Singapore Flyer

To celebrate the end of exams, Mr Eh and I made our way down to book our tour to Kukup. There are 10 of us going in total and I'm really glad that we've got really fun-loving people with us! Anyway,we wanted to go to the hawker beside Esplanade to eat stingray.



We went through the underpass. I really miss seeing all the art on display. I haven't had much time to go to town ever since I started school and staying in hall. I feel deprived.

I always enjoy taking photos of the art pieces that are created at the Esplanade too.



Scent of whiteness is a piece by Naomi Ota. It invites the audience into a landscape which natural growth such as that of the sea-bleached coral, is slow and barely perceptible. It rouses the audience to generate thoughts of scenery, sound, dance and other elements from within themselves. So if you're free, go down there, and get inspired!

We were rather disappointed when we found out the the hawker place wasn't opened and ended up at Thai Express instead. I don't think the food was very impressive though, so that's double the disappointment. I'd rather spam all my money on oyster omelette, stingray, hokkien mee and the likes!



After a quick stroll outside, we walked to the Singapore Flyer!



The short walk there came complete with road signs that why trying to be funny. Not that it wasn't a good thing! Just that it wasn't very original and reminded me of Buzz Lightyear. Infinity and beyond, anyone?

The Singapore Flyer towered right in front of us. We tried taking a couple of photos with it, rather unsuccessfully. They all came out blur! The building looked like it was a segment of Vivocity. There was this very small patch of greenery in the centre which reminded me of Jurassic Park! It's sponsored by Yakult and called the Yakult park or something!

Our "flight" was scheduled for 10. We made our way into the place and it reminded me of getting on a plane! There were metal detectors! We also stopped to take a photo with a fake Singapore Flyer Capsule.



The photo was stored in this grey thingy! Yeah, the long walkway really looked like we were boarding a plane! We walked into the moving capsule, with its air-con at full blast and a little TV screen showing some information about the Flyer.



As it ascended slowly, the full view of the city came into view. We picked out our some of the most familiar places, like hotels, the Esplanade... I took plenty of photos, but most of it came out blur. It was really hard due to the dark and the fact that the capsule was in slow, constant motion.



We got higher and higher... Surprisingly, for me at least, it wasn't scary at all. I think the fact that we were in an enclosed space and that it was moving so steadily made it assuring. In place of fear was a sense of awe for the million lights that we could see in almost every direction. We saw the ships out in the waters as well.



It was a really comfortable ride, but we shared our capsule with 3 other groups of people. There was this couple who were getting really chummy with each other that I bet they only had their eyes away from each other only half the time, and another who were busy taking photos. They looked so engrossed that we didn't dare approach them to take a photo for us and put it on self-timer on one of the benches instead!

After the slightly giddy experience (we got off, feeling like we were still moving), we went to the souvenir shop and got our photo printed. At 15 bucks it was rather expensive but we figured that it was a rare opportunity so we got it anyway.



We then proceeded to explore the mini-Jurassic Park, but it wasn't all that interesting.



It was a great experience seeing everything from so high up. Going at night gave us a really cool view of the Singapore skyline. More photos here.

Make You Laugh Like You Never Did

After Colin pointed in the right direction yesterday, I had the youtube performance on standby all day just so I could see it again and have a right laugh!

Mariah I'm-the-diva Carey made an appearance on Good Morning America. She strut her stuff (showing off her body, the dress, that attitude and oh, her singing) and performed tracks off E=MC2. There was a technical screw-up (I won't call it a glitch and neither would M) that left her trying to save the performance by herself. She did admirably well. I put myself in her shoes and I could never imagine singing "Stop singing my part baby" when the second cock-up happened.

It was even better when she, immediately after belting that line, belted out the part that was just played by the recording, pitting herself against it and showing that she could sing almost as well as her records any day, any time.

She wrapped things up by saying that she was creative and bringing something new to the moment everytime. Check it out here, Mariah's I-don't-know-how-manieth-Billboard-#1, Touch My Body

Shame on you Mimi if you didn't mean to sing live, but good save nonetheless.

Baby Tasmanian

With this, Liqi plans to prove that he's worthy of a place in ADM.

And it explains why I haven't been camwhoring anyway. I look horrible. Wonky-eyed, bad complexion, permanently unkempt hair... I could go on and on.

