Iron in the Blood

Blink is Back

2011-08-28T14:01:00.003+08:00

Let me get this straight, do you want me here?
As I struggle through each and every year.
And all these demons, they keep me...

Up All Night (2011).

I've heard of them since I was 12 with their "Take Off Your Pants And Jackets" album (which I might add had a very simple and amusing album cover), and I'm 22 this year. It's hard to outgrow them.

Bursting my Bubble

2011-08-23T21:20:00.005+08:00

If I had to have Sociology as my first-ever lesson in such a long while after being out of the service, I'm glad that was it.

Particularly because it was something familiar. The introductory lesson had terms and concepts that I could understand (a little rusty), but something familiar at least. Then halfway through that three hour lecture, it suddenly hit me - I miss NP MCM. The people I studied and worked with there. It's facilities, the food...everything. (Strangely enough I could say the same about LCK Camp 1, minus the outfield training...oh sweet admin time.)

If you know me well enough, it's no secret that I have a certain aversion to the unfamiliar. I like being in my own "Space". I like knowing where to go on a when to do what basis.

And after a good 5 years, my mathematically non-inclined brain has to learn to start crunching numbers again.

Sometimes I wonder why I picked Business. Partly because I see it's practicality, but I miss that creative writing part of me.

(Did I mention I hate crunching numbers?)

Follow You

2011-08-13T02:40:00.001+08:00

I’m ready to leave it all behind
Your love works wonders, the ruler of my heart
I let go of my ego just like you said
I come into being hopeful again

Hate New Beginnings

2011-08-02T21:47:00.009+08:00

As the end of Service draws nearer and I slowly get this hint of what being on the outside feels like again, and it's this very discomforting feeling I'm getting.

It's when you finally have the freedom to live your life again, to it's "fullest" with no restrictions, you realise... To take life into your own hands, what happens? A terrible thing: No one to blame.

The world is yours again, what are you going to do about it?

Summing It Up (2010)

2011-01-01T21:31:00.000+08:00

Well, the end of another year is at the close. And I shant comment on how I spent it. nor whether I loved it or hated it.

So a pictorial review on what yours truly has been up to the past year.

As you can see, most of the pictures are of me and my memories in the military service. How I went through the ranks and am now serving as a Platoon Sergeant. It's not a glamorous lifestyle, one with dinners and outings and all that shiny, fancy stuff. But it's a service, and the perks are well... secondary.

The Ninja and the Princess

2010-06-26T20:36:00.012+08:00

One of the many reasons why I love the Internet: Scanlations.

While wallowing in my own self-regret and denial of what a letdown the system is... (and apart from the raging fever non-self induced puking), I turned to read some manga online - a brief respite from long route marches and battles I will fight and never "win".

There were your usual titles: Naruto, Bleach, FMA and more obscure ones such as Ghostsweeper Mikami and School Rumble.

And then there was Recca Hanabishi. Your average Japanese 16-year old, who went to high school and basically goofed off most of the time. Oh, and who could shoot flames out of his right hand. Not forgetting the eight Flame Dragon Spirits that lived in him.

Recca was undoubtedly the first anime that I saw because I skipped school one day on the account that I was "sick". More like an excuse to watch TV the whole day because Dad finally decided to get cable TV or what I like to call "SCV" (before Starhub came along). Why in the world would anyone need the Power Rangers or Pokemon (did Pokemon even exist in '98?) when you had Recca and his team of Hokage* ninjas.

*coincidental similarities with the Naruto Universe on this one, but no... no Rasengan or Kyuubi can ever hope to claim first. Sorry Kishimoto. =3

This anime was adventurous, action-packed (with copious amounts of bleeding) and they even sneaked in a little romance (unbeknownst to me at that time). Shit, for a 9-year-old, I found my idol and hero right there. Not in some cartoon or comic book character wearing brightly coloured spandex. Just a feisty high-schooler who fought for nothing but the lives of his friends. And he had friends who would fight for him too!

I probably learned alot about love, friendship and being strong-willed in those 42 episodes that aired on AXN that year. Now I look back and wonder what ever happened to that 9-year old me. The one that used to look so brightly on the future and expected the best of things. Now I just grumble on Life's propensity.

Then I realise, that kid never left me.

I unknowingly left that kid behind years ago. I found new friends, new companions.

But now I remember... those flames of hope.2years aint too long

to the trembling that’s like the sound of a heart

2010-05-23T19:43:00.003+08:00

just got off the phone with someone while standing at the corridor right outside my door...

The couple in the flat opposite of mine still fight at night.

The boy who lives a few stories down that very flat still uses the computer until the wee hours of the morn. He's older now.

Nothing much have changed the past months I've been away. And on the very night I return home, I am welcomed by the very same sights and sounds. Every week in and out.

I want to get out. And make it just like old times.

Almost there

2010-05-22T01:45:00.012+08:00

...in a little less than a week. There should be a sense of accomplishment somewhere.

Should.

But after a dialogue with someone who is rather... "up" there in the ranks this morning, I've come to remember - I'm still just another one passing through the system. And sometimes the system tends to shortchange you.

At the end of the day, the least we can do for ourselves is to pass out with Pride.

Going... going...

2010-04-23T21:10:00.002+08:00

Gone.

Too bad its not for a holiday. Kanchanaburi, TH.

everybody has problems. everybody has bad times.
do we sacrifice all the good times because of them?

what have i been up to?

2010-04-18T19:28:00.003+08:00

Since my last post, I have completed my basic military training, gone through Basic Sect Leader Course, (with a few hits and misses) and now on my way to thailand for three weeks before i complete my Adv. Sect. Leader course.

Along the way I have learnt a few things, none related to the army in anyway. But about myself, and how my view on the world, my life, friendship and even a little bit about love have changed along the way.

I dont wish to be selfish anymore, theres nothing to be gained from that. Theres no rewards in being number 1. Just the burden of needing to perform well every single time.

SO, I'll settle for number two at best ;)

Wish me luck in Thailand!

Sometimes

2010-01-02T00:47:00.005+08:00

I wonder where my head was at the past 2 or 3 (since its already 2010) years. Then I tell myself, you're so stupid, stupid, stupid!

