MacRitchie Tree Top Walk

Now Playing - Superheros by The Script

Sunset @ MacRitchie Reservoir

Singapore is a small island country that houses more than 4 million people. Whenever we think of Singapore, we will always associate her with sophiscated tall buildings, state of the art expressways, the iconic "durian" Esplande and of course the awesome Marina Bay Sands. Despite having a abundance of shopping centres on the entire island, there isn't really much you can do here besides watching movies and eating good food.

There are actually still some interesting things left to do on Singapore and one of them is sightseeing. Singapore has quite a number of nature reserves and taking a walk at one of them will be an eye opener for many people, including myself. Recently one of my friend had asked me to visit MacRitchie Reservoir's Tree Top Walk. I had never heard of it before or know it exists before. It turned out to be an awesome trip though.

"The TreeTop Walk (TTW) is the highlight of several long hiking routes in MacRitchie that brings you through different stages of mature secondary forest. The first of its kind in Singapore and in the region, this free-standing suspension bridge connects the two highest points (Bukit Peirce and Bukit Kalang) in MacRitchie and offers a bird's eye view of the community of plants and animals that live in the forest canopy. The total length of the walkway is about 250m and its height from the forest floor varies, with the highest point at 25m."

The journey to the Tree Top Walk is around 5km and will take you about 1-2hours depending on your pace/speed. Nessa and I were just talking casually so it take us around 1.5 hours to reach the Ranger Station. Please do not give up even if it's tiring because the view up there is magnificent. 

Random Poster

Ranger Station, the bridge is One Way Only.

Nessa takes the lead.

"Add filter and inspirational quotes here"

Quite scary if you look down.

Hot, please bring lots of water and proper shoes.

After the bridge it's another 2-3km walk to the Ranger Station. So please bring lots of water as you will really need it. Overall, the whole walk is worth the walk literally because you get the see lots of things that are not very common in Singapore and various exotic wildlife too. It's a pity that I didn't capture any picture of them though. 

I do hope to have more trips like this in the future.

Braces

Now Playing - Heart Made Up On You by R5

Oh boy, it had been so long since I've updated this blog. Laziness got the better of me and I tend to let my procrastinating habit kick in when I wanted to update the blog. Finally, it's time to write something here again. The importance of having a blog even if no one reads them is to having something to look back to in the future when I'm older. You can also tell that the way I type is so much different from 5 years ago. Who knows maybe in the future someone close to me may be reading this?

As I have mentioned before, I wanted to put braces. And I finally did 4 months ago. To think that I had finally got my ass up and did something I actually wanted, miracle. My dentist told me the whole journey may take around 2 years though, which means in another 1 year and 8 months my teeth is a free man ... or teeth again. I can't wait to see the vast difference by then. Although it's only the 4th month of my treatment, my teeth structure had already changed ALOT. Take a look at this.

3rd May 2014.

This is the hideous set of teeth that I had with me for the past 22 years. Oh wait it's not 22 years, more like 10-12 years actually (Quite obvious right?). Really, I had no idea how crooked my teeth are until I took this picture. Not even any one of my single tooth is actually upright and at the correct position. I wonder how I had survived eating with this set of horrible tools.

My current orthodontist is Dr Poon from My Braces Clinic. It's located at Orchard Road, Shaw House level 10. She's a very professional orthodontist and I'm glad to have visited her. I'm not using the traditional braces, instead I'm using a type of "Self Ligating Braces" called Damon Braces. It is said to be more efficient than normal braces because the brackets does not have to be tied down with rubber bands which induces friction. Not sure if it's true but I decided to go with it anyway since I've read positive certain reviews on it from various Singaporean blogs. It cost me around S$5,600 for the braces not inclusive of extractions and polishing/scaling. The extraction cost was around S$300 in total. It's actually quite cheap since I'm extracting SIX tooth, 2 molar and 4 premolar. Man, those few days after my extractions was the bomb, so painfully hungry.

21st August 2014.

Now my set of teeth is much better, and it will be better as time goes by. 2 years will pass by before I even know it and I really hope my realigned set of teeth can let me have more self confidence. It's quite a bummer not being able to smile widely because you know that your teeth are horrendous. Those days will be gone soon, those days...

Update

Will be updating this soon ....

Have not been updating for a long long time...

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

Now Playing - Best Day Of My Life by American Authors

Bamf, it's already the last day of March. Time flies, and yes I always say that but isn't that the fact? Not sure why but as we grow older time seems to pass by ALOT faster. It's the end of the workyear today and I got a bonus again. When you work in a government sector, getting 3 to 4 bonuses per annum is the norm; It's quite a motivating factor to carry on your job. However, life does seem quite monotonous for me. 

You wake up, you eat, you work, you train, you sleep.

Still, the monetary rewards greatly suppress the monotonous, period. That may change in the future, who knows. Anyway, that's really all there's to this post. I did however found an interesting article about things we should stop doing to ourselves. I shall post them here to remind me of myself the next time I read my own blog and end my post here. Have a great day.

