Monopoly Deal

Ever since krisandro blogged about this card game, it has been my #1 wishlist item! (I'll talk about why this variation of the classic Monopoly is so great later.)

And what a great opportunity it was last night when I went to J8 for dinner...

A Monopoly Party!

Hmm, seemed like there was going to be a public game play or something. Just look at that big Monopoly board on the floor.. & the huge dice too!! It got me really excited, like a child in a dreamland. :D

The event (sponsored by BHG) actually featured a number of Hasbro's all-time favorite "family" games: Risk Reinvention, Jenga, Cluedo, and Game of Life, just to name a few. Monopoly seemed to be the star of the show :)

Around the human-sized Monopoly floorboard were 4 mini booths, showcasing Connect 4, Pictureka, Jenga, and Monopoly Deal. You could actually join in and have a game right on the spot!

No doubt, I took this chance (dinner first) to get my hands on my own Monopoly Deal card game. There were 2 options: 1) the "traveling" version - compact, all-you-need for S$11.90 and 2) the "shuffler" version - complete with a Shuffle Shaker to help you shuffle your cards easily!

The Big Game

The Monopoly Deal card game is essentially a super-condensed version of the classic Monopoly board game. And I meant it in a good way! I've always loved to play classic Monopoly: I think it's fun and very engaging - lots of laughter in the process! But people whom I approach to play with often complain that it's "too long" "never-ending" or "not fun with just 2 of us". Monopoly Deal is a perfect counter to these blatant comments! It's never too long - you can win (or lose) a game in 10 mins - certainly not never-ending, and it is great fun even with just 2 players! Definitely a must try.

Woohoo~ at last!

*Shake shake shake* The Shuffle Shaker!!

I played 10 games straight with wx, and *doh* I lost 9-1! I feel it's my luck. T_T He always drew good cards. So to prove my hypothesis... (that he won by luck not by skill)

I set up a game experiment where I will play his cards and he will play mine. We had our own rules too: loser will shuffle and winner gets to start first.

Independent variable: I shuffle the cards, assuming that I had lost the previous game.
Dependent variable: When dealing, what was supposed to be wx's cards were now mine, and vice versa. While playing, what was supposed to be drawn into wx's hand were now drawn into mine. So theoretically, I should have wx's "luck".
Hypothesis: If I win, "luck" played a key role in wx's triumph. If I lose, wx did probably perhaps could be possibly by chance had better skills and strategy than me.

And I won. :) Case closed, it really is the "luck". LOL

-----
More coming on game play and rules...

Good ideas, Part I

I meant to write about this 9 months ago. :p

I attended a friend's (of my sister) wedding brunch in the States. Like any other wedding receptions, they give out souvenirs or gifts as memoirs of the couple's union. Sometimes a small wedding photo, sometimes a mini box of chocolates/candy. In Singapore, the Chinese usually give out gift cards/vouchers for wedding cakes/biscuits. Check out this one instead. It's unique!

A Chinese fan.

I know I know, these fans are all over Asia. But in the United States, particularly when you have lots of American friends, this is the h-a-w-t gift. (And very practical in summer from a summer wedding reception!)

Beautiful little pink flowers (Are these 梅花 - plum - or 桃花 - peach - blossoms? :p) growing out from the left as you open up the fan, and the word "爱" (aka. Love) mimicking the style of Chinese seals, gave this Chinese "painting" a finishing touch.

But that's not it! Look closer and you can find the couple's names imprinted (on a sticker) on the surface of the outer bone.

Praises to the couple - Very creative thoughts on your wedding gift! It really made your wedding a special one for the guests, and it showed how much sincerity and appreciation you hold for the friends and family who were there to witness your happiest moment.

And thank you for the coolest idea, I have just decided what my wedding gift would be. :D

A pair of chopsticks. The last character of our Chinese names carved, one on each. Together, tied by a piece of red string.

Think of it as the best and only opportunity to market yourselves as a couple (much like a signature or a name card) to your friends and family. (I mean, how often are you able to gather everyone you know in one place? Just this once.) Make it memorable. Make it valuable. Make it long-lasting.

So what will your wedding gift be? How will you like your friends and family to remember you and your loved one?
Drop me a comment or tweet @chibiryan to share your thoughts!


P.S. This post is simply to help you generate some ideas if you are looking to have a more unique and creative wedding. If you genuinely thought of the same idea, that's great! But please do not copy every single detail from what is posted here. (Or at least give credits to the people who thought of the idea first. If you think you're the first, feel free to voice it out here.) Every wedding is meant to be unique. So be yourself. :)

Innovolt on NBC 11Alive!

Woo my ex-colleague's on TV!? click.

