Life's a Beach

Musical Flavourings

2010-08-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, haven't been here for like.... donkey days... Well, not been having anything interesting going on, and those things that have been interesting, I'd rather not say because I've decided if it's not my business, I'm going to keep shut.

Anyways, by special request, I'm going to blog today (tonight rather) about another of my crap theories, and I call it Musical Flavouring.

Have you ever had a certain feeling when you've heard someone's singing voice? Well, there are just so many different kinds of voices in the world and each voice has a different resulting feeling in the listener.

Okay, there are many flavours in the world. You've got vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, durian (seriously, is it not smelly enough to not be a flavour?) and etc. And everytime you taste a different flavour, you get a different feeling.

Now, somehow this feeling of when I hear a person's voice, I get the same feeling of when I taste a flavour. Sometimes also, when I hear a voice, an image of a cake pops up in my head.

Here's an example. I feel that my voice is like bitter chocolate (which sucks thank you very much). On the surface it looks good, and tastes good on first bite.... until the taste seeps in and you start analyzing it. Only then do you realise that it's disgusting. (That's the sad truth of bitter chocolate) :(

Here's another one. I've got a friend and he's got this sort of headvoice, airy kind of sound, but he's able to mix it with a proper voice and his voice is very nice. Everytime I hear his singing, I think of a coffee cake with caramel whipped cream (due to the semi-airiness of his voice).

For the above two, I've been able to find reason - the link between the voice and the flavouring. However, there are some which I totally have no idea why or where I've deduced their musical flavouring:

One of my friends, everytime I hear her singing voice, I think of a carrot cake. Don't ask why. Another, a lime jelly cake/pudding thingy. Once again, don't ask why.

Also, for Irish band The Script's lead singer Daniel O'Donoghue, I start thinking of some cake with plenty of icing (maybe too much?) and sugar and all that, with the icing being either electric light blue or white (perhaps depending on each song).

Yeah, don't ask me why I feel that way, I just do. Maybe someone else has a different intepretation. Well, that's fine. That's the beauty of music isn't it? Where everyone inteprets it his or her way.

The most common flavour I've seen is chocolate, though there are different kinds of it, bitter chocolate, white chocolate etc.

There's a second part to this theory. Actually, it's more of like a theory within this theory... (R U CONFUZED?) Just like how different flavours can blend together, even if they are miles apart (chocolate banana anyone?), perhaps these voices, based on their flavours, could blend together just like how their flavours would (literally) blend (like in a blending machine). For instance, a chocolate voice would perhaps be able to blend with a strawberry kind of voice... Actually, chocolate almost blends well with any flavour (even chicken), so maybe, just maybe those with chocolate voices are able to blend with quite a lot of other kinds of voices.

Well, that's not to say two distinct flavours/voices will not be able to blend. How about vanilla-grape? Would be an interesting combination, no? You never know until you try.

Oh yes, one more thing. Those who are perhaps tone deaf, sorry but it would be extremely difficult to find the flavour of your voice... It would be extremely difficult to even listen to you sing in the first place!

Advice of the day: So, if chefs are the ones who choose the ingredients and flavours of a cake and mixes them together, that makes a choir master a chef of his choir. Intruiging.

*By the way, if you think this theory is crap, I totally understand. There's a reason why this is classified under 'Crap Theories'.

Why?

2010-07-14T04:43:00.001-07:00

How often nowadays do you see many others mindlessly following the crowd? It's like they're not thinking for themselves, and questioning the rationale behind their behaviours.

For instance, take example fashion. Why do people define long hair as being nice? (For guys! Girls without long hair are scary) Okay, I agree that many artistes in Hollywood and many famous people sport long hair. Well, they so happen to look good in those hairstyles. However, one suit does not fit every body, just like one hairstyle does not fit every head.

All it took was a small number of guys who looked good in long hair and fringes/face curtains hanging out together, and then more and more people were influenced into having the same hairstyle.

Sometimes I get sick about people complaining about their fringe. (Not trying to be a wet blanket since I'm unable to grow a long fringe)

Take another action in many people's lives. Waking up late. I personally dislike waking up at 10am or later because I feel like half the day has been wasted away. Then, there will be those who are extremely the opposite of me and they go "I wake up at 10am for school" (Don't ask me how they do it) "1pm is nothing."

Once again, all it took was a few jokers to decide that "Waking up early is for losers" and they rigged in like God knows how many others.

People should really start questioning why they do certain actions. Why is long hair defined as nice? Why is waking up late cool? Honestly, why?

And once they start asking these questions, we would definitely bid farewell to those failblog videos/fail pics.

Advice of the day: Start asking why... before you appear on failblog.

Well, Well, Well...

2010-07-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

The World is painted Red, Blue and Gold today. No, not because God suddenly became colour blind, but because of THAT match last night. No, not that Airtricity League match between Shamrock Rovers against Dundalk (though Shamrock won 4 - 0), but THAT match, between Spain and Holland. Tiki-taka vs total football.

Prior to that World Cup final, I had been going around trying to arouse World Cup small-talk by mindlessly asking "Spain or Holland?", and whenever I heard the latter, I would reply by "Holland are a two man team."

Pretty true. All they've got are Wesley Sneijder and Arjen (it's pronounced Arhen btw) Robben. Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, John Heitinga (?) my foot.

Anyways, I was predicting a Spanish victory and yeah, I'm happy that I got one. To be honest, I can't understand why anyone in the right mind would support Holland.

I think I'm one of the few who actually did NOT watch the match last night, and I'm happy I didn't. I heard it was quite the stinker, like Emaths class + News 5 tonite all rolled into one.

And Spanish goalkeeper cum captain Iker Casillas' TV kiss with his girlfriend was sure to break quite a few tiny hearts out there who had been watching the World Cup just for the faces. I'm sorry ladies, football is about your feet and not your fantastic hairstyle/perfect eyebrows.

Well, congrats to Espanyol, my condolences to Oranje and boo to that boring match (which I was lucky enough to miss :D). Come to think of it, maybe that Shamrock v Dundalk had been much more exciting...

It would be a whole different timing to the next World Cup though, which would be staged in Brazil. The final match of the 2014 installation of the 'Greatest Show on Earth' would be maybe 9am for us here in Singapore.

Advice of the day: If you want to be happy, all you need to do is win the World Cup. That's all. Life isn't so hard is it?

Worst World Cup, Ever

2010-07-01T06:26:00.001-07:00

I'm disappointed by this year's World Cup finals. Truly, did I wait four years for this?

First of all, there's been so much controversy off the pitch, which goes to show that football isn't the main course at this year's finals, especially with France's affair d'etat, which even included the French Prime Minister having a chat with Thierry Henry on the incident (or accident rather).

Well, the on-pitch action hasn't been great either. The average goals per game in this year's World Cup is 2.20. The lowest ever was 2.21 in Italia '90, which goes to show that this may be the most boring World Cup ever.

The World Cup has also lost quite a few of the star players who are the reason for high ticket prices. (Admit it, you've only come to see Ronaldo!) Rooney, Ronaldo, Ribery, Drogba have all been dumped out, not to mention current world champions (FACT) Italy finishing bottom of their group (yes, even behind New Zealand).

Also, take a look at the quater finalists: four out of the eight are from South America. It seems very much like the Copa America this year. I agree, this does show the strength of these South American nations, but come on, it's always much more fun if you spice things up with Japan, or Mexico or heck, even North Korea! Admit it, you love those nuclear missile jokes don't you! For e.g. "Lisbon is going to be wiped off the map thanks to 7 nukes." I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!

Also, take a look at the ball. The Jabulani, otherwise known as the supermarket ball, or quite simply the adidas piece of rubber junk, is sh*t. You can see the fear and lack of confidence players have in the ball, especially when they retrieve it at a fast pace. You can see that they are unable to control it, and that's how so many fluke goals have been scored.

