第二天

Day 2...


The first day of the workshop went great, except for the part where we forgot what to play... They are mostly secondary school kids so not much to look at; too bad the older and nicer looking ones are over at the other workshops which I'm gonna sneak by one of these days...

I'm in-charge of the chinese section where you have the lion dance drum, cymbals, etc... All the boys wanted to play the drum, but there is only one of them... Geez... They all think it's very stylo to play the chinese drum (though I think so too), but they never know how tiring it is to play it... You have to play at such speeds that the stick flys off easily so you have to grab very hard at it... That's where you get the bruises and the extra large forearms...

Let's see if I can sneak by the other workshops tonight...

第一天

Day 1...


Today is the first day of the of the workshop... Though we had had lots of practice, some things were still not made clear... I blame it on the poor management, but there won't be any screw ups cause I will make sure he does it when the moment arises...

Have been having a throat problem for the past few days, think it is an ulcer in my throat... Was having a bad night yesterday, so I'm finally gonna see the doctor later... Hope it's nothing serious and curable fast... Can't even eat properly... Damn...

過去式

That's all folks...


Exams are finally over!!! What's up?!? Feeling hyperactive today, haven't felt so refreshed for quite some time already...

The preparation for the NUS workshop isn't going very smoothly, at least not for my part... I've more or less fixed my part, what's left is the fusion of everyone... Well, nothing I can do about that...

The next thing would be the trip to China in July, gotta earn enough pocket money for that trip... Think I'm gonna spend quite alot there...

Nothing much today, maybe I'll start some character designs soon...

滿意

Most people are content to merely exist, but I am not, at least I think so...


I had drawn up a time-table in my mind for my revisions... What suprised me was that I kept to it... With the short attention span I have, I can't sit still for more than 5 mins... Somehow, I managed to stick to my time-table for a week now... I guess it paid off since I'm one of the few that came out of the exam hall without wanting to jump out of the window...

With the life I have now, I'm feeling quite contented... Studying in the morning and playing games for the rest of the day, what more can anyone ask for? This is the kind of life a primary school kid would have and take for granted... Here I am so happy to live the same life and I'm pretty sure many envy me... However, it may be too soon to say such things... I still have 2 more papers and I hope my scheduling can help me cope with them...

Most of my classmates can't study at home because of all the distractions... Some how I managed to force myself to sit through the entire morning studying... Maybe if there is no <<三國志 X>> I might even be able to sit for the entire day? Such a huge contrast to my procrastinating self shown in the past few months... Never knew that First Class Honours could become a huge motivation...

壓力

A man who suffers or stresses before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary...


As if the stress from exams was not enough, my mom was talking about my marriage this morning... Man... I'm that old already huh?

2 days back was my first paper, everyone that came out of the exam hall said the exact same words, "Why no GRAPHS?!?" And there goes my first "A" for this year... 5 mins into the exam, I felt despair for the first time in my life... "I should had studied more," I thought... I'll be happy if I can get a respectable pass this paper...

Back to this morning, my mom was talking about the future, how in another year's time I'll be working then my brother would go NS... When he get's out of there, I'll be getting married...

"HUH?!? So fast? " I was shocked, it's only gonna be a few years later and I don't even have a girlfriend... I also realized that there is no way to stop the time at the present moment, the things that I enjoy doing and taking for granted are not gonna stay there forever... How sad it is to grow up without realizing it...

Ok, I'll have to play more to make up for the future...

終於

Finally...


After one month, I finally have something to post again... The previous month was uneventful and I was playing games all the time, therefore I did not have any thoughts or significant happenings to blog about...

I've finally finished my drawing (though somewhat unsatisfied), thus this would be a double post... The post below would be the drawing...

My exams are up this coming month, so there wouldn't be another post for a month again... After the exams, I would be conducting a percussion workshop at NUS... That would definately bring about some interesting entries, I'm already very excited...

最終兵器彼女

Saishû heiki kanojo aka Saikano


The Last Love Song on This Little Planet... Judging from the name, it's quite obvious this is gonna be a sad story... This manga is set a few months before the end of the world...

Shuuji and Chise are third year students at a high school in Hokkaido... The shy Chise finally confesses her feelings to Shuuji, and the two of them awkwardly started exchanging a diary...

