Tachikawa NO JIRETTAI BURO-GU!

You know, I had an epiphany of sorts yesterday night. While I was meeting up with Iqbal (and a few of the SPYs gathered for dinner and idle banter as well :D) when he came over to Singapore, a random observation was put forth by Su: No one in Singapore is really happy working their current jobs; people are just working to earn a living. Is that how it really is supposed to be? You live your life trying to earn money, but whilst earning that money you’re probably just trudging your way through the day waiting to knock off. You’re not really liking your job; its just a source of income.

Another related observation whilst talking about a movie: If you do what you really love, you would probably do well at it with minimal effort. An example from the movie was quoted: There are 2 people studying in an undergraduate course: One’s in it because he really loves the subject, the second one one spends most of his time studying even though he does not really like the subject.

Of the 2, the 1st person always ends up with the top spot in the class even though he does minimal studying and the 2nd person always gets a ranking below the 1st person regardless of the amount of time he studies. Now, this is definitely a very ideal situation (ideal is an understatement! haha.), but really think about it.

If you really really love something, you would probably excel in whatever you do (studies/work/etc.), every single day would be a joy to live, time would just pass you by (instead of it just trudging by as so many of you experience every.single.day!) you’d also be able to make good money at the same time! You’d probably do well as well if you work hard, but if your heart is not really there, you won’t do as well as the guy who does (because the guy who does have his heart in whatever he’s doing is doing his best, and the guy who doesn’t would need many times the effort just to achieve what the other guy does!).

But then, another caveat by Su: If you’re making money, you’re probably hating the job.

…okay. Maybe not exactly hate the job per se, but it’d just be…blah. You know, it doesn’t matter if you’re working there or not; its good sometimes, its bad sometimes, depending on the people that are around you in that job. But generally, its just…there! You’re just..working. That’s it.

Now, that really set me thinking. What do I really have my heart set in? I don’t want to trudge to work every single day just to see time pass me by slowly. Wash, rinse, and repeat day after day, after day!

And then it dawned upon me. There was one thing that I love doing; that I really really have my heart set in:

Music.

I seriously have no qualms spending days making a track that is 5 minutes long. Tweaking 30 over layers of instruments, mixing it all so that it sounds as balanced as my ears could tell. Every small achievement was a huge thing for me. From getting a lyric to fit to a certain part of a song, to getting a new instrument to meld perfectly into a song I’ve just conceptualized. I just loved how everything sounded; how everything just flowed as a song. Its virtually an indescribable feeling! Its weird, seriously. Nothing I’ve ever done on such a frequent basis has had that kind of effect on me, ever. I’m virtually happy and elated every single time I make music.

And I didn’t notice this before! Sure, I love music. That much I knew. I love tinkering on the piano; I love to listen to 1001 different genres; I love how instruments meld perfect harmonies to create a cacophony of sound! But I never actually seen it in that light before.

Yes, I’m a chemical engineering major who loves to swim, DJ, with the hopes of becoming a pilot one fine day after I graduate. I’ve spanned a whole huge spectrum to find what I really love…and I would have never thought that it’d boil down to one moment last night over drinks and supper at Arab Street to actually find that out! One would have almost expected it to happen to you while you are meditating in the mountains of Nepal or something. Many people don’t actually come to such an epiphany, even in one lifetime! And I’m so SO lucky to have it when I’m barely 24! Thank you so much God. The Universe rewards well to those who believe in its power.

Sure, not a lot of musicians make it big in Singapore! But think about it, which big name musician that’s world-renowned ever got their big break in Singapore? Olivia Ong, Stephanie Sun, Ho Yeow Sun, JJ Lin all got their big breaks overseas! And whoever said that I’ll stay in Singapore? I’m going to believe in my strengths; believe in my music. I’ll be a big producer one day, just you wait and see

A big thanks to Hyder, Iqbal, Tom, Su and Tammy for being their yesterday night! For if not for that talk, I would have never come to this conclusion!

The next few months are so going to be a blur, but its so going to be worth it.

