If there's something you wanna know.

I'm blogging again. There are just endless things to say.

Wanna know how I used to spend most of my free time in camp? My ex-sergeant once described me as someone who liked to sit by my bed in bunk and space out by watching out of the window. That's not very observant. Cos a lot of times, I was dozing off while just sitting there. And I sprained my neck a couple of times because of that. And the fact that we are not allowed to rest on bed during training hours is simply ridiculous. Most of my camp mates ended up sleeping on groundsheets on the ground. For me, if you passed by my bunk, you would bound to see a solitary figure back facing you, sitting there, seemingly in his own world. Of course, things turned better since the second half of the second year. I went up to the recreation room more often, and I dozed off on the comfy sofas while watching dvds. At least I got a couch. I don't know why, but I indeed spent a lot of time in bunk just spacing out, letting my thoughts drift away. I do a lot of thinking. It's like a continual mental exercise to keep my mind working, functioning, and most importantly, sane. Haha, this sounds like meditation. I brought numerous books in. Managed to complete reading a few. But most of the time I just did not have the mood to read in bunk. The environment is wrong. I always have this need to talk to someone, even though I can be alone too.

Oh yes, I find myself catching up on hobbies and stuff. I find myself creating new hobbies and stuff. All of these when the time draws nearer to ORD. How interesting eh? So, I'm actually opening up doors to new past-times. Haha. Watching soccer is a solid proof. I think I'm hooked. The drama on the soccer field is absolutely gripping. Once I used to think that 22 guys after 1 ball sounds ludicrous, but the action and drama is simply irresistable. I guess that's what makes it an appealing sport.

Oh, and ever since I'm preoccupied with NS, I've become a movie buff more than ever. A huge portion of my allowance each month is spent on movies. I can watch 5 movies in a month, or maybe even more than that? There are numerous nights out where I spent time alone watching some flick in some cinema all by myself. There's something about being alone and being able to concentrate or just indulge yourself in the fictional yet visually captivating world of the movies.

Speaking of movies, I finally managed to catch the movie "Across the Universe" with dearie yesterday! Throughout the movie, I blurted out "Wow" for countless of times. The soundtracks in the movie were covers from The Beatles' and the actors and actresses were amazing, both in their acting and in their singing. It was such an original movie that I have never seen anything like that before. The movie changes scenes abruptly but there were many parallels made that were not hard to notice. And the fact that the Beatles' songs alluded to the themes and plot so much, it seemed all so apt. Kudos to the scriptwriter and the director. The splendid display of a palette of colours made the whole show a colourful and intriguing experience. The visual appeal was the highest in this movie. I don't want to disclose any plot related stuff here cos I want you guys to go catch it. If you are not into music or musicals, this is not the right movie for you though. But if you have a knack for good music, or simply want to be amazed continuously in a span of 2 hours or so, go for this.

By the way, I just "revived" my second blog! Do check it out for music and movie reviews, my poetry works, short stories, etc etc. Comments are welcome! =)

http://nightcharmer.blogspot.com

On Sale!

Saturday, which was yesterday, I went to work at the tuition centre at Clementi. Actually, I'm still rather amazed by myself how I actually got to stumble into a job right now. I mean, it's part-time, flexible and most of all, I'm doing something I like. The keyword here is talking. I have this thing about talking to people. I don't know why. I guess I like entertaining people and see them beam. The many performances I had on stage had make me feel this way, so I hope to be a performer one day.

Anyway, back to the job topic, currently I'm actually like helping out with recruiting students into the tuition centre. On a neutral point of view, I would say this centre is good. I have met the supervisors and everything, and I like the layout of the place. It's clean, neat and I would say, rather conducive for studying. This time round, we chose a different approach to talk to people. Michael and me on the team again. Last time round, I was pretty disheartened cos I didn't manage to engage with anyone. We tried to go around doing survey last week and it didn't work out. People were just reluctant to even stop and listen to what you have to say. You know, they see you with a file and sheets of paper inside, and they avoided you at "all costs". I have to admit that I usually shun away from sales people or those insurance agents. But I would stop to listen to them if I find them engaging and responsive. Even if I were to say no in the end, it's interesting to hear what they have to offer. Their speech. The way they present themselves. It's a good learning way too.