One day, while Shuuji desperately tries to escape from a sudden enemy air raid, he sees a scene that he would not forget for the rest of his life... He sees Chise, with huge weapons which looks like a part of her hand, shooting down the enemy fighters one by one... Apparently, Chise is the ultimate weapon with a destructive power important to the outcome of the war...

Chise just wants to be a normal girl that is in love with her boyfriend Shuji, yet she slowly develops a weapon's instinct - a physical need to kill... Shuji, meanwhile, does his best to make Chise feel normal, he would take her on dates as though everything is normal... However, as days past, he has increasing difficulty adapting to the harsh reality that Chise is a weapon, and one to be feared at...

The rest will be for you to find out... This is a very emotional and far-fetched romance story, yet offers one of the most realistic couples ever... Not sure if you would, but I sure liked it...


Chise - Saikano

About this drawing, I mentioned having troubles with it... The first problem would be the legs, they seem unproportional and I can't seem to able to correct them... The second problem would be the shading, it looks very messy and I can't seem to be able to do it right... Guess I'm better at shading naked figures huh?

A point to note, that weapon IS her right hand and the wires and wings protude from her back...

还在托

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


Just when I thought I had broken all records by finishing 2 assignments within 9 hours, I did something more amazing this time... I finished all 4 assignments within 9 hours!!! This time when I was doing my assignments, I did not think of it as a hassle... In fact, I kind of enjoyed it... Weird huh?

Having rushed through the night for the assignments, I had a mock exam after that... I dozed off not long after going in, couldn't even finish reading the first question... Fighting to keep awake, I was pratically writing in my sleep... Oh well, good luck to the lecturer then; my handwriting ain't very legible to begin with... At least there wasn't any saliva...

Amazingly, the previous time I had a title similar to this, I was supposed to be performing in Bukit Panjang as well... Tomorrow's the performance, 6.30pm at Bukit Panjang Plaza's Open Garden... See you there...

想不到

Surprise, surprise...


A few hours back, in my earlier post, I was imagining how I would hand in my exam script with just my name on it... Just came back from the exam and guess what? I wrote a whopping 8 pages worth of answer!!! Not bad considering I know nothing since day 1 of the lectures; maybe something did get into that thick skull of mine... With any luck, I might even pass this exam...

On the way to school, I met a classmate in the bus who is the same as me, going to exams without studying... We were discussing about how we don't mind being late, since we'll have to wait for 1 hour after the paper starts before we can hand it in... The later we go in means the less time we have to wait inside the exam hall...

However, I suddenly remembered, "What the hell happened to my First Class Honors?" At the rate I'm going, I'll be glad to even pass my exams... Damn... I've got to buck up if I want to complete this course within 3 years... Sure I could just pass, but I would not be satisfied unless I get some good results... Ever since young, I've never studied for exams before, at least not in my memories... I always manage to pass with whatever I remembered during lessons, and life goes on... This I got to stop; the just pass part at least...

Below is something I drew during one of my previous lectures... Just happened to get my hands on the cover of a tissue box and was pretty bored, the rest is history...


Tissue box (cover) art?

現狀

Current state...


There's supposed to be a mock exam later today, not really excited about it... I'll most probably hand in the script after writing my name... Then again, maybe I'll write the question numbers as well...

Been really lazy these days, doing nothing except playing games, watching animes and reading mangas... This Monday I finally went for band practice after so many weeks, totally lost touch... Though I still remember what to do, it seems like there is something wrong with the timings... A split second difference gives a totally different rythym, at least that's what the experts say... I don't really know what is wrong actually, I'm playing the same beats as before my absence but my band director keeps saying it's the wrong rythym... Guess I need to really feel the music to get the correct timing...

There'll be a percussion performance at Bukit Panjang Plaza next Saturday, this time I can finally show Weida what I'm doing... Though I'm not really looking forward to it since I'll most probably screw up if I still can't get it right by next Monday's practice...

I've changed my image hosting, so the pictures would show now... I really liked my previous one (myfilehut.com) cause it can take in all kinds of files, too bad it had to go down... Hope it'll be up soon...

第六感

Sixth sense...


Have you ever been able to sense a person that is behind you? I'm sure you do, especially when that person is closely behind... How about 2 or maybe 3 people? If your senses are keen enough, it shouldn't be a problem as well... I always have a knack for extrasensory perception, especially clairvoyance or some know it as second sight... My intuition seldom fails me, when I can sense it that is... There was a period I tried to harness this power, but I gave up as it takes up too much time... I'm glad I did though, cause what fun would it be if you already know what's gonna happen next? On to the main topic, this is about one of my trips to the supposedly haunted places...

