beijing beijing

just doesn't sound the same as new york new york does it? ahh never mind..

fulfiling trip to beijing it was! managed to see my dad after 7 whole months and he showed us the progress he made in china. brought us to meet his many business partners and even showed us around his offices. it's a kind of work/holiday trip.. not exactly completely relax but not exactly working at the same time.

so we landed in beijing on sat at about 630am. on my way out of the plane (we were going out onto the tarmac), a stewardess told me to wear more clothes ("chuan duo yi dian yi fu, wai mian len") but i thought nah there's nothing my strong singaporean body can't handle. turns out, i was bloody wrong. there's many things my singaporean body can't handle.. least of all is the suddenly drop to a freezing 2 degrees in temperature. needless to say, i froze out on the tarmac, was shaking non-stop when the shuttle finally brought us to the airport.

so i met up dad and uncle anthony at the airport and we made our way to the hotel. so starts out trip.. first day we (well mainly my sis) went around shopping. the rest of us just tagged along. you know how girls gets when overseas and the prices are cheap.

this is the backlanes behind the hotel.. we stayed at the days inn joiest. it's a nice, upscale kind of place.

there's just so much to explore in beijing. it's a city so rich in culture and history, i felt i could have easily spent 6 months there and still not covered all the spots. it's like a clash of the old and new there.. you've got old chinese-style buildings in the foreground and then tall sky-scrappers in the background as a testament to the modernisation of china.

but i prefer the old buildings of course.. that's where all the history is. so the we spent saturday and sunday basically shopping around and getting climatised to the cold cold weather. on monday, we met miss lee. she's one of my dad's business partners and apparently one very influential business woman in beijing. she had offered her place when she heard we were coming up to beijing so we had to "show face" and move in to stay with her.

downside: she's a very domineering woman so our schedule for the next whole week was practically dictated by her.

upside: she planned everything for us, plus she put her driver at our disposal. thumbs up!

her place is huge.. there's a garage but it's not big enough to fit all her 3 cars so the driver usually takes one car home. there's a garden where she put the rocks she bought from the excavation site of peking man. plus she has 2 dogs, one of which is a police guard dog.. freaking huge goliath of a dog.

the lady in the picture? yeah that's miss lee.. along with hou zi, the huge dog (yes, dogs in china have chinese names and they listen to commands in chinese as well..). it's sitting down and it's already about half my height.. granted i'm not that tall but still...

there's an ongoing deal to bring kbox into beijing. the place is already ready for business. it's just that they haven't attained the go-ahead license from the chinese government. so miss lee was pulled in by the top shot of kbox to help with the marketing and branding of the joint in china. in turn, miss lee roped in my dad to help out as well. we went down to kbox a couple of times.. and the difference between kbox beijing and kbox singapore? check this out.. kbox beijing is 3 storeys high, with 98 fully furnished rooms and they employ about 200 staff (including kitchen staff, etc). each room has a dedicated staff member to cater to the customer's every whimp. plus they provide buffet meals via the in-house kitchen (yes they have a whole kitchen inside) that comes along with the ktv sessions. it's a sort of upscale ktv joint..

anyway we met with the managing director of kbox beijing to discuss certain issues. and he introduced us to his partners from singapore and malaysia (also from kbox). during one of the sessions, miss lee had the director/chairman of the beijing property arm of the chinese government to meet with us. also, it was during one of these sessions where i finally sang the song "ni zhe me she de wo nan guo" with my dad!

during the course of week, in between meetings with business partners and dinners and lunches, we managed to squeeze the time to visit the many places of historical interest that beijing has to offer. i'll let the pictures do the talking here..

the ju yong pass of the great wall.. i climbed all the way up to the end of the wall here.. took me nearly 2+ hours to complete. totally shagged out after that....

the forbidden city.. miss lee used her government connections to allow us to enter without charge. this is a magnificent place.. the attention to detail was superb.

the summer palace.. where the emperors of the ming and qing dynasty came to relax and enjoy themselves. it's a huge place, much larger than the forbidden city. the whole lake in the background constitutes just part of the summer palace..

the temple of heaven.. where the ming and qing emperors would come to pray for bountiful crops every year. it's a giant compound, where the ceremony is intricate and and the implications are deep. just imagine there would be hundreds of officials congratualting the emperor upon completing the ceremony. and yeah, the congratulating is in itself one of the ceremonies..

special mention: this goes out to the chauffeur who drove us around during the week we spent in beijing. his name is xiao wu. he's one the most humble persons i've met in my life. he worked overtime almost every single day during the week we were there but never once did he complained or showed an unhappy face. he was always willingly to explain to us the sights and sounds as we travelled around beijing. he even walked us about the forbidden city and bothered to explain everything (giving us an insight into the history of the place) and ensured we were safe. he never once asked for anything during meals times except maybe a hot drink and he would always walk ahead of us to ensure that the car would be prep-ed and ready by the time we reached. thanks again xiao wu, you are more than just a chauffeur to us, you are a friend. and one that we are proud to call.

well that pretty much wraps it up for my beijing trip. i've got a lot more photos so maybe i'll upload it to my flickr account. check them out there yeah. =)

teen flicks

the teen film (also called teen movie or teenpic) is a film genre in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers, such as the coming of age, first love, rebellion, and conflict with parents.

sexual themes are common.