Occasionally I also clean out scattered items around the room and spend a bit of time figuring out where to store them when I come home on the weekends. I read old letters (some in a bottle), clear out notebooks filled with little sketches and notes probably long forgotten.

And I neatly put them away in a single box.

There are just some things you don't wish to forget. Very much like a windy night along the Singapore river.

2010

2010-01-01T05:31:00.005+08:00

Bye 2009, I liked you.
Although, you were a pain at the start. And probably a slight of a jackass towards the very end too. (But who said the year had to be perfect anyways)

Have a happy 2010 everybody. *throws confetti* =)

It's already October

2009-10-01T00:00:00.002+08:00

I swear this is going to be a reeeally short one. It's already October.

Somehow a few months ago, it seems like the month would never arrive. But everything's slightly more apprehensive now. You begin to look back at everything and realise you still have much to do and when you turn to look ahead, suddenly there's no time to do anything anymore.

Two years of your life coming to a halt.

3rd Div Infantry putting on a show for NDP 2009

Strange that in less than eight days, I relinquish my role as a mere civilian, bringing along no useful knowledge of what I've learned so far into the armed forces. Along with many others, unsure and unsettled within ourselves, we will come together to learn to fight as one. To learn to love and protect this little island we call home.

Whatever happens, whether or not it is to my liking... Just bring it.

I'll make good of it.

P.s: and before i forget, Happy Children's Day. At least to the kid in you.

It's been minutes, it's been days.

2009-09-15T02:07:00.012+08:00

One year ago, today, I sat at my desk facing at an empty Word document. "This wasn't how I wanted it to be," I told myself as the cursor blinked at me.

It's been a week since I've stepped into that dinky "refurbished" office on level 7. It didn't look spectacular, all they did was clear out the old crap and placed a few new tables and chairs.

I went through old stacks of hype, considering sections I would want to keep and sections I would want to throw out if i found them redundant.

"Seriously? I'm doing this on my birthday?" Considering the things I would have to put up with, I had a mind to just pack up and leave. The worth just wasn't there. But I had a job to do, I chose to do it. So be it, there's no turning back time was there?

From time to time, SMS-es would be coming in with well-wishes. I'd reply them as best I could with a smiley face or two. But it wasn't a happy birthday, it was just... as they said it, a birth-day. Nothing but a date to signify when you were born unto this earth, and to measure how long you would live until the day your time was up.

How weary I was of that day, I was counting the hours until 6pm when I could leave and go home to the family. They would have prepared a simple dinner, all the things I like to eat, and a regular-sized blackforest cake from Bengawan Solo. Just as we do every year.

Deciding to put everything on hold, I went to sort through the files on the external hard-drive. Re-organising two and a half years' of work had to kill some time. Nearly an hour passed, and I only managed to sort through a year's worth of work. You would imagine the memories one would remember while doing this, imagine the small grin I had when I clicked open a folder titled, "Nias".

Two years ago, today, I waited in line at the check-in counter to deposit my luggage. It would have been my first and last overseas trip during my time at the Polytechnic. "Consider it good for your portfolio once you graduate," I told myself. But some part of me just wished I was back home in bed, waiting for those SMS-es of well-wishes to stream in.

"It's gonna be fun." And it was. I made friends with people I least expected to do so. Some didn't last. Some grew stronger than I ever intended it to be. It's not much of a memory, no pictures to bring home, no souvenirs... but that quiet hour at that jetty, on the edge of Gunung Sitoli was all I can remember best from that fourteen days... who knew what it would have amounted to.

Birthday's of mine have always been quiet affairs, no loud parties, no celebrations, no fuss. But the past two years was most memorable because of the choices I've made, and the people I've met along the way. Some stayed, some didn't. Others just moved on.

I could continue to stay and be perturbed by events that upset me. Or I could just carry on forward, knowing I have more choices to make (hopefully ones I won't regret this time).

So I bid my teenage-dom behind. Come 8th Oct, I move on with a new phase in my life. It's not a choice of mine that I have to go to an offshore island notorious for stories of punishment and ill-treatment. But, it is a choice of mine to be the best I can be when that day comes.

Fighting Spirit.

I have that. Because you only get it when you believe in yourself. Thanks for reminding me.

Cold nostalgia chills

2009-07-25T20:22:00.003+08:00

Sometimes, just sometimes, you wish things could be different from how they've turned out.

Sometimes you feel like you've lost a little part of you along the way.

Sometimes, you do things to help try and make you feel alive again.

Sometimes, you imagine you could do it all over again.

Sometimes, you just can't help but stop and wonder. Why?

It's really one big mess

2009-07-19T23:42:00.006+08:00

...it's one of those times where internal conflict really starts messing with your system.

As if you refuse to move from the green light and motorists behind you are urging you on with their horns.

That's the sort of noise and confusion you're getting. Like you know you never want to reach your endpoint.

Because you find you're enjoying the ride a little too much. And you know it'll end someway or another.

He won't roll into a grave anytime soon

2009-06-26T20:25:00.001+08:00

Finding names to faces we never knew

2009-06-23T01:06:00.004+08:00

Sounds like a stretch, but maaaybe that's what we are. =)

Sounds better than 4.2 anyways. Haha.

Fun!

2009-06-13T00:31:00.002+08:00

F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me. N is for anywhere and anytime at all, down here in the deep blue sea... (birds don't exactly swim do they? Except for the penguins and ducks and etc.)

Now, bring me that horizon

2009-06-01T23:27:00.004+08:00

Its a no wonder I enjoy walking home late into the night. When the time is just right, the moon will be overhead in the sky and I'll pause in the middle of the the bridge that is outside my house, staring absent-mindedly at the sky.

When the moon is full you cant help but notice the moonlight cast dark shadows all around you but yet you feel guarded in it's light.

Its like having the sun shine down upon you, but just a touch more comforting in the cool of the night.

nightmares

2009-05-31T07:25:00.004+08:00

Woke up in bed sweating. It wasn't even a humid night.

I hate it when the past catches up to me,

it just reminds you how useless you can be.

