新背景

Change of background...


Two entries in a day, that's something new... Got back home and had time to do it, so I changed the background to my animation... In a previous entry, I mentioned that I do not want to use a gif as background, but if I don't mention it no one will notice... Haha... That's not much difference either way, not on a fast connection at least... Oh well...

This New Year's eve, we're going to the beach party at Sentosa... Anyone wanna join us? Admission is free if you go with me... ;)

I'm serious...

苦惱之節日

Unhappy Holidays...


It is always during this part of the year where it gets worrying for students like me: our assignments are due next week... Normally, everyone would had finished most of the assignments by now, so as to enjoy their holidays... They would had started on it last month, or at least the start of this month... As for me, I haven't even installed the programs yet, let alone start on them... Now there is less than 1 week to finish them, sounds familiar? I sense several sleepless nights coming... or maybe not...

Last week, I went ktv with Weida, he said my singing has improved and I no longer sound like Aaron Kwok... That also means I've lost what made me special... Still I'm quite happy, since it I've been trying hard to lose that... So what if I sound very boring now, it is from now on where I can start to build my own style...

Yesterday, I joined SIM's singing club, Esprimere... As a tradition, the new guy has to sing a song for everyone... Once I started singing, everyone said I sounded like Aaron Kwok, including the instructor... She asked if I had been listening to Aaron's songs since young... Sadly, yes... Back to square one then... :(

As for the media I may be putting up, there's no time now, I need to get to school... Maybe in my next post?

鋼彈

"Is war the birth of battles, or is it the human soul?"-Lacus, GSDestiny


Ever since the previous time I drew Arbalest, I've taken a liking for drawing robots... The other day I saw this great model of a Gundam and decided I should draw it... Like I promised, this entry will come with some new media:


ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam : Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY

The above is an animated gif, the link is to the completed drawing... Though I say completed, I've been wondering whether to add in colours... What do you think?

Now that I've finished this drawing, I realized I don't really like drawing robots... Arbalest was easy to draw and so was this Gundam, maybe that is why I don't find any satisfaction in drawing them...The lines are defined and so dead, I don't see any life in my own drawing (thus explains the animation :Þ ) ... Guess I should just stick to drawing manga...

The performance yesterday was not bad, there was quite some audience... The lighting wasn't the best, so I doubt the video would produce anything visible... Don't know why but the camera yesterday was a low quality one, unable to capture anything at night... Too bad then, but I'm pretty sure the sound would come out alright...

Hmm... The next entry might come with new media as well, until next time...

終於

Killing the creator was a traditional method of patent protection...


After my previous post, I had to do a few more drafts for urban Foundry... Until now, they are still not satisfied... I've however recieved most of the materials for the website, very soon, they won't be selling only beds... Though I hate it alot, I'm still doing it because I intend to learn the process of doing such things, something I would not do on my own...

There's another performance this Saturday, a new concept we've just thought up... I hate to say it, but my band is getting more interesting... Now that there is a new band leader, my work load had reduced alot, I'm losing my resolve to quit the band... Oh well, guess I still have to stay until my good friends see me perform... There would be a camera for this Saturday's performance, so I'll most probably post a clip after that... I might be performing on Christmas and/or New Year's Eve, it's not confirmed but most probably would be a public performance...

That's it for now, the next entry would most probably be accompanied by some new media...

問題

Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again...


There is this problem that I have been searching around for a solution ever since I first had this idea of a flash background... How do you set flash as a background? I know I have to set wmode to be transparent, but I'm not sure how to place it such that it resides behind these words... Of course, I can cheat and export it as a gif, that easily solves my problem... However, that is not how I want it to be done... Anyone reading this and knows the answer please email me... Any friends reading these and not know the answer please ask someone who might know... Any help is much appreciated, I'll remember you... No, not only when I'm in trouble again...

草稿

God created men first because you always need a rough draft before the final masterpiece!


It's been 5 days since the last time I blogged, half the time of my previous one... Hope I can consistently blog at least once every week...

Ok, about this draft thing, I think I'm finally done with the draft for urban Foundry's website... They seem quite happy with, that's one thing off my back... Now I just need to build the actual website and I won't ever want to see them again...

Next, is another draft, the animation for this background... I've finished with it but haven't uploaded it yet as my file hosting is down for upgrading... Should be able to see it by next week... The graphics are not really perfect, as it was drawn with flash... I'm going to replace it with my own drawings one of these days... If I'm fast enough, I may be able to finish it before the file hosting is up... Then you won't have the chance to see my draft, it's straight up Version 1...

Going to school now, maybe I should ask my classmate to draw that part since he is so good at it...

終於

Hard work often pays off in the future, but laziness always pays off now...


10 days since the last post... I had wanted to post one last Monday (21/11), or even after the Saturday (19/11) performance... Oh well, it happened again...

The performance on Saturday was quite uneventful; there wasn't much crowd... There were around 30 people, which is the usual at that place... However, it was good preparation for the next performance on Thursday (24/11)... The Thursday performance was for a private function, so the crowd was guaranteed... It was uneventful as well, except for the fact that we needed to drag the performance longer... That isn't much of problem IF I was informed first... Our performance is a string of different types of music, and the focus is on me during the Chinese section... I gave it my all at the start and almost couldn't make it to the intended end, imagine how I felt when I realized that the end wasn't coming... My arms were all stiff and I couldn't hit as fast as my original speed, it was very obvious that the tempo was dropping but my hands can't move any faster no matter how hard I try... How relieved I was when the end was finally signalled, what happened after that was, well, uneventful...

Still doing the draft for Junan's company's website, this is the 3^rd draft already... Why can't her boss just tell me everything at one shot? I can most probably finish in the morning tomorrow, this I would not procrastinate, at least that is what I hope...

I am very happy today when someone message me in friendster telling me she actually read my blog, and I thought no one actually reads my profile... If you're reading this, say "Hi" to my friends over there -->

I have a wierd message in my friendster, someone sent me a "JJC GradNite'05 invitation to Alumni members"... Wierd...

一拖再拖

Procrastination is like masturbation... At first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself...


I've been procrastinating lots of things, some things I doubt I'll ever get it done (e.g. the background animation for this page)... Today, I finally cleared something off my mind, I finished the draft of Junan's company's website... At first I wasn't able to do it due to the difficulty involved, but having pushed it off, I did not want to pick it up anymore... Today there is no lesson, so I finally decided to get it started, it took me the whole day to finish it... Now the next item on my list is my assignments, due on the first working day of next year... I wonder when I'll start on that one...

I'll be performing at the Arts Fest in Bukit Panjang this Saturday, too bad my good friends aren't back yet... I've been thinking whether to quit this band, this few weeks had been so busy that I've strengthened my resolve to quit... I'll most probably disappear after I recieve my payment for next week's performance, but if there is a public performance in December I might stay until then... Have to let my good friends watch me perform at least once; I started performing after they left Singapore, so not nice to stop before they come back right?

Something to whet your appetite, it's not the kind of music my band plays though... The new addition is the best amongst all my works, can't help but feel proud of myself... That's all for this entry, let's see how long I'm gonna procrastinate before I write the next one...

精神支柱

Spiritual support...


This is a continuation of the previous post... It's been so long already, I think it's time I commended on that great buddy of mine... First some history about us, we were both part of an insane force... Our training consists of being tortured, torturing ourselves and torturing ourselves while we torture our juniors... The actual events are classified, so I'll not dabble into it... As if that was not enough, I have to suffer the pressures from above and from below... Being a Team Leader, pressure from above is understandable, but pressure from below? The men and the Team Leaders are of the same rank and usually the same age, so I had little or no control over them... I have to act a nice guy, and sweet talk them for them to do anything... It was a good thing I had such a great Team 2IC...

