.:. Day in the city .:.
Must we wait till the darkness before we appreciate the lights.
With 4 days of leave at home, and most of my friends either busy massacaring their brain cells or are stuck in camp, waste not want not I decided to do something which I've always wanted to do, just that without company, or at least most of the journey anyway.
I actually got this idea because most of the time the photos of the city we take are Night shots. To capture all the pretty colorful lightings of the office buildings, but seldom do we take notice of the buildings in the day. Perhaps its cos we're all so busy in the day to want to bother wasting precious seconds on such trivial things. Well trivial as it might seem, it was immensely enjoyable :).
Started by mrt-ing down to orchard mrt. Then from there I start my walk/photo-taking journey. The point of it was to take my time, walk at a leisurely pace and to slowly take in the sights, see if there is any thing that is worth trying to beautify using a picture. I tried to deviate from my normal route as much as possible, exploring the alleys and paths that would often be missed in the hustle of life. I managed to discover this alley that's just opposite Orchard Central, but because its precisely because of this locality that I think I miss it all the time. The alley was mainly pubs/cafe, but the buildings were all of a retro designed, like those "repaired" houses that became brightly coloured. Kinda cool actually.
See what I mean :)
Walking down further I ended up at dhoby. So picked up a cup of Gong cha to make myself even happier and continued walking...of which somehow I ended up at Fort Canning hehe. Well not alot of photo opportunities there, but managed afew shots of the city from a forested view.
Then exit from Fort Canning and I ended up at Clarke Quay, hurray for me, more places to walk. Since I'm always walking the side with the pubs and all, I decided to walk towards the office towers area this time. And lucky me I managed to catch a filming crew haha! Things you dun see on a weekend. Walked all the way to esplanade, on they way trying to take inspirational photos, meanwhile getting afew weird stares by people like "What is he taking of?" lolz.
Garden city
Growing city...
We didn't built our nation, they did it for us.
Went to City Hall mrt to wait for Wendy at 3pm. Proceeded to Marina Sands then, my 1st visit there sia. Like a mountain tortoise ar me...singaporean never go there before. But its really a big place...though all the shops high end kind, not a place for teenagers lolz. Exited Sands, walked the helix bridge. I didn't know the bridge floor has "ATGC" written on it until Wendy told me, so detailed sia. Feeling hot and hungry, we went to KFC to chill for awhile, before returning home lo. Really thanks to Wendy for coming all the down to city just to pei me after her work :)
Nice :)
So that's my tuesday for this week. A day spent like a tourist, walking around Singapore city taking in the sights. While all the adults in office wear rush about with their work, you seem to be the only one taking life slowly, enjoying every second that passes by without waste. A very good experience, as well as time alone for self. I reccomend people to try it sometime.
Revealed on [10:37 PM]
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.:. Tougher or Softer? .:.
Being too comfortable only makes you weak-willed.
Now that I'm after my 4 months of "hard" work, I can finally sit down and reflect upon myself.
During the whole process, there were times when I tend to complain, or rather Did complain, and there were times when I manage to hold on to my New Years' resolution of not complaining so much (I still remember it ok). It wasn't exactly 4 straight months of hardwork daily, just that it's back to back such that there wasn't any long break for me to take a breather. It's just that in the process itself, one can't help but whine bout the non-perfectness(slackness) of the situation.
And I'm quite sure this dosen't apply to me as well. In our lives, there are many a times when things/events seem unfavourable to us. Things that do not happen according to plan, that we would much rather do without but have no choice but to suck it up and endure through it. Like army where it's a must to serve, or exams which results/resulted in so many of our precious brain cells dying. These compels all of us to dislike such situations, to want to not do it, and the worst of all...to tamper with the idea that we cannot accomplish the task ahead.
Yet it is during such that times we forget one very important fact. We've done this ever before! We managed to cross through the hurdle before, not without complaining of course, but nontheless why are we so worried now. From the very start of our army lives we've all served confinement of at least 2 weeks, and the harsh reality of having to adapt to life of everyday regimentation and physical activities. So why am I so sian of just a 1 weekend confinement (which in the end didn't really happen) and a short 1 day outfield. We've all endured through exams, big or small, even though we're just 1/4 nto our lives? PSLE, O-levels, N-levels, A-levels, and not to mention the so many itty bitty tests and school exams inbetween. Therefore we've pulled our fair share of hair before, so why are we still dying during exam periods.