I want his job manz

2009-05-27T20:13:00.004+08:00

Digital Life, Wednesday May 27, 2009 (The Straits Times)

The DL Interview (pp36), "Let's Play Ball"

"There is a jock in this geek. Ben Tan, Microsoft's head honcho for Xbox 360, speaks to Oo Gin Lee"

Excerpt of the last paragraph:

He rose through the ranks in his 13-year career with the software giant, dabbling in various roles, including channels marketing manager and product manager of Windows and Office and his current role as regional sales and marketing director, in which he is in charge of 35 employees spanning seven countries.

---

Wow. thats like... 5 employees per country. Sounds reeeaally busy for the Xbox 360 head honcho.

Songs of Summer

2009-05-25T01:51:00.010+08:00

It would have been poetic in a lyrical sense if I did know a girl named Summer who could have been the potential love of my life but alas, that chance never arrived. Never in my 19 years of existence on this earth have I personally known anyone named Summer, but that's not the point.

In less than a week, June will be upon us and that literally means that we have reached mid-year. Primary and Secondary schools are out for their well-deserved rest and holidays where as the Polytechnic students continue to slog away. Then there are those who are just "waiting". Like me, like many others.

I never thought June would come this early. It comes to a point where you realise that once June comes, you're that one big step away from whatever you've come to know the past two decades. For the boys, we go on to serve our nation, the thought of enlisting doesn't frighten me much, its the after of the two years that does. Well, the girls either find their way to University by August or some just seem to start work. Let's simply put that my current uncertain future scares the bajeezus out of me.

It's this roller coaster ride you've always wanted to hop on since you were a kid but never got the guts to. You wish you could walk backwards to get out the queue, but there are too many people behind you waiting to board the ride, so you just have to go on and brave it out like the rest before you.

You pray that once you hop on and strap yourself in, you never make it to the corkscrew and the big drop sections. Too bad that almost never happens.

In this ugly world where nothing is ever fair, you just hope lady luck gives you a break (and maybe about time too).

Maybe I'm not prepared to grow up, the past 3? years has been a real blur, I never really saw past those years in Polytechnic, never really carving a career path for myself. Maybe I'm still expecting someone to take me by the hand and guide me through the next couple of years until I finish the next phase of my life or something, most probably undergrad studies (if i ever get there, ha!)

I haven't been this scared in a long time. It's too easy to complicate things.

Eternity ~Memory of Light and Waves~

2009-05-20T22:46:00.001+08:00

If you're feeling unease with the world. Take your time to load this piece and have a listen.

Val + JH. HOW COOL IS THAT?!

2009-05-19T00:18:00.003+08:00

Wait for the response... waaait for it.....

And there we go.

I Miss You (live) By Blink 182

2009-05-15T16:54:00.001+08:00

From Twitter-

markhoppus: I am about to walk onstage for the first blink-182 show in years. Soooo stoked, excited, and nervous. Wish us luck!!!

The aftermath of the graduation

2009-05-14T19:21:00.000+08:00

aaaand then..life's mundane again.

The End.. for now

2009-05-13T00:58:00.015+08:00

I'm... graduating.

Am I suppose to feel all warm and tingly inside? Like how when you look forward to being 16, 18, or even 21. 'Cause you know you've gone and done something worthwhile, but the fruits of your labour is pretty much intangible.

You think about the friends you've made, about the things you've achieved, about the choices you have made, about a love found and lost, about the happy moments when you've discovered your independence, about your future, about your past, about your present and about rediscovering yourself.

You think about the things you could have done better and the things you would have have done differently.

I wished I could have done better, I wish I could have done things differently. But that's the reason why they are "could" and "would". Because you can't.

So the things you can do, is everything you haven't already done. Right or wrong, I guess that's up to you to decide what huh?

See you guys soon.

These photos exist circa 2006- July 2009. Too many IBP photos to choose from (those responsible, you know who you are.) Shall update those soon enough. =D

Mark Hoppus "I'm Gay"

2009-05-12T10:51:00.002+08:00

Amazing.

Coming Soon

2009-05-11T22:07:00.006+08:00

Fiction: Boundaries

Your favourite "occult detective" meets the enigmatic John Constantine in a bizarre AU.

A haunting, reoccurring dream causes the prince of Britain's occult underground to travel to the seedy underbelly Los Angeles. Little does he know what awaits him. His past seems to be catching up to him, and once again, Constantine must use his cunning, and know of the occult to reclaim the lost man, and the magus, he once was.

With a powerful enemy standing in his way, nothing is stopping Constantine this time, even if it means certain death and damnation.

---

A really short excerpt from Hellblazer: Boundaries (A Fanfic)

He was having those dreams again. Sitting up on his bed in his run-down apartment in Liverpool, he took out his favourite pack of Silk Cut and reached for his light.

"Damn, where the hell did I put that thing?" Vaguely annoyed, he got out of bed and made a beeline to the bathroom.

"I have to remind myself to make a visit to The Sandman one of these nights," he groaned.

His previous encounter with Morpheus was not a pleasant one, but it did have a happy ending to it. With one nightmare relieved, it paved way for another to surface.

"Not quite the trade-off I expected," he thought as he returned to under the covers, hoping that for once - in a series of many nights, that he would rest easy...

Hmm, do you hear that Mr Government

2009-05-11T21:31:00.002+08:00

Once again, the conversation is between your hero in the Darth Vader mask and a green gummy thing.

The end of the rite of spring

2009-05-08T21:34:00.005+08:00

And everyday I wake, I tell myself a little harmless lie...

The whole wide world is mine.



...And that's all you need to feel great again.





Oh, who am I kidding. Not even myself. Just cant bear it anymore.

Yes/ No?

2009-05-08T10:42:00.000+08:00

Sometimes life gives you the very simple option of choosing either/or. It can be as simple as flipping a coin on this.

But on many occasions, people enjoy making their lives difficult by needing to have the third choice - that grey area. This introduced the concept of rating. From first to last, from gold to nothing. How do you make your choices? Based on your intuition? Fate? Or foresight?

More often than not, you're gonna be faced with making decisions that has more than two choices all the time. But when the situation calls for it from a simple Yes or No, how do you know which side to choose? Do you even know what you're doing? Or are you just plain blind and deaf to the facts?

Nah, I've already thrown away that can of worms quite some time ago. I left the coin standing on the table for that one.

Me?

2009-05-06T19:38:00.003+08:00

Nope, I'm not at all siao.
-
Just gotta sit back and hold on, and hold on tight.