A few weeks back, Ben, Weida and I decided to explore the Old Changi Hospital again... I wasn't particularly excited since the few times I went there it wasn't scary or anything... What I'm really interested in is witnessing the reactions of Ben who had always objected in going to these kind of places... Since he said he wanted to have a memorable day and we couldn't think of anything else other than sponsoring him for the services of a shim, he agreed without much hesitation... When we finally reach Changi after wandering around abit, it was already 5am, not a time anyone would want to go exploring that place... We set our final destination as the hospital's mortuary...

Walking along the long corridor to the staircase, the atmosphere started to tensed up... I was leading at quite fast a pace since I'm already quite familiar with that part of the building... We went several levels down until I decided to turn left into an unexplored region... I was still calm when I turned around to announce the beginning of the journey...

Stepping through the doorway, I was instantaneously overcome by fear; my pace had reduced to a crawl... We reached a room where all doorways were sealed except for the one we came in by... Illustrating the situation to those behind, I shone my torch over the doorways sealed with planks... On one particular doorway, there was a knock from behind when my light shone on it... Damn... Weida sounded off that we should head back and I totally agree... When I turned around, they had already left me behind... What speed man...

Since the situation was quite tensed, I decided to go to the floor which I suspect to be the reception area... You can reach the main road from there, so I thought it would reduce everyone's nervousness by seeing some civilisation... I lead everyone down the stairs, not knowing how many we need to descend by, but since it's supposedly the ground floor, we should be able to reach it by expending the depths of the staircase...

After several levels down, my legs started aching and my breathing got heavier... I suddenly halted halfway down the stairs... It was totally dark at the lower level as opposed to the others where there were windows...



I didn't realize there was a basement to this building, but it's most probably where the mortuary would be at... Staring at the darkness, something was definately not right... Ben then suggested we head back since he felt something was not right (before I even said it), and would tell us what exactly when we get back in the car... I was most happy to comply with his request... I turned around to lead the way back up, and that was when it happened... I felt the presence of another person behind, running up from the stairs... I stopped to make sure and I heard the footsteps... It was a very swift movement, from halfway up the stairs it ran and stopped behind Weida who was the last man... I was shocked and really wanted to get out of that place...

While climbing the stairs, I tried to reason out what I felt... The only thing I could think of is another human who tried to sneak behind us to scare us or something... However, I'm quite sure I was the only one who felt that presence since none of them mentioned anything... Despite that, I was totally sure I would see 3 people behind me if I turn around, or at least 2 people and 1 other thing... How sure I was? 100%, just like what I described at the start of this entry... That presence followed us for more than a level up from the basement, eventually leaving us around the same time my legs stopped aching... I really wanted to run out of that place (my pace was already on the brink of running), but tried to hold back cause I knew all hell would break loose if we did... Accidents happen easily when everyone panics...

When we reached the car, Weida was puzzled why I agreed to come out after going in for only 5 mins since I enjoyed going these kind of places... Ben then told us that his knees started hurting more the further down we went (before I said my legs ached as well), that's why he suggested we get out... When I explained what I felt, Weida kept insisting that I was just affected by the atmosphere cause sounds get amplified at this kind of places... Until now, he still don't believe that I totally freaked out that night; he expects me to be the bravest amongst them...

What's the morale of the story? Next time, I should just turn around and have a visual confirmation of what I felt... Yar, right... Like hell I would!!! I'm totally puzzled now, the reason I go exploring is to prove that such things don't exist but I'm too scared to confirm their existance... What should I do?

職業展 2006

Career Fair 2006...


It's finally over, my first vocal performance... Took a few days to get this entry out because I had been playing Star Wars: Empire at Wars for the past few days and had completed the rebellion campaign already... I've only gotten the photos for the event, the video would have to wait for another 2 weeks at least... Can't wait to see it...


Me singing 等我回來...


Still singing 等我回來, maybe you'll arrive before I finish?


The members of Esprimere...

There wasn't much crowd when we performed since those students who came for the fair had already gone home... Had the performance been an hour earlier, I'm pretty sure there would be a huge crowd... Anyway, the eventual spectators were mostly the performers' friends who came to support them... My friend was late, he came just in time for the finale: 珊瑚海...

