烏民島

Pulau Ubin...


Finally did some interesting stuff, went for the "Pulau Ubin Hungry Ghost Tour" organized by Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI) on 19/08/2006 with Weida... SPI always organize outings to explore the supposedly haunted places in Singapore, but this was different, it was offshore... We'll explore the most famous haunting spots that are unparallel to anywhere else on the mainland...


Why the hell did you bring a shaver?


Oh, it's a torchlight?!? It seems more practical as a shaver though...

First we tried to find the spirit tree, but it was already burnt down and all that remain are its chopped up pieces...

Following that we boarded the truck which would take us halfway to a lost old Malay cemetery, the other half would be a 40° ascend on foot... This is the largest cemetetry (the size of a football field) in Ubin, many local Ubin residents do not even know of its existence!!! Traces and artifacts of black-magic being practiced at the old graves still can be seen there, vials that used to contain animal blood and plastic bottles that hold the spirits can be seen lying around...

The next place was the highlight of the night: a triangular junction... What was usually a T-junction was made a "triangle" junction instead... There is this triangle plot of land in the middle of the road much like in a round-about... SPI invited a specialist called Azri (who is the son of both parents that are Malay Bomohs and he had been trained formally in Indonesia by a famous Bomoh master) to perform a ritual a summon the spirits... After that, they decided to perform one of the methods to see ghosts from "The Eye 10", the knocking of bowls at a junction...

The bowls were set, the offering positioned, all that's left are the volunteers... I asked Weida if he wanted to volunteer, it'll be quite an experience... Azri then started going around checking everyone's right palm and asking them if they want to be part of this experiment... He came to me and checked my plam and asked me to try it, so I was like I'll go if Weida goes as well... He checked Weida's palm and said, "You cannot..." Weida was stunned, all this exploring and now he is told he can't see them...

I was hesitant, but my curiosity got the better of me... I wasn't thinking of the consequences or anything, just wanted to try it... The rest of the guinea pigs were gathered and Azri briefed us on what to do if we see or feel them, he also said to shout his name if we were too scared... Everyone else was ordered to wait at a hut 50 meters away, the tension was building... Before he left, he walked to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, "You be careful, k?"

WTF?!? Did he have to single me out? And what's with the "be careful" part? What can I do man? He was the one that asked me to join the experiment... All these went through my head; I wasn't scared, just stunned... He gave the command to start and left us alone... Everyone started knocking, though we were not in unison, it was obviously a slow tempo... We were facing a forest and I would glance every once in a while into it for any abnormalities; starting to get quite worried about what Azri said... I repeated his name in my head a few times, afraid that I would forget how to shout his name if the need arises... Started to imagine what I would do if something starts creeping up towards me, I guess I would be too afraid to control what I will do...

In less than a minute, the guy on my left started knocking VERY quickly, and I really mean very... Did he see something already? I glanced left through the corner of my eye but I don't see anything, nothing in front either... Several minutes passed, I was getting tired and bored, still that guy was hitting at an incredible rate... I started feeling something behind me...

最後一天

Last day, 17/07/2006, Monday, Cloudy...


Woke up at 9.30am to pack my bag, had to make sure I don't leave any of my treasures here... My bus to Macau leaves at 2.15pm so I just need to leave home at 1.30pm to catch the feeder service to the bus terminal... I'll just slack until then...

At noon, my sis said she'll be coming home to bring me out for lunch instead... We went to that great western restaurant again (Alvin kept his promise, while I had almost forgotten about it) but I doubt the roof will open at noon, at least I'll get to take some pics of the toilet...


Alvin and Eki outside the restaurant...


The outside and inside of the restaurant...


Was that a tiger's tail?


Can you even call that a tap?

Ordered Swiss pork chop this time and got one fat slab of meat... Once the meat is sliced, delicious melted cheese oozes out of it... There's a piece of ham in between the pork...



Just when I lost all hopes, the spotlight turns on and the roof starts retracting!!! It's not as spectacular as at night though and there wasn't the spectacular music... Watch it here...

After lunch, my sis sent me up the bus and I started my journey home... There were only a few other people on the bus and the seat was quite uncomfortable...

Oh, a pretty lady (I think... I'm not wearing my specs due to a headache) just boarded the bus, she sat down in front immediately and I didn't have time to put on my specs...

Saw the girl during the pit stop...............

Crossed the border to Macau and got on a cab straight away to the airport... Reached the airport at 5.40pm and was lucky to be able to check in, I'm supposed to board at 5.50pm!!! Then I realized the flight is delayed, don't know whether that is good luck or bad luck...

True to the Singapore sprit, people were still queueing even though they have to wait an indefinate amount of time... The plane hasn't even landed!!! The longer I wait, the longer the queue...


Free food?

Oh, here's the plane!!! Shit, I'm like at the end of the queue... I'll be smelling shit for the rest of the journey... Nah... I'll just sit with the pretty lady I see in front, this time I'm wearing my specs...

There's a lot of catching up to do when I get home... There's a project workshop I'm supposed to attend at 7.30pm today; just leaving Macau air territory by that time...

I'm tired from standing in queue, how do people stand in queue overnights? I guess they sit down most of the time, but aren't they bored? I sure am bored... I can see the plane now but the gate isn't open...

