More Holidays Please

Just to get a start on posting all those photos that were up on facebook and need to be up on http://www.wh-s.blogspot.com!

Ros, Ness and I went shopping for presents in town.

But we ended up being tired and sat at Starbucks and chatted and people-watched for the longest time. And trying out the nerd-look.

The CS peeps and I went to St James to support Adeline for her concert, Vivace.

Self-explanatory.

The somewhat camera-elusive Jinyong.

And my first time dining at The Soup Spoon. Expensive and nice but not very filling.

There was another day where all of us trooped down to Wei Xun's house and played board games.

Okay, so mahjong is not a board game but it's an awesome game. And the beer was very good. This is me, after one can. Someone take me out to drink tonight! Haha! That face-swelling always happens, no matter how little alcohol I drink. I enjoyed myself though I lost a little.

I enjoyed the food more. Pizza Hut's spicy drumlets...

And a group shot of everybody in the place! It is quite amazing how CS is small and everyone is comfy with each other. There are cliques and all but we find ourselves merging and interacting and mixing and... There's that spirit and chemistry that I cannot really describe. But it be awesome.

The gang sans Yueting went to Seoul Garden for lunch on the eve of Christmas eve.

Nessie was with us but she left earlier to catch Avatar. I cannot wear this to work because my attire is not smart casual. I was somewhat disappointed. I had to get new pants.

The three of us stayed around and went shopping. Again. Surprisingly it wasn't that crowded in town. I'm sure people had the sense to not do last-minute shopping. There were sales but the best stuff had probably already been snapped up.

Thad, Stanley, Ness and I went to Nee Soon CC.

To play badminton. Thankfully it was a short walk from the train station. After this fateful day of exercise, everyone ached like mad, especially in the places such as the forearm, lower back and butt.

Yesterday, yesterday, was Nessie's birthday party. It's her 21st birthday today! (And Qiqi's on the 2nd Jan, Yue's on the 3rd Jan.) It was full of awesome food, alcohol (it had its own bar), wii and bubble balloon... things.

There would've been a somewhat presentable photo but I think Melvin was somewhat drunk (okay so he wasn't) and the photo turned out super blur and so it would've been pointless to post.

I realised that I missed out on OGL Kbox and Christmas with my cousins. Will post when there is time.

Yay for a frivolous photo entry. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Happy 2010 people!

Bridging the Gap

So on Thursday evening, after dinner and a tall glass of beer, I was very high. My friend had to leave (and get drunk again another day) and I took the train from City Hall to Woodlands. I suppressed to burst out giggling. My face was red and swelling with blood. I looked like the cuter, chubbier version of me. I concentrated on my handphone games to avoid people's stares. It was obvious that I was in a different world from them.

It was 12AM. Yay. Merry Christmas. I reached Woodlands, feeling kind of lost and still a little high. I withdrew 50 bucks from the ATM, trying to keep my balance while stumbling into 7-11 and I grabbed the cheapest beer I could find.

With my mp3 player plugged into my ears, I started walking to the Causeway by myself. It was dark and slightly spooky. I turned around more than once to check for people behind me, but with the alcohol pumping through my veins I was less concerned about my well-being than I should have been.

I was singing at the top of my voice as I passed Republic Poly, then huge roads with factories on one side, and Admiralty park on the other. There were many heavy vehicles and a bus park. The Chang beer tasted nasty but I gulped it down any way. I continued walking to the place where I used to go often when I was young. I haven't been back there in the past decade.

The view was a let down. There was construction going on. The air was still.

I continued walking, until my legs took me home. Thankfully my mp3 player lasted all the way, as the singers wailed their advice on life and love to me... it kept me going.

I needed to validate my existence. I need to learn that I am enough.

And keep a cap on my brashness and temper.

Are You Happy Now?

AltLife S01E07 - Money Honey

"What is the four-letter word that's everywhere this season?" asked Justin, smirking like The Joker.