For the first half of the time spent there, he helped me alot... He shared my burden, and taught me how to handle the men... From him, I learnt simple communication skills that I seem to lack for the past 18 years... I was better at controlling my temper as well... If he wasn't there, I would probably have had several nervous breakdowns... After we turned operational, the stress level decreased and I was able to take a step back to look at things... I realized how much I had learnt from Jonathan, but how little I had done for him, in fact, I think I sucked him dry... He was only able to lead under my shadow; I had turned him into my puppet... He dares not make any decisions himself, maybe it was out of respect for me, or maybe I craved for power and never let him make those decisions...

I feel bad about this while I looked back at those days... I could sense my growth from the first day I entered the force to the day I left... As for Jonathan, I feel that he is more mature at the start then at the end, maybe it's because of the ORD mood... An excerpt from the testimonial he wrote for me: "... you've been a superb team leader, you have taught me lots of things, and i will have to thank you for that..." I wonder how much of that is true, but I really hope he meant it...

Life would never be the same if I had chosen someone else as the Team 2IC that day... Now that he is in UK, I wish him all the best... His birthday is coming soon as well, don't really remember exactly when... When he is back, I'll like to introduce this great buddy to everyone I know...

後悔

Of all things acquired through life, the one possession we hope to never attain is regret...


On a bus journey a few days back, I was reflecting upon my life, "What was my biggest regret?" I used to think that my biggest regret was to choose "Chinese at 'A' levels" over "Accounting" during my JC days... My life was messed up, I couldn't catch up with the lessons... Maybe I could, but was just too lazy to do so... I had no interest in that subject and I often wonder why the hell did I choose it in the first place... The answer was simple, it was an uninformed decision... I did not know at that point of time which was better or which was worse, the decision was made solely on instinct... I've always had a good intuition, something I trust in all situations (if I get the hint), but that was one time it messed up bad... or so I thought...

Now that I think back, maybe it wasn't really such a bad thing after all... I may have flunk my 'A' levels, but that was the only way for me to become the person I am now... Because of that incident, I've become very careful at making any decisions... I always make sure I know what I'm doing before I do it, decisions usually lead to happy endings... People come to me for advice, and I help them as though it was my own problem, things I don't know I wouldn't comment... Though that had caused me to hate people who give irresponsible remarks... Just because it doesn't concern them, they say things they THINK is right, but do not make an effort to validate them... I hate them because they would not have to shoulder the consequences of their words...

While what I learnt was enough to justify the bad decision-making, what about the one year wasted to repeat my 'A' levels? Nothing happened during my days in Jurong Institute, though I learnt a bit of guitar and did get better grades for my 'A' levels, but it wasn't really much improvement over the previous one... What changed my life was what happened next, my National Service was delayed for a year, and I'm sure I wouldn't be part of that great unit if it was otherwise... I held a key position from the second week I entered the unit, responsibilities and expectations were thrown on me while I was still struggling to adapt... I learnt the hard way to be responsible and committed to everything I do; along the way, the discovery of the merits of honesty, and that was where my pact of honesty started... It was that place that changed the small boy (as how my CSM said we were) I was, to a responsible and thinking adult...

During these two years of my life there, I realized what I do not want to be... Before I entered Army, I was thinking of studying Management, and hold a managerial role in future... But that is not what an ambition should be, and it most certainly wasn't my ambtion to begin with, it was just the young me trying to emulate my father, seeing how successful he was... My direction in life was reset, I chose my future according to what I like rather than what earns... I know how difficult it is to study something I do not like, and how easy it was to score for something interesting (I got 'B' for Economics and 'F' for Chinese)... Having found my direction in life, I felt very relived, the world seemed brighter when you can see where you are going (at least in my memories the days after that were seemingly brighter)...

One person I'm very grateful to in that two years is Jonathan, my Team 2IC... I would like to tell his story now, but this entry is getting too long... What I want to say is he is one of those who had no direction in life, his life is determined by the faculty he chose after he got his results... He told me he did not want to study science, as that would narrow his prospects to research-based jobs only... I advised him to change it if he doesn't like it while there is still time, what he is going to study will greatly determine his life... He replied with a blank face, "I don't know what to change to..." And then there are those who blindly pursuits the Medicine degree just because it is a prestigeous and high-paying job... Maybe it is their passion, they want to save lives (yeah right), I would never know, but I'm sure most of them just want that prestige... This is where I'm glad I made that wrong decision, if I had chosen accounting then, I might be able to get into a local university, and waste several years of my life doing something I don't like...

Maybe my intuition wasn't wrong at all, it had planned to benefit me in the long term... Now, what is my biggest regret in life? I can happily say NONE!!

怎麼了

What happenned?


Well, nothing happened... Nothing to blog about... This is just to make sure everyone knows I'm still alive... Trying to extend this post beyond one paragraph... Maybe I'll talk about what's gonna happen soon...

There'll be another kayaking session next week, at least I hope there will be... Attendance is as follows:

5 guys - Me, Winson, Paul (the one who cannot swim but was forced into the water for demostration), and 2 of Paul's colleagues...
5 girls - 3 of Paul's colleagues and 2 of Winson's friends...

Hopefully this would be more fun than the previous one, seeing that there are more people plus no girlfriends present... But first, I have to hope there would even be a trip, then I'll think about how fun it would be... Oh, I just remembered my partner for the last trip was also Paul's colleague... Hmm... The fun factor has dropped a bit...

新事件

Updates...


It's been a week since my last update, nothing much happens... This morning, my hair was very dry, I thought I'm gonna have a bad hair day... Tried to style it the usual way but it just wouldn't budge... I stopped and took a look, not bad, maybe I'll stick to this hairstyle today... I'm not a narcissist, so I wouldn't post an entire entry of pictures of my hair...

Today was something special, I went to meet Junan's boss... A week back, I messaged Junan through Friendster out of the blue... We started asking each other what we were doing and I mentioned designing webpage, she immediately asked me to help her with her company's website... There I was today, meeting her boss and discussing about the webpage... That guy is expecting quite a lot, getting quite worried whether I'll be able to deliver... After everything was settled, we went to a very late lunch... It was over lunch that I realized how lucky she was; that very morning I messaged her, her boss asked her to do something about the website... I was like her savior that popped out of nowhere... Haha... Talk about coincidence...

After that was band practice, the band director and band leader had something on and couldn't make it, that would put me in charge... At first I was quite happy, then I realized that I don't know what to do... Before things gone bad, Winson showed up, "I'm saved..." He took over the practice and we managed to do something different, all thanks to that bugger who kept our band director busy...

Before we ended our day, I asked Winson how's my hair today, he said that it's better than usual... I'm glad I didn't walk around looking like an idiot for the entire day, all that's left now is to try and create that exact style tomorrow...

強弩弓

Arbalest...


What's with the title? I'll come to that later, this is just a boring update, a simple day, a simple life, remember? Went for band practice today after many Mondays of rest... Getting more and more tired of that place, actually it's just the fault of the band director... My band leader (Winson) is starting another combo band, he asked me to join as a pianist; finally playing something I like... Actually he needs me more as a technician, helping him to do all the recording and editing... I told him I want to be the lead singer as well and he agreed... No, I didn't threaten him or anything... Haha... Another step closer to my dream... In case you are wondering, the previous melodies recorded were done with him... I'll upload two other songs as well, as soon as the file server is up...