Yay, the gate is finally open!!! Had trouble taking the first step, think I've grown roots... Will be reaching Singapore around 10pm... Home Sweet Home...

最近

Recently...


Its been weeks since I've talked about my current life, better do so before everyone forgets who I really am... I should be heading off for work now, but who cares...

School has started, singing club has started, I'm almost back to the normal schooling days now... The past few weeks were eventful, its been almost a decade since I've last done this... Would it end now?

Was playing basketball with Weida yesterday... We totally sucked... Or at least I did... It took him an hour or so to regain his accuracy, but I still couldn't do my lay-ups properly... Strained my adominal muscles so much that I had difficulty breathing after a while; used too much strength with my right arm as well, now I'm aching all over...

One remaining entry of my China holidays... I'll end off with a poem from one of the kids in my percussion band, visit his blog to see more...

blue.wastelandconcept.

green yellow red.
forest, sun, fire.
black white grey.
darkness, light, twilight.
blue black black.
sea, oil, death.
white black black.
paper, pen, words.
green grey green
moss, stone, reclaim.
change of shape.
change of hue.
watch it fade
into the blue.
-wastelandconcept.

第八天

Day 8, 16/07/2006, Sunday, Sustained drizzles...


Stayed at home in the morning waiting for time to pass as the 點心 restaurant opens at 11am... It was only when we reached the place that we realized the restaurant opens at 8.30am during weekends... Damn... Wasted our morning...

The food was cheap, but it wasn't as nice as the one in Hong Kong... Went for facial after brunch... Along the way, we realized there's a chili sauce stain on my white 3-quarters!!! Good thing the parlor has bleach and managed to remove the stain... The facial took a little more than 1 hour...

We then went to the famous residential tower that people rent and set up shops instead... There's almost 2 shops on every level with the most famous one on the 19^th floor... We didn't have time to comb the entire building as we needed to head over to the jade market before it closes at 6pm... Bought a Timberland backpack, Adidas T-shirt and pouch here...

Reached the 上下九路 jade market while the shops are starting to close... Our purpose there is to buy crystal handphone straps that my eldest sis wanted... I bought one as a birthday present for 詠惠, as well as several more to see if I could sell them in Singapore... Actually I was thinking of keeping the best one for a special someone I'll meet someday...


My ancestor temple!!! I haven't read what it says yet...

Went to have 燒鵝腿面 for Ұ5 (≈S$1) only!!! There's supposed to be spring chicken as well but, we went to the wrong end of the street where the outlet doesn't sell them...

Today is one of the earliest days we reached home...

第七天

Day 7, 15/07/2006, Saturday, Sustained drizzles...


Don't really remember what happened this day but I'll try...


We were supposed to wake up in the morning to go for a hike at the nearby hill with the waterfall, but it was raining quite heavily in the morning and we don't really like the idea of getting wet...

Went for a buffet lunch, I think it's Ұ98 per person and they serve all kinds of food... I really mean all kinds... The whole layout is quite posh, with a grand piano in the center and someone was playing and singing classical English songs on it... Then they served crickets, snakes and all kinds of wierd stuff, maybe its their culture but it sure doesn't fit with the grand piano concept...

Because of the soya bean milk that I had alot of in the morning, I was quite full already... The baby lobsters looked cute, so I grabbed a couple...



Haven't really eaten much and I started on the desserts already... First was some cakes, a little bit of everything... I grabbed 6 slices of different kinds of cakes and gobbled them up before I remember to take some pictures... Then was the ice-cream, the chocolate syrup they had at the ice-cream counter wasn't really tasty... Clever me got a plate and collected the chocolate from the fondue fountain and poured onto the ice-cream; the ice-cream started melting and the chocolate froze... I think I overdid it on the chocolate as there was so much chocolate I could die from all of it...

Since I've already tried "chocolate" chocolate ice-cream, might as well try other things as well... Got a bowl to collect the chocolate this time...



I tried to "chocolatized" everything on the table, chocolate peach, chocolate banana, chocolate "mango pudding" and the wierdest of all chocolate prawns!!! If that spoon could be eaten, I'll dip it in the chocolate as well... Argh... Forgot to try chocolate watermelon juice...

After lunch, we went back to change for tonight's party... We went there early to go shopping at the nearby 北京路... There were parts of the ancient roads as well as a 3-dimensional map of that city sealed up along the streets... Too lazy to take any pictures as it was raining; can't photograph anything with the rain running on the glass panels...

The party is by this big fashion company that I don't remember the name... The company bought Richard Clayderman's license which Alvin is in-charge of, so he is invited as well... Once we arrived at the level, there was this red carpet with lots of photographers along one side and a printed canvas on the other... I was taken aback with this scene and just realized how big the party was... The cameras starting flashing and we were supposed to sign on the canvas... Man, feels like some superstar....

There's a fashion show at the start, pretty Chinese models strut their stuff while Alvin and I were wondering when will the food be served... Halfway through the dinner, another round of entertainment starts... First up was this 17 year-old girl on a saxophone, it was amazing... She was really good and I couldn't help but took a picture of her... I didn't take a picture of her when she wasn't playing cause she looks nicer with the saxophone on her mouth...