Shouldn't the fact that we've achieved such feats before serve only to give us more confidence?
One might argue that it's because the level of difficulty gets increasingly harder. In BMT its ok to just say "I don't know Serg", but not so in Unit. In primary school you learn 1+1, but later on its A+B. However I beg to differ. Yes the missions/tasks do get tougher, but in the time difference we grow too. Our physical body gets stronger/buffer, our mental capability gets heightened. So it shoudn't bother us anymore right.
Hence I came up with this conclusion. The fact that we've completed the task before is actually a double-edged sword(wa old-school GP phrase sia XD). Yes we gain the confidence, but after that it results in us becoming complacent, or as I like to put it, being Too comfortable. We tend to let the "reward" portion of the aftermath to sink too deep into us, so much so that we overlook the actual achievement. In general terms, we Slack off. And because of this we start to adopt the mentality that whatever hardship is over. Hence when faced with it again, we're back to ground zero, having to go through the whole ardous process again. Sounds kinda foolish?
But as always, all these sounds so nice sounding in theory. Its all just a mental picture, an oasis painted in my mind to comfort myself right. Another way to put it is that now that I'm over my "harsh" period, it's easier to say such beautiful sounding things. So in the end let these be food for thought, irregardless of whether it inspires you or not.
For a more practical solution then, there's always our friends and family. These are the ones who provide us with the support we can feel, rather than just thoughts alone. These are the people whom we rely on for confidence, who's comforting words may not be of deep sounding wisdom, but the thoughts and feelings are what we need the most. The simple "Jiayou" or "You can do it" may not seem much, but on the contrary it does wonders to lift a person's spirits.
So during such times, pay attention not to the stress, but rather the confidence that your friends are there for you :).
Revealed on [4:03 AM]
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.:. Good day! .:.
And with that, the culmination of my 4 months of suffering has just ended. Whoever told me before that my posting was slack is so not telling not the truth, but granted its slacker than some postings.
The last few days weren't actually tat bad. I was expecting worst, unless you count deprivation of sleep as part of it. I've come to realise my body has a function I shall term as "Superman" mode. I managed to survive 2-3 days with just 3 hours of sleep. Its not that I do not get tired, its just that when something comes up I must do it and hence will. Who knows where the energy comes from.Its very much like complaining of being tired in camp, but the moment you reach home you are revitalized. Oh well, at least its over...for now.
And I got to be among a few lucky chosen ones to go for an experience ride on the Super Puma (for those who do not know its a helicopter). Possibly the most exciting thing I've done not only in my close to 1 year of being in army, but in my 20 years of life. From the moment you see the chopper in the distance, feeling the downwash from the blades pushing you around, and rushing to get onboard with the engines still turned on is no less cooler than you see in the movies. Really enjoyed that opportunity, too cool.
With that I'm on off all the way till thursday, imba long weekend break :). Hoping to be able to meet up with some people rather than just stay at home.
Revealed on [4:04 AM]
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.:. Botanics .:.
Shouting "I'm lost" dosen't help at all, when the person isn't looking for you.
Unlike the people of their age, 4 teenagers don't take things for granted. They value the existence of life, and try to search for the meaning behind. Undaunted by fear, unafraid of the journey ahead, these 4 went in search for the fabled...5 Dollar Tree. *adds some dramatic movie orchestra music playing*
So after much delay, we finally manage to fufill yet another item on our gof to-do-list, though attendance was kinda poor. Supposed to meet at dhoby at 10.30am, dapao lunch to go Singapore Botanical Garden to eat. In the end just me and Ryan bought subway, Wendy got economic beehoon, and Sushan said she wasn't hungry (yet). Zhiyong had guard duty so he said he was too tired to join us :/. Oh well since we're all there and prepared (with 2 DSLRs, 1 semi-pro and 1 digital camera...talk about over-prepared), just go lor.
