flies
so few people left on livejournal sticking around is vastly underrated as a competitive strategy
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. It’s the square root of variance. We take the square root bec
How I’m studying as an ‘A’ Levels Private Candidate
After choosing my subjects, the first thing I wanted to do was to get very intimately acquainted with my syllabus. It’s
Studying H2 Literature as a Private Candidate, pt 1
First of all, after making the decision to do H2 Literature, I have to pick my texts. Here are my choices: Section B: Prose *
Thinking about Pete Wentz
I’m thinking about Pete Wentz before I go to bed. I follow him on Twitter. Why? I suppose because he was the bassist and
W17D2- a teacher’s passion
I’ve decided to make it a point to start writing something every day. This is not a new decision but it’s another
W11D2: Acquiring and Filling New Meters
I’m noticing an increase in hits coming from people searching for information on students taking their A Levels as priva
Language Is Beautifully Flawed
Language is a beautiful creature, full of redundancies and flaws. Every word of every language carries with it thousands of ye
Taking your GCE ‘A’ Levels as a Private Candidate
Someone dropped by my Tumblr to ask me to write a post about my experience re-taking my A Levels as a private candidate. Here
secret
I secretly worry that I am a burden to my friends, that they don’t want to hear anything from me, that they get annoyed
dream
I want to come home from tampines. I take a bus 10 from somewhere near the interchange. I don’t remember where exactly I
wisdom (teeth)
So I pulled my two left wisdom teeth today. I only had 2 cigarettes yesterday- I wasn’t feeling so well, so it was more
learning
an important thing I’m learning, I think, or trying to learn, and trying to embody, is that we have to treat our “
Why does altruism exist?
Here’s my shaky hypothesis, which I put together from many casual (and possibly flawed) readings of several different so
haha cause sometimes I forget the real reason why I am going to an university and getting an education. ~sidetrack; I believe
Hey Visa, I just wanted to thank you for sharing your thoughts and your philosophies on life in your blog! Sometimes, I forgot
A List Of My Favourite Things: Movies
Movies: 20: X-Men: First Class 19: Monty Python and the Holy Grail 18: Scent of a Woman 17: Love, Actually 16: The Incredibles
Loyalty to country vs. Loyalty to humanity
“No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.”
sitting in the silence
Lately as an atheist I find it exceedingly unnecessarily and even counter-intuitive to even speak of atheism, or of religion.
“hello! Just wanted to tell you that I love your blog! I love its ingenuity, creativity, eloquence, and maturity! Singap
NS memoirs
(originally wrote this for Fever Avenue) This one is for the boys. I’ve had some pretty unique opportunities in my life to e
The Path Of A Double Pendulum
Look at that. Isn’t that beautiful? Doesn’t it look chaotic, and yet strangely elegant? This is the path of a doub
7sins: Envy
(image courtesy of blackeri) What is lust? Lust is fundamentally about conquest. Nobody lusts after what they already have.
xav on me being kind in conflict
“It’s fun to be wrong, especially if the person taking you down does so professionally on a nice practice mat, ins
2012
I didn’t want to do anything for new year’s. I didn’t want to spend money unnecessarily, because lately I
dear anybody who’s having a rough time
you can talk to me! please do.
The Man Who Will Not Drive
There once was a guy who swore he’d never ever buy a car. After all, he reasoned, all cars eventually break down and fai
i miss the people who have left i never told them how much they mattered to me
don’t be a sucker
(original title: Occupy Wall Street: What do you do when the odds are stacked against you?) Wall St shouldn’t be screwin
On productivity, evolution and conversations
I often pay lipservice to productivity, and I’ll be the first one to acknowledge it. It’s mostly in an attempt to
Dealing with depression, in yourself or in others
I’m always a little suspicious of the “do whatever works” argument, because sometimes what works only works
“Why do you love me?”
Individuals are far too vast to be reduced to a few factors- we feel more than we can know, and we know more than we can expre
What do you do if you are a self-fulfilling prophet?
