Dynamic Link Library - Delay Loading

Simple Facts:

• Allows you to load your DLL on demand during runtime.
  
• Delay Loading is implemented in Visual C++ 6.0 and later.
• Add to linker options: "/DELAYLOAD : dllname"

Delay Loading vs LoadLibrary() and GetProcAddress():

• Delay Loading
• Able to delay loading your dll easily, using a simple linker option.
• Hides LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress calls.
  
• Must know DLL name during linking phase.
  
• LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress
• Do not need to know DLL name to create executable.

Disclaimer: Programming Notes are created here for personal consumption only.

Singapore to Shenzhen in a Day Log

When i walked into the office for another day at work in SGP, little do i know that i would be in Shenzhen that very evening. (See timeline below) It kinda felt like i am running away from home. Didn't even know exit permit can use sms. Been away SGP for too long i guess.

When i reached the hotel, my boss asked me to check in myself at another counter.
The receptionist was like...
"do you think we can put u in the twin room?".
"erm, but i am staying alone."
"Ya, so do you think we can put you in the twin room?"
"erm, but don't you have single?"
"We are kinda full, the king size bedrooms won't be free till tmr."
*after confirming with boss*
"oh, i'll take it."
I just love traveling...on the company's expense.
(oh, i hate the responsibilities that comes with it though.)

So now, i am sleeping in a twin room, alone.
No company but my laptop and whoever's on MSN. Watching Nihon Hoso Kyoukai (NHK).
(i just got the room service guy come in and "open" the bed for sleeping. He walked in,
asked me, where do i want to sleep tonight. Of course, i chose the one with the TV right in front of it. (Thats bed no. 2 for tonight. Swapping beds for the fun of it.)

Day 2, i went into this place called company XYZ that is so big, you need a bus service within their compound, they have shophouse restaurants and shops, they made sure the manholes carry their company name, and they employ 250, 000 ppl. they do some pretty big business, wonder how much it costs...

Itenery:

• 7.45am - Bro offered ride to MRT
• 8.30am - reach office. Bro lied. he sent me to the office.
  
• 9.30am - Boss asked if i wanna go.
• 10.00am - I replied yes. Waiting for flight confirmation
  
• 11.00am - ticket booked and confirmed. 1.50pm flight.
  
• 11.15am - Headed home
• 11.45am - reached home
• 12.15pm - packed and Bro sent me to airport
• 12.45pm - reached airport. Met boss. Flight delayed till 2.50.
• Eat BK, shop and change money
• 1.50pm - enter boarding area
• 2.50pm - fly.
  
• Watch Ice Age 2.
  
• Talked to the guy next to me
• Sleep
• 6.30pm - At Hong Kong
• 7.00pm - Get transport to SY
• 7.10pm - leave for SY
• 8+pm - reach border
• 8.20pm - take transport to Shangri-la hotel
• 8.50pm - reached and check-in.
• 9.00pm - dinner
• 10.00pm - telephone conference
• 12+am - end conference
  
• ear-ache, hand-ache, no speaker phone.
  
• Write email...........zzZZ
  
• 1.00am - Sleep
• 6.45am - Wake up
• 7.20am - Breakfast
• 8.00am - Take transport to worksite
• 9.00am - reach.
• 12 hours later.....
• Now: Having complimentary cookies and milk

With just 30min to pack for a week trip, this is so...erm..exciting? haha.
Thanks mum and bro for helping. Though the flight was delayed. haiz.

Day 2:
ZZZz....getting drowsy, tired day at work today.
Did nothing but absorbing and absorbing facts and acronyms. Mentally shacked out.
So a lousy post for u.

Typhoon in Japan...seems like it has gotten more weird after we left...
First power failure, then lightning strikes, now typhoon. (But for the locals i guess its all in a days life).

No homework tonight. Get to sleep early. Woohoo! =p

5 Min Summary of Work

Yea, finally got a job. Doing R&D stuff as a software engineer, now trying to specialise in C/C++, .NET and C#. So if anyone could give me some pointers, arigatou in advance!

Well, actually worked for a month plus already. Lets call this company A. If you recall my previous blog regarding Japan Life Summary:

From young i dreamed of working in a big corporation, wearing my power suit, carrying my suitcase, walking into a glass door, entering a polished building taking the lift to my office.
Now, reality strikes. ENGINEERS. Working in a big corporation alright, being a small fry, wearing my nike t-shirt and jeans, carrying my dirty haversack, walking into a glass door, entering a seemingly old n gloomy orange building, taking the lift to my cubicle. To top it all, i arrive at my office on my 2 wheeler. A trusty 6-speed auntie bicycle with a grocery basket. The epitome of coolness.

