Truth in waiting

Sometimes I'm afraid I might one day forget what she sounded like, how she smiled, how she laughed, how she spoke, how she scolded us when she got back frm work, how she used to blow her nose like a trumpet every morn, the places she brought us to during spare time, the words she said... 

People say I look like her but I don't see that at all. She was fair with a radiant glow which went well with her good-nature, that attracted me to her.

"No man or woman can be too powerful or too beautiful without disaster befalling." [King Phillip to young Alexander, Alexander the movie]

or "Nothing is (or can be) perfect."

or maybe even "Good things never last."

Life needs the ups and downs. Seems that's how it maintains its balance. 

8 years gone, and she seems like another passing dream. Like I never met her, but the evidence is clear before my eyes when I look back at photographs. Everytime I have a memory of her, I plan to write it down.

"... our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds" [DCFC What Sarah Said]

What Sarah said. 

Love is watching someone die.

Death Cab For Cutie - What Sarah Said

What the world can't do without

Marine life.

Meet Ray. I wonder what happened to his fin.

(The Hoosiers - 'Worried About Ray'?)

I forgot his name but it's beautiful in its own scary way. 

That Japanese Spider crab. 

Sea Dragon. It moves slowly and gracefully with the water. And its sensitive to light, the only one on display with 'No Flashes' sign. But some tourists never read. 

The gelatinous beings with no heart. 

(The Killers -  I got Soul But I'm not a Soldier?)

3 lazy (or shy) sharks and a kepoh fish.

Dugong, he's cute in real life.

And the man we bumped into heehaw! Ghaz was doing an outdoor activity (sculpting) as part of his ADM class.

D'ohhhhhhhhh.

Stealing attention with their magnificence

No eyes, no heart. Meowww.

d-d-Disco Era

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

What stood out most for me about the disco era were the - roller skates!

The clip is from a film called Roll Bounce. A group of neighbourhood boys go to their local rink to skate (and practically rule it) just about everyday till one day it closes from running out of business. Heading to the Sweetwater Roller Rink, they realise their modest talents are not enough. 

The tricks and things in the show are wicked. But that's not why I wanna learn inline. Just that free willy feeling of cruising about. That is if I have (or can) learned doing it proper. 

Another tribute to them d-d-Disco days! A song originally sung by McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stopping Us Now.

Usher (Disco Ball 2003)

Michael turns 50

Michael Jackson - Come Together (Beatles cover)

"Michael Jackson's 50th birthday, a milestone that will likely be feted bymany a newspaper in need of a holiday-weekend feature hole and a lot of morning-radio shows dredging up old jokes about plastic surgery and hyperbaric chambers. Thinking about Jackson hitting the big 5-0 has actually made me think about how the whole culture of celebrity has changed over the course of his fame... (etc.) " [idolator]

Think he still dances like he used to? Guess not. Maybe after he's died they'll saw off his feet and auction it off for 6 - 9 figure sum. Hmm talk about foot fetish. I still love you Michael!!!

And you know Pixar's done it again

Pixar (short film) - One Man Band

I love you

All of you. The polar bears in the Mandai Zoo, my family, my friends, boyfriend, best friends, Knut, Ah Meng (bless his/her soul), Mirzan, Ronald MacDonald, Steve Jobs, Jared Leto, Roseminah Ali, the dolphins in Japan (my love goes out to you), the trees and creatures of the Amazon, Retro Rocket, Backstreet Boys, Ruzanna Jamil, Michael Phelps, Li Jia Wei, John Lennon (bless his soul), and the rest of the world. 

Sometimes you just need to cry a little, and everything is alright.

But nothing

So much to say but memory sucks. 

And sometimes I just like to wallow in misery and think everything in this world sucks. The thought I'm thinking these thoughts suck. I'm so optimistic I want to be pessimistic. Everything sucks. I'm saying all this cos I know it's not true. But that's me right now pessimist. Don't you just hate the world? 