Imagine this scenario: Team A midfielder receives pass from Team A defender but fails to control it and turn at the same time and the ball rolls towards Team B defender. Team B defender hits a long pass first time. Ball bounces over Team A defender and Team B striker collects the ball behind him and scores.

Now cut, copy and replay, and that's what the World Cup looks like.

Yes, you may say something like "therefore, the one who controls the Jabulani wins", but come on, since when was football ever about the ball? It has always been about the skills and teamwork of players.

And lastly, the final nail on the coffin, the vuvuzelas. I think the word vuvuzela should be considered vulgar. It's totally destroyed the atmosphere of the crowd.

It's like if you take an English crowd and a Brazilian crowd, you can truly appreciate and admire the fans' passion. The English will be singing songs like Steve Gerrard to Que Sera, Wayne Rooney to Tom Hank (at least I think that's where the tune comes from) and maybe even Football's Coming Home. The Brazilians would be playing their drums and dancing to the samba rhythm. It's all so beautiful, a spectacle for the eyes, ears and heart... until the vuvuzelas come into play.

No more 'Steve Gerrard Gerrard Gerrard', now its mindless buzzing at 130 decibals per vuvuzela.

There you have it, 3 factions of suckage: off-pitch, on-pitch and stadium atmosphere.

South Africa has 8 games and 11 days left to save it's butt from being officially branded the Worst World Cup Finals of All Time.

Brazil 2014 will definitely do better, it's not too difficult to improve from failure.

Advice of the day: Go into a deep deep sleep, and wake up 4 years from now.

What You Really Learn in School

2010-06-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well, secondary school that is. You don't learn much in primary school, it's all about having fun and making your teachers do all the work...

Anyways, I'm sure many of you have heard the line "But I don't need this when I'm working what" when it comes to certain subjects like chemistry, physics and etc, and that the only ones which are useful are your languages and E-Math.

Well, I beg to differ... Yes, I can't believe I'm saying this as well.

The subjects which seem like they have no use are structured such that they build up skills which you can use when you're older. I'm not talking about skills like painting a picture, playing an instrument or playing a sport (although you can learn those in school), I'm more on the lines of skills such as memorisation and quick thinking.

Your sciences, especially biology requires you to memorise many many facts and details. You need to know your physics formulas and have your chemical equations at your fingertips. These subjects are like half memorisation, half understanding, thus they also train your ability to link different topics under a large chapter. For instance, light, sound and EM waves are under a large chapter of Waves, while Qualitative Analysis, metals, ions are all closely linked under Acids, Bases and Salts.

Then, there's geography, which is probably maybe 80% memorisation, 20% understanding. You need to write the facts on your exam paper, then link them to their consequences (although it is possible to memorise these linking statements).

A-Math. I'm sure there are many people who are thinking why the heck would they need to know about sine and cosine if they were to grow up and work in the... I don't know, food industry or financial sector. Well, A-Math is really about your understanding again, and also about quick thinking. The one who uses the most efficient method gets the highest marks.

It also tests you on your ability to see patterns and think out of the box. How many times have you seen a trigo question where they make you "show that LHS = RHS" and you feel like you're running into a brick wall because you can't answer, and then finally when your teacher shows you the solution, you go "cheh" or "meh". And your mind gets blown away and you're pissed off that you couldn't see that and you.... *blah blah*

Then, there's social studies and history. Yes it is important to a certain extent (this sounds a lot like an SEQ!) because it gives you an idea of what governments around the world, and of now and before have done or are doing. At least your world view is broadened up a little.

However, the main challenge of these subjects is your ability to link factors. That's why if there are no linking statements, or your linking statement is not really good, you don't get the marks.

After all that's been said, there are actually subjects in school which teaches you some skills (like wow I totally did not know that!). Computer Studies - your ability to program computer softwares etc, POA - accounting, DnT - designing and creative thinking.

There are also your languages, which are always important.

Finally, there are those shoot-and-try-to-hit subjects like music and arts. They try to capture the interest of the students, and may or may not fail in doing so. If they fail, then it's not too bad, the student who rejects it just has one less thing to enjoy and appreciate, that's all.

Advice of the day: Oh yes the things you learn in school are important, but once you have all these, school's not important anymore.

Personalities

2010-06-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Personalities, the mental and emotional bodies of people. Many have been trying to crack this tough nut; psychologists, socialists etc, and many have come up with tests/surveys to categorize people into their seperate personalities.

I did one particular test, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. It was quite an enlightening experience. It was pretty accurate most of the time, however there were those way-off ones like people, whom you've never ever heard their voice before, coming up as extroverts, or people usually late coming up as judgemental people, or assholes coming up as feelers.

Well, there are the the E's - Extroverts, and the I's - Introverts. The S's - Sensers, and the N's - iNtuitioners (S's tend to look at the cold evidence while N's try to look abit further). The F's - Feelers and the T's - Thinkers (F's usually let their emotions decide for them while T's use their brain to make decisions). And finally, the J's - Judgemental and the P's - Perceivers (J people usually plan their schedules, P people usually just wait and see).

I especially like N. The S's see the glass as half full of water. The N's see it as half empty, but it doesn't stop there. Their next line is "What can I fill it up with?"

So, the different types are joined together and thus there are 16 different types in total. So, for example there are the ISFP's, the ESTP's and etc...

So here are some personality types I'm guessing for certain people (of course I may be severely inaccurate):

P.S., no offence if you happen to be any of these types!

INFP - emo people. Keeping their sorrows to themselves (I), allowing their minds to wander and think of all the negatives (N), cannot overpower their hearts with their minds (F), and well, as for the P, I doubt they're J's right, I mean, nobody sets aside a timeslot on their timetable to start emo-ing right?

ESTP - assholes! Love making a lot of noise (E), look at all your bad points and use them against you (S), only think about being bad to you and not considering your feelings (T), and well, same reason as the emo people for the P. (An asshole is an asshole 24/7 right?)

ENFP - flirts. Usually very sociable (especially to his target) (E), thinks of the most creative ways to get a girl's number (N), only goes for those he has feelings for (F), and yes, same reason as the above two for P.

Hold on, that can't be right... All of these are negative. Hmm...

INFP - listener. Let's you pour your troubles onto him (I), looks for potential positives which can be taken from a bad experience (N), knows and understands how you feel (F), and well, let's face it, if one can listen to his friend's problems at 12pm, why can't he do it at 1pm (although the best time to have trouble sharing sessions are in the night. FACT!)? (P)

ESTP - debators/lawyers. Fights your accusers with words (E), sighting out all the evidences which point to your innocence (S), does not get personal in the debate/verbal-battle/bitching about (T), and are pretty good at arguing 24 hours a day (P), although it would be good if lawyers were J's and so, able to manage their time better.

ENFP - best friend. Reaches out to you (E), sees you beyond the outermost layer (N), always takes your feelings into consideration (F), and forever available, any time of the day (P).

Yeah, that's better...

Anyway, my point is, there is no good or bad personality type. Just because you got an ESFJ or ISTP doesn't make you any better or worse than anyone else. It's what you do with your personality and how you mould and improve upon it.

As I've stated above, the same personality type could be people with distinct attitudes. It truly boils down to a person's character.

Thus being said, perhaps character and morals are the most important things, and personality is merely sort of like the clothes which a person's character puts on. The way this person shows his character to his surroundings, and the way he acts out his morals.

Hold on, this just came to my head...

ENTJ - O level 6 pointer. Able to speak up for himself and protect what is his (E), able to see the possibilities, what's not there, instead of the straight evidence (N), decisive in his actions, deciding on the most effective method (T), and able to plan his time well to finish projects and still have time to do other activies that the government would 'Become a Fan' of if the government had facebook (J).

Advice of the day: Let's all be ENTJ's!

Instrumental Intimacy

2010-06-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

School's out (yeah, like finally), and so I've got some spare time (yes I actually do). I've been spending those spare minutes (hours more like it) having some intimate moments with my guitar.

Yes, I do call those moments intimate!