Fact:

1. A is a corporation.
2. I could wear my power suit (says so in the rules book to wear formal)
3. I could use my suitcase (suits the suits.)
4. Its a factory building. haha. But at least it has the glass front reception area, with leather seats and phones for visitors, and a Koi pond garden behind.
   
5. Not a small fry.
   

Reality:

1. Its still a corporation
2. I wear long sleeves on Monday (cuz i already bought them! Sigh.), and wear tshirts and jeans on other days
3. I use my cheap Japanese sling bag
4. I go in by the back, the loading bay. (The shuttle bus goes there, and its nearer my office)
   
5. Get to voice my views.
   

Difference from the days in Japan? (things that some might take for granted)

1. There is a coffee machine! (free coffee! and its still Nescafe!)
2. Its also flexi-hours (i don't have to be there at 8.30am sharp, but in japan, i was SUPPOSED to appear at 8.30am)
3. Can use MSN to chat without hiding it. (well, i didn't really hide in japan, cuz there wasn't really much to do anyway.)
4. I take 1hour 20min to get to work.
5. I can understand what is being said in meetings.
   
6. I can email out of the office.
7. I can sleep on the table during office hours. (well at least i saw a pillow on my colleague's desk and i caught one of them sleeping. haha)
8. I can call my bosses using their name. Hi Bob-san.
   
9. I can listen to mp3s during work.
10. I went out for tea break for an hour.
    
11. I still have IT support telling me the wrong stuff.
12. No more feeling the heat in the office during summer.
    
13. No more water jet toilet bowls. REALLY REALLY missed that.
14. Not really private toilet...i can see each other's shoes for goodness sake.
    
15. We had durians and mangosteen under the void deck even when lunchtime was up. (Japan has this bell that rings on the dot at 1.00pm. and a group meeting straight after that. its not that nice to be late.)
    
16. Daniel mentioned that we might be able to play badminton in the BIG aircon hallway...
    
17. More. But i shall turn in for the night. =)
    

Okay, so nothing really changed, except that i get to use my workpass to Beep the door before it opens. heh. More high-tech than Toshiba's entrance. No more "Ohaiyou" from those security guards though.

So, i guess office life has arrived at last. Well, i now work in a US based company, so i guess thats why the freedom is there. But as i look back, life in Japan as a worker wasn't as bad either. =)
It wasn't really stifling as it was reputed to be. (Maybe cuz i am a trainee and a guest from Singapore. hehe) But i would definitely prefer what i have now. (yea, too much complaints from the other people in other companies. At least my boss won't ask me to queue up for Barbeque Pork during the chinese new year. =p)

Ah, exceeded my 5 min, going to sleep now. Soccer tmr with my English cousin, who has flown down from England. Pretty good player i must add. Recently played in Germany. Youth team lah. hahaha. Goodnight folks.

困ったな！（"Perplexed"...actually i dun know how to translate this. hehe)

Dated: June 2005 (Another draft that i forgot to post. haha)

hehe...another blog? This ivan must be on drugs! and yes i am. I just bought Fancl supplements. ARE YOU MAD? yes i am. I was walking in the 7-11, saw the supplements with the labels "快眠“..Then i remembered someone said that Fancl uses NATURAL stuff. okay. Venom was pretty natural. heh. yes i do need something to help me sleep now. The early sun at 5am is getting me pretty pissed. With all the past haunting me again, it sure is hard to fall asleep too. The last thing i want is to feel wasted every day...I need my soccer back....=(

I think with this diet of mine over here, its sooner or later that i will really screw my healthy scale. I added 3kg to my weight. (actually more, but i suspect SN's weighing scale might be a bit off.) Never added weight for the past 10 years. Cool. Amazing what a glass of Hokkaido milk can do. Oh. The diet is abit on the overeating side too. Never hungry. Snacks too. hehe. need i say more.

Ah. but thats not trouble. Talked to a friend today, we briefly talked about choices we made in our lives. how scared she is to make the wrong choice again. I can't say i made the right choices all the time. Heck, i dun make good choices at all. I mean, making friends with Ed who throws his undies to me is one hell of a bad choice. hahahhaa! KIDDING.

There are choices i made that i am not proud of. In retrospective, its the worst kinda choice i could have made. Misunderstandings n shit happens. I'm sorry, if you are reading this through the blog site. Alot of people dun like to dig up the past. But i can't seem to bury them. Sure i met new friends who showed me the "light" at the end of the tunnel, only to be run over by the damn train. kidding. couldnt help it. =P (no no. this friend is good. =) thank you. Without whom i would have gone down pretty bad. =) ) But the effect of my decision lingers.

