What a year in 2010!-The Report Card

I wonder how many of you feel the same way about 2010. In a way, it has been a bittersweet journey, for I made a film, graduated, went to work (as an intern la) and found myself unemployed. And in that same period, went to Japan TWICE, Malaysia, Cambodia and Australia, and also went through so many experiences of life, so many firsts and I am just overwhelmed.

2010. What a year.

I just like to present a short report card, for my future self, in case I get Alzheimer's, because right now, I forgot how I spent last year's countdown. But thanks to this blog, I got my facts. (Last year I spent the evening with Sivalingam.) Note to self: This year, I spent it with Leanne, chasing fireworks and playing with sparklers.

So, here goes.

Best Moment Ever in 2010:

Standing backstage at the Float, during the YOG opening ceremony, and watching the sky burst into colours, shapes and magnificence. Buildings across the Singapore River shot tiny streams of green and blue into the sky, which exploded into bursts of light. Many, many, many times. The amount of fireworks burned into my retina that night was enough to last me (I daresay) a lifetime.

Stupidest Moment Ever:

Putting my bedsheets into the washing machine in a sleepy stupor, without realising that my brand new Nokia E71 crept in as well. It was massacred, with detergent no less, rinsed and then tumble- dried for 20 over minutes. By the time we found it, it was too late. The phone never recovered and was laid to rest immediately.

Surprisingly, the SIM card was still functional. Strong!

Stupidest Moment Ever #2:

Having to tell people how I lost their numbers because I put my phone in the washing machine.

Most Special Prayer:

It was for this Grandma in Cambodia. She complained of a headache and some pain in her body. It was also probably the first time I had to pray for someone, and it was special, because I was desperately crying out for God to heal her. After the prayer, she didn't open her eyes and stood still. I was so afraid that she died or something. Oh no! I thought to myself. Is she okay?

Thank God, she was okay. She opened her eyes after we sat her down, probably too weak to stand for long.

And she told me her headache disappeared afterward. Praise the Lord!

Most Special Prayer #2:

My secondary school friends are a special group of people who are dear to my heart. When there was an "assignment" by my cell group leader to get together with friends and catch up, to pray for them if necessary, I jumped at the chance. One of my friends, she's really cute. She asked for God to help her lose weight. But specifically, 1kg at the left arm, 1kg at the right arm, 2kg at the stomach, 1kg each for each of her thighs. (Did I get it right? Haha) Meticulous. And so cute!

Worst Moment Ever:

When I had to give this grown up Caucasian man 3 technical fouls for throwing consecutive insults at me. After the game, he came to me, argued with me and at the same time, insulted my integrity again. My reply? "Go learn how to be a basketball player before you try to teach me to be a referee."

Worst Exploitation Ever:

When in making a short film, the shared budget included having to pay for the cigarettes of the director.

Most "I Feel Old" Moment:

When Ros taught Adrian, Cathy and I the dance steps to our self-produced mini-musical at a corner of *scape Youth Park. We chose a secluded corner so we would not feel too embarrassed near the aura of all the Shakiras and B-Boys who were practising there as well.

Most Memorable Gift:

A small pink container, with the hand drawn picture of a little girl flying a kite, with her bicycle parked at the side.

Most Memorable U-turn:

The one I keep missing. It's at this road near Sengkang McDonald's, somewhat hidden to the naked eye until it is too late, and yes, it gives me fond memories. Fond memories indeed.


I could go on and on, but I think I'll stop while I'm ahead. Ups and downs, lefts and rights, firsts and seconds, I have nothing but thanks and gratitude.

To an awesome 2011!

It's just a jump to the left

If you're not into the classics, and I'm talking B-Grade, campy classics, you've probably never heard of the weirdest musical ever, which is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, made in 1975, which became one of the longest running midnight feature show in cinemas.

Their songs will get to you soon enough. If not, your sister thrusting her pelvic, singing "Let's do the time warp again" will.



Plus, it's coming to Singapore soon as a musical!

What's Left Of My Youth

These pictures.

A Time of Giving

'Tis the season for Christmas carols once again. Yesterday, church service started with a rousing rendition of Joy to "The World", and I ended my day with a cell group party and "Jingle Bells".

Ah yes, time to warble out the familiar "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", "Silent Night" and my personal favourite, "O Come All Ye Faithful".

