i dun advocate chainmails but...

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India .

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY

i really can't believe

that the Woolworth and Ground Zero are just outside the window.

I live my life for epic moments like this.

I am just a microbe gravitating from protostar to protostar.

Maybe one day i can help create galaxy events.

If its possible in Hollywood, its definitely possible in Singapore.

dun worry singapore

we will get there...


GFCI just listed Singapore as Asia's most important financial center, ahead of HK this year. Movie industry ppl are placing their bet on Singapore because of MDA. Movie stars and finance gurus are moving to Singapore cos of the weather. So, dunch worry lah. just be ourselves lor. and take more OT.

Uptown

New York Nocturne 1

Now the nights of one period are not
the nights of another.

Neither are the nights of one city the
nights of another.

-Djuna Barnes,
Nightwood.





Alvin Langdon Coburn, 1910

I fell in love on Broadway, at the very same spot, 98 years later.

What other city is myth like this?

my christmas was RUINED

at around 3:14:

phew. tired.

university applications are GRUELING.

sigh. u work so hard to get into good american universities. and then you work so hard to stay alive in them. its not like any of the hard work is ever going to end?!

If i didn't have to win bread, and if i could live for myself (you know, like be a privileged middle son or only one child out of others), I would be taking things easy and living life.

but at least i have a loving family. can't have my cake and expect it to do architecture for me.

life is one hell of a rat race. dun like being a rat in new york city right now.

lift yo head up hai

vanity. hunger. betrayal. jealousy. wrath. revenge.

the only thing i can do to distinguish myself is commit to my craft.

these sensations are juvenile.

there are other plateaus to traverse in life. and i will find more meaning at the end. when there will be something still going on when even human life is extinguished.

so here's to anyone who cares: at least i know what i want in life now. and i'm gonna get there. do you?

new york is really awesome. all my concerns in Singapore have been given a new perspective.

soon now, i will standing at the top of the rockefeller and shouting my arrival in the new world.

Am i walking in dreams?

took a walk in lower and midtown manhattan last evening without a route in mind, just gravitating from icon to icon. it was like retracing foot steps in the memory of a dream. you can't help but feel that you've been to these places before. you don't need a map when its already been mapped out in your mind over and over as a child.


wall street.


liberty park plaza.


rockefeller.


very dramatically ariving at grand central station and the chrysler.


bryant park.

rain rain go away

from one craziness to another: deciphering ota ward maps in tokyo whilst in lower manhattan is weighty stuff. i suppose i should feel privileged, not being under joe lim's breath now - although the internet allows studio stress to traverse great distances with great fidelity (audio and verbal haha).

auy! the rain and winds in nyc haven't been kind! they would qualify as a cat A storm in Singapore terms - when your umbrella is as good as useless - you know its rain at a whole nother level.

still eager to get out and see the city. meanwhile i'm contented working on my japan studies, uni applications (WHAT A PAIN) whilst having WTC outside the window. Its surreal watching news coverage about ongoing excavations at ground zero and then looking out the window to say, yep there they are alright.

Meanwhile, steel frame skyscraper construction has been delivered right outside the window for my perusal. i can see how metal decking is really being bolted to steel beams right now some 5 feet from my window. its a lot more primitive than i was expecting - or should i say, those construction diagrams in the texts - really as far as construction needs to get.

Not even my birthday yet

But... its not enough that i'm in the city of my dreams (my window overlooking world trade centre right now)... so i really wasn't expecting the video.

thanks everyone who took part, even the guys i don't really know yet... aaron tan - SHOCKED LAH.



thanks chia meng, you're the closest thing i have to a gor. even my ura colleagues thought u are my brother when u came to see the exhib in jul. want to repay you in kind when i get back in sg. kopitiam beer with naked tiger beer lady on the poster ok?

junfeng and xd got me cake. and we made laksa lol.

11:27pm now not even my birthday yet! (so i still have 24.5 hours to ENJOY OK).

everything has happened so fast since submission last friday. had debrief on saturday, exam on monday, move out tuesday and then last night woobok drove me for 5 hours down to new york, even though he was shit exhausted. we played carols as we drove through winter slumber land, until new york and the statue of liberty came alongside the highway. take care BUDDY i hope to see u in singapore soon.

i'm still in america ok! will stop saying thank you and bye byes and emo things.

turning 24 is wah lau freaking awesome!