THANK YOU! :))))))))))))))))))))))))

P.S. I know I haven’t quite updated my blog with my post-SSEAYP experiences. So many things happened over those 2 months, it was AMAZING! Once I’ve found enough time to gather my thoughts (yes, I’m still a little SSEAYP sick! I just got a letter, greeting card and a photograph from Yoshi, one of the ADMs, and that kinda reignited my sickness a little.hehe.). In due time, my little sugar droplets. In due time :)))

In the mean time, a few pictures to tide you in! PS. To those who are wondering, yes I travelled TONS! And yes, Japan was one of the countries. And yes, it was all paid for by the Japanese government :)))

And for the finale, a picture with someone…special Miss you! でも、今週シンガポールに来るんでしょう？：P待っていますよ！：）　We performed Greeeen’s Haruka live in front of everyone.

Its been 24 days since I’ve been away from Singapore now. 24 days of the most unique experience of my life. 24 days worth of friendships made, some to be for a lifetime. 24 days worth of memories, laughter and tears, to be remembered forever.

I would have never thought the hundreds of hours of training, sacrificing time with family and friends (thank you very much for understanding! ((:) in the past 4 months prior to my departure would have culminated to so much more.

So much more!

You guys would never imagined the experiences I’ve gained. Interactions with so many different types of people, acknowledging the pre-existing cultural differences existing between all of us, whilst in the mean time nurturing our sensitivities towards one another. In Singapore, language might not be much of a barrier, but on this program, gestures are of the utmost importance. Combining this with the various different languages that we’ve picked up along the way, we hone our communication skills to the highest of levels; to a level that one can’t reach through language alone.

But also, that does not mean that languages are not important in this program! I was pleasantly surprised at the diverse amount of people that are able to speak more than 3 languages ((: And the weirdest situations arise on board the ship! Like take for example, me, one Chinese Malaysian and another indigenous Bruneian (not Malay!) understand one another more in Japanese than in Malay or English. Or the Indian girls from Malaysia who’s English isn’t quite perfect but converse in perfect mandarin. Or the 2 Japanese girls that are not so well versed in English but converse in French with the people who can speak French in the ship. Or the Cambodian girl who speaks fluent Japanese, and if not for my Japanese, I wouldn’t be able to understand her much due to her difficulties in English. And so forth. NOT FORGETTING the Japanese administrative staff who could speak English, Malay, Japanese (duh), Mandarin and Thai!

The list goes on and on.. And I’m really thankful for all the lessons and friendships that I have been able to take with me so far. I’ve learnt so much! And now I can safely say that one month of living in an environment where a language is used so often is a lot more beneficial to me than even 2 years of literal studying and writing! Heck, I might even look to living in Japan for a while to soak in the atmosphere, study language a little bit after I graduate from university.

Epiphanies and opportunities don’t come around too often, so I’ve gotta pick as many of them up as possible! (: That, and I’ve got quite a few good friends (both Japanese and Singaporean) and family living in all parts of Japan right now, so no worries about not having any friends or contact with anyone there!

Anyways, just a date check: it’s the 19th of November at the moment while I am typing out this blog in the Saloon while the ship is docked in Port Klang, Malaysia. I’m waiting for lunch and we’re going to be hosted by the Malaysian Prime Minister later in the evening for dinner. I can’t wait for that!

29 more days to foster closer friendships. 29 more days to take in more experiences. 29 more days till the end of the programme ):

How I wish it wouldn’t end.

But the memories on Fujimaru will live on forever.

And ever.

Till next time, peace!

P.S. I hope everyone in Singapore and Japan reading this is doing well! To my friends in NUS, the exams are cominggggg! Hope everyone’s doing fine in their preparations (: I’ll see everyone soon!

Its actually 2am now, and I’m snuggled up nice and comfy in my oh-so-comfortable futon, rolling around like a contented baby in the guest tatami room of the Kubota family in Kouchi Prefecture, Japan, I’ve really been disconnected from the online world for the past five days, just randomly going online to look for places of interest (and shopping :D) around the area I’m staying in. When I actually arrived 5 days ago, we were actually bunked into the Hotel New Otani for 2 nights, this 6 star hotel located near Akasukamitsuke station, where the opening ceremony and just about every other activity was held. An excellent hotel with excellent facilities and staff, though what can I say; you (don’t) pay for what you get! Haha.