"SALE!" snarled Rachel as her breasts rose to their fullest as she inhaled heavily from the exertion of carrying multiple shopping bags on each hand.

"Another year of retailers laughing their way to the bank!" said Justin.

"I wonder why people fall for it. Buying gifts for people who don't deserve them, receiving gifts they dislike... sounds like the perfect nightmare," I said, while calmly sipping my green tea.

"It's a battlefield! Go back to work bitches! There ain't enough space in the whole of Orchard for the whole country and their kids in strollers to be shopping. Half the population needs to die!" mumbled Rachel as she sunk her body into the couch. She dropped her shopping bags in a circle around her as if she was a Christmas tree.

"Oh, I'm so over this already. I bought presents for about 4 people one and a half months ago. No Christmas crowd. No sales, no crowd," declared Justin smugly.

"School children on holiday. Working people clearing their leave. And worst of all, those with bonuses to spend. I could barely get into Armani Exchange. What economic downturn? Non-existent!" snarled Rachel with the bitterness of an old war veteran.

I remembered a time when Christmas was supposed to bring out the good in people.

“So, how many of these are yours?” asked Justin, feigning innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” replied Rachel, feigning ignorance.

“I’m guessing the bag from CK contains cuff links for Justin and I. There seems to be an unusual number of bags from Guess and Kate Spade,” I observed. “Surely you bought something for yourself?

“They were whispering to me,” whispered Rachel. “Alright. Only two of the bags are presents. The other eight are mine.”

“And how many countries’ governments would be required to get you out of debt?”

“I maxed out one credit card,” whispered Rachel. Justin and I had our eyes wide open in a look of horror. “My bank account has dipped to never-seen-before lows! This is what credit cards are for! Times of emergency!” said Rachel defiantly.

“The silliest part of Christmas sales is that there will surely be a post-Christmas sale,” said Justin, rolling his eyes.

“I’m not having leftovers! And that’s that!” With that, Rachel stood up and marched into her room with her new conquests.

“Well, thankfully, we had the sanity to stay home,” I said, sipping on my green tea once again.

“IboughtanAgnesBbagfor400bucksyesterday,” confessed Justin.

“What?!”

“I feel bad and I just had to tell someone. Anyway,” said Justin, quickly changing the subject, “Hey Rachel! Gotten laid yet?”

“Shut up!” came a shout from the room.

“Awesome! I’ve got you the perfect Christmas gift!” hollered Justin proudly with a glint in his eyes.

From Batam

It's quite promising as a place for an affordable adventure. It's a great escape from being in Singapore, which is really too crowded. And I like how everything's unstructured, that the traffic is out to kill pedestrians. Everything seems different. And refreshing.

Looking Forward

With each passing year I feel my life becoming less structured. Maybe it's part of growing up and the freedom of choice that comes with it. What I make of my life and my time is a result of my decision. It's exciting and scary to discover what I want and not have to live by conventions nor the wishes of others.

I will spend the first half of next year interning at the Singapore Police Force. I enjoy being the "big fish in a small pond". It will give me the opportunity to learn and apply what I know with regards to New Media. The second half will be spent back in NTU. It will be my second-last semester. I wanna graduate and leave lecture halls and examinations behind.

I'm thinking of taking more tuition jobs next year. I've been slack this holiday and spending ridiculous amounts of money without earning any. I plan to diversify my sources of income. There's no better time to start and learn. I want to travel, to meet new people and have time and cash to finance my personal projects.

Health and fitness. Haha! I hope that I will have the determination to be consistent.

And writing. Hmm. I think I'll have to work on that too. I haven't really got a specific goal in mind. I don't know where it'll take me. All I do know is that I'll be doing a lot of it! I might end up spouting gibberish, writing a screenplay or short stories... I don't know exactly, but I will most certainly be writing.

As for my social life, I shall put in more effort and cherish the people around me and at the same time surround myself with people who inspire me.