OK

just help me look for

1. Hard Eight

2. Boogie Nights 2 disc

3. Punch Drunk Love 2 disc

all by Paul Thomas Anderson

shopping list

Dawn - Control (The Miriam Collection) (2007), I'm Not There (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2007)
CM - I'm Not There (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2007), Boogie Nights (1997), Punch-Drunk Love (Two Disc Special Edition) (Superbit Collection) (2002), David Lynch's Inland Empire (Limited Edition Two-Disc Set) (2006)
Alfian - Eduardo Galeano's 'The Book of Embraces'
Dong - Minolta Hi-Matic AF2-MD AF Motor Camera w/Flash from Goodwill
CY - 700g of supplements

and stuffs for all my frengs.

homeboy

Exciting to see Manny Pacquiao go from local Manila champ (at the time i was there in Apr 07) to beating Oscar de la Hoya over here yesterday!

Used to watch WWF (back when it wasn't WWE) with my grandpa as a p6 kid. I guess i grew up and realised that they were all just ACTING. but not manny pacquiao - the only person more famous than politicians in manila. talking about the Philippines, did u know it used to be the second richest country in Asia after Japan?! What happen?!

I WANT TO EAT SUSHI... and.. and... ok i shall compile a list:

1. Hokkien mee downstairs
2. 328 Laksa
3. Wanton mee downstairs
4. HK Island Beef Brisket Noodle (aiya i want to go back hk)
5. Hainan Roast Chicken rice at AMK S11
6. Hotel Miramar eat all u can Japanese buffet (salmon salmon salmonella!)
7. Long bar steakhouse Pot Roast at Raffles Hotel
8. HK Cafe East Coast Road
9. Hans on Upp Thomson St (lousy food, favourite place in singapore)
10. Thai Restaurant on Seah St

0. (ultimate) drink teh si hot in a kopitiam off some beaten trail.

Sigh! I am staring at my pizza now. YUCK.

wthhh

i got top design for fourth year. wtf. i almost didn't even show up.

they said the "idea was so weird" it won.

my tutor told me that they were having a huge debate on it in the morning - when i was in between emo and seh on my bed. auy.



Final review suddenly converged on the notion that schools should possess distinct methodologies. i guess the exchange schemes were really so different. The Dutch designs had 1:20 technical sections (can see air lock cavity all). and my design was probably as un-NUS as it could be. I guess u could tell us apart from american students. Xianghua, the Singaporean in year 5 also won top in level. So apparently Singaporeans have been spoiling market in CMU since the days of Yu Hsien - who is also working in URA now. Xiang Hua is with JTC.


My tutor Hal.


Walked outside into a winter wonderland. Goodbye College of Fine Arts!


Goodbye Hammerschlag Hall!

I have a headache from eating too much snow. why does snow taste sour? its probably polluted right?!

YOU WIN, PERFECT.

Nick has rebalanced his chi - SHORYUKEN!



Andrea! I found the Harrods' Hamster.

i'm up.

you can just hear edina of ab fab hovering in the subtext, "rich sparkle diamonds diamonds glamour-shot, skyline, pan, pan, tableau, dramatic city shot, give-me-gorgeous, construction worker, sparkle sparkle aaaand next shot, next shot darling."

or you could just be hearing the soundtrack to new asia bar.

isn't it amusing how 'city views' begins with a shot of shanghai completely choking in smog?

i must be an urban planner.

at crit today,

"this project is so humanistic and everything is woven in with so much grace."

but also,

"oh my god i can't believe you're recreating 9/11. do you realise what you've just done?!"

ah.

nick meets abrasive critic from new york, noo yawk dammit. they loved it and hated it.

3 years ago i got stage fright talking to a british drama teacher in school. today i argued with a bona fide architectnista from new york. if people just aren't going to cut you slack, you can stare them down (when you're already up) and be all like, "so?". and they will love you for it. hell yea.

severe disorientation.

when i go home and sit under the coconut trees, what will things that happened abroad mean anymore.

why leave in search of dreams while reality changes beyond recognition back home.

my reservoirs and upp thomson kopitiam will not be the same.

i will have to find my way around again.

4 months of being with new people only reveals the same old me to myself.

i miss home.

but i want to run away from singapore.

maybe i just want an island somewhere. destress. destress. destress.

woobok, john and i gonna drive to new york as early as tuesday i hope.

whats that - a hint of excitement?

no lah, just some confused hormone.


wasey i have never been so confused before.

come back i show you my american accent.