Anyways, I’ve actually spent the 3 days I had in Tokyo exploring Akasukamitsuke & Harajuku. I didn’t quite manage to get to Akihabara and Shibuya (though I hope to do so when I’m back in Tokyo for the ASEAN Youth Summit tomorrow), but that’s ok. I’ve actually been in Kouchi prefecture for the past 2 nights and its been one heck of a wonderful experience for me..much more warm and hospitable people than those from Tokyo. First night in Kouchi was spent attending a ceremony for the opening of the SSEAYP Programme in Kouchi, as well as a spot of exploration around the hotel area. We walked past shuttered shops and kids doing the hiphop dance in front of the shops.

…yes, the shops were closed. But that didn’t stop us from carrying on further. It was the first time I was going out with my SG (Solidarity group - comprising of 2-3 members from each country in ASEAN as well as Japan, but Japan didn’t join us due to an influenza scare. ED: I just met them today at the ASEAN Youth Summit!).The company was really REALLY good. Its quite surprising to find out that everyone had a great personality. Led by the National Leader from Brunei (we call him Abang HajI. Fun guy :D), we just walked around laughing, poking fun with one another and getting really close. I can only foresee my SG getting closer as the days go by. OH! And we ran across this authentic Sushi shop, and there was this awesome 1000 yen sushi which was HUGE (Diameter of about 10cm, with a length of about 25cm!). It had unagi (eel), tamago (egg) and cucumber. About 8 of us shared it, and OH.MY.GOD. It was so friggin awesome!

On the second day, we actually visited the Makino Botanical Gardens to learn how to make chopsticks (HAHA AWESOMENESS) and walk around to enjoy the scenery of the plants that the botanist Makino gathered…which was a LOT! Firstly before that, we visited the Kouchi community centre where we actually showed an interesting presentation on how “Life” (growing of plants, and using them in the cookings that the children could eat!) was taught in schools in Kouchi elementary schools. Kouchi’s Chief School Superintendant, was also there. We were also actually featured in the papers, with a photograph of the youth ambassadors plastered in the article as well (I was literally outstanding for some weird reason -_-). We also visited a very beautiful garden with a huge historical significance after (:

On that second night, we were then matched with our homestay family in a very wonderful ceremony cum reception at the hotel.

(I actually fell asleep on the futon at this moment because it was soooo comfortable! These parts onwards are written from another time standpoint; when I’ve settled into the National Youth Olympic Centre for my ASEAN-Japan Youth Summit.)

..and that was when my life totally changed. I was matched with the Kubota family. The family consisted of the father, mother, daughter and her fiancee. We called the father “Otousan” (Japanese for Father), the mother “Okaasan” (Japanese for Mother), Chi (short for Chihiro), and Hiro (the fiancee). They might be a Japanese family, but boy did they exceed my expectations. I was on the homestay programme with another guy called Hafiz, a Bruneian (which someone said was totally similar to me in terms of character and all!), and we were blown out of the water with the amount of things they did for us! On the first day after the first night, we had flower arrangement classes (Ikebana) in the comfort of the Kubota house, followed by a visit to Kouchi Castle (Kouchi-shou in Japanese) After that, we actually took an hour’s drive down to a pottery-making factory, where all of us spent 2 hours learning how to make plates, bowls and cups from clay. They couldn’t be ready on the spot (only 2 weeks later), so they’re going to be delivered to my home in Singapore! (: After, we took a ride back to Kouchi city (we got to a drive through a Mcdonald’s Drive-through for some Ebi (prawn) Filet-O, which was DAMN EXCELLENT btw!), and Chi brought us to Aeon (YES ITS JAPANESE. They have ‘em in Malaysia as well) to shop while Otousan to Okaasan prepared dinner at home. AND OMG UNIQLO is so friggin’ CHEAP in Japan! I bought a pair of perfectly-fitted skinny jeans for 3900 Yen (About 60 dollars, IMPOSSIBLE TO GET IN SINGAPORE’S UNIQLO) and soft insulated sleeveless black vest for 1200 yen (18 DOLLARS?!) . Also went to another shop to get a Plus One navy-styled jacket for 6900 Yen (and it was soooo beautiful, totally fitted me so well. Got so many compliments for it! Looks like someone‘s got a new jacket for the new semester!)) and a few other random stuffs. After that, we went back home, where we actually had a table bbq. And OH.MY.GOD. Everything tasted so friggin’ gooood! From marinated chicken and beef, to vegetables that had been BBQ’ed, to fresh scallops.And the discovery of Noritama (egg/seaweed flavouring sprinkles for plain rice) as well! A game of Jenga was followed by more merriment, which was then followed by some excellent conversation and an exchange of gifts from them to us, and vice versa. We gave em our stuffs from Singapore, but in return they actually gave us a lot of souvenirs, snacks AND..you won’t believe this), A SHIRT PRINTED WITH A PHOTO OF US ALL, taken just barely a day before. Talk about Japanese efficiency! ((: We totally loved the shirt

