Tachikawa NO JIRETTAI BURO-GU!

Wow, its been one heck of a ride. The fasting month of Ramadhan went by so fast! Within a split second, I was wishing people all around me a happy Eid Mubarak! Its just so amazing how time can fly by so so fast! You know how they say, a picture tells a thousand words? I’ll be writing thousands of words with just this blog post alone baybeh! (((:

Eid Mubarak ’08

Picture with my parents, brother, paternal grandparents, aunty, uncle and cousins Arina and Amar!

Picture with moi family!

BBSS Raya Outing!! Pic with Nuraini and Grace! ((:

With the others! ((:

Again!

This baby is shooooo cuteeeeee! (((((: Dammitttt I want a kid like that one day. hahaha.

Photowhoring in the car!

Dinner with them people from the Exchange Programme! ((:

Damn, been hangin’ with them a lot ever since they came down to Singapore ever since term began. Got to know em’ from the Yummilicious food tour I helped head in NUS (see my previous blog posts! ((:). Most of em’ are from Australia, but 2 of them are from Hawaiiiii, one’s from Japan, and a handful are from Hongkong. Damn fun bunch of people to hang out with. OH, and can’t forget LEEROYYYY JENKINS and Kevin too. hahaha.

Fooooood Spread!

OH! And other pics that we had on other outings! (:

The Original Music Society

Man, its been one heck of a ride with these guys in school. Having fun just chilling with em’, attending indie gigs around Singapore and stuffs. I’ve also been made Marketing I/C, and we’re organizing something biggg next year in school. That, and spearheading our re-emergence into the school and the local music scene. I’m soooo excited! ((: Anyways, next up are pictures from a gig in school that we attended, hosted by one of our close sister society, RadioPulze! One of the more prolific local and up-and-coming bands The Oslo Castaways performed that night. They totally rocked! Pictures follow:D :

Another pic from one of them gigs (Amateur Takes Control, a local rock hypnotic-instrumental-type band, who totally rocks by the way! ):

General Pics!

Emo pics from the Singapore Flyer!

On the Singapore GP Race Track!:

Credits to my friend Woei Png for them great shots and Singapore Flyer pics! (((:

Oh, and I totally improved my swim time! Its weird, because I’ve never really improved this drastically before. Its weird. Usually my standard swim times for 500metres (standard free-style) would be really close to 9mins 40+ seconds, and I maintained it along that timing for a the past one year, which is really slow by race standards, but weirdly after I started training with the power-paddles (to build endurance and power in my strokes) 2 months ago (as you can see in my previous blog post ((:) , without any swim aids, I managed to cut it down to 8mins 37 seconds the last time I checked last Friday. I cut down nearly a minute in 2 months! I swear to god, I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna improve so much the NUS swim team can’t find any reason NOT to get me into the team next year! (((: Wish me luckkk!(:

OH MY GOD LOOK:

After 6 months of random interspersals of practicing and NOT practicing, and this being my first piano exam EVARRR.

I got 120 out of 130 possible marks, and that means I got a Merit pass (highest would be a 130 – Distinction )! I was pleasantly surprised when my piano teacher sms’ed me in the morning with the great news. OH.MY.GOD. hahahaha.

I’m already preparing for my grade 5 theory exams next year March ’09. WISH ME LUCK FOR THAT ONE.

Mom: I know I didn’t want to learn the piano when I was really young, because me, being the lazy bum I was, didn’t want to do so ): I’m making up for it now aren’t I? GRADE 8. I want to play Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14 C sharp minor Op. 27 No. 2 (3RD MOVEMENT OF BEETHOVEN’S MOONLIGHT SONATA). ONE DAY I TELL YA, ONE DAY

Take a look at how it sounds like!:

I just had to do this:

HAHA! I just had to do something with that access I had to the race track!

I think I’m falling for her.

And I’m falling fast.

I’m not supposed to. I don’t want to.

But thats another story for another time.

ANYWAYS new timing! :

I kinda slowed down a bit, this is for the 30lapsX50m distance (1.5km, triathlon distance without the running and cycling), but an average of 1min40secs per 100m. I’m improving I guess. FASTER BOY FASTER!