What is the pragmatic course of action to take when you are aware that your prediction about the future (to simplify it) is go
Can the Self be localized in the brain?
When you say “all of the self can be localised in the brain”, i’m interested in what you mean by “loca
you can never completely know yourself.
It’s never possible to throw up a bunch of measurable or quantifiable elements and equate them to ‘the Self’
On staying awake and giving a damn.
I used to be able to stay awake in secondary school, at least most of the time. There were moments where I’d drift into
The 3 Practical Things We Need To Teach Our Kids
We need to teach kids Operacy- that is, how to function effectively, how to operate as a human being. Bodily functions are rar
rambles for progress
More rambling time. Let’s contemplate the evolution of social ideas for a bit- how cultural shifts happen. They’re
A Reader whose life you have improved.
I would like to say that i like your stuff. I like what your thoughts and philosophy about how we are all interconnected and h
utilizing decisive bursts
I’ve had some rather unique NS experiences. One of them involved me and my colleagues spending many hours with penknives
explaining my love for self-correcting mechanisms, philosophy and systems
Stereotypical geniuses have highly developed self-correcting mechanisms. They learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating th
The passing of Steve Jobs, and what it means for the rest of us
I woke up this morning to messages that Steve Jobs was dead. I wasn’t entirely surprised to hear it- we know he’s
smoking in jc
I picked up smoking sometime around my O Levels, when I was 16- but I never really bought my own cigarettes and carried them a
thoughts on illness, immune systems and weekend warriors
I think I fall sick more often than my peers. I’m not completely sure of this, I don’t have enough data to be conc
nothing to say
Torn between wanting to seek out and ruminate with every last person I have any spiritual affinity with, and throwing myself i
misery and effective decision making
Time and time again I find myself staring into space, overwhelmed with so many choices and options that I end up doing absolut
transactive memory and being a part of something greater
I like to think that almost every single thing in the universe is a part of something greater than itself, and I think as soci
On regrets, fragility, certainty and forks in the road
Do you have any regrets? It’s one of those questions that’s thrown around so often that we don’t really thin
everything and nothing
It’s amazing, frustrating and humbling how easily I fall back into the same old routines and problems when I haven’
The Problem With Practical Logic
Some people consider themselves logical because they’re systematic, but they tend to begin from faulty premises and indu
live for others
scrolling through my friendslist, posting comments, a cheer-up here, a hang-in-there there, a =) here, and cheers there. i mea
the rogue and the pastor’s daughter
The young pastor’s daughter reaches out to the wounded rogue, who cringes and shifts aside. “Stay away from me,” he snar
The Old About Me
My name is Visakan Veerasamy. I am a Singaporean, born and bred. I am proud of my country despite its shortcomings. I believe
Sense Of Urgency
Stumbled upon some old blog posts from 2006/2007 and am rather startled and amused at some of the wisdom in those posts- ̶
Dream: Birthday
I dreamt it was my birthday- I think my twenty first. There was an older figure that suggested that I drive this big badass lu
Quotes About Heroes and Heroism
Commander Shepard, Mass Effect Series “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in sp
from the horse’s mouth
Well, personally, I would just be straightforward with it. Like how Visa has been to me, and vice versa. It’s a good wak
Thoughts on running, management and life
I’ve never really liked running. I like cycling, and I imagine I’d like swimming, but I’ve never really like
Personal Systems 2.1- down the rabbit hole we go…
Continuing from where we left off, here and here! Brainstorming (prototype 1.0): Putting things together (2.0) Refining them (
Smoke-Free, Day Two
Yes, I’m still going strong! Today my nervous system doesn’t feel as wonky, but I have got new problems- my respir
Complex systems are more interesting than linear ones.
I have a big problem with making lists. Lists are not actually very informative. They are an ineffectual way of presenting inf
a person is a system is a science is a mind is a language is a city is an organism is art
/bow
On faith.
