inspection, it is just some practical joke as the formula doesn't make any sense. Anyways, the message is clear... MIT students are geeks and they are proud of it!

The american flag flying high up in the sky against the crisp blue sky.

Boston harbour is very scenic at night. It was particularly beautiful that night because of the red sky.