You know, sales is like that. There are a lot of NO's but there will bound to be Yes's. If you keep trying. It's all about having the confidence to reach out to people. And you don't sell your product. You are actually selling "yourself". In this sense, the product is a secondary factor. Establishing a contact is the key. I read from one of Chuck Palahniuk's books that a successful sales person will imitate the behaviour of the customer. That means, if the customer is a straightforward person, you go ahead and be straightforward. Like if he says "What are you selling?" You know you can go all out and cut away the beat-around-the-bush thing. But if he touches his ear or glances from here to there, you as a sales person should imitate the movement. Follow the glance. Make him feel like you are really concerned and willing to hear him out. In short, trying to establish a common ground. Make him feel like you're his "ally". This is one interesting perspective from the author. And I'm not sure how true will this work but it surely sounds realistic.

Most sales people I know are going all out to close a deal. But for me, I find it more satisfying if I'm able to strike a conversation with my customer. Customers are sensitive to desperation. Any sense of desperation in your speech, they will detect it almost instantly. So, there are things to take note. There are a lot of sales techniques out there. I'm still learning at this time. It's great to open yourself to new perspectives, hence enhancing your spectrum of possibilities.

So, I managed to get a few contacts. And I had a boost in my morale when this Indian lady I talked to agreed to come down for a trial lesson for her daughter. I'm not sure about the follow-up but I guess it's a good start. I notice something disturbing. No offense here. Just my point of view. The group that are generally receptive are the Malays and Indians. Even if they say no, they do it in a polite way. A smile and all that. The Chinese, on the other hand, are rather impatient and impolite. And they often feel guarded. Like as if I'm some terrorist holding on to sheets of "bombs"?! Of course, I may be stereotyping, but at least this is what I observed. As a Chinese, I feel that we have really much to learn from other ethnic groups. Being guarded and overprotective is one thing, being perspective and receptive is another thing.

Ok, so much to say about that. I had this conversation with Yean, my superior, yesterday. She was telling me that she hoped I could stay on with the team as she thinks I'm very good at sales. So I told her I was just trying out and see how far I could go. I told her that I'm actually introvert in nature. Then she said something that inspired me. "The beauty of being an introvert is that you can be an extrovert if you want, but an extrovert can never turn into an introvert." I like this. Flexibility is the key.

I can't wait for ORD. It's my ticket to freedom. And my desired destination? Success. =)

Watch your front, watch your front.

Woohoo!! I'm now currently enjoying a few days of block leave. Or rather, off's. Due to the New Year public holiday period. Heh heh.

Anyway, here's a flashback.

Had combat shoot range on Friday. I totally dreaded it initially. I couldn't imagine having to spend one whole day for this activity. Don't mistaken me. It's not a shag activity. It's just a very "sian" one. The waiting time is a killer. Actually, I could have been excused for this shoot. However, the patriot in me just told me I just had to go on with it. Lol. You know, like one last accomplishment before ORD. So anyway, I was in this team with 4 of my fellow battery mates. They failed the previous shoot so they had to come back for this one. Luckily I was assigned to shoot with them and not with the other people I didn't know, cos we were actually attached to another company.

The day passed rather draggily. I mean I couldn't wait for the whole thing to end. I was rather pleased with my performance though. I scored a 11/12 for the confirmation shoot. That means I missed only 1 target. Heh heh. Then for the combat shoot itself, we had to work together as a team to shoot down as many targets as possible. At the end of the whole thing, guess what? We passed!!! Yeah man, we scored 60%. I guess my participation did help pull things up for my friends. Well, at least they don't need to come back for another round of re-shoot. Cheers! =D

To a soldier, the rifle is like the "wife". There's something about holding on to a rifle, cocking it and shooting it. Yes, the sound can be really loud. And the impact, the recoil you feel against your shoulder is quite big. But there's something satisfying about shooting. The musty gunpowder smell is unmissable with every shot.

This was probably the last time I would be shooting so it meant something for me. Well, at least before I've ORD-ed, I can feel like a full-fledged soldier. Haha.

Random Rants

Can't wait to watch Across the Universe!!! Can you believe it, on Christmas Eve, I actually bought the tickets in the morning at Cineleisure to catch it later at 11.10pm with dearie. But I didn't thought that I would cancel watching the movie because of the party held at my house. And of course, it would be rather rush and the christmas crowd at Orchard was just ridiculous. But well never mind, I must make sure I catch it soon. In my opinion, it's a really good movie. And my instinct when it comes to movies and music are usually right.