And while Christmas is around the corner, my church celebrates Thanksgiving, or should I say Tensgiving concurrently. Hence, 'tis the season for giving thanks for the past year. And looking back, for me, there's definitely more to give thanks for. The opportunities to go to Japan, Bible Camp, Cambodia, more recently Australia, and the Youth Olympic Games. These are landmarks in my 2010 calendar, and each event, some more than others, have been trying. But, we got through that, and when I say "we", I mean the people who's ventured into 2010 with me.

Well, an important lesson I learnt yesterday was Bible Mathematics, you get more by giving more. Oh, and how true it was, for after sending 6 people home in the Car last night at 12midnight, I found that the nearest parking lot to my flat lift was vacant. Which. Was. Very. Rare.

Oh, the joy of giving!

Vintage is the New Old.

(Haha.)

At first glance, these are beautiful vintage advertisements. But, for old things?

Maybe not.










See more of such ads at http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/vintage-advertisement-of-modern-technology/

I love that website.

Cow of the World

Found this on ffffound.com. Probably blogged and reblogged and then reblogged and found its way to... well, none other than ffffound.com.

Cool cow.

I'm in a state emotional distress these days. Not because of myself or the things around me, but because I've been assigned to do a special photo slideshow for somebody as a freelance job. It's a very different kind of slideshow, and based on the premise of why it has to be made, it's a bit of an emotional ride.

Well, I guess there's always an emotional ride when you're in this line.

But I'm okay, because there's another video I have to do for another person who is quite the opposite of this other video.

Confused right?

Nevermind.

Yesterday, Charlene and Amanda came to my house and became the very first people to play my brand new set of CLUEDO!

Alright, enough of randomness. Sorry, I'm just waiting for my video to be exported.

When 2010 comes, I gotta get my ass up and find myself a job!

The Facebook and iPhone Connection.

To complement his spanking new iPhone 4, my dad decided to get a Facebook account.

Australian Animals

When you go on vacation, you see and you shoot.

Some were shot by me, some by my brother with a Canon 550.




Birds looking at the horizon at Broad Beach, Gold Coast.



Seaworld's Imagine, a new dolphin show.






Free Willy, dolphin-style



Look ma, no hands!



Hello Everybody!



Synchronised Diving.



Whatcha looking at, punk?



A Pony at Lone Pine Koala Santuary, Brisbane.



Kangeroo's on vacation too.



Be good now.



Papa, that's animal abuse.



Sleepy Koala Bear.



Eh?



He's got no worries at all.



Seaworld, Gold Coast. My nose itch.



Just out for a swim.



Seal police!



Are you scared?



Baa baa black sheep with no wool.



Squid.



My favourite shot! Hello Stingray.

Almost Done Down Under

I'm in another internet booth at the hotel reception area, have just popped in $2, and I have exactly 17 minutes and 1 second left for my internet usage.

The days seem to go fairly fast. It's nearly time to go home. Somehow, being here with my family feels so different from being anywhere else with the travel mates. The keyword is "patience".

Also, it's been raining everyday. On my birthday, yesterday, today, since we landed. To think I thought that I could escape the rainy monsoon season in Singapore. How wrong am I?

Just an update, I'm currently in Brisbane, and there isn't much to do here. We went to the Lone Pine Koala Santuary just now because we trudged through the entire city and found that Chinatown was as dead as ____ (insert famous dead celebrity).

Believe it or not, I've taken the role of tour guide on this trip, since none of the younger siblings seem to know (or want to, for that matter) how to read maps, bus guides, brochers. My younger sister is good at reading brocheres, but only a specific kind. Outlet Shop brochers, that is. Harbour Town, DFO, so on and so on, she pounces on them everytime we get to a new place. As for my brother, he gets the vote for the one most likely to get lost in a new city. My dad is good at navigation, but his command of English is not strong enough, and he ends up laughing at Caucasians for looking like Polar Bears. He says old Caucasians look like Koala Bears. Well, it's a little discriminatory, but for my dad, seeing too many Caucasians in a week has taken its toll on his mental state. (And well, if you look closely, they do sort of share some resemblance.)

And my mum. My mum is classic. She complains that the people in Aussie speaks too fast, and she has trouble catching on. Somehow over the course of the past few days, whatever I said also gets jumbled up and comes out differently. Correcting her is now an event that happens daily.

But you know, it's still good. Family time is good. We haven't gone anywhere together since 2 years ago, and we never get together much since everyone is so busy. Hence, it's good.

I'm gonna be right back before you know it!

Phones Way Too Cool For This Age

Read more and see more futuristic phones at: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/30-futuristic-phones-we-wish-were-real/

Angry Bird

Well if you pardon the language, it's quite a funny parody of a very fun and popular game.