Why can't i be a better sister or friend or girlfriend? My own existence irks me. get away. 

[deep inside she knows its all okay. there are people out there whom she loves very much and will do anything for and thinks they love her back] 

this sucks. i have to get out of pessimist mode its not making me feel better. 

[really deeeep down inside she's really happy and grateful about everything and everyone in her life an knows there's no need for all this blabbering] 

i feel like i hold back my emotions alot of the time when im very mad. and it sucks that feeling. to want to think ur very madbut u cant say cos you either think all hell will break loose if the monster in you comes out, or, it might just make the monster in the other person come out. and its not gonna be rpettty.

people, let's stop any traces of judgmental-ism running in our blood. it's so inhumanely... sinful. it does no good for me, no good for you. no good to think what you think is really going through the minds of others or what they really go through. imagination is a powerful tool but use it wisely. like they always say, too much of something is never good.

neever.. ever.. eever... ever.. er.. r....

I spy my little eye on

Really don't understand what some of the stuff means. But I want to learn inline skating more seriously now. Thanks to my first blading experience (and Lionel), and many bad falls, I started getting the hang of it being able to move on my own. 

I want to practice and save up to purchase my first pair so I can leisurely blade around places. Something I wanted to do since I was little. And the dream comes true at 21 yay!

Where were our PSPs at 5?

The story of a modern day 5-year-old who thinks it's absolutely normal to have every tech thing in the world at his age. He cares and he shares, but not when it comes to his tech things!

Hi, my name is Mimi. Recently Mama bought me a PSP. I'm very happy.

Boy: Hey ho what are you playing.

Mimi: A game, duh.

Boy: Let me see. I wanna play too.

Mimi: Bug off dizzle, you're in my wizzle.

Mimi: Pfffftttttttttt!!!

Tips here

Need tips on graphic designing, weight loss, money management, great FYIs, DIYs or even having fun? Dumb Little Man is a great place to go. 

Started by a man called Jay White who goes through the same problems as any human. While writing his experiences and their solutions he learned other people too had something to share and especially tips on facing different situations. So it became a place where people could chip in ideas and things they knew about diff. topics. It's a fun place to read stuff too. 

Among its many splendid articles, here's one

15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Don't Know About

by Abhijeet Mukherjee, of Jeet Blog

The internet boasts of accommodating tutorials to absolutely anything. Here are 15 such super-useful sites which aim to provide you with all the tutorials you'd ever need.

1. How Stuff Works
   How Stuff Works is probably the best known How-to tutorials site. It has has a vast and diverse collection with topics ranging from food, health, computers, etc. One of the best things about this site is that it explains even the toughest tutorial in a very simple and easy to understand language.
   


2. YouTube
   Surprised? Well, it shouldn't be if you use YouTube a lot. Yesterday my younger brother bought a new guitar and the very first thing he needed to do was to tune it. So he just logged on, went to youtube.com and searched for "How to tune a guitar". And there you go! He had a nice video explaining the process step-by-step.


3. eHow
   eHow is another comprehensive tutorials website with detailed instructions on how to do just about anything. Like How Stuff Works, this site also covers a wide range of topics.


4. About.com's Video Tutorials
   About.com's video tutorial site has a collection of very informative how-to videos and screencasts on topics which include Parenting, Style, Electronics and Gadgets, etc. I found the collection to be very comprehensive and probably better than You Tube's collection of similar videos.


5. wikiHow
   wikiHow, as it says, is an editable How-to site with 40,100 articles contributed by volunteers from different parts of the world. You're sure to find some nice tutorials here too.


6. Instructables
   Instructables is a cool Do-It-Yourself site that has an extensive collection of user submitted how-to articles and easy instructions complete with videos and photographs. It's a community driven website where you can submit content, vote and comment on existing content.


7. Wired's How-To Wiki
   Wired magazine's how-to wiki has some very elaborate and detailed tutorials focussed primarily on topics like Gadgets, Technology and Computers. You can also subscribe to its RSS feed to get them the new how-to articles directly in your feed reader.


