“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

By: Ernest Hemingway (American novelist, short-story writer and journalist, 1899-1961)

I believe it's rather obvious why I chose this title quote. And yes, I had a ticket, courtesy of HSBC and Dad, whom I went with. (That answers your question, YC! Haha!)

Being a corporate invitation, they were obviously trying to sell something, but seeing as they provided a 4-course dinner in a private function room (haute cuisine, no less), and 2 free tickets, why not?

Of course, it would not be courteous to be snapping pictures of the food during such a high-class event, so nothing from there. After dinner, we proceeded on foot to the Pit Grandstand, that's where my seat was.

From here on, I leave you to enjoy the pictures and the occasional video.

Entering via Gate 2, near Millenia Walk

Walking by the Singapore Flyer

My first glimpse of the track as I was crossing the overpass to the Grandstand

Going up to the block where my seat is: A12

The frontal view of my seat. The glassed area opposite are the boxes, and below them is the race pit, where the cars go in to take fuel, change tires and whatever

The view to my left, the starting line or race line (SingTel SingTel SingTel)

The view to my right, as you can see, I'm seated on a straight, which isn't good because cars just zoom by

And yes, I could see some of the pits. This one is Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello from Honda

Of course, who can miss Hamilton, who has been in the papers these past few days

A view of the starting lineup

Team members removing the covers on the tires. The one on the left is Felipe Massa from Ferrari (all-red, pole position), the one on right is Lewis Hamilton from McLaren Mercedes (red & gray)

All geared up, but this is not the start. They will go 1 round before the actual race begins.


Video: This is the start of the demo lap. As you can see (or hear, rather), they're loud... LOUD!!!

And yes, they are now preparing for the actual race start


Video: And off they go! Notice how they take considerably less time to clear out? 7 seconds as opposed to 24 just now

I have to admit, there isn't anything much for the rest of the race, because most pictures look like this:

Now this is proof that I really tried. The picture is darker because I increased the shutter speed (ie. snap faster, but less light enters)

OK, this is 1 of the most decent shots yet. This was during the first activation of the safety car, so the racers weren't speeding at full.

Jenson Button comes in for a pit stop

I suppose many people will remember this? The part where Massa ripped off the fuel hose, costing him a 90-second delay, and thus the race

Yes, I actually saw the mechanics trying to pull the hose out!

And carrying it back to their pit...

All the way back... Disaster indeed!



Video: This is a not-so-typical lap, actually. It's the lap after the second time the safety car comes in, so you can see everyone going past at about the same time.

Mark Webber being pulled off the race, you can see the RedBull car if you peer hard enough


Video: And Fernando Alonso comes in for the win! The first-ever champion of a Formula-1 night race!

The end of the race!

People running down to the track after the race

I didn't join them as I'm not sure where I can exit, besides, I had a meeting on Monday morning!!!

And now, a glimpse of the spoils-of-war:

An official Formula-1 cap, courtesy of HSBC
Yes... official licensed product! Hee hee!

My ticket, as a whole

1 side of the pass, with all the seat details

The other side of the pass

Close-up of the lanyard, quite a cool souvenir!

And yes, my "expended ammunition"! I wouldn't have survived without this! (They're earplugs, FYI)

And so you have it: my one-of-a-kind experience at the world's first F1 night race and Singapore's first F1 race! Courtesy of HSBC and my wonderful Dad!

Of course, we had to take a photo together at the Grandstand!

You can see all the decent photos I took here: SingTel Singapore GP 2008 (28 Sept 2008)

I must say that it was a very wonderful experience. On the videos, the engines might sound like your Tamiya car, but I can safely assure you that it is NOWHERE CLOSE!!! I'm indeed very thankful and honoured to be a part of this event, and to have such a wonderful opportunity to be there.

Of course, I think Ferrari's going to curse Singapore now. There were plenty of crashes and sufficient drama, and to think someone was telling me beforehand that F1 is boring because nothing's happening. Haha! I hope you enjoyed my simple F1 coverage, and thanks for reading till this end!

"Marriage is like falling into a black hole,you only want to do it with someone that you can take a long ride with."

By: Unknown

Just yesterday, I have had the honour of attending not one, but two weddings. The first was that of my colleague, Adrian, and the second was a long-time friend and former Red Cross staff Angeline.

I know of many people who go crazy over weddings. Sadly, I'm not as excited about them, although I do believe that it is a beautilful thing to see two people joined together in the sacred institution of marriage. I think it's also wonderful that both couples are Christians and I have to admit that it's also been quite a while since I attended a church wedding.

I'm not too sure about Adrian, but as what we heard yesterday, Angeline and Jeremy were together for 10 years before they are now married. I only have 1 word to say about that: WOW...

