Disclaimer: The views expressed here belong solely to the writer and do not represent the views of his organisation. Any resemblance to real-life personalities or events are purely coincidental.

Since I'm being paid by my employer to do things they want me to do, and since creating personal web pages is certainly not in their agenda, I can only afford to update this page at a rate which I won't feel guilty of short-changing my employer. (However, I seriously doubt that they will give me a pay raise even if they are reading this right now.) So, your patience is very much appreciated, and indeed I would say, it is much desirable for the sake of your own good health.

Comments? Complaints? Hate mails? Forward them to me.

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To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To cry is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to others is to risk getting involved.
To show your feeling is to risk exposing your humanity.
To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk pain.
To try is to risk failure.

But risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live or love.
Chained by his certitudes or his addictions, he is a slave.
He has forfeited his greatest trait, and that is his individual freedom.

Only the person who risks is free.

from "Living, Loving & Learning" by Leo Buscaglia
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I woke up and came to campus early this morning, too early for my newspaper delivery to arrive before i left the house. so i had no newspaper to read on the bus, and so i scribbled this rap song on the way...

15 Jan 2000

Hello Kitty, Goodbye Sanity

Queue up early in the morning 6am
The lines are getting longer, causing traffic jams
How they all can tahan that? You've got to ask them
For 4 hours even pregnant woman can stand.

               Chorus: (sing to the tune of "Baa baa black sheep" 
                        -- whose ban in Birmingham was recently lifted)
               MacDonalds auntie, have you any cats?
               Yes sir, yes sir, how many sets?
               One for my honey, and one for her mum,
               And one for my little niece that's riding on the fun.

We are a multiracial society, you can see
Got young and old, boys and girls, got pretty and ugly
And also got metropolitans and heartlanders
Just make sure that these guys don't meet: the doctor and driver.

               Repeat chorus

We are supposed to be gracious, it's never good to fight
But sometimes people think the fist can turn wrong into right
So the two of them got down to 'da3 cheng2 yi1 pian4'
But the Ah Beng behind me says, 'mgai luan luan sian' (don't anyhow bullshit)

               Repeat chorus

One cat goes for 4.50, please give me 20
I'll keep the cute cute kitties, throw away the roti
Those burgers are just too heavy, so how to carry?
Use your brain, use the rubbish bin, it's so easy.

               Repeat chorus

I go inside to buy them, then come outside to sell
One for 20 bucks leh, does it ring a bell?
Oh yeah that's entrepreneurship, you all can also tell
Our government like it what, and want us to do that well

               Repeat chorus

But beware of the matah, dun just play play
Sekali you kenna liak, damn suay suay
But my mind is full of ideas, I've got another way
I queue for you for 2 dollars, what you say?

               Repeat chorus

You can see how gracious is our society
The crowd just squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, like millennium party
The door gave away, some guys got cut, oh what a great pity
"It's my wife's fault, she made me come lah, she sabo me!"

               Repeat chorus

The chase is on, everybody's looking so busy
Some people even take taxi, from Bedok to Clementi
And when the sign says 'all sold out!', oh what a cruel reality
Mum and daughter hugged and broke down, that's insanity.

               Repeat chorus

So we will get to see these scenes on every Thursday
While MacDonalds can go home laughing all the way
But kiasu is our identity, it's all set to stay
We might be number one on this, you know, so dun play play!

               Repeat chorus
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o Stories...

PREFACE
Strawberry Shake (English)
 Garf and his first love story. Reposted: December 1999.
Memory In ~iPpLeS (English)
 Franc and friends. Reposted: January 2000. NEW
Those Were The Days (Bilingual)
 When Garf meets Franc. Unfinished.
Stories by our very own in-house talented DISCS/SoC writers
Chelsea In The Sky
by @Dingbat@ 		Sensational... this short, space-age love story will melt your heart. The author, Mr. Yong Shu Hoong, has published a poem, and is a writer for the Computer Times.
Story of a Lonely Chap
by TheLonelyChap 		Lonely Chap and his first love experience... hilarious... you mustn't miss this.
Jarrett -- The Little Merman
by <Dreamy*Eyes*2> 		He left his world to seek love, and returned disappointed... poetic, dreamy, emotional.
Her Story
by an anonymous DISCSian 		The one story that caught much attention, drew controversies and rose quickly to be the hottest talk of the bbs during its release.
Love Diary of a Freshman
by Patrick "I Like Ponytails" Koh 		After many months of void in the DISCS literature arena, this light-hearted account of a SoC freshman brought back some amusement to life around here. A confesstion of a ponytail fetish who swears that he is not one.
The Good Side of My Heart
by Chang Yong Chia aka little apple		 Sometimes in life you feel deep pain
That aches like nothing could keep you sane
Learn to forgive and to love from within
Where the good side of your heart is
In Search of Cactus
by Chang Yong Chia aka little apple		 A fantasy tale written in dedication to the author's friends in the BBS in SoC, NUS. Set in the era where magicians and monsters lived, watch some of out hottest BBS personalities in action as they fought hardship in their quest for a miraculous cure for their ailing king. NEW
In Search of Cactus: The Sequel
by Chang Yong Chia aka little apple		 Join our warriors in their second adventure as the search team turned into a rescue team. NEW
Stories culled from the campus-wide IBM Bulletin Board.
(Those days when inter-faculty flirting was prevalent in the famous P41.)
My Lover Girl A four-parter that depicts the love story of an undergraduate from the other side of the campus.
My Lover Boy A nine-parter that depicts the love story of another undergraduate from the other side of the campus. (Warning: some parts of the story contain quite explicit scenes that may offend you. Well, just in case you complain you are not forewarned.) Just added.

o Songs...

I've finally managed to complete arranging my first score, and get it posted here. As my music knowledge was entirely self-taught, I'm sure there is still a long way to go, and so please bear with the lousy work. Technicality aside, if you think you like the tune (for the uninitiated, you can get the tune by following all the notes with tails pointing upwards), you are welcomed to send in a word or two of encouragement. That will certainly brighten up my day. 8P

I've also just laid my hand on the Zel software and created my first ever midi file for "The Sky is Falling Thru' the Nose". Mind give it a try?

I started writing my first song in 1979, before that I was just fiddling with lyrics and poems. Many of these songs were now unrecallable, mainly due to the fact that I simply memorised the tunes by heart at that time, and also that some of the written works were misplaced.

This is just one for the moment. It will be a long time before the next song appears, judging from the speed I did the first one, and the free time I have these days. However, I will try my best, as it has always been my wish to share them with everybody.

Some of my favourute compositions

* [The Song Of Youth]
(Written in 1987, presented in DISCS Campfire Night September 1987.)

* The Sky is Falling Thru' the Nose (Written on 2 October 1991.)

* (Written on 31 December 1991.)

* (Written on 23 August 1989. )

* (Written on 23 August 1980. )

* We Want Peace (Written on 20 January 1991)

* Such a Wonderful Day (Written on 19 December 1989)

* (Written in June 1990)

* (Written on 14 June 1989)

* (Written on 3 May 1989)

* (Written on 7 April 1993)

I've also performed in some formal and numerous informal occassions, and participated in some competitions. Now, just let me jog my memory...

Awards

* 1995: Second Prize in the Best Lyricist Category, Island Music Award, National Xinyao Song Writing Competition.

* 1992: Karaoke Competition Champion

* 1991: Song-writing Competition (Merit award)

* 1984: (Singing competition) Runner-up

Performances

More to come... (but don't hold your breath...)

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