The next morning, we actually went to the Sunday market, located near Kouchi-shou (Kouchi Castle) to browse the wares that the sellers had. It was barely an hour before we had to check in to the airport (to get back to Tokyou), but we made it in time!

Now, the hardest part was about to come. Even though we’ve just been together for only 3 short days, we were treated so much like family! Laughter, random practical jokes, poking fun at one another, lame puns and that kinda stuffs. The closeness we had was much more than 3 days; it seemed like we’ve known one another for a really long time. Of course, all of us (yes, Hafiz too, hahaha), being very emotional people, got really teary-eyed. We teared, hugged, said our goodbyes, took pictures. Rinse. Cycle. And repeat please. Yes, it was more than one moment that we did all of that. Even when we finally crossed into the departure area, we were still taking pictures through the glass, saying bye and, tearing and talking through the phone. The Kubota family’s hospitality was unparalleled, and they’re always going to be family. Chihiro and Hiro are going to get married next year, so me and Hafiz plan to write a song especially for them And we’re gonna make visiting them a very frequent thing throughout our lives, we swear (:

I miss Kouchi ): I’m currently in the National Youth Centre in Tokyou attending the ASEAN-Japan Youth Summit, and after looking through all of the pictures and souvenirs from Kouchi…I feel a little tear forming in my eye.

Wait for us, Kouchi. Your homeboys are coming home again one day.

45 more days of the 36th Ship for South-East Asian Youths’ Programme.

Always making Singapore proud,

(and eternally your home boy),

Syahmi

P.s. Don’t miss me please XD

As I think back to the experiences that I’ve encountered these past few months, I seriously wonder whether there ever is any limit that the human mind can’t overcome. Take for example, I’ve never thought of myself as a dancer. EVER. That is, until I was allowed into the SSEAYP programme. I took it in my stride, attending the oh-so-frequent nightly dance trainings, memorizing steps and practicing them till my body ached. But I persisted. Modern Dance. Malay Dance, etc. And it all paid off on that one huge wonderful concert we had last week. 400+ people attended the event, watching the various types of dances infused into a script so unique, you’d never find another one like it. Sounds, lights (conceptualized by yours truly :)) and conversations spanning 1hour 10 mins. And with the huge amount of constraints we faced, we totally obliterated any pre-existing notions of how a pre-departure concert should be like. EVERYONE was impressed by the excellent show we put up. I was proud, and I still am (:

Also, I’ve managed to compose a theme song for the ship we’re going to use for the next 2 months: The Fujimaru. At the request of the National Leader (the Singapore contingent leader), I’ve attempted to fuse a sense of modernism with a classic blend of uplifting chords and motivating words. Together with one of my contingent mates Pan Pan (who had helped with the lyrics), Mahathir Aziz (who had sung the actual song) and a few others in the contingent (for their voices), the song turned out a lot better than expected. My first full length debut of a song with vocals, lyrics and the works! Do listen to it here and give me your comments please (: :

Our Hopes & Dreams (The Fujimaru Song) - Mahathir Aziz featuring SPY 09

And now, with barely 4 hours before my plane leaves for Japan, I sit here in front of my computer, pondering on life in general. How did I ever get here? 4 years ago, I was a slothen, nerdy guy who spent 120 hours on Final Fantasy 10, chalking up experience points as well as extra weight (105 kgs at my highest point), to what I am now.