Jack & Jill

2009-05-05T22:33:00.004+08:00

Jack and Jill went up the hill,
to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got and home did trot
as fast as he could caper;
And went to bed to mend his head,
with vinegar and brown paper.

Jill came in and did she grin
to see his paper plaster;
Mother vexed did whip her next
for causing Jack's disaster.

Now Jack did laugh and Jill did cry
and her tears did exacerbate;
Then Jack did say that they should play,

and Jill said. "I hate you!"

To which Jack replied: Tell me something I don't already know.

The End~

Why? To mock me?

2009-05-04T01:33:00.001+08:00

Oh the irony

2009-05-04T00:22:00.002+08:00

"I know"

Afriad of the dark

2009-04-28T00:47:00.003+08:00

I Know I should be sleeping but I wanted this to be freshly typed out as I'm thinking of it now.

Remember how when you were a kid, the darkness would just consume you? Your mind starts to run amok and you start to imagine all the possible places that those monsters and ghouls may be hiding at. Waiting to scare you, or most likely eat you.

Its weird, I lie on my bed hearing the ceiling fan whirl and all I can think about is how freakishly difficult life is. You have to deal with people you dont like, a job you might hate, a love-life that wont give you a break and you keep wondering where's your next pay check coming from. Now that's scary.

Ironic how I'm typing this in the dark. This is what Monday does to you. It's double the pain if your life is mundane.

Mandatory

2009-04-24T22:35:00.001+08:00

Must. update. blog. for. no. apparent. reason.

Uggh, done.

As usual

2009-04-23T21:56:00.002+08:00

The last time I saw you, you turned away.

I said "hello", but you kept on walking...

Pirates of the Caribbean Meets Rock Guitar Cover

2009-04-21T15:52:00.001+08:00

fuyo.

Calculating... ... (2)

2009-04-19T23:27:00.008+08:00

Concerning my previous post here about which two-wheeled vehicle I am planning on getting, I've been looking at my bank book and been doing up the finances once again (insurance, transfer fees, road tax, machine cost etc).

When I'm sleeping, I dream of myself riding this.

When I'm awake, I consider riding this.

When I'm on the porcelain throne doing my daily business, and I brood over that yours truly is jobless, am potentially not going to be an undergrad anytime soon and I'm under 21. I definitely am and will forever (if forever is equivalent to 3 years) be riding this.

cost efficient much?

The one with the fives and sevens

2009-04-16T01:38:00.008+08:00

Thursday has arrived, Wednesday will be back next week,
BRING ON THE FRIDAY!

Edit: An hour on after publishing the above, I begin to realise the irony. I stay at home everyday, so technically... everyday's a Friday, or a weekend. It's all good.

Three months on.

2009-04-10T01:47:00.005+08:00

Maybe it's just me being pathetic but I don't enjoy listening to songs that remind of us especially when you're just meters away.

But so long as you're happy I guess. Enjoy your life.

Trinkwasser

2009-04-09T01:20:00.001+08:00

A sede!
Originally uploaded by Vinícius Santa Rosa

Tip: Drinking water helps to suppress your appetite, good for weight watchers.

Tip 2: Drinking enough water helps many medical ailments: chronic fatigue, allergies, depression, digestive problems, urinary tract problems, constipation and more!

Tip 3: Water helps you improve your muscle tone!

---

Okay, this was just a sad excuse to show you a well-taken and shopped photo.

Come Walkabout

2009-04-08T18:38:00.007+08:00

You know that "Come Walkabout" Australia ad you see on TV? The one with the blonde executive walking about in the rain on her cell, then the scene changes to her swimming in the canyons in Australia.

Towards the end of the ad, it says "She arrived as Ms K Mathieson, Executive VP of Sales."

Then the final scene was of her staring off screen, with the catch, "She departed as Kate."

Wow. It's just emotional. It makes you wonder if she had gotten fired while on holiday.

In the news today

2009-04-05T13:00:00.008+08:00

Usually the Sunday paper is pretty boring. But today's stories are pretty interesting.

My top stories pick:

Female teens who want to turn into models via Clubsnap photoshoots, and how I personally think that these photographers are quite buaya. (Haha!)

LKY's daughter contributing an opinion piece. (This one is a must read)

Children who don't do the housework. (One of the interviewees is an MCM student, and looks like he could use the extra exercise)

And lots of stories on how rich people are still enjoying life. E.g Private LIFTS in their mansions, spending over $750k on renovations.

Oh, to the lady who built the lift in her home. She mentioned that when she grows old, the lift will come in handy so she won't need to climb the stairs in her home. That's HER solution.

Now you might say I'm bitter and sore that I wish my family was as well-off. But here's my suggestion.

Sell off the house.
Give your money to the kids to burn, and buy a HDB.

So you won't have to climb stairs. Oh, and you get to share lifts that might be shit-filled and vomit-ridden from time to time. =D

A quick conversation

2009-04-03T16:57:00.005+08:00

This is an actual conversation between two Secondary 2 girls.

Girl 1: Eh, if a durian or a coconut fell on you. Which one would be hurt more?

Girl 2: MY HEAD LA! *walks away briskly.

Social Survival

2009-04-02T23:40:00.010+08:00

"Zeo Mega Battlezord expects you to read and think about it or it will fire it's tiny lasers at you"

I've been working at the airport as an Airport guide (not the most glamourous of jobs but it pays well) for a good 5 days now and frankly, I hate the place. Maybe it's because my post is at Departure or maybe it reminds me of how stuck I am on this little island we call Singapura. I see men and women in suits going towards the business class check-in counters and leaving past immigration and I even see a few familiar faces return if I'm posted at Arrival.

Then I wonder to myself, "How the fuck do I get to be like them?" It's bad enough that already I'm having a hard time planning my course of action for possibly the next 10 years.

It sucks when I'm barely 20 and I'm trying to come up with a lifeplan. So at one point, while helping a passenger figure out how to get to the Coffee Bean, a revelation. Money.

That's the definition of planning for the future in this country means. Money.

Plain and simple.

You get money from having a career (businessman recommended). Careers leads to having money. You bills NEED money. Your house, your car, your daily necessities, your need to provide for a family. All requires money.