Arrghh, I missed the Aston Villa vs Chelsea match yesterday cos I was in camp. The results was 4-4. I heard it was a rollercoaster match. Exciting punches and all that. Damn. I used to say I would support Aston Villa just because I love Aston Martin cars. Lol. No link, but still, yet to see them play in a real match. But I guessed they did pretty well, acknowledging the fact that they got into a draw with Chelsea, one of the top few in the EPL. Oh, and there were so many other bound-win-matches like Man Utd vs Sunderland, Liverpool vs Derby. Damn. So many matches on Boxing Day and I was in camp. Felt like boxing someone now. *Grumbles*. Well never mind, hopefully I can catch the repeat telecasts on Football Channel someday.

Blah, I'm now at home typing all these. Just booked out at noon. Had IMT(Computer simulator shoot) today. And had to go for combat shoot tomorrow. So I'm booking back later. Damn. Everyone else are enjoying their off's. And here I am having to struggle through this one day hurdle which is tomorrow. Just treat it as a fun shoot I guess. Initially wanted to go for a last shoot together with my detachment mates, but ended up they didn't put me on the detail list. So I had to wait till tomorrow, which I would be joining other people. Really defeated the purpose. Should have got an excuse letter if I have known such things would happen. But well, anyway, as my friend said, just treat it as some activity before ORD.

And I can't help but to think that ORD is barely like one month away?

Do you think it's fast?

I think I had my share of pain, laughter, sorrow moments. Enough of them. It's time to get back on track to civilian life.

But then, am I ready for what's to come? I can't wait. But I have to make it all worthwhile.

Party bells are ringing!

Christmas this year had been fun for me. I'm not talking about the squeezing and pushing through the crowds of Orchard, cos I shunned the crowd this time. Instead, we had a mini party going on at my very own humble abode. I couldn't remember when we last threw a party like this. Maybe during the childhood days? It's been so long! Well, but my sisters came up with the idea of the party. A bit hasty but we managed to put it up quite successfully with the attendance of a few close friends. Small party. Big fun. Enough said. Here are the pics. Enjoy. :)

Rather impressive deco eh? =P

Lovely purple "stars"

Some food we had.. exclusive of chocolates, marshmallows, candies, etc.

The party-goers. =D

Posing time!!

Get wacky! =P

Family portrait on a festive day.

Ooh, did I mention the Christmas Eve baby, my little sister Laren. It was her birthday. So we celebrated too!

The gingerbread cake that my sis bought. Looked pretty awesome eh?

My best friend and I.

Christmas mini cupcakes bought by dearie. So nice of her. And they tasted great too!

Brothers and sisters squad.

Gift exchange time!

Dearie and I. Oooh, and there's the Xmas tree. Aww. =D

Ok, well, I had a rollicking good time! And I'm thankful for all the people I have around me. And to dearie, my joy, my hope, my love. First Christmas with me, we shall spend more Christmas days together k? =)

Streaky Saturday

To all avid readers of my blog(though not many, so count yourself honoured), sorry for the pause of updates. It's just there were so many happenings during my week of block leave. So much of photo takings. I really wonder if I should put them all up. Well, for those who are interested enough to take a peek, I shall be kind enough to put some pics up(a chore I don't like to do cos it involves lots of adjusting). =)

Here's a brief recap.

Last Saturday, went to Jamie's birthday party celebration at Bukit Timah area with dearie, her sis, and qiaoyu. Lots of crazy photo taking sessions, as usual. But of course, pictures speak more. So see for yourself. =)

On our way there, bought some ice cream. Posing for the cam. Now look at da man. Wahhaa.

That's us and birthday girl, Jamie. And that's a pweety cake eh? Too princessy though. Haha.

Dearie said my expression in this pic looked like the doll from the movie "Dead Silence". What do you think? Lol.

A few random poses..

Grab love by the waist?! =P

Look at this!!! I re-created dearie's hairstyle. She looked like an alter-ego. So different. So unlike her. Wahaha. So cool eh? =P

An attempt to "lengthen my hair". The artificial and hilarious way. Step One: Have fun! Step Two: Get shocked. Step Three: Ok, that's enough. XD

Qianying and me displaying the "ai yan"(actfulness) in us. Mannequins. Pretty "real" eh? Heh.

Ooooh look, we have a visitor!

Ok, now there are two. Grr.. Need more space!