Now on to the discussion about the title, an Arbalest is a medieval artillery used during sieges, it is designed on the principle of a crossbow... A very powerful and accurate weapon during those ages... What has this got to do with the the topic? Totally nothing, except the name itself... My lessons in school are very boring, my friend sitting beside me always fall asleep, kind of affecting me as well... I tried ways to keep awake and found only a few effective methods:

1. Play handphone games
Pros: This is very effective, as it keeps me wide awake and thinking (I dun play those type of mindless games where you don't have to think)...
Cons: Usually I'm too absorbed into the game to notice what the lecturers say... Secondly, the game draws lots of battery power, every hour's session draws one bar of battery... Lastly, I was spotted during one of the lectures and was "lectured" by the lecturer...

2. Drawing
Pros: Improves my drawing technique... A very satisfying hobby which I like to do alot (meaning I won't fall asleep)...
Cons: Actually I can only copy things so I need a sample in front of me to draw (I don't bring much of those with me)... Sometimes I get too excited and forgets about the lecture, but it happens less often as compared to playing handphone games...

Here I present to you something I've drawn during one of the lectures, it's a robot from a great anime series: Full Metal Panic... As I've mentioned, the file server is down (but I've already uploaded it), it might take a while before you can see it...


Prototype Arm Slave: ARX-7 Arbalest, Full Metal Panic

我還活著

I'm still alive...


Seems like my luck wasn't at it worst (wasn't exactly that good either), but I shan't talk bad about the girl, so let's skip that part... We reach there at 9+, but the employee told us that he was locked out of the office, so we have to wait until 10.30am before we can rent the kayaks... We had 3 kayaks, 1 girl & 1 boy on each... Of the three guys, only Winson has experience in kayaking, so I asked him what to do if we ever capsize... He said he would need to do a live demostration, then he asked Paul and his partner, Melissa, to jump into the water so as to demostrate... I'm not sure why he asked them as both of them are non-swimmers... The two of them were struggling to keep afloat, while the rest of us were too busy laughing, it took a while to start the demostration... Not too long into the demostartion, we lost our concentration again; Paul was getting choked by his life vest!! It was such a funny sight, his face was turning red from struggling, maybe I should help him by pulling his head up? Too bad we don't have a camera...

When the demostration was finally over, the couples were asked to board the kayak again... Paul had no problems getting onto the boat, but Melissa couldn't make it up... They pulled from above, pushed from below, and tried all sorts of methods, but still couldn't get her up... After around 10 to 15 mins, Melissa seems like she is about to give up... I finally decided to jump into the water to help them, I didn't at first because it's not nice for me to be pushing her from the bottom when her boyfriend is around... Before I could jump into the water, Melissa gave one final heave and threw one-third of herself onto the kayak, she's gonna make it this time!!! She finally got on the kayak after 15 mins of struggling... I could see that they were totally burned out, we carried on our journey and they were lagging behind for a few hundred metres... Melissa was dead tired, and it was mostly Paul who was doing the peddaling...

When we reach Pulau Ubin, they sat around resting... For me, I couldn't sit around when my engine has started, so I walked around looking for anything interesting... Then I found this glass bottle, the type people use to put letters in and throw into the waters... Everyone was like, "Hey, write a love letter and throw into the sea. Maybe you'll find your true love like that Jacky Chan movie." So we started to search around for anything to write with/on, but how is it possible on that deserted part of the island? Then I remembered that the one who found his love was not the person that wrote the letter...

So I walked around looking for more interesting things, I felt a fire burning in me when I saw them... Stones!! People usually don't get all excited over stones, I usually won't either, but we were on a beach and there were small flat stones around... I started to skip the stones on the water, but my arms were tired from all the peddaling and there was still a long way back, so I did not exert too much strength... Still I was able to hit my personal best, around 6 or 7 jumps, the last few were difficult to spot as the stone was jumping a smaller distance each time and it was almost jumping on the spot before it sank...

This entire event wasn't very eventful, probably cause the people were not right... Hopefully the next time I'll get a more interesting partner...

不可思議

Unimaginable...


How often do you see people walk into a pole? Never in my life I've seen it, I thought you'll only see this kind of things in movies and cartoons... Today, there was this guy who was walking to the carpark, his head was turned to his left looking at the cars... Then he suddenly turned back his head and slammed right into a pole... The impact must had been very hard, cause there was a loud resonance... His friend who was in front of him immediately turned back and asked, "Hey what happened? Are you ok or not?" It was such a funny sight that I couldn't stop laughing... That guy's spectacles were lying on the floor deformed, he even got cuts on the corner of his eye... We're coming to the best part of the story (I still can't believe), that guy is me!!!

It's difficult to describe my feelings at that point of time... It was comical, angered and mostly disbelief... I was very angry at myself, what the hell was I thinking?!? My friend asked me the exact same question and I replied, "Obviously I wasn't..." Damn, this is so not worth it... If I was ogling at some girls then hit the pole, I woud have felt a lot better... Then again, I'm gald there wasn't anyone around when it happened, but that was such a loud bang, I'm sure the people at the bus stop several metres away heard it as well...

My friend couldn't stop laughing, how many times in your life can you see people walk into poles? I still can't belief it happened to me... What's wrong with me nowadays?!?

I'll be going kayaking tomorrow morning, my friends are going as a couple so I didn't want to go at first... This morning, he called me and said he found another girl to pair up with me... Judging at the luck I've been having this few days, I predict something bad to happen tomorrow... Hope I'll come back alive...

艱苦的一天

Tough day...


Started work today in the morning, first job was to move a house down from the 3^rd floor without any elevator... At first it was ok, since I've already done this kinda thing so often... But towards the end, I felt weak and very tired, seems like I'm not so used to carrying stuff anymore... Little did I know that what was coming up next would be much worse...

The next house we started moving at 1pm, the things kept coming down like it will never end... Everything was stacked up high in the lorry and it still wasn't enough!!! The excess had to be transported by another lorry... To make matters worse the owners had a pet dog, and most of the furniture had its hair on it, and I'm not talking about 1 or 2 strands... Imagine an old cupboard you left in your storeroom for quite some time... When you take it out, it would be covered with a layer of dust, right? Now imagine all those dust to be a dog's hair... Arghh... Damn irritating and disgusting...

Next was the destination, they moved to a condominium in Newton... Everything looks nice except there was no ramp to the lift!!! Shit!!! Who the hell designed this kinda place?!? The best alternative we could find was one step from the ground to the lift level, sounds easy yar? However, that place is an underground carpark, which means our lorry can't get in... We had to park outside and push all the way to the lift, and some of the things ain't easy to move; they had boxes full of books as well as wine... When we finally finished, it was already 6pm; this is the first time I took 5 hours to move one house...

On a side note, the owners are a Japanese couple... Remember those heavy boxes? The lady tried to lift one of this box and she moaned... Hmm... Very distracting...

Finally, I was on my way home... There was this old man who came aboard and gestured to sit beside me, being a courteous young man, I got off my seat to allow him an easier passage to the seat inside... After several stops, the old man pressed the bell and immediately jabbed me with his knee!!! FUCK!!! Not that it is painful or something, but this is a direct confrontation!!! Still being a courteous young man, I got off my seat to allowed him to get out easily... Then he turned around and scolded me in perfect Engilsh, "Why do you make an old man move in and out? Can't you just sit inside?" Huh? WTF?!? Hey, if you wanted to sit outside then say so in the first place, I'll gladly move inside... Why do people keep quiet when they still have the power to change the situation, but complain afterwards when things don't go their way? If he wasn't an old man, I would had just kicked him off the bus (my seat was beside the door)... Of course, being a courteous young man, I ignored him and just went back to my seat... There was no point in arguing with him since it was a lose-lose situation, and I'm sure the other passengers will hate me for wasting their time...