Next was 2 Filipino women's vocal performance... Before they started, my sis was talking about how Filipino vocalists usually have powerful voices... Then they started singing and it was so disappointing... I don't blame them if they can't really sing, but what I really hate is people who go on stage without preparation... They obviously hadn't practiced much, maybe once or twice in the backstage that kind of stuff... If I am the organizer, I'll ask them to pay me instead man...

The ending of the party was quite badly organized, the salsa dancers went on stage and I thought they were gonna perform... Instead, they danced to the house music and tried to invite guests onto the stage... And so it ended like that...

第六天

Day 6, 14/07/2006, Friday, Sunny...


Woke up at 7am again today, had to take a dump badly (I think its because of the hotpot last night)... Took a bus to 天河體育中心 this time as there is a big shopping center near there... I left home at 10am expecting to reach just in time for the shops to open but instead reached 1¾ hours later... The place is very big and I didn't know where to start, not much effort was put into designing the architecture for a shopping centre...

Wasted alot of time at the lower levels where they sell clothes and jewllery... When I finally reached the sports level, it was time for me to go... Meeting my sister along the main road where they will stop momentarily to pick me up, so I can't be late...

Went for lunch at a normal restaurant which I'm not sure what their theme is... The food was ok, nothing much to say about it... After that we took a taxi to one of the shopping street around Garden Hotel, while Alvin has to go back to the office...

This is the place I got most of my shopping, all the products come straight from the factory so its very cheap... List of items I got:

Giorgio Armani long-sleeve shirt
Armani Exchange pants X 2
CK T-shirt
Paul & Shark 3-quarters
Adidas cap
Maui Island sandals
Mickey Mouse boxers

The Mickey Mouse boxers is very cute, not really sure why I got it... Just for the fun of it I guess...

We went back to school to meet up with Alvin and my sis has to attend a meeting... In the mean time, I'm typing this...

Dinner is at a chinese restaurant, it looks like any chinese restaurant in Singapore... We ordered fried oysters, fresh prawns, 2 types of clams, a big fish and some vegetables... All the plates were very big and the dish on it filled appropriately (not like Singapore's big plate but little food)... I learnt something today: fresh prawns peel very easily... Just remove the head part of the shell then squeeze the tail and the prawn will POP right out!!! Peeling prawns have never been such a breeze... You can never guess how much all these cost... Ұ110 (S$22)!!! What can you get with S$22 in a restaurant in Singapore? Maybe that plate of vegetables...

第五天

Day 5, 13/07/2006, Thursday, Sunny with showers in the afternoon...


Took my own time to wake up today, when I woke up I thought it was 9am already as the sun was up and very bright... Only after I finished brushing my teeth did I realize that it was only 7am... Well, I'm clever enough to guess that the sun rises 2 hours earlier than Singapore...

Took a shuttle bus out of the estate then another bus into the city... My brother-in-law (Alvin) was waiting for me at the bus stop I will be alighting... We bought some takeaway and went to his office...

He is currently working for a company managing Richard Clayderman's license in China... My sister is teaching a few levels below his office at Raffles Design College... He shifted his office there so as to be with my sis...

Here I am in his office typing out my blog from day 1 to now while waiting for my sis to finish work... Stayed in the office until 4pm and she still haven't appear; so we went down to look for her... We entered the school through a door that seems locked...


Oh, the door is padlocked...


Yar, right...

This is the escape route for my sis to go home early or to visit Alvin's office... It's at the end of the corridor of the staff floor so not much people passes by...


I have a very strong feeling that this notice is addressed to my sis...

Had dinner at a hotpot restaurant where the hotpot is super hot... The last time my dad visited that place, he said that was the most torturous meal he had ever had... We ordered the mildly hot soup base this time so it wasn't that bad...

After dinner we went to the supermarket "A.Best", its one of the attractions of 廣州 as well... So what's so special about the supermarket? The translations on the signs are as my father says it, "Fann-tastic..." I only managed to take 3 pictures before I was stopped...


I bet my father would disown me if I ever give this kind of translations...


My sis taking the dog out for a walk...


The view of the lake in the middle of the condo estate...


View from my sis's place of the amusment park... Where's Batman?

第四天

Day 4, 12/07/2006, Wednesday, Cloudy...


Weida, Rita and Micheal were suppossed to go 深圳 today for massage and stuff but everyone woke up late... They decided to laze around for the today and go shopping instead... Weida called Rita to check if she was awake, she obviously just woke up judging from her voice... Weida asked her to go back to sleep then meet up for lunch or something...

Since we were awake, we went to this 點心 restaurant in the building next to Michael's apartment... The food was quite nice and very cheap... We had around 13 dishes and paid S$20+ only!!! It was all fine until halfway through our meal Rita called Michael's handphone and asked what we were doing... She was totally shocked when she knew we were having 點心, Michael tactfully passed the phone to Weida knowing all hell would break loose... I thought it was just normal to go for breakfast expecially since its so near our place... True we may be going to a restaurant, but by the time she reaches the place it would already be lunch... Weida lost his appetite after that call and didn't look too happy...