I’ve managed to lose over 35 kgs, completed a Biathlon, represented my army division in swimming and water polo, completed a full-length movie soundtrack, composed music for 2 theatre performances, DJing with NUS’s DJ society SYNQ, completed 2 terms as project director in the NUS International Students Volunteer division, starting on my first term as NUS Original Music Society’s (OMS) 11th President (a job which I truly enjoy. OMS is my life:) ), made a HUGE bunch of wonderful friends and now…now..here I am, as a Youth Ambassador. Representing Singapore in the ASEAN youth summit as well as in the Ship for South East Asian Youth’s Programme. Travelling to Japan & around ASEAN on a cruise ship for 2months. My life is so wonderful right now.

Thank you for that life-changing decision that moment in time a year ago. I really am appreciative of what you did for me, no matter how bad it was then. You’ll always be there as a wonderful memory(:

I would also like to thank all of friends and family members for supporting me throughout whatever I’ve gone through this past few years. I wouldn’t have able to have gone through all that without all of your valuable support.

And for that, thank you.

I am flying off to Japan to fly Singapore’s flag high and proud in the land of the rising sun, in 4 hours time. Wish me luck in everything, and I’ll see all of you again in due time. MISS ME PLEASE! XD

p.s. If anyone has to reach me urgently, FB me or just drop me an SMS. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as humanely possible (:

What an excellent Monday evening! (: I’ve no idea why things in my life felt so..depressing in the past few weeks when in fact, its been really wonderful. Really really wonderful. Maybe I’ve been deluded by the social norms around me sooo much, that I forgot what I told myself a long time ago: I am NOT a social norm.

I never intended for myself to be a normal. I never wanted myself to be normal. And I will never be normal, ever. I’ve gone too far for this. And when you’ve been stuck in the mundane for the longest time, you tend to loose a little bit of that drive, day by day. Slowly, but surely, you’ll conform .. bit by bit.

..but thank God I caught myself in time. I was on a downward spiral for a while these past few weeks. I’ve been looking at what other people have that I didn’t so much, I failed to look at what I had that people wanted. And what I failed to look at numbered wayyy more than what I wanted from them.

Oh, and if you haven’t been up-to-date on the latest Syahms news, I’ve gotten myself into the Ship for South-East Asian Youth Programme (YAY!). Representing Singapore as a Youth Ambassador in the Singapore Contingent, I’ll be travelling to Japan, Phillipines, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei (and also to Singapore, back home for a bit, yay! (: ) over a period of 2 months, travelling by cruise liner! HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Programme’s fully sponsored by the Japanese government (had to pay just a little bit to cover misc. costs), and will be on board with the other 9 ASEAN countries and Japan’s youth ambassadors as well WISH ME LUCK WHEN I DEPART AT END OCTOBER! ^_^/~

Some pictures follow!:

There are actually tons of other pictures on my facebook account (and don’t actually be surprised. Most, if not ALL of the participants are photo whores..and we’ve actually been training for over 2 months now so..XD), so do head down and take a look if you have the time!

Ah…what’s next. AH YES! I’ve actually completed working on my first local movie soundtrack ((: After 1 and a half weeks of 17 hour days working with the director, I’ve actually managed to produce a PROPER movie soundtrack! Sure, when I was actually working with him, there were times when I just wanted to give up. Trying to match creative differences and concepts on so many levels with such a perfectionist was DIFFICULT, but I really appreciated the fact that it made me a much better music composer after. Working under that much pressure and still producing works that matched what he wanted was a feeling just … indescribable! Just wanna give a shout out to Duke and the people from the Crazy Straits Production company. You guys TOTALLY rock (:

Check out one of the pieces that I did!:

Spies Amongst Us - TachiFEELY

A few pictures from the private screening!:

..and yes those are eyebags, andddd no. I did not have enough sleep when the pictures were taken. Heh.

…anddd ALSO! I spun at Blujazz. (again), as you might have noticed from my previous-previous blogpost. PICTURES FOLLOW!:

A picture with miss Shannnnnnon, Jeremy, anddd a totally awesome DJ Neboet (with cap) and rapper Yama (aka Monkey King). They’ve totally awesome productions!

Now, the 2nd last thing that happened would be the Yummilicious 2 Food Tour! Once again, I was the project director of the whole event, leading an organizing exco of about 10 people to organize an event for over 170 foreign exchange students from NUS. It was TIRING but everyone had a lot of fun; many (including me) made a LOT of new friends. I couldn’t have done it without my supportive EXCO. Thanks guys! (:

Peektures follow!:

We totally overwhelmed the Peranakan Museum entrance! hahaha.

