Whether it's just another 365 days or truly a new year is up to you

31st december. well, after a full 365 days, we're once again at the border between this year and the next, crossing the supposed boundary between past and future, regret and possibility, 2009 and 2010. that's all well and good, but the more i think about it, the more it just seems to me that the new year is entirely arbitrary and meaningless. the new year could just as easily been yesterday, or tomorrow, or any other day of the year, and as long as you waited 365 days before declaring another year the calendar would still function quite well. still, i cant deny that through ages of implementation, the new year has come to instinctively invoke in all of us a sense of new beginning. perhaps all the new year does is to provide a marker, a single unanimous date when everyone can find company with each other in taking that bold first step towards change.

2009 was definitely an unforgettable year for me. it nearly seems that all my life i have been frozen in time like some neantherdal trapped in a block of ice: looking out at the world but never learning and evolving myself to become a better person. after the events of 2009, i woke up and was appalled at the kind of person i have turned out to be. i was self-centred and melodramatic and completely undependable. honestly i tried to change myself to be a better person, but i feel that i have barely made any progress. luckily though, my awakening was also timely to experience new blessings which i would have totally missed as my previous self-absorbed self. the biggest gift that this year has brought, and i will never get tired of saying this, is the gift of friendship. forming new bonds, rediscovering old ties, and strengthening friendships which i already held dear to me are things that i will be eternally grateful for.

i guess it is customary for people to come up with new year's resolutions at this point of time. here are some things which i hope to accomplish in the coming year.

1. i will work on my physical fitness. i've been inanimate for so long already, and it is only this year that i started to focus on physical training. not much progress so far, but i hope i will at least get through napfa without getting into BMT (i know some of you must be laughing now, but everything must start from somewhere roght?). then after that, i'll work on not becoming a liability to the team during A divs, though i think this will be hard given that i have h3 exams during the competition period. i'll just give my best shot to see how it goes.
2. i will be serious in my studies. by that i dont just mean scoring well in exams. i will try my best to hand in homework and assignments on time, and not after repeated warnings from teachers like what i've been doing my entire life. although scoring in A levels is important, to me this is less of academics and more of responsibility. admittedly i am a very lackdaisical person by nature, but i will not let that become a liability to my friends, so i have to learn to at least tame this instinct of mine just long enough to focus on homework.
3. i will not complain about life. i realised how disgusting it is to whine about how bitter a life i live when it is plain as day that i am blessed, perhaps unfairly so, when compared to other people and even my own friends. i am but one insignificant speck of dust in this world, so surely i have no perspective of the true horrors that could actually count for a bitter life.
4. i will not be a liability to my friends. when my friend hits a rough patch in life, i will not be the oblivious moron i have been this past year, adding to his worries with my incessant whining or uttering empty words of comfort and soothsaying while not actually doing anything to help him. 2009 has taught me how important friends are, and it's precisely because of that reason that i feel that i have been a terrible friend to those around me this past year. in 2010, i will not make those same mistakes. friends have a duty to be there for each other, and if i become a liability to my friends in their time of need then i'm better off being a stranger to them.

well, that's all i can think off at the moment, but i guess 4 resolutions is enough to last a year, arent they? happy new year guys, hope you have a great time in the next 365 days, and dont forget to work towards making 2010 a truly new year for you and those around you :)

He will live on in his music and our hearts

I opened the newspapers this morning to discover, with shock and sadness, that Jimmy Sullivan AKA The Rev, drummer for Avenged Sevenfold, had passed away in his sleep on the night of 28th December (2 days ago) of natural causes. He was an extremely talented drummer, and with his passing I will have to accept that A7X will probably never be the same again. the title of this post is directed at him: RIP The Rev, you will live on forever in your music and in the hearts of all your fans the world over.

today was another walk-in practice. learned the couples dances and the hip-hop theme dances, which means that we officially learned all the dances for the walk-in. one of the hip-hop dances is especially tiring, because for some reason the choreographers wanted to have a few people doing some weird-looking solo parts (which do not look like hip-hop at all imo) and unfortunately i was one of them. we also tried to run through all the dances in one shot, like what would be happening during the actual walk-in, but obviously everyone was screwing up like crazy. oh well, hopefully we can all get it right by the hall practice, otherwise... well, im doing orientation 2 so i have more time to practice, but i salute those in orientation 1 for charging head-first into battle.

here's a tribute to The Rev. i feel that Critical Acclaim is one of the A7X songs that most clearly showcases the drumming, it's almost as much a lead instrument as even the lead guitar in this song. once again, RIP The Rev.