The definition of intimate (in my dictionary anyways) is when two bodies come together and are close to each other physically, mentally and emotionally (sometimes spiritually... but guitars won't go to heaven) in a surrounding which is quiet. Sounds a lot like physics right? That's because I haven't been having intimacy with my physics books and so now I'm grasping this chance to touch up on it. :D

Oh and by the way, my guitar is 30 years old. Yes. Around the same age as my piano, and double my age. It was passed from my mother's friend, to my mother, and now to me. Still has my mother's friend's nametag on it.

Since they're about the same age, maybe I should matchmake my piano and my guitar together. Perhaps I'll get baby keytars or something.

Then, I'll put my ten year old recorder into the scene and make it the third party.

My piano is having an affair! Then, I'll get baby church organs. Imagine that...

Anyway, yeah I've been playing my/mother's/mother's friend's guitar more often as of late. I've actually tried plucking instead of just mindless strumming. Never thought I'd ever find out how to read tabs, but realised I was right the first time I tried (at least it sounds right).

And I never knew that just mindless practice on the plucking sequence would allow you to be able to play a song without that much thinking. Well, I knew that basis stood for piano, just didn't realise how true it was for guitar as well. Finger muscle memory is a beautiful thing.

If there is muscle memory in the fingers, could it mean that there is muscle memory in other parts of your body?

Let's say your feet. (By the way it's the world cup now, in case you've been living under a rock... or you're a girl) Sometimes when you kick a ball, not thinking about how you're going to is sometimes better than concentrating on the kick. It's like letting your mind relax while your muscles do the work by remebering the right technique, the right strength and etc. And often, thinking with your brain too much about how you're going to take a kick may result in you scoffing your shot.

Alright, now let's look at other parts of your body. Let's say your arms. Basketballers know the height of the ball's bounce everytime they dribble. Perhaps it's because their arms are used to the ball bouncing to that height, or rather have 'memorised' the height of the ball. Thus, some can even dribble blindfolded. Muscle memory at work again!

Advice of the day: Muscles have brains!

Monotone Single Nobody

2010-06-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Monotone Single Nobody. Yeah, what does that abbreviate to? It's MSN!

MSN, along with any other online chatting service (yes that's you too Facebook and *God-forbid* Friendster) are convenient tools to catch up with friends and have mass conversations, or conferences...

Imagine your mum telling you to log off MSN and you say, "No, I'm having a conference!" You either get a reply from your mother of curiousity or the "I don't care, you get off now."

Anyways, for those people who purely use these online services, I always get the feeling the conversations are always monotonious. Its void of all emotion. You don't get to hear a voice, your eyes are the only senses you are making use of. God gave us all five senses (who here has the sixth one?), and thus we should use them all, don't you think, or rather, it would be more meaningful using all your senses rather than just your vision.

It's beautiful when you use your senses. Like listening to the sound of a human voice, feeling the touch of a human hand, smelling a human (okay...), tasting.... Uh, I'm not going to go there.

Next, single. No one is going to get a spouse simply by using these online messaging services per se, or a girlfriend/boyfriend for that matter. Even if you do, it's probably another one of those empty relationships you see so commonly nowadays.

Thirdly, nobody. I doubt anyone who spends his time online will ever be popular. It's like you're hiding yourself behind that 20-inch screen. Nobody is ever going to know who you truly are. It's like you can tell me everything about you; your address, your family members, the number of hairs on your head, your bank account number (I wouldn't mind knowing that one!), but ultimately, if I've never met you or talked to you in real life, how can you be real to me?

Personally, given the chance, I'd rather chat with someone over a drink or over the phone (that means calling! Messaging is just as monotonious, singlious and nobodyious as online messaging!). At least my senses are being engaged. As for calling, all you online campers may be arguing that the only sense I'm using is hearing, but it's always nice to hear a voice isn't it?

Wait, hold on... I feel so weird, like I'm contradicting myself. Sh*t! No wonder! I'm stating the negatives of online messaging services while I'm using one... Damn you blogger... (crap, I think my blog is going to be removed thanks to that latest statement!)

Advice of the day: Call me ;)

A Day Being Gay

2010-05-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Okay... I'm going to engage in a social experiment involving me, my blog, and my manliness, otherwise known as balls.

After reading some people's blogs where they use all the flowery msn languages like manszszs or siahszzssszszzzzzzzzssssssss (otherwise known as gay language in the Jit Wei dictionary), I'm going to try to imitate all that and see once and for all if it truly is worth it.

So, here goes.... *gulp*

heyyz peepszz! :DDD wahh super sianzz 2deh, sooper tireddddd... :(((((

played soccer (soccer in a gay blogpost?! I would never have guessed!) 2day with teh alumnizzs... plaid defender... last man siahhszzz!! x))) n i tackled sum big guy and his sweat transfered over to me, very smelly! yecks, i wanted to pukezz! Dx

then went to queensway with besties (s**t I'm biting my tongue as I'm typing) and a few otherszsz to see class jersey... i <3 (son of a....) the designszszs!!! xDDDDDD

after that went to peninsula plaza and buy pants... bought some that look abit shiny :DD $12 only!!! sen qian sen qian! wooooooooozz

then go bugis street, and it waz damn crowded canszzzsz!! then, dinner at some nearby food center, i <3 that food (yeah this one is true, especially the price :D)!!

ok.... i'm tired *yawnszz* going to sleep now...

<3 YA! :D (...)

------------------------

ZOMGWTHBBQ was that... I'm going to have to wash my mouth with soap for like a few years now just to get rid of this stain..... argh!

Truly truly, I'm feeling sick now, and truly truly I want to pukez (s**t! I've been infected! Nooooo).

Takpuleh tahan man... I'm going to end it here before it's too late!

Advice of the day: Don't ever even try attempting what I just did

Love Languages

2010-05-26T04:42:00.001-07:00

Love languages, what are they?

They're like the way to a person's heart, the path in which one must take in order to win over a certain someone.

There are five main love languages, mainly: Gifts, words of affirmation, quality time, touch and acts of services. Well, I shan't go into these if not people will start asking me how to woo others.

I think this is a very interesting topic. A lot can be learnt from these five traits. For instance, it's possible to see what a person looks for in a partner from his or her love language. Example, let's say someone's (disclaimer: any resemblence to anyone dead or alive is purely coincidental) love language is gifts. Therefore, I have deduced that this person looks for a partner who is thoughtful, has good taste, and filthy rich. (Okay, maybe not filthy...)

One may start thinking exploiting a person's love language is a sure-way to winning a heart, but I doubt so. God would not have made man and woman to be so easily won over since He holds marriage in the highest order. He would have made it not so easy for man and woman to fall in love with each other and get married, so that a person will not be so 'in love' with the first partner he or she has had, which results in the person finding the best possible partner for marriage.

The book I Kissed Dating Goodbye uses a cake as an analogy of a relationship. Making a cake is just like building a relationship, the main body (Philos and Agape love) is required to be set in place first, with the icing (feelings, Eros love) giving the cake (relationship) a bit more spice. And I think this analogy is very true. Often nowadays, we see many couples just having the icing. Remember, too much sugar and you vomit (and get pimples, acne problems, diabetes, hypertension...).

Which leads me to my point, where I feel love languages are just an ingredient in the icing. I've felt my love language being exploited before, and I fell in, but once I wasn't 'attacked' via my weakness, I climbed out.

Love languages are just to make the icing even more sweeter, even after the feelings you get when you see Mr or Miss so-and-so. Therefore, having only the cherry on the icing is insufficient, you need the main body of the cake, plus the icing and the cherry on top.

Thus, it may seem love is nature rather than nurture. However, that's if you don't put the main body in the focus. The main body comes from nurturing, getting to know the person better and appreciating his or her qualities, as well as overcoming his or her bad habits.

Advice of the day: Love is nature plus nurture.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Lover

2010-05-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

Seems like a day does not past without you seeing a good looking person ain't it? (The good looking one's in the mirror for me :P)

There have been many times I've heard other guys say "Oh this girl damn chio", and when I look at her, I see a regular everyday face. (Am I really surrounded by that many pretty girls that I've become numb to all of their 'prettiness'?)