Awesome job at the GreenBusiness Works Expo, wishing I could be there to witness. :p

P.S: I recently thought of Innovolt.. a rather constructive one for my usual idling personality. Something I've been wanting to do during the early Innovolt days, but failed to do so. Maybe this time I finally have the heart to complete it. :)

A New Friend

Met a Korean girl here in Atlanta.
She's a cousin of my sister's friend.
A very nice, sweet girl who grew up in the countryside.
She wants to become an English teacher, so she came here to learn English.
And we took a picture together!

***

UWC students protest for world peace (2000)

Apparently, gmail has a spam filter. But perhaps gmail believes that most junk mails are not "junk" afterall, so they all got directed to my Inbox, hoping would be of some help to me. Nevertheless, after a very serious consideration, I found 98% of them useless and redirected all those to the spam folder.
Well obviously, this post is not going to be about junk mails or gmail's filtering capabilities because out of the 2% of the "good" emails, there is a facebook notice saying that someone posted a photo of ME, and it was a photo that "[I] thought/hoped [I]'d never see again" - ms. palmer, an old friend of mine back in the early UWC days. Out of curiosity, I went to check it out. Guess what I found? Hehe, some good old memories. :)

Funny factor: *****

As some of your may know, UWC (United World College) has always been a strong advocator of peace (and environmentalism and blah blah blah). And as members of the genuine college community, we too served wholeheartedly to spread the idea - a demonstration for PEACE right in the school grounds.
umm "Where's ME" :D

Realistic factor: *****

You see, people lose their hands, legs and eyes (even their lives) because of war. So poor thing! We CANNOT let that happen.
lol I must commend Sangjin for his superior acts. He really looked like he had a missing arm and bloody face in this picture.

So that was all for the peace demonstration. Alas, here's the photo that I HOPED I'D NEVER SEE AGAIN:

Ugly factor: *****

Nooooo!! Is that MEEE? Wat de hell was I doin!? Looking so blur, stupid and sleepy. :( And I had such weird looking hairdo... :'(
*panics* Now I must look at myself in mirror for 10 minutes everyday to make sure I am at least presentable. *determined*

There are more UWC photos available at ms. palmer's "The photos you thought/hoped youd never see again..." (++ a cute picture of mini palmer!!) Ex-UWCSEA-FIBs should definitely have a look. Very reminiscing...you may even spot yourself!

Final Rush

Counting down: 2 days 2 hours 9 mins

****<(#_#)>
I'm on page 2 (out of 8) of my history research paper, which was supposed to be due like a month ago. Time really flies...I thought I could hand it in a little late as usual. But weeks went by before I even realized I still have the unfinished paper with me, and all the overdue library books lying underneath my desk. I feel so stupid for trying to take 6 classes this semester. It's just not my style to work myself to the fullest. I should have dropped the course before it's too late.

Architecture (the history course that I'm dreading now is American architectural history)...I finally had a talk with mr. kennethihi last night on MSN. Wow he's really not doing well. He may not be one of the top archi students in our year, but he has certainly put in a lot of effort, last year and this semester. Yet, his hard work has never paid off. Makes me feel that Architecture is a fluke. What's so great about it? What's the BIG difference between the projects that got an A and the projects that were discredited as crap or R. We're all students, we're all trying to improve ourselves, but we all have DIFFERENT ideas and we present them differently. What makes the "difference" become the line between pass and fail? Drawings are not as good? Yea, maybe. But there were some so-called "good" projects that I didn't think had good drawings.

I can't speak up for myself, like I am for kennethihi. Because I know I don't deserve an argument here. I didn't really put in the effort or the perseverance that I had when I was in first year. I hated the process, getting to studio spending hours there and having nothing done, or have something in the end but something real crappy. It was really a pain in the a**. But I thought it was just me, not made for architecture. Until recently, I realized how much I actually disliked architecture. Not because I couldn't do it well, but because it just didn't feel as superior as it had appealed to me 2 years back. I regretted for not realizing earlier and wasted another year in hell.

****<(>_-)>
As I'm writing this, I'm in Orient Express trying to stuff the remaining of the fish ball noodles and pearl milk tea down my throat. Feel so much like puking now. (-_-||)

****<('_')>
Taking my last exam tomorrow, Optimization. The only class that I can proudly say I will get an A on. Biz Comm. is another class that I've been doing well, but I'm not sure if they're going to count the ## absences against my grade. Nooooooo!

****<(o_o)>
Dinner tomorrow night with kennethihi! :)
EDIT: MissSarajevo is coming too haha the archi drop-outs gathering :p
Sign the lease for my new apartment.
And of course, MUST complete my paper by that time.
Then pack my stuff and get ready to go home!

****<(~_~)>
I hope all the best for kennethihi. Don't worry, I'm sure your parents will understand you. You've done your best!

Edit: C for Econ Theory.........sigh