I was blind till today, for my eyes have only just been truly awakened

Watched Avatar today. it was supposed to be another class outing effort, but a whole lot of people suddenly pulled out, so in the end only 3 people went: myself, yicen and tzumi. let me get this out of the way first: it definitely lives up to the hype. the plot, though not fancy in any particular way, is pretty solid and tight on its own with no major holes. of course, nobody in their right mind would go watch Avatar expecting a Sixth Sense plot, would they? what they want to see is the special effects, and they're definitely gonna get what they want. Avatar has the CGI to compete with Transformers and 2012, except it simultaneously has a coherent storyline.

and what's more is that (drumroll...) we watched it in 3D! haha, it makes all the difference in the world, i tell you. dust gets kicked up into your face when a helicopter lands, bullet casings fly towards you when you stand next to a turret gun, and you instinctively move to dodge tree branches as they whip out in your direction. in terms of depth perception, modern technology has got it down pat. however, one failing of the 3D screening is that the focus is determined by the camera and not by the eye. people are used to having their eyes focus on an object they're looking at, but in a movie the image focus is dependent on the camera. so if, for example, the focus of the scene is on a fight going on in the background, then if you try to look at the branches in the foreground they will look blurry and you might get slightly disoriented. still, it's an amazing feat for 3D screenings to be this realistic already, so im definitely not complaining. apparently, james cameron knows that too, cos there are quite a few scenes where the camera pans deliberately slowly to boast the stunning graphics. it's not really a big thing, but i get the same cringe i feel when i see deliberate product placement in movies. the 3D glasses were kinda uncomfortable though, but im guessing that's just cos i dont usually wear specs.

oh, and one more thing: if you're gonna watch something in 3D, especially an action movie like Avatar, try not to watch it with easily startled people, or at least avoid sitting next to them. it was during the most intense fight scenes that i had to block out the sound of yicen squealing and squirming in her seat -.- seriously, it's not just me, tzumi also noted that she got quite worked up during the movie.

personally, my favourite "eye candy" in the movie was the design of the Ikra and Toruk, flying dragon-like creatures from Pandora.

The ikra. Otherwise known as Mountain Banshee. Otherwise known as the second-awesomest fictional creature ever. Second to the toruk, of course.

The toruk. It's probably the size of a commercial jet. I used to think the Lamborghini Gallardo was the coolest thing anyone could ride. I was so damn mistaken.

another cool thing about Avatar is how it not only draws inspiration for the Na'vi from african tribes, but also illustrates the tribal culture for the layman. the african tribal belief that all of nature is connected is beautifully conveyed as all of Pandora's flora and fauna is literally interlinked through a vast network of organic neuron-like structures. it physically presents to us how the ancient africans must have felt connected to nature in a way we cannot imagine.

after the movie, had dinner at macdonald's before going home. something random here: macdonald's curry sauce is very interesting. it's probably the most unique condiment that macdonald's has, it genuinely tastes good in my opinion, and yet it doesnt taste anything like actual curry. weird, but i still put it in my mouth all the same.

walk-in practice tomorrow. learning the couples dance. i foresee repeatedly stepping on some poor girl's toes in the near future. i apologise in advance.