Of course, marriage is something that we want for the long-term. Certainly no one goes into marriage thinking that it will end, and I'm also glad that so far, I have not seen anyone I know go through a divorce themselves. I'm not a supporter of divorce, but then again, I'm not qualified to make such a statement, being unmarried and even single! Haha!

But the thought of taking a long ride with that special someone is very romantic. I'm sure you've experienced that time when you felt the phone conversation will and should never end, where you can just yak on and on till dawn. Or how about that time lying on the grass and just looking into each other's eyes, a special moment when you felt that time stood still and yet, moving infinitely fast at the same time. These are the times we really hope that time just flows off our back.

However, we also have to remember that getting married to someone means having to see that person for the rest of your life. Just think of all the sloppy habits of the other person, waking up to morning breath and unfolded blankets... Or having to constantly keep the toilet sparkling clean to satisfy the cleanliness freak that is your spouse... That is part of the deal that comes with it.

Getting married is indeed a great commitment to each other. It's not as simple as what I've mentioned above either. In fact, I think the marriage vows do hold a lot of significance, it speaks a lot of the promise that the couple makes to each other, the responsibility they are willing to undertake and the commitment to each other and to God (if Christian).

That said, I'm still looking forward to the next wedding. Not that I'll be jumping on the couch for it or what... but I think it is a very brave gesture for someone to be able to make such a promise to another person, and that alone is spectacular.

In conclusion, I'll once again congratulate Adrian & Dora and Angeline & Jeremy, may your lives together be filled with joy and happiness, strength of heart, body and mind, and a central commitment to God as the focus of your union.

"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war."

By: Antony (in William Shakespeare's Julius Caeser, Act III Scene 1)

I can't think of a better quote for times like these. Indeed, we are going through a historical period. I was too young and too oblivious previously to understand the impact of the events going on around us, but now that I do, it's really something.

What am I referring to? The eventful weekend in the financial sector! It's not everyday that we get to see banks collapse, or bought over, or a major insurer on the brink of failure. That's not including the amazing speed in which takeover/merger/acquisition talks were held and concluded.

Of course, if you have totally no idea what I'm talking about, or roughly know what I'm talking about, that means you're just like me in the past. And FYI, that is rare... VERY RARE indeed.

Undoubtedly, there's a lot of fear in the market. People are worried about what happened to their money. For those who bought the Lehman minibonds, it's not valued at only 30% of your invested value, which means for every $1 you invested, it's only worth $0.30 now. Mind you, Minibonds are NOT bonds... they're actually equity-linked investments.

Another major panic was AIG, which came within a sniffle of filing for bankruptcy. In fact, I think that caused a larger panic here in Singapore. Just look at the long queues outside AIA Tower! Despite MAS' reassurances that insurance funds are safe and separated, and I'm very certain of this because of the legal framework that insurers operate under in Singapore, people are still queueing up to pull out their money.

Why is this so? Does it make sense? The money's safe, what for withdraw? There's only 1 explanation: Fear

Yes, fear! People are scared. It doesn't matter what facts and reassurances you give them, they're just afraid, and they will not listen much to reason. They want the assurance that their money is safe, and nothing beats holding it in cold hard cash, who cares whether the amount is lesser than what they put in, all they want to know is they are holding on to COLD HARD CASH!

And who can blame them? Why are people reacting this way? It's back to another word: assurance. Insurance companies are supposed to provide the assurance that when something happens to you, you are protected financially and there's a sum of money to tide you through your hardship. Many times, I find insurance is actually more of an emotional concept than a rational one. Of course, I still encourage proper insurance planning, it's still something that one should not go without. What I'm saying is that a lot of emotions come into the process.

When this trust between the insurer and the consumer is breached, that's when people feel scared. No doubt, the credibility of AIA is downgraded in the eyes of the general public, despite their balance sheets and the authorities saying so.

And this translates a lot to us individuals too, right? When someone betrays your trust, regardless whether by his/her direct actions or otherwise, don't you find that you have much difficulty putting your trust in this person again? How then can you regain such trust? What would you do if you were the one who betrayed another's trust?

Certainly makes you wonder, doesn't it?

"When you wash your car, it rains shortly after"

One does certainly have to appreciate the ironies in life, right? Just as I thought I was remedying a crack, I sustained another one, except even more serious!

Well, it's nothing life-threatening. My handphone protector was cracked, from some of the drops I suppose, and I thought it was about time to get it replaced. It was quite a bargain, actually, and the new protector fit more snugly than the old one. So that was good, all happy.

Then I saw my spectacles were a little bent, so I decided to do some "self-rectification", and no, I'm not a qualified optician or optometrist. *PIAK* the top corner of my left lens chipped off.

I nearly screamed... and I'm quite glad I didn't because I was on a bus at the time.