(extracted from wikipedia.org)

the genre also happens to be one of my favourite. why? because it's completely brainless, drop-dead humour. it's a laugh-all-you-can feast. it's a passage back into a time when things were simpler (in a way) and you don't really get into trouble (except you do).

here's my list of top 10 all-time favourite teen movies:

10. Dude, Where's My Car?
9. Road Trip
8. Back to the Future trilogy
7. Orange County
6. Van Wilder: Party Liaison
5. Can't Hardly Wait
4. Loser
3. American Pie Series
2. Grease
1. She's All That (..ah sweet rachael....)

so how many of 'em are on your list as well? =)

waning us influence?

the united states have been the dominant world power for nearly 65 years now. not since the end of world war 2, which cemented the united states' status as a world leader, have they held as much influence and power. take popular culture for example, the general mindset of the average kid on the street would be to think being american is cool. speaking american lingo, speaking like an american, dressing up like one, all this simply goes to prove that the united states today resembles the rome of yesterday.

however, during the past several years, events have taken place which show cracks starting to appear in the all-american wall of power. the surge of japanese influence brought a whole new meaning to popular culture to the youth of asia. not to mention the korean kimchi wave almost right after that. even hollywood have started taking asian films and re-making them into hollywood blockbusters.

the us military have today spread itself thin bring the self-appointed world police body. american forces in iraq and afganistan are fighting a war that is being condemned by their own public. the us' closest ally, prime minister tony blair, is already in trouble supporting washington's war on terrorism. and the latest crack have come in the form of north korean. openly defying the international community (and by that, i especially mean the us) and going ahead with the nuclear weapons test despite protests and warnings from other nations.

would north korean have been so bold a couple of years back? why would they dare to carry out the tests when almost every nation, including their ally china, is against it? let's take a couple of years back to when pakistan decided to reveal to the world that they too want to join the nuclear club. the united states came along with their usual statements of protests, causing a flurry of speculation on what they would do only to simply drop everything and accept the fact that pakistan is now a member of the club. now the same thing is happening with north korea. except north korea is totally different from pakistan.

fact of the matter is, the mere truth that north korea has nuclear capabilities can de-stabilise the entire region. to paint just one of the scenarios that could possibly happen. imagine japan decides to break the treaty that allows them to only sustain a defensive force. they decide that they too need nuclear weapons because the north koreans would be using it as bargaining chips during diplomacy and japan simply would not accept that. japan then starts buying and acquiring weapons to bolster its' forces, with the help of the us of course. now this sends a chill down many countries in asia, especially to south korea, china, malaysia, singapore, because they are reminded of japan's militaristic past. what happens next is an arms race in asia where every nation would be acquiring weapons just to protect itself. tension mounts in the region and stability declines. economies would suffer as businesses feel less safe and hesitate to invest in asia. countries start getting poorer and poorer but they still invest heavily on defence because of the region's situation. now there might come to a point when one nation gets desperate enough and starts taking another nation's resources. world war 3?

that's a pretty extreme example i admit but it's a possibility. my point is that it seems to me that the united states' influence over world matters have been declining over the past few years. the us is just not the nation it once was. maybe it's the start for another rome to take over? because history have proven time and again that no empire lasts forever. maybe not. but whatever it is, the united states have to take decisive action soon if it wants to preserve its' influence. and they can start by doing something about north korea.

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

i've been following the developments on this issue for a couple of days and thought i'd post my thoughts onto my blog for you guys to read. i didn't really know how to put my thoughts into words at the start but i guess things turned out pretty ok yeah? it's my first time writing at length on current affair issues so please do leave your comments and thoughts on the matter as well. i wana know what you think of the north korea issue!

and waddaya know, i kinda enjoyed writing these stuff. i think i might just write somemore when i have enough pent-up thoughts inside of me.

hope you enjoyed this one. =)

strong enough to break

hee.. i couldn't resist it
here's one more

Verse 1
I don’t feel myself today
Just a figure in a big monopoly game
Struggle is the price you pay
You get just enough just to give it away
I'm sinking but I’m floating away
Throw me a line so I can anchor my pain
The fabric is about to fray
The fabric is about to fray

Chorus
Things keep coming and I keep wondering
I start feeling the walls close in
Things keep coming and I keep stumbling
I start feeling I’m strong enough to break
Oh, I start feeling I’m strong enough to break