I guess for a country that has a land mass of less than 300 sq miles, money is as simple as you can get to measure your damn worth.

If you can secure a good and regular income, and know how to save and invest, chances are, you're halfway home.

But a little luck goes a long way as well. If let's say, for some uncanny reason you just keep finding yourself stuck in a rut. Well, I guess that's tough luck. You can go about a million and one ways (I'm currently at my 2,074th way) to make your life a little better, but middle-class will just be as high as you can get. It's vicious cycle, thats why it's called a rut.

So if you're Singaporean (or are from any country for that matter, cause I know some Finnish people do read my blog), can you honestly say "money isn't everything"?

Heck, what the hell do I know. I'm just an airport guide.

Just for fun

2009-04-01T16:58:00.002+08:00

Which one will you be?

Mark's Tweets (2)

2009-03-31T01:56:00.001+08:00

Makes you wanna be there. Well, if you're a fan. Heh.

Sirin.

2009-03-30T16:17:00.000+08:00

From time to time I read up on the different legendary creatures that appear in our folklore and urban legends. These can range from vampires to the local Pontianak to mythological dogs such as Ceberus or Anubis or even the man-eating tree.

Then comes one of those myths that just sticks in your head like... the siren song.

In many versions, the siren is either a feminine half-mermaid or half-bird creature that sings its song to mariners, drawing them to their demise.

My first encounter with them was actually on the television. Watching Jason and the Argonauts as a 10-year-old, I asked my dad what were those winged creatures attacking the heroes in the film. "Mermaids" he said. To think I actually believed him 10 years back.

Well little did I know that the winged creatures in the movie were actually harpies. But I digress.

There's a warped beauty to these grecian seductresses. How weak is the spirit of men to easily fall and follow the call of the sirens?

Sailors who heard these songs would be enticed to sail their ships towards the rocks where the sirens reside and ultimately crash. Or they would jump off their vessels and swim towards these rocks and stay with the sirens, forever wanting to hear their beautiful music. These men would then forget everything on earth and eventually die in starvation.

That's how love can consume you. If you allow it to blind your senses and rationality, you will never see the desolation that is ahead. Jason had the aid of Orpheus the musician to play his lyre to drown out the song of the sirens with music much bolder and beautiful.

The passion of love is nothing without the passion for living. How do you make sure that what you have is not just mere ignorance that when problems appear, you allow them to be overshadowed by your own obliviousness?

You find the strength in loving something else as well. Such as friends or family.

Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.

Greatest Ever Motorcycles: # 1 - Honda Cub

2009-03-28T22:11:00.001+08:00

Earth/Hour

2009-03-28T20:30:00.000+08:00

"It's not about what country you're from, but instead, what planet you're from."

Most Singaporeans may not care. But I love my planet.

Cast your vote in the next hour.

Calculating... ...

2009-03-26T22:24:00.003+08:00

This is a beauty.

But this is CHEAPER.

The Best and the Fastest Ride

2009-03-25T23:17:00.000+08:00

No one can really expect everything to go smoothly in life (unless you were born under a lucky star or something). And you're bound to hit a few speed bumps every now and then, which sure as hell is annoying.

Go too fast and these bumps will do wonders to your undercarriage. Which leaves you the only option of rolling over it, and is unfortunately the annoying part. Two seconds over a speed bump and it feels like an eternity.

But like all good road trips, you're bound to hit a stretch where you can possibly push the speedometer to one-twenty or more. You wind down the windows to feel the wind and hear it rush past you. Its exhilarating.

And then comes the presence of the speed camera. It's an annoying little toy the law came up with that was intended to sap the joy out of your life. Best part of it is, they don't tell you where it is. It's always just "ahead". The point of it is to remind you that the best things in life don't last long and the worst parts are always hidden round the corner. You just need to slow down to silently move past it, but the process of it takes a little slower than what you would expect.

By the time you get from point A to B, you've probably gone through the best and the worst of your emotions just from that single drive and you know that there are many more to come.

And that's life for you. Everyday is a new drive. But when the sun sets, you can choose to lie awake in your bed and think of how you've managed to let yourself down for that single day. Or you could give yourself that one chance to sit back and take the wheel again.

Things won't be right all the time, and sure as hell you'll find yourself alone sometimes.

But go far along enough and you'll meet that straight road once again. Along the way you'll probably pick up hitchhikers who'll eventually turn into the best car-pool buddies.

And who knows, if you're lucky you might just pick up someone who wants to sit next to you in the passenger seat with you on that crazy drive for the rest of the journey.

An Urgent Careful Stare

2009-03-20T23:45:00.002+08:00

As said before, its like a bad dream I can never wake up from. In this dream I can never say the things I mean to you.

"I always enjoyed watching you as you sleep."

Hearing you breathe, it reverberates through my body and syncs with my heartbeat.

This, only when I sleep.

--

If you need to find me, I'm still available on Twitter. In a day I suppose.

Each breath that you has a thunderous sound

2009-03-20T08:50:00.001+08:00

I might have done well for my last semester, but fuck that I fooled around in my first year. Now everything's still going down the drain.

Mark's Tweets

2009-03-19T11:43:00.003+08:00

I'm excited too. HOT DAMN!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer

2009-03-18T22:20:00.001+08:00

Now they should produce an "X-Men Origins: Gambit" film.

something about the body and it's clock.

2009-03-18T08:53:00.003+08:00

I don't know when it happened, but I've been waking up at 7.30am on the dot the past few weeks. Which for me just seems redundant as I have no reason to be awake at that ungodly hour.

Well, the sun's out. The weather's fair. Time to push some pedal power.

It's not the same anymore

2009-03-16T21:56:00.002+08:00

Never was.

You get used to things always being there. Then never would you imagine that they can go away at a moment's notice. There's this change, this gap in your routine, but it's too late. You can't find anything to ever replace that gap.

You just got to move on. But who's gonna watch your back while you're at it?

Me? I doubt there's anyone.

255mins

2009-03-16T01:42:00.002+08:00

In less than that amount of time, the moment I saw Singtel as my operator (as apart from My Maxis), feelings of regret has already started seeping back.

Just gotta face it with a smile, Ian. Just a day at a time.

On the road.