Took a bus there, very weirdly passing by the city area (namely orchard road). Somehow I don't think Botanics is a tourist attraction leh, there's more Singaporeans there enjoying themselves lor lolz. First thing we did upon arriving is to find the $5 tree (if you do not know what it is, look at the back of the green Singapore note). Which didn't take very long to find. So we camwhored there...or rather tried to find various angles to make the tree look as pretty as it can be. "Played" with the kids there, climb the tree branch (lucky we weren't that heavy, otherwise I tink it will break) and very weirdly help sushan and wendy take wedding photos LOLZ.
Then we walked and walked...as usual the gals lagged behind. So ryan and I went to sit down and have lunch first. In the span of us eating our subway sandwiches, the gals can continue as if not knowing we disappeared, realised we disappeared, attempt to find us, take even more photos (talk about camwhoring), continue to find us by shouting "Hello guys we're lost", before they finally decided to call us HAHA! Too I couldn't finish my bread before they arrived, almost had it HAHA.
After lunch break, we conitnued walking, all the way to the other end of botanics (which happens to be near Ryan's church). On the way seeing even more trees, flowers and such thou not very photogenic. By the time we reached the end its about 2+ almost 3pm (we started off at 12+am). So we went over to Serene Centre Island Creamery to sit down and chat over 3 scoops of ice cream, Nutella, Revers0 and Chendol. I liked Chendol best, Revers0 being very strong chocolate flavoured and Nutella...didn't tasted like nutella but as always Ryan liked it.
We overstayed the value of our icecream, until ryan had to leave, then we all went home lo. Nothing grand planned, just a place to go to and we carried on from there. That has always been the purpose of gof outings ma, we just need a place/activity for us to talk, irregardless of where.
$5 dollar tree
Daunting task...fear of heights
Kids' innocence never fails to attract people :)
Wedding couple HAHA
The one time when army skills is actually useful.
It didn't feel very long, with respect to the walk, maybe its cos we're army trained. Or maybe the company's too enjoyable :)
Revealed on [11:14 PM]
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.:. Cravings .:.
It's not about the time spent, its about the company :)
Revealed on [7:50 PM]
.:. Songs .:.
Some joys in this world have to be rediscovered, just don't press the next button.
I now truly believe that having my itouch as the first thing I bought with my hard-earned money is totally worth it. I'm haven't used much of the apps yet, but the music player and video has been keeping me happy enough up till now. Having music to accompany me whenever I'm on train rides, like the 1 hour ride home every friday, makes the boring trip so much better. I can just indulge in my own world, and ignore the coming and going of passengers on the train. With the videos, I'm entertained every night before I sleep. A nice time alone, reward to self, before I turn in.
Thou most of the time I'm using the music player, even when on my dad's car. Having music wherever I go, playing in my ears apart from the bustle of activity that's going on, helps to keep a part of me at ease, like I actually belong to myself.
Song writers are like miracle writers. To the plain eye, its all about creativity. It's the ability to get inspiration simply from nowhere, and turn it into a melodious rythm that all others can relate to. However, to me, its not so much creativity, its the courage. Sometimes, out of all thousands of songs we like, we find that the ones we like most is those where the lyrics are relatable, experiences which we've gone through before. Song writers just take the simplest, plainest feelings in life, and make it obvious to us. The lyrics need not be fanciful, it just has to allow us to feel a sense of belonging, and normally these are feelings we so often feel ourselves. And the reason why we like these songs, isn't that a mirror of how much we've been hiding, that we actually need someone else to "tell" it to us? In this way, song writers are the bravest, that they dare to face the brutality of life, and present it as a way for others to relate to as well, so that we all won't be so lonely in this world.
Those who know me will know that I have probably the most limited playlist ever (124 songs now, which adds up to more than just 3 hours of song time). Maybe it's cos I really started to listen to music (thanks to my 1st ever sony ericsson phone) only in secondary school. But I think its more because of the fact that I am very choosy bout the songs that I let my ears enjoy (yes ppl I know I am very picky).