8. PC World's How-to Site
   PC World, one of the best tech journals available, also has a how to site that publishes technology focused tutorials related to various electronic gadgets, hardware and software applications.


9. VideoJug
   When it comes to how-to video tutorial sites, VideoJug is probably the largest and most comprehensive. It has videos on varied subjects like choosing a new hairstyle, playing golf, installing windows or how to kiss someone passionately.


10. W3Schools
    W3Schools is a first class web development tutorials website which provides easy reference guides on languages like HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript. All the tutorials are free and nicely explained through various examples.


11. NETTUTS And PSDTUTS
    NETTUTS and PSDTUTS are sister sites, in fact blogs, and definitely one of the best online resources on web development and Photoshop skills. NETTUTS explores web development and designing in detail while PSDTUTS provides some world-class Adobe Photoshop tutorials.


12. 5min
    5min is a video tutorial site with a difference- the videos are short and no more than 5 mins. Like other video sites, this too covers a wide range of topics, however it's yet to take on sites like VideoJug in the online video tutorial space.


13. SuTree
    Sutree aggregates the best video tutorials from other video sites and covers a variety of topics like softwares, games, pets & animals etc. Like instructables, SuTree is also a community driven website and lets you find videos through tags and subscribe to the RSS feed of the site.


14. VTC
    Although VTC is not entirely free to use, it does provide some nice tutorials on software and business applications. Out of around 66,000 tutorials, it provides 12,500 for free.


15. Good Tutorials
    Good Tutorials has a nice collection of graphic design tutorials which it aggregates through various web design sites and blogs. And yes, it's free to use !

So overall, with the exception of VTC, all the other sites are completely free and can certainly fetch you any tutorial you can ever imagine. Hope you enjoy using them. :)

Cheers,

Abhijeet

[edit: 1 more contributed by Matt]

Monkey See

Monkey See was launched in January 2008, providing free access to a large collection of professionally-produced, high quality, how-to videos on a wide range of topics presented by experts. Tagline, See how the experts do it.

I miss you la

Cos

sometimes it can drive away your only source of comfort

that S word

sometimes it sucks being so sensitive.

We love coffee generation!

I absolutely love coffee. I know alot of people do. I have to have it almost every morning. The process of making it is as exciting as sipping it. Everyone does it a different way. I usually use the 3 in 1 packs cos I'm lazy and 3 in 1 packs are made for lazy people. 

The excitement begins when I pull 2 golden sachets out of the bag, rip it open, and tilt it into the mug and watch as showers of golden brown and white powder reach the bottom. 

I take the thermos and pour in hot water slowly watching as the powder transform into a milky brown brew, steam rises, and aroma fills the nostrils. Mmmm mmm. 

I take a spoon and mix the brew in slow circles, listening to the soft tinkle as metal meets glass. Then take a sip. You know it's a perfect morning. 

Is coffee really a cup of heaven? Or a cup full of diseases waiting to attack? 

Some reading material:

Inkling: Coffee - Friend or Foe?
Dumb Little Man: The Pros and Cons of Coffee Drinking

Roisin Murphy - The Closing of the Doors

Kampong Jared

Habitat for Humanity - Malaysia 06/08/08

with pakciks and makciks

Death Cab For Cutie in town!

[photo: Nikki Ormerod]

We got top seats at the Concert Hall of the Esplanade. And I do mean all the way at the top on the 4th level (but it's okay cos I didn't pay for the tix. oops! :X). There was this exciting atmosphere surrounding us as everyone started getting into a chatter abt when the band would be out, looking at the DCFC shirt they just purchased, what songs they might sing.

A single ppurple spotlight shone onto the stage illuminating the instruments. Soon darkness fell and everyone screamed. Even me! When I didn't know what was happening at all.

They have arrived!

"Thanks for coming... we didn't think anyone would come at all."