Verse 2
Been running through my mind today
Scenarios to add to your hypocrisy
No one ever takes the blame
But everyone is searching for a cure to the pain
Nothing ever seems to change
Oh, nothing ever seems to change
We just play like broken records in a deaf man’s charade

Hanson - Strong Enough To Break

this song makes me wonder
is there such thing as a state of mind where you're so strong
you're not afraid to break anymore..?
love the acoustic feel of the music in this song

alrite alrite i know you guys have had enough lyrics for one day.. =)

penny and me

the lyrics have always been inspirational to me
their music brings with it countless images of mixed feelings
knew about them way back in the (very) late '90s
they are still around, gone indie with their own label
the freedom allowed them to develop their own style of music
and they have not failed to deliver

here's selected lyrics to just one of their songs
hope you hear it the way i do

Verse 1
Cigars in the summertime under the sky by the light
I can feel you read my mind
I can see it in your eyes
Under the moon as it plays
Like music every line
There's a rug with bleeding dye under the fan in the room
Where the passion's burning high
By the chair with the leopard skin under the light
It's always Penny and me tonight

Verse 2
On the plane step up with both my feet
Riding in seat number 3 on a flight to NYC
Got my bean in a coffee cup next to my seat
Catch the view and another good book to read
Sending me home on the friendly skies
Missin' her eyes
It's always Penny and me tonight

Verse 3
Staring at a million city lights
But it's still Penny and I all alone beneath the sky
Feel the wind brushing slowly by
If I could soar I would try, to take these wings and fly
Away to where the leaves turn red
But no matter where I am instead
Singin' along to feelin' alright
We're makin' it by in the pink moonlight
It's always Penny and me tonight

Bridge
Penny likes to get away
And drown her pain, in lemonade
And Penny dreams of rainy days
And nights up late by the fireplace
And aimless conversations bout' the better days

Hanson - Penny and Me

someday, i hope to be able to write and compose like them...

crazy / beautiful

"There's something beautiful in each of my imperfections."
- Nicole Oakley

Wild freedom soaring through the wind.
A disciplined scholar gets caught up in the scene.
The open road beckons.
Should I stay or should I go, he reckons.
The truth is never beautiful.
But true love will always stand true.
Growing up under pale moonlit sky.
With bright citylights glaring high.
The gates are opened.
As the past is forgotten.
A picture paints a thousand words.
But it takes just three words,
To paint a million pictures..

Well that pretty much sums up my thoughts about the movie. =)

solitude..

i meet up with my friends everyday
share with them the joy and laughter
and their sorrows and depressions
i love my friends for who they are
for they make me who i am
they define my character and give me a purpose for living

but yet...

solitude still finds its' way in
through the walls i built around myself
no matter how much i run
all it takes is a descend from above

and i get pulled back through 1095 days...

the world meet

to all the activist groups and would-be demostrators protesting about the lack of freedom-of-speech..

well what else can i say to ya but...

welcome to singapore

you'll probably learn why we singaporeans choose to shut up soon enough. =)

Michael J.B Goode

This is the scene from Back to the Future I where Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) plays Chuck Berry's Johnny B Goode at his parent's high school party (or festival or something).

It's one of those moments you know would go down in cinematic history. One of those scenes where, 20 years down the road when you mention it, someone would go "yeah I remember watching that show when I was a kid and I absolutely loved that part!"

Well I'm one of those people. Enjoy! =)

"Chuck! Chuck! It's Marvin! Your cousin, Marvin Berry..." haha..

PS, the show was released in 1985.

you're reaching out again

Amanda Ling's skills on the keyboards have definately improved.

Just take a listen to Electrico's Walk. Skip to between 00:52 and 01:15 to hear what I mean.
The verse basically has almost no electric guitar (except at 01:02), just the vocals, drums, bass guitar and keyboards. Listen out for the second verse between 01:58 and 02:24. Her take during the chrous is good as well.

The keyboards matched the song really well, adding a lot of feel and depth to it. It also sets the mood of the song, like I'm standing all alone in a club full of people.

I felt she was saying more through her music on the second album. Stepping more into the front, and being more confident of her music. She was pretty much relegated to a secondary role during the first album. Her keyboards then were like backing tracks for the other instruments. Hopefully she'll grow as she jams with the band and gains more exposure. Only time will tell, but things are definately looking up.

Love In New Wave is another track in which she stands in the spotlight. It's their first single off the second album, go take a listen.

crossroads

decisions decisions..

ord looms on the horizon and the pace of life is picking up.
maybe it's just me getting back onto the highway of life.
not the other way around.

should i go to unsw or nus?
or apply again next year?
should i accept a job while clearing leave?
or give myself some down time to enjoy it?

it seems like i want it both ways..
i want the reputation and security
and at the same time, the double degree.
i want to enjoy myself after being active for 2 years
and at the same time, i need the dough.

who can point me in the right direction?
or maybe i just need someone to push me in one direction

...any direction...

blue yonder dreams

it's been an incredibly enjoyable week for me! let's do a rare break-down eh? it's going to be a looong post...

