Round 13: It feels good to have you back in my arms again.

After the excitement of picking the gf up this morning, I finally managed to find some time to sort through my thoughts of today and get them down.

The previous night before was a true test of time - laboured till the 11th hour(2335 hours, to be exact) to finish cleaning up the room and get it ready for the next day. After chatting with the neighbour about future employment plans over 2 Frankfurt Oders(beer, basically), browsed through the inbox , decided against playing a few poker rounds and hit the sack.

5 hours later, in a white singlet, black long-sleeved woollen pullover and a black vest on a 23°C morning, I squeezed with other passengers and boarded the Inter City-Express(ICE) train towards Frankfurt Airport . Watching the minutes pass on the onboard clock was simply nerve-wracking. So many thoughts in my mind: Should I have brought a rose along? Would she like the new NS-style haircut?What should be the first thing to say when we meet? Would I make it on time?

Outside the arrival gate, I saw that there was a 10-minute delay for her flight. Nothing much to worry about, Stan...just be patient and wait. And so did I. And kept my eyes on the glass doors of the arrival gate.

Then she appeared. Pushing the luggage trolley, in long black pants and a short sleeved light-toned blouse. Her face light with makeup and the hair long and tied back as I'll imagine.

I just stood there, grinning and watch her run towards me. And then we kissed.

Welcome back darling.

Dropping a short note....

Hello Folks!!

Yesh yesh, it's been quite long since the last Round here at Hajime no Stan. But the gf touches down in 20 hours, 50 minutes and counting....so that means, a few more spots to clean and touch up, one or 2 more preparations to be made, the suit to iron and the roses....hmm...where did I leave them now?

Readers, later!! :D

Round 12: An Ace-pair or A good clean fight?

Ok, sports question of the day to all devout sport fans out there:

What do you do when 2 different sport channels on tv are broadcasting 2 of your most beloved sports, that only the words "Passion" and "must-watch" can bring justice to your ass-gluing to that seat till it's over?


Shit, now did that come across as gay or something?

Never mind that, but just tell me: what's a man like me to do, when Eurosport and DSF are showing Boxing and World Series of Poker 2007 at the same time slot?

Easy, you say, just channel surf lor. When one of the other programmes comes on advertisement, just change to the other.

But see mate, here's the problem.

A single round of boxing last 3 minutes. Then there's the 1 minute break, and that's when the ads come in. And then begins the next round.

Now, Poker. When a hand of poker is being played, it usually last more than 3 minutes. When you switch away from it, you will have no idea how much was being bet on the last card(unless of course, you happen to be SO observant AND multi-taskable, while watching the tv screen, to subtract the previous pot amount from the current one, divide it by 2 to see if a bet was being called, if not then ....you get what I mean lah) or what kind of reaction was being exchanged between the players. When a round of poker starts, the tension will grip you. So you watch it till the end of the hand. No use trying to change channel one, I tell you.

Ok back to Boxing again. Don't be fooled by what you think is happening you know. Those 2 tough guys in the ring aren't simply just throwing and swinging punches. They have to time their hits properly too. They have to react based on the opponent's reaction from a jab, to either a follow up with a right hook to the ear, or would it have a better effect to the chin? How does this fellow react to a chain-gun of left jabs? How do I protect my stomach when I'm delivering my volley? And then, will a simple right straight or a right liver blow be more effective? Ok! I've knocked his guard off by hitting his elbows! His arms are way so high and failing, that belly is exposed! Now do I follow up with a 1-2 or more direct right blows to that belly?


Yo Yo mate, you still with me, dawg? *waves fingers in front of your face*

See what I mean? What's a man like that to do, you tell me??

Round 11: A well-deserved relaxing weekend

Man, it sure feels great to wake up these days without having to spring upright and look at the clock in half-conscious panic to see if I've overslept or not....*big grin*

Reaching home after the last paper on Thursday, I felt kinda....like, jobless? As if suddenly there wasn't anything for me to do or keep pushing myself anymore. Haha...yes, it dawned on me: the holidays are here.