I've never seen Weida being so nice to any girl before, and I liked her when I first saw her... After a few days, I'm seeing more of her real self... She better know how to behave; can't stand seeing my good friend like this... I realized her temperament is very close to mine, maybe that's why Weida can be with her like how he has with me? Though I've never quarreled with him before throughout these 11 years...

Went to the G2000 boutique as they saw they were having 50% discount last night, they didn't go in last night as I walked too fast and they had to catch up to me... Today we went there and they are having 70% discount!!! All thanks to me... Then they were thinking whether to step in or not, since it might be 90% tomorrow (yeah, right)... Michael bought a suit while Weida only a pair of pants, I didn't buy anything though as I know there are better deals at the place I'm going...

After that, Weida and I went to Esprit while Michael stayed at home... There weren't much nice clothings, the shop was big but the selection not so... The only nice apparel we saw was a sweater but it would be impractical in sunny Singapore...

Weida then wanted to buy something to cajole Rita, we realized how cheap the jwellery around here was... On top of that, a shop was having 60% discount!!! Weida didn't want to buy though since it might become a habit if he has to give some diamonds everytime he did something wrong, he is already quite poor from the past few months of going out with Rita...

Finally it was time for me to go to 尖沙嘴 station to meet my sister, I'll be going back to 廣州 with her alone... I warned Weida about giving in to Rita too much and spoil her, but he said that is exactly what he wants to do... What's wrong with him man?!?

We took a ferry to 南沙 then a bus to my sister's vicinity... That place is just like a village except the houses are condominium-style apartments, there are even free shuttle buses in and out of the village to the bus terminal connecting to the outside world... The village has everything you can think of, restaurants, hospitals, bars, even a hotspring bath house!!!


Hot spring anyone?

We went to this superb western restaurant, where the food is very nice... What's even nicer about the restaurant is the whole concept, the wild outdoor feel... There are plants within the dining area that contributes this feel, but if you think that is all you are wrong... Surrounding the restaurant would be plants as well, but the shocking part is the toilet...

The wall holding the urinals is a piece of glass, behind the glass is a garden so you'll feel like you are peeing outdoors... The tap comes from the ceiling, its a bit irritating as the water trickles down in bits; nonetheless, it is a nice concept... Too bad I don't have a camera to show it to you...

Saving the best for the last, the main highlight for the night is the opening of the roof... The entire roof slides out while some spectacular music is played...

really hated myself for not bringing a camera... My brother-in-law said we could go back there some other time, and I hope he keeps his promise...

第三天

Day 3, 11/07/2006, Tuesday, Showers in the morning...


Went to McDonald's for a quick breakfast then had to rush to the meeting place... Weida had to go to the toilet urgently so we met up with Rita first... Her mum looked at me with suspecting eyes until she realized that I'm not her future son-in-law (scary... good luck to Weida)... Her mom didn't say anything when Weida arrived though, but Rita complained a lot about him going off on his own especially when he doesn't know the place well...

Ocean Park was filled with people as I expected, there were lots of school kids on their field trips...

The tickets were sponsored by Rita's mother (thank you, Weida) so we need not pay the HK$138... Went to see the pandas first, the smaller one looked a lot like someone is inside that panda suit; their grabbing and sitting actions were too human-like...

After that it started raining so we took the cable car to the top of the mountain where there are more indoor exhibitions...


View from the cable car...

Went for lunch at this cafeteria that was very expensive, a can of soft drink costs S$4!!! But I think it was worth it since it was indoor with nice seats, air-conditioning and out from the rain... After lunch, the rain cleared and we could go to all the rides...

The first ride was the "Mine Train", its the scariest amongst all since it had the fastest descent... I sat beside Michael and he is a bit bigger than me so the restrain bar wasn't holding tight on me... I'm quite light as well so I got lifted off easily, Michael complained that the descent wasn't long enough for it reached the bottom just when he was about to be lifted off... I realised that if I don't shout before the descent, I wouldn't have a chance to do so once we passed the apex... Everyting will be thrown upwards and so will my voice... The feeling is damn scary but more exciting...

It was time for the show so we went to the Ocean Theatre next... The killer whale is dead so the show only has dolphins and sea lions... There were 5 dolphins, 2 old ones that are retiring soon and 3 young ones... It was very obvious which were the older ones as they were very well trained... The dolphins were damn fast, the sea lions pale in comparision... Its very spectacular when the dolphins leap out of the water, they can reach a height of around 2 storeys high...

Next, we went to the "Dragon" where the track goes 360° vertically... It wasn't as scary as the Mine Train since we were forced onto our seats due to the centrifugal force rather than out of it... This was definately more dizzy though, it didn't help that I have motion sickness... I totally lost my orientation when we alighted, its even worse than getting drunk...

It was almost 6pm already, so we decided to leave the place... Halfway to the gate, we saw the Mine Train was still operating and decided to catch the "last train"... The crowd had already left so there wasn't any queue... We could take the ride as many times as we wanted but everyone wasn't interested... Only Yiming's boyfriend and I went for a second round...

Went to the peak to take some pictures... There is supposed to be a light show every evening, all the buildings lights up with different colours... There's supposed to be laser as well, but we didn't see any that night...


View from the peak...