2009-03-15T21:40:00.006+08:00

It was a long drive. But the seemingly never ending road for the next three hours just made it ever so easier to clear the head. I may not have gone to an "exotic" or "romantic" country such as Italy, Rome, China or Paris or Egypt... but any place out of Singapore is good enough for me.

From the driver's seat

Peephole

Welcome to Melaka

No access

It felt good to get away.

Eclipse

2009-03-13T03:36:00.001+08:00

I was picture surfing on Flickr when I came across a photo that just inspired my bored self to write this.

"The moon can't light up in the darkest of the nights if the sun doesn't shine on it. They are friends on the extreme ends of space. Never meeting. But when they do, it's a sight to behold and wonder."

If anyone bothers or cares, I'll be driving up to M'sia for a really quick getaway. Ancestral home, here I come (and with pictures too!)

DANGGIT

2009-03-12T19:07:00.002+08:00

LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAPS KEY. -.-

Bu (When you walk away, you don't hear me say)

2009-03-12T00:01:00.004+08:00

Shattered Hallway

I've been having these weird dreams lately.

Somehow, you're always there at that end of the hallway. But you're too far away to hear what I have to say.

Just be

2009-03-10T19:14:00.002+08:00

confident

happy

courageous

hopeful

cheerful

devoted

warm

forgiving

compassionate

Human. For all our flaws, any of the above must be able to make up for it in some way or the other.

Simple Things

2009-03-09T20:42:00.006+08:00

make me happy =)

And then, there are other things that make me happy as well. =D

Oooh yea. =)

2009-03-08T19:43:00.002+08:00

Sigh, I hate cliffhangers.

I really do.

Your Call

2009-03-08T11:17:00.004+08:00

For some reason, no matter how ridiculous, I want to watch Dragonball Evolution.

Who wants to watch with me?

I have to admit, I'm kind of a Chow Yun-Fat fan. Haha.

p.s: and a happy birthday to all within this week.

It's complicated

2009-03-03T11:06:00.003+08:00

Things really are. Sigh.
I still miss you. =\
It's like everything seemed to have snowballed into one big mess, and I'm still trying to pick up the pieces laying around first. I haven't even reached the main snowball (problem) yet. But I think I'm afraid to. Afraid that I'll destroy whatever little that's not broken yet.

I'm afraid of losing again.

This I read in Reader's Digest once,
"We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection." - The Dalai Lama

That's what I'm afraid of losing.

Bond, James Bond.

2009-03-01T20:01:00.006+08:00

With alll due respect, I love everything to do with spies, assassins, bounty hunters and etc. Just to name a few fictional ones - John Rain, Solid Snake, Jason Bourne, Sam Fisher, Jack Ryan, Leon Kennedy, Nick Fury...

I could go one but when it comes to the good old Double-O Seven, he never did match my idea of a secret agent. He didn't have a past to hide, no skeletons in his closet. He's always so confident in what he does, and everything seems to be made out just right for him.

And his confident stride as he walks across the frame in Casino Royale (for example). For some reason, I keep hoping that a car on screenn would just run down his double O arse. Well, there goes the mission, M wouldn't be very happy.

House (or rather).. Room Cleaning

2009-02-27T22:57:00.005+08:00

I decided to turn the room inside out tonight and effectively threw away half of my belongings. (Technically they were junk, I'm a hoarder.)

But I didnt manage to find my Nias Certificate in the end -.-

But while rummaging through some of my junk, I found a thumbdrive (256mb).

Curiosity got the better of me.

I accessed the files.

Today couldn't have gotten any worse

2009-02-25T23:08:00.004+08:00

You know, sometimes, when you think that things are picking up, life just looves to throw you a curveball.

For example, I left an hour early to go to the driving centre for my Cl2B Theory lessons at 6.50pm. Took the train at 5.55om. And then, the train was faulty so every station took about 3.5mins? to travel in between.

Then at 7pm, I boarded the bus and being Ubi/ Eunos, there's always a huge jam at peak hour. And by the time i got to the centre, at 7.15, I had to wait til 8.40pm to attend the second half of the lesson. Which means I need to retake the first half. Next Week. -.-

Don't you just love it when karma strikes.

P.S: Oh right, the reason's cause I'm an ASS who only knows how to piss off the people who are important to me because I take them for granted. Thats why.

the Jack and Rai song (yes i made one up, now you can play along too. Lol)

2009-02-20T23:40:00.002+08:00

I kiiinda wrote this when I was still attached and she would (and still is *grin) go gaga over them. Find your own melody to it for fun and effect. Copyright Me. Lol.

---

Happiness is... (the Jack and Rai song -.- )

Intro x2:
C, G, A, F (on counts of 4)

Verse:
C G, A, F
On the stage tonight, my girl sees her music heroes
C, G, A, F
Playing their guitars, like angels from heaven sent to melt her heart.
C, G, A, F
When they start to sing, my heart stop beating like the world is ending.
C, G, A, F
Playing wonderwall, she says "Im so lucky so make me yours"

Chorus:
C, G, D F
Happiness is having music to listen,
C, G, D F
and music to her is the language of love

It leaves me in shock and awe,

that she'll never leave the bar with me that night

Verse 2:
C G, A, F
Im out with my girl again, she says, "Let's go" see her music heroes
C G, A, F
It's 10 on a wednesday night, they do requests live down at the station.
C G,
Singing songs from A to Z,
A, F
they'll just falalala her away tonight.

Chorus:
C, G, D F
Happiness is having music to listen,
C, G, D F
and music to her is the language of love

It leaves me in shock and awe,

that she'll never leave the bar with me that night

Repeat Chorus to end =)

You could be happy

2009-02-20T01:31:00.002+08:00

I hope you are.
You've made me happier
than I'd been by far.

Start the Machine

2009-02-19T17:27:00.006+08:00

I was clearing out my room (apparently the only time I do so is when I'm finding stuff such as certificates and etc.) and this (one of many) notebook fell off the table and onto the floor. I picked it up and naturally flipped through its pages to see if there was anything valuable in there. All there was were some doodles and sketches I made when I was bored. When I was about to trash it, my finger got stuck on a page... Then I smiled.

I left some words quite far from here to be a short reminder.
I laid them out in stone in case they need to last forever.