Conserve your past; create your future

Since the photos of yesterday's class outing are already up on facebook, i thought i should include a pic of the mysterious, wonderful "hole" i've been talking about the entire time:

First signs of groundwater

Project shifts from "random hole" to foot spa

Us with the final product (all wearing the class tee!)

and one more thing: yicen just told me today that the hole was initially meant to bury me, so for a while i was literally digging my own grave -.-

Went to sentosa again today with a group of the other ogls to familiarise ourselves with the external hunt stations, and i also got to know some of the other ignis ogls. i have to say that monica and the rest of the committee did quite a good job in planning it. the instructions were all very clear and detailed, and some of the checkpoints are really quite obscure and will be difficult to find even for people who go to sentosa all the time. a really big tip for whoever reads this and happens to be taking part in the external hunt next year: they provide free pamphlets with maps at the monorail station; TAKE THEM. they're a real life-saver, though there might be a few stations which aren't marked even on the map... though as expected i wasnt paying much attention admittedly; most of the time i was talking cock (and gossiping about... haha) with lionel, yicen and the 09SH25 people from the terra group.

after it was over, went for lunch at vivo's kopitiam with the ignis ogls and monica, then the bunch of us plus guan hao followed lionel and lucas to look for gifts for the student council present exchange, though we got sidetracked and went to the pet shop first. spent quite a bit of time in there loling about getting chew toys, dog biscuits and leashes for jessica and shira, but in the end they got blow-up baseball bats from daiso. bumped into the terra gang quite a few times on the way too. went home after that.

at night, went to J8 for the lit class dinner. unfortunately, we couldnt get the whole group: only myself, luke, nik, shuyi, yinzheng, yandeng and robyn. talked cock a lot, and robyn was especially crazy. after dinner shuyi and yandeng left, and the rest of us went to the bubble tea shop near J8 to play taiti (ok how the hell do you spell it?), though i had to leave early. dam funny chatting with everyone after a whole year of not seeing each other, hope there will be another gathering with more people.

Sometimes we regret how things turn out and we spend all our time wishing for a time machine to go back, but the sad truth is that that time machine doesn't exist. Regret is an emotion meant for us to learn from past mistakes, and not for us to devote all our time to. Effort spent on something you cannot change is wasted effort, and should be invested in the present and future rather than the past. The one thing that we can do is keep hoping and biding our time until the window of opportunity opens again, and then giving your all to fix things then.

robyn intro-ed me to this ridiculously slapstick and funny song. my favourite was the cellphone part.

Faith is non-comparable

Today, i got approached by one of those people who go door-to-door promoting christianity, which inevitably got me thinking about the touchy issue of religion. before i say anything else, let me just say first that i'm an apathetic agnostic (for those of you who think otherwise, agnosticism is NOT the same as atheism), which basically means that i believe there is no human way to confirm or disprove the existence of a god, and since acts of god are indistinguishable from extreme coincidence or undiscovered science, there is also no discernible impact on humans whether a god exists or not. simply put, it means i "cant be bothered, but with logical reasons". it's not a religion, but rather an ideological opinion on religion. personally im neutral to all religions, so please dont take what i have to say as anti-christian or satanic or wadeva, cos seriously i get enough of that from the music i listen to already -.- (die, metal-haters!)

i think that basically many religions involve living in accordance to the rules set by a certain deity or god, or in other words they are simply philosophies to live by, but with the added factor of punishment/reward from a god depending on how you carry yourself. since there is no conclusive objective evidence of the existence of any god from any religion (if there was, the existence of atheism and agnosticism would be null, wouldnt it?), there is no way to deduce which religion is "right" and which are "wrong", which would mean that it is equally right for a person to follow any religion as long as the values it promotes are morally acceptable (which is why religions like satanism are the minority which i would outright disapprove of).

of course, people will start defending their own religions, quoting from their respective books of teaching which prove that their religions are true, and i dont have a problem with that. after all, having faith in your own religion is alright, and in times of confusion and uncertainty faith could be the very element to pull you through. what i do have a problem with is people trying to convert others to their religion and being pushy and insistent about it. if, at all, a person converts to a religion, it should be because he has sorted his thoughts and realised that one religion has had a greater impact on his life than all the others, or because he has taken the leap of faith and believes in the religion, and not because people constantly urge him that it is the right religion and that they would be doomed if they didnt convert. providing information about your religion and letting people make informed decisions is alright, but coercing and nagging at people to convert is not. in short, when it comes to getting people to convert to a religion, passive promotion, and not active promotion, will yield a more devoted and wholehearted group of followers in the long run.