From today till the 31st December, it'll be parties galore. When it all ends I want to feel energised and ready to take on another year. Not getting any younger. It's going to be the year of the Tiger again!

Weary

I look worn out recently despite not having exams/school nor work. I don't understand why I'm not feeling well rested.

Regardless, I was happy to spend a couple of days away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I think I'll take a trip down there again soon.

AltLife S01E06 - A Blue Christmas

"Christmas. Next Friday. Plans?" SMS-ed Justin.

"Go bug someone else," I replied.

"I take that as a no," said Justin as he swung the door open without knocking. I gritted my teeth and resisted the temptation to slam the door in his face. Justin, being Justin, strutted to my bed and sat down.

"They should put some fur on you and paint you green! You'd fit the part and win an Oscar," laughed Justin.

Silence.

"It's her, isn't it?" asked Justin, pointing at the photo frame on my table. Without thinking, I grabbed it and put it face-down.

Jasmine. The girl in the photo. Whom I broke up with two months ago. Technically, she broke up with me. Anyway, I spent the last 2 Christmases with her and her family. They were huge fans of Christmas. There would always be a huge tree. Stockings hanging from under the 42" LCD TV. And turkey. And mahjong with her sister and her boyfriend. We had a tradition going on and now, I had to find a new way to spend Christmas.

I preferred not to think about it. Holidays suck because they are iconic. You associate your past experiences with them. The memories are harder to erase. They haunt you every time the festivities comes around. It's when family and loved ones gather and smile cheesily at the camera for no other reason than it's Christmas Day.

Hell, there isn't even snow.

"There's only one place it belongs," commented Justin as he lifted the frame and calmly tossed it into the bin.

"So. What's the plan?" I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Happy Christmas drinks. You know, like Baileys. A lame gift exchange. Singing carols. Falling asleep while watching crappy TV programmes."

"Sounds good to me."

Looking Back

So I started this year talking about canvas and how I wished for a restart button every time something goes wrong. I'm rather satisfied what I've painted this year so I'm hoping to build on it instead of tossing it out.



The year didn't pass as quickly as I imagined and crazily enough it has been one of my most productive years. It's always been rather crazy how I managed to juggle hall life, school club and academic work. I've never been the best at it, but looking back, I'll never tell myself, "I wished I'd study more." I like it that I organised Wee Chill with Edwin, took photos for hall IHG and played volleyball for ISG.



In February I found myself drowning in commitment, gave up on hall a bit more and found my heart clinging elsewhere. I was feeling emo and down. The highlight was definitely coming in second for dance performed during the closing of Hall Olympiad. All the hard work and training paid off and I was proud of what we had achieved together.



March was slightly better. Maybe because I complained less and did more. It was still tough balancing my commitments with school activities, studies and tuition. I was trying to find optimistic me, who somehow got lost. There was Ros' play and Surf N Sweat. I also did the Fete Festival which was a crazy thing with tonnes of events in it. I also designed a collage for Hall that was complimented and then rejected.



After three crazy months, I decided that I was going to minimise and concentrate my efforts on stuff that mattered. I still sounded rather humourless in my entries. And the single thing that changed the course of things-to-come - I moved out of hall for the first time in 2 years. It was strange but it was for the better. I filmed by COM 225 (or was that earlier just that I blogged about that later?) I had more control of the way I lived my life even though I complain about staying in home all the time, I now operate on my own terms. Oh! And I organised a stayover at Sentosa for the seven of us! I think they deserve a blog entry on their own!



In May I started living once again. It's kind of weird. I finally felt alive after so long. Commitments were claustrophobic and they were all gone. I started doing silly things like getting myself injured while cycling from East Coast to Changi Jetty. I was forced to stay at home and leave my outdoor activities behind for awhile. I continued teaching, taking on my cousins yet again as they came back from Taiwan. I went for a Graduation. I took tonnes of photos because Lyon lent me his DSLR, especially those of Ubin and the Science Center. Qiqi and Yue Ting went to France, which turned out to be such a big deal for all of us later in the year.