Was shocked when the first words came out of my mouth cause my voice coming out of the sound system didn't sound like my voice at all... Don't tell me it's normal since the voice I'm familiar with is different from my actual one because of the vibrations of my skull etc... I'm pretty sure I can recognize my own voice after so many ktv sessions and voice recordings... Maybe it's the delay or the echo from the huge hall, I'm not even sure what is the difference... After overcoming my initial shock, I had this very wierd feeling... It was as though I was listening to someone singing instead; I feel like I was just miming that person... It had a very good effect since I don't feel any nervousness and I could feel my voice coming out "cleanly" and easily... Now that I try to recall that feeling, it feels so unreal, its as though I'm watching a performance through the performer's view... Here are the photos then, the video will have to wait...

Still missing one entry about my new drawing, there is some fundamental problems with the anatomy... Will post after I'm satisfied with it...

一週年

First Anniversary...


Well, it's been a year since I've started to write on this space... I've kept my format the same throughout this year: East Asian Language title, English explanation, then the entry... Why such persistence? I'm not so sure myself either... Maybe it's because I think this format looks special, I've never seen anyone with this kind of format yet... In case you've never noticed, I've never placed a fullstop by itself before, not when the words are from me at least... Periods always comes in triples no matter what message I'm trying to convey... It might seem confusing, but it has become a habit of mine already... Shouldn't it be time to change after one year's persistency? Nah... No one complained about this formatting, so I shouldn't fix anything that ain't spoilt...

The skin has remained more or less the same throught the year, this people had complained... To quote someone, "becoz ur blog is so white.. like dun have any kind of structure.. know wat i mean?" Sadly, this was what I wanted to achieve: unconstrained layout... However, the present template wasn't really what I had in mind; I couldn't think of anything that can satisfy my seemingly simple concept... I had another template which I call "Split Arrow", but it is built on the current template albiet some little change to the structure...

Hmm... Why am I talking about these boring things?

OK... 2 more days to my performance, everything is more or less settled... The sequence of songs has been determined as well... I tried to push my song towards the end cause some guy wouldn't be able to hear me sing if it was too early... However, there is this danger that my song would be truncated because of time constraints... In any case, it would be video recorded so those who missed it can just see the video which I will post, or maybe not if I screwed up...

Saw Virginia today, didn't notice it was her until she waved at me, thought she was just another pretty girl in SIM... 女大十八變? Change is neither good nor bad, its just a difference from before... Maybe it's time for me to change?

There should be one other entry for my drawing I completed today... It's too late now, so maybe next time...

如火如荼

Red like fire, white like tea flower...


That wasn't a good translation, but it's more or less that meaning when directly translated... Things are getting hotter everyday, especially the 3 things that keeps revolving around my mind these few days: work, school and singing...

As usual, the urban Foundry website seems like its almost complete; then again, its not even half-done yet.. This has the lowest priority amongst the 3 not entirely because I hate doing it, but because there is no hurry in doing it... True it may be that Junan keeps rushing me to finish up what she had given me, but so what if I finish that? I'll have to wait for the next batch to arive before I can continue this project; no point rushing for such bits and pieces... The delay on the project is caused by the client side rather than me; on that right, I could ask them for compenstation on the delay... They on the other hand have the cheek to remind me that the project should had been finished by December and it is the end of Feburary now, obviously trying to put the blame on me... Argh!!!

It is nearing the start of the month again - time to hand in assignments... The date due for Assignment 3 is 6^th of March for SIM, I certainly hope I'll be able to finish it by then... Haven't handed in any assignment through SIM this year yet... My heart may pound faster everytime I think of the assignment, but something else requires a greater attention...

Only 7 days left to the performance at Suntec and I haven't prepared my song yet!!! Yesterday's singing club practice was for us to perform the songs we had prepared to seek approval from our instructor... When it was my turn to sing 你牽走我的心, she asked if I'm singing an Aaron Kwok song... I haven't had the chance to step on stage and she already passed me and asked for the next person... This both gives me confidence as well as making me feel uneasy... She said she had heard me sing before and was pretty sure I'm able to sing any Aaron Kwok's song... The truth is, I can't really sing well even if it's Aaron's song, those that had been to ktv with me would know...

