Sometimes it's not what we expect of life, but what life brings us. And meeting ex-classmates is something we should always find enjoyable. We can't help but compare what they are now to what they were then. The younger you knew one another, the stronger the sense of familiarity.
Upon meeting up with good old Sunny over some much-needed iced mocha at Starbucks, who'd have known that I'd get to befriend someone from my godforsaken primary school! It's a rarity to have people from there, don't ask me why. They all seem to have grown up and left the island or something!
And after that, I bumped into secondary school friends at Bedok MRT. First Fabian upon alighting, and then Pei Yen upon exiting the station. Fabian recognized her first. Chancing upon friends without any prior arrangement is just fun.
Useless muse of the day: Why don't people give way to alighting passengers anymore? Why do they block up the exit route and leave themselves a little gap to squeeze through? Are we really in such a rush to get... somewhere? Such that someone else's needs can be pushed aside and trodden upon in order to service our self-centred souls?
Useless fact of the day: From the game design module, I learnt that scissors, paper and stone is one straightforward yet cyclical concept that can be applied to modern game mechanics. It is indeed used to guide many games that are in their infancy stage of development.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Taking the MRT is a Contact Sport
Yesterday, I got rammed a grand total of THREE times while taking the train. Twice on the way to school and once on the way back.
The first time, this funky dude wearing a green polo tee and fatigues for pants came in from my left, stepped over 2 laptop bags and lost his balance. His left adidas shoe ran down my right leg the way you would strike a match against its box. Ouch.
After this dude, who spent all his money on clothes and has no money to eat and it explains why stumbles when he walks, alighted a few stops later, a couple to my left struck next. First, the girl knocked my arm with her hand while she was in the embrace of her alleged boyfriend, oblivious to the other commuters, enjoying their moment of exhibitionist PDA*. Then the boyfriend withdrew his arms from her and slapped my left arm, once again interrupting my mental pilgrimage to outer space.
And then on my way back, this older couple were standing near me. As people started vacating the seats, the old man gestured for the old lady to sit down, acting in the typical chauvinistic manner with the body language that read "you're weaker, you take a seat." The lady, being the traditional obedient wife of the typical chauvinistic old man, complied and proceeded to sit down safely. Then another seat opposite to where the old lady was seated became empty. The old man let go of the bar and went on to take a seat.
That's when the train started moving. Just after the old man let go of the bar and before he could place a hand on the seat to steady himself. So the whole body flung towards me. No nearly enough to topple me, but sufficient to intrude my personal space. And I had to hold his arm while he sat down.
Hence the Singaporean pet phrase of "kena whack left right centre" hit the spot for accuracy, brevity and clarity. That's one personal foul and two technical fouls for one day. At least they apologized.
Useless fact of the day: Sandisk is releasing flash based hard disks for notebooks, which may be out as early as March 2007, according to this. Though the boot up time is not as fast as I had hoped of less than 5 seconds, it does sound more durable than magnetic hard disks. It supposedly takes 35 seconds to start Windows Vista as compared to 55 seconds for magnetic hard disks. The system used for benchmarking must have been something we usually can't afford though. The technology was obtained from an Israeli company.
*public display of affection - in case you're wondering. Personally I would take it to mean the handheld PC at first glance ^^ sarcastically preceded by "exhibitionist" because I'm jealous my girl won't let me do that on the train. For ethical reasons, of course.
The first time, this funky dude wearing a green polo tee and fatigues for pants came in from my left, stepped over 2 laptop bags and lost his balance. His left adidas shoe ran down my right leg the way you would strike a match against its box. Ouch.
After this dude, who spent all his money on clothes and has no money to eat and it explains why stumbles when he walks, alighted a few stops later, a couple to my left struck next. First, the girl knocked my arm with her hand while she was in the embrace of her alleged boyfriend, oblivious to the other commuters, enjoying their moment of exhibitionist PDA*. Then the boyfriend withdrew his arms from her and slapped my left arm, once again interrupting my mental pilgrimage to outer space.
And then on my way back, this older couple were standing near me. As people started vacating the seats, the old man gestured for the old lady to sit down, acting in the typical chauvinistic manner with the body language that read "you're weaker, you take a seat." The lady, being the traditional obedient wife of the typical chauvinistic old man, complied and proceeded to sit down safely. Then another seat opposite to where the old lady was seated became empty. The old man let go of the bar and went on to take a seat.
That's when the train started moving. Just after the old man let go of the bar and before he could place a hand on the seat to steady himself. So the whole body flung towards me. No nearly enough to topple me, but sufficient to intrude my personal space. And I had to hold his arm while he sat down.