21st July 2006, Friday
went out with ernest, guosh, rison and tham to celebrate at seoul garden taka! guosh made a special concoction containing 6 different types of chilli and a variety of ice-cream topped up with sago-sago and forced it down my throat.
the mixture was totally disgusting, and i managed to down 3 full spoons before i nearly puked on every single last laughing one of them.
we went to swensen's at the crown prince after to just chill and hang loose. we found out that asking a waitress whether fiona xie had digitally enhanced assets was not the best way to strike a conversation. haha.. =)
22nd July 2006, Saturday
had to wake up early cause scsc held a family day event at the science centre, which was a total waste of time aside from the free meal we got, and of course the two cute ladies giving out fake tatoos. i got myself one on the underside of my left forearm, it's gone now of course but i kinda liked it while it lasted.

i was supposed to meet shufang in town but i got out early so i went over to her place instead to pick both the sisters up and head to town together. shufen went off to join her friends while shufang and myself went to breeks for lunch. spent the entire afternoon just chatting and walking around town with her. we found out more about each other even after knowing each other for 4 years plus.

my mum, sis and her boyfriend came to ps to have a family celebration in the evening. we had ramen at the japanese restaurant there. food was good, atmosphere was good, everything was good. tingyu called me up halfway during dinner to meet her at starbucks for a minute. i went down and there she was holding a small cake for me aww.. she told me couldn't make it for the dinner the next day so she got me a cake herself. that was thoughtful of you ms nah! i went back up to the restaurant to finish the dinner and my family presented me with the vcd set of (don't laugh) the champions! y'know the one starring fiona xie running along orchard with only a bikini on. i spent the rest of the week watching that show every night haha..

23rd July 2006, Sunday
xiao wen called me at 12 midnight and asked me to open my door. i did and the sight was beautiful. she had placed a tiramisu cake in a box and beside the cake was her bithday card accompanied by a ticket to the unxpected's concert. her handphone was also in the box, playing a recording of her singing happy birthday. i was totally stunned. so we went in, cut the cake and held a mini-celebration of sorts.

i woke up in the afternoon and rushed down to toa payoh to meet ben, jinchuan, shauna, shimin, suming, kaizhen and seow foong for lunch at suming's father's stall near sembawang. it's been such a long time since i saw them. every year, there'll be two celebrations lumped into one cause jinchuan's birthday is just 2 days after mine. we went over to shimin's place after the lunch and cut the cake there. the rest stayed on for mahjong but i had to rush off to...

meet feilong, junior, peipei and leonard for dinner at ikoi japanese restaurant. pock mun couldn't join us because he got confined for breaking an artillery lens. i wonder how in the world did he manage to do that.. it was a japanese buffet almost exactly like the one at hanabi. the food was excellent with free flow of all our favourite japanese dishes. i still can't really tell whether hanabi or ikoi is better, apprarently both restaurants are rivals. there was so much food till i think we got a little high drinking green tea..

24th July 2006, Monday
i went over to my grandad's place after work to have dinner with the family. kor kor adrian managed to take some time off his busy busy schedule to come down and join us. he told me about the university applications that i was currently attempting and gave me expert advice on how to choose which uni to go into. i still have much work and research to do, i didn't think applying into a uni had so many factors and considerations involved..

26th July 2006, Wednesday
i managed to knock off work early because we had some despatch to do. so alvin came along and we met dawn for dinner and drinks at bishan junction 8. once again it was frustrating looking for convenient outdoor areas because the law is just so damn biased. we went to olio cafe for dinner with the sun blazing down on us. in the end, we decided to shift to coffee bean instead. squeezed into the small allocated areas and, with the sun down, enjoyed a comfortable evening. dawn even bought a cake for me~! hee...

28th July 2006, Friday

met up with xiao wen in the evening. today's the unxpected's first soldout concert at the esplanade! we had dinner at the subway marina before heading into the concert studio. the setting and ambience was intimate. it was an entirely acoustic set so there was none of the unxpected's usual electric guitar filled songs that i was so used to. they played mostly their own songs for a change as well. i think the only cover they did was whole lotta love during the encore. i must say, their sounds are promising. the unxpected's a really tight band and their lyrics are mature. their songs are also versatile enough to allow them to show their talents and skills. after the concert ended, we went to the bay to chill for awhile before heading home.