Also, there are times when a girl somehow becomes less, or not as pretty as before, even though she looks exactly the same.

Why? Perhaps it's because of love.

This is my life story: I liked this girl, therefore she was the prettiest girl in the world. Being the only person who liked her, no one else said she was pretty (including herself... maybe she was just acting humble?), only I(emphasis here) did. After that, I liked this other girl and this other girl became the prettiest girl in the world. The End.

So, from this excerpt, it truly looks as if beauty is in the eye of the lover. I doubt there has been once I have ever felt that a girl (a true living girl, not those photo-shopped ones you find in magazines) was pretty without me having some sort of feelings for her.

Sometimes, the change is extremely drastic:

In love: She's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen
Out of love: She looks like a cockroach

That seems to be the case nowadays, with boyfriends taking revenge on their ex-girlfriends, and girlfriends taking revenge on their ex-boyfriends (and his family and friends).

Advice of the day: If you want to win a beauty contest, make sure the judges love you (as in seriously LOVE you)

Books vs Streets

2010-05-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, first of all, the title makes no sense. That's because you have to expand the following: Smart(Book + Street)... *sigh* Math has taken its toll on me.

Okay, so you get booksmart and streetsmart.

First of all, those considered booksmart usually have achieved quite well in their education. There are the specialists (i.e. mathematicians, scientists, etc...) and the all-rounders (i.e. people who just happen to know everything, better known as walking encyclopedias).

Now, the streetsmart people are those who are more creative in their thinking, using their creativity to get them out of any bad situation.

In other words, it may seem like booksmart = knowledge, while streetsmart = wisdom...

Which begs the age-old question, which is better?

My personal viewpoint? Neither. (Ar ar! Politically correct!) Both have to work hand in hand.

Why do I say this? (Apart from it being politcally correct) Well, everyone's either born booksmart, streetsmart, or neither. (And by the looks of it, it's mostly neither. Aha!)

Anyway, a person who is naturally booksmart, may learn to be streetsmart through his studying. Education may be partly defined as going through what other's have experienced and learned, and so you learn and put into practice the tricks of the trade. (That's just like copying , but I'll stick to 'put into practice' because it sounds nicer)

Thus, the tricks employed by booksmart people in the streetsmart world have all been used before. They may be effective (just like stepovers or Cruyff turns in football), but may screw one up (i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo...) when used at the wrong time, which is frequently the case, due to the booksmart person's lack of experience on when and how to apply.

Then again, how about street smarts helping one to be booksmart? Street smart people may have their creative and clever methods of studying, which certainly makes them look booksmart. For instance, streetsmart people usually try and spot questions, or they come up with methods of studying which may cut short their study time (which may even make the studying more productive!).

Therefore, certainly the streetsmart people would surely have the good-looking scorecards, beautiful certificates, but are they truly knowledgable on the topic? It's like having the outline without the substance, the icing without the cake. Some call it 'smoking'.

Finally, we have the saddest case of all. The 'neither' zone. These are the people who are crap at studying (maybe they're just lazy), crap at getting themselves out of sticky situations (think bimbos), and well, are just pure failures.

Advice of the day: If you're booksmart, congrats! If you're streetsmart, congrats too! If you're neither, then....

Intentions

2010-05-10T04:59:00.001-07:00

The Bible is full of God's commands. There are the serious ones like 'Thou shalt not murder' and 'Thou shalt not commit adultery', then there are also the practical and useful ones like 'He who stops his brother from sinning has saved him'.

Then, there are also the gray areas, where the Bible does not really specify.

For instance, the Bible didn't say that 'Thou shalt not guai lan', then that's where the inferring starts. The Bible did say to 'love thy neighbour as thyself', and so if you don't mind others making the monkey out of you, then go ahead.

However, how do you define what is sin? As in seriously, one man's trash may be another man's treasure... Hold on, wrong analogy, but you get the point.

There are so many Christians coming from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, that what may seem okay to them may be miles away from what we'd expect.

And also, some newly 'planted' Christians with shallow roots (sorry too much geography, its exam period now) and a young faith may not have much knowledge about the Bible and all that it commands. And so, it's not that they would want to commit that certain sin, it's just that they don't know that it's a sin.

Which leads me to my one-size-fits-all plan for those actions not covered by the Bible. You can do anything you want, so long as your intentions are just.

For instance, scolding vulgarities. Yes, the Bible did say not to use your tongue to curse, but the Bible did not specify that f**k was a vulgar word did it? Therefore, if you choose to say it, just make sure your intentions are right.

This can also cover the gray areas. For example, the Bible does not say that shopping is a sin (*nudge* to certain *AHEM* girls *AHEM* strepsils please), but what are your true intentions when you go and purchase like 20 pairs of shoes?

This internal intentions-cum-conscience thing is really the most important part in this anti-sin method. If your intentions are screwed up, well, (sorry to say) your faith is screwed up as well.

Then again, you cannot just use this technique alone. It has to be nurtured with a growing knowledge of the Bible and all that it commands. (Oh no, am I preaching?!)

Yes, this is a tall order for everyone, including me, to follow.

Advice of the day: To get more Bible knowledge, JOIN YF! (yeah I'm using my blog as a means to advertise >:D)

Humans were created for music

2010-05-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

I just find it... err... well, I can't seem to find the right word to describe it.

After reading Psalm 150: 3-5, I was truly inspired and convicted that all creatures were made for worship. Thus, I feel that human beings were created for music. (Yes, in case you still did not know after reading the title)

Why I feel this way? Well, being a pianist, there have been many many instances where I am just moving my fingers according to the piece whilst my mind is else where.

I could be playing Mozart and thinking which player Man United should buy (Karim Benzema or David Villa by-the-way) at the same time.

I think it's something to do with the muscle coordination. Your finger muscles do the remebering while your brain is on holiday.

And it's the same for every other instrument. Your fingers will adjust to the changing of chords while you're fiddling with your guitar, your lungs know how much air to push out while you're blowing your flute, your arms know how and when to swing at which drum while you're banging your drum kit... The list goes on!

Also, I heard that if your singing technique is perfect, it would be easier for you to sing higher and stronger, and with less strain.

But of course, no worship is complete without the Holy Spirit's presence. Without it, the session would only be an empty waste of time and sound energy, but when the Holy Spirit's around, it's better than attending a Jay Chou concert.

Oh yes! I finally found the word I was searching for: imba!

Advice of the day: Musicians are imba! THANKS!

To the left, to the right

2010-05-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm curious about something. Just curious, nothing more.

It's like this... I happened to glance (yes, happened to glance ONLY) and I notice that many girls move their hips when they walk.

So, I was wondering if it was a natural process, i.e. their body alignment is such that the only way for them to walk comfortably is to move their hips, or if the source was more mental than physical, where they think that doing so makes them more... uhhh... I'm going to keep mum about this part, this blog is PG13.

Or are there other reasons?

Anyway, not all girls do it. Out of every 10 girls I observe, only about 4-5 have this habit of shaking their *censored*.

It's most easily identified when they are in their shorts and tight-fit T-shirt.

And I've noticed that there is something these 4-5 girls have in common. Perhaps it may be a little offensive to some if I say it out loud here (I have to remain politically correct or else I'll have to run away to Malaysia) so I'm going to keep hush. The only thing I'm going to reveal is that it has something to do with their appearance.

Personally, as a male, I'm naturally attracted by all this 'movement'. In fact, sometimes I'm enthralled by it.

Advice of the day: To hook me in, just walk in front of me and move your *censored*.

Counter-advice of the day: It takes more than just that, I need the attitude as well!

Pity is the new in-thing

2010-04-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I was queueing up at the cashier, and I stood behind a RGS girl. I was forced to stand close to her as it was quite crowded (yes that's the only reason!).