View from the opposite side of the river...

We had a simple dinner in a restaurant near Michael's place and went back... Weida wanted to play Mahjong again and this time I lost HK$180 to Michael... I realized its because I don't know how to play that's why they can win, since the winner is always the one after me...

第二天

Day 2, 10/07/2006, Monday, Fair...


Everyone woke up at noon after the tired day yesterday... We went for lunch at a shop with a huge collection of coca-cola items... The food was ok, we ordered a lot though...

After lunch we went to the ruins of St. Paul; this time we can get in... The place is quite small with some interesting ruins... It's not creepy though, I doubt it would be any better (or should I say worse?) at night...


Back of cathedral's main door...

Went shopping next since we were already there, visited many shops with the girls but it feels good doing that... The outdoor temperature was even hotter than Singapore and the humidity around the same; being able to step into air-conditioned shops is a blessing...


Night scene of the shopping district...

Shoppped around until evening but I didn't buy anything... Went for dinner next at a restaurant... We had crab porridge and many other food that I don't usually eat like eel, fried pig intestines, etc...


A Roman themed city...


A scene near the "Black Sand Beach"...

After dinner we went back to get our luggage and headed to Hong Kong... We went to Michael's (Weida's buddy during his studies in Australia) place to stay for the next 2 nights... Weida then wanted to play Mahjong, I had no choice but to make up the numbers even though I don't really know how to play... Lost HK$220 to Weida, somebody stop this guy from winning!!! Slept at 5am and have to wake up at 8am to go to Ocean Park with Rita's mother who can't stand people who are late... I'm getting worried for Weida...

新生

Esprimere freshmen orientation...


If I have to wait for my holiday entries to be up before posting anything new, I'll miss out on many interesting events... First up is yesterday's outing at Sentosa...

SIM's singing club, Esprimere, had their orientation outing at Sentosa... Being part of the group, I went to help and get to know the juniors (of course, the latter is more important)... Was prepared to go into the water but no, they had to do something like the "Amazing Race"...

We were given several pictures (clues) and are supposed to take identical pictures with our digital cameras... The clues were seperated into envelopes and we were to get every picture before opening the next envelope... Some of the pictures don't give much clue about where it is located, for example our very first envelope... It shows several Japanese letters and that's all!!! We were totally clueless but luckily, we cheated... We opened the 2^nd envelope and decided to complete the 2^nd one first since it is very obvious that the place is at Fort Siloso... Good thing one of the girls have good attention to detail and manage to spot our first clue at Fort Siloso!!! After that, we decided to keep 2 envelopes open at all time...


Some of the pictures had poses and we had to do accordingly...


Taking the sky ride was part of the challenge...

After finishing all those pictures, we had to perform a song (we are a singing club after all)... We had a hard time choosing a song, and some practice to get the appropriate key for everyone... Just before the performance, we were told that creativity was part of the judging critera as well... We then decided to sing with a faster tempo and b-box at the chorus... With only 5 mins of practice time, we had no time to correct the pitch after getting the tempo and b-box correct... We knew the pitch was wrong, but did not dare to risk messing everything up while trying to change it... Obviously, the guys couldn't reach the gals' key; I tried my best but it's still awful... Judge for yourself here...


My group from left: Teck Sheng, Luyi, Peiwen, some gorgeous guy that I forgot his name...

In the end, our group won!!! Haha... Not sure whether its because of the singing or the race... After that was some standard game; turn 20 rounds on the spot, run a distance then do something... As usual, my group won!!! I cheated... but... oh well...

Almost everyone left after that while only 4 went for dinner, then later to Hark Music Café... Went there to chill out and met up with those members that had already graduated...


I was the only one with sun burns...

第一天

First day, 09/07/2006, Sunday, Fair...


Reached Macau at 1:30pm, the flight was 3½ hours... The first hour of the flight was interesting, its my the first time on the plane after so long... When we took off, the sun has already risen, so we could see everything outside clearly... The sight was great, not magnificent but just great...

Touched down and Weida's sister, Yiming, was waiting for us already together with her boyfriend (they arrived one day before us on an earlier flight); Weida's girlfriend, Rita, was there as well... They were laughing when we stepped through the sliding dooes and I was wondering if we had done something wrong... Weida's hair was jutting straight out, much like Suneo (阿福) from Doraemon, too bad they didn't take a picture...



The rest of the the day we went around looking at Macau's tourist attractions as well as trying the famous Portuguese eggtarts... It was nice and crispy but I didn't really try to find out why it was so famous, was still trying to get used to the new environment...

In the evening, Rita's father treated us to a very sumptuous dinner in an old chinese restaurant... The first dish was shark's fin double-boiled with chicken, the claypot was so huge you can fit a basketball in it!!! We each had several servings of the shark's fin and was quite full before any other dish was served...

After dinner was a trip to the nearby shopping district, the buildings and roads were rebuilt, maintaining the Portuguese style...

At the end of this street was the ruins of St. Paul... Since it was night time, we couldn't go exploring in it; but isn't it more exciting to explore it at night?

We went to the Sand's casino next... The live band there was great, their energy level was very high, not something you see often in Singapore bands... I just went around touring the place while Weida tried his luck... We left the place at around 1am; Weida left with an extra HK$1000 (S$200) in his pocket...