29th July 2006, Saturday

today's another milestone. i met up with a primary school friend whom i had lost contact with for 12 years. we met up for dinner and watched a movie before heading to jurong and joining another primary school friend. we did a whole lot of catching up. hey there's lots to talk about after not seeing each other for over a decade. they have really changed, grown up and all. i ended up going back home only at 7am. totally shagged out but feeling happy. =)

well that pretty much sums up what i've been doing for the past week. congrats for getting through my longest post ever! and a big shout-out to all my friends and family who took time off to celebrate my 22nd birthday with me and drop me cute smses. it wouldn't have been memorable if it weren't for you guys..

bubble thoughts and scented candles

ash is such a sweet young thing. she and sid invited me out on sat and gave me a surprise birthday celebration. i first met up with sid at city hall because he claims he doesn't know the way to marina from the station. up till that time, i had absolutely no idea what they were planning. but sid sort of gave it away when he wished me happy birthday although t's not till next week. ash was late because of work so we decided to head down to carl's jr to chill while waiting for her. we saw caracal's drummer at carl's jr. he was probably going to attend the baybeats fest which was just at the esplanade. sid teased ash to no end when she arrived because supposedly ash has a thing for him. haha... =)

sid had to leave after dinner so it was down to ash and myself. before sid left however, he again claimed he didn't know the way back to the station from marina. that scheming little runt. it was actually a distraction 'cause ash wanted to get the cake. her pretext was that she needed to go touch up in the washroom. -_-"

after sid left, we decided to head down to the esplanade to check out the baybeats fest! big singapore names were performing this year, including west grand boulevard, electrico and astreal. we reached esplanade and decided to leave almost immediately. the place was too goddamn packed like you wouldn't believe. actually it was packed with a certain type of people but blogging it would mean getting my ass hauled into prison for racist remarks... oops! did i accidentally spill out something i was not supposed to? ;p

so we headed back to marina to check if we could catch a movie instead. hmm nothing there so maybe suntec? nope nothing there either. damn the cinemas in singapore has to improve it's movie screening selection. ash wanted to sit down after that cause of all the walking, plus she had been working the entire day. but that, again, was so she could pull out the cake and give me cute little presents! it was real sweet of her.. she bought mango cake (which i was craving for), gave me my childhood fav minties sweets ("it's moments like these you need" haha..) and a shirt from sahara club. all of it came in a cute little paper bag which has a hand-written message from her. aww..

we lighted only one candle cause the other one was mutated. it had two sides instead of one. then i made my wish, blew the candle and started gobbling up the cake. we forgot to grab a fork for the cake though. so imagine how messy it got. carl's jr style!

i sent ash home after cause her place got dangerous recently with people stalking girls and stuff. sid had already reached home by then so he came down to meet us (sid and ash stays at the same block). he bought a pile of pictures of both of them when they were younger (both of them attended the same sec sch). we had a ton of fun laughing and chatting at the void deck like a bunch of ah beng wannabes.

what can i say, it was one hell of a great night! =)

life for rent?

finally got round to returing dawn's shawl to her. it's been hanging around my room for the past 2 months collecting dust particles.

met up with her at causeway point, and went for some sushi cause i've been craving for it for a couple of days now. we were supposed to go sakae but then the queue was too long so we ended up at ichiban instead, which was perfectly fine cause ichiban serves better sushi anyway.

it was great catching up with dawn, she never fails to engage me with her thoughts whenever we chill. plus she's a great smoking kaki as well =) eh short, if you stayed nearer to me, i'd meet up with you just for fags!

this video's just for you dawn, hope you enjoy it~!

A tribute to my grandma

If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me.
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams.
Oh, I'll be with you, Oh Oh

6 years ago, I lost someone. She was so dear and close to my heart that no other living person can ever fill the void she left. That person watched over me ever since the day I came into this world. She taught me things that no one else can ever teach me. She showed me the kind of love that no one else can ever show me.

If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up, don't ask why
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams

She showed me unconditional love. Real unconditional love. She never expected anything in return for all that she showed and gave to me. She stood by me through the toughest of my growing years. She was with me during my weakest times.

Oh Oh
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side

We shared many moments together. Both good and bad. I was always so sure that whatever happened, it would turn out alright in the end because she was around to see it through. She brought with her assurance into my heart and sheltered me from the harsh realities of the world when I was still too young to be exposed to them.

And though my flesh is gone, whoa
I will still be with you at all times.
And though my body's gone, oh
I'll be there to comfort you at all times.
Oh, oh.

When she left, many in my family knew that we had lost someone very important. She was our pillar of strength and many of us looked toward her for that special guidance that only she can give. It's been a long 6 years and many things have happened since then. But every now and then, when I find myself lost, I still think back about the things that she said and I find wisdom in her words and the strength to carry on.