Moral of the story? Don't be courteous to old men who wants to sit beside you...

幸運

Luck is also part of your strengths...


Was expecting some comforting... Oh well... Now for the rest of the results: 76, 87 & 88...

I really couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw them, are they for real? Am I really getting As for the other 3 subjects? This is like my dream come true, I've always wanted this kinda score... In my course, grading of honours is based roughly on the best 3 subjects of each year, which is why I decided to try and get As for 3 subjects and just pass the other one... The subject I almost failed was E-business, a subject I have zero hope of getting an A... I'm already glad that I managed to passed it... Seems like my half-f**ked efforts are really enough to get good grades... :)

Now my life seems to be going according to plan... I'm on the right track to get my first-class honours... I'm getting paid to play music, although it is not exactly the type of music I want to play... I'm getting paid for my drawings... What's next?

1. Get paid for my programming...
2. Help my friend in his conquest to change the world...
3. Get a Mitsubishi 3000GT...
4. Get married to a nice girl...
5. Father a few kids and ready them to conquer the world...

These would be the plans for my life, not much to ask for right?

Back to reality here, I'm really lucky that I got the grades I wanted though I did not put in much effort... There is really no other explaination than being lucky... Two of my closer classmates were very hardworking throughout the year, one got grades that are a bit better than mine, while the other got quite bad ones... I could sense that they are not very happy that I could get such grades when it is very obvious that I did not put in much effort... I'll say this again, I'm just lucky k? I might not be so lucky in my second year, as the subjects are not as easy as last year's... It seems like I have to get As for all 4 subjects if I want to get my first-class... I predict this would be a very tough year... Am I really going to be more hardworking or would I just try to spot the questions again?

運氣

If fortune favors you do not be elated; if she frowns do not despond...


It's been years since I personally collected the mail, much less rush down to get them... The journey home was torturous, I was very excited as well as worried... You all must be wondering what is in my mail... It's my results!!! Everyone who got their results already couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces, the worst I heard was 2As... That got me all roused up, "How many As would I get?" At the same time, I was very worried, those that opened their mouths had good results, maybe those that got bad ones were too sad to even come to school... Damn, what if I didn't even get 1 A? Not sure if any of you can understand my feelings... I even wanted to jump off the bus and run home, but of course I didn't, cause that would be alot slower...

I reached home and realized that no one checked the mail yet, quickly scampered for the keys and went downstairs... Great, there is a letter for me from RELC, should be my results... I opened the envelope and peeked inside, there were several pieces of paper, I had a bad omen... Minutes earlier, a classmate told me that his friend got his results as well as several pieces of other paper... That friend was charged for plagiarism and had to repeat that subject... First amongst the stack was the cover page: "Notification of results"... Turned over and the first number I saw was 48!!!

I felt like my life had ended... My results were usually the same for all subjects, for example, I got all Bs for my 'O' levels... I felt like dying already, but I was not sad as I had half expected this... I admit that I did not put in my best effort, just like in my 'O' and 'A' levels, but I was hoping my half-f**ked effort would be enough to get good results...

祝你生日快樂

Happy birthday to you...


Today is the day everyone was waiting for... 23 years ago, there were loads of people outside the maternity room, each waiting for the arrival of a miraculous young boy, trying to get a glimpse of the boy who would one day change the world... Until now, we are still looking forward to the change, but it will be soon... very soon... erm... maybe tomorrow? I think it's next year lar... Maybe it will never happen? Maybe tomorrow the sky drop down, then how? Just KEEP waiting can? Very soon lar, ok?

Since he was born 23 years ago, and his birthday is today, do the math and you'll know what day is today... Never mind, I bet you're too lazy to do that, I'll just tell you... It's his 23^rd birthday!!! Currently studying in Australia, discovering his way to make this world a better place (for him at least)...

Everyone has several personalities, around others, he seem to have matured and grown over the years, giving everyone a sense of security around him... People had confessed to him that they are willing to follow him where ever he goes... Around his good friends, he is just a kid that is just as childish as he was when I first met him 9 years ago... Maybe that is his true self, as he has nothing to hide while around us... Or maybe it's just a ploy to act harmless, while gaining all the advantages of being around us, when we are finally of no use to him, he can just easily stab us from behind... He had to devise this plan and carry on his act for these years, because he knows when he first saw us that we are formidable foes in the future... We would be great figures in the future, hindering his path to conquer the world... It seems like he finds me to be the greatest threat, as he puts in much effort to make me drop my guard (he is always very nice to me)...

I believe he has the ability to make a change to this world... He is determined enough to finish something he started and makes sure he does the best out of it... I just hope he would not have to hurt me to achieve his goals... He is such a good friend I would not want to lose... For all the good times... Cheers!!!

漫畫版

Manga Style...


Finally got my photoshop working, did a few editing as well as some special stuff... I've created a plugin for photoshop which I call "Manganization"... This plugin can change a real-life picture into a "Manganized" style... Below is an example:



This is a beta version, as you can see, the resemblence still need some working... The funny part is it chooses by itself what to exclude, as well as including some extra stuff... Those who like to play "Photo Hunt" can try and find the differences... Anyone interested in trying out this beta version can email me for a demo... As this plugin requires lots of resources, it takes very long to complete even in my high-end computer, so please be patient if you make any requests...

婚宴貳

Wedding Dinner Part 2


My computer is fixed... Contrary to my fears, it was just a simple problem... Guess you can think better when you are not so stressed and tired... Some updates first, my friend who runs a trading company asked me to design some collar pins and stuff... My payment depends on how much he earns from that deal, a rough estimate amounts to $300!! Heh... It's not the money I'm happpy about (of course I'm happy I'm getting paid that much), but the satisfaction that I'm getting paid for my artistic talents...

Next would be the photos from my sister's wedding dinner... The image hosting I always use is not working, so I'll just have to make do with another one... There are still some problems with my com, amongst those is my photoshop, so no editing for the pictures... :(


Me in my jacket that stole the limelight...


My cousins and I...


It is my sister's wedding dinner after all, gotta put her pic as well right? She is the second from the left...

婚宴

Wedding dinner...


As all of you know, yesterday was my sister's wedding dinner... There wasn't much people as we only invited close relatives and friends, meaning there are less girls as well... I was wearing a jacket and stole all the limelight from the bridegroom, haha... I'll like to show everyone the pictures, but my computer is down... Not sure when I'll be able to fix it (too lazy to do it now)...


Post card by my brother... (I'm amazed...)

On the other side of the causeway, the performance didn't go too smoothly, at least that's what I heard... Don't have the details yet... Actually I'm not interested with the details... The girl who was performing with us, the one I mentioned in my previous post, was not the person I thought I knew... A slight difference in name, which I didn't realize until I saw her... I was shocked when I first saw her, "Uggh!! What happened to the beautiful girl I knew?!?" Then I realized she wasn't the same person and felt quite relieved and dissapointed ... Evil? Nah...

The W3C compliant logo from the bottom is removed, as this page is no longer compliant to xHTML standards... Too lazy to correct the errors... Will try to fix my com soon, though I think the problem is worse than I expected...

失望

Good thing I didn't expect too much...


In my post yesterday, I mentioned something worth capturing at today's performance... Well, that person wasn't there... She'll be in this Saturday's performance though, which is why I would love to be there... Too bad, no pictures... Maybe she'll be present during tomorrow's practice, but I can't possiblity take pictures then right? Let's just hope they'll take some nice pictures of her on Saturday...

At the same time on the opposite end of the causeway, would be a party full of pretty girls (I hope)... At least I know my sisters are pretty, but I don't think anyone reading this would like to see their pictures... I have 5 more days to pray... Heh heh...