Hence the Singaporean pet phrase of "kena whack left right centre" hit the spot for accuracy, brevity and clarity. That's one personal foul and two technical fouls for one day. At least they apologized.
Useless fact of the day: Sandisk is releasing flash based hard disks for notebooks, which may be out as early as March 2007, according to this. Though the boot up time is not as fast as I had hoped of less than 5 seconds, it does sound more durable than magnetic hard disks. It supposedly takes 35 seconds to start Windows Vista as compared to 55 seconds for magnetic hard disks. The system used for benchmarking must have been something we usually can't afford though. The technology was obtained from an Israeli company.
*public display of affection - in case you're wondering. Personally I would take it to mean the handheld PC at first glance ^^ sarcastically preceded by "exhibitionist" because I'm jealous my girl won't let me do that on the train. For ethical reasons, of course.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Sorted out my thoughts
It’s good to start school on Tuesdays. It delays the agony that the month-long holiday has ended, and it’s time to carry the weight of five modules on your shoulders again. Why is it that we could handle 8 subjects without problems in secondary school again?
Don’t know why, but I thought a lot of things through today. Regarding the previous semester, it wasn’t that I was bad. I just wasn’t good enough. That mindset should keep my fire burning this second semester of my second year in NUS. I endeavour to take home with me something everyday from school, be it concepts, knowledge, information, with exception of Milo; anything that builds me up and allows me to justify why I took the particular module.
Regarding relationships, though it’s a pity the worst feelings and quarrels happened when we are doing the things that supposedly made people happy, I realize that at the end of the day, I still love you. We shouldn’t let old wives’ tales like the “seven-year itch” bother us. If it is going to happen, it can happen within seven days. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In any case, we’re not broken, why ask for a drastic change?
Maybe seeing the doctor today made me think. Having to return every year for a checkup to see if the eyeball pressure is dropping does not sound enticing. But it could have been worse; I might not even be here typing this right now.
At the clinic E, familiar faces have dwindled to one or two at most, almost three years since the incident. Back when I was first given outpatient treatment and had to return to the hospital for checkups every other day of the week, I was a regular visitor escorted by two medics that made me feel very important indeed. That was how the nurses there knew me by face and they would show some concern every time they saw me. Now, most of them have gone to other appointments and I’m still here.
It makes me wonder, is that the feeling of growing old, when you’re retired and waiting to die, and your children are fast surpassing you everyday when they learn something new in school while you stagnate there in your world of decaying memories?
What I learnt from publication graphics and design – the plan used in PR publications to ensure the message reaches the intended audience and accomplishes the intended purpose is called “management by objectives”.
Don’t know why, but I thought a lot of things through today. Regarding the previous semester, it wasn’t that I was bad. I just wasn’t good enough. That mindset should keep my fire burning this second semester of my second year in NUS. I endeavour to take home with me something everyday from school, be it concepts, knowledge, information, with exception of Milo; anything that builds me up and allows me to justify why I took the particular module.
Regarding relationships, though it’s a pity the worst feelings and quarrels happened when we are doing the things that supposedly made people happy, I realize that at the end of the day, I still love you. We shouldn’t let old wives’ tales like the “seven-year itch” bother us. If it is going to happen, it can happen within seven days. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In any case, we’re not broken, why ask for a drastic change?
Maybe seeing the doctor today made me think. Having to return every year for a checkup to see if the eyeball pressure is dropping does not sound enticing. But it could have been worse; I might not even be here typing this right now.
At the clinic E, familiar faces have dwindled to one or two at most, almost three years since the incident. Back when I was first given outpatient treatment and had to return to the hospital for checkups every other day of the week, I was a regular visitor escorted by two medics that made me feel very important indeed. That was how the nurses there knew me by face and they would show some concern every time they saw me. Now, most of them have gone to other appointments and I’m still here.
It makes me wonder, is that the feeling of growing old, when you’re retired and waiting to die, and your children are fast surpassing you everyday when they learn something new in school while you stagnate there in your world of decaying memories?
What I learnt from publication graphics and design – the plan used in PR publications to ensure the message reaches the intended audience and accomplishes the intended purpose is called “management by objectives”.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Eason Concert Pictures
His first song - 不如这样, with his shadow projected onto a screen that drew the screams from his adoring fans.
The only way my Canon Powershot could take a clear shot of his face - the image on the projector =c and we already got the highest priced tickets! I wonder what could the ones behind see?
Performing the later songs with support from stringed instruments - this quartet consisting of 3 violinists and a cellist (not celloist!) is called Remix, adding valuable feeling to the sentimental songs he was singing.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
"情人如若很好奇
要有被我吓怕的准备, 试问谁可, 洁白无比?"
To sum up Eason Chan's concert in 2007 - it was a riot, it was a disaster; it would be a calamity if you didn't go!