'Cause if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
'Cause I'll be with you,
I'll be with you in your dreams, oh
I'll be with you
Oh, I'll be with you in your dreams
I'll be with you, I'll be with you

I believe that she still lives on in me. That whenever I remember her teachings, she's speaking to me in her own special way. I hope that in the short time that I was blessed with to be able to spend with her, I managed to bring happiness into her life as well. I know that I'm not the perfect grandchild she wanted me to be, but I hope that I did enough to make her smile.

I don't want you to cry and weep. Oh, oh.
I want you to go on living your life.
I'm not sleeping an endless sleep. Oh, oh.
It's in your heart you'll have all of our good times
Oh,oh, all of our good times, Oh, oh..... you have.

I'll be attending her memorial tomorrow. I wished that she was still here to guide me through the rest of my life. But I know that I would someday have to stand on my own two feet eventually. She has been called back to be with the Lord and I pray that she finds peace and happiness where she is right now. Mama, I will always love you...

'Cause if I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry.
And if I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time
As a time of heartbreak and distress.
Remember me, remember me.
'Cause I'll be with you in your dreams.
Oh
I'll be with you in your dreams
I'll be with you
Oh
I'll be with you
I'll be with you in your dreams
I'll be with you in your dreams...

Hanson - With You In Your Dreams

my guardian angel

90 miles outside Chicago
Can't stop driving
I don't know why
So many questions
I need an answer
Two years later
You're still on my mind

Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart?
Who holds the stars up in the sky?
Is true love just once in a lifetime?
Did the captain of the Titanic cry?

Someday we'll know if love can move a mountain
Someday we'll know why the sky is blue
Someday we'll know why I wasn't meant for you

Does anybody know the way to Atlantis
Or what the wind says when she cries?
I'm speeding by the place where I met you
For the 97th time tonight

Someday we'll know if love can move a mountain
Someday we'll know why the sky is blue
Someday we'll know why I wasn't meant for you
Someday we'll know why Samson loved Delilah
One day I'll go dancing on the moon
Someday you'll know that I was the one for you

I bought a ticket to the end of the rainbow
I watched the stars crash in the sea
If I could ask God just one question
Why aren't you here with me tonight?

Someday we'll know if love can move a mountain
Someday we'll know why the sky is blue
Someday we'll know why I wasn't meant for you
Someday we'll know why Samson loved Delilah
One day I'll go dancing on the moon
Someday you'll know that I was the One for you

New Radicals - Someday We'll Know

======================================

thanks for being there.. you know who you are...

the wait is over

finally electrico's 2nd album was released on the 22nd of june 2006! i had waited more than half a year to lay my grubby hands on the album. it was supposed to be out last oct or nov but got delayed. i could only get it on the 23rd thou cos sembawang hadn't gotten the stock in by the time i knocked off work on thurs afternoon.

the verdict: totally worth the wait! actually it was worth much more than that. they could have charged 50 bucks for it and i would have still bought it, the queue could have been longer than during the freakin hello kitty craze and i would have queued, the weather could have... ah you get the picture.

there are 12 tracks on the album. the first single being Love in New Wave. it's a nice number and i think dave is actually writing about his band members. the first line goes "i never get to see your face / i only get to hear your drums instead", i reckon he was referring to william. then the third verse/chrous goes "your synthesizers to the bone / they lift my off my legs of stone", this one should be about amanda. i'm not too sure about the person he talks about bringing him into the pages of a magazine but i got a strong gut feeling he's referring to leonard soosay.

other tracks i love are Hip City, Only Where I'm Going, Stay Away, Walk... basically almost the whole album la. they're on heavy rotation on my mediasource playlist now, hopefully they'll will be equally welcomed on our local airwaves soon. Hip City is an up-and-coming track, i think electrico should release it as their second single for the album. just my two cents' worth..

let the music heal your soul

i went with a couple of frens to hmv over the weekend cause i felt the need to buy cds again. it's been so long since i bought a disc. what with all the illegal downloading going on, it's difficult to fork out cold hard cash for something you know you can get for zilch.

i was browsing through the store searching for lunarin's cd cause tham reminded me that jonathan bought the cd a couple of months back which reminded me i had wanted to get the a copy for myself. tham caught sight of lunarin's cd even before i did and because of that, i was directed to the regional section in hmv. now that section contains lots of stuff from the local scene. while browsing through the section, i found a treasure that had eluded me since last year - rafe's ep! the ep contained the song 'everything' which i had wanted to get since end '05 when i first heard the song on the radio. i didnt even know that they had a cd out already. 'everything' is a beautiful single. kind of reminds me of the time when i first heard electrico's 'i want you' on the radio. quality song, full of passion. it speaks to me of the innocence of love. take away all the games that people play when it comes to relationships, and you have the song. it gives me hope that i may find that myself one day.