Is that going to stop me from making choices? no. (not talking about "which colour should i wear today" kinds of course haha)

A Day Trip To Mount Fuji

Arrgh.　I am absolutely bored at work. To think I bothered to come to work at all! Imagine everyone else is having fun somewhere out there. Haiz. Should have taken leave today, and gone on a trip again. =p

Just came back from a trip to Mt Fuji on Saturday by myself. It was pretty fun to travel without being told what to do, or people just fighting to guide. I was able to do a lot of stuff I wouldn’t have chance to do if I was in a group. For starters, I was able to write mails right in front of the majestic mountain. Of course, this blog wasn’t written there. Hee. I’m sorry, but by the time I got to writing my blog, I was already behind schedule. The bus services there end like 5.12pm. Anyway, I could also pop in and out of any restaurant I wanted to, with no budget concerns. (okay, there was, but its higher than normal. Hehe)

Actually, I didn’t want to go visit Mr Fuji. I did plan the night before, but after knowing I have a chance to meet people I dun want to see, and it’s a cloudy day, just not possible. When I woke up the next morning, I took a look at the webcam featuring Mr F, and it sort of confirmed the weather forecast by Mapion. It was dark and the sky was not blue. But, I was very tempted at the thought that it might just clear up for a little while during the day. After all, the sakuras are blooming over there. And I wanted some to go with my shots. Yes, I have been to Mt Fuji like 2 weeks before, with Calvin, Tshush and Mr cockanathan, Jeffrey. HEHEHE. The weather at that time was perfect. Rich blue skies, nice exposure, sun shining at the western side of Fuji, and COLD weather. Just no sakuras. Picture perfect minus one.

Then I thought to myself, this is the last chance to do what I always wanted to do. To travel alone. (Yar, I needed to get a haircut at BEES first. Hehe) I hardly got a picture with normal looking hair. In all the 1.5 years, I have been trying out new types of hairstyles, from Bruce Lee, to spunky to simply kinds. Finally settled on this current one. The final version. =p

Oops strayed from the topic. Ya. Decided to Just Do It. Since I don’t feel like cooping myself up in the dorm and I wanna enjoy the last of “3 degrees celcius” weather. (Jeffrey, u took my GAP jacket away at the wrong time. Never knew Fuji would be so cold that day! )

So I dragged myself out of bed again, put on my winter warfare fashion, put on Lucido’s (Its found in the girls section, but no one can tell.) Took my barang barang, and left the dorm. Traveled by train from Musashikosugi, and headed for Shinjuku transiting at Shibuya. It was a 1 1/2 hour journey including my slow walk to the station. After asking for some directions, I was up at the bus terminal. (When I was taking the train at Yamanote Line, the LCD display warned of an accident and construction work on the Chuo Line. The one I was supposed to take. Anyway, if I take bus it would be cheaper and I get my own seat.) So 1700 yen poorer, I was on the bus, to Kawaguchiko, the main lake next to Mt Fuji.

On the bus, which finally left at 12.40pm I think, I sat beside this lady. 30-ish and reading her book. Wanted to start a conversation with her, but I realized that I left my dictionary at home. Bummer. So I sat there, looking out the window, listening to my ipod, napping and writing emails to my friend. I wanted to do a pseudo real-time travelogue kinda stuff. Anyway, I have abt 2hrs to entertain myself. The scenery out of the bus was pathetic. I see walls, walls and more walls. Because of the noise barrier things. Until when I reached close to Fuji, then the walls are replaced by mountain views and some sakuras trees sprinkled here and there. There is this pipeline being camouflaged by sakura trees. Somehow it brought more attention to the pipes than intended I guess. As we neared, Mr F came into sight. I guess no matter how cloudy, I can’t disappear when I am so close. The bus stops at Fuji Q along the way. That’s where the most thrilling roller coaster rides in Japan can be found. Naturally, u won’t see me there. =p Finally, the announcement system called out “Kawaguchiko Eki degozaimasu”. Whee.

First thing was to check out the tourist information counter. Lots of information can be gathered there. Plus, there are the discount coupons we can use. Inquired about a thousand things later, I took a time check and decided there is time for lunch. I purposely chose the restaurant with a big glass window facing Fuji. He was pretty big and visible too. The sun was penetrating the cloud onto his surface. Nice, I thot. When I walked up the stairs to the restaurant, sat down next to the glass window, and looked out, my view of Fuji was blocked by cables. Dang. Wished they learn from SG and put cables BELOW the ground for goodness sake. There goes my photo opportunity. But I took one nevertheless. Lunch was cheap. 580 yen. For a bowl of Niku Soba. (Meat slices with soba). On a cold day like this, it tasted heavenly. While waiting for my food, I saw the Omikuji dispenser(Paper with good fortune, so-so fortune, bad fortune etc.) I paid 100yen for it. Twisted the top to correspond to my Horoscope, and pulled a lever. Out came a small ball. In there, curled up, was a piece of paper saying “Big Fortune“ (good fortune lah), along with detailed description from your health, to your love life. I guess it’s a standard message. Like “The person you are waiting for will come”, “The things you lost will be found”. Never read it as I needed to go plan my route.