Then, when it was her turn to pay, she opened her wallet and took out a $50 note to pay for a $3 chocolate. And I also happened to glance into her wallet. I saw a rainbow.

I saw red, green, violet, blue, and also a pot of gold coins.

Most people would have either of these 2 reactions:
1. Oh my gosh, you're rich!
2. You're a RGS girl. What the heck are you doing in shengsiong?!

Okay, so it may thus seem that girls are getting richer nowadays. Perhaps it's the parents doting and pampering them, giving them extra cash so they can stock up on candies and more sugary crap. (Yes, I do think gluttony is a sin)

Then again, maybe it's because she's from RGS.

This may support the myth of Raffles people being too rich and stealing notes rather than handphones.

Anyway, I came up with this crap-theory that guys who look pitiful win girls much more effectively than rich guys.

Why? Which girl's heart wouldn't ache if she saw a guy who did not have much cash, but still manages to live cheerfully? Only heartless girls (I think I can name a few, though I may be severely mistaken).

Using sympathy to win a girl's heart... excellent.

This is also a way to ensure that the girl is in love with you not because of your money or other material things, but because of your attitude.

Furthermore, you would be modeling the epitome of humility, Jesus Christ Himself.

Yes, He came from heaven to earth to show the way. God becoming a man. There is no further humbling.

But, after you finally manage to snag the lady, it wouldn't hurt if you suddenly become rich again. Dating is expensive. Even the most cheapest places suddenly inflate in cost if the event is couple-related.

Advice of the day: Dating fills your heart, but burns a hole in your pocket. Thus, for a small fee of $xxx, you can kiss dating goodbye with I Kissed Dating Goodbye!

Success

2010-04-26T05:41:00.001-07:00

Well, this is a bit late, but yeah I passed my Grade 8 exam with a score of 112. Wasn't expecting this... was perhaps expecting a 0 after the 1.

And I heard from my piano teacher that the examiner is quite a high profile bigshot in the music world... even though I've never heard of him before. Can't remever his name as well too...

Thus because of this, passing under him was certainly made a bigger miracle. All this could only have been done through the grace of God.

But to be honest, I'm having mixed feelings over the results. Yes, I'm elated that I passed, and all that stands between me and the diploma exam is a Grade 8 theory certificate, but judging how I played my songs and screwed up everything else, I wonder how I would have fared had I not messed up.

I'm not the kind of person who retakes exams just so that I can improve my highscore, so looks like I'll never know how good a musician I am when I'm in top form...

Maybe God wants all this to remain a mystery, so that perhaps on one hand I wouldn't give up hope, and on the other hand not get too cocky.

Wow. I've truly experienced the grace, wisdom and love of God through this one event. This is beautiful.

Oh, did I mention I passed my Grade 8! HUAT AR!

Advice of the day: Sometimes God doesn't want to reveal things to you because some things are better off not being known.

Hold on... that quote just made me form a link to another matter... hmm...

Betrayed my First Love

2010-04-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

I confess, I've not been faithful. I've commited adultery. I've been unfaithful to my first love.

My piano has been ditched for my guitar (actually it's my mum's, but I'm having the 'what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine' mindset).

I haven't really played the piano this past week, instead I've been touching, caressing and well, been really intimate with the guitar. Been playing The Script.

Went to get my own chords for The Man Who Can't be Moved because I wanted to look like a musical genius. Transposed it to E major to compromise for my tiny range.

I think the song Break Even is pretty meaningful. The lyrics really reflected what heartbreaks are all about.

What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you?
And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up while you're okay?
I'm falling to pieces
I'm falling to pieces...

Then again, I've noticed that quite a number of The Script's songs are written based on heartaches, and the inability to forget and move on. The Man Who Can't be Moved, Break Even, Talk You Down etc. Maybe I should join them, or suggests lyrics for them... Marketable!

Speaking of the betrayal of love, I think I know exactly how my piano feels right now.

Advice of the day: Songs written with lyrics reflecting heartbreaks will surely give you fame and fortune!

*Disclaimer* I'm not emo-ing today, just stating my viewpoint.

Anger Management

2010-04-10T06:42:00.001-07:00

Yes, anger. We all feel it sometimes, some more than others, and if we're not careful, it consumes us and takes control.

So, always have a cool head, unless you want to do something you'll regret. Then again, it certainly looks like having a cool head and thinking through everything will solve all the rest of your problems... well, it solves them by preventing them in the first place.

So is it a battle of your mental will against your emotions? Perhaps. Your mental strength against your feelings. The mind against the heart.

Personally, I've learned that using your brain instead of your heart truly saves you from the pain when the disappointment comes. Then again, you would be restricting your feelings from truly taking flight.

Most people would say 'oh, just follow your heart.' Fat hope, I say. But ironically, I'm a hypocrit in this. I sometimes just follow my heart because 'I feel like it', even though I know in the end I'm going to get killed or something.

So in mathematical terms, the graph of using your brain is a constant graph with 0 gradient, while the one of using your heart is a negative quadratic curve.

But alright, enough of that, back to anger. Anger may actually be a good thing. It certainly pumps you up and makes you stronger, faster and more deadlier.

How many times have you seen a referee being totally biased in a football match, and the team he is biased against vent their anger on the ball, and eventually winning the match. Wayne Rooney certainly knows, and I'm pretty sure any other sportsmen out there will know of this. Maybe this is more of frustration rather than of anger.

Then again, frustration could make a team lose hope, and stop fighting for their cause. Frustration may cause them to start whining as well.

I admit, sometimes I'm like that, and I'm just surprised no one's called me a whiny b**ch yet.

Advice of the day: Stop whining, start winning!

Gotten over Her Already

2010-04-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

Remember like last month when I said that I was planning to go to NAFA? Well.... it seems that I've lost my desire to study there.

I used to have this great fire for NAFA. I was imagining myself being accepted in, and me being the star student of the music class and finding a sweet girl, with whom I would play duets in romantic piano rooms. (Watching Secret filled me up with too many ideas) But now, it seems I have stopped having this want to go to NAFA.

Let me put it this way. It's like falling in love with a girl and having very strong feelings (Biblical term - eros love) for her, and you having this very strong desire to be with her. Then, after a while, these feelings seem to fade away, and she becomes just a regular person to you, but you still do not rule her out as your future girlfriend.

Yup, that's exactly how I feel with NAFA now. It isn't totally struck off my 'potential choices' list, but I'm quite certain it will not be first choice.

And I've realised I cannot sit at the piano for 4 hours straight. I actually become sian of it! To me, if I were to put NAFA as my first choice, not being able to feel sian after long hours on the piano has to be a requisite.

So, advice of the day: Choosing your school is like choosing your girlfriend!

My Hope is still Alive

2010-04-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Easter to all. It's been 2010 years since Christ Jesus was crucified on Calvary, but yes He is risen, all power to Him is given. My hope is still alive!

By the way, the easter performance of My Hope is still Alive looks like it went okay, although personally I felt I could have done better. I admit, I did squeeze out some of the high notes, which may have effected the overall harmony.

Comments were that I looked like I was in discomfort while singing, quote unquote Arthur: "He looks like 'I'm singing tenor, and I'm in pain. Help!"

Somehow, I did not get the feeling of 'high-ness' after this performance. I was more high last year after the Christmas one, but maybe that was because it had acting scenes in it and that I was forced into being Joseph. Now everyone calls me that, sh*t.

Okay, next time I'm going to take a very detailed look at the score before deciding to choose my alliegence.

Anyway, won't be looking at any new scores soon. I've decided to temporarily put the brakes on music ministry duties/youth choir, so no more organ playing after June and no church anniversary performance for me until O levels.

After that, huat ar!

Advice of the day: If you are performing, do only what you are good at.

Historicals

2010-04-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

It seems that after something has been around for quite some time, it starts to gain value and meaning. Just take a look at all those useless junk found by archeologists. You've got things like prehistoric crap, historic crap, and prehistoric-but-a-bit-recent crap.