厭煩的演出

Another dreaded performance...


There'll be a boring performance tomorrow at Bishan CC, it's just a welcoming of the VIP, something which I love and hate... Love it because it's short, hate it because we are not getting paid for... Why are we still performing when we are not paid for? It's a way to repay the CC for using their premise for practices (for free), other groups have to pay for using the premise... Still I'm bringing a camera along, cause there is "something" worth capturing... Hope I can capture what I expect to see...

There'll be another performance at Vista Park (Woodlands) next Saturday(17/09/2005), this show I kinda hope I could be there, but my sister's wedding dinner falls on the same day... Not much of a choice to make right? Weifen keeps asking me what kind of music my band plays, I thought this would be a very good opportunity to let her witness it first-hand since it's so near her place... She could still go down there though, admission is free, just that I wouldn't be present... What's the fun of going there when I'm not present right?

Been blogging quite a bit lately, do check back my previous posts if you had missed it, ok? Especially the one about the music I made... Thanx...

臥病

Sick, very sick...


Yesterday night wasn't exactly the best night of my life, I was perspiring like I just moved two houses by myself... I vomited until my stomach was totally empty, but still felt like vomiting... After several toilet runs and showers, I finally felt a bit better to be able to lie on bed...

The battle through the night was very long and tedious, woke up every few minutes and wasn't able to go back to sleep... Felt very cold at my fingers but very hot at the rest of my body... Was quite happy when I finally saw daylight... Though I can get up and walk, I'm feeling very giddy and my stomach feels like it will start all over again what it did last night... Today would not be a very good day for me as well, the apple I just ate was tasteless, I wouldn't know I was eating an apple if I was not looking...

I think I'll go lie down again...

音樂

Should I call this music?


I wasn't working for the past few days, but I wasn't rotting at home either... Was at my band leader's house trying desperately to make some music... After manY, maNY, mANY, MANY hours, we finally came up with something presentable... It's just music with no singing, don't want to ruin our sweat and tears, and it's too "symphonic" for any singing... But if the audience requests it, I won't have any choice right? Heh heh... Get it here(藉口) or from the sidebar, while bandwidth lasts...

回顧

Review of a past action...


Few minutes ago, I was listening to the songs I recorded for my "Project Superstar"... Realized that there is room for much improvement, things which I had not noticed before... Does this mean I'm better than before? I'm thinking of re-recording that particular song: 你牽走我的心 (You took my heart away), really want to master this song... By doing such recordings, it's easier for me to track my progress and discover my mistakes... I wouldn't put my recording as the background music here, as I'm afraid no one would visit this blog ever again... Though I wish some day people would visit this blog just to hear my singing, heh, a little dream I wish to kep alive... For now, you all will just have to settle for the original version of the song by Aaron Kwok...

專業賭徒

The Professional Gambler (Humour)


During the Great Depression, there was a man who walked into a bar one day. He went up to the bartender and said, "Bartender, I'd like to buy the house a round of drinks."

The bartender said, "That's fine, but we're in the middle of the Depression, so I'll need to see some money first."

The guy pulled out a huge wad of bills and set them on the bar. The bartender can't believe what he's seeing. "Where did you get all that money?" asked the bartender.

"I'm a professional gambler," replied the man.

The bartender said, "There's no such thing! I mean, your odds are fifty-fifty at best, right?"

"Well, I only bet on sure things," said the guy.

"Like what?" asked the bartender.

"Well, for example, I'll bet you fifty dollars that I can bite my right eye," he said.

The bartender thought about it. "Okay," he said.

So, the guy pulled out his false right eye and bit it. "Aw, you screwed me," said the bartender, and paid the guy his $50.

"I'll give you another chance. I'll bet you another fifty dollars that I can bite my left eye," said the stranger.

The bartender thought again and said, "Well, I know you're not blind, I mean, I watched you walk in here. I'll take that bet." So, the guy pulled out his false teeth and bit his left eye.

"Aw, you screwed me again!" protested the bartender.

"That's how I win so much money, bartender. I'll just take a bottle of your best scotch in lieu of the fifty dollars," said the man.

With that, the guy went to the back room and spent the better part of the night playing cards with some of the locals. After many hours of drinking and card playing, he stumbled up to the bar. Drunk as a skunk, he said, "Bartender, I'll give you one last chance. I'll bet you five hundred dollars that I can stand on this bar on one foot and piss into that whiskey bottle on that shelf behind you without spilling a drop."

The bartender once again pondered the bet. The guy couldn't even stand up straight on two feet, much less one. "Okay, you're on," he said.

The guy climbed up on the bar, stood on one leg, and began pissing all over the place. He hit the bar, the bartender, himself, but not a drop made it into the whiskey bottle.

The bartender was ecstatic. Laughing, the bartender said, "Hey pal, you owe me five hundred dollars!"

The guy climbed down off the bar and said, "That's okay. I just bet each of the guys in the card room a thousand bucks each that I could piss all over you and the bar and still make you laugh!"

慶祝生日

Birthday celebration...


Not much of a celebration, just went ktv... The only night I had so much fun ever since my dear friends left for Australia... Went to Party World Orchard with Weifen, Sharon and her boyfriend (forgot his name again...)... I tried to suppress my "Aaron Kwok" accent as I was singing some new songs, felt very uncomfortable and difficult... Sometimes I'll unawarely switch back to "Aaron Kwok" mode; had to ask Weifen to point it out whenever I do that... Things started to get interesting when Sharon's boyfriend arrived, we started singing duets and had our little competition... Their singing was very good, but since they don't know how to sing one song we chose, we won by default... They mentioned one song which I had never even heard of, but it's a good thing it's not in Party World's song bank... The last hour was all duets until the very last song we sang... It was very fun watching Sharon's face when Weifen and I kept announcing that we had won (a self-comforting action as they were obviously the better pair...)...

I'll have to practice my singing more as I felt out of breath at certain points... Plus, the need to control that "Aaron Kwok" in me, letting it out only when I want to... Gotta start preparing for the next "Project Superstar" right?

孤僻

I am essentially a loner...


Is it really that amazing that my social circle has expanded? Does that signify that I am a loner in everyone's eyes? If that is true then don't worry, I'm still a loner... As I had mentioned, I don't have any program on my birthday, an obvious indication of a loner... Probably why I don't feel bored is because I don't have the time to be... I work almost everyday, when I'm not, I fully make use of my time to catch up on my computer games...

I wonder if any of you would have this kind of experience: working so hard everyday just to earn that $50, trying to save as much as you can... Then one day you withdraw everything out, not to enjoy but to pay ur school fees... How sad can that be? You have lots of money but you can't spend it on the things you want...

我的手是用來彈鋼琴, 不是用來打狗仔

My hands are for playing piano, not for hitting paparazzi - Jay Chou


How I wish to say my hands are for playing piano and not for carrying stuff... Unfortunately, I'm not as talented as him; can't earn my bread by playing piano... I have cuts all over my hands, the skin is so rough that I can scratch myself just by rubbing with my palm... My arms are full of scars as well... The only up side is the bigger muscles, I've really gotten alot stronger...

On the side note, 4 more days... No programs as of yet, at least I don't have to work on that day...

幸運

Luck is also part of your strengths...


Just passed my basic theory today, thought I was very lucky... I only have a very outdated basic theory book, it's a third edition with a grey colour cover... Makes me wonder why there are so many editions when I can easily pass with an outdated one... My conclusion: I'm just very lucky... There was one question however, which stunned me: "What is the minimum age requirement to be eligible for the Basic Theory Test?" What kind of question is that? I'm too old to be bothered with the minimum age requirement...