Gimme Moar

"If you want something bad enough the whole earth conspires to help you get it." (Madonna, 1996)

As I walked to SMU yesterday to meet Jie Yu to discuss the itinery for our Phuket trip, I felt the urgent need to pee. So, I had to make a detour into Raffles City.

Adidas, Topman, Calvin Klein, Levi's. The brands stood out proudly, as if taunting those who didn't recognise them or their perceived superiority. I was startled at my own reaction. Not too long ago, I would've stopped and peered into the shops. I loved looking at the latest clothes that were stocked. They dictated the latest season's trends, available only to those with the cash to keep up and the bodies to flaunt them. Everyone else would then look ordinary in comparison.

Yet this time round I did not look at them with longing. I've come to care less about looking that good. Sure, there's a part of me that will not be able to buck the trend of looking "presentable". But I've realised that endless pages of gorgeous models in magazines and TV programs like Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model only present a narrow way of looking at the world. They may be powerful, consistent and insistent in their messages, but it's not what I want.

More specifically, it's not all I want.

That kind of attention could be better diverted somewhere else, a "something else" the world has to offer but we don't see as often.

I'm in search of it and hopefully, I'll find it.

Word Heaven

"Words without thought never to heaven go." (Low Y Y, 2008)

How true. I've been using words to convey my thoughts. But I haven't thought of how they could be pared down, economised and strung together to create the best-fit way of conveying those thoughts. I've learned that I enjoy using superficial words that are big, but don't mean anything at all. They either ramble on and create ridiculously long sentences or add nothing to the content.

I guess learning to recognise these elements in my work and that's a start! I've got some made some plans and created some projects for myself to complete during the holidays. I know everyone's going to get the most out of theirs!

I've only got three goals this holiday - write better, earn money and get fitter.

Phuture. Zouk.

I know some people search the world
To find something like what we have
I know people will try
Try to divide something so real
So Til the end of time
I'm telling you there is

No One

Life

Starts now.

Stressful. Period.

Global Warming

I'm watching the TVBS news channel now and I've got to say - it's impressive.



In an hour's news programme about global warming, they've managed to capture everything to the melting of ice glaciers and wildlife of the North and South poles (and a freak case of ice gathering in New Zealand), how pollution is affecting the rivers in China, how serious the problem of deforestation is, the wildlife in Brunei, how Australia is protecting its pristine mountain sides and managing ecotourism...

It was a thrilling program to watch. They've managed to get hold of some news segments from all over the world, and even more impressive, they've dispatched their own reporters to places like Finland, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand. It was packed, informative and entertaining. I've always thought that there were TV stations with better production standards but I think this really showed me that determination (the whole news package looked like a lot of work) and the willingness to talk about such a challenging topic.

I've watched programs about global warming, but not one has spurred me to take action more than this. I think reading about it on blogs, on the net and in newspapers doesn't have the impact of seeing it for yourself on television. I lost a bit of faith in the medium with most of us turning to youtube and all, but with the impact that I've felt from this program I might have to rethink my stand!

Anyway, I think I've got to do my part about global warming. It's kind of hard because it involves lifestyle changes and a lot of stuff we take for granted.

Go Planet!

More Weird

I don't like discussing the exams after they are over. It's like flogging a dead horse. If there's a chance to change answers, or better yet, to get it back after it is being marked and learn from the mistakes, I say we should all discuss. But we don't.

So sometimes, just to avoid that traumatic experience, I run away from the exam hall straight after it's over.

I don't know if people's discussions stem from their insecurity and having to compare it against how others feel about the paper, or that my running away stems from my insecurity of having to compare how I felt about the paper with others.

Guess I'm not cut out to be a coroner.

I Lied When I Was Seventeen

I know that the people up there are doing it on purpose, releasing the overall grades that account for 50% of our total marks for 208 yesterday, when the final exam is today.

I couldn’t really get to sleep, even though I was sick of reading my notes over and over. I don’t remember being so nervous for an exam before.

It’s really not life and death, is it?