AWAY FROM 30th Nov to 7th Dec.

See above.

Going to be frolicking in Australia's beaches, screaming atop roller coasters, marveling at the Opera House, and trying to maintain family sanity at the same time.

Down Under, here I come.

The New Phone

I have gotten my new phone. In fact I am typing on it. It's black, bold and it's not an iPhone.

An iPhone 4 is no longer cool.

I was looking for a mobile phone to purchase, since I have been working quite hard with my unofficial full time job- refereeing. Every piece of the moolah has been earned with blood and sweat, not so much blood, but believe me, a lot of sweat has been involved. Just ask my mum who has to wash my uniform and pants.

So, basically, in this era where Steve Jobs is literally the iKing of coolness and turtlenecks, of course my first option will be an iPhone 4. But, a few weeks back, a referee who is around 50ish was spotted carrying the phone. No offence, but you know how the older folks look when they try to use their fingers to swipe the phone, pausing in between swipes so they can lower their eyes on their spectacles to get a good look on the words.

It was a minor setback. Many other people still use it, right? Like University students, like teenagers, like kids.

But today, oh boy, today, I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer cool. My own Dad whipped out his shiny new phone, and just by looking at the contours, I hyperventilated and screamed "YOU HAVE AN IPHONE 4?".

(The hyperventilation is an exaggeration.)

"Ya." He answered. "Even Uncle Sim have wad. Raja (the Indian national working at his company) also have."

Nooooo. No. No. No.

The definition of coolness lies in its exclusivity, in how it oozes uniqueness. When I saw my Dad's iPhone, there were 3 other iPhone 4s around, and one other iPhone 3Gs which looked sad and out of place. When there was a ringtone (somehow all their ringtones are the same- did Steve Jobs have anything to do with it?), everyone young and old reached out for their phone. The young felt for the vibration, the old put the phone to their ear to make sure it was theirs. It was an iPhone party. (I wanted to say orgy but old folks and orgy don't go well together I'm sure)

And it led me to think immediately, "Now how about a Blackberry? Or a HTC?"

The Japan Diaries- To Cycle at Mount Fuji

Not literally cycling up in the mountain, as the title might suggest, but rather, at the lake near the majestic ice-capped mountain.

After departing from Hammamatsu, we took the Yokohama metro line to a station near Mt. Fuji, and changed trains, after some confusion. We squeezed into the Fuji Express, a short train with vivid paintings of Mt Fuji as a caricature, with a lovely smile and two button eyes, with other tourists (mostly Caucasians). 10 minutes into the ride, we saw the real McCoy in the distance, standing there tall, bathed in a dreamy white top.

When we reached the train station, we could see the entire mountain in its glory. Some people had told us that being able to see the mountain is a matter of luck. The very next day, when we returned to take the train to Tokyo, the place was shrouded in such thick fog that the huge mountain was wiped out from the sky. It looked as if it was never there.

Since it was nearly Summer and the ice was melting, it was considered unsafe to climb the mountain, or rather a dormant volcano. So we didn’t. Instead, we embarked on a stress-free cycling trip round one of the five lakes near the mountain for that day. No hassle, no city sights, no rushing. It was just us, the rental bikes, and a large volcano in the background.

In the evening, we went to the Onsen (hot spring) near our hostel, K House Mt Fuji. Having spent 10 days with each other already, we were quite comfy at the Onsen, even if it means having to see everybody (by everybody I mean females) naked.

Yes you read it right. But don't get any funny or dirty ideas. It's really liberating. After you've seen the 10th, 20th, 30th naked girl around, you're so used to it that you'll probably find it strange if someone walks in with clothes on. It makes me wonder how Singapore might have been if there is ever an "onsen" here. Maybe censorship laws will relax. Maybe everyone will relax.

We spotted the most famed Japanese volcano in the train. So pretty.

And we reached Mt Fuji Station. See cute train behind.

This is K's House Mt Fuji. A very, very nice hostel. This is the common area.

We went cycling!

And threw rocks. So happy.

Next up, look out for our Tokyo Hostel Horror. Ok, it wasn't much of a horror, but it is a traveler's top nightmare. Choosing a WRONG hostel.

My ride is back.

Jughead: Hey Arch, I noticed your car has no windshield wiper. How come?

Archie: Simple Jug, no windshield.

Oldies, goodies.

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen): [narrating] Maybe I finally found it, way down here in the mud. Maybe from down here I can start up again, be something I can be proud of, without having to fake it, be a fake human being.