After which I went to my band leader, Winson's house... I played on the keyboard while he did the drum set... We managed to record a few songs, and it sounds quite ok... Probably cause we recorded using his handphone, thus mistakes were not so obvious due to the poor recording quality... Will post it here when I get my hands on them...

鬼

The one that haunts you the most is the ghost of the past...


Just got out of my bed, reached home at around 12... The trip last night was uneventful actually... Of course, I did not expect to see anything, although part of me hoped to... The first event was a tour of Haw Par Villa, which I missed because I was late... There was then an experiment on whether offered food tastes differently from unoffered ones... A tray of meatballs were offered on an altar, then it was mixed in with unoffered meatballs which only the organizer knows how to differentiate... Volunteers were asked to taste 3 meatballs, of which only 1 is the offered one... The preliminary results states that offered food indeed tastes different from unoffered ones, further details will be put on the website soon...

The main highlight of the night is the Ten Courts of Hell (18 Levels of Hell), this is supposed to be the most spooky place... There used to be a dragon on top of this area, but everything went terribily wrong, so they had to remove it... While walking through the 10 courts, I saw 閻羅王 who is in charge of the 5^th court, not sure why he is the most famous one though... Then there was another interesting court, I think it's the 7^th or 8^th court, it says that people who cheat in exams will be banished here... Everyone who passed by this place was like, "yar, see you there..." Then I heard a loud shout, not sure was it someone getting scared or trying to scare... Carrying on forward, I saw this behind the wall at a turn:


What the... !!

Guess that was what scared the wits out of the guy earlier... Everything ended at around 11pm, I took a cab home, showered and went to sleep... Tried not to think too much, don't want to scare myself unnecessarily...

怪牌

Funny sign...


Today I saw an interesting sight, a lift that cannot be used:



Good thing there are other lifts in this building, or I'll have to carry all the musical instruments down from the 10^th floor using the stairs... :p

休假

Off day...


This blog is not dead, neither is the blogger... He is just too busy to have time to sit down and type, plus there isn't much to update... Today is my off day, finally some free time...

The Community Drumming for National Day was very disorganized, it was fully conceived by People's Association... It's not entirely their fault though, they do not have the expertise in every field... The previous one was put together by 3 organizations, thus more coordinated... However, I have more fun in this event than the well planned one... Time passed easily while crapping with my band leader, he also taught me some new stuff... The group I was in had alot more girls than boys; St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School was an all girls school, girls from Singapore Poly's Art Faculty, and a few more girls from Heartbeat Percussion... There was another group of NCC boys from some school I don't remember...

I'll have an exicting night this coming Saturday, will be going to Haw Par Villa with the Singapore Paranormal Investigation... Will try to take some pictures, Fatal Frame anyone? As for now, pictures from the past month...


Night view of Fullerton Hotel...


Rocky Road...


Lightning Storm approaching...


Don't strike me...


Yiming and I at Kuishin-Bo...

國慶日

National Day...


National Day is tomorrow, it will mark the 40^th year Singapore gained Independence... This is my first year celebrating this day as a Singaporean, not like there is any difference in mentality, just some status difference... I'll be joinning the community drumming at one of the Heartlands... There are 3 Heartlands: Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines... The first 2 are the closest to my home, but I'll be joining the one at Tampines!! Funny right? The organiser for the Tampines Heartland personally asked me to join, so it's not nice to reject or go to another location... The rehearsal is later in the afternoon, wonder wat type of music we'll be playing...

自以為傲

Proud of myself...


Went for IPPT this morning, was quite worried because I tried doing chin-ups yesterday and wasn't able to do 10 proper ones... The first station was standing broad jump, and I didn't even bother to see where the passing mark should be, was just praying for a pass... I didn't swing or do any special aids, just jumped when I was ready... 239cm!! That's 4 points, my personal best record ever since I entered army... Felt alot better and more confident, the rest was a breeze and I secured my silver... Would like to thank the guy who didn't let me pass him in my 2.4km run... I overtook him and he overtook me, not letting each other gain much distance... My final sprint was faster, but only managed to outrun him by 2 seconds... If he was not there, I would still get silver, but I wouldn't push myself that hard...

$200 for 1 hour of hard work, too bad I can't do it everyday... My birthday is at the end of this month, then I can take IPPT again after that... Another $200 for next month I hope...

尋鬼

Ghost Hunting...


The 7^th month of the lunar calendar is coming soon... In this month it is rumoured that the gates of hell are open, and ghosts are free to roam the face of the Earth... This is the month they call the "Hungry Ghost Festival"... Singapore Paranomal Investigation is holding a series of events throughout the month of August to investigate whether this hungry ghost is a thing of factual existence or just a myth... If weida was still around, I'm sure he'll be interested to join as well... For now, I'll have to find someone to go with me or I'll go alone... Would really love to be present at all the events, but I don't wanna go alone... For more information about these events check the SPI website: http://www.spi.com.sg/events/hungry_ghost/... If anyone is interested in going to these events give me a call or post here, I'm sure it'll be some interesting nights out...

いま、会いにゆきます

Ima, Ai Ni Yukimasu (Be With You)


Watch this show a few days back, a very touching show... It's about a widower and his son who are trying to get over the death of his wife/mother, living each day in silent remembrance of the beautiful days they cherished together... On one rainy day, they found a girl who loked exactly like his wife/mother...

A very romantic and touching show, almost cried a few times but tears don't seem to be able to come out of my eyes... Maybe it's because I've never been through such feelings in real life thus unable to fully understand them, or maybe it is just my subconcious mind telling me it's fake thus no need to weep over these things...

There have been very few updates lately, cause there isn't anything happening lately... My birthday is coming, but there wouldn't be any close friends to celebrate with... I'll most probably spend it with my family... The last day of work would be 28^th August, cause my school is starting on the 12^th September and I don't wanna work on my birthday... A part of me don't wanna just call anyone out to celebrate my birthday, another part of me don't wanna stay home on my birthday... 28 more days, let's see how things work out...

醜陋之疤

The ugly scar, the strongest part of the skin...


I remember saying about a promise I made to myself a few years back: never lie to get myself out of trouble... Until yesterday, I managed to keep this promise, a mistake I made out of fear... I denied all knowledge of something that happened even though I was the one that caused it... I felt very bad after that, I wanted to tell the truth but was afraid it would make matters worse...

Fortunately or unfortunately, someone spilled the beans today... I had no choice but confessed... It was then that I remember why I made that promise to myself several years ago... It was a good thing the punishment was light, but most importantly I no longer have anything to hide...

A few days back, someone just praised me for my honesty, someone very important in my life...

....

Starting all over again, this time no excuse...

好友

Best friends...


Friends, how long can they last? I hope that I will never have to find out the hard way... Is there such thing as best friends? If you say someone is your best friend, does he say you are his best friend too? I believe in every relationship, it isn't necessary for everyone to give the equal amount... Someone will bound to give more than the other, as long as they believe it is worth it, there will be a balance...

They say dogs are men's best friend, I'll never know until I have one, which I wouldn't in my foreseeable future... Still, I feel happy for animals, who have someone who care for them and love them alot... This a story I read one someone's blog, I hope I'm not infringing on any copyrights...


Title: How Could You

When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" - but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs," you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love."

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch - because your touch was now so infrequent - and I would have defended them with my life if need be.

I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.

Now you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog or cat, even one with "papers." You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you - that you had changed your mind - that this was all a bad dream...or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself - a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

-The End-

被騙

Being cheated = gain or lost?


Soon after my previous post, I was called back to work... The boss said I have to work for tomorrow as well... Of course I will be paid, but I will have less time for myself...