Oh well, just some of the many pics we took. Initially was supposed to meet up with my secondary school mates. But I came home rather late after work. And when I decided to go out, it poured so heavily. So I followed dearie to Jamie's celebration instead. I felt apologetic about this matter. To my secondary school bunch of friends, we'll catch up again k? =D

The Man and the News.

David Beckham was from Man Utd, then went to Real Madrid, and now he's playing in LA Galaxy.
Alex Ferguson - manager of Man Utd, looked excited when Man U scored against Liverpool.
Capello, former Italian coach, now new coach of England team for World Cup 2010, and he promised to make England top.
Tevez scored a goal in the latest Man Utd vs Liverpool match, making the score 1-0.
Peter Crouch got a red card in the Carling Cup.

There's something common in the above news bits. The common thing is SOCCER. And there's something common in SOCCER. The common thing is GUYS. Well, not a thing here though.

For the first time in my life, I find myself catching up with soccer news. I mean, I have last played soccer since secondary, or maybe primary school days? And those were during PE lessons. Goodness. Can you imagine that? I mean, as far as my school days went, I was mostly hanging out with girls. Girls, girls and more girls. I don't know if I have this particular affinity with girls, or they like talking to me. Probably because I have 3 sisters at home? So I can relate to what they are talking, how they are thinking. And also because I went to the Arts faculty in JC. So you see, I was a thorn among the roses.

Things took a change when I entered NS. When I began to experience real brotherhood. Well, it's not like I've never had close guy friends. I have indeed a few. But in the past, I didn't usually have a fraternity group of any. If there's any, it's mostly co-ed, that means, a mixture of guys and girls.

They say going through NS will evolve you from a boy to a man. I would say it's 80% true. This 80% consist of having to handle with weapons, going outfield for deployments, trainings, physical development, etc etc. But all these are but on a surfacical view. The main component that is essential in this change is the mind. Going through NS has blossomed my mind from a closed-up individual to one that is open to fresh new perspectives. The spectrum of guys from all walks of life is already a solid reason for this change. You no longer stay in your own comfort zone. Instead, you travel to other various zones. Step up.

As for the next 20%, it is when you have stepped out to the society to work, to earn your own keep, pay your own bills, buy your own car, etc. I'm really looking forward to this 20%. There are uncertainties and comtemplations, but I'm sure things will work out.

Before NS, I'm much like a social-awareness-freak. But getting to know my campmates who are mostly less educated than me, ironically, I learnt a great deal from them. The difference between them and us is that they are street-smart. They are not as gullible as others who study by the books. This, yet another irony. Through knowing them, my life has become more simpler, but more complicated as well. Simpler in the sense that I find myself blending into the average culture of the society. Complicated because now I have a new culture to explore. A new identity. But this is good. Cos I like exploring new horizons. And this proves as a double platform for me. See things in an all-rounded perspective in a not so rounded world.

Oh yeah, back to the soccer talk. Soccer is a world game I would say. It's probably late that I'm only catching up on this typical guy activity now. But hey, better late than never right? I used to mention that I don't like following trends. But to come to think of it. Understanding trends is a different thing. You get to balance both sides of the beam. Kill two birds with one stone. And pluck the feathers for better usage(Ok what's up with that? Haha).

You know, I often do things on a spur of the moment. Like a compulsion. So, on that day of the Man Utd vs Liverpool match, I called up Starhub CableTV just a few hours before the match and changed my plan package to an Ultimate Value package just so I can get the sports group. It's crazy I know. My monthly bill is around $120 now. But at least, I'm not compromising the movie buff in me. The movie channels are still around. The educational channels too. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the news channels are new. As in I just subscribed. To watch 'live' broadcasts from CNN. To cure the apathy in me.

I realised I should have fully utilised the cableTV. So, after ORD, I'm just going to hold on to the remote control, and switch channels as I like. And hey, this is a guy thing to do too.

Some discovery.

Oh what a fruitful day! For the first time, I went to Daniel's house! Yea, agreed to visit his humble abode after like years of saying I'm going? Lol. Anyway, we had pizza near his house at Sunset Way in a shop called "Rocky's Pizza". We had Alfredo mushroom and ham spaghetti. It was so thick and creamy! So nice too! One of the tastiest creamy pasta I tried. With all the cheese and all that, plus our side order Mozerella Cheesy Bread Stick. So cheeeeeeessssyyy. I loved it. But honestly, consuming too much of cheese at one go will probably make you feel "sick" of it. So, there's always a limit.