One of those things are the numbers on the backs of football players. Back then, players were not assigned kit numbers, and they get their kits just before kick-off. So, they just wear their kits, irregardless of the number on the back, and so, names were also not printed on those kits.

The teams would line-up from number 1-11. Perhaps 12 and above would be for the substitutes, and since there used to be only 5 substitutes, so 12-16 were for the benchwarmers.

However, certain players, usually the 'star-players' of each team would get first pick as to which number he would want. Overtime, these numbers have grown in meaning and character.

1 - Usually taken by the goalkeeper. He represents the final stronghold in the team's defence. If he is breached, that's it, your team is going behind. 1 is a lonely number, which results in some goalkeepers losing concentration, thus that's how blunders are made. However, they can also be quietly the most crucial person in a team.

2 - Usually for the right fullback. Usually the one who can play across the back four. Probably would not be the one who would go forward and attack. Of course, there would be exceptions. Number 2s are very direct, and no-nonsense, and are good at a variety of things.

3 - Leftback. Traditionally the one who is able to play along the entire left wing. He frequently goes forward to try and puncture the opposition defence with crosses and runs. Usually extremely one-footed, with the right foot being utilised much less as it is not as effective as the left one. This number symbolises someone who is extremely good at something, but extremely weak at another. He puts his all in what he is good at, thus neglecting his weaknesses, although someones to the point where his strengths are just too good for others.

4 - Defensive midfielder. The one who goes around chasing the ball everywhere it goes, breaking up opposing plays, and well, destroying the opponent's midfield as well as connecting defence to midfield. This number is for someone who is hardworking, and who doesn't mind doing the dirty work. He gives his all for his cause, and is also the link between two differing parties.

5 - The sweeper, the one who plays behind the centerhalf. Usually has a bit of pace, and can get the ball out of dangerous areas, no matter the situation. The number, someone who is street-smart and confident...sometimes to the point of cockiness. May take a path less travelled.

6 - The centerhalf. Hard and unpenetratable centerhalfs are a striker's worst nightmare. They are also very no-nonsense, as well as safe and secure. The number is for someone you can depend on and trust that he will get the job done.

From number 7 onwards, it gets really complicated.

7 - The winger/striker. The one with the dazzling dribbling skills and pace. The flair of the team, the icing on the cake. Some are cocky, some are humble. Some play dirty, some play clean. Some show passion, some show cheekiness. This number can be used for a diverse number of people, but these people must be highly skilled. Probably for boy-prodigies.

8 - The attacking midfielder/winger/striker. The team-player, the one with the good passing, the one who can bring his teammates into the game, and take opponents out at the same time. The understudy to the number 10. The number 8: uses his creativity for his cause, and sees things how others don't. He can use a direct solution to solve an indirect problem with just one defence-splitting pass.

9 - The centerforward. The big, tall and strong centerforward who plays and stays up front. Usually has good ball control, good heading and finishing. Some are better at creating chances though. Uses his strength to hold defenders off while he controls or shoots the ball. Usually very good at shielding. The ideal number 9: a strong and big person who is cool, calm and composed. Someone who uses his strength only when needed, and fights for what is rightfully his.

10 - The attacking midfielder/striker/winger. Another number with a very diverse character. He plays with his heart, with his brains, and with his very talented feet. Some are the ones with the tricks, some are the ones with the shooting, some are the ones with the passing, but no matter what, they excel in whichever they are best at. Number 10s tend have a righteous character and show their burning passion in whatever they do.

11 - The striker/winger. The other one with the dazzling dribbling skills, although may resort to close-control of the ball rather than pace. The one with the good crosses, who always finds his teammate in the box if he's the winger, or the striker who plays behind the centerforward, and creates chances with clever passes and runs. Number 11s are the ones who only do things well if the solution is direct. This being said, they are simple people, who do an effective job when presented with the opportunity.

Well, all these theories could either be spot on or way off, depending on which players you think of.

Advice of the day: Maybe if you decide which number you are, you would then know where your true strength on the pitch is.

Monday Blues

2010-03-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

Disappointment today. Had my Grade 8 piano exam today, and for all the passion I've been showing in recent times, this just wasn't the fairytale ending I was looking for.

I came out with the same feeling as when I left my Grade 7 piano exam. What did I get for Grade 7?

I failed.

I screwed up my chromatic scales and my aural test. The sight reading was as bad as ever. Had a few hiccups with my first and second pieces, but yeah I am quite happy with the third piece. Scales, appergios, diminished sevenths and dominant sevenths were quite alright though...

I think I would fail my aural and sight reading and just pass my scales. That would give me around 35 marks. Thus, I need 65 marks from my pieces. I reckon I can get 25 and above for my third piece, so that leaves us with 40 marks, averaging to be 20 marks for my first and second piece.

Now that doesn't seem impossible. Yes my hope is still alive.

Speaking of my hope still being alive, that's the item that we the youth choir will be presenting on Easter Sunday. My Hope is still Alive.

I think I need to stand next to a tenor who knows his part really well, so if I do go off-tune, I'll be able to snap back on-tune by following him. Either that or I start practicing my section a little more.

This being said, I was scammed into being a tenor. Previously as a bass, I couldn't project the low notes, so I decided to move up to tenor for the next presentation, which is the one on Easter. Now that I'm in the tenor section, I've realised how painful being a tenor can be.

Next time, I'm going to take a close look and examine the score before making my decision!

Advice of the day: Examinations are important.

Bloody Sunday

2010-03-28T02:57:00.001-07:00

Had church today in the morning. First time in a few months that it's Praise Team week and I'm not in, although I should be most likely doing Praise Team for Good Friday... The plan is to impromptu it with just one practice session just before Worship Service starts on Friday.

Well, for those Ngee Ann people/other blog visiters/random stalkers/random girl stalkers (you're all welcome :D), the Praise Team is a group of about 4-5 youths and young adults (although there is still a 30 year-old in it), leading worship during services. It happens every fourth week of the month, as well as on Youth Service and special events.

Well, so back to the story. It was the first time in a few months that Joshua (Bass 3), Jun Yew (gay) and I were not involved, and yeah, it sounded really different. It had a different feel. Maybe it was just the songs, but it just wasn't the same as usual. I think they were missing a bass because no one was hitting the bass notes.

I think it's worth commending them that they did blend a few times by flowing away from the melody and onto the Tenor and Alto lines. But yeah, the Bass section was nowhere to be found.

Well, then in the afternoon, conflict. Big conflict. I can't even think of how I'll even start explaining it. I think it's better if I keep it confidential first, too many people involved.

I feel like I'm in the middle of two ropes, and both ends are pulling me apart. I don't know who to side.

This verse came to my mind though, so if any of you involved are reading this, hope this helps:

1 Peter 5:5 - Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

"God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."

I admit, I was wrong, I'm sorry to all the older youths, I can't even begin. I'm not going to argue simply because I can't. I don't have a case to fight for. My case is guilty.

Advice of the day: Nothing corny/lame today. 1 Peter 5:5.

Finally used my IC

2010-03-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Yep, finally. After three months of it hanging out with my EZ Link Card, SAFRA card and Mr Yusof Bin Ishak, I've finally put it to its first use! Buying a NC16 movie ticket!

Actually I didn't really use it lah, used my EZ Link Card instead but still same!

Today I went to watch my first NC16 movie, Green Zone. I don't know if all NC16 movies are like this one, but if I were to compare with regular PG/G movies, NC16 just has maybe only 50 times the vulgarities and equal amount of violence. But that's probably because this movie isn't all about the gore.

I know people watch some movies just because there's plenty of blood, broken bones and chopped off body parts in them.

Ironic that the guy sitting next to me in the cinema is 14 (birthday not passed yet) and he's maybe watched dozens of NC16 movies before.

What can I say, I'm law-abiding.