Now the notebook is in my "personal" box with every other object I hold dear to me.

Detox

2009-02-16T15:36:00.006+08:00

I can't keep my mind away from you and it makes me feel like it's raining outside. But since you're happier without, than I suppose I'll fall behind.

F*ck

2009-02-13T04:15:00.002+08:00

I can't sleep... again.

"Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal
Red light, can't stop so I spin the wheel
My world goes black before I feel an angel lift me up
And I open bloodshot eyes into fluorescent white
They flip the siren, hit the lights, close the doors and I am gone"

BLINK-182 IS BACK

2009-02-09T16:20:00.005+08:00

"4 years too long"

In regards to the post which was created in December 24,2008, (click on link to view past post), Blink-182 is back!

Today, I sleep an untroubled man.

P.S: I knew there must be a reason why Travis didn't die in that plane accident =DDD

Introspective

2009-02-08T15:13:00.003+08:00

I've done my math, my earliest possible enlistment date for NS is probably in October. Which now cause quite abit of problems for me. IF I DO, get into a university, I might not make it for the "mainstream" intake. Which would mean further wasting my life by 6 months or so after I ORD.

Well that aside, I guess the long waiting period should give me enough time to find a NEW job, thank you very much Spin3lli for firing me just because I was on a 5-month break for IBP attachment.

--

Other than that, I've been doing some thinking lately (okay, alot). Just the other night, I was invested to be a Rover Scout. And somehow, during the course of the investiture, I maganged to find myself left alone to reflect on my current thoughts and ideals, my past and my future. It's really scary, the future. Because honestly, I don't know what's going to happen. That's probably why I enjoy thinking of the worst case scenarios all the time. So if something bad really happens, I wouldn't feel the disappointment hit me.

But I made a promise to myself silently that no matter how bad something will turn out, as my own man I will press on, if not for myself, then for the people whom are important to me. For the last two weeks, I thought I fell into a hole I couldn't possibly get out of. And I thought my mind was going to eat me from within.

But it's time I grew up.

Under a rock

2009-02-05T22:23:00.003+08:00

It's suddenly as if everything's changed back to the way it was before. No hostilities, no sour faces. It's like the world decided to make everybody friends again. What have I been missing out?

Will probably never find out.

Breaking even

2009-02-05T07:30:00.008+08:00

For some reason, I didn't sleep a wink last night, spent the whole night watching Discovery Channel.

I agree that Tv is mind-numbing, because I'm sick of the thoughts that keep running in my head.

I wish so hard, that I could just fall asleep, but I know when I wake up,those thoughts will just start running again. Ever so, like a waking nightmare.

You want to know the best part?

I can't tell anyone about it.

Postscript: I'm tired of acting as if i'm strong, or nonchalant or like I don't need anyone. I'm just tired and probably won't care anymore

And so it ends

2009-02-05T00:25:00.000+08:00

Final report is done.

Rain clouds are passing

2009-02-04T13:42:00.003+08:00

You know its gonna be a 'relatively' bad day when you get caught in a freak rainshower while you're making you way home with no shelter in sight for the next 3-4Km.

It's Wednesday again

2009-02-04T00:33:00.004+08:00

"A silver lining in every cloud"

Now that I've finally decided to look back on everything. Three years of a new chapter in my life flew by pretty fast. It wasn't technically bad, but most parts were great. Now, as I'm writing my final report (yes, I'm one of the few who's handing up later), I'm thinking of all the what-could-have-been and the what-can-be's in the future.

Well, as Calvin from Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes have once mentioned, "the day is full of possiblities". I wish everyone the best in their future endeavours.

I'm gonna go bike-riding later in the morning. It's becoming a weekly escape for me since everything. =)

Read the bodytext

2009-02-02T00:25:00.004+08:00

"And my mouth is filled with blood, from trying not to speak" - No it isn't

The Weasley Kittens!

2009-01-31T23:48:00.001+08:00

Kewt!

Distraction

2009-01-25T21:08:00.006+08:00

Meaning: An extreme agitation of the mind or emotions.

"This place is dead, it echoes through town.
There isn't one voice. I haven't heard a sound." - Distraction, AvA
bu =(

Chinese in Singapore

2009-01-21T22:44:00.003+08:00

Well, it's an isolated case but while I was on the way home, I saw this Chinese teacher (as in person who teaches chinese) marking this primary 5 student's ting xie book. It was the first ting xie for the year I'm guessing (it was dated 2/1/2009).

And well, lets just say this kid's chinese is as good as mine when I was in Primary 5. Out of 10 words, this kid got about 3 correct. And then there's the dictation where the student only managed to write about 10 to 15 characters.

And guess what the lao shi marked him? 15/120. That mark is pretty depressing to see for an 11 year old. I mean, she was dedcuting marks for any errors. Poor kid, probably will give up on chinese or already did I'm guessing

Anyways, I guess that's what happened to me. In the end from Sec 1 onwards, I cheated in all my ting xie onwards by using cheatsheets (in order of use over 4 years) on:

my calf
the underside of my arm
my cast during the time i fractured/ sprained my ankle
my wallet (my personal favourite)
my pencil box
plainly putting the cheatsheet on the table by inscribing the table (using blue ink on blue table)

Well, it's safe to say it didnt do any good to my chinese nor did it help to improve it. By the time I abandoned "regular" chinese to Chinese syllabus 'B', I completely stopped learning chinese. It's sad, knowing that the Chinese (foreign) Talents are coming in. Ratio 2 to every 1 singasporean but what's a guy to do. Probably hope that a revolution will occur in China and they all start speaking Tamil. That way, everyone else in the world (besides India) will be on an even playing field. Haha.

Moral of the story? Chinese teachers from China suck. They are strict and ... well, they usually don't look very good just like Beijing Ya from my secondary 2 days. Sigh. I wish I was Indian.

Everything

2009-01-17T01:14:00.003+08:00

I was suppose to write a post about hype being finished and getting sent to the printers and all that but knowing me, if I don't blog about it within that five minutes of wanting to, I just lose it.

I'm not a writer, I just do it because I think I need to. Like its a job. But somehow mysterious forces keeps pushing me to writing. I would like to write... music. I have a couple of crappy notes and verses scattered here and there but it'll never match what's out there in the market. i could possibly write for advertising copy. Coming up with story headlines gave me that much 'training'.

