Saturday, January 31, 2009

25 thingies u may not know about me.

Sigh. Its hard to avoid being arrowed even after ORD. Anyway this will be rather random and lighthearted =) since this blog is linked to Facebook, I hope you're satisfied.

1) I have powerful eyes. i.e 1000 megawatts of eye power. Cyclops would pale in comparison.

2) I woke up in the middle of the night to satisfy a craving for Warcraft III once.

3) I got spooked by my own battery operated Lego set.

4) I haven't had a single memorable dream ever since Primary school. My brain is already jaded with reality.

5) I have a large collection of Pokemon cards and figurines, Star Wars cards, Lego sets and other figments of my childhood.

6) I was fat. My sister says I still am. By her standards, a skeleton would be ideal.

7) I'm afraid of bees, wasps and any flying thing that stings.

8) I find moths cute. And I used to be crazy about creepy crawlies.

9) I'm really a nature lover. Too bad I love the great indoors.

10) My very first computer ran primarily on DOS and Monopoly was the only decent game installed.

11) I spoilt my own SEGA machine because I was too excited and pulled the controller, console and all. It crashed spectacularly.

12) I've been wearing contacts since Pri 4.

13) And spectacles since Pri 1.

14) I sleep with 3 bolsters every night - 1 big, 2 small. The latter because the cases were sewn by my late grandma.

15) I hate vegetables. I am unstrictly carnivorous.

16) Oranges, apples and bananas are the fruit I usually (i.e almost always) eat.

17) I love porridge.

18) I had a crush on a girl for 6 years.

19) I have an English name, though rarely used. Ken/Kenneth is just a name my parents call me at home.

20) I was a rabid fan of Ayumi Hamasaki. Was. Is still. But no more rabid. More languid.

21) I joined the Chinese Orchestra really because I wanted to get out of NCC Land. And I originally wanted to play the ruan.

22) I have a fear of tuning my liuqin.

23) The reason why I learnt the guitar was because of Yoshio, Ayumi's guitarist. Yes, that was back when I was rabid.

24) I fall sick easily. No its got nothing to do with point 15. The weather affects me.

25) I always thought that boys doing NS was fair because all girls have to go through pregnancy. Until I discovered the existence of contraception.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

hello world, i'm back

and so it ends here.

Feels like being airlifted from the rooftop of Mercy Hospital while a horde of zombies rush towards you, outstretched claws barely inches from your face.

Feels like the end of the last exam paper of the A levels, when the invigilator tells you to put down your pens, no more writing.

Feels like when the tester ticks and writes the word "pass" on your driving test slip.

Feels like scoring the winning goal against an imba team during soccer.

Feels like... nothing special really.

7 weeks of fear, awkwardness, fatigue, fun, brotherhood and comradeship.

3 months of learning, friendship, expression and laughter.

2 months of unfamiliarity, mistakes and relearning.

14 months of work, routine, boredom and the occasional lighthearted moment.

2 weeks of India.

1 month of adrenaline rushes, satisfaction and happiness.

1 month of relaxation, waiting and anticipation.

1 day of mixed feelings.

ORD lo!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

tomorrow, I shall walk away a free man.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

double O

Remember this?

http://not-so-geeky.blogspot.com/2008/03/olivia-ong-esplanade.html

That was about 10 months ago.

Since then, she's got a best album in addition to her 3 mini-albums and 4 full albums (those crazy Japanese labels!), been travelling all over Singapore doing mini-concerts and lives, and of course the highlight of 2008 - doing the theme song for the crazily popular "The Little Nonya" . Even though I didn't catch the show, I sure did take notice of the theme song. I can safely argue that it was this song "Ru Yan" that catapulted her into the radar of many Singaporeans.

Wanna bet her albums are flying off the shelves?

I think she recently signed with HIM records, the same record company as S.H.E. I suppose we can expect more mandarin songs? Still, I find her chinese pronunciation kinda awkward, but we can't fault her for that can we? If you've been living in Japan for the past 6 years saying "ohayo gosaimasu" instead of "zhao an", you'll find it tough too.

Saying all that, I hope she does an album filled with jazzy, self-penned tunes. That would take the cake!

Not sure if you can get it here in Singapore, so here: Yesasia.com

Olivia Ong, the next Stefanie Sun? Maybe she'll even get invited to sing during National Day LOL

Sunday, January 11, 2009

"Don't worry, I'll protect you"

When the opening screen shows blue with a huge Totoro and the words "Studio Ghibli" written on it, you know you're in for a visual treat.

Yup, I just watched "Ponyo on the cliff by the sea" yesterday. I've been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's works ever since I watched "Spirited Away" so I was rather excited when Ponyo was released. My first reactions when I saw the trailer was: "Wa, so cute, sure alot of girls wanna watch". Incidentally, the cinema hall in which I watched the show was nearly 80% filled with girls =.=

Anyway back to the movie. Right from the start of the movie I was captivated by the stunning visuals and artwork. And the details! The opening scene showing Ponyo's daddy standing on his submarine was one of the most memorable ones, showing the ocean's best, what with crabs of all kinds and sizes, technicolour fish zipping around, menacing looking eels, bouncing jellyfish, octopuses and squids, all wonderfully drawn and animated. You know the old type of anime, where only 1 or 2 actions are being animated in the foreground at any one time? Well in this underwater scene, EVERYTHING was moving in its own natural way.

Amazing once you realise everything is fully hand-drawn!

Even the quaint seaside town and the sea was beautifully rendered. Check this out:



Looks familiar? Miyazaki-san based the town on this little Japanese port town Tomonoura. I can almost imagine Lisa's tiny pink car zooming along the coastal roads.

Like XJ said after the movie, it all seemed a little strange to be watching the 2D film. In this age of CG technology and 3D movies, its charming to see one of the best animators of all time sticking to his traditional hand-drawn medium, film after film. Another reason why the next generation of kids should watch Ponyo (if they haven't already). We grew up with 2D, and we only have Miyazaki-san to thank for keeping it alive with brilliance.

Although the storyline wasn't too deep (its meant for the kids really), you can spot some subtle references to themes that are prevalent in Miyazaki's works. The scene where a trawler dregs up muck from the ocean floor gently reminds us of our environmental impact, and it hammers home the message when Ponyo gets stuck in a discarded jar. Later in the movie when the sea turns a violent rage, it references to old Japanese folklore as well as their obsession with the ocean and its power. Imagination is the key here, with waves turning into giant fish slapping against the shore, a submarine powered by flapping flippers, sorcery and sea godesses, and a flood which submerges the world into prehistoric waters.

In the eyes of a child, the world is filled with endless possibilities.

For 2 hours last evening, I was a child once again.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

happy new year (the irony)

The first week of 2009!

And from the looks of it, pretty lousy too.
Been a pretty uppy and downy few days...

Hit with a fever on New Year's eve (boo!), before meeting the XJ for Bedtime Stories, Brewerkz and fireworks watching (cheer!).

Fever gone on New Year's day (yay!), but in comes a sore throat (aww)

Back to camp on Friday (sian) with a sore throat (double sian), but went out with the guys for ramen and supper (cool!) but the ramen tasted bland because of a blocked nose (damn!).

Played soccer on Saturday (whee!) but too many people turned up (dang).

Slacked on Sunday (ahhh~) but then came a killer cough (cough cough cough ><)

Finally, my voice gave way on Monday. Now I sound like a demented killer.

Hoping to land my "dream" job for these 6 months after ORD.