After most of us had already sung, she said everyone's song was too slow and we need some fast ones... Then she turned to me and say, "The song you are singing is also slow right? Why not you change to a fast song so that everything wouldn't be so monotonous." Why me?!? "Because it would be easier for you to change a song at this point of time since you can sing any of Aaron Kwok's song." ... Haiz... "你太看得起我了" were the exact words I replied her...

That is why until now I'm still undecided with what song I'm gonna sing, but I wouldn't do anything that requires some dancing (unless its Para Para Sakura)... The first song she suggested was 爭氣, I wouldn't mind singing this song since it is one of the few fast ones that don't require much movement on stage... However, I couldn't find any decent karaoke version on the net, so this song is out unless I want to steal from PartyWorld... The next song was 愛定你; this song requires some grooving and I can't really bring out the essence of the song, so this is out as well... We finally settled on a somewhat upbeat song, 等我回來, but it isn't final yet... There's still time to change since I "can sing any of Aaron Kwok's song"... Any suggestions?

楓平浪靜

Calm continueth not long without a storm...


"The calm before the storm" was first seen in print as the above quote in 1576... What has this got to do with anything? None... I just wanted to say how relaxed I am now, you'll never know how nice the feeling is when filling in the details of the assignment cover page until you are doing it yourself... I slept for 3 hours last night, quite alot considering I had 9 hours to finish 2 assignments... Had a bad experience while printing out the assignment; took the bus to school from my home twice in less than 30 mins apart... It's time like this I wished I have a car...

Just when I thought I could relax, someone called me to ask me the progress on their website... Damn... What a good timing... Oh well, it's not that difficult to do anyway...

情人節

Valentine's Day is a cruel, evil holiday which exists solely to pour lemon juice on the paper-cut hearts of the unattached...


I hate today... No, it is not because today is Valentine's Day... I don't always hate this day; it is just that today is special because tomorrow is the last day I can hand in my Assignment 2... I've started to hate the 3^rd and 15^th of very month, the first being the due date for SIM and the latter the due date for UOL... As of now, I've only finished 2 of the 4 assignments... I have until tomorrow morning to submit it which is 9 hours later... 2 assignments in 9 hours? I'm gonna break all records if I manage to pull this off... Damn... I gotta stop doing this or I'll die before I can start my Assignment 4...

Nothing much these days, haven't been going for lectures for the past two days... The Career Fair in Suntec is on 3^rd of March... Hmm... Another 3^rd... This I don't know if I'm gonna hate it or not; if the schedule remains unchanged, I'll be performing 你牽走我的心 then... Hopefully I can improve much more by then... Think I'll start jogging again next Monday... Oh... I'm free to go out again after tomorrow, sorry for the rejections for the past week...

普通朋友

Should I smile because we're friends, or cry because that's all we'll ever be?


No, this is not a post about me falling out of love, nor is it some whining about how I don't have a date on Valentine's day... This is about the song by David Tao which I have been preparing for a while already... Did a recording this afternoon and manage to come out with something that I'm satisfied to upload... Now that I've listened it again, I'm have second thoughts on doing that... I'm not gonna describe how bad it sounds, or this post would be longer than the previous one... So I've decided not to make this recording public, but those who know where I usually upload my works shouldn't have any problems getting it... This is take one and there will be a second take or more until I can proudly publicize it...

My arms and legs are aching from yesterday's workout, seems like I'm not as fit as I thought I am anymore... I wonder if I have that kind of determination to wake up early in the morning to jog like I did last year... Nah... Most probably not... Come on people, ask me out to do some sports or something...

塞翁失馬, 焉知非福

A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise....


I've been quite unlucky since the start of this lunar new year... In the small hours of the third day of the year, my computer just froze suddenly while I was playing Dota halfway... Damn.. And I was on a winning streak... The worst part was not that, I restarted my computer and to my horror all I see was garbage!!! Square boxes, misplaced letters and unidentifiable symbols replaced what was supposed to be normal boot up messages...

Other than the above mentioned incident, a few other irritating things happened throughout these days as well... It might had just been a coincidence, but why does all these have to happen when I'm about to hand in (due date for SIM is today) my assignments? Though I might not be able to hand it in even if my computer wasn't dead, still there IS a chance right? Nah... I can only blame it on my laziness for not completing my assignments in time... If I had really wanted to do it, I could have done it on any of the computers ( 3 PCs and 3 + 1 laptops; LAN party is on every Saturday and eve of public holidays when my brother-in-law comes over) I have...