Went back to Rita's aunt's apartment to watch the World Cup Finals, everyone was tired and dozed off in the middle of the match...The television stopped working a few minutes after half time and we just went to sleep, was too tired to complain or carry on watching...

PS: The pictures will be added when I reach Singapore...

飛機場

Airport...


Sent Michelle off yesterday, very sad to see her go... It'll be a great loss to our band... She would be a very fun friend if we had more time together, won't be seeing her for a very long time...

Met up with Jonathan yesterday too, at the same time I was sending off Michelle... He is currently studying in London and is back for the holidays, it's been a long time since I've seen him... Jonathan is a very great buddy of mine during the army days, there's a post dedicated to him but I have no time to look for it...

Why do I have no time? My parents are at the door waiting for me to go... I'll be flying off today to Macau and they'll be seeing me off... Should be back by 9 days; expect the next entry by the 10^th day...

EDIT: Now I'm at the airport waiting so might as well add on to the post... Yesterdy night I went drinking with Weida and friends at this place in Dempsey road, the place is quite nice and the wine is very cheap... We were talking about going ice-skating when we come back, looking for more people to go together... Anyone interested?

重映

Deja vu...


When I was coming home on the bus today, I was haunted by a scene from the past... This old man came onto the bus with a scorn on his face, something very similar to what happened last time... The seat beside me was empty, so he stared at me and kind of indicated he wanted the seat... As usual, I got out of my seat to allow him an easier passage to the seat inside... He sat down and I sat down cautiously beside him being very aware of his actions... I'll not give him any chance to attack me; break his legs before he even wriggles a toe!!! Ok, that was a bit extreme, but I was really thinking of different ways of retaliating while keeping alert during the journey... Oh, and I did this survey before I started this entry:

You Are 32% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Hmm... Its good that nothing happened in the end, I got off before him so he had no chance to complain... Aww... Would had really wanted to break his legs... Heh...

While I was looking for the record of the similar incidence, I read through some of my previous posts and I realized they were quite funny, especially the one where I hit a pole (I'm not going to direct you to it, find it yourself... Its very embarrasing you know?)... Maybe its not because of the way I present it but rather the events were really funny... Then I also realized my English was better back then than now... Not that it was very spectacular but the style of writing was more correct...

Some how I can understand why my English is getting worse, its because I'm conversating in English more often now (all because of a certain someone who can only speak funny Mandarin at best)... Shouldn't speaking more English improve it instead? Yar, if I was speaking English... It's quite difficult to converse in proper English with little kids you know? And you can't speak English when that person is speaking Singlish; it'll feel kind of wierd right? This is the reason why I try to converse in Mandarin whenever possible...

Oh well, I just need to allocate a segment of my brain for Singlish and another segment for English - 2 different languages for 2 different purposes...

短暫的幸福

Happy times are short...


A few hours after my previous post, my savings dropped below $2000... Must work harder these few days and get it back above $2000 before I go China... Never knew flowers were so expensive...

There's something wrong with my house these few days, the lizards are dying... Not that I keep them for pets, but isn't it wierd when you see lizards dying one after another? I know my mum haven't been using poisons for quite some time already, so their deaths are kind of unnatural...

A few days back, my friend (Winson) had a job offer for me: design t-shirts... There's this shop in bugis that sells t-shirts and the boss had ran out of ideas for new designs, so she is asking around for designs... I'm not really the creative type so Winson gave me an idea: design a whole range of t-shirts with percussion instruments on them... There isn't any design like that in the market therefore it should be quite sellable; I'm sure he asked me to design them because he has been looking around for them... Considering the amount of percussion instruments around, I'll be quite wealthy from selling all those designs...

Today, Winson gave me another job offer: coordinator for his production company... He wants to start a production company with a few other friends and had already found sponsors... The job sounds quite fun and I'll be able to learn a lot of things as well as see famous people... Only problem is I have no experience in this field and I'm pretty sure it will be very stressful... The responsibility is huge and screwups might end the career of the performers as well as the entire company... Since I have no experience, the risk is just too great...

The reason he wanted to create this production company is to promote his band, which he plans on holding a concert in the indoor stadium at the end of this year... So we were discussing along that line and I suggested performing in a pub instead; open a pub and be the resident band in that pub... He loved that idea alot and asked me to be his partner for the pub... Of course I agreed, this is gonna be so fun...

This goes back to my earlier problem, I have less than $2000 in my bank!!! I need to get a loan somehow... He'll be getting a loan from the bank as well and if nothing goes wrong, we'll be sitting down discussing the business plans when I come back from China... I'll try to get a loan from my sis when I go over there... By the way, she's an English lecturer in China, very clever right? This is going to be so exciting...

教育與文憑

Does education equals certification?


This question flashed through my mind while I was passing by Assumption Vocational Institute... There was this banner promoting the school's certificates and I thought how good is the certificate... Anyone who sees this kind of certificates would think that it is substandard, they would rather hire an A'level student than someone with the cert... Isn't it kind of illogical then? The person with the cert specializes in that particular kind of job, but the A'level student knows nothing...