But yea, to sum it up. I'm not a writer. Or not the writer I want to be.

But in any case, the (Chinese) New Year is coming up and I managed to learn a new song today.

Its about what the future holds and how everything can seem so much better. (Well, the song actually requires having another person to be around, to have and to hold etc etc). But it has one heck of a catchy riff IMO.

The hype developer diary (Post 1)

2009-01-02T22:52:00.004+08:00

What you see here are banners promoting the magazine. Courtesy of the school who paid for the banners.

This is my desk, which is annoyingly next to the door. So much so I've become the receptionist, the person who signs all the packages that arrives and other misc stuff like opening the main door which is protected by the biometric security system.

And this is Jay, who has 100 pages to do in 10 hours. Yeeeeeea

Afterword

2008-12-31T15:23:00.008+08:00

Last Sunset for 2008

Time seems to fly by so fast when your constantly doing something every minute of everyday. Close to five months ago, I didn't think that attachment would end, but as my magazine's deadline draws closer, I wish there was an extra six hours a day.

2008, had been a pretty memorable year. Its marks my final year in polytechnic (hopefully), and after all this, I'll leave behind everything to pursue a career or further studies after NS.

If I were to be honest, I wish the year wouldn't end, there are lots of things I have yet to clear and somemore things to settle. It would be a pity if things didn't resolve by year end (which is today).

But apart from that, I'm happy that this year, I managed to get back in touch with my roots, my friends, my family, and a little more.

I've won some, I've lost some. Here's to 2009!

Coming up soon, my resolutions and wishlists (God help me by making it rain money. I want that Fender 60s reissue stratocaster). In the meantime, I'm still in the office. -.-

The Wishlist for 2009

1. Squier Standard Stratocaster Black and Chrome (Special Edition), - $480

I WANT a stratocaster, and the Fender model would be 6 times the price of the Squier model

2. Roland Cube 30X Guitar Amplifier w/ Speaker - $350

This baby has in-built EFX such as Chorus and Flanger. And a Reverb to top everything off

3. Shimano mountain bike SLX groupset - $too scary to think of the price

Pretty. Lol

And you know whats the best part? I won't be around long enough to enjoy them.

Brian's Song

2008-12-29T12:03:00.003+08:00

I'm trying to come up with a jingle on how life doesnt always turn out the way you want it to be. It's not turning out very well. -.-

Adam's Song

2008-12-24T13:13:00.003+08:00

"Brilliant, My life is in a mess, my work laptop has decided to commit suicide. I have problems bottled inside me that its going to blow skyhigh, and it's not right for me to say I have problems because everyone else's is apparently much more terrible than mine. Happy Holidays."

-//-

I never really told you how I came about to play the guitar did I? It was during the time I was in Secondary Two. Every day before morning assembly, we would blast music over the class speakers. Usually it was Eminem or a random rock band. But I usually enjoyed the music more when Blink-182 was playing.

To be honest, I never heard of them until the release of the Take off your Pants and Jacket album (it was so cool that the album cover consisted of images of an Airplane taking off, a pair of Pants and a Jacket). So any other songs from the Enema of the State, or Dude Ranch album was completely unknown to me.

But I loved 'The Rock Show', I loved the music album, I loved the way they threw around $500,000 like it was nothing, I loved the way they said 'fucking explanation'. Haha. There was so much conviction. Con-Viiiic-tion.

So there I was, sitting down and watching MTV on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and there was Tom, playing his Stratocaster with that single knob, and made it look so cool. I mean, Tom was no John Frusciante, Santana, Joe Satriani or Slash, but he made playing the guitar so cool. So freaking cool. I had to live with my uncle's old guitar with the two broken strings until I bought my own guitar a year later.

But what really got me going was 'Adam's Song', from their previous Enema of the State album (I remind you I have never knew this album existed, lol). I think I knew what made Blink as popular as they were. To me, their songs represented the best (or worse) of youth, fun, love and toilet humor. They were one the few bands bands I knew at the time that made life seem great.

But Adam's Song, that was the song. I know it was about depression and suicide, but at age 14, I didn't know it would have meant all that. For all I knew, it was about wanting to be left alone and wanting to be away from the world. I guess every once in awhile, that's what everybody wants at times. To be away from the harsh reality of the world.

For someone who was barely 16, I didn't know half the meaning of what the band was singing about in most of their songs. I didn't need to go around saying 'fuck the world". I didn't know what love meant (not until now). I didn't know what it felt like to come from a broken family. I didn't know what truth was, I didn't know squat about anything.

But I'm glad I got to know Blink-182, to have heard them, to have grown up as they have up until their final album. It's a shame they've gone their separate ways (though I do hope they'll get back together for one last time).

I'm glad I still play the guitar today, I'm not a great player but I'm glad I know how it feels to play their songs and how it can make me feel like...me.

Tom says, "Take your pants off!" (Starts to play 'Dammit')

P.S: I have no more anger. Enough now.

Just so you know, this marks my 200th post.

He-man and the Masters of the Universe

2008-12-16T22:47:00.006+08:00

No not him.

I mean,

him

|
v

CLT Zach Lim

The only guy I know who can punch porridge and turn it into a Big Mac (but since he's allergic to beef, he'll probably get a rash)

The thought alone amuses me. BOOYA!

One reason why it sucks working at the laptop for 15 hours a day

2008-12-11T01:10:00.004+08:00

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), or median neuropathy at the wrist, is a medical condition in which the median nerve is compressed at the wrist leading to paresthesias, numbness and muscle weakness in the hand. The diagnosis of CTS is often misapplied to patients who have activity-related arm pain.
-Wikipedia. (LOL)

Yeea, my right hand gets all numb from using the bloody trackpad all the time. And don't even think of the "use the mouse" speech. I don't like rodents(of any kind) that much.

Happy Belated 20th

2008-12-08T22:01:00.004+08:00

Taken on a page out of Breaking Dawn.

Mummies Alive! Intro

2008-12-08T16:46:00.002+08:00

They don't make cartoons like they used to anymore. Ahh, the good old 90s.

And Nefertina is probably by far still the hottest mummy i've ever seen when I was 11. LOL.