Decided to go opposite the river, the same place I went the other time with Calvin they all. When the tour guide told me that it will take 2 hours to walk there, I decided to pay for the bus ride. 480yen gurai(around). It was a funny looking bus (Retro bus = retro-looking bus?) In there sat 2 European ladies. Their luggage blocked the aisle. Had to sit behind driver-san, who is so ever helpful. The ladies were speaking a little French(I think) and some English. Mixing languages here and there, so that I won’t understand them. Driver-san kept talking to them in English. Very friendly and responsible. He used his intercom with the command centre to get the answers. To which, I overheard saying “wakaranai”. Meaning. “I don’t know”. Haha. In the end, the ladies dug up a phone number, and driver-san went to call up the place. (They overshot the place anyway.) Why I didn’t help? Cuz when a Hong Kong family came up the bus, they had to clear the aisle. What did the 2 ladies do? Put the luggage on my chair next to me. Its okay. But they leaned it against me. What a bummer. It must have weighed 30kg. So all the way, I was stuck in my corner. When the bus is turning, I felt a push. Yes, she was afraid the luggage will drop. Oh well, at the same time, I was being entertained by the Cantonese speaking group behind. Only caught a little of what they said. I know nuts about my dialect, let alone Canto.

At the terminal stop, I got off. Glad I did. Cuz I found a monument of sorts stating Mt Fuji something something something. There was this mini-car gang posing their cars at the carpark with Fuji behind. They were taking pictures as though that whole place was booked by them. So I went to the shop next to it, and checked it out. There is a jam making session over there. Tempted, but time was not on my side. When I came out, they were still there. But I didn’t care. I just walked behind their cars, set up my tripod and took my own picture until its perfect. My back was probably in their picture anyway. Hehe. Finally Mt Fuji conquered. Again.

Along the way, I saw the spot which I went 2 weeks ago. Decided to go there again and take a bus back to the starting point. On the way, I saw sakura trees, and tried to take pictures, but the sky is really too cloudy. The photos did not turn out as nice as last time. Sigh. The walk back was freezing, but relaxing. My worries are miles away, my thoughts are clear, and it felt peaceful. Of course there is the occasional car passing by, else, it was nice. The lalang looking plants made it seem even more. When I reached the bus stop, I realized that I almost missed the last bus. (actually, I did intentionally take my time. I had the time table in my jacket, but it was so relaxing out there. Plus, I was contemplating a sun-rise photo the next morning. Hehe. Luckily, the weather was bad.) That would really basically mean I am stuck at Fuji till the next day. The Keio Highway Bus only operates until 8pm. And I am standing here at the north part of the lake at 5.10pm. (The last Retro bus comes at 5.12pm.Oops.) Whats more, I haven’t bought my tickets, as I wanted to be flexible. Bad mistake. Later on that.

I took the Retro bus back to somewhere closer, got off when I saw human activities. There were shops of Omiyage (souvenirs) and lots of cars. I went to this herb museum of sorts and ended buying a cute glass figurine (duh). There really isn’t much in there anyway. Then next to the herb museum, is a batting centre. Baseball. With Fuji on the left side of the court. I thought, what the heck. Maybe I will score a homerun into the volcano. 200yen later, I picked up the bat, and started batting. This was my second time anyway, so it shouldn’t be that hard, afterall, there were girls outside looking, usually I will be more alert. Haha. ZOOM! The first ball went past. ZOOM! The second. Etc. etc. I hit the 5th, 12th, and 15th ball perhaps. All just touched a little. No homerun. When I got out, I realized why. I was in the 105km/h cage. There was 70km/h to 110km/h if I remember correctly. Bummer. No wonder it was empty. Then I proceeded to walk towards a spot where I could see Mr F. I stood there, at what I thought was a carpark or empty land, looking at Fuji, and continued my travelogue for my friend. (Hey, if you are reading this, I better get my treats!). I thought about blogging too, but I think I needed time to walk back to the station. So I left instead. Hehe..sorry readers.