Anyway, Green Zone was pretty monotonious. I didn't have any emotional swings while watching it... but perhaps it's because it's a War-based/Action movie, and that's probably what's expected of these genres. I can't really comment on these kinds of movies, mainly because I don't really watch these genres. I could not totally get the entire storyline though.

Today was a very big contrast as to what I watched yesterday, How to Train Your Dragon. That one was I think G (duh, it's from Disney), and there were no vulgarities, and the violence...well let's call it Tom-and-Jerry violence.

So, advice of the day: Let's see what M18 has to offer. After that when I reach 21....

You'll never walk again... at least for the rest of this season

2010-03-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well... Look who's on top of the table now.

Last night's match between Man United and Liverpool was surely an extremely fiesty encounter. I could definitely sense the passion of the players and the fans, even though I am thousands of miles away from Old Trafford. (Actually I only felt it after watching the highlights, but it still counts!)

Last night we saw the bitchiness of Fernando Torres, thus giving further evidence that he in fact is actually a ladyboy!

After kicking away a huge chunk of the penalty spot, it was perhaps justice that Wayne Rooney scored from the follow up. No one messes around with the Old Trafford pitch!

And perhaps the pitch came back to haunt him, as he totally mis-kicked the ball due to a bounce at around the same area of the pitch as where he had uprooted a fair bit of the ground.

But truly, yesterday was a fiesty encounter. I'm surprised there wasn't any red cards being shown.

Even Edwin van der Sar got in the act as he went to 'scold' Torres for aledgedly catching him when he dived for the ball. That scene reminded me of some uncle reprimanding some teenager who spilled his drink or something. I imagined Van der Sar going, "Oi boy! Open your eyes! Watch where you're going!"

Anyway, United were certainly the better team yesterday, having 58% of the overall possession and creating many more chances than the fools from Merseyside.

And it was definitely a big moment for Park Ji Sung, who scored the winner with a sublime diving header. He played brilliantly yesterday. He may not be a beautiful player, but he gets the job done.

Advice of the day: If you must wear a red jersey, put on a Man United one.

I'm not going to blog today

2010-03-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Oh crap I just did!

Anyway, didn't think I'd be here. Quite tired after soccer with the guys... emotionally tired as well.

Too many lurking eyes, so I'm not going to say much.

As of late, I've been scrutinising every little thing that happens, wondering if they are signs from God. And by little, I mean really really small.

Like God giving me a bad-hair day and stuff like that.

And also all the pimples and acne problem I'm having now. I have this hunch why God gave me acne problem, but it's kinda' self-praise so I won't say it here, in case this blog becomes infamous because of this.

The reason for my examining of every little detail? God works in strange ways. He can turn the most unlikely thing into the most important tool of your life.

The only thing now I'm afraid of is God not wanting me to find out what all these 'signs' mean which I am constantly scrutinising. Maybe He wants me to not have any predictions about my future, so that all the shaping can be done by Him.

Now I'm afraid that whenever my predictions hit the jackpot (which I will never know until they happen), God will change His plan, or change the details of the plan.

For example, let's say I predict that since today is raining, I will not play soccer, and so I can take this opportunity to play Modern Warfare 2 multi-player (oh by the way, this game is very addictive man) and then meet the girl of my dreams online. And let's say God actually planned this to happen, but since I predicted it, God decides, "No, you will not meet your dream girl today. I will make her suddenly feel like going shopping instead of playing Modern Warfare 2".

It's a crap theory, I know... but what if it was true? Then all this deep thinking and questioning would result in me losing out on a lot right?

So, advice of the day: Think less, be a zombie!

Reunions

2010-03-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well... Last night's/yesterday's champions league draw for the quarter finals were pretty fated to say the least.

Manchester United will face Bayern Munich, whom they beat in 1999 in THAT European Cup final.

Thierry Henry, former Arsenal captain and die-hard Arsenal supporter who is now in FC Barcelona would be facing his former club. He's the kind of captain who goes "Arsenal 'till I die!" and the next thing you know, he perhaps has to take a penalty against them. It would really be interesting to see how he plays, but I think he'll probably just go in and do a professional job, to play with his head and not his heart.

That's how I think I should be living my life right now... I truly reckon I've been too emo and been kicking up a big fuss over a small matter. That's not me, I know it's not.

Feelings don't last forever, so I should just ignore them, and play with my head. But then again, sometimes I complain that I'm a zombie, where I don't feel anything. To be or not to be...

Advice of the day: Geniuses don't get heartaches, they only get headaches. Their brains overpower their hearts.

Time travelling seems so lucrative now

2010-03-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

This is a half-post. I'm holding back half of the information here, too many lurking eyes around... However, if you're able to connect the dots then congrats, you have read my mind.

Everytime a problem strikes, you usally go to the root don't you? So, was the root of the problem selfishness, foolishness or miscommunication?

Selfishness as in I wanted to make myself feel better, foolishness as in not following what was right and for the better good, or miscommunication, where I misread everything?

What if the cause was all three?

How I wish I could go back in time and prevent this from ever happening. So many things would have been changed... I wouldn't be the person I am today, definitely. I wouldn't have learnt all those lessons. My eyes would not have been opened.

But now, this has caused a lot of strain and damage. I hope they're not irreversable... 180 degree turns, cold wars, I'm sick of all these, but these are going to continue from how I see it now.

My conscience is clear.

Advice of the day: Approach with caution... or invent a time machine to solve your problems!

Literal Translations

2010-03-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Been trying to compose a piece on the piano today... and I'm not having much luck. First of all, I wanted to translate the things which happened in my life into musical notes, and what you get is just like if you translate Chinese into English word for word. So you would probably get idioms like 'Not 3, not 4' or 'Frog in the well'.

And I copied the accompaniment from somewhere, so if you guys hear me playing it, don't be surprised at the familiarity of it. (Althought I'm just as likely to get my hands off the keys once I notice anyone around me)

All these 'literal' translations are restricting my creativity. It's like I've got a mould of clay and want to shape it as creatively as I can, problem is, the gloves I'm wearing are made of stone.

But the irony of it all is that, I want my music to reflect my life. I don't want it to be a false impression of me. Somehow my playing just isn't me sometimes. I feel like I can still play with all the joy and freedom of Mozart after something bad has happened.

I don't know if all pianists face the same problem (perhaps some wouldn't call it a problem though), although most pianists I've come across don't give a crap about things like this. All they know is 'I see the score, I play', and that's not the right way.

Too many times have I seen pianists who *chinese idiom translated into english alert* act pro in front of the master, and don't know the true level of their strength. (Although I do admit, sometimes I'm just like them :P)

Piano, or any other musical instrument for that matter, including the voice, shouldn't be all about technique and fingerwork... I'm sure there's a certain part where only the heart can unlock. Although there are some pianists who have such good movement that it really sounds like they're really playing with all their feelings, only that the feelings are coming from the fingers and not the heart. It's like a vase which looks great, but has nothing inside.

Pianists should be playing with their hearts on their sleeves, and their full body moving in sync with their hearts...not the other way round.

Advice of the day: If you're not playing properly, go get a heart transplant. I recommend Chopin's heart, although it may be a bit rusty. Batteries not included.

My Brain's at it again!

2010-03-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does my body have the most rigid and inflexible body clock in the world? During school days, I go to bed at 10.30, lay in bed for half an hour (or sometimes much more than that) before finally falling into dreamland. Then, I wake up at 7am the next day. That's for school days.

Now, during the holidays, I can afford to sleep in.... The problem is, my brain is making me wake up. I went to bed at 11 last night, lay in bed for half an hour before finally falling into dreamland. (A bit the same right?) Then, I woke up at 7.30am today. And now, I'm in that realm of half awake and half asleep.

Maybe my mind is too active before I switch off, but I can't help it. When I'm lying in the same spot for half an hour, you can't expect my mind to remain blank. It goes into this warp-mode and wanders off, exploring all possible scenarios which could happen. The problem is, the scenarios are mostly starring girls. I don't know if it's part of puberty or if the workers (and mathematicians, and musicians, and chemists, and physicists) in my brain are watching some love drama, but sometimes, it really annoys me.

