Closed chapter

Hi all,

Today marks another chapter of my life closed. It's been about a year since I started blogging and I told myself that I'd only do it for a year. As such, I shan't be putting up any more posts after this. To all my readers and commenters, thanks for reading my blog and leaving your comments throughout this past year. It's been a wild one for me but at least I can say that I blogged for a season of my life. Haha...

With that, I bid adieu to the blogging world. Take it easy guys...

~Slick~

P & A Project (RAW)

I know my post title sounds like some kind of wrestling show but it's not. Last Monday night, Joel, Terence, Kit, Chester, Stephen, Jack, Tim and I were in church doing our first recording session. *applause* Now, I know we've recorded some stuffs in church before but what I mean by "first recording session" is that we came together for the sole purpose of recording a couple of songs. There was no service, no meeting, no event; Just us, the equipment and God.

What am I talking about? A few of us from the Plugged & Amplified (P&A) band have started a project in the area of recording songs which we always do in church. In case you did not know, the YDM worship team band is called "Plugged & Amplified". I'd also like to stress that this is not "my" project but rather God's project initiated by me. Also that this is just a project and not a ministry. Anyways, I digress.

It was a valuable learning experience to say the least. At first we took what seemed like forever just to set up and do a sound check and balance. Of course it's understandable since we are new at this after all and it's also harder when none of us are musically qualified. It's a progressive thing and the first step is always the hardest. Thank God the hardest part, i.e. getting started, is over. I don't expect to get things correct right from the very beginning but I do want to see some kind of improvement as we progress in this project.

A couple of weeks back, we had a visiting team of musicians from Singapore do a worship retreat for us and I'm reminded of something that was mentioned. "A recording is a good way to improve your skills both individually and as a team because it gives you the reality of what you actually sound like". In that respect, I'm not particularly looking forward to listening to our monday night recordings. Come on, we're all humans with egos after all. Sometimes we all think we are like this :

but are probably more like this :

Hahahaha... If it's one thing that bands struggle with, it's trying not to sound like they're just making lots of noise.

~Slick~

Second time around

I've seen this video before but for some reason, it's only funny to me the second time around.

~Slick~

?!?!?!?!

Just admit it people. I'm so cute...... >_<

(hold shift + click to enlarge)

~Slick~

Hands

Lots of people have told me that the fact that I have long and slender fingers with very smooth skin, makes my hands very feminine. Obviously, I'm not gonna agree that my hands are feminine because after all I am a guy despite what people may say or think but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. What do you think?

(Hold shift + click to enlarge)

~Slick~

Shove it...

I've always disliked people telling me what to do thinking that they know what's best for me when they don't even know me at all. So to 'you-know-who' who told me to 'you-know-what', you can just take that thing and shove it 'you-know-where'

~Slick~

The old and the new

Just abit of randomness that has been running through my mind ever since I saw this advertisement on tv. The line went like this "Try the all new Nescafe classic." For some reason, I'm the only person who finds that sentence totally funny in a stupid way. I mean c'mon people, that's like saying "Come on down and check out all our brand new second hand cars."

Anyways, I've been listening to The Beatles again lately and I re-remember why they were so good. Their songs are just so catchy. That's one thing that I'm currently looking into. How to write catchy songs. Writing a song is difficult enough but writing a catchy song is worse. Hmm...I guess nothing is ever as easy as it seems. What's worse is when people who can do things well tell people who wish that they could do it as easily as them, "It's really simple."

!@$%!!@@$#^Y@#^&#%&^**#$%$^7.........................................like heck it is


~Slick~

Day off

Today marks the 62nd annual-coming-into-this-world day of our sultan. For some of us, *cough* Frankie *cough* it's a headache but for most of us, it is a much needed break from work. Gosh, don't you just love public holidays? Haha... And my cousin from Canada is currently staying with me for the next 3 weeks. She's really fun and her name is Pamela or Pam for short.

Anyways, my day today was pretty productive but only from the afternoon onwards. I practically slept the whole morning away. Hehe... Like I said, a much needed break from work. I do wish that I woke up abit earlier tho cos the day might have gone abit differently if I did. Oh well...

Everything went quite smoothly at worship practice today. Not alot of technicalities but I do need to work out some kinks with the chords. Did I mention that I'm leading worship for church service this week? It's not new to me but I still am abit nervous. I don't think there's ever any getting over that.

I was really surprised that my cousin wanted to follow me to practice. Pleasantly surprised of course and interestingly enough, I found out that she's a grade 8 pianist. That's so cool. Anyways, I brought her out for dinner with the guys after practice and had a really good meal.

Overall, I guess it's been a pretty good day for me today.