4 months of work

My panels today









model


kitchen

scheme got selected for exhibition.

meaning i have to present to the whole school on saturday.

sigh.

not looking forward to new york.

miss home like mad.

just wanna sleep in my own bed and wake up from this dream.

feels like a half life.

my routine so f***ed up.

dunno when i'm hungry or tired anymore.

cut myself this morning.

my blood felt like tears.

hello, vitamin d supplement? someone get me some prozac. i need antidepressants.

RIP uncle hansong.

the funeral will be same day as my crit.

i'm sorry i didn't get to say goodbye.

walking in the cold at night is always difficult. no amount of protection can shield you from the arctic winds. (i'm serious, that's where they're coming from). and the skies are the dark red of impending storms. (well, thats just the colour of snow clouds in this country).

you look up and the skies are boiling.

but then it suddenly starts to snow.

standing on the kerb i saw snow flakes rippling off the asphalt. that was when i noticed that they had christmas lights in the trees.

sometimes so much shit happens that they become irrelevant to the mere act of observing.

and breathing. and being alive.



and i already have my panels. what could possibly go wrong?

stupid shows

one year ago pek shuxian jiayi and yanghan and i* designed this. it went to london and Opera Magazine said, "the best Barbiere I have ever seen".

now that i'm in America, i wish i never saw this.

after submission, i'm going to new york, and then to tokyo. i don't want to come home.

*because jia scold me

excited

panel mock ups today.

ok i didn't sleep last night. time for a nice nap.

ALRIIIIGGGHTTT

Singaporeans are turning more awesome by the day...

woah look at the auntie in black going for those hits!

bus 88! must be 2 of my lao3 xiang1 nehburhoot aunties, or amk vs bishan!

lol at the english translation commentary going on towards the end.

World city yet? I think so!!!

oh. my. god.

the palm has exploded in dubai.

sci fi singapore

lolololololol

i dreamt of Singapore! Sci fi singapore! I was standing on the opposite shore (dunno where), it was night, and the Singapore was on an island like HK! With mountains behind it! And there were 3 Bank of Chinas behind Singapore skyline!

And then as my friends drove me away we had to go up road and over the mountain tops and down to Orchard road.


i don't plan to have these dreams.

but i think they mean something.

pet parrots are cooool

hamster can't do this lei

why isn't it over.

if they hadn't pushed this back...

i'd be in new york now.

Photoshop CS 5

Studio madness: my nerves are too frayed to be doing work. This is what my photoshop looks like now.


.
.
.

10 hours later:


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i need a holiday.

TOKYOOO

Is this the best year EVER or what?!

Jan 08 - Hong Kong: HK-SZ Architecture / Urbanism Biennale
Sep 08 - NYC design field trip
Jan 09 - Tokyo design field trip.


I will be transfering from New York to Tokyo after new year's eve! This means i'll only be back in Singapore on the 11th of Jan, but... TOKYO!!!!

How is this not being staged in SG

the guan yin skit near the end is the best

jc days flashback

what with everyone's post submission/exam high back home infecting me across cyberspace i am now caught up in a jc times holiday mood. cos of imeeming that kylie minogue song out of nowhere alvin, i am reminded of my reckless youth 7 years ago.

remember? remember? after cca meetings then stay back in school until 9pm and then go to coro drink bubble tea and take bus go home pass by lornie road.

crap man! i miss those days!

we're never living in the moment until those moments are over.

its still good being a student.

sydneylicious

sydneylicious so delicious she make the rest look local.





The new $2.5bil Barangaroo waterfront development reiterates a common vision shared by asia pacific cities par excellence: Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and perhaps soon Shanghai, are going for waterfront gardens now that they've got waterfront skylines, waterfront promenades, waterfront cultural centers... each bigger than the rest. one waits with bated breath to see what latest accessory will be touted in their inimical quest for differentiation. Or maybe they don't want to be different, not until the title of second financial center after Tokyo is clearly in their hands.

my president

more dreams

last night i had another one of my recurring dreams. this one was about the hdb houses i've stayed in (in dream land).

So, there're all these different estates i got to live in, with different kinds of houses. they're all hdb. and there was one wonderful one i'll always wish i could go back to. wonderful because it had a good view.

strangely enough i can't recall what that view was. i'm sure there was some good urban vista or nice forest view. but i do know that nothing else after that, not even the nicest villas, could compare to that house we left behind.

one of those subsequent houses had the eeriest, shadowiest kitchen i'd ever seen. it was horrible because that's where my mum will be. its going to be really important to me that my mum and sis have nice parts of the house when i get my house. cos they're always at home.

anyway, back to that special special place, i think there was a beach, there was sunshine, and there was a beautiful progression of spaces leading up to the house.

hum. i have to say my home in amk is pretty awesome already. its near the reservoirs, and from my window you are overlooking the northern half of singapore with its forests and the distant ports in malaysia.

this comes as houses are burning down in the CA forest fires.

what might have been 2 - ferris wheel

Alsop Architects. New ferris wheel concept. Now called the Shanghai Kiss.