On the way to the exam hall, I took out my jacket, and dropped my swimming trunks on the floor. Someone pointed it out to me nicely. Ming Siew laughed. Lingling, who was beside me but didn’t notice, laughed even harder when I told her. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

I took the wrong seat in the hall, right in front of Titus. I should’ve realised because I’ve never sat near Titus for any exam. When I realised and got up, Jinhe came over to take the seat. I apologised and look for my seat like an idiot. I think I held up the exam for 5 minutes.

My phone rang.

I rushed out of the exam hall, feeling kind of claustrophobic. And I really didn’t want to discuss the paper with anybody.

It’s crappy.

I’m weird.

Major Lin

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
good luck for ur exams!
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
huat ah!

jkyh says:
hahaha
jkyh says:
hey man
jkyh says:
ALL THE BEST
jkyh says:
u can de!
jkyh says:
collect the ace like free one ah! rmb... one deck of cards can have 4 ace... but if u have 6 modules u can have 6 ace!
jkyh says:
HUAT AH!

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
got 6 can pong 2 times
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
hoho
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
mahjong

jkyh says:
pong pong all the way lar! and all Ace.. so half color

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
yes la ! haha ok lets go mug now!

jkyh says:
alrighty!
jkyh says:
JIAYOU!!!

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
hmm i dont get it
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
the clip u made '9'

jkyh says:
it is just what it is
jkyh says:
did u turn the volume up?

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
yea
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
she keep saying 9

jkyh says:
it's just dark humour.. like a lot of ppl ask her why she keep skipping
jkyh says:
and she always been skipping
jkyh says:
and for every person who asks her why she stays there skipping so long
jkyh says:
she'd kick them and add to the count!

louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
wtf
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
lol
louis is ASTROboy - E for maths says:
ok now that i have satisfied my curiousity .. back to work! thx!

jkyh says:
yep! Gogogo!

Please Don't Stop The...

I looked exactly like how someone would look upon hearing that they'd won a Grammy. Mouth-open, hand on my chest, eyes looking upward and just bursting with the anticipation of giving my acceptance speech.

I would like to thank Weili, Pamy and Amos.

Yes, I looked nothing short of a Grammy winner when I received the news that our 1-min assignment, the video '9', (as featured in the previous entry) has managed to nab an A!

I’ve been getting a nice range of B+ and A- for most of the assignments, so this brings me even closer to getting an A for COM 206. I feel so bloody motivated to go into the exam hall tomorrow and own the paper.

Seems that exams are going to start with a bloody big bang.

1 Min To Save The World

I've been on a blogging spree recently! I know it's kind of crazy but you can't stop blogging when there's content and stuff, even if it's the bloody exams around the corner!

Here's the not so exclusive (Amos beat me to it, even though I uploaded the thing 4 days ago!) clip of our 206 project titled '9'. It was first premiered during the last 206 lecture on Thursday and I think ours was definitely one of the most memorable clips. Shame about the sound though. You've got to turn it up quite loud. But I think it'll be worth your time.



I know... I know, you feel for the guy. Poor Kyle. Haha!

Weighty Issues

I can't sit down for long nowadays.

I just cannot get used to the slight protrusion of flesh above my shorts.

And at 55kg I'm already lighter than I ever was for the past 2 years!

Damn.

Career Direction?

I regret the fact that I hadn't written more and I could've been more vocal in class. But lesson today was good. It's the last lesson for playwriting and I can say that it has changed my life. I don't think I could say that about any module that I've taken really.

I'll miss everybody. Especially all the seniors because I've gained a lot just by being in their presence, although they weren't always around! I've learned from my peers who were fantastic and put their work out there for presentation and critique. It's really inspiring. And Michael, for giving me the first A that I've ever gotten in NTU.

Of course it is much more than that but I think I've said so much about this module that I'd only be repeating myself. The most important thing is that it has gotten me to sit down and do some real, solid writing. And I do love writing. It's also gotten me to think about my life. I've never had a chance to look back at the past in awe of all the experiences I have been through. They are what's in my treasure trove for writing. I've also discovered truths about myself as a person, which is probably the most valuable thing I've taken away from it all.

It is crazy but I'll be taking the holidays off from doing serious work. Like, getting a paid job. I'll still be teaching tuition. But I think I'll be writing...

Last Comms Research Quiz

I felt as if I had my brain taken out, put into a blender, set to maximum speed, and turned on for 45 minutes.