Then another question comes into my mind, "What is the purpose of education?" The purpose of education in Singapore has become a way to get "that piece of paper at the end"... Shouldn't education be a means of learning some skills necessary for your job in the future? Back in the days when education wasn't widespread, people learnt essential skills themselves or from their masters... There was no paper needed, what you can do is more important than what others think you can do...

There is this friend, the band leader of a certain percussion band, he has no music certificates of any sort, so he was not thought highly of by the director... It's not because he can't play well (I'm pretty sure he is one of the best drummer of the 2^nd generation); but because he has no certificates...

Then I thought about my situation, "Why am I trying so hard to get a First Class Honours? It's the knowledge that is important right?" The answer is simple: better honours = higher marks for exams = better knowledge of the subject... Seems like there is no easy way out of getting honours... I feel sad for musicians though...

Feels good each time I go to the cash deposit machine, I'm saving money!!! It's even better today, I've finally reached $2000 again!!! Ha!!! When my savings went below $2000 a few months back, I started panicking, "Am I spending too much?" Now to maintain it and try to hit $3000... So not used to having little reserves, can't really remember how I coped with a $14k drop in one night...

Saw an IQ test on someone else's blog and decided to try... I admit using a calculator, so the maths part is not true...

Your IQ Is 136

Your Logical Intelligence is Genius Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

露營

How was the camp?


Good... Learnt quite a few things there as well as knowing a few more people...

So what's this camp about?

It's a selection camp for an agency that sells Prudential insurance... Only those selected can join the agency...

So what do you do in the camp?

They say it's a trade secret, but it's more or less some group activities...

Wha... so big shot ar, still must have camp to select their employees...

They are the best agency in Asia so they want to choose only the people who can do the job...

Is being an insurance agent one of your dreams?

No, I didn't know this was a selection camp until the actual day... Everyone who went for the camp really wanted to get into this company, all except me... I couldn't care less if I was eliminated, but since I was there, might as well try to convince some people... Maybe it's because of the "nothing to lose and nothing I really want to gain" attitude that let me not only win the favour of the chairman, but also the fellow interviewees as well... It might not have been so easy if I really wanted this job...

Were you selected then?

Of course... Else I won't be typing all this...

One last question, why is this entry in an interview format?

Mainly because I am too lazy to chain them up in complete paragraphs; it will be more boring as well...

任務完成

The end of one task brings the start of the other...


Finally got bored enough today to get my hands dirty and repair my piano... It was a very exciting experience as well as troublesome, now I now why the piano guy was so reluctant to help me repair it... Mine is an upright piano with a drop action, one of the most difficult pianos to repair (as said by the piano guy)...

There's this screw beneath the hammer that I need to reach to correct the hammer, a very simple task... The problem is that no screwdriver can reach that position when there are so many mechanisms blocking it... So I started unscrewing things, it's kinda scary since I don't know what exactly I'm doing and whether I can put it back again... After removing some parts already, I still couldn't reach the screw (I could actually reach it with a small screwdriver, but it doesn't have the strength to turn the screw)... It was still very cramped, can't really put my screwdriver in... It's time like this that I wish I had the powers of Jean Grey or Magneto, I could easily finish this task...

I had no choice but to give up, unless I want to remove the entire drop action (which is basically the entire structure of the piano)... At least all this wasn't for nothing, I managed to make the piano sustain correctly now...


Drop action...

Next up is the Urban Foundry website again... Finally got to upload to their website, so now it's not just the geocities one anymore... This website is as always, almost done... At least I'm proud to say I'm not the one procrastinating, it's always them (almost typed damn)... Can't wait to get this over and done with...

Will be going for a chalet tomorrow, it's a 2 days 1 night camp by ... Why am I involved in a corporate get together? It's organized by my friend's girlfriend and he don't want to go alone so he asked me along... I'm free anyway and it's good to know more people right? When they told me the essential things to bring, I got all excited when I heard "torchlight"... Always love it when activities involve torchlights... Heh... Another story in my arsenal or another boring night? I'll force a story to happen if I have to...

演出

Best performance...


Yesterday's performance was at Raffles Marina, a yacht club in Tuas... For the 2 years I was in this band, this was the best performance I had... Not because I didn't make any mistakes, but because it was really enjoyable... Nothing really special happened during this performance, don't really remember what was so great about the performance... Well, below are some pictures of the members, someone obviously did not know how to take pictures (actually I think its because the camera is lousy... Whoever sees this is not allowed to tell the camera's owner!!!)... The pictures are very blur, any tips on how to edit it?


The young...


The mature...


The old...


The girl (didn't get her name) who helped video our performance...

不如意事常八九

Someone does not want me to be happy...


Ever since I finished my exams, I haven't been able to relax... It's as though I have something I need to finish, something that the deadline is nearing but I don't know what... I have to constantly remind myself that there is nothing on my schedule and I can totally enjoy my holidays... This stress has been with me all the time especially when I have nothing to do, I feel that I must get up and finish my homework or something... Maybe it's because of the last few months of my term where every deadline is followed by another; I can't get rid of this scary mindset yet... Or maybe it's a forbeding warning that something is coming up...