rafe's ep was not the only treasure i unearthed at hmv. i found another local band's mini-album of sorts - bonafide vintage flav'r! hip-hop group whose ex-member happens to be taufik batisah pre-singapore idol. i wanted to get the album for the single 'feels good'. it's a nice hip-hop number, excellent for chilling at pubs/clubs with a beer in hand and friends to chat with. i guess rock is still the genre of choice for me. don't ask me why but all the raw emotions only come to me whenever i listen to rock numbers.

drop me a msg on msn if you want the songs, i'll be generous and spread the love under the guise of propagating local music.

jonny b goode

jonathan came back from lancer over the last fortnight.

tham and him being the jokers that they are decided to crash at my place under the pretext of tham wanting to pass some "important stuff" to me. i rushed down to meet tham thinking what kind of important stuff could warrant him coming all the way down to my place at 10+ in the night. i thought maybe tham had snagged me some babe but got jumped by jonny instead. we ended up chilling the nite by the pool before jon sent tham back.



that was the day after he came back from brunei. the day before he left, we had an scsc gathering at timbre. chillin out to the groovy sounds of timmy & ngak, and boozing the nite away. good old times were relived and updates were exchanged between the ord-ed personnel and the soon-to-be ord-ed personnel.


jonathan has once again left the sunny shores of singapore to brunei to serve his country. he'll be back again and when he does, i would have already left the service. ord-ed, completed the two years liability and passed through the rites of passage to join the ranks of the nsmen.

heads up to tham for his pics!

how's it hangin'

came back after a much stressful day at work, popped myself into the shower and this song hits my head..

Hold me
Like the River Jordan
And I will then say to thee
You are My Friend

Carry me
Like you are My Brother
Love me like A Mother
Would You Be There?

Michael Jackson - Will You Be There

i always thought the shower was a great place to relax and think about stuff. no, i don't have a nice cosy little bath tub to sit my butt in but (no puns intended) it's good anyways.

you know how being exposed to stress in the workplace can make you feel like you just spent an entire day sticking your neck out? well the song brought back memories of earlier times when i was always treading in my comfort zone. no need to spill my guts out trying to fulfil some responsibility for which nobody would really credit me for. i miss those times.. being able to feel safe and warm all the time, safe because i was young and naive and warm because i didn't really have any air-conditioning in my room.

hot hot namie

namie amuro is sizzling hot! check her out:



cute little tatoo on her left arm, nice peek-a-boo with the jeans. it's all good baby!

got back into the japanese music groove lately. these crazy music swings happens all the time! once moment it's chinese, then it's jap, then back to the west. the chinese one doesn't really lasts long though.. and mostly only revolves around the same few people/singers/group cos there are only so many good entertainers in the chinese industry.

it got me wondering wat happened to the japanese bubble. we used to be fascinated with the entire japanese culture, music, etc. then one day it just disappeared, only to be replaced by the korean wave. it went by all too quickly and i couldn't be bothered to keep up. i checked back with my good friend wiki just last nite and he gave me many updates about wat's going on with the scene over in the rising sun. it's heaven to know that they're all doing well. fyi namie is single again! drinks on the house everybody!!

liquid melancholy dreams

"...sometimes we have to give up who we are.. to become who we will eventually be..."
- Carrie Bradshaw

...or something like that. i was watching an episode of sex n the city and it hit me when she said that. you know people have always been saying how we've to be ourselves, stay true to our roots and not let other people affect us so easily. it got me thinking about who we really are. aren't we basically just a mash-up of the people we've been interacting with since birth? through the countless conversations and exchanges with all these people, we would have inadvertently absorbed some of their characteristics into our own. true we would develop our own unique characteristics but that is only a small portion of the whole. as the saying goes "you can judge a man by the company he keeps".

just some food for thought..

quagmire

ask me wats up with me lately.
go on, ask.

i'm afraid to reply you.

don't ask me why now.

the blind cannot lead the blind.

-

the dam is filled
but the stones still hold
when will it be killed?
the answer nobody will ever know

珊瑚海

轉身離開
(你有話說不出來)
分手說不出來
海鳥跟魚相愛
只是一場意外
我們的愛
(給的愛)
差異一直存在
(回不來)
風中塵埃
(等待)
竟累積成傷害

轉身離開
(分手說不出來)
分手說不出來
蔚藍的珊瑚海
錯過瞬間蒼白
當初彼此
(你我都)
不夠成熟坦白
(不應該)
熱情不再
(你的)
笑容勉強不來
愛深埋珊瑚海

周杰倫 - 珊瑚海

blind

After all this time
I never thought we'd be here
never thought we'd be here
when my love for you was blind
But I couldn't make you see it
Couldn't make you see it
That I loved you more
Than you'll ever know
And part of me died
When I let you go

Lifehouse - Blind

ravishing

saw jamie ong while walking along wisma atria today.

she was hot. hell burning hot.

frustrations

wat's an outlet if u cant let things out?