I overshot a junction when I was walking back. Good thing I went to ask around for directions. Because, when I got to the station, it was starting to get dark. At the ticketing counter, the lady asked if I wanted the next bus. (The second last one) I said I wanted the last bus. And she showed me the seating. FULL. Oh boy. Looks like I have to take the next one anyway. And guess what. It was the last ticket. I had to sit at the back of the bus, at the centre. Aiyoh. What if the bus e-brake?! Haha. Looks like no dinner for me, I have 30 min left, so I went to get some souvenirs back for my family and a keychain for myself. Its to keep track of where I have been to. That guy gave me a little discount when I bought like 45 bucks of stuff. Nice. (Probably marked up anyway. hehe)

Then came the most boring wait for the bus. It was cold, so I wasn’t venturing out there. Occasionally switching places from the tourist centre, to the train station, to the heated waiting area, to the outside, to the bus stop. It was just boring. Of course I could have taken out my PDA and type away, while Fuji disappears into the background, but it was cold. I was shivering. (Yar, my fashion jacket really just is a fashion jacket. The wools are useless.) Decided to wait in the tourism centre afterall. But they close at 7pm. Bus comes at 7.07pm. I sat at the newly built train station’s bench for 7 min in the cold, writing my email again, only to hear that my bus was late. I went to the heated waiting area again. This time, there were seats. The bus finally came at 7.24pm. So much for punctuality. Hehe.

Anyway, I am back on board the middle of the back seat. The guy next to me, who boarded at the same station, decided to put the handrest down between us. Scared of me? The next 2 hours in the bus, was dedicated to the travelogue and email. (I want Haagen Daaz please. =)).

By the time I reach Shinjuku, it was 9-ish pm, time for dinner. Hungry manz. I walked around and found a nice steak house. It’s a small shop. The narrow aisle made me stand up and down while people are getting out of the shop. The waiting area is also just outside the toilet. But the decors were authentic, European look. So it was okay. Anyway, sirloin at 1100yen is cheap bah? It comes with RICE. Japanese rice no less. Its funny, since I was only given a fork and a steak knife. No chopsticks, no spoon. Oh bother. When I saw the lady next to me eating from the knife, I thought, ah, heck the manners.
BTW, I ate from the fork, wouldn’t want an earthquake to give me a make over. Hee.

Ja. That was the end of the trip. Took the same trains back home. With my ipod screaming out “Sakura” by Kobukoro, and seeing some cute Japanese girls along the way, it was a perfect day. Felt so much better, about time to put Japan behind me. For good.

Mount Kitadake - A log of my second mountain hike in Japan Part 1

About the Mountain:

• Kitadake (北岳) is the second tallest mountain in Japan.
• The height of Kitadake is 3193 meter above sea level.
• It's located at Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県).
• Kitadake is located along the stretch of mountain range called Minami-Alps 南アルプス (Southern Alps)

Pre-Climbing Ritual

Wednesday, 21st of Sept

Went to work as usual, ramen dinner, played Bishi-Bashi with JR and Tshush at MORES Kawasaki and completing it on one token each. Volunteer class at night, our own group Japanese lessons at night at Mister Donuts. Drank too much kopi lor. I took out my climbing stuff and left it on the floor as i needed the bag for work the next day. Slept at 4++am.
Thursday, 22nd of Sept
Woke up at 7.40am, feeling like a zombie. Worked (or rather, was surfing and doing my timing chart at the same time) till 6pm, went for dinner at MatsuYa, went to shop for some last minute stuff at MORES and then cycled back to the dorm with Tshush. Reached home 8pm, did some packing till 9.30pm and went to sleep. The previous night of sleeplessness helped the insomniac in me.

Friday, 23rd of Sept

Woke up at 2.30am, getting my stuff ready and putting on my Gatsby Clay (Ultra Tough) and my smell good stuff, hehe. Put on my fav holiday tshirt (a yellow Nike Dry-Fit) that i wear on the first day of every holiday. Put on my brother's Nike Running Shoes (to climb a mountain...oh...sorry bro, its kinda in a bad shape...haha). Went down to meet the rest at 3am, waiting for our rental car that shaonan collected. Waited 20min before we set off to Tsurumi, to pick up the girls. Tshush, Shaonan and Me in the car, Chee Keong, Augustine, James in the other car.