Today, I got a news that totally spoilt my supposedly happy (as happy as I tried my best to make it) holidays: I have a project selection lecture 3 weeks later... Other than having to start work on my project, it shouldn't be that bad except that I'm not in Singapore!!! Sianzz... Now I can't play in peace...

丘詠惠

http://mizerable.anfractuosity.net/


This entry has no meaning and is about a girl that's full of nonsense... Got to know YongHui during the NUS workshop, she's one of the participants there... Didn't talk to her throughout the entire event since her section isn't under my jurisdiction... Actually I was just too lazy to chat with anyone; had to force myself to do so on the last day when I was recruiting them...


YongHui's MSN display picture (left), looks exactly like her right?

Their performance was great, couldn't had done any better myself (mostly cause I don't have that many hands)... Someone from the backstage managed to capture this video during the performance, the highlight is... well, see it for yourself... She's wearing camouflage grey bermudas; get the video here...

There was once we went to the Old Ford Factory, one of the supposedly haunted places in Singapore... I've always wanted to visit that place cause it's said to be one of the most haunted place in Singapore; the place is now a museum showcasing events during WWII... We went in the day though and there were lots of windows making it very bright, shouldn't be scary at all... So we went in and this little girl kept pulling on my shirt asking me to go back... But there's nothing to be afraid of, at least not for me... The bronze statutes do look scary to the untrained, especially if you were to visit that place at night... No bronze statute is gonna stop me... not in the day...

I went around looking for clues as to why this place is haunted, trying to read the articles while a voice keeps telling me to get out... After looking through all the materials, I couldn't find anything about the factory after the Japanese surrendered... We played around with the displays and listened to some documentaries, I later realized that it was on that exact spot that a paranormal event happened in the story I was about to tell her... Guess she'll freak out if she knew it beforehand...

That's it for now... Write anymore and she might kill me... Nah... I'll stop her with more ghost stories...

逆走

View from a rear view mirror...


Yesterday evening, I went for a percussion concert by One Heartbeat Percussion... The concert was ok, just a bunch of good musicians playing some good music... Nothing out of the extraordinary...

On the way there, I asked Huda (our current bandleader) if she remembered when she first saw me... I've been thinking these few days, have I become more childish or was I always like this? It's ok if I act like this around the band members, but what happens after that? I'm still wondering if I can switch back to my normal self since I've only been interacting with the kids for the past weeks...

Oh well...

Getting excited about the trip to China already; my sis was asking me for my itinerary so that she can apply for leave... I'm not really sure about that myself, Weida still has a hard time deciding and it seems like his sister wants to come along as well... In the mean time, anyone wants me to get anything for them?

夢

Some people see things as they are and say "why?" I dream things that never were and say "why not?"


People say dreams are usually the reverse of what will happen in reality, I certainly hope so... I had a dream last night... It's something I've been thinking alot of lately, something I always wanted, but it is not something I find acceptable... Contradicting huh?

I would say it was a sweet dream, but something I don't wish happen... or was it I wish it would happen? ARghh... I'm confused...

No!!! It won't happen...

I hope...

道歉

Never ruin an apology with an excuse...


About the entries posted during the workshop at NUS, I posted without thinking that maybe one of them might be reading it... I mentioned something like they were "not much to look at"... Therefore this post started out as an apology to everyone that might be offended...

However, I went back to read it and realised there wasn't any need for this apology... It was stated that the participants were way below my age, so I wasn't really interested in looking at them...

To be honest, a few of them were actually not bad... Some ARE bad, but are very interesting characters which kind of make them attractive in their own way... Then again, they are just little kids...

失敗

How many times do you need to fail?


As many times as I need to pass...

完結篇

Finale...


Didn't blog on day 4 & 5 cause the lessons were earlier, so no time to do it... The workshop is finally over and my simple life goes back to normal... The photos and videos will come soon I hope...

Let's go back to day 1... Remember the guy I chose to play the lion drum on day 1? He never returned, he left the camp for good...

On day 2, I chose another guy (Edmund) to play the lion drum, he was quite good also and was eager to learn... I was relieved as I could get another person to fill up the numbers to the chinese section...

On day 3, Edmund told me he got a burnt and showed me his lobster red hands... Oh no!!! What am I gonna do?!? I had no choice but to get yet another guy (Benson) to do the lion drum...

On day 4, Benson got a bad headache and couldn't be there for the rehearsal... Oh God, please don't play me like this... Luckily, Edmund's condition was better and was able to do the drums... I didn't dare to push him too hard in fear that it might aggravate his injury...

On day 5, everyone arrived in one piece and were all ready to perform... Whew... The performance was great, they even played better than me for some parts... I was backstage throughout the performance, but I heard the crowd went wild... Can't wait to see the video...

About the curse to the lion drum, I've never gotten any problems like that, other than the occassional accidents where I hit my own fingers... Guess the drum don't like them huh...

第三天

Day 3...


Damn... The guy who was suppossed to play my chinese drum is sick and I doubt he will be coming back... Now, I have to teach another guy from scratch...

Finally found out where the other workshops are and saw some not bad looking girls there... Will be going to a production meeting as soon as I finish typing this, then maybe I could ask their instructors if I can sit in their workshops... Haha... Wish me luck...

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...