many things are frustrating me at the moment.. feeling so pissed off. nothing to vent my anger on. think i've gotta smash the window or scream by the seaside one of these days..

reality

"We compare the systems and procedures that (SAF has) in place against those in other armed forces and we're comparable, if not better, than the best practices" - Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean. (ST March 7, 2006)

eh mr teo, wake up and smell the coffee la. better than the best practices? u gotta be joking..

reminiscence

my dad took me on a walk down his memory lane today.

he brought me to his childhood past, his house at 30 race course road. he took me to the place where he fell down the bicycle because his brother was not paying attention. he told me of the time he had to walk back alone on the first day of primary one. he brought me to the canal where his whole bunch of friends where catching fishes and then his sister came along with a cane in hand. we walked down the backlanes where he used to play badminton and marbles with his brothers and sisters. he showed me the very hospital in which he was born into this world.

we spent a whole 2 hrs walking and talking. it was sunny day but the heat did not melt away the connection we had. it was one of the most beautiful 2 hrs i have had in my life.

it made me wonder if i would eventually be able to share such a bond and experience the same thing with my own children..

vendetta

i've jus finished reading v for vendetta. anybody else read that title before? it's a compelling read; about a world set in the bleak near future (1998 in the story because alan moore created the title in 1981) where england is controlled by a totalitarian government. the government controls everything and rules with a iron fist. it is against this backdrop that the story is set upon. the "hero" is a terrorist, a sort of one-man army against the government. he fights for the freedom of the people and release from the mental prison that they put themselves in. imagine the hero blowing up parliament house and hijacking the tv station to broadcast him own message. all this in an effort to give the people a chance to rule themselves, to let freedom reign, instead of having a dictator rule them.

it struck me the similarity of the story with the situation our world is in at present. on the news everyday we hear stories of terrorists going about their business. we curse and condemn the terrorist for the inhumane things that they do.. but have we tried to look at the situation from their angle? to them, we are part of that totalitarian govenment and they are just trying to free us from oppression. i'm definately not saying their noble and their causes are just. it just struck me how accurate alan moore was when he created v for vendetta in 1981.

btw v for vendetta is coming out as a movie later this year. i'm definately going to watch it. anyone wants to come along?

England prevails.

Rambling Gambling

the chinese new year season always brings families together, for the reunion dinner, to catch up and basically re-establish relationships within the family. yet there is almost always one inevitable event that will pop up somewhere: gambling. it never fails with chinese families. as long as there's a group of ppl, a mahjong table or a deck of cards, some wise guy will bring out the coins and the rounds will start. it seems we are always in the mood to gamble, whether during a wake (mahjong session at the void deck, totally oblivious to the ppl that needs to sleep!) or a reunion dinners (dinner table will be cleared and on come the decks of cards). i have always wondered what is the fasination with all the gambling. i dun gamble and i have never felt the so-called thrill of gambling. i dun get excited trying to get the most number of cards while not letting the total value exceed 21. nor do i get excited trying to out-pair a person while clearing my hands of the cards. to me, the only sure thing about gambling is losing the money. no matter how much a person wins during one session, he will end up losing one way or another during some other sessions.

it also fasinates me how ppl can spend some much time and effort scrutinising about their luck. whether it's good or bad, what they gotta do to make their luck be good again, blah, blah, blah. cant they jus simply not gamble and get the whole problem over with? spending so much time and effort, not to mention all the headaches, jus to win that few dollars is simply not worth it.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

i took the SAT test yest at acjc.. was an easier paper than expected. i tot the test would be a mad rush to complete the sections within the time limits but fortunately i managed to finish all of them before time was called. isnt it ironic how studying makes a person appreciate the freedom of working, and yet working would make a person yearn the freedom of being a student? grass is greener on the other side mentality? i tot i would leap for joy the moment the test finishes, but when that moment came to pass, i jus sat there. nothing was going thru my head. i didnt feel any different, except for my bladder which was about to explode. crossing my fingers that the results would come back positive.

today is the first day of the chinese new year, and yet there's a sense of dullness in the air. no mood for any celebration this year. there was some bust-up between my parents and my auntie and uncle so we're not gonna be doing much visiting this year. basically went to church in the morning, and then to one house and back home after. well looking on the bright side im gonna be getting the next 2 days all free to myself.

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2006 to everyone out there!

its been a screwed up first wk. went back to camp after a wk's leave, which by the way i spent studying at home so its not really counted a holiday, only to find the place in a mess and loads of shifitng jus waiting to be done. the colonels can never ever ever set their mind on something, or co-ordinate among each other in any way. first they want this arrangement to be done, then they change their minds after we've done the job. make us re-do once not enough, muct change their minds again. and then again. best part is they dun seem to noe wat each other is doing. so lots of repetitive work for us jus to cater to their every whimp.

i wanna quit my job.