Went over to Sim Lim Square with my graphics card today, was quite worried as I had already thrown my receipt away even though it is still under warranty... I explained my plight to the shopkeeper I bought it from and he recommended me to go to the distributor to try my luck; something I seem to be lacking these days... It's a good thing the distributor was just upstairs; I hurried over to accept my fate... The staff took a look at my card and proceeded to test it, he then he replaced it with another one at zero cost!!! I was elated man, everything was over in less than 10 mins and so here I am typing on my computer... You'll never know how great it is to see my computer start up again; I hope none of you have to experience this...

The first half of this entry was hand-written in McDonald's this afternoon, so what was I doing there? I was waiting for time to pass... Was supposed to have a MTV Dance workshop this evening, so I just stayed in that area to wait... Before that I went over to Junan's office to collect some materials and she asked me why I joined so many kinds of activities, want to show off my talents is it? My reply was simple, to learn... No matter how talented you are, you still have to learn it from somewhere right? I'm not saying that I'm talented in all those activities I take part in, but I'll never know if I don't try right?


View of the dance studio before we started...


2^nd view of the studio; I'm in this shot...

The above are views of the studio before we started, I only have these 2 pictures as I can't be taking any while I'm dancing right? The first part was hip hop and the second was jazz... For a person who totally can't dance, jumping straight into it wasn't easy... I'm glad the rest of them from the singing club weren't any good either... To quote one of them, "Some people are talented in dancing, some are just talented in singing..." Haha... It was quite funny, since the gang of us were like clowns during the hip hop session... The rest of the people in that room are from the dance club, with a selected few who weren't but joined because they like dancing... It was thus quite obvious that we can't dance for nuts... The jazz session wasn't that bad since the instructor went through it little step by litte step and the moves weren't too difficult in general... Most of us could get it, so it was better to see everyone moving in unison... almost... In conclusion, dancing is really fun and I'm really tempted to join... However, I just don't have that much time to join so many activities...

Now that my machine is up again, I can start doing my assignments... Deducting weekends, I have 6 more days to complete them... Should be enough since the previous one was finished in 4 days... Mock exams starts next month, so many things I'll like to do, but not enough time to do all of them... Then again, it shouldn't be a problem if I'm not that lazy... But if I'm not that lazy, I'm not me anymore... What to do?!?

利己主義

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed...


I'm not good, because I haven't been doing my assignments (I sense another episode of assignment 1 coming)... However, I was still rewarded... Was lazing around practicing some song when Chris, designer of Memoir, called me... She said Memoir has been put on hold indefinately, but need me to help on something else... Another client of hers wants to change their host, and needs to migrate everything over to the new server... She asked me something about DNS, nameservers and other technical stuff that I've never dealt with before... In the end it's just a simple downloading of the old website and upload to the new one... For that I was paid $50, how nice...

Just got a sms, this Sunday's show is cancelled... Seems like my dream won't be fulfilled so soon after all...

My layout has been reverted back to the old one, for now that is the only one that works without any problems... I'll be thinking up new designs whenever I have the time, so no more drawings until I'm done with this...

改變

Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change...


Just did the new symbol in school and decided to use it for the background... This is a shape seen in a manga magazine when I was in a Japanese restaurant with Ben and Weida last Saturday... I thought it was quite cool, so I took a picture of it... With my original layout, the picture looks very wierd, so I had to change the layout as well... Expanded the width of the entries so that you won't have to scroll too much...

Did all of this while waiting for our performance's video to finish rendering... Not sure on how to use Adobe Premiere yet, so I'm still playing around with it...

Still no idea what other songs I'm gonna choose, the only one that is decided is 你牽走我的心...

Just realized this layout does not work on 1024 x 768 screen (and it looks so nice on my screen...), haiz... back to the drawing board... Talking about drawing board, I wish I had one, then I wouldn't sprain my neck while drawing...

Edit: Changed the layout to look nicer on 1024 x 768 then my resolution... :( What to do, 80% of my audience uses that resolution... Gonna try to make it look nice on both places...

Edit2: Damn!!! My brother crashed my computer when the video almost finished rendering!!! Now I'll have to start all over again...

建設性

An important trait of the great ones is constructive laziness, they know that you get an A not for effort but for results...


On a weekday without worries about the next assignment, I could have been playing games or going out, but I did not... Instead, I started work on some other things I had to do... First up was the clan flag for my clan in NewAge, it is just a simple flag, but it is the doing part that is an achievement for me...