Before anything else I think it’s important to begin by discussing faith. We are all creatures of faith, whether we real
I like to convince myself that it doesn’t matter
but I know it does. Because I admired you then, and though I realise that I was obsessed with what you stood for to me, and th
infinite
we live for the moments that we are alive, we long for the moments that last forever, transcending the mortality of our lips,
so many of you have the same fucking problems
it’s ridiculous, you’re intelligent people, you can and should know better and learn to find solutions! STOP COMPA
2:25am
It is 2:25am and I am alone. The air is still, and cold. I am not wearing a shirt. I light my cigarette with the open flame at
assorted 2011 thoughts
creativity is just persistence and keen observation My posts get a lot better if I give myself time and space to talk nonsense
dream
Garage, dirty tie… blame on the garage.. relatives? I think my brother in law- asked me to check out his garage- at whic
I don’t have to write.
I don’t need to write. It is not an addiction, not a compulsion, I could stop at any time. I write because I like to. It
Promise me something.
This 2011, promise me that you’ll pursue something that excites you. Do something that makes you want to wake up in the morn
Mandatory New Year Post [2011]
2010 was a year of reflection for me, of contemplation, self-assessment, observation, study, understanding, learning. 2011 wil
my cab fare home came to $11.60 today. I had $15, and told the cab driver to keep the change- he’d been telling me about
instructional
seize her little hand and never let go, carve her out a heart and shield her bones, live her a life lest it dares to unfold, s
stripped
How do you describe the act of personal growth? Did I simply “experience” it, as if it were a passing emotion? Did
I’m actually beginning to feel like I might not need this place at all, that it’s become a sort of dead space that
losing friends
You know what’s strange and interesting? To observe a person who had once let you in, but now shuts you out. Don’t
a spot of difficulty
If I were feeling what I were feeling right now a year or two ago, I would be feeling very melancholic and existentialist righ
aiyoh
you fucking shameless blackmailing cunts, WHY am I obligated to do this for you?! aiyoh. never mind. suck thumb. do only. tsk.
finally
After almost 3 years, I am proud to say that I am finally well and truly over it/her/that! Feels so good. 😀
I am so sexually frustrated it’s really not even funny any more.
I still fuck up all the time
I’m not sure if there’s any difference in the amount of times I’m fucking up, or with the severity of these
I have some questions for you.
Are you physically fit? Healthy? Are your eyes, teeth, heart, back, knees, ears in good shape? How would it feel if you lost t
fuck you! (ooo,ooo,ooo!)
I used to be really ignorant, arrogant, narcissistic, self-absorbed and insensitive. You guys know this better than I do. Then
kimmy & fran
get tumblrs lah both of you! it’s like livejournal but better. >_> but i’ll still post here from time to time
moving on
I never really got very comfortable with livejournal, so i’ve moved on- visaisahero.wordpress.com for my more journalist
My name is Visa, and I want
to be absolutely honest, heart-wrenching, torn and true to burn with fiery passion, to glow an unearthly hue like Lennon and M
for you
I post this here because I don’t want to make a big scene about it, and because I think you read this. Don’t talk
the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life
is to face up to myself. Because all my charm, persuasiveness, eloquence and wit is worthless against someone who is capable o
Wouldn’t it be nice if
Everybody who read anybody else’s blog were obligated and/or compelled to leave some form of acknowledgement? I imagine
MOAR
check out my kickass wealth of knowledge
look at that badass motherfucker
what do you choose?
I choose to fight, to live, to love. I choose to think, to cherish, to learn. I choose to try, to fail, to try again. I choose
perfectionism
I try to maintain my composure, but I’m really becoming a much more volatile, angry person on the inside. Be responsible
dear visa
We need to talk! 😀 It’s think-out-loud time. Balance, effectively, the right-now and the big picture. Ignore neither,
humility
Humility to me is knowing and acknowledging my limitations, flaws, weaknesses, shortcomings. How am I supposed to behave in ci
Hayley Williams
it’s my opinion that anyone who is coming onto our band looking for controversy is completely missing the point. the poi
is anybody out there
It would usually be accurate if you described me as “the guy who always has something to say”. Right now, though,
this fire burns
“Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.”– Napoleon Bonaparte I’ve been ‘