After that, went to his house, some old-looking condominium, but I kinda liked the antique-ness and it all. Me and my retro fetish. Haha. Anyway, Daniel's house is rather neat. And cosy. We watched an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond(which he urged me to watch), and watched Les Choristes En Concert. So damn nice. Les Choristes is one of my all-time favourite movie. Damn nice. Ok, so just hung around his house, talked to him a bit, watched a bit of soccer. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm starting to watch soccer? Wahahaha. I watched Man-U vs Liverpool last night. It was a good match. Close fight. But Man-U is still a notch better. I'm still deciding which club I should support. Haha.

So after that, I went to meet up with a lady in charge of a new tuition centre in Clementi. Supposed to help her out in her new sales strategy. Went out to a block to do door-to-door survey. It's been such a long time since I did that. I used to hate it back then when I tried to do door-to-door sales as a Starhub Cabletv promoter a few years back. But I was rather comfortable with the idea just now. I did some personality test which I scored full for aural, 19/20 for verbal, 16/20 for solitude, 18/20 for social, and 12/20 for logical. Haha not bad not bad. Seems like I'm quite a flexible person. I listen, I converse. I can be quiet. I can be spontaneous. Heh. =D

Been a long day. Still deciding what to do tomorrow. Let's see how. Good night for now.

If I Can be alone.. I can Dream.

Ok, if you realise why I've been blogging more than usual recently, it's because I'm clearing my block leave. And some off as well.

Anyway, during this past few days or weeks, I'm catching up on my hobbies. M&M. Music and Movies. So, I guess I'm very much in tune with the latest grooves or blockbusters. Haha. My friend was like telling me I watched possibly everry movie showing in the theatres right now. That's too much of an exaggeration. But anyway, I only watched Enchanted, StarDust, Two Days in Paris, The Golden Compass, 30 Days of Night, Lust Caution during this while. Only. Not too many right? Ha.

I'm too much of a movie buff, I must admit. And the thing is, I can go to a movie alone. How's that sound to you? Ok, before you gonna show all kinds of weird expression, listen to what I have to say. I told my camp mates when I booked out on nights off that I was going to watch a movie by myself, and they all replied with "Huh?" I chose to see this as a skill that not many people possess. That is, to sit through at least 1 and half hours in a movie theatre beside rows of unfamiliar faces, all by yourself. To me, I find it acceptable. I'm kinda flexible. Since I used to be rather introvert. But that doesn't mean I can't be alone by myself at times, be it walking the malls or what.

To me, being alone gives me space to breathe, to reflect, and to just indulge in the pros of solitude, whatever they are. Some movies I believe should be watched alone. Especially Arts films like Two Days in Paris. When it comes to such films, I would want 0 interruption. The only thing that can interrupt me will probably be my mind, which will be wide awake throughout the entire movie, absorbing all kinds of visual insights, provoking new thoughts. At least, that makes a $9.50 weekend ticket all the more worthwhile. Cos I believe there's a take-away in most movies. That means, I watch not purely for entertainment sake, but to learn something new. The artwork of the director, the scriptwriter, the intentions. It's just interesting to see things from some other's perspective. If not, why would movies be made? Surely they would want to convey some message or another, be it trivial or not.

Anyway, I just watched a TV-movie this afternoon. It's called "Elvis: The Early Years". Guess what, I got it for only $5 at some video shop. And it's a 3-hour movie. Based on, obviously, the life of Elvis Presley. Johnathan Rhys-Meyers impersonated Elvis in the movie and I think he did a perfect job. That guy could even sing! His moves, lip sync and accent were just amazing. As an avid Elvis fan, I regretted postponing to watch the vcd when it turned out to be such a great show. Through the show, I got to understand Elvis, as an icon more. He's truly the King of Rock and Roll!

As John Lennon nicely puts it, "Before Elvis, there was nothing..."

Oooh.. And guess what, I saw some really nice Elvis posters selling at the poster shop at Esplanade. And it costs only about $10 each. Big posters. Heh heh. Think I'll go grab them sometime. I need more posters of my idol to fill the walls of my room and to remind me that I should never stop dreaming. In all sense of the word. My CD player is now playing the song "If I Can Dream" by Elvis, which is the last song performed by Johnathan Rhys-Meyers in the movie before it ended. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Ok, now I added a new actor to my favourite list. Jude Law, Johnny Depp, now Johnathan Rhys-Meyers. Notice the three J's.

And I believe, legends do live.

New twin duo - WOW!!!