Ooooh and I watched the 2nd day of F1 practices from the comfort of a restaurant overlooking a stretch of the track. SWEET! Nothing like enjoying a plate of Fried Chicken and Squid Kway Teow while Hamilton does his laps. I don’t know about you guys but the sound of the F1 engine just makes me wanna run CLOSER to the track and just STARE in amazement at those machines made for ultimate speed and control. sigh. I wanna be Lewis Hamilton!

You guys really have to check out this guy called Singindork88 a.k.a. Afraid of Everest (read his profile page to find out why ): http://uk.youtube.com/user/singindork888

His covers are TOTALLY amazing and even more his originals! I’m totally flabbergasted, I’ve never been this stunned ever since Lisa Lavie and Terra Naomi busted onto the scene. Check him out! I’ll put 2 of his best ORIGINAL songs here, check him out, I implore you! I’m totally addicted to these 2 songs right now. They’re on my Creative Zen right now!

Afraid of Everest – Lonely Starship

Afraid of Everest featuring Isk & Hosni- The Hook

This original’s been done with 2 Singaporean Youtubers Isk & Hosni, who’ve played wonderful drums and guitars for this song, it totally made the song more appealing! I’ll put up the original (acoustic guitar only) and the one with the full band. I’M STILL STUNNED. Check it out!
Original:

Featuring Isk & Hosni:

Visit Isk & Hosni’s LurveMyMusic Youtube Page here!: http://uk.youtube.com/user/LurveMyMusic
They do damn good intepretations of pop favourites such as Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours and Secondhand Serenade’s Fall for You…IN PUNK ROCK AND SKA STYLE! and they TOTALLY sound GREAT! Check it out! (((:

Thats it for this blog post. Wow, drive by blog post. haha! Till next time, taaaa! ((:

OH.MY.GOD. Its been a long friggin’ while since I’ve updated my blog! So many things happened, I just don’t know where to start! Ok, lets see. Hmm. Was one of 2 project directors in organizing a ‘Yummilicious’ food tour for about 200 international students around Singapore. That went very well! So well, in fact, that they want a rerun of it next year! During the whole run of this event, I actually made so many new friends, its unbelievable! Students from the United Kingdom, all the way to Japan & China! Also, the committee that I worked with to make this happen were such great sports, we still go on a monthly food romp, trying out interesting cuisines in Singapore Pictures below! (((:

I also finished my Intermediate classes in 文化ランゲージ学校(Bunka Language School) and am well on the way to my 日本語能力試験(Nihongo nouryoku shiken, a.k.a. Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 3 (JLPT 3)) at the end of the year. WISH ME LUCK! Oh, and I just took my ABRSM Grade 3 Piano Exams last friday. It was quite a..stressful experience, but I should be able to pass (I AWAIT MY CERTIFICATE IN MY MAIL SOON ). Jumped all the way to Grade 3, hoping to go to grade 5 next year! ((: The pieces were simple enough to play, but the technical aspects of the exam kinda sucked. But I persevered and practiced on. WISH ME LUCK!

Also, as for my studies…school just started again. and OH.MY.GOD. its madness!:

I’VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY INTEGRAL SIGNS IN ONE EQUATION, IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. That’s Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers, one of the core modules that my degree is based on. BUT IT HURTS SO BAD))): .. but I can’t say anything. I’ve been dying to get into this course. Must..maintain…Cap score average of 3.87… HAHA. LETS GET IT ON, YO. haha.

And I’ve joined this really cool new society in my school called the Original Music Society. The aim of this society is to promote the local music scene, and to provide a bridge of sorts between the scene and the student community in NUS. They’ve been really low profile these past few years, but they’re gonna re-establish themselves this year, and I’m gonna be part of it. SO HONOURED! (((: I even got to meet members of the Great Spy Experiment! HOW COOL IS THAT! The people in this society are so eclectic and funky, I’m sure we’re gonna make it so big, its not gonna be funny anymore:D A few pictures follow!:

Oh OH. And like, I’ve been training on my swimming more frequently these days. My tools of the trade include:

A pull-buoy (the blue and white thing), where you’re only using your hands to pull (thus concentrating your effort only in your pulling motion. Your body also gets used to the streamline motion general swimmers tend to ignore, making them splash a lot in the pool and wasting TONS of energy. You’re actually straightening your legs and tensing them consciously, which is a bitch to do in the beginning.), my paddles (the pair of weird contraptions), where you use it on your hand WHILE using the pull-buoy. If swimming without your legs to help you swim faster isn’t bad enough, these paddles add the resistance of swimming in cement to your arms. Finally, my goggles, without which I’ll be blind

I do 1KM runs (20laps X 50m (A standard pool length)), and DAMN I can now swim faster than I usually do WITHOUT my equipment. Usually takes me slightly above 19mins to complete that distance. MY NEW TIMING, FRESHLY TAKEN TODAY:

16 MINS AND 29 SECS! An average of 49.45 seconds per 50m lap. My original timing of about 19mins and 30 seconds (without the equipment) gave me an average of 58.5 seconds. HOLY CRAP. All I can say is that my stamina’s already there, but there’s just a little hand-leg co-ordination problem that I need to rectify to achieve that timing without the training equipment. AND I SO WANNA JOIN THE NUS SWIM TEAM! )): I’ll try for it next year. Till then, I’ll train hard. REALLY HARD! ((:

And and and. MORE PICTURES!

Yummilicious Food Tour 2008

GROUP PIC!:

Funky Facilitators!:

Some of the new friends I made:

More Pics HERE: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=34253&l=ca0cc&id=555628939

Yummilicious Food Tour Facilitator Outing (Serangoon – Nepalese Cuisine)

ICE CREAM WITH REAL EDIBLE SILVER!:

More pics HERE: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36141&l=14ba3&id=555628939

Sentosa Outing!

Guitar Heroes MADNESS

As you can see, I totally rocked, and Lindy totally sucked. HAHA!

夏祭り2008 (Natsu Matsuri 2008, Japanese Summer Festival 2008)

For this year’s summer festival, I actually tried the Yukata on! A yukata is not to be confused with a kimono. Its somewhat like a bathrobe; and its much cheaper than a kimono as well! The girls had a chance to act all kawaii (more like こわい,for those in the know. HAHA) Pictures follow:

Kuala Lumpur Weekend Escapade

HAHAHA. I actually went on a weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with some of the international students. Me being the ‘local’ (DAMMIT IM NOT MALAYSIAN YOU ASSES), I showed them around a bit. Pics!:

I love vadalism too. HAHA!:

Some of the nicest sceneries on the way back:

AND NEOPRINTS! HAHA!:

More Pics HERE:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39027&l=2e725&id=555628939

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39019&l=f54b7&id=555628939

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39025&l=0be1c&id=555628939

This had to be one of my longest posts EVER! HAHA! Hope you guys had fun loading the pictures I’ll try to update my blog more often nowadays. heh.

And before I leave, a cover of Ungu’s Kekasih Gelapku on Youtube. COMMENTS PLEASE:

It had been really really mentally exhausting for me, especially in these past few days. Things that happened, happened. And I shall leave it at that. I would have literally drowned in a sea of depression if not a few people in my life. They’ve given me hope, words of encouragement and confidence to face this, and you have no idea how thankful I am to them for this. My friends from the past and present came to arms at the first sign of trouble, and I am speechless at how they had always been there for me, even though sometimes I’ve never been so receptive of their help (you know who you are )

For this, I thank everyone. You have my heartfelt gratitude. HUGS! (((((:

I told myself once: Its better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. And I still believe that wholeheartedly, even till today. And I will never forget whoever that had been in my life; who had been loved by me, and in return, loved me as well. I will never forget them. What they’ve done; what they are going to do; whether wrong or right, is never going to affect that – we’ve loved and there’s no changing that.

You are, and still that friend that I once had, Charmaine Fong Jean Mei. Whatever we did when it ended does not have any effect on the past, no matter how hard I try. Time will heal all wounds, and maybe one day we’ll see eye to eye again.