ok, now that that's over and done with, i can get on about the rest of my day. went to sentosa for the class outing, but attendance was kinda (very) pathetic: myself, jtan, lionel, yicen, brenda, jj, tzumi and gabby. a pity rayson fell sick and couldnt make it :( get well soon! so anyways we all wore the class tee, which is light blue with a stripy 09SH27 wording on the front. the design met with negative to mixed reviews from the guys, but we're all thankful for the effort put in by the "shirt committee" (if im not wrong it's yicen, brenda, tzumi and jj) :)

The class shirt (picture is from the 09SH27 blog). models are tzumi and yicen i think?

the bunch of us went to the beach, and lionel and i initially wanted to swim over to the nearby island, but it turned out that most of the guys didnt bring clothes to change into (come on, who goes to sentosa's beaches and doesnt bring spare clothes?) so that idea was quickly scrapped. played frisbee for a while, and i got saboh-ed very early on when someone threw the frisbee too far and i got arrowed to swim over and get it back (i ended up being the wettest guy at the end). in the end, we spent quite a lot of time... digging a hole -.- at first we wanted to bury someone in the sand, but as we started digging we lost focus and decided to dig until we reached water, and then it became a project to dig out our very own foot spa. the water became very foamy and disgusting, so we wanted to dig a channel to irrigate the "spa", but the wall collapsed and we inadvertently created a mini bay/lagoon. afterwards we just spent the time maintaining the walls and watching the rising tide slowly erode the bay. it's quite cool to see everything you learned in geography enacted in real life and soon we could see cliffs retreating towards shore and beaches forming at the foots of the cliffs. jgan and jacob joined us for dinner, which was at JustAcia at dhoby ghaut. jgan, jacob and gabby started "poisoning" each other with weird concoctions arising from the free flow of drinks and ice-cream, think we made quite a scene there. jacob got us souvenirs from taiwan, which were pens with heads of various cartoon characters on the top (winnie the pooh, hello kitty, and even the rarely-seen mian4 bao1 chao1 ren2!), and you could press a button to make their bodies pop out. i myself got a three-eyed alien from toy story. now there's something else to entertain us during boring lectures! :)

cant believe i'll be going to sentosa again tomorrow for the orientation external hunt preparations -.- sentosa is seriously overrated imo, but i guess it's a conversation starter for your orientation to be held at sentosa.

and i'm still hooked to metal/rock remixes of pokemon songs :)

Echoes from simpler times

For some reason, i got really nostalgic today, so when i came across this youtube video of a rock remix of pokemon GSC champion battle i immediately took the bait. it's absolutely awesome, but the download link provided leads to a 17s snippet of the song :( anyone know where to find the whole thing?

The season of giving

Yesterday, went to my cousin's house for a christmas party. played band hero for hours on his xbox 360, and now i cant stop thinking about it. playing the drums is damn fun :) there was also a present exchange, which i feel is a very good christmas tradition. present exchange embodies the spirit of giving so perfectly. you dont know who you're giving to, you dont know who you're receiving from, you dont even know what you're getting or whether it will be worth the trade, but you do so anyway, because of the joy of giving. or at least that's the theory behind it. in reality however, i doubt that few of us go into the present exchange without thoughts of political correctness and social obligation. still, it warms the heart to think about the origins of such traditions once in a while.

guess what, my mom still leaves presents for my brothers and i on christmas eve and insists that it's santa claus when we wake up on christmas morning. of course all of us know that jolly old men with reindeer dont trespass into people's houses every year, but it's just a tongue-in-cheek joke every year. this year, we got wii sports resort (of all the games available for the wii, my mom fell in love with the wii sports series -.-). well, i have to admit it's quite fun in a no-brainer kind of way, and i guess it would be quite a good party game if you had enough controllers to go around, but my mind is still stuck on band hero from yesterday's party! i'd love to get a copy myself, but the entire set with guitar and drums must cost a bomb. and from a practical point of view, even if i start saving up now and buy the game next year, i'll only have a few months max before i have to go for NS -.- maybe i should get DJ hero instead? after all it's only a turntable controller so it has to be cheaper, but i wonder if it'll be as fun as band hero.

oh, and of course how could i forget... Merry Christmas everyone! :)

edit: just saw this pic while surfing the net and loled. im sure this is what most people think of the music i like.