We picked up the girls and SN drove all the way to Kofu Station to meet up with the other car. Around 5.45am. around 2.5 hours ride. The other car got lost and we only saw them at 7.00am. In the meantime, we went to walk around, toilet breaks, bought drinks and food at FAmily Mart (something like 7-11) and to eat MacDonalds breakfast. We all rested in the car until they came over to the carpark. (pretty boring log so far huh...hehe)

Both cars then drove up part of the mountain to the carpark at 夜叉神峠...we then had a rather noisy toilet break, all thanks to some spider in the girls toilet. Jas had to go watch spider for Fiona. haha. We took a 45 min bus ride to the start of the trail because the roads are impassible for passenger cars. It is restricted to only busses and taxies. Con money? i think its because of the roads, pretty narrow. We also travelled through numerous tunnels that are so small, it looked like it fits the bus just nicely. 820 yen poorer by the way. Luckily i got a seat with Augustine. The bus was quite full with all the haversacks and people. 2 people also came up the bus with their mountain bikes. The destination, Hirogawara (広河原), the starting of the trail.
We reached the starting point of the trail around 11am, a bridge that crosses the river coming down from the mountain. Starting at an elevation of around 1520m i believe, we have 1,672m to climb. Total hiking distance covered is around 10.7km. Mt Fuji, we only had to climb 1472m ONLY. hehe.

The beginning of the route was through some trees, like in a forest in Bukit Timah Hill. Then we meet the river, and followed its path upwards. The river provided alot of photo taking opportunities with its various falls and rock. The scenery was nicer once we got out of the woods, where the valleys and mountains are in plain view. The fauna and flora were ,sad to say, inadequate. I was expecting more colours than this. Perhaps it is autumn now, I should be greatful that its not all stones and bare trees. The trees are still green by the way, showing no signs of yellowing. The flowers however, are few. The gradient at the beginning was good. Not steep. It was comfortable.

Halfway up, we met some people, from Belgium and Japan. One guy stayed so close to us at motosumiyoshi, he was like saying "why bother to come all the way up here to meet up?". As they departed, they warned us of rain/strong winds at 3 pm/am i dunno. hehhee. Nevertheless, we still moved on without putting on our raincoats.

The pathway to the top of the mountain is not entirely clearly demarked. Sometimes we reach a rocky area, wondering which was the right way. Of course, some nice people before us actually took the effort to mark out the right path with some red/yellow spray paint. Drawing arrows denoting the direction to go. Thanks!! it saved us on many occasions. Especially when i was thinking "are you sure this is the path?? its all rocks upwards"...only to find the arrow pointing straight up. haha. okay, not that tough, as long as we stick to the route, dun miss our footing at the side of the track, which i think is not possible if you are not drunk, you wun fall off the cliff.
Walking up the slope, though easy at the beginning, is not meant for your regular grandpa and grandma. Its tough actually. Maybe we are unfit. hehe. But i was already perspiring alot when we were just a tenth of the way through. As we walked further up, the challenge starts. No more are the paths nice and walkable. Some small climbing is necessary to get to the next walking path. Its not dangerous or hard to do, but just would have preferred to walk all the way up instead. hehe.

The rain came down on us halfway, we were starting to see clouds passing through us. Probably at a nice height already. we thought. It was cold. We started to put on our first layer. and a raincoat. It was a light rain compared to the one we experienced on Mt Fuji. No wind. Short. We were actually wet on the inside due to perspiration and condensation, rather than the rain. Honestly i do not remember much of the details on the way up. Most of the time, we were just climbing and climbing, rocks after rocks, path after path. I was just tackling the most immediate obstacle and such. The scenery was nice, with the valleys and mountains. By right, we could have seen Mt Fuji, but i din take notice. We were in the woods for quite some time. Berries we saw. Red. but dunno if poisonous.

Alternating woods with open spaces, this hike was more interesting than Mt Fuji. The first batch of people, CK, James, SS, Ron, Richard all went up the mountain first. They were faster. While the rest of us, TTT, YH, SN, F, J and me took our time. J was experiencing chest pains along the way. Poor thing. Can see she was pretty run down.

The walk was tiring when we first start off from our rest. maybe we need to get used to the little oxygen up there. After a while, when we gained momentum, it was fine.
At the last stretch of the journey, people were just saying "look, the hut is in front". which is of course a bluff to encourage everyone.
Followed by 7h 18min of climb later, we are at the hut.

The time was around 6-ish pm, or something, and it was dark already. The stars were out in full bloom. It seems like i am in an omnitheatre, with all the stars staring down at us. The milky way was also present at the top of our heads. Awesome. We straight away went into the hut seeking shelter from the cold and also to get our empty tummies filled. Surviving on Snickers Bars throughout the journey, i was feeling pretty famished. We went in to find the people over there
The 800 yen bowl of ramen did its job.

/******* 17th April 2006 ********/
Hmm...it seems eons ago when i typed this. I think its time to publish part 1. Wanted to complete it first...but i guess there wasn:t time once my real project started. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea what happened after that. Need to see my photos for a recap. Hehe. Hope u enjoyed part 1. Photos will be up in Part 2 =) Ja Ne.