Nah, that would admittedly be a hyped up review by a hardcore fan. It could have done with a theme, like his "Get A Life" concert in Hong Kong, where he was dressed up predominantly in black and the entire backdrop like a typical Tim Burton's grim movie set.
This concert was just a LIVE delivery of his hits- both lukewarm and chart toppers all thrown into the mix, old and new all in a potpourri of classics in his very own right.
The media release cited Eason as the pop singer of the 21st century (but of course, the organizers brought him in after all!), with Jackie Cheung being the icon of the 90s, Alan Tam standing for the 80s and Sam Hui representing the 70s. These are obviously over-simplistic selections of the singers of the particular generation, and Eason is but one of the many success stories in Cantopop culture. Let's not forget Andy Lau, who scored as many awards as Eason can, and Leo Ku who does have a voice that soothes you as well.
But let's face it, the "vocal powerhouse (from the media release again)" has a way of capturing your attention as his basic level of skills, and then a higher order of skill that includes mezmerizing you into forgetting to snap pictures; shoving your camera aside and then gawk in awe as to how he can sing live so well. His ability to sustain the note and his near-perfect pitch just leaves you jealous at the end of the day. He had little to no backup vocals, and he can hold his own very well. I would be much more willing to fork out my money for that rather than watch people who release CDs but resort to lip synching or dancing to their songs that have little lyrical meaning. You know what I mean. By the way, Eason does not lip synch because he forgets the lyrics sometimes and fills in the blank with whatever came to mind.
It's not just his voice that has power. Prancing from side to side across the stage, you would worry for a moment there that the guy would fall down and hurt his other testicle. But that never happened, to my relief, and though it's not as big an area as the Hung Hom stadium where he performed many times at in Hong Kong, the energizer bunny kept bouncing and infecting many fans with his frenzy. Baby thought that as a 实力派 singer, there was no need for him to make a fool of himself, that it would be ruining his image instead. But watch the movies that he starred in, and you would see that his stage antics can't hold a candle dripping hot wax to the roles he plays! He explained it himself in "浮夸"- 我在场有闷场的话, 表演你看吗?
Mindful of the time, fans got to take the last train home. That means three solid hours of Eason (we would've wished for more), and that sure paved the way for a cheerful 2007! What else would you expect me to do?
To sum up Eason Chan's concert in 2007 - it was a riot, it was a disaster; it would be a calamity if you didn't go!
Nah, that would admittedly be a hyped up review by a hardcore fan. It could have done with a theme, like his "Get A Life" concert in Hong Kong, where he was dressed up predominantly in black and the entire backdrop like a typical Tim Burton's grim movie set.
This concert was just a LIVE delivery of his hits- both lukewarm and chart toppers all thrown into the mix, old and new all in a potpourri of classics in his very own right.
The media release cited Eason as the pop singer of the 21st century (but of course, the organizers brought him in after all!), with Jackie Cheung being the icon of the 90s, Alan Tam standing for the 80s and Sam Hui representing the 70s. These are obviously over-simplistic selections of the singers of the particular generation, and Eason is but one of the many success stories in Cantopop culture. Let's not forget Andy Lau, who scored as many awards as Eason can, and Leo Ku who does have a voice that soothes you as well.
But let's face it, the "vocal powerhouse (from the media release again)" has a way of capturing your attention as his basic level of skills, and then a higher order of skill that includes mezmerizing you into forgetting to snap pictures; shoving your camera aside and then gawk in awe as to how he can sing live so well. His ability to sustain the note and his near-perfect pitch just leaves you jealous at the end of the day. He had little to no backup vocals, and he can hold his own very well. I would be much more willing to fork out my money for that rather than watch people who release CDs but resort to lip synching or dancing to their songs that have little lyrical meaning. You know what I mean. By the way, Eason does not lip synch because he forgets the lyrics sometimes and fills in the blank with whatever came to mind.
It's not just his voice that has power. Prancing from side to side across the stage, you would worry for a moment there that the guy would fall down and hurt his other testicle. But that never happened, to my relief, and though it's not as big an area as the Hung Hom stadium where he performed many times at in Hong Kong, the energizer bunny kept bouncing and infecting many fans with his frenzy. Baby thought that as a 实力派 singer, there was no need for him to make a fool of himself, that it would be ruining his image instead. But watch the movies that he starred in, and you would see that his stage antics can't hold a candle dripping hot wax to the roles he plays! He explained it himself in "浮夸"- 我在场有闷场的话, 表演你看吗?
Mindful of the time, fans got to take the last train home. That means three solid hours of Eason (we would've wished for more), and that sure paved the way for a cheerful 2007! What else would you expect me to do?
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