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Source: http://www.bspcn.com/2012/02/03/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/

PC Overhaul

Now Playing - Waiting For Superman by Daughtry

It's been quite a monotonous month and I've not much stuff to blog about lately. Things were just going on day by day, nothing unusual. I've been training hard for my IPPT this coming April and hope to maintain my silver by then. With that, I can carry on with my braces without worrying about needing to take IPPT again. 

Having said all of these, what's life if it's only all about work and no play right? Which is why I've decided to overhaul my 3 year old computer. Estimated to cost around $2000 this time round. I've wanted something special and thus I'm going with an all white build which is quite uncommon. However, the tough part is to find parts that are mostly white since majority of the components are black. After ample researching I have finally managed to build my own white PC.

Testing in progress...

A computer consists of several parts that are working together to get you the best experience possible. There are actually 7 important parts, and 6 not so important parts.

Motherboard 

Processor

Ram

Graphics Card

Power Supply

Casing

Storage Drives

Optical Drives

Monitor

Keyboard

Mouse

Speakers

Additional Fans

Overall, putting a computer together is a very interesting and fun process which takes some knowledge to be able to complete it. It's actually my hobby, and thus I enjoy every minute putting a computer together. However, it's quite an expensive hobby because I'm not going to buy and build so often, I don't need a new computer every week. Hence I started building computers for my friends if they want someone to suggest parts for their new computer.

And that's my end product, looks rather clean and nice. Total, I've spent about $2,235 for this new computer, with the most expensive part being the Graphics card, which costs $605. All that said, it's money well spent if I enjoy it. Hope this new computer will last me for around 3 to 4 years.

Everyone's Getting Married

Now Playing - 命運 by 家家 (Lan Ling Wang OST)

Working in a big company, you'll tend to get to know more people. When that happens, you'll get invited to more events. Most of my colleagues are young adults much like myself, age varies from around 20 to 35 years old. When people have a stable job, they will start to look for a partner. When they find the other half and after their feelings matures, it's time to start a family. 

Somehow a lot of people around me are getting married this year. It's only near the start of March and I'm going for a 2nd wedding dinner tomorrow. There should be at least 4 more wedding dinners to attend this year, making it a total of 6 just from my company. I hope this year will be good since there's so many auspicious events going on. With so many people getting married around me, I wonder when will it be my turn?

New Room

Recently my sister got into Meridian JC and she needs a room for herself now. She's been sleeping with my parents for quite awhile now. There's only 2 rooms usable in my house since the 3rd room is used up by my father for his stuff. In need of an extra room, my father took the 3rd room and split it into half with a partition wall. I will give my room to my sis and move the to smaller room since I like smaller rooms as it's much more cosy and easier to manage.

The theme for my new room will be green and white mainly. I asked my father to have the walls painted green and I went on ahead to get furniture that are mostly white. Most stuff are pretty much done and the only things left are planning of the positions of the furnitures. I hope that a change in room will make me more lucky in whatever I do.

Braces

I finally got my ass up and visited the orthodontist after such a long time. It's located inside of Shaw House at Orchard Road. After much discussion with the orthodontist about how f**ked up my teeth is, I've managed get a date to put on the braces, which is either on 11th or 18th April 2014. The reason why it is so far away from the today's date is because I want to complete my IPPT first before doing anything to my teeth. I will have to extract a total of 8 tooth, 2 molars 4 premolars and 2 wisdom tooth. The orthodontist is still deciding if I should get rid of the 2 wisdom tooth though. I hope not because losing 8 tooth is not a joke, and god bless me if I can endure the pain. 

That pretty much sums up what I am up to for the past few months. No pain no gain I guess, to a better smile ahead, and an emptier wallet...

Shoe Lacing!

Now Playing - Wild Hearts by The Vamps

If you know me well enough, you will know that I HATE shoes with laces. That's right, those sneakers you often see at converse? Yup I hate them. The reasons why I hate them are pretty straightforward, it's a hassle to tie them and it leaves a ugly bow on your shoes.

See what I mean? Eyesore.

However, hating shoes with laces may be a thing of the past for me now. I got interested into

"Shoe Lacing Art" recently for some unknown reasons and boy I am glad I did. Lacing shoes into awesome patterns can be fun to do instead of the usual dull cross laces. This is what I did to my shoe after some time, it's called the "Zipper Lace". 

It's suppose to look awesome but not really here, but that's probably because my skills are not quite there yet and the lace's color may affect the attractiveness too. And stop, you're probably thinking that the reason my shoes are green is because I'm a vegetarian. NO, it's just happened to be green that's all. Not sure why but so many people have commented about my shoes being green because I'm a vegetarian and stuff. Such Stereotyping. Anyway, there's some other laces I want to try in the future such as the "Checkered Lace", "Bar Lace" and "Spider Web Lace".

I'll probably pick up some different color laces too to spice up my shoe's design. It's quite amazing that shoe lacing can be an art too!