A picture with my exco + the group facilitators!

With staff from the Office of Student Affairs Ms. Deborah and Ms. Lim, along with fellow project director Ivy in the middle, and the assistant project director Diana on the left!

Last, but not least (I saved the best for last! :D).

I’ve…actually been appointed President of the NUS Original Music Society! ((((: My current exco had actually worked together with me when I was the Marketing Director for the last 2 semesters, and I’m glad all of them accepted their current positions. You guys have been great, and I hope that all of y’all would guide me if I were to diverge, and I would do the same for you guys as well! love y’all! ((:

I guess that just about does it (: This shall serve as a personal reminder to me; if I were to be down about something I’m not getting / becoming, I’ll read this blogpost to bring me back to MY reality.

…and MY reality ROCKS!

peace out. oh, and HAPPY RAMADHAN to all my fellow Muslim brothers. Fast well! (:

I watch you, surrounded by these pale grey walls of the ward, painting pictures of your past grandeur in the Emergency of decades past.

Your arms;hands;body tell the story like it was happening at that very moment in time!

“I worked hard for them. Didn’t you know that? The British commended me for my valiant efforts!” you said in Malay, as you carried on narrating your story with your weathered voice.

You suddenly stop.

I watch you, as your thin and bony palms hold the warm teh susu up to your cracked lips.

I’ve only noticed it, but you’ve lost so much weight!

You silently but gently sip it, closing your worn and tired eyes as you savour the refreshing aroma and the warm liquid flowing gently into your body.

Your face relaxes as you proceed to place the Styrofoam cup back onto the wooden table.

You take a deep breath, and carry on telling your story.

The surroundings fade out of focus as I saw your face smiling…

I’m so sorry grandpa. I’m so sorry for not being there when I could have.

sigh.

I’ve been lost in myself for a long, long time. Blinded by the ideals of how I should be; how I should appear to be.

I reminisce through to those times when you cracked jokes, whilst I was having lunch during my lunch breaks with you and Grandma.

I reminisce to those times when you’d always go for your 6pm jogs.

I reminisce those times.

I can only.

Looking at you from this chair I’m sitting in, I look at how you seem oblivious to the fact that you were reliving a moment in time that was long past.

But you seem so happy; almost child-like!

It pains me to see this; yet almost instantaneously thrown back by the fact that you can find so much happiness and joy in that moment in time.

As much as your memory hath faltered, you still find ways to break through it.

I watch you… surrounded by these pale grey walls of the ward, painting pictures of your past grandeur in the Emergency of decades past.

It is you, my grandpa. The Time Traveller.

And I salute you, Grandpa.

I Salute You.

..and I still love you, no matter what.

Oh wow, its been a really long while since I’ve waxed lyrical about the random stuffs in my life! So many things’ve happened since my last blog post, that I’m finding a little trouble recalling stuffs to…oh wait. Looking at how much of a Facebook bitch I’ve become, I’ll just look through my Facebook photos for a chronological breakdown XD

*update. My mom’s just called me to go visit my uncle. I’ll have to continue really soon BUT BUT before I go, I’m gonna spin tonight at Blujazz, for Goodtime’s MJ Tribute! ((: Do come and visit if you have the time (whoever you are! :D). Taaaaaa

Everyone seems to be jaded with love nowadays.

Whether it be because of a breakup, the inability to get someone they want, whatever.

Its really disheartening to see my friends be in THAT situation, you know?

When will we ever have a positive outlook of love? Is it only when you’re in a relationship that you notice happiness? When you’re out, you curse and swear at love, but what you’re really hoping for, is for its return.

Is it not true that what you gain from just being in love outweighs whatever hardships you go through?

Is it not true that you should cherish the good times you have with someone, no matter how short it was?

It does not matter how it ended. It does not matter how the person really is now.

What really matters is the fact that you had a cherished memory that was shared by 2 people existing as one. Do not let people tell you otherwise.

Forgetting someone is not the way to deal with it; its the coward’s way of doing so. Accept the fact that that person is no more. And then slowly begin the healing process.

Remember who they were, not what they are now. Cherish their memories.

Please.

They are a part of who you are, no matter what other people say.