Naja, there were still loads of things to do. Clear notes, tidy the room up, do the laundry, reload the fridge, check out those boxing gyms/unions...boxing again!! Woohoo....do have I missed slamming punches and shadow-boxing:P


Caught the midnight slot of Die Hard 4.0 on the same Thurs night with a buddy. Was a pretty spontaneous decision, one that I hesitated for a bit, given that I was already awake since 1am the same day to mug. The movie was as good as I expected:slightly above than average storyline, a couple of useless characters who totally disgusted me with their utter inefficiencies, and a whoop load of kickass muthaf**king explosive action with the good ole John McClane.


Since every other blogger is like going goo-goo over Transformers, I thought perhaps I'll do a lil analysis about Die Hard 4.0.


A main selling point about our dear John is his sense of recklessness and how he, MacGyver-style, albeit a tad less ingenious, improvises the situation on the spot, without seemingly needing to take other factors into consideration. And like every other carefully-coordinated stunt in movies, the outcome always turns out in his favor.


*Spoilers ahead. Read at your risk if you have yet to catch the movie:P*

And of course, the hordes flock to watch Die Hard for the stunts. Which action-film fan can deny that? In this installment, from the taking-out of one of the killers through the apartment stairway window with a fire extinguisher, John crashing a car into a tollbooth to deflect it upwards taking out a helicopter, John driving a 4WD and ramming Mai(Maggie Q) through 3 walls and eventually down into a elevator shaft, the highway chase between John and a F-35, till the very last bit, where McClane gives his trademark "Yippie-ki-yay" and shoots himself through his chest at poor "crucified" evil meanie Gabriel(Timothy Olyphant) pressed behind him.

Last but not least, this movie was also banking its success on the fan base built over the years from the Die Hard Series. It's certainly a play-safe approach a few other films coming out this summer have taken. Think Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Ocean's 13, Harry Potter (oooh all are grown up now and even cute adorable Hermione has tits!) and even The Bourne Ultimatum, scheduled to be out 3. August in the States. Seems like the producers still do believe in the saying: Third time's the charm.

And like every other consumer, I, too will be giving my money away because the gf insists.
Okok perhaps only just the first one...and for the others...well, I'm just a 23 yr-old guy with a little boy at heart*eyes suddenly twinkle big big* Hahaha....

*Movie Poster credits: http://en.wikipedia.org*

Round 10: Updates

It's been only a week, but quite a wee bit has been happening recently. Good, productive things, I must say *grins*

As some of you may know, the first exam paper was on Monday, 2.07. After 2,3 days of relentless attempts to understand, memorize and study the past exam questions, I gotta admit, the efforts paid off. The questions that came out were almost identical to the past years!! LOL, it was certainly a good break for those who also used the Past Years.

This Professor is unfortunately notorious for failing his students, more so when more students take his exams. And this time, there was a nice show-up of more than 70 students! But as soon as I turned the front page, I could already feel the others around me smiling. Summing up, a good note(result) is pretty achievable.


Last week, just as I clicked Send for my email application for internship at Bosch Reutlingen, the handphone rang. A foreign number...hmm.

"Hello Mr Leong, this is Mr XXX from John Deere European Office." I had submitted my internship application weeks ago, now only then call! Wha...efficient xia.

He didn't waste too much time on pleasantries and came straight to business.

"Yes Mr Leong, are you still interested in the internship?"

"Yes of course, when it is still available!", I replied, trying to sound all cherry and jolly to hide my nervousness.

"Yes it is..So how about an interview next week? Which day will be available?"

And so, on Wednesday , decked in a dark blue striped shirt and a pale blue white-striped tie, I headed off to John Deere Werke Mannheim for my interview.

Well, to cut the long story short, dear Mr XXX came 30 minutes late (haha german punctuality or does he just think i'm small fry?), asked questions, was impressed and the next day emailed me the green light. Woohoo I got the place!!

The benefits of having the internship at John Deere Mannheim are obvious: it's located just behind the Hochschule. So there's no need for me to shift house, and the timings to head to work will just be like going for classes.

Hochschule Mannheim

But more importantly is the internship assignment. For those in the Engineering Management sector, Lean Manufacturing and Toyota Production System(TPS) would prolly be familiar terms. Ever since the TPS, other manufacturing big-shots have tried to integrate their own versions. And that, is what I will be doing for the John Deere branches in Germany.

