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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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!"
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?
I am essentially a loner...Is it really that amazing that my social circle has expanded? Does that signify that I am a loner in everyone's eyes? If that is true then don't worry, I'm still a loner... As I had mentioned, I don't have any program on my birthday, an obvious indication of a loner... Probably why I don't feel bored is because I don't have the time to be... I work almost everyday, when I'm not, I fully make use of my time to catch up on my computer games...
I wonder if any of you would have this kind of experience: working so hard everyday just to earn that $50, trying to save as much as you can... Then one day you withdraw everything out, not to enjoy but to pay ur school fees... How sad can that be? You have lots of money but you can't spend it on the things you want...
My hands are for playing piano, not for hitting paparazzi - Jay ChouHow I wish to say my hands are for playing piano and not for carrying stuff... Unfortunately, I'm not as talented as him; can't earn my bread by playing piano... I have cuts all over my hands, the skin is so rough that I can scratch myself just by rubbing with my palm... My arms are full of scars as well... The only up side is the bigger muscles, I've really gotten alot stronger...
On the side note, 4 more days... No programs as of yet, at least I don't have to work on that day...
Luck is also part of your strengths...Just passed my basic theory today, thought I was very lucky... I only have a very outdated basic theory book, it's a third edition with a grey colour cover... Makes me wonder why there are so many editions when I can easily pass with an outdated one... My conclusion: I'm just very lucky... There was one question however, which stunned me: "What is the minimum age requirement to be eligible for the Basic Theory Test?" What kind of question is that? I'm too old to be bothered with the minimum age requirement...
After which I went to my band leader, Winson's house... I played on the keyboard while he did the drum set... We managed to record a few songs, and it sounds quite ok... Probably cause we recorded using his handphone, thus mistakes were not so obvious due to the poor recording quality... Will post it here when I get my hands on them...
The one that haunts you the most is the ghost of the past...Just got out of my bed, reached home at around 12... The trip last night was uneventful actually... Of course, I did not expect to see anything, although part of me hoped to... The first event was a tour of Haw Par Villa, which I missed because I was late... There was then an experiment on whether offered food tastes differently from unoffered ones... A tray of meatballs were offered on an altar, then it was mixed in with unoffered meatballs which only the organizer knows how to differentiate... Volunteers were asked to taste 3 meatballs, of which only 1 is the offered one... The preliminary results states that offered food indeed tastes different from unoffered ones, further details will be put on the website soon...
The main highlight of the night is the Ten Courts of Hell (18 Levels of Hell), this is supposed to be the most spooky place... There used to be a dragon on top of this area, but everything went terribily wrong, so they had to remove it... While walking through the 10 courts, I saw 閻羅王 who is in charge of the 5th court, not sure why he is the most famous one though... Then there was another interesting court, I think it's the 7th or 8th court, it says that people who cheat in exams will be banished here... Everyone who passed by this place was like, "yar, see you there..." Then I heard a loud shout, not sure was it someone getting scared or trying to scare... Carrying on forward, I saw this behind the wall at a turn:
What the... !!
Guess that was what scared the wits out of the guy earlier... Everything ended at around 11pm, I took a cab home, showered and went to sleep... Tried not to think too much, don't want to scare myself unnecessarily...
Funny sign...Today I saw an interesting sight, a lift that cannot be used:
Good thing there are other lifts in this building, or I'll have to carry all the musical instruments down from the 10th floor using the stairs... :p
Off day...This blog is not dead, neither is the blogger... He is just too busy to have time to sit down and type, plus there isn't much to update... Today is my off day, finally some free time...
The Community Drumming for National Day was very disorganized, it was fully conceived by People's Association... It's not entirely their fault though, they do not have the expertise in every field... The previous one was put together by 3 organizations, thus more coordinated... However, I have more fun in this event than the well planned one... Time passed easily while crapping with my band leader, he also taught me some new stuff... The group I was in had alot more girls than boys; St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School was an all girls school, girls from Singapore Poly's Art Faculty, and a few more girls from Heartbeat Percussion... There was another group of NCC boys from some school I don't remember...
I'll have an exicting night this coming Saturday, will be going to Haw Par Villa with the Singapore Paranormal Investigation... Will try to take some pictures, Fatal Frame anyone? As for now, pictures from the past month...
Night view of Fullerton Hotel...
Rocky Road...
Lightning Storm approaching...
Don't strike me...
Yiming and I at Kuishin-Bo...
National Day...National Day is tomorrow, it will mark the 40th year Singapore gained Independence... This is my first year celebrating this day as a Singaporean, not like there is any difference in mentality, just some status difference... I'll be joinning the community drumming at one of the Heartlands... There are 3 Heartlands: Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines... The first 2 are the closest to my home, but I'll be joining the one at Tampines!! Funny right? The organiser for the Tampines Heartland personally asked me to join, so it's not nice to reject or go to another location... The rehearsal is later in the afternoon, wonder wat type of music we'll be playing...
Proud of myself...Went for IPPT this morning, was quite worried because I tried doing chin-ups yesterday and wasn't able to do 10 proper ones... The first station was standing broad jump, and I didn't even bother to see where the passing mark should be, was just praying for a pass... I didn't swing or do any special aids, just jumped when I was ready... 239cm!! That's 4 points, my personal best record ever since I entered army... Felt alot better and more confident, the rest was a breeze and I secured my silver... Would like to thank the guy who didn't let me pass him in my 2.4km run... I overtook him and he overtook me, not letting each other gain much distance... My final sprint was faster, but only managed to outrun him by 2 seconds... If he was not there, I would still get silver, but I wouldn't push myself that hard...
$200 for 1 hour of hard work, too bad I can't do it everyday... My birthday is at the end of this month, then I can take IPPT again after that... Another $200 for next month I hope...
Ghost Hunting...The 7th month of the lunar calendar is coming soon... In this month it is rumoured that the gates of hell are open, and ghosts are free to roam the face of the Earth... This is the month they call the "Hungry Ghost Festival"... Singapore Paranomal Investigation is holding a series of events throughout the month of August to investigate whether this hungry ghost is a thing of factual existence or just a myth... If weida was still around, I'm sure he'll be interested to join as well... For now, I'll have to find someone to go with me or I'll go alone... Would really love to be present at all the events, but I don't wanna go alone... For more information about these events check the SPI website: http://www.spi.com.sg/events/hungry_ghost/... If anyone is interested in going to these events give me a call or post here, I'm sure it'll be some interesting nights out...
Ima, Ai Ni Yukimasu (Be With You)Watch this show a few days back, a very touching show... It's about a widower and his son who are trying to get over the death of his wife/mother, living each day in silent remembrance of the beautiful days they cherished together... On one rainy day, they found a girl who loked exactly like his wife/mother...
A very romantic and touching show, almost cried a few times but tears don't seem to be able to come out of my eyes... Maybe it's because I've never been through such feelings in real life thus unable to fully understand them, or maybe it is just my subconcious mind telling me it's fake thus no need to weep over these things...
There have been very few updates lately, cause there isn't anything happening lately... My birthday is coming, but there wouldn't be any close friends to celebrate with... I'll most probably spend it with my family... The last day of work would be 28th August, cause my school is starting on the 12th September and I don't wanna work on my birthday... A part of me don't wanna just call anyone out to celebrate my birthday, another part of me don't wanna stay home on my birthday... 28 more days, let's see how things work out...
since 1st March 2005