Love is a beautiful thing, really. Shoot me down as a dreamer, you’re really welcome to. But are we not just mindless drones if not for the fact that we have dreams & aspirations?

Think about it.

I think its high time I do a little random reflection moment. I’m not going to think hard within the next few minutes about what I’m gonna write about. Instead, I’m just going to wax lyrical in a very random fashion, see where that takes me.

..life. Life! Now life. I’ve had quite the interesting life so far, if I should say so myself. Many seemingly random meetings with random people seemed random at that point of time, but in retrospect..there seemed to be a hidden agenda. The Universe is cooking up something for me, but I never saw it as that upon that singular moment.

Like how I would have never known about the Original Music Society if not for one random person I happened to talk to online. and look where I am now. I’m involved in so many aspects of this society that its mind boggling to think that a year ago I didn’t even know about them! Love you guys

Like how I would have never known about sYNQ DJing Society if not for another friend I randomly made through the library studying sessions (and eventually meeting the few very talented DJs who’ve actually helped carved up my current musical direction).

Like how I would have never been involved in 2 theater productions (one as a sound operator, another as a music composer) if not for the fact that I was randomly introduced to a few very VERY interesting people at a random picnic in the Botanical gardens.

Like how that random message to another random person actually blossomed into something that had taught me so many things that would have taken me much longer to learn normally. This person changed me so much more for the better; taught me the value of the first impression people have of you (yes,my fashion sense came from you.); inadvertently taught me how you never really know a person till they’re put under pressure. And other things. And the other good friends that I got to know through you. Your good memory lives through them, sorry it turned out the way it did.

Like how I would never be this thin if not for that one single night that brought me to an epic realization: 105KG was too much. And because of that epic realization, I started running. And Swimming. And got to 72KGs. To where I am now. Tall. Fit. Strong. (heh heh).

Like how I saw that random poster outside the Plaza Singapura toilets regarding the production of a small local movie. I went for an audition, met a lot of fun and interesting people. Which in turn led me to meet other interesting people. Like that very secretive mr Direktor. And that vegetable-loving person. And that very emo elmo someone. And also got my first opportunity to compose for a movie soundtrack!

And these are just single moments in my recent memory that I really cherish. and I really really cherish them. Thank you.

These instances really reinforces the whole live life for the moment thing. You never know what awaits you at that next junction, next corner, next turn. Make decisions to do the things you’re always feel inclined not to do. It’ll lead you up a path less travelled, but the rewards are much more fruitful.

I thank God I did the things I did; if not I wouldn’t be here.

Thank you!

(:

*skips*. hahahah.

Major Milestone Time!:

I made my DJing debut at BluJaz @Good Times on the 5th of June 2009! (((: Over a week ago? YES I PROCRASTINATED! Sorry ): haha. Thanks to everyone who came down to support! I really REALLY appreciate it. So sorry if I wasn’t able to hang out long enough with you guys, I had to do a lot of table hopping that night ):

Anyways, I have to say that it was one heck of an experience! Spinning electro clash for a crowd that knows how to appreciate good music! People were dancing, I made very minimal (read:ONE) mistake, and a lot of people approached me with really good comments about my mix. Heck, this random Australian girl approached me while I was spinning on the decks and was giving me props like hell, and I really didn’t know how to respond. HAHA. but it was cool! (: I really loved the experience, and I hope to build up this art further in the near future with more gigs!

There was once this wise DJ who’d told me; DJing is 5% technical ability, and 95% music. And I really believe it to be so. Through the process of me learning the decks and all in the past 6 months or so, I’ve really been introduced to so many new artistes, its scary! I’ve discovered so many gems, be it through personal recommendations or through various DJing websites, I’ve improved my musical knowledge by leaps and bounds! The subtle differences between the 1001 genres, beat patterns and all that. Heck, DJing had in fact, totally changed my musical direction for my music production side-projects! And for that I have NUS’ SYNQ DJing society to thank for. Its been an awesome ride so far, and I DEFINITELY hope my future rides will still be as awesome, if not better!

Pictures follow!:

Me on the decks with DJ Monkeykuts!

The Mumsies + Partners. HAHA!

DAMN COOL PICTURE RIGHT? hahaha.

A little photo-whoring moment with miss chio!

An awesome group shot! (:

A shot with DJ jstn!