Mr XXX even mentioned possibilities of outstation travelling, and even to Holland!

That was prolly the highlight of the week for me. Even though I'm keener on motor design, construction and working efficiency, I said yes to this offer. Somehow inside me, I had the feeling that this assignment will have a pretty good impact on the resume. If things go well, I might even be able to work further on their Deere Production System(DPS) for my bachelor thesis.

Despite not being able to chat with the gf yesterday, Saturday turned out alright. Headed to a small city-village at outskirts of Mannheim and Karlsruhe, Waghäusel, for a group study session with a good friend Dominik. We hat discussed to meet up shortly before the exams to study and work through questions together. Carsten was also there and for 5 hours and 2 coffee breaks, we made intensive progress, albeit a tad strenuous.

The Workplace during a round of coffee-break


Dashing Dominik Weinlein

Dominik's impeccable Kitchen

Dominik's mother cooked lunch for the family and the guests. It was simple but delicious - rice and noodles with salad, finely-diced carrots and turkey with mushrooms. Unfortunately I was so hungry, I tucked right in forgetting to take any photos.

Dominik's garden where lunch was served.

Just finished watching the Klitschko-Brewster rematch - Klitschko won and retained his heavyweight world champion title after Brewster's trainer threw in the towel. But I think I've rattled too long again. Shall just wrap up here and blog about the fight another time.

Damm, it's almost 2 am and I'm hungry again. Better sleep soon...nite:)

Round 9: Ich heiße Stan, nicht für Nichts

Ich hasse es, wenn Leute mich als schwach halten. Wegen meiner Große. Oder wenn sie mich schlecht bei Alkohol trinken annehmen, einfach weil ich ein Asiat bin. Ich hasse einfach das Gefühl, dass Leute wegen in den deutschen Sozietät wie einen schon vom Herr Gott festgestellten blöde Stereotyp, mich als nicht gut genug abtun oder einfach meine Potenzial ignorieren.


Nein, obwohl ich schon 2 Biers gehabt habe, bin ich troztdem noch so klar im Kopf, dass so eine Wahrheit zu mir erscheinen ist. Es kann wegen eines Minderwertigkeitsgefühls, davon dass ich am Anfang die deutsche Sprache nicht richtig beherrschen konnte und dass ich heute noch Fehler mache. Na und? Dass ich schon am mindestens meine eigene Meinungen und mich selbe schon klar ausdrucken fähig bin, bedeutet das nicht?


Vielleicht deswegen, obwohl nicht ganz so bewusst, habe ich mit Boxen angefangen. Mich zu zeigen, dass ich etwas packen kann, und vielleicht auch dass ich der Mut, die Entschlossenheit und das Ziel mich zu verbessern habe. Und mit jedem Schritt, der ich Tag nach Tag langsam nach vorwärts nehme, wenn ich nicht gebe was ich im moment mache auf, glaube ich schon, ist genug Beweise, dass ich etwas drauf habe.


Alles ich geschrieben habe, sind überhaupt nicht gegen gute Freunde, die mich als der lockere Typ kennen und mich respektieren, entgegengesetzt. Alles, was ich sagen will ist: Ich danke euch, die auf mich herabgesehen haben und vielleicht noch so tun. Nur dadurch konnte ich stärker, besser, schlauer werden. Ohne Euch hatte ich nichts dagegen zu kämpfen, und mich selber zu beweisen. Bei diese Gelegenheit, ich danke dir alle.

Round 8: I am That Guy

I am that guy who finally got down to this after reading it here, here and here, like years ago.

I am that guy who loves to eat and try anything new that looks delicious.

I am that kid who learned not to play with electricity at 7 after receiving a shock from switching the socket on and off continuously.

I am that guy who gave my parents their first heart attack by stuffing a button battery up my right nostril at midnight the following year.

I am that kid who made the other patients in the hospital waiting room laugh when they saw what the doctor retrieve from my nose with his forceps.

I am that guy who made paper planes and boats when his mother wasn't looking.