It sucks when you wake up the next day and not want to wake up because of the fatigue.

Advice of the day: Get some sleeping pills, or switch the love dramas to channel news asia...sure to sleep one!

Beware the comparers! (And the smile-treatment)

2010-03-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

When you get back an exam paper, there's bound to be somebody who goes around asking everyone what they got, and then comparing marks. I think it's annoying. It's like a housefly flying around your head when you're trying to sleep. When you're about to fall asleep, it flies past your ear and you hear the buzzing sound of the fly and then you wake up.

And it's worse if the someone doing the comparing does it all the time. I know of one. No matter if he gets high or low, he compares, and being seated near him, I'm always one of the first people he asks. Usually, I try to show a bit of love and tell him my marks. If it's crap, I add things like 'I don't like this topic' or 'I didn't study'. If the marks are good, I just tell him the marks as straight-faced as I can, trying to give the impression that 'Hey, it's just full marks, nothing much.'

But no matter what he gets, he still compares. I love it when he gets a grade he thinks is good, and then asking me what I got, and when my score is better. (Of course I do this as straight-faced as I can, but inside you know I'm laughing.)

And then there are times when I do not get good grades, and people ask me what I get, thinking I'm always the one who's top in class. And really, I don't like people asking how much I got. Sometimes I blow up because of this, although I try to smile to make it look like I'm joking. And there's no better way of insulting anyone else then by doing it with a smile.

Advice of the day: Don't ask me how much I got, or beware the smile-treatment.

True Geniuses

2010-03-15T03:20:00.000-07:00

I think I've discovered what a true genius is. A true genius is someone who studies less than others, but gets a higher grade. And I think he probably does this by being exam smart. Like not making careless mistakes etc...basically, just going in and finishing the job professionally. That's it, geniuses are professionals at school.

After my 3.5 hour lesson, I've realised how faster I could have gone. Well, we learned electrolysis today, and yeah, at first it was a little difficult to catch any sort of balls, but after getting the hang of it, it just flowed. And after it started to flow, I wanted the teaching to be in sync with the speed of the flow, but no, the teacher still went at snail speed.

Perhaps it's because of the other people who may not have caught any sort of balls yet.

If the teaching was a little faster, 3.5 hour lessons could have been reduced (Reduction and Oxidation. Oh crap I'm becoming a nerd) by maybe half an hour, which would definitely benefit both teacher and student. Half an hour of school holiday is a large amount in today's context.

But then again, I think I'd rather be getting a better grade come next January then having an extra thirty minutes of play.

So, it's that age-old question again of "enjoy first, suffer later?" or "suffer first, enjoy later?". But it's a different principle for geniuses: "enjoy first, enjoy later."

So, advice of the day: Let's all be geniuses

March Hellidays

2010-03-14T05:42:00.001-07:00

So, finally the first school term has come to an end. If this was any other year, I would be thrilled, but right now the March holidays are non-existent. Coming back to school for 3 days isn't fun, and worst of all it's 3.5 hours of straight chemistry.

Well, I'm having two sides. One is the whiny side of me who is complaining and scoffing at the idea. The other side is the professional side, who is saying "suck it up".

Maybe if I see this from a positive point of view, maybe I'll actually enjoy the chemistry lessons...

At least I get to see my friends, and we get to interact with each other again, and we can also learn more about the molecules and atoms around us, and how they react to form everything. Maybe this will really broaden my mind and give me tonnes of knowledge. Yeah, then I can finally act like a super smart-ass genius with all the facts in my head...yeah, that would be nice.

Ah who am I kidding, this sucks!

Advice of the day: Holidays are not called holidays for nothing!

Neither here nor there

2010-03-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day of the term. Yes, it's that time of the year again, where you get practically the most useless result slip, your CA marks.

And since it's useless, especially during an O level year, I tried doing an experiment to test my standard. I wanted to see what my grades would be like if I did not do extra studying on my own, and the results were...well, neither here nor there. I wouldn't go into details, but it was an L1R5 of 12, which if I recall correctly, would grant me access to TPJC, which isn't what I'm aiming for. Personally, I would prefer if I went to a better JC such as MJC or TJC (VJC seems out of reach thanks to affiliation. Victorians....).

However, I do have the alternative route which is to go to NAFA through music. Yeah, that's right I'm cheating and skipping A Levels, but hey, an extra skill comes in handy sometimes, and this seems like a very good sometime to pull out my get-out-of-A-levels free-key.

Then again, I'm still not 100% sure that music is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. On current form, I wouldn't mind it, but maybe after a month of intensive music, perhaps I may get sick. After all, too much sugar isn't good.

So, back to the 'experiment'. I learnt that I actually have to put in effort in order to score imba marks.

All this while I've been having the mindset that geniuses don't need to study. All they have to do is eat, sleep and play their pianos and then they get the As like they're giveaways. And I still think that geniuses don't need to study. The only thing that's changed is that I no longer think I'm a genius. (Although acting like one is pretty fun, and I'm the only person who can pull it off. Why? Try asking a dumbass to act like a genius!)

So, advice of the day: If you want to get gay results, you DO have to study. I'm sure you did not know that!

Using the wrong senses

2010-03-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

I'm shaking my head, truly shaking my head. What's up with fans nowadays? Really, the fans of nowadays are 'fan-ning' musicians and artistes who truly have no talent whatsoever. They are beginning to give away their 'fan-hood' too easily. The definition of fan-hood in the Weister dictionary is: "The fan equivalent of virginity. i.e, He gave away his fan-hood to that movie star." This being said, fans who give away their fan-hoods too easily make me sick. I think you can compare them to sluts. (I'm so gonna' get into deep shit for this)

Disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm super zhai or something, but really, these fans ought to know better.

I'm not going to give examples simply because I'm certain to get hounded by those around me.

I feel sorry for these fans. They don't know the truth behind these crappy musicians. One word kills them off: autotune.

Yes, autotune. It gives that electric sounding voice which I admit does sound cool, but then again, anyone can record their voice in monotone and autotune it all the way, and make themself sound like Jay Chou or Taylor Swift.

If 'autotuners' can get such great recognition (yeah one of them has the craziest fans in the world), this attracts more and more crappy musicians who just look 'cute' (I think they're disgusting). All they have to do is do a silly-cum-cheesy pose and the crowd faints. (I'll faint too, at the crappiness of it all.) Fans are listening with their eyes and not their ears. Use the right senses please!

How can music prosper if the ones doing it the hard way are not getting the recognition they deserve? What happened to the times when musicians were praised based on raw talent (a bit of style wouldn't hurt though) and talent only?

And because of these crappy musicians, their fans are following in their footsteps. Thus, this has led to an increase in number of zhao sia-ness in the society. People are getting more and more tone deaf. This would lead to an increase in rap as that is the only thing they can do because of the tuneless-ness of rap music (can we even call it music?). Thus, we have rappers who can neither sing nor rap (they are not trained as rappers). Therefore, the world is becoming a harder place to live in, well at least for my ears.

However, I do want to applaud the many artistes and musicians who are actually good for not making any noise of complaint about these looks-only musicians. (Maybe they are waiting quietly for them to fall!) This has given me an even greater respect for them.

Advice of the day: if you really want to be a fan of someone, please make sure this guy is actually good.

Movement No. 1

2010-03-11T05:47:00.000-08:00

Well, alright let's get this started. I'll try to not start on a sour note, so first of all I'd like to say if there are some things which I may say which you don't quite understand, it's because it's in my own terms, so bare with it...that's what you get for visiting. :P Maybe I should start making you all pay through credit card to enter this site.....

Life's a beach. Yes it is, 'nuff said. Truly depends how you read it though, it could be "Life's a beach" with an eeee sound, or "Life's a..." well you get what the other pronounciation is!

Yes, this IS the blog name, so stop sniggering there at the back.

Ok, so this marks the first post. Shine on!