~Slick~

Kiasu-ism

For those of you who don't know the first thing about "kiasu" people or being "kiasu" in life, here are the A to Z's of kiasu-ism :-

A - Always must win
B - Borrow but never return
C - Cheap is good
D - Don't trust anybody
E - Everything also must grab one
F - Free! Free! Free!
G - Grab first, talk later
H - Help yourself to everything
I - I first, I want, I everything
J - Jump queue
K - Keep coming back for more
L - Look for discounts
M - Must not lose face
N - Nevermind what people think
O - Outdo everyone you know
P - Pay only when absolutely necessary
Q - Quit while you're still ahead
R - Rushing and pushing wins the race
S - Samples are always welcomed
T - Take but don't give
U - Unless it's free, forget it
V - Vow to be number one
W - Winner takes it all!
X - X'tra means more for you
Y - Yell, if necessary, to get what you want
Z - Zebras are kiasu because they want to be black and white at the same time...

~Slick~

Is this it?

How is this happening? WHY is this happening? I thought that I did everything to make sure that it would not come to this but it's happening now and I'm powerless to stop it. I'm trying my best but it's not good enough; not worth enough.

This is wrong. This is not how things should be. A decision was decided, a declaration was declared and a commitment was solidified. All that happened when Rev. Johnny challenged us to stand. To boldly show that we would live to love God; live to bring Him praise; live as a child in awe of Him. There was a silence but then there was a stirring.

People stood...................













...................Is this the way we live to love God?

~Slick~

Welcome !

Hope you all like this layout. I'll welcome any criticism............................................. ....................................with a kick to the shins. Speaking of shins, a guy without any is called "Tony" (Toe-knee) *bada bish*

~Slick~

Revamp

I've been toying with the idea of shutting down my blog site for awhile now but now that I really think about it, it would be such a shame so I've decided to give it another shot. I will, however, want to make some layout changes to the site and revamp it abit so I welcome anyone with suggestions. Hehe...

I hope all of you can be patient until I've decided on the new layout. Tho, I doubt there are alot of ppl out there reading my blog anyways. HaaHAHhaahHAHhaaAHhaha...... why the heck am I laughing?

~Slick~

Special delivery

Santa came early this year. Check it! This is only the beginning.......kekekekekeke

*grin*

~Slick~

Pimple love

Random thought for the day:

Lots of people say that if you have a fairly big pimple on your face, it means that you're in love. I've always wondered the logic behind that saying and if there's any truth to it...


~Slick~

Update version 3.14159265359

It's been awhile since my last post because of 2 reasons:

1) Holiday in Phuket
2) My effin' e-speed has been acting up again

Anyways, just to update you people briefly on my trip to Phuket; It was extremely fun but also extremely tiring because I barely got 4 hours of sleep the whole time I was there. Tee hee hee... The night life there is just crazy, which is mostly due to the large sex industry over there. I wasn't surprised to see prostitutes and 'what-nots' everywhere because that's always been known about Thailand but seeing it in real life and hearing about it are two totally different things altogether.

The sad part of my trip was that it was only 3 days and 2 nights long. And to make things worse, I spent half the trip on an airplane. My flight schedule was Brunei-Singapore-Phuket-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-Brunei. Don't ask me why my flight was like that, it just was. Furthermore, I was detained by custom officers at the KL airport and not allowed to leave the airport because of my 'stateless' issue. Thank God that I was able to convince the officers and still make it in time for my connecting flight. But after all that, I think the trip was definitely worth it and I would probably do the whole thing again if I could. Hehe... =D

That's all for now.

My colleagues and I

~Slick~

A day in the life of me

Please read the instructions carefully before attempting:

1) Wake up - Always start by waking up to turn the water heater on; Lest you want to take a cold shower in the morning. Return to sleep after switching the heater on. An alarm clock which allows you to set two different alarm times is handy in this situation because it saves you valuable minutes in the morning which could be used for sleeping instead. *Warning!* Prolonged repetition may lead to a zombie like state when carrying out step 1.

2) Wake up (reprise) - For this step, an alarm clock with a "snooze" button is necessary. Once the device is in place you may use the afore-mentioned button to gain even more valuable sleeping time. This button may be used 2 to 3 times in a row..................or 7 to 8. Whatever... *Warning!* Using the snooze button too many times will result in hurriedness.

3) Shower (15 mins or so) - A shower in the morning refreshes the body and keeps it awake longer. **Note: Peeing in the shower, although gross, can help to keep the time spent on this step to a minimum. The same goes for brushing your teeth.**

4) Outer appearance - Start by laying out the desired clothes. Wearing underwear is optional as according to your preference. Put on the pants and belt before proceeding to fold the sleeves of your shirt. Gel your hair and then move on to facial care. Next, put on your shirt and end with tucking it into your pants. **Note: Be sure to check that your fly is closed before proceeding.**

5) Breakfast - Just skip it. *Warning!* Not eating may cause death...

6) Driving to work - Take a few mins to say a prayer before departing. If you are to drive like me, you're gonna need all the protection you can get. *Warning!* Traffic may cause boredom.

7) Work - Spend the next 4 hours answering phone calls, processing orders, typing emails, drinking water, going to toilet, filing documents, being scolded, making jokes, complaining, pretending to work and answering all of your boss' questions. **Note: Not necessarily in that order.**

8) Lunch - Meet up with certain people for lunch if they are available or skip it if they aren't. Return to work late.