Next was the website for urban Foundry, I managed to update several products and made some changes to the logic of the site... The boss keeps expecting me to produce some updates, but he doesn't give me enough materials to update... Damn irritating, hope to get this over and done with soon...

Now's the time for some relaxation, was installing another game while typing this... When I'm sick of that, I'll continue on the video clips of our previous performance...

搞定

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits...


Finally finished my assignment 1, printed and handed over to my friend so that he will courier it together with his... Since my momentum is still there, I better start on my assignment 2 which is due 3^rd of next month... Seems like this year's Friday the 13^th isn't that bad, or maybe I shouldn't speak too early... Who knows later he might call me and tell me he dropped everything into the water...

Now that I'm not rushing for anything, I'll be free to go anywhere; those that tried to get me out last few days can try again now... A few months ago, I said I wanted to do a rerecording of the song: 你牽走我的心 (You took my heart away), I've kept pushing this off as there is no motivation for me to do it... Now I think I've found the reason to do it... Esprimere has an upcoming performance on March and we were told to each prepare 3 solo songs: a fast one, a slow one and one that has a different style from what we would normally sing... I'll be choosing 你牽走我的心 for the slow one and the fast one would most probably be 著迷... So what should I choose for the one that has a different style from what I usually sing, any suggestions?

Almost forgot one important thing, I'll be performing at Indochine on the 22^nd of this month... I've always been wondering when I'll be able to perform at that kind of place, never thought it would be so soon... Not sure what kind of music we'll be playing though, seems like it's not something we've played before... Will update again when I know more details... I've been kept out of the loop of things happening in the band, is this a good or a bad thing? Maybe this is a good time for me to step down, pass my post over to another person and just be an ordinary member?

りりむキッス

Lilim Kiss


My first work of the new year, a character from the Lilim Kiss manga, Lilim herself... Lilim is actually a demon that sucks the energy of young men in their dreams... In return, she gives them a dream to die for... This explains the wings and the "costume" (she was wearing a bit more throughout the manga)...


Lilim - Lilim Kiss

This is one of the drawings that I spent the most time shading... Previously, the shading is only to indicate different colours, like the one I use at the top of the side bar... Actually that one was shaded using photoshop, but it's just an example... Those kind of shading do not require much skill, as I just need to apply a uniform coat of carbon throughout each area... For this drawing, I had to think which parts are higher, thus attracting more light, and which parts are hidden from light... After which, the most difficult part of it all is to make the character 3-dimensional... It is not easy to try and illustrate convexities, expecially those (ahem...) curvatures... I couldn't say I did a good job out of it, as the arms look very messy... Maybe it's because I wasn't concentrating on them when I was shading...

You all must be wondering why I drew this picture... Well, it just looks picture perfect when I saw it, don't you think so? That is the only reason why I drew this, not because of some wierd interests... The parts I like most are those spokes in the background, and the underwear (it's not what you think, it's the ornament that makes it special)...

The characters I draw in the future will never wear anything lesser than this, unless it's artistically censored... Maybe I shouldn't even consider that... Oh well, I've already got my next drawing in mind... This time, the challenge would be to bring out the feelings of the character...

新年

A fresh start...


It's a new year now, having to write 06 for the year needs some time for adjustment... In these recent years, I've started to dread every new year... Maybe it's because my exam period is always around this time, or maybe it's because I'm getting older... I'm not afraid of what age will do to my appearance, but rather the responsibilities that comes with age... I do not look like my age, neither do I act my age, I do not wish to grow up for I am unable to see any glimpse of light in my future... Days pass by with apprehension, the number this year would be 24 and it had just been a few months since I turned 23...

Why is Mr. Optimistic so pessimistic today? That's because my assignments are supposed to be in yesterday, and here I am not a single word written... Even the sky seems darker these days, why does it rain so much?

Everything will be fine after I hand in my assignments... Sorry Ben, this is the reason I'm unable to tell you when I can go to Sim Lim Square with you... Anyway, I don't really remember much about past technologies... If you have to ask me, I'll have to search through Hardware Zone, so why don't you read though the articles and we'll discuss it to refresh my memory...

That's it for now, I'll have to send the assignments direct to London by courier before 15^th... The good part is there'll be 3 other people sharing the costs... Hmm... I shouldn't be happy over such things...

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?