Monday, September 29, 2008
Got distracted from work for awhile so decided to search up the meaning of my name. The results I got were interesting.
"The boy's name Daniel \d(a)-niel\is pronounced DAN-yel. It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "God is my judge". Biblical: the prophet and writer of the book Daniel was a teenager when he was taken to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 BC. He survived a politically motivated death sentence in a lions' den." That is an interesting way to think about it.
"Daniel has 19 variant forms: Dan, Danal, Dane, Daneal, Danek, Danell, Dani, Danial, Daniele, Danil, Danilo, Danko, Dannel, Dannie, Danny, Dantrell, Danyal, Danyel and Deiniol." Glad to know that I'm the original.
The surname is less interesting to me.
Noun 1.loon - a worthless lazy fellow2.loon - large somewhat primitive fish-eating diving bird of the northern hemisphere having webbed feet placed far back; related to the grebes
3.loon - a person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought
It's sad, but I think I'd rather be the primitive bird.
Dan
11:00 pm
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Rent has gone insanely high. What to do, what to do.
If I could determine the market structure for student accommodation for myself, I would create a monopsony.
Dan
6:20 pm
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Questions just fill my mind.
Why do we need to make excuses when things go wrong?
Where do you draw the line?
How do you go back after going forward?
Who do you turn to when you're in trouble?
When is it too late?
What are we doing to show we aren't ashamed of the gospel?
Dan
12:17 pm
The start of the break, and I opened it with a movie marathon. Quite fun, missed the cinema.
Assignment meter, I'm almost half way there. Getting the easy ones out of the way first. I dread the tough ones. But I guess I'll have to face them sooner of later.
My mind has nothing to blog. Maybe it's because I've got too many thoughts to put into words, or that I have no thoughts at all!!?? I don't know... But I guess thats a thought too right?
Dan
12:54 am
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Went swimming today. First time I jumped into the water since coming down under. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but the pool was crazy crowded. OK, well it wasn't very crowded but it was packed enough.
Was thinking about my holidays, and I just realised that I've got 4 assignments due at the end of the break!!! Wonder why I wasn't freaking out earlier. But I will manage... Or I will... I will... I will work something out.
Dan
9:07 pm
Friday, September 19, 2008
It's been awhile since the hit of the financial crisis, but it's tremors are still being felt today. I know I said that I would stop thinking and applying for internships, but things have cropped up that keep reminding me of the painful fact of how hard it is to get an internship now, much less a job, and that I'm no where close to either.
Was talking to a friend in lecture today, and he had successfully applied for an internship at ANZ bank. Well, successful until banks in Australia started to declare losses because they had to write off bad investments, no prize to guess the cause of the write off. So ANZ sent out an e-mail telling their potential applicants that they would not be accepting interns anymore for 2009. So sad...yes. But I don't feel pity for ANZ. They should have known better. I feel sorry for my friend, who has just gone off for an interview at Chadstone shopping mall for a sales assistant position for the summer.
I know we're all just undergraduates, but the hard fact of reality hit me, that you may think you're secure with everything going well, and one small dip in the market, and now you'll be selling shirts at David Jones.
Dan
11:51 am
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
One 5 hour wait in the hospital can open your eyes to many things. The most interesting, and also disgusting? An old lady literally vomiting blood out into a paper bag. I shall not go into the details because I don't want to gross myself out.
Relationships have many levels, most of them differ for each relationship, and all have almost unclear boundaries as to when you leave one level for the next. You can get all the advice in the world, but that still won't help you as much as you can help yourself.
So question: What level are you at when you're listed as the nearest next of kin?
Dan
1:28 am
Monday, September 15, 2008
Today is not a good day. I did my laundry, and I always have to walk in and out of my apartment to collect the clothes. But I can never keep track of the timer, so I always end up going long after the machine is done with my clothes. I see no problem with that, because then I ensure that I only have to go out once, and everybody else does that too. Well today some irritating person took all my clothes out of the dryer and dumped it on the dirty table next to the dryer. Why dirty? Because it collects dust and crap, and my clothes are clean!!! I was so pissed with the person, I had half a good mind to just take their clothes and put it on the same dirty table and see how they feel. But I decided not to return an eye for an eye, but instead did the civil thing and left a courteous but very angry note on the dryer that made my feelings very clear. To think that people can be this inconsiderate.
On a brighter note, I got back my results for mid sem today, and I must say that from bottom of the class to the top of the class is a massive improvement. I guess it also helps that the paper was quite easy.
Dan
11:38 pm
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Had a post before this about the mid autumn festival celebrations and the fun singing social, but then I decided to change that after browsing through the photos of my friend's farewell on facebook.
Tears, hugs, best wishes. I know the whole drill. I've done it before, but it just struck me if we all really knew what we are leaving behind. The friends, the relationships, the memories. Yes you can make new friends, and new memories, but all for an education? But I guess you're only a stronger person after having been through trials. In the end, I guess it just boils down to the simple question if it's worth it? No one can answer that but you. No amount of knowledge acquired in university will give you the right answer, but the feelings that are inside.
The sensation of being torn between two worlds. Wanting to try new things, but yet not wanting to let go. There's nothing like it.
Dan
7:27 pm
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I just wrecked my brains out to figure out this subprime mortgage crisis and its effects. You would think that I'd want to just die now, but I actually relish the experience. It's kind of fulfilling.
I was reading some reports about the crisis for my assignment, how it started, what the idea was, where it came from. I tell you, I can just imagine some guy proudly boasting how to make quick money to his boss, thinking he's a genius for coming up with an idea that no one thought of. I want to know who his lecturer is, and smack the guy left, right and centre. There is no quick way to make money without a catch.