I am the guy who tried toasting butter cookies that were already ready to eat, because I wanted to show my mum that I was grown up.

I am the guy who carried my friend in his muddy uniform and with a broken leg after he fell from the monkey bars in our school.

I am that teenager who asked a friend what a one night stand was in front of the whole school. Because I had no idea that the mike was still on, after our poetry reading competition.

I am that guy whose chinese name was always mercilessly teased, because it sounded like "chicken".

I am that guy who got detention for the first time in his life because he dozed off during school assembly during secondary school.

I am that guy whose mother moved mountains, shed tears and grew white hairs to make sure her son would excel in his studies.

I am that son who, for 6 months or so, cleaned the house and washed the pot for my mother's puke while she was pregnant with my sister.
I am that brother who accidentally dropped gum onto my baby sister's head, resulting in a sticky tangled mess and hours later, a bald patch on her head.

I am that guy whose 14 year old sister still mumbles in her sleep, for her brother to return home.

I am that guy who came to school early to run to the 7-11 opposite the road and buy Toblerone to offer to you, because I knew it was your favorite chocolate then.

I am that guy who was so smitten with you, I spent days trying to compose the best poem I could ever write and buy a Ferrero Rocher to go with it.

I am that guy whose heart stopped beating and broke when you didn't accept my gift and when your best guy friend devoured the Rocher right in front of me.

I am your "gay" guy friend who tried his best to comfort you, online and offline, whenever you had a fight with your now ex-bf, when really, inside me, I was at a loss at what to do.
I am that guy who was so incensed, when I heard that your ex actually dared to beat you, that I couldn't stop swearing and was on the verge of making a few phone calls.

I am that neighbour who, with just one look, can tell if you're in good or bad mood.
I am that buddy who helped you push-start your car in the depths of winter when it couldn't start for the umpteenth time.

I am that guy, whose arms in you sought solace and comfort when your heart got broken.

I am that "da nan ren"-wannabe, who keeps thinking and wondering how on earth is he able to provide you with a comfortable secure home and a future free of financial anxieties.

I am the boyfriend who hasn't stopped loving you since you stepped into my room, and into my life.


I am that guy who's writing this and reflecting at the same time: it's been almost 3 years now and, damm! some things have certainly changed.

But I will always be Stan: son, brother, boyfriend, good friend and boxer.

Round 7: "Es ist die Zeit, für dich zu zeigen, was du drauf hast.."

It's amazing what a hot shower, after a long long day, can do :)

Ahh...it's been a while since this little blog has been updated. For those who may have been wondering and have guessed it, that's right: exams. In 12 hours time. And I'm here blogging instead of sleeping. Haha...the stress from mugging and caffeine overdose must have gone to the head. The first paper:Material Science. Not exactly my cup of tea, it can get interesting but with over 300 pages of slides, it's ain't my midsummer's night dream. More like a Nightmare instead.

In the past few days, I've been haunting this "new" library that I recently discovered, after living in Germany for over 2 years and not having really noticed it despite passing by it daily. Like the business library from the first post, it also belongs to the University of Mannheim but this one is allocated for the Faculties of Mathematics, Informatics and Social Sciences.

Here's a look of the facade:




Haha...someone must have had a grudge either against the artist or the uni.

This library is indeed new. It certainly wasn't there when I first came to Mannheim. So new, that the hinges of the glass doors still reek of lube and the tables are free of pencil marks.

2 Blokes who man the front desk just to project the presence of authority. LOL. These guys don't do much except read the papers, chat online, drink countless coffee, munch on chips the whole day and take cigarette breaks every hour and lock up the place after midnight.



Well, I won't be writing much from here, instead I'll bring you on a simple photo tour of the interior.



The library is located at a corner of a junction, so you get to gaze at passing vehicles when you run out of pretty ladies to ogle at;)



In German: Mathematics/Informatics/ Newspapers - In alphabetical Order.





See those white lights on the wall? Those are 5 LEDs in each one. Riiich.

Well, being so exhausted as I am, I'll leave more pictures of the evening for you to enjoy.





That's about it for now. Will post more over the next weekend.

And soon, it's time for me to indeed show them, what I'm really capable of...

Spartan!!!!