In June I sort of got bored with sitting around. I got "cheated" of my money for those two months because I "invested" in something silly. Don't really want to go into that, but I was obsessed with making money to travel. And I've just got to share this video of Ellen Deneres giving a commencement speech at Tulane University. Inspiring. I felt a bit emo about the person I was and how hard it is for me to see past my anger at times. I also helped canvas for Hall 12 DND, knowing that I was going to leave. I knew I'd most probably be seen as the bad guy, but it was something that I had to do with my life (yes, I've seen that bitter blog entry about how I'm such a liar) and I was responsible enough to at least finish canvasing instead of leaving them high and dry midway. From photos I saw of the event, they've done well so I'm comforted to know that the event was a success.



In July there was reservist. I am done being bitter about it. I choose to remember the good stuff. Well, at least until next year. I also had an awesome holiday at Bintan.



August started. Hall called me back and I declined. I also caught up with my running and I have been running a lot ever since. It's the most consistent I've ever been since being in army. School started but I was in partying mode. That's right. I partied at Fort Canning with Lady Gaga. It was definitely one of the highlights of the year. And then there was Wee Ride, where we rode all night! I realised that the start of a new semester means lots of partying. There was also the school WKWSCI's DND 09 - Old Hollywood Glamour. And there was a lot of clubbing. More than usual. Frankly, that's the reason why I never get started on a semester proper.



September! Gosh finally I've reached the last quarter of the year! I acted for Lyon, and you can check out the video here. I also had a somewhat cringe-worthy performance in Melvin's film, Betrayal but yeah, I enjoyed myself and I helped a friend. I guess that's all that matters. And I think I've thrown the towel on acting. Haha! I wrote the funniest blog entry ever on Ris Low. She's so awesome she's now on the latest FHM. With school and tuition I was once again doing the balancing act, but I realised that it was much easier to cut down than to want more time, because that could never happen. Oh, and Britney released 3.



October was a crazy month of birthdays and parties. I love parties. And birthdays especially when it's my own. The 6 of them gave me a memorable celebration at Timbre. There were also many nice presents. There was also Pamy's birthday party, Christine's birthday party and Ness' Birthday Party. It's as if there's no more school I was stressed out my projects and tuition but my kids were about to graduate from me as it was PSLE month. I squeezed time to give them extra lessons and hoped that they'd do well. For many of them, it would be my last lesson with them. The month ended on a high when Philinh and Kimvy came all the way from France and we brought them around Singapore. I had tonnes of fun... gosh!



November. Aha. That's only last month. There were exams. But exams aren't the thing that you'll remember when the year ends. That's why I say you can't stop living your life just because there are exams. Granted, my lifestyle changed quite a lot. There was one week where I studied with Stanley every fucking day for 10 hours at the various libraries in Woodlands. Other than that I started my AltLife column. I've always enjoyed Jason Hahn's 8 days column on his adventures with Saffy and Amanda and I've been so inspired for the longest time. I've always known that I wanted to write something like that so I'm just experimenting with it for now and we'll see how it goes. November is also home to one of the most talked-about posts on my blog for like, all time - the Spreedom post. I post photos of myself without my shirt, nobody say anything. When there's a V-neck then everybody start jumping on my case! What is this!!!

And December... well, December is awesome so far. I've been doing a lot of writing. I've been reading up on personal development, as Christine so aptly said, relearning how to life live. I've been exercising a lot. I've secured my internship with Singapore Police Force. I will be going to Batam for a holiday. I'm learning more about Internet Marketing, which I find myself building a career out of. I've been shopping for Christmas although it'll probably be overrated.

I'm chill. And I'm happy. Guess there's nothing more I can ask for.

Thank you all for reading my blog. It's been a crazy year and I'm looking forward to a crazier one.

PS - it would be nice if you guys could leave notes on the blog so I could look back on them, rather than in the chatbox. Thanks! Also, thank you Weetz for always leaving comments. I really appreciate it.