9) Work (continued) - Refer to step 7

10) Driving home - Let out a sigh of relief at the completion of step 9 and take a few mins to say a prayer before departing. *Warning!* Driving at excessive speeds may result in a testimony at YDM.

11) Shower (leisurely) - Just as a shower in the morning prepares the body for the daily activities, so does a shower in the evening prepare the body for the night activities. Be sure to scrub every single part of your body and also to take a moment to admire your physique (or lack thereof)

12) Dinner - Refer to step 5

13) Night activities - This step is ad-hoc and will change from night to night. Common activities include going to the gym, hanging out at the mall, watching a movie, playing video games, blogging and worship practice.

14) Sleep - Ensure that your alarm clock has been set and turned on for the next morning before proceeding to facial care. Upon completion of facial care, double check the alarm clock and switch off the lights.

15) Start from the top again

~Slick~

Lazyness begets lazyness begets lazyness begets lazyness...

Lately I've been so lazy that if I was in a race for the world's laziest person, I'd finish last...... Have you ever gotten the feeling that you've got nothing to live for? Hmmm.....


~Slick~

"yuck" basses

Some basses that I would think twice about before buying them...








~Slick~

The horror of basketball

(hold shift and click pictures to enlarge in a new window)

It was the last point of the last game we were playing that night and the ball was in my hands. As the ball left my hands, I suddenly felt this sharp pain in my eye and immediately lost sight in my left eye. Apparently Mark Yapp, with his 'don't want to lose' style of playing, flew from across the court and managed to get a finger or probably two on the ball. Eyeball that is. All in all, my eye was cut and both internal and external bleeding occurred. I had to see a doctor (no pun intended) to patch up my eye in order to prevent any further infections.

I'm telling you, it sure sucks to not have sight in one eye. Living just becomes a chore. How I pity blind people, even if only partially blind. After 2 days, the patch came off but my sight was still abit fuzzy so I couldn't really drive. Many thanks to my buddies Frank and Ron for facilitating transport for me during this period. I really appreciate their help.

The funniest thing about this whole incident was that when Richard told me that Mark was joining us for basketball I said these words to him, "I don't have anything against him but it's just that every time he plays, somebody gets injured somehow." Haha... Who would've thought that person would be me. Irony can be such a bloody bastard sometimes.

Anyways, bygones be bygones. I don' hold any grudges against Mark nor do I seek to gain vengeance. Of cos that's not to say that I will play basketball with him again anytime soon. Least ways, not until my eye heals completely. I'm just really thankful to God that He did not take away half my sight. It just goes to show that we are not as invincible as we sometimes think we are. We do and always will need God in our lives.

~Slick~

My mind's telling me I'm tired.....

Yeah, I know that I haven't updated my blog eventhough the internet has been up and running again for awhile now but I've been crazy tired lately. I don't know what it is exactly that's sapping all my strength and energy but I really hope it doesn't last for much longer. Anyways, here are some highlights and lowlights(?) of the past week or so :-

Highlights

1) Ron's entrance into manhood - There was alot of skepticism about Frank and I pulling off another surprise party for Ron what with the whole 'Frankie fiasco' not too long before that but in the end we somehow managed to do it. Of course Ron would argue that we just barely managed to surprise him because of our bad acting that night. Haha... Little did he know that we were acting like we were acting terribly just to throw him off. =P I must say that Ron's reaction to the surprise wasn't quite as entertaining as Frank's wailing but it was still worth it to make his face red without the use of alcohol. Tee hee hee........

2) St Andrew's School Golden Jubilee - I did not attend the actual event held on 19th April 2008 but I heard that the response was quite good. I was, however, involved in the thanksgiving service held on the following Sunday at church. Singing in a choir is not easy but it's always a good feeling when your hard work and practice pays off. Although the service did go on a bit longer than expected and Tim pulled a 'Ben' (haha to you Tim), everything went quite swimmingly. Praise Jesus !

3) The I Heart Revolution - I managed to get the new CD from Hillsong United. It's called "With Hearts As One" and is basically a compilation of selected songs performed and recorded live at conferences in different parts of the world. It's pretty cool but I'd recommend it to you as a novelty item only (unless you're a die-hard Hillsong United fan)

Lowlights (?)

1) Family Wars: The Return of the Sister - So my sister is back and as far as I know, she's back for good. I'm not talking about my younger sister, Cassie, but Gen. She's my older sister; the one that I usually care not to talk about. For as long as I can remember we've never really been on talking terms much with each other but then again I am like that with my family so I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It's been less than a week and she's already managed to clog up the toilet drain with hair. Ick!

2) The horror of basketball - Have you ever defended someone only for it to come back and bite you in the behind? This is by far the worst injury I've ever personally experienced. Pics and story tomorrow. Hehe...

Anyways, that's all for now. I'm too tired to continue.

~Slick~