We got. Singapore Flyer.

what might have been 1 - stadiums

Alpine Consortium: beaches around kallang bay, observation tower, psychadelic facade and lighting schemes:







too bad alpine didn't win.

the zaha strikes!

"Mobile buildings and museums could adorn the cities of the future, renowned architect Zaha Hadid said during the launch of her latest project in Hong Kong -- a nomadic, UFO-shaped art pavilion.

The curved, fluid creation by Hadid was assembled in Hong Kong on the first leg of a two-year global promotional tour for contemporary art inspired by luxury goods brand Chanel.

"I really believe in the idea of the future," said Iraqi-born Hadid, known for her futuristic designs.

"The idea of temporary or mobile pieces could be a way of regenerating the city in an interesting way through architecture," she told reporters in Hong Kong."


how far would mobile accessories contribute to city regeneration? how would we prevent it from becoming a bidding game? like the olympics? what if we used architecture as a weapon? contributing more to city degeneration by denial than promoting actual changes in cities who want change?

a zaha is like jewellery though. which pompous arrogant bastard of a city wouldn't want to have his or her own piece of zaha? oh zaha! you are babylon personified!

lol. Most famous Singaporean ever.

"On Aug 26, 2008, Gong Li was reported to miss a Singapore citizenship ceremony, where new Singapore citizens collect their new identification cards and formally become Singaporeans. A seat was labeled "Gong Li" but it was vacated during the whole ceremony. Due to confidentiality, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore was unable to confirm the identity of the person who was assigned to the seat [15]. On Nov 10, 2008, Gong Li attended a citizenship ceremony held at Teck Ghee Community Club and received her Singapore citizenship certificate from Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah. It was also confirmed that she applied for Singapore citizenship in 2008 and absent from the citizenship ceremony earlier in August 2008"


TECK GHEE CC! Wah lao eh! Now Gong li's neighbourhood club! Can u imagine Gong Li signing up for Line Dancing, Malacca excursion and Nyonya Kueh courses? And then all the other aunties will talk shit behind her back for being a xiao long nu!

"巩俐也是宏茂桥集选区的居民" Maybe i will see her at the next elections, casting her vote for the PAP! Unless SDA returns to contest.

So did Xiao Long Nu i mean Gong Li take cab or bus to Teck Ghee CC? Cab fare so ex these days. I bet all the aunties kept talking shit about her for rolling her eyes and beijing mandarin at them. I think Gong Li needs to make friends with Li Jiawei, or Quan Yifeng and form self help group. I confirm David Gan already got Gong Li on speed dial, but he will still style Zhang Ziyi's hair at the oscars. Zoe Tay and Fann Wong need new stylist liao!

EDIT:
"Hairstylist David Gan, a good friend of the actress, confirmed that she had applied for a Singapore passport.

The Sunday Times tried to contact her through him but he said she did not return his call. " ST

Lol.

yea! pride!

Let's sing along! and ride out the envy! Sing-a-pore... is a better prace than hong kong is...

joe lim!

i got joe lim! hallo huilian dawn paul vanessa jason kokming yanliang and 2 other ppls i dunno!

i have dreams.

ya last night i dreamt all of us were finished with submission and deciding what to do and we were about to watch a 12 hour long movie. it was a semi horror movie that was supposed to be really funny. and we were part of the cast.

breathing.

hell week ended last night at 12.40am in the morning. it was drizzling when i stepped out of baker hall. i was numb when i got home to my apartment, and there was nothing of interest on tv. there was, finally, echoing silence as i sat against the solitary light of my worktable. i flipped the calendar another month ahead, 7 days late into november; and then i could count 8 remaining weeks left in america.

last night i dreamed of checking into a hotel in hong kong late at night. it wasn't hong kong as it is recognisable today; like the tokyo and new york which i have visited in dreams before, i was in a hong kong from a futuristic past. there were alien forms extending into the sky, reaching across the harbour and bridging a black, neon reflecting sea. there was a promenade on mountain top, and a very long walk.

i woke up feeling chills. like brian once told me, dreams are theatres of our subconscious.