Then I was thinking of this: If someone lied to you, do you gain something or lose something? What have you gained and what have you lost? Every situation is different, but what about those simple lies? For example: "Hey the bus is here." or "Quick! Your house is on fire!" What do you gain or lose from these?

新事件

Updates...


It's been 10 days since the last update, nothing much happened... The pay was as I had speculated, $100... Such easy money is difficult to come by... Did I ever mention that I want to quit the band? It's because of the band director, with a person such as him on the helm, this band would have no future... No point wasting my time in something I don't even learn much... I'll probably quit after I had settled all the money matters, or after the September shows...

No work for today and tomorrow, probably meeting Ben again... Another simple day in my simple life...

演出完

End of performance...


The performance was real short, less than 10 minutes... My band leader said our tempo was off, but I didn't notice... I don't think anyone else noticed as well, because the mistakes made by the other group was a lot worse... Other than us, there was a lion dance troupe, they made a lot of obvious mistakes... How do I know they're making mistakes? The drums stopped at least 3 times, I'm sure anyone who doesn't know music knows they are doing it wrongly...


Me in my costume, didn't even bother to comb my hair...

Met up with Ben the other day, after my previous post... Had lunch then walked around Orchard looking for CDs and Books... Nothing much happened, but he kept saying he doesn't want to go back and hopes that time would stop at that moment... I feel sad for him, but I wish him the best... Time can't stop for you, and you must go back for your studies... Finish what you have started...

休假

A time to rest...


Finally one full day of rest... It may be Sunday, but I work on Sundays sometimes... Yesterday's work wasn't too tough, thanks to the National Day Parade Rehearsal... There were traffic jams everywhere, security was very tight due to that Olympics thingy at Swissotel, plus the closing of the roads due to the parade... We almost couldn't get out of Suntec because of that, was there to pick up instruments for the MOE Excel Fest... After several hours, the lorry managed to get into Suntec, then a few more passed before we could leave... The boss didn't want to pay me overtime, so I left after that...


The tanks that hogged the road...

I have another show this coming Tuesday, it's a short welcoming of the VIP, around 10 mins... I heard the pay is good, maybe I'll get $100 this time? $100 for 10 mins of show, good money yar?

Ben is back, I haven't met him yet... Seems like he is very busy, takes an average of 5 hours for him to reply to my sms or calls... Hope I can meet him later today... 2 days ago was somebody's birthday, didn't even bother to wish him happy birthday... Not like I'm the only one to do that right?

照片

The pictures...


Never expected her to be so fast, she was online at that point of time though...


The girl with the camera, and of course me...


Picture of all the girls...


Another pic of the girls...

預慕

Sneak previews...


Just seen the pictures taken on the drumming festival, it's just a small sized one though... The sneak preview is for me, not for everyone else... You all will just have to wait until I get the full sized pictures... I'll try to post it promptly; can't gurantee anything cause work is like hell...

收穫

It's not what I gain but what everyone gains...


Finally found the time to continue that unfinished post, no work today... For those of you who don't know what is a Djembé, below is a picture of the one I played...



That day was like every other day, even though it was the performance itself, I wasn't too exicited... Maybe it's because I'm just one out of the many performers, so there was no pressure... About the performance, it went well, but I didn't give it my best... I'm not sure what happened, I just kept playing like my normal practice standard, not my performance standard... Our segment was quite short and nothing went wrong, so I don't think anyone noticed...

Now that everything is over, I can safely say that I had gained next to nothing from this event... However, my band gained a whole lot... The reason I was there was because the organiser asked my band director to send some members to make up the numbers, but since I was there, I was asked to seek out new members... I had to socialize alot, more than my usual self at least... Amongst the few days of practice, I briefly told the potential candidates of my intention... It was until the last day when my band director personally invited them to join my band... The Singapore Polytechnic boys were quite interested, this Monday two of them came down for the practice, the rest had project meeting... Is this becoming a very boring entry?

Let's have a change of direction, did I ever mention there were girls amongst my group? I've invited them over to my band as well, one had confirmed joining, and three others replied to my sms saying they were not free that Monday... They said they'll come when they are free next time, don't know how true that would be though... Things are starting to get interesting, looking forward to every Monday's practice that I used to dread... Pictures were taken, I'll post them when I get my hands on them...

收穫

Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do...


The festival's finally over, back to work for me...

似充非實

Enrichment or waste of time?


For the past two days, I've been attending rehearsals for this Saturday's Community Drumming Festival, it was a full day event from 9am to 5pm... I'm in the group that plays only the Djembé, that very painful hand drum... There are around 40 over people in this group, only 3 or 4 people knows how to play that instrument... When I first knew that, I was shocked... "This is gonna be a disaster" I thought... Much to my relief, I think we'll be ready for this Saturday's performance... I must say the instructor is a very competent one... There is a combined rehearsal later on, I'm looking forward to see what other groups there are...

For these two days, they had been teaching the very basics of playing the Djembé... Everyone is to play a very small part of the entire rhythm, very different from what I'm used to... That's probably cause my band doesn't have that much members, two Djembés is all we have to produce the entire rhythm... Finally coming to the topic of this post, I haven't been taught anything useful... All I had was lots of practice, and it feels like I've improved a bit on my technique... At first I thought it was great that I learnt something, but today when I finally got some time to rest, I took a step back and had doubts about that... Was it really enriching or was it just a waste of time? What I learnt isn't justified with the amount of time spent, I could had been taught advance techniques with two full days of time... Maybe it's still too early to judge how enriching this event is, guess I'll give my judgement after this Sat...

For those of you who are in Singapore and seen this before 19 June, check the news on that day, not sure whether there will be a long report of it though...

若隱若現

Am I here? Am I not?

Wanted to reply Daz on the chatter box, but thought I might as well blog... Been playing games as always, so not much updates or things to update...

Been trying to figure out 3d Studio for the past few weeks, finally given up on it... Not totally though, cause it's very powerful and useful, just not gonna use it for this project... Got my hands on another software, Poser 6, it's a 3d software especially for humaniod posing and animation... The major factor that made me switch over is the resources available for Poser, it's more appropriate for this thing I'm doing... However, I still can't find the exact prop I want, so I'll need alot more time to learn how to create them or at least edit the existing ones...

I've signed up for my basic theory, it's on 9th July... Should I sign up for my advanced as well? Don't have to wait so long if I do, but is it even possible?!?

應考

Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer...


One more paper and I'm done, "done" not "done for"... Quite disappointed for my maths actually, There were a few questions a totally didn't know how to do... There goes my first class... Better do well for this last one, Introduction to Computing and the Internet, all theory about computers and networks... Memorizing is not my forte, but computers are... Wonder if they would negate each other...

Finally finished learning "童話", there are a few places where I'll be out of breath, need to practice more and work out the singing part...

Stopped playing KalOnline, cause there seems to be some problem with my network... Been playing Rise of Nations lately, very nice game even though a bit outdated, it was a Game of the Year after all... Something to learn from this game maybe? I've been having troubles with 3d Studio Max... Realized it's very difficult to learn such programs myself... No change on the layout of this page, until I can at least come up with something presentable on that...

Someone once told me: "White is the best colour, just because it is so common, people think of it as boring." When a piece of paper is white, it gives the impression as official or uncreative... I like white (greatly influenced by my best friend), which is why this page is white... I believe white can also look nice... Pieces of art usually start on a piece of white paper... It is not plain, it is white...

不知死活

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm...


Exams had started long ago and I'm already done with half of the papers... Still, I don't feel that kind of stress to make me study... I'm still playing games everyday, KalOnline and others keep me occupied the entire hours I'm awake... The fact that my brother and I play together makes it even more difficult to pull away...