The other days i owe my readers:
Saturday, 24th of Sept
Sunday, 25th of Sept
Monday, 26th of Sept

Mi thot ov der dey

What is it?
Decided to do some thinking today (yea, finally switched on my brain after 10+ years.) after reading an article in the news about Miracle drugs. These drugs, supposedly to be available by the year 2010 in rich countries, reportedly might increase lifespan by 20 years. So by 2050, retirement age will be 85. Supposedly. Reportedly. When will it be a fact?
So your evil boss...well..he will be still there for some time.

How?
In layman terms, reduce the daily damage to your body that comes as a part of ageing.

So?
When an old one goes, their knowledge and maturity goes with them, often leaving a generation of brash kids doing what they think is right. Think "New Economy". Think danish newspaper editor. Think "Livedoor" (Japan). These were thot up by young people. Everything was right. Then wrong. Then maybe. Then wat have you.

Problem two, are young kids willing to listen. But that's another story.

so is this good news? For me, it is. If the right people have access to it.
The catch is ... old people are sometimes ... old kids.

blogger: okay, you noticed. i self-censored plenty. Realised that i ain't good at writing clearly afterall. hehe.

Sort, Store, Shine, Standardize, Sustain

整理　・　整頓　・　清楚　・　清潔　・　躾
seiri . seiton . seiso . seiketsu . shitsuke

The 5 Ways of Zen. Not.

Actually,
"...it's a japanese system adapted by western nations on how to keep certain work environments..." - Rowf the Baka

My table at work, has only a monitor, KB, Mouse, phone and my coaster.
My table at home, has ...whatever you can think of.
(Split personality.)

"A good night's sleep doesn't help you think more clearly " - Today NP

Apparenetly i will be able to think better if i stayed up for 24 hours instead of waking up after having 8 hours of sleep before my exams.

"diminished short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities during the groggy period after waking up known as "sleep inertia". " - Today NP

Somehow, my study stategy was proven 2 b okay. But of course, no amount of last minute work could help me. Dang. haha. Of course, like all other "research"....tomorrow, we might have a counter-argument appearing.

正月 － Japanese New Year

良いお年を　お迎えください！
yoi otoshi wo (omukaekudasai)

Thats the usual thing they say to each other during the new year.
In Japan, i guess there isn't any Japanese New Year stuff happening, either that, or i am not paying attention again. hehee. Japanese New Year cards are always sent at this time of the year. I got mine from a colleague, Kawano-san, this year.





The past 2 years has been the same comedian, Okamura Takashi (picture, yea, those are painted bumms at the back), doing some stupid stunt on TV...or Pride or K1 fighting match on TV. Nothing much spectacular, maybe the good shows are on Cable, which i do not have. Dang.

100th Post

The 100th post.
Day: SATURDAY
Location: Office.
Working time: 9.00am - 5.15pm

Some Top Japan News for the past months in brief

• Late autumn

The maple trees this year has been slow to turn red, the colour most associated with autumn. Leaves are said to turn red when the temperature dips below 5 degrees celcius at night. The leaves are also said to be less vibrant this year, a probable result due to the acidity of the rain. This disrupted some of the "maple-leaf viewing tours" as there were none to look at. But for me, its good news, as i was a little late in preparation for mine..hehe.

• Japan feeling the onslaught of the most heaviest snowfall in decades.

Snow has been pretty dominated most of the news in this period of time. Besides the daily "someone murdered someone" news, suicide or molestation or rape. The amount of snowfall in the areas close to the Sea of Japan has increased, and arrived much earlier than average. It broke the records for the past decades too. Causes is from the cold air front coming in from china. -32 degrees i last saw on TV. Most of the problems caused is delays in trains, and people falling off the roof. i guess. hehe. I was nearly interviewed by a Yomiuri News reporter at the Yamagata Train Station, if only i was taking the Shinkansen. Haiz. She wasn't interested when i was taking another train to Sendai instead. boo! But she is pretty cute and speaks english. Hmm...oh well, the seasons in Japan has been pretty weird this year. With the late arriving autumn and the early winter. oh well, at least i will get to enjoy my winter more before i go back to perpetual summer again. OH manz.

• Architect admits to falsifying quake-resistance values

Imagine staying in one of those houses, which should collapse under a grade 5 and above earthquake. What was he thinking? Now, he is a celebrity of sorts. Usually, these guys would have committed suicide for the shame they have brought upon themselves. i think? It brought the whole industry into the limelight. How did he get through the rigourous checking by various ministry and builders? By knowing which is the sloppiest companies and employing them to check. Privatization backfiring on the gov? These buildings are scattered around Japan, some in Tokyo, where it has been emphasised that a BIG ONE will happen anytime. Bummer.