From where we were sitting, the band almost looked like ants. But their presence on stage and the music blaring in the ears was enough to remind us that they were playing a helluva show. 

Got to love the way Ben moves. It was like a half shuffle, half sway. He's lost a good amount of weight too. He used to be plumper. Turns out he's vegan and things now. Good for him.

Overall it was a great show, great time, great music, great company. That's all that matters.

PA PAAAA, THIS IS THE SOUND OF SETTLING, PA PAAAA PA PAAAAAA

Good day

Angels and Airwaves - Good Day

Girl of my dream

You know in dreams when you sense something good or bad is gonna happen when you see someone or something and they really turn out that way.

I was in a car in a carpark (with someone mysterious as the driver). I just entered the car, am about to close the door. Suddenly a girl appears next to my door and she doesn't let me close it.

For a moment I'm thinking she's a spirit who's ready to eat me. Then I think she's a robber who's gonna rob me.

I get out of the car.

We stand face-to-face and she looks a little scary from my 'current' knowledge of her being a robber. But suddenly I thought of her being a lonely, love-starved girl and maybe that's why she's been trying to get my attention. 

I wrapped my arms tight around her, she just fell limp into me and cried away.

SO FUCKED

dude i'm so effing pissed now.. so many things but i don't know what.. fr once you dont wanna hold it in again but just throw that fist on the wall

Pre-Nat day gig

In our group of "backstage" people, there were only 4 of us. I was nervous at first cos I've never gone to like a 2-day work gig on my own before. I had to start somewhen anyway. But things went great. It started with a pretty mundane but turned out okay job of ensuring all the wrist lights, which will go in the goodie bag, work. Macham factory workers, some unpacked, some checked, some repacked.

What we were doing isn't the main Nat day that would be happening at the floating platform. Ours was one of those "heartlands" Nat day events where random Nat day shows were ran in different parts of SG. So ours was at the "sinking Padang" courtesy of Young Ntuc. We managed to catch the rehearsals which I have to say was pweety good. Since it was under young ntuc, the dancers were young like teenagers and mostly malays. And two girls caught my eye. Their dancing wasn't like super spectacular but I just liked the way they moved and everytime they started moving to the beat I had to watch.

It just felt like a nice moment to share with a friend. We're out in the open, with sooo much space around you, it's starting to darken but stage lights illuminate the place a little here and there, the sky looks superb, the buildings glow, and a soft breeze accompanies. I didn't care if it was for Nat day or not. It justfelt nice.

Uniform for the day [9/8/08] is a lime green tee! if only it was glow in the dark that would be fun. 

Them good 'ol English sayings

When I was 14, I thought English proverbs and idioms were only phrases I could use to help me ace my English Language exams. And I did with proper usage of it in my compositions. 

Now, I depend on them almost everyday to keep me in the righter path and the righter state of mind. Of course not blindly, but if there's logic to it there's no harm in believing in it. Especially if it makes you feel better after a difficult situation. 

What I like about it is there are so many different sayings that cater to different situations. It feels like every saying has a special purpose depending on how people view it and use it. But what's fun about it is when you're in a certain situation, and somebody says a saying thats very closely-related to the situation they are/have been/going to be in, then suddenly the group feels this great uplift of enlightenment. And I think that's the magic of proverbs, that moment of enlightenment.

So I thought I'd share some here once in a while and hopefully help others get through their day as well. 

(note: the proverb meanings may not exactly agree with your prior knowledge and what you know it to be, but the ones here are based on a tiny bit research, prior knowledge, my thoughts, and a tinier bit of logic)

Proverbs of the day:

Each day brings its own bread

Try not to worry so much about the future

[perhaps it also suggests enjoying the company of that 'bread' while you have it cos when a different day comes, its a whole different one]

After a storm comes a calm

Things cannot stay in turmoil forever, calmer times will always follow

Have a good day ahead. 

Karen & Jared - MTV Asia Awards 2008 interview