A few days ago, I suddenly had the urge to play Michael Wong's "童話", so I went to find it's piano score... Now I'm almost done with the song, only the last part is left... I purposely found a score that alows me to play and sing along, meaning I won't be playing the melody... It's very easy cause it's like learning only half the song... The best thing about this score is the pitch, it's not as high as the original song's, so I wouldn't have much problems hitting the high notes...

Feeling hungry now, I'll grab something to eat then carry on my training in KalOnline...

志願

Ambition is not what man does, but what man would do...


My ambitions, or rather my dreams, are simple and what most people would consider impractical... First up is to be a performer, an artiste... This would always be my number 1 dream, just because I love being in the limelight... I am not embarrassed to admit that; honesty, is a virtue I've been developing quite nicely... For now, I am just an anonymous performer in a band, playing something which I have no passion for... Maybe when the keyboard arrives, that would change, but it is still not what I want the most... I want to sing, I love to sing, my passion is in singing... Over dinner the other day, our band director said he wanted to try different ways of performing and I suggested that I could sing... He said it was a good idea, but I hope he seriously means it...

My second ambition is a little bit more practical, to make games... I want to be involved in the development of a "Game of the Year" title... That is the reason why I chose this degree even though it isn't related, it was the closest one I could find... For those non-avid gamers, you probably wouldn't know who developed Final Fantasy or Gran Turismo, but still I'll be happy if millions of people love something I have a hand in developing... This contradicts with my love of being in the limelight; I, myself am not so sure why I have such a strong desire for this... Maybe it's because I love playing games, maybe it's because I admire those that can make such magnificent pieces of art...

Today was the first paper for my first year's exams, E-Business, a theory paper which I could never score as I am unable to memorize large chunks of information... Passing wouldn't be a problem though, you'll only need a little intelligence to do that... Still I'm aiming for First Class Honours... A bit impractical? Awarding of Honours are based on the best 3 subjects of every year... I've already decided to pass this and score for my other 3 subjects... Considering I got 2 As, a B and an E for my mock exams, I think I'm right on track towards my goal... Next paper is Java, which is on this Friday... I should really go study, or my Honours will just be my fantasy...

夢想落空

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly...


Came back from the audition, with nothing under my name... I was shown the red light before I even finished my first sentence... According to the rules, it says I was to be given 3 - 5 mins, so I started from the beginning of the song even though I was aware that it wasn't immpressive... If I had known, I'll just start from the chorus... Guess I'll have to try again next year...

On a lighter note, last week's performance was not bad... There was another group performing as well, "Magnum Force" from Ngee Ann Poly... As you can see, the girls are very pretty; some are not that photogenic though...


GEP and Magnum Force...

While waiting for the event to start, one of the guys gave me a very hostile stare, hoping to start something I guess... I was really tempted to reciprocate, but had to keep up with our level of professionalism... This was one of our biggest client, if things go well, we might even be sent to Spain for performance!!! No way I'm gonna ruin everything because of this runt...

Maybe I should ask my band director to let me sing for our band, I'll get lots of practice, and then I'm ready for Singapore Idol.... Haha... Maybe one of our clients might even ask me to cut an album... Heh... Very busy now, must carry on dreaming...

歌録完成

Song recordings complete...


Three songs in the morning, enough to make up for the previous days... 等你說愛我 and 緣來緣去 are both songs from 動感豪情, plus 唯一色彩 from "Para Para 櫻之花"... I think this would be all the songs I'm recording, unless there is some special request from anyone... The link again here and on the sidebar... I'll set up a poll as soon as possible...

極限

I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else...


My voice had been very thin throughout the day... Have I reached my limit? Couldn't record any songs today, hopefully it will recover soon...

Yesterday was the last practice before the actual day of performance... I wanted to play something lighter, as I don't want to have bruises all over my hands... However, the band director wanted me to play the djembe, a very painful hand drum... Now my left palm has one very painful bruise... Hopefully it'll heal by Saturday, we don't have enough members, thus we need everyone to play at their full potential...

I'm currently recording "等你說愛我", it's from the show "動感豪情", starring Aaron Kwok... After being corrected by my brother, I'm sure I can sing it properly now... All I need is for my voice to recover, hopefully I can do it by tomorrow...

你牽走我的心

You took my heart away...


I've just recorded a song with the above title, I know someone who would really love to hear me sing this one... I've decided to do this one first since that someone like it so much... Once again, the link is -->here<--...

Songs left to sing: 緣來緣去, 唯一色彩, 等你說愛我, and maybe 準我愛你

I've recieved complains about my blog... Well, not all developments are without errors... I can't do much now as the entire layout is done using notepad only, and the pictures are done using ms paint... I'll try to improve on it after I get my 160GB harddisk and have Dreamweaver installed on it...

你是我心中最愛的人貳之緣來緣去

The one I love the most (Part 2): Fate comes and goes...


With reference to the previous post, I'm gonna talk about that girl this time... Went back to her work place, to see if I'll be able to meet her again... When I walked in, the person standing there was not her... Was a bit dissapointed... but why only a bit? Because I thought tommorrow is 15, making Monday 17, Weifen's birthday... Therefore, I already had the intention to go there to buy her a present on the actual day... Luckily I didn't, but let's carry on with the story first...

I left without much despondency, went over to the arcade to try out Initial D... Spent $10 buying the card and playing a few games... It was not bad, I just need lots of practice... Was about to head home when an idea suddenly struck me, an idea for Weifen's present... I was thinking whether to head home and come back on Monday to buy it, or buy it now and come back on Monday to get it wrapped... Finally, I decided to head over to Taka to buy it now for 2 reasons... The present I'm going to buy needs some tinkering, so it would be better if I can do it at home... Of course, the second reason would be to try my luck and see if she is there...

I stepped in and... there she was!!! It was unmistakable, I was standing quite far away, but I'll be able to recognize that figure anywhere... On with the plan... I bought what I needed first, and went over to her.... She was quite busy then, wrapping 3 or 4 boxes, so I left to settle the present first...

I bought 2 handphone straps, a balck one and a pink one... 3 days ago when I was there with Weifen, she said she liked the small little shoe on the pink one, but it doesn't come with a black strap, the color of her phone... It's easy to guess what I did then; but it wasn't easy to achieve since I did not have any tools with me... After much struggling and broken nails, I finally managed to put them together... Now, on with the show...

She was free already when I got back, went over and said "Hello"... She looked like she remembers me, but trying not to remember me... Told her I needed to get something wrapped, and chose a small box and a card... I had to concentrate on the card as I was too lazy to keep correcting it, and she's looking... Well, at least I thought she was... When I finished and looked up, she was almost done with wrapping already! I haven't even had the chance to talk to her... My mind went blanked and I didn't know where to start... Was tongue-tied and... that was it... Would this be the final episode? It looks like, but I hope it isn't...

緣來緣去 is a song by Aaron Kwok, maybe if I sing it now I'll be able to feel the song?



What's left... Anyone wants it?

你是我心中最愛的人

The one I love the most...


This entry is not about any girl... No, it's not any guy either, I've not changed my orientation... There is this girl that I saw on Tuesday, but nothing happened so let's not talk about that...

The title is the song that I've just recorded; that makes two songs recorded... Progress is very slow as I'm not as talented as I thought I was, conditions are not at the optimum either... There was no school so I thought I could do more today... It took me a few hours to record a somewhat "ok" standard, and that was one song only... I almost cried while I was listening to it... The songs are here... There won't be any poll until I think I've recorded all the songs I want... Any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism welcomed...