• Child murder

Recently, there has been cases of murder involving small children. One teacher killed his student of 6(?) years old, because he didn't like her. Schoolgirl murdered by boy motivated by love. Schoolgirl murdered in forest. It sure helped those in the personal guard business. Apparently, they employ anyone who "does not have a record", good character, need not be trained in martial arts, does not pierce their ears, etc. (which means almost anyone.). Not really interested in this area. NEXT.

• Prime Minister Visit to Yasukuki Shrine

No opinions on this. But headlines anyway. China not happy, Japan defiant. Never been to the shrine yet. Guess i don't have the time either. =) I guess, peace will only come when one is able to read another's mind like a book. To see if the other has really repented, or is sincere to make peace.

• Sony Blu-ray vs. Toshiba HD-DVD

Consumers are the losers, again. Yawnz, whats new. (Yea i work in Toshiba, but not on the DVD stuff. oh well. and i thought i could get some free complimentary HD-DVD stuff.)

• Stock Market Blunder

First case, 4 hours trading time lost due to system crash. Next, "Sell 1 share of J-Com at 610,000円 please.", and the next minute, 610,000 shares are sold at 1円. Of course, there is always cancellation of orders, which couldn't be done due to a software glitch at the Tokyo Stock Exchange side. This little glitch translated to 40 Billion yen loss for Mizuho Securities. Of course, the guy who handled it is screwed for life. Well, rectification is going to be tough. After all, it is all legitimate trades. Japan's finance minister Kaoru Yosano did express his unhappiness about the 6 brokerage houses, who took advantage of the situation, knowingly that it was a botched offer. However, that did not stop one man from walking away 563 million yen richer at the end of the day. Thats around S$7.8 million dollars on one day's trade. Wished it was me. haha. The president of the TSE, Takuo Tsurushima, has quit.

• Trains in Japan

Alot of news about this. First, the train that went off the track, and crashed into an apartment building in April 2005. Killing 100 over and injuring 300 over. Cause: Speeding. Why: Cuz he was 1 minute late. Drivers are often asked to keep to the schedule, and are asked to do demeaning work when they don't. Sure there are equipments to stop trains from speeding. "But it wasn't working".

More derailments later, (Shinkansen + Earthquake etc.) December 2005, in Yamagata prefecture, another train derailed, because it was literally blown off its tracks. 5 dead. Some snowstorm had hit the area where the crash happened plus wind speeds of 70+kmph, it was pretty tough for trains to get by the area. One strong gust of wind after the train crossed a bridge over a river, and it ended up in a shed next to the tracks. From that day onwards, i think those drivers started to be more cautious of strong winds (dun pray pray). Its funny how something MUST happen before people realise things will happen. I see it in all forms in my daily life. Speeding when you are not good at driving, or assuming all cars will avoid you if you shoot out from the small road in your little bikes. "Gogonathan". as some friend here pronounce it. =)

For most of the rides in Japan, my train really do arrive on time, and sure, it feels good not to be kept waiting. (I do have a Casio synched with the atomic clock in Japan..haha...so they din change the clocks!) But the recent ones i took (at Yamagata prefecture too, after the derailment), they don't, because of the bad weather. The trains were delayed for 2+ hours due to strong winds and snow, some Shinkansen trains were cancelled. When we were finally on the train, the train moved at what seemed like 20km/h. You could see the winds blowing pretty recklessly on the train. Of course, one of my friends was also complaining that "those JR people are purposely driving the train slowly for profit purposes". i don't know the logic though. hehe. As per the usual custom, West Japan Railway Co. said that its President Takeshi Kakiuchi will resign to take responsibility for the derailment in Amagasaki, Hyogo prefecture (the April one).

Heh, this year seems bad for all the Towkays (Head of company), alot of them seem to have stepped down, or quit this year. Maybe they didn't listen to their fengshui masters.

Yea, these were the most talked about news i guess. Of course, there were other ones which i did not have time to write, and saucy news too on the newspaper everyday, i could almost predict tomorrow's news: "So-and-so, arrested after being caught doing whatever-girl related crimes". Today's? : "Nagasaki Prefectural Government worker in hot water for peeping into women's restroom". Some news that show how immature some of those criminals can be: "Son killed father after being refused over 100yen loan". Thats S$1.40. Which can't even buy you a can of coke at the vending machines. Well, with a population of well over 127 million, it is a small crime statistic anyway. =)

Well, thats news in Japan. But i read of some gang going around Orchard Road molesting girls using party fo[a]m sprays. But publishing the MO of these kids seems to be abit of the double edge sword though, i thought. I guess thats how news operates. hmm.

Did i mention a 74 year old man just completely torched down a train station today, using a lighter, because he was hungry and fustrated. =9