I'm just glad it's over.

Against the Wall

I want to smash something.

I don't mean smashing stuff randomly.

I want to smash something into people's face and get them to wake up. Hell I wouldn't mind if someone smashed my face to wake me up from this nightmare. This nightmare of a project. What the fuck! The greatest thing is probably how I'll get the lowest marks because my individual work sucks, which probably isn't anybody else's fault except mine, but I don't see why I should be bearing most of the shit (along with YK). It's not as if work wasn't delegated. The stuff that came back was disappointing to say the least.

I've learned something though. That I should stop saying that I don't know how to do this, or I don't know how to do that. I do my work. It's just that sometimes I need more direction than others, being inexperienced and all. Constructive criticism helps.

I don't want to smash cake in your face. If I could get a brick, I'd throw it. If I could get scissors, I'd jab it. If I could get a pencil, I'd ram it.

In your fucking face.

There's a reason for skipping lecture. I need my rest. I mean everyone has motivations for the things they do, right? I don't want to be woken up and being told that this would not be done, and I that I have to do it, when I had already been told that I could have a peace of mind and stuff was going to get done. It turned out that when the two of you weren't around, we had to be the ones finalising everything. Printing it. Running about. Rushing it. Wasting fucking money. Which doesn't anger me more than the fact that the effort put in was unequal.

I'm not good at anything but at least I make things happen.

Shitheads.

Lift

I saw Daniel Ong, my favourite DJ ever, yesterday at Bugis.



Dinner was fantastic but the queue was horrible. It reminds me why I like to stay home on the weekends. Yeah, I'm such a no-lifer. Liqi and I then made our way down to The Room Upstairs.



Lift was the title of the play we were going to watch.

It was quite hard to find the place but we got there just in time.

I liked the first act, first of all, probably because I got to see Mike in the flesh for the first time. I think for most part I didn't see some of the flaws such as the fact that there was no underlying storyline pushing the act through. It was mostly introduction of the characters. It was quite a giveaway, as it progressed, that these people weren't going anywhere because of how they would not appear in the second act. What worked for me was definitely the multiple roles that each actor took, having screen shots of the characters' lives, although that could probably have been more consistent across all 4 characters. I related a lot to the male characters, probably because I sucked at a lot of stuff and felt pressure to do well academically in my childhood. I probably would tell my mom that I felt my childhood was a tad ruined, but I don't hate her! Their monologues were gripping for me because I felt that it was almost as if my what I've always wanted to say was being put out there. The Brechtian elements of the play worked very well.

It all led on to the second act which was Realism in action. I enjoyed the rapid fire dialogue, the build up of tension, the clash of personalities... there were some parts of the script that didn't contribute that much to the climax and slowed down the pacing of it all, but it was great feeling the characters' desperation and the push for a resolution that was in everybody's interest. For me the gem was definitely the last scene where the Corporate Comms person wrapped up the thing with a speech which displayed fantastic PR skills... another something that I could relate to! Haha...



And a photo I took with star actor Michael Quilindo. Haha... Looking forward to the next one (if there's one)!

10th Anniversary

This was what I've been working on for the past week. It really took a lot out of me. I was in a bad mood. I was not open to socialising. Actually I was worse that normal so that's horrible. The only nice thing working on it was having correspondence with Ros and Yiling, whom I've grown to greatly appreciate in the course of working on my journals and my playwriting. It's a very big deal for me as I've never put in so much effort into a stack of paper before. Never. It's the first time that I've written so much as well. I did say that it wasn't that difficult and it was a matter of "turning the smoke machine to 'full' and switching it on", but some of them were the words of my greatest inspirations this semester. I am really damn proud that there's this thing... something to show for what I have learned in this lesson. It's something that is so different from other modules.

It was amazing that I got my children's adaptation read out today. It was a very freaky experience and I haven't gotten used to it yet. It's like getting people to experience what you have inside your head together with you, and you have no idea if they are going to like it or not. Worse of all, people are doing you a favour by doing it for you so you want to make it worth it for them. I was practically hiding behind Chun Yan's chair through the reading. I thought it turned out rather well though. The best part about it was that Michael thought so! YAY! I was damn ecstatic when he voiced his overall approval of the script. And Ros gave me the "I told you so, your script's decent" look and smiled. I showed her the script and she gave me feedback before I came up with this editted version. It was a great way to end the penultimate session of playwriting... but I hope to see Ros' dialogue get performed. It will certainly end everything with a huge bang.