Definitely some guy who talked big in finance class, and barely passed, or some half rated economist who couldn't manage more than 2 graphs before their eyes. The idea was not even properly thought through. I guess the excitement of making money was too much for them. There's always the probability that it was some genius economist/financier who saw everything, and thought as long as I don't bear the responsibility it's fine.
Now I gotta bust my ass off, just to find out what the consequences of his mistakes are.
Dan
4:49 pm
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
I know that F1 is a big thing in Singapore, but exactly how much too much? I read an article saying that the event company in charge was planning a million dollar ticket that would be awarded to the highest bidder. So what exactly does this million dollar ticket entail? An opportunity to sail a 150 foot yacht, private jet, basically royalty treatment. The catch? There's only ONE ticket.
That's right, only one. So what's the first thing that you think of when you hear all this information? Crazy? Who would pay for such a thing? Well believe you me, there are people out there crazy enough to pay for it.
But that was not the first thing that I thought of. No. Crazy me immediately drew a simple demand supply model in my head, and with the supply curve perfectly inelastic at one, I just imagined the demand curve moving up and up. Where will it stop???!!! But you know what? That just gave me another idea for my third research question now.
Dan
9:33 pm
Monday, September 08, 2008
No mood to study. But I guess everyone will have that during the semester. Who can study forever right? Thank God I did my mid semester preparations last week, so I'm set for Wednesday.
Dan
11:15 pm
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Love is patient, love is kind, was a topic covered during the communion today. Imagine if God wasn't patient with us. I don't need to say what would happen. The conclusion was that love is patient because God is patient.
There are many illustrations for when we lack patience. Such as on the road, and I'm also guilty of that. I'd scold a driver for their poor driving skills, when I'm no better myself. And when I commit a mistake, I know that I'll deserve that honk that comes, because I understand that patience is hard to muster. But when that honk doesn't come, I feel bad because I know I was in the wrong.
Patience is so hard to gather, we sort of already learn to forgive and understand when another person lacks the patience with us. But when someone does practice patience with us, we find it too hard to believe, we feel bad, we feel like we're undeserving, and sometimes we just want to do something out of spite so that the patience that was put into practice will go away, and we will feel like it's all right again.
Irony? Perhaps. Which would you rather be? The one practicing patience, or the one having patience practiced upon? If we would like to be both, then why do we sometimes shoot down the one practicing patience? Classic example of a public good? But I shall not go there.
Dan
7:00 pm
Didn't do much work today. Actually, didn't do any work today. Was planning to since I have mid semesters coming up next week, but I did quite a bit of surprised revision during the week, so I guess there isn't much left but practice. As you can see, I'm just trying to make myself feel better.
Spent the day at Sitcom house singing sunday school songs, helping them organise the songs. It was quite fun singing those songs, remembering the good, old innocent days. Life has become so complicated.
Dan
12:24 am
Friday, September 05, 2008
I watched a Chinese theatre production today, and it was not too bad. I admit that I had my doubts before the play. I mean Chinese students, theatre, in chinese... you can see where the things might go wrong. But thankfully they had translation for the script so it wasn't so bad. But I shocked myself when I could actually follow what was going on.
There were some parts where I'd get too confident, and shift my eyes from the translation to notice the actors, and then I'd be lost, and have to play catch up on the translation again, but it was all good. Not a waste of my $13.
Had a great economic discussion with my dear over lunch. Made me think about some stuff which I shall not go into detail, but I think if no one has thought of it, it might prove to be an interesting research topic yet again. I'm killing myself by thinking so far ahead aren't I? Whatever happened to just living in the moment.
Dan
12:42 am
Thursday, September 04, 2008
I was talking to a friend today and found out that he had a scholarship which pays him to study. He's doing his Phd, so I guess I can't compare. But it felt so structured for him. I guess I'm used to the Singapore system where you can afford to spend a year slacking off, and still catch up the next year without it making much of an impact on your graduation. But now it seems like everyday matters, the choices you make will have an impact on the immediate future. The days are numbered, and before you know it you're thrown out into the real world.
No job security, no idea what to do with the future. It's so easy to be sure and confident. But people will draw on your confidence to build their own. It's so easy to run. But there will never be a path upon which no problems will lie. It's so easy to optimistic. But there will always be people who will want to pull you back to reality, and those aren't even the pessimistic.
There's no one strategy to approach the game of life, but how do you know which one to choose when you can't observe your payoffs? Everyone can make good decisions given hindsight, but how many can make decisions using foresight?
Ironically I'm studying to help people in decision-making, and I can't make my own decisions. Why? Because not everything can be quantified within an econometric model. Because not everything can be measured using the common unit of money. Because the game of life is a finite, non-repeated game.
Dan
12:12 am
Monday, September 01, 2008
It was a normal day. Well, not really normal. I woke up late for class, so I ended up listening to iLecture to make up. Found out that my lecturer spent a good portion of the class talking about the mid semester test coming up next week. Gave a lot of hints I think, just need time to break it down and absorb. I can get that H1, I just need to focus.
I was walking down the Safeway aisles today and guess what was in stock?? Frosties!!! My favourite cereal. I want to blame Safeway for their delay in bringing in Frosties, but they've been good to me, so I shall blame immigration and customs for being so rigid.
I bought 3 boxes.
And I found this on Soccernet "Gianni Zuiveloon, a.k.a 'The Loon', has been a welcome addition to the West Brom backline and had another strong game in the goalless draw at Bolton following his debut last week.
Dan
9:53 pm