I'm speechless. I just bought probably the best album this year. I mean, in my personal opinion. Among the numerous albums I bought this year, this is the best album so far yet!!! It's this twin brothers duo RyanDan. Absolutely amazing. Wow wow wow. I'm so glad I bought the album, after trying out the songs at imeem. One of the two, the voice is simply WOW. As quoted from their official website, "..their voices, which effortlessly slide from baritone to soprano, full voice to falsetto, have a stunning clarity and purity."

I AGREE!!!

They did covers like The Prayer, Wind Beneath My Wings, and the current song playing in my blog now, I'll Be There. So gooooooooooooooood.

If you like classical with a blend of pop, this is the perfect album. Seriously, after getting this album, all the other albums I had seemed to pale in comparison, though I cannot compare cross genres. But still, for the vocals part, this is an astonishing duo.

Yay. Another new find in my musical journey. How inspiring. Haha.


Now would you excuse me, I have a concert to attend to. :)

This is the lyrics to the song playing in my blog right now. The title of the song is "So Close" sung by this new singer-songwriter named Jon Mclaughlin. It's a soundtrack for the movie "Enchanted". I watched the movie twice and I thought this song was really well sung, with deep deep emotions. Kudos to the singer. I'm so going to get his debut album, "Indiana". This song is performed by him but written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Nevertheless, his vocals is amazing.

So Close - by Jon Mclaughlin

You’re in my arms

And all the world is calm

The music playing on for only two

So close together

And when I’m with you

So close to feeling alive

A life goes by

Romantic dreams will stop

So I bid mine goodbye and never knew

So close was waiting, waiting here with you

And now forever I know

All that I wanted to hold you

So close

So close to reaching that famous happy end

Almost believing this was not pretend

And now you’re beside me and look how far we’ve come

So far we are so close

How could I face the faceless days

If I should lose you now?

We’re so close

To reaching that famous happy end

And almost believing this was not pretend

Let’s go on dreaming for we know we are

So close

So close

And still so far

Some sad drama.

It's 2.10am right now. Just finished watching episode 5 of the Jap drama series Crying Out Love in the Centre of the World. 6 more episodes to go. But each episode gets sadder and sadder. It's not like I'm addicted to dramas like that but I don't know why I just can't resist the sentimentals portrayed. I really like this drama, mainly because of it's retro-themed-coming-of-age love story. It's like showing the simplicity of loving someone in a simple world. It isn't that hard isn't it? It's this kind of pure, innocent yet deeply engaging drama that really tugs your heartstrings. I haven't watched 1 Litre of Tears yet, but I heard it's really very sad. As for now, I don't know how much more sadness of such sort I can take. It's just so overwhelming. 6 more episodes to go. I'm not crying. But I can really feel the tuggings. It's well acted and the way the drama was directed, with flashbacks and so on, it's just so amazing. The script was well written too, peppered with meaningful phrases and inspiring conversations. Oh yeah, the soundtrack is so beautiful too. Go check it out.

I don't think I should continue another episode for now. I better go to bed soon.

Oh yeah, by the way, the title is really good.

Why should we live in a sad world though?

I just killed a cockroach.

I don't mean to start this entry with that. But that's what happened just before I blogged. I was on the phone with dearie when my elder sister(I emphasize on the word "elder") came screaming for me telling me that the cockroach she saw earlier has reappeared in the kitchen. She was watching some english movie in the living room just now when she first saw it. Imagine the power of the small black creature. To her of course, it looked big. But when I saw it, I had to say she got to be kidding. Anyway, I took some newspaper and rolled it into a bat before hitting the cockroach hard and fast.

"Splat!!!" And there went the cockroach laying limp on the floor, leaving behind traces of cockroach "juice" on the newspaper. And I don't think it would taste great.

Fact was, the cockroach didn't get a proper burial. I merely scooped the "souless" cockroach with the newspaper before sending it down the chute. It should belong back there, shouldn't it?

Ok, one down.

But that doesn't make any difference. They have been roaming the world even before the dinosaurs existed. So next time you see a cockroach, just pretend you didn't see it. Maybe you can hope that your scream can drive the cockroach away. But next time, try harder.

Come to think of it. If cockroaches like to roam in darkness, shouldn't they stop camouflaging and turn white?! But honestly, I have seen a white cockroach before, believe it or not.

Ipod VS Iriver. Based on my opinions.