That was the last line in the 1986 movie, Platoon, by Oliver Stone. Refreshing to see a really young Charlie Sheen and William Defoe.

Oldies are indeed goodies.

Lazy Sunday

After a bangin' Saturday night where I accidentally damaged the Rush's rear window and spent 15 minutes literally picking up the pieces, the glass pieces, that is, I woke up late on Sunday and missed morning service.

But I resolved to go to church, and went for evening service in a bus. Now I know church is 1 hour away. Anyway since almost everyone in cell attends morning service, I thought that I'll probably only see Yunhui. To my pleasant surprise though, Lea, Sheila, Lu Jia came for evening service as well! Praise the Lord for a wonderful evening. Shannon, Ruth and Roman, as well as Geri (wonder if I spelt it right) were also there and we went for a nice dinner at the kopitiam before I went home. Plus Roman made a dessert from goat's milk which he let everyone try, and Yunhui also let us try cookies that her school kids made for a fundraising event.

With all that (free) food, I wonder if I should switch to evening service... hmm...

Haha! Just kidding.

Why I love to play taboo so much.

Sean: You pass it in the toilet!
Everybody: Motion!

Me: You play it using your body!! Your body!!
Everybody: ??? Harp?
Answer: Violin.

Grace: (after hearing my above description, in another round) You play it using your body!!
August: Harp!
Correct.

Felily: If you leave me now... you'll take away a part of me.. woohooohoo.. who sang it?
Sam: Chicago!
Correct.

Me: What Ji Sung?
Sam: Park!
Correct.

Sean: The white white one! Round round one! Can eat!
Evan: Lychee?
Wrong.

Felily: I do this every night in Shanghai!
Joyce: Mop!
Wrong.

Felily: I what the windows?
Joyce: Mop!
Wrong.

Amanda: Dee, you have a what in between your teeth?
Me: Gap!
Correct.
Me: Eh, I don't have a gap in between my teeth leh.

And the best one.

Sean: I want to be a what when I grow up?
Everyone: Teacher! Doctor! Successful!
August: Adult!
Sean: The answer is career.
August: Huh? I don't want to be a career when I grow up...

Sesame Street has changed. Really changed.

I haven't watched a single episode of Sesame Street in years! So imagine my pleasant surprise when I went to youtube just to search for some celebrity music video and found....

ALL OF THESE AMAZING and HILARIOUS CLIPS!

Katy Perry sings "Hot and Cold" with Elmo!



Ben Stiller is a cheese in Sesame Street



Norah Jones "Don't Know Y". Yes the letter Y.



Sheryl Crow soaks up the sun with "i"



"I is gonna soak up the sun." I have so many thoughts about that in Sesame Street.


Jason Mraz sings "I.... can't wait to go outdoors".



And just to go back to the past, live from Sesame Street, it's.... NSYNC!

I've got a fascination for historical figures.

In the East, there was a dictator called Chairman Mao.

In the West, his name is Hitler.

Poppin' DVDs

I haven't done the following in a long time, which is to watch movie after movie after movie. 3 to be precise. I bought 4 films yesterday and finished 3 of them. The last time that I sat on my chair till my butt hurts was when I watched The Godfather Trilogy 2 years ago, in 3 days.

First was National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets. I'm a sucker for adventure stories.




Then Inside Man by Spike Lee, which was quite a nice surprisingly humorous thriller about a perfect bank heist. And smart too.



Lastly, it was the show I've wanted to watch since I was in Junior College (I think). The Motorcycle Diaries, a story about Ernesto Guevera and his friend traveling cross country from Argentina to Peru with just a motorcycle. Reminds me of my dear FYP film, but of course, this film is much, much, much richer in terms of content and visual cinematography.



Ernesto Guevera, who saw much poverty and the ill treatment of capitalist landlords towards peasants in this account, would later be the most famous icon on our tee shirts. He became the revolutionary Che Guevera in his later years.



Oh, I wish I could just keep watching DVD after DVD, but I'm fast running out of money-- and the shows at the box office arn't much of an attraction at all.

Eh, maybe I shall revisit my Godfather trilogy. That might work.

Freelancing Sounds Cool.

Free.

Lancing.

Freelancing.

Doesn't it sound like the best job in the world?

A few friends, 3 to be exact, sent me emails of temporary video jobs one after another, which set me thinking.

Granted, it doesn't have medical or dental benefits, so if I have another wart growing out of me or another toothache, it's just too bad.