But till that day comes, I will live my life to the fullest! I will reach for the stars, and then some, and I hope you’ll do the same for yourself as well ((:

Thank you for teaching me what love is, I am in no way regretful of the time I’ve spent with you.

Till we meet again one day, my dear friend.

+
14th of October 2006 – 19th of July 2008 – ??th of ?? 20??

P.S. Why so serioussssssss, Commissioner? ahahaha. Dammit man, now I have my grade 3 piano exam, Japanese Language Proficiency Test Lvl 3 and my Private Pilot Licence to complete. AND SCHOOL. WOO HOO. I RULE IN PACKING MY SCHEDULE TO A T. mommyyyyyyy! ((((:

“Move on!”, it said.

But the wanderer did not want to. No matter how much he wanted to. He held it too close to his heart.

“But it is not worth your time anymore! It will never give you the happiness and the satisfaction that you so keenly need!”, the voice muttered under its breath again, now with a greater sense of urgency.

Once again he held his resolve to trudge on. To give it his very best. Just so he could once again feel that warmth that once enveloped his tender heart. For the sake of that euphoria that once gave him a sense of purpose.

“Pffft. Do what you want to, you stupid fool! But you’re never going to be loved as you were! You’re just naive in believing so. It has already dwindled down to a trickle. A drop. Why do you even bother pursuing it anymore?”, the voice, ending the sentence with a sigh of disbelief.

He knew it was futile to everyone else. But it didn’t matter what everyone else felt. He was living his life. He was living it the way he wanted to; the way he knew how to. He will not let other people dictate what he does, much less a voice with does not seem to be helping way in any way at all! He believed in it. Even though it by itself didn’t do so anymore.

“How long do you intend to carry on with this madness; this..waste of time? I’m done with you. You and your kind are weak. Useless. Mindless dreamers without a goal in life. Look at the world around you. Look! Do you think there is a place for your kind here? Never. We are the realists. We believe in numbers;possibilities;reality. You shall perish and live a life full of dejection and fade into the oblivion. I am done here”, the voice said with great conviction, trailing off into the deep, dark recesses of his dreamer mind.

And all of a sudden, his shoulders felt as if a burden has been lifted off him. The voice had left him. He was free to carry on with his quest of winning it over to his favour again.

He loved her with all his heart; his soul even;even at the risk of the latter being just a metaphorical representation of a human spirit, he says it with full conviction nevertheless. Even though her love has changed, he still believes in her. In it.

“We’re such different entities, you and I. You view life from the rose-tinted glasses of a dreamer; I see everything as it is. And the fact is, it is much different now. The battles we’ve fought, the nights we’ve laid down upon without a single wink; has culminated to this very moment. You are the sun, and I am the moon. I am so sorry”, she trailed off, leaving him marooned, mouth agape.

The wanderer still carried on to love her with all his heart and soul, never faltering for a single moment. Believing in a world that could possibly just exist in his young, naive mind.

He continued trudging along, ever searching for an answer.

“Drip.Drip.Drip”, went something in the stalactites in the dark cave ahead of him.

The wanderer suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

What laid in front of him was a pool full of warmth; happiness; joy. It was Love!

But it seemed like it had nowhere else to go! The Love was just dripping from one lone stalactite at the top of the cave into a pool that would just dry up as soon as a drop dripped onto the cave floor; repeating its endless cycle over and over, again and again.

What the Voice said was true. It was just a drip. A shadow of its former self.

Strangely, without a single thought at all, the Wanderer stepped into the pool. Gently he waded slowly into the depths of the pool. A warm feeling enveloped his body. Strangely, he felt..loved.

Maybe..maybe what he was searching for was within this pool!

The Wanderer took one deep breath, and waded deeper into the depths of the pool, until he could not be seen anymore.

Amazingly, the lone stalactite began to drip more vigorously immediately after the Wanderer disappeared into the pool.

A waterfall eventually formed where the stalactite once stood.

But the Wanderer was nowhere to be found.

愛しい君へ

ごめんね。

全ての物は。

ごめん。

本当にがんばりましたんだ。この愛は未来へは行けないんです。僕が僕を見てみるんです。何を間違ったんかな。。？

でもいいよ。

まだ愛してるぜ。

信実だ。