But that's only cos I put songs that I actually listen to in my itouch. One thing that I dun really comprehend, and its quite a common trend, is why people like to put a thousand and one songs into their ipods, but then whenever their play the songs, they will just keep pressing "next", then listen to like the latest songs. I don't understand why they do it, what's the purpose of putting the songs in there then? Is it because new things are always more attractive? What about the sense of belonging you felt when you first heard those songs.
Which is why I've decided to come up with afew reasons to what made me choose the songs that I actually listen to. It took abit of listening to my songlist intently and taking note of the feelings that it conjures up within me on first thought.
1) More then 50% of my songlist is Japanese songs, so let's address that 1st. Japanese songs were the songs I started listening to, and the reason was because of anime. Like any other normal drama, each anime has a opening and ending song, plus the insert songs, OSTs etc etc. So there's quite afew for me to listen to, and whenever I come across one that I really like, I will put it in my songlist. Which brings to the point that I listen to these songs now as a memory of the respective anime it belongs to. I might not recall every scene in the anime when I hear the song, but at least it does give me abit of nostalgia feeling that I once had when I was enjoying the anime. So in a way, listening to such songs helps me to relive the experience that anime has brought to me before.
2) Next on my list, songs with very meaningful lyrics, of which most are Chinese songs. I only started to really Listen to chinese songs because of Kbox. Normally when you hear songs on the streets, its the beat of the songs that catches you. But in kbox where you can just sit down and actually read the lyrics, did I realise how some of the lyrics to some songs are very meaningful, and sometimes apt to describe certain of my feelings. Like I mentioned above, song writers put their experiences into songs, which is why we listeners at many a time can relate to it, feeling a sense of belonging that draws us to that song. Listening to such songs just serves to help remind myself of some of the thoughts/feelings that are somehow unexpressed, or tucked away within me for so long that even I don't want to admit it.
3) Some of the songs, on the otherhand, reminds me of specific individuals. When I scroll to the song, or come across it by chance, the first thing that comes to my mind is that persons' name. Afew of the songs are because I ever sang it with them, some because they introduced it to me, then there are those where I feel the song is very apt in describing that person, almost like a dedication to him/her. Whenever I listen these songs, it just brings a smile onto my face, well at least most of the time.
4) Then I also have this mix genre of songs, some slow some upbeat, of various languages, that's in my songlist but I can't pinpoint it to a specific category to put it under. The best way of describing I can come up with is that the songs have a climax, where somewhere in the song there's this epic portion that never fails to capture my attention. Almost like an induced-highness, but no its not clubbing music. It's another kind of high altogether, like why clubbers like to jump/dance to clubbing music, but I dun jump/dance to mine. Ok that's not a very useful analogy huh. Argh that's why I said I can't categorize this liao, nvm let's leave it as like that (and therefore you have just wasted time reading a paragraph that explains nothing from this already extendedly long post).
5) Lastly, Songs of Unmei (fate). These are songs that under any ordinary circumstances I would not have come across it, but because of fate I got to hear it somehow and viola now it's in my songlist. It's these kind of songs that are a testimont that when it comes to music, you don't necessarily have to find a reason to like the music, you can just like it. A few notes put together beautifully, that has no meaning to you, but you simply just love the harmony produced. Nice.
Hmm that should be about enough to cover the songs that I listen to. Can't think of anymore reasons. But anyways I think this post has gone on long enough. For you readers who read through it all it's just me sharing another bit of me on the net, for those who just want the summarized version, this is just a post dedicated to the long hours I've spent to having my earphones in my ear, when I may seem alone but am actually accompanied by music :)
Cheers to good songs!
Revealed on [2:21 AM]
.:. Space Battleship Yamato .:.
Just watched it. Such a great flick. Combination of Star Trek, Star Wars, Halo, Independence Day and Macross. Talk about value for dollar haha!
It's a movie version of the anime, that was released back in the...erm...1970s I tink. Talk about retro sia.
But I tink onli techies like me will enjoy the show. Not many appreciates the coolness of technology. And only the Japanese can make technologies that does not already exist look so sleek. Compare their version of transformers to that of the USA's. There's nothing wrong with either, just that its a different perspective of appreciation.
Great film in imo, worth the $10. I feel the techy in me dully satisfied XD.
And don't forget to pray for the Japanese as well...
Revealed on [2:10 AM]
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