Nothing really critical, it was the top corner, not the main field of vision. My classmates didn't even notice it until I mentioned it to them. Thank God for rimless frames... But I still have to wait for 10 working days (of which 1 has gone by) for the replacement.

So I'm back to my old pair now. I can feel the difference in weight, I think the prescription is slightly different as some stuff look weird, or maybe it could be due to the lack of sleep. And yes, sleep-deprivation is not in-line with recovering from a flu (which I have).

Needless to say, the lenses cost more than the new handphone casing.

So this very simple experience really had me thinking about some events in life. Surely there do times where we tried to do something, in the interest of someone, to make things better. Or maybe it was a time when we had a brilliant idea and wanted to carry it out. And then, things go haywire.

Being the nice person that you are (I hope), you take remedial action, try to repair it. But alas! You've made it worse. You may have solved this issue, but in the process creating damage elsewhere. Maybe that friend doesn't want to listen to your explanation any more, or even refuses to talk to you?

These are times when we feel terrible inside. It's not so much because of the problem, but because we have tried to make it better, yet all we accomplish is to worsen the situation. It is the guilt, the feeling of hopelessness and remorse that eats us from the inside.

Like I said, life has its ironies. I have lost a friendship or two in this manner, but I wouldn't have reacted otherwise even with the benefit of hindsight. After all, we can't always win, and sometimes it may even be for the better. It is through experiences like these that test the relationship (romantic or friendship) between 2 people. In the end, you may discover that this person's attitude is not even worth putting any effort. But of course, not every case ends like this.

But we have to remember to be thankful too. Just as we are frustrated at the downpour after scrubbing the car's tyre rims so thoroughly, the rain has its blessings, such as cooling the land down. I have been blessed in that I am enjoying some new luxuries these past few weeks, passing my Capital Markets Services exam yesterday and also getting to spend some quality time catching up with some friends. Thus, a dent in my pocket for the replacement lenses may not be that bad. I was actually looking at it a few days ago and thinking maybe it's time to change the lenses too... Haha! Lo and behold!

Of course, there are still things that I want to do. Been trying VERY hard to catch up with one friend in particular, but she's VERY busy. I can only continue to pray for a good opportunity. I'm also looking forward to spending time with my study group go prepare for my coming exams. It's a rather exciting period, actually.

But excuse me in the meantime while I go sew up that big hole in my pocket...

What do you do when a rain cloud pours on you on a sunny day?

"There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes."

By: Richard Buckminster Fuller, US engineer and architect

I actually wanted to write about this some time ago, just that some other topics came up.

I initially wanted to start with a more popular adage: "When at first you don't succeed, try and try again", but I thought this one is slightly better.

There are many times in life when we think that things are not going according to our plans. Maybe it's not getting into a school/job of our choice, not getting the desired results for exams, or not getting the response we want from other people. What happens then? Do we conclude that this isn't going to work out, and leave it at that? Do we then complain that it's just lousy and we forget that it ever happened?

My personal philosophy is that I am the sum of ALL my experiences. There is not a single experience that I've had which didn't contribute to shaping me into... well... me! My life is like a huge jigsaw puzzle, with pieces falling into place all the time, but not falling out.

I think this is also in-line with my Christian beliefs, that God is guiding me in the path He wants me to go and that everything is for a reason.

Nothing is a waste of time, but a learning experience that maybe my time can be better spent elsewhere (like NOT attending certain meetings, but focusing on other matters :D). No client I meet has also "wasted" my time, but I've learnt how to better handle them, or whether to even continue talking with them at all. Every single scolding, teardrop, rejection and slap in the face (literal and figurative) is just as important as every smile, laugh, comfort and hug that I've had. We need to be able to appreciate the ups and downs of life to realise the importance of cherishing the positive sides, whilst learning from the negative ones. It's just like without "evil", how can we know what is "good"?

This leads me to another quote which complements the title quote:

“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'”

- Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov
Source: http://www.expansiveself.org

I think many of us have heard of the story of Thomas Edison, who successfully invented the light bulb after 1000 attempts. What was it that kept him going? I strongly believe "That's funny..." was always on his mind, or in the local context, "Eh? Siao liao lah..."

It wasn't a failed experiment. As Edison himself famously says, "I have not failed, I only found 999 ways that didn't work", that each unsuccessful attempt was a build-up for the next, to eventual success. There is also a Chinese saying which goes "失败乃是成功之母", which means that failure is the mother of success.

What then is the secret to success? Determination, perseverance, recognising and analysing failures, accepting and integrating them into our lives, and trying again. That pretty much sums it up, right? Of course, it is easy to say and hard to do. Hey, no one said it was a piece of cake... Haha!

In conclusion, I'd like to quote from a favourite movie of mine:

"Just keep swimming swimming swimming..."

- Dory (Ellen DeGeneres in Pixar's "Finding Nemo")

Source: http://www.fanpop.com