But it's flexible. And the best part is, you probably get to work from home. Imagine! No more having naps in the office toilet after lunch!

What a radical idea!

Nice Show.

The Japan Diaries- Hama Hama Hammamatsu!

Hammamatsu is here!




The other kind of couchsurfing.





Tucked away in the nether regions (by nether, I mean lower) of Japan is the small town of Hammamatsu.

Hamma what?

Hamma-matsu.

Even some Japanese, mainly the Tokyo-ians, Osaka-ians, and Kyoto-ians, have never heard of this place. However, by a stroke of luck, we managed to find this small idyllic seaside town on the vast cyberspace while doing our trip research. Even better, as if it is God's will, well, come to think of it it IS GOD'S WILL, we found a person on couchsurfing.org who is willing to open his house to all 5 of us in that very town.

The small city of Hammamatsu is an industrial hub, where the factory of Yamaha is located. Most of the town's population work there, including the person who hosted us. To showcase their "musical" side, their tallest building, which is 40 stories, is shaped like a harmonica. Well, that's what it says in the wiki travel guide. When we arrived and spotted the tallest building, it looked odd but hardly like a harmonica. Maybe we lack the imagination the Japanese have.

We reached Hammamatsu in the afternoon, after underestimating the time taken to get from Masa's to the train station in Osaka, and so had to wait for another train. (Which caused me to get into a bad mood because I was the transport IC. Sorry girls!) After we managed to squeeze all our huge backpacks into the lockers at the train station, we had a lazy afternoon window shopping and chit chatting at the local Japanese Starbucks outlet. Yuji, the guy who hosted us, only ended work at 6pm, so we could only go to his apartment after he'd returned home. It was the first time we tried couchsurfing, i.e staying at a complete stranger's house for free (but we bought gifts), and were a wee bit scared.

However, our fears were unfounded. Yuji was a very nice guy (with a Singaporean girlfriend too!) and he is a Christian in an international church. He spoke very good English. On the first night, we sang a lot of praise and worship songs in his apartment. His very cool apartment. It was quite obviously a bachalor pad, overlooking a really huge lake, with a bedroom, a kitchen and a small living room, all nicely and tastefully decorated. He even said on good days, you could see Mount Fuji directly from his window.

Most of all, he liked our gifts of Ba Kua and Kaya very much. He loved the Lim Chee Guan ba kua.

He showed us to our room, (not the couch, but a room) and it was a small room with some space in the middle. He gave us 2 thin mattresses, some blankets and pillows, which we laid on the floor and tried various formations to fit all 5 of us. In the end, we were no more than 10cm apart from each other when we went to sleep at night. Felicia, being the lightest sleeper of us all, didn't manage to get any sleep at all.

The next day, we went to explore the more earthy side of Japan. After all the urban skyscrapers and Matsumoto Kiyoshis (Japan's equivalent of Watson's), we finally caught a nice breath of nature. And breathe we did, for we hiked up a hill trying to find the Musical Museum which overlooked another huge lake, all while singing olden pop songs at the top of our voices. In the end, entry to the Museum was not cheap, and so we went back down. It was a nice, slow day and I remembered that we ate our dinner outside- which led to Yuji being a little sad. He was waiting for us to come eat dinner with him.




Yuji and us, on the last day. Felicia's eyebags were getting heavier when we left.


The very next day and the last day in Hammamatsu, we made it a point to eat dinner with him. We talked about the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, and he suggested we watch one of his favourite Ghibli Studios film- Castle in the Sky at home. For those who don't really know, Ghibli Studios is the biggest movie animation studio in Japan. They produce movies like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and most recently, Ponyo By the Cliff By the Sea. So after a day of strawberry picking and limestone cave exploring, we were back at his apartment, helping him out as he cooked up a feast. Then it was time for the movie! At first, we were thinking how he'd play the movie, since there was no TV in the living room. He merely pulled down the white blind that covers the balcony door, then from the kitchen cupboard came a beam of light. He had a gaming console that could play DVDs, and he used a projector. Such space saving brilliance!

Sad to say though, yours truly had a dreadful bout of food coma, and was struggling to stay awake throughout the entire film in oh-so-deadly-comfortable living room.

But, come to think of it, it was a really good couchsurfing experience. It shows that we all can be nice, even to unknown strangers. There is hope in this world yet.



In the Fruit Park after picking strawberries.



Emo shot while waiting for the train as we leave the Fruit Park.



The sunset from Yuji's house. On a clear day, you could see Mount Fuji.