I went back to Sembawang Secondary School today with Si Hua, as it was our school's 10th anniversary... and was feeling quite shy so I didn't talk to many people. I think I'll go back to school on another day to talk to my teachers though. But the thing about going back to school is like that - there'd definitely be teachers that you don't want to see. And run away and hide from. Haha..



We had to walk to the front gate because the back gate wasn't opened. We spied around and looked around for some teachers. It was quite a nice experience to be back again. Those days of being in school came flooding back to me non-stop. Really. The place has changed, but it still looked so new. It was as if the building hadn't aged while we were away. Its students, on the other hand, have aged.



The hair on my arms stood on ends as I saw the band perform. The school band was one of the CCAs that did us very proud ever since it was established. My batch was actually the pioneer batch of the school. Anyway, their performance of YMCA was great and to see the rest of the students jump, dance and cheer in jubilation around them just overwhelmed me. The feelings of lost youth and innocence...



And it was in this hall that I was the MC for the Official Opening of our school, where we had Dr Tony Tan as our guest-of-honour. It was unforgettable when he looked and nodded at me as I announced "And may we now invite our guest-of-honour Dr Tony Tan to proceed downstairs for some refreshments.". It's one of those things that'll remain in your memory for as long as you live.

SSS really holds many of those memories.

Running Out Of Steam

This week is a rather crazy week. Okay so I blame myself for not keeping up with my work and thus having to rush to keep up with the deadlines this week. It's an enormous pain, but there were somethings I enjoyed doing.

I have been putting my portfolio for playwriting together for the entire week. It took a lot of effot to get stuff written and to compile them together. I had a crazy time doing journals for the past 8 lessons. Actually it's not so much of a fact that I want to do well. FOr this subject I really feel that I have been on a journey and it's one that deserves writing about. It's an experience worth writing about. I gained confidence in speaking, in acting, in myself and I had a chance to work with fantastic people. I also found that bit of creative spark return to me in terms of writing. It's brilliant really. It is what I think lessons should be like. You feel a sense of growth. There's progression. I'd even like to compare it to a play... where the main character changes in some way at the end after he faces an obstacle. I feel that I've gained a lot of experience in theatre. I've gained new ways of looking at things. Most important of all, going through the module would've made a decent play!

I've also been doing crazy projects and trying to catch up with all sorts of stuff. I'm quite lost in Comms Research and Information Literacy. These are the two subjects that are causing me quite a bit of pain. I'm cool with Comms Research because there's a textbook. However now we're onto stats and the most frustrating thing is that ARMY ruined my academic mind. I've totally forgotten variables, sampling whatnots, significant difference, 2-tailed tests, T-tests and everything in between. It's fucking furstrating because all of them look familiar to me but I just don't have a clue what it's about. It's like having a light case of amnesia. It's retarded. I look at these terms like they're old friends but I have no freaking idea who they are and end up smiling patronisingly at them. It's fucking frustrating and I'm very pissed off.

There's quiz next week.

And the exams are in two weeks.

I stayed up till about 4AM yesterday doing 202. Jie Yu was fantastic to have driven down with Chieh to give me bachormee. It was heavenly! And it kept me awake. More than that. It kept my mind working and I didn't collapse on the benches at the North Spine (which suck by the way). I really, really appreciate it! Words can't describe the feeling. Anyway, I'm looking forward to our Phuket trip after the exams!

CS Senior Camp peeps are so going to murder me.

I Write

1. I write because I’m bored.
2. I write because it’s fun. I thought.
3. I write because I want to teach.
4. I write because I want to inspire.
5. I write because it’s an outlet for creativity.
6. I write because I want to explore.
7. I write because I want to entertain.
8. I write because I have stuff in my head that needs to be let loose.
9. I write because words and sentences, and how they are put together to express my thoughts, excite me.
10. I write because it gives me control.
11. I write because it allows me to sort out my thoughts.
12. I write because it allows me to understand myself better.
13. I write to share experiences.
14. I write so others can relate to me.