**Warning: This post might contain spoilers for die-hard-or-very-die-hard ipod fans.

Ok. Face it. Ipod is everywhere. Every house, every corner, every pillar, every inch, every alley, every bus-stop, every MRT..... Just for an exaggeration. But it's not too far from that either.

The fact is, ipod has created such a tremendous wave of trendy gadget must-have that it has become so much of a fashion/music trend now. Oh yeah, talking about the over commercialisation of things. The thing is, ipod itself is good. If you want to talk about user-friendly, getting-stylish-by-the-moments, and what not. Look at every cabin of the MRT train when you are travelling. You are sure bound to see people from all walks of life abandoning their poor old walkmans to the new walks of ipod. And ipod does all the talking. You never feel alone anymore on the train, even if you are travelling alone. At least, there's entertainment on the go.

For me, personally, I have tried using ipod from my friends'. And I don't need much hesitation to say that I still prefer my iriver. That's for sure. As far as I'm concerned, korean sound technology is still a notch up from the other competitors. Iriver is originally korean-produced. And being a true music junkie, I believe it's not hard to differentiate when it comes to sound quality. Iriver wins hands down.

Currently, I'm using the H10 model, which I have bought from an IT fair around 4 years ago. And besides not having any latest functions like mp4 video playback(which is still rather alpha-based), it is still the best mp3 player in terms of sound.

Imagine after these years, I still think its sound quality is better than the rest of the competitors. I'm not biased when I say this cos I don't really dislike other mp3 players since they are all music players. And I'm definitely not an Iriver sales personnel. I'm just speaking from a true music fan. I emphasize a lot of sound quality. And Iriver just simply offers both design and sound quality. Imagine a model like this four years ago already consist of features like voice and FM recording, photo-display, FM tuner, and so, on... So, you see, my point.

If you go for trends and don't really mind sound quality, go for ipod. It's good and trendy.

But if you are someone who don't mind paying a bit more for good sound quality, I would highly recomment Iriver, or Samsung, as an alternative.

Sad to say, I just found out that Iriver products are so limited in Singapore that I can only find a store in SimLim selling some of the latest models. Other than that, I see ipods everywhere. I called the service centre to check out and it's not exactly an Iriver service centre, but it provides services like sending your Iriver abroad for repair.

But, for the love of music, I would stick with Iriver, and forget about the hassles.

At least, it's hard to see anyone in the same cabin as you listening to an Iriver set.

And did I mention, the latest Iriver Clix Gen 2... is just so damn COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. I can't wait to get my hands on one. If I have enough moolah. Hahaha.

Disenchanted

Just talked to a friend recently about his problems. A close friend of mine whom I have known since JC. I knew his character all along, being those introvert kind, but I thought that it was just the way he is, being quiet, shy, but still getting on with what he's doing. Until he spilled out his problems to me after a serious talk. Ok. Not say he literally told me about his problems, but I guessed what they were. And I discovered a shocking similarity in the thought pattern of a disturbed mind.

And I am determined to help him. I realised how much I have neglected him as a friend, and me being his confidant should be there to help him when he needs me right? Right? Especially after listening to his issues, it got me thinking... The people around you, the friends around you. They may look normal to you. But underneath, everyone is different. Everyone is thinking differently. Everyone has their own problems. It's just they don't say it. Imagine there's a "cloud" above everyone's head, you would have known what they are thinking. But the thing is, the human mind is a mystery. Unless you are a mind-reader or a psychic of some sort, there's no way you can know what someone is thinking about. A friend can appear cheerful to you. But there are things beneath the surface.

It's really disconcerting to know that the fast-paced society we are all living in now are inducing pressure in everyone of us. The pressure to be successful, the pressure to build a family, the pressure to stay afloat admist the river of insanity, and so on. We are the victims, the guinea pigs of the modern world. Should we keep ourselves caged? And keep running on the "hamster wheel" without realising that it's leading us no where? Or are you going to gnaw your way out of that cage into the "wildlife", your natural habitat, the place you really belong?

The place I long to belong to is a place called the land of freedom. Neverwhere perhaps? Or Neverneverland. Ok, but that sounds ironic isn't it? But face it, we are living in an ironic world after all. There's even some ridiculous debate about whether the Earth is round or flat. So wouldn't you want to teleport to Neverneverland? Where your problems vanish into thin air, where the King of the land is Happiness. Would you like to take the throne though? Just ask Peter Pan for an answer.

But for that, you have to believe in fairytales. Like for real.