The war of the worlds

Watched that movie yesterday. Shows some castatrophic-apocalypsal shit about aliens (Martians prob.) invading Earth and burning everything to a cinder. As expected.

"Where did that thing come from, Europe?" -A Character

It is trying to reflect how, Man, the proud master of Earth, could be so easily felled in such a short time by the sudden alien invasion.

Spoilers: do not read the next few paragraphs. -------------------------------------

The aliens beam down to Earth via space capsules storing the operators of huge machines buried deep in the ground a long time ago ("these machines have been here for millions of years!") via some EMP storm shit, then u know, get to ground level with their machines and start to pillage and burn (literally vaporize) the humans who view them with awe and fear. (Could have been a good vehicle for GTA Vice City, where you really get pissed off with the darn police and you have 8 stars - Alien Tripod). Cos everything the humans throw at it, bullets, tank shells, Longbow rockets, bazookas, (haven't try nuclear warhead yet) is deflected off by some stupid shield or force-field.

So the aliens are invulnerable, and the humans are slaughtered like pigs, the survivors of this holocaust being paranoid beings hiding from time to time. Which is what the main character is doing most of the time (Tom Cruise). He takes his family and flees the aliens, but he need not bother cos he narrowly escapes the holocaust that is taken his fellow humans by that little inch. Some invulnerable aura.

Quite sien, until the time when he manages to bring one down... with some m67 frag grens he found on some stupid humvee. as he was about to be "eaten" (which is still debatable why these stupid aliens want human flesh), he sacrifices himself and throws all the grens into the "maw" of the tripod, then is pulled back by all the other prisoners (see the movie for elab) in a show of "human strength". then BOOM! the tripod goes down, 1 down, 4567890+++ more to go.

"heard they killed one of those in Osaka!" - a character

"sHiT, wE nOw HaVe to PlAn for Another InvAsiOn in aNotHer mIllIon yeArS tiMe" - reportedly, an alien

"ThiS tImE wE haVe to ResEarCh bIoSuits!!!" - reportedly, another alien

ultimately, the aliens are defeated (mass-defeated) by the pestilence that they created by killing so many people. by the bacteria that is so small and tiny, yet because the aliens lack the correct immune system to combat it, they were "doomed from the start they entered our world."

"look at the birds!!!" - Tom Cruise

"what???" - Marine

"LOOK AT THE BIRDS!!!!!!!!" - Tom Cruise



spoliers end here -------------------------------------------------------------------------

this entry ends here ----------------------------------------------------------------------

haiz..
the pharmacy camp briefing is TOMORROW. 29th june, 1000h.

still reeling from the seizure today

and dunno whether edwin wanna accompany me..

wanted to give myself a break for the rest of the week to fully recuperate. but...

Seizure again -

Date of seizure: 28 June 2005
Time of seizure: unknown.
estimated between 0300 hrs (time of sleep) to 0800 hours (time of waking up)

Date when i can be drug-free: at least somewhere in 2008.

shit, guess i really overdid it this time.

the blame?

i can put the blame of this episode due to 1) my errant lifestyle: sleeping past midnight, something which i hardly did - mainly due to msn chats and downloads, 2) my diet - full of curry, which is a no-no, but what the hell, i've been eating curry cai fan for lunch and dinner these few days. Great fan of capcasin i am.

and 3) it was bound to happen. the last episode was last september.

how did it happen?

previous history: went to cut cans at NUS up to 6pm, came back had dinner (with curry), came home, played some GTA while getting drunk on milo (about 600ml!) went to bed at 8pm, woke up at 9:30 pm, watched tv until 10:30 pm when the internet was available, chatted until 2am. slept at 3am.
i took the medication on time, viz, 6pm dose at 6pm.

so its like i was sleeping, and (the seizure happened), and i woke up (and i thought so) and felt damn groggy, and felt wet patches of stinking saliva all over the pillow, the bolster, the bedsheet. then someone (in the dream) told me to "move on", when i said i "wanted to go back to some place", can't really remember what the hell was going on. anyway that was about 0700 hours or so, for i really woke up after that, i knew i was in my bedroom, and proceeded to toilet to urinate. but then, whoa! suddenly i just lost balance and started staggering all over the place, i thought i was still dreaming or what. looks too real. then i realised that i can't control my movement very well and was crashing into walls, chairs etc so i frantically headed for my parents' bedroom (thank god it wasn't fri, cos otherwise mum would have been working) and called for help, told my mum i felt dizzy or something. then she bade me to lie on her bed and sleep, and with her ways of diagnosis, she said:

"ni zai fa re" (you're getting too "heaty").

well, apparently being too "heaty" is a cause of the seizure. curry, milo (because it contains chocolate), and not enough sleep are causes, as with a million others.

before i slept i felt for my tongue. it felt funny, like there was something on both sides of the organ. went to mirror and checked, there were some bite marks - meaning i had seized. this was the absolute proof.
anyway after that i was too groggy to argue, so i slept from 8am to 12pm. woke up at 12pm to have lunch, felt my head feeling damn painful, at the site of the excision (the scar). lunch had changed to porridge but i did not have much appetite anyway. my neck on the right side hurts too, and i can't seem to move much of my fingers.

after lunch, slept from 12pm to 4pm, which is now. wake up and wrote this. feeling better, but the neck pain still persists.

the significance?

the onus of this episode is that mum now views the staying in hall a no-no. what happens if i seize again? have to find out the measures the hall personnel have for epileptic people.
which also means that i must sleep early
have a good diet
and refrain from going on the computer too much. all this while:

interacting with hall people
studying
chatting on msn
getting involved in hall activities
other commitments, eg tuition

makes staying outside home more like a fantasy than a fulfillable dream.

*sigh*

should i stay in hall?

well, the application has been sent out, but... still having reservations about staying in hall...

lets weigh the plus against the minus points.

plus points

1) a taste of independence - i've never stayed away from home for long periods of time, mainly because i rely on medicines for sustenance, even in army times. will learn to cook, sleep, wash, etc etc all by myself.

2) the friends and environment - the people in sheares hall are uber-friendly, and i hope some of their culture will rub off. i'm getting too eccentric. Anyway, 'they' said when you come to uni it's good to experience hall culture and here i am.

3) rest is 10mins away - when people get too tired and just wanna search for a place to bunk down. Now. hopefully can slim down also cos there is a HUGE ridge separating science fac from sheares hall. about 3 storeys of up, and 3 storeys of down.

4) supposedly, i will become more discliplined, and stop doing all kinds of funny things like play games, cos i know how to manage my time better. reading rooms, libraries, etc etc, where there's a genuine place for u to study, unlike home when the TV's always on.

5) hopefully can meet people who share similar aspirations: make music!!!

minus points

1) no family contact. enough.

2) high price: $1500 for one sem. and i'm not earning any dough btw.

3) no guardian angel: what happens if a seizure comes knocking?

4) doubts about being really independent. I'm known for cocking up hell lotsa stuff. Like misplacing room keys.

5) dunno will i really adapt to hall culture... i'm quite introverted and the fellas there are very spoken... guess it takes time for them to adapt to my medical condition, and i to them, but for the time being... well i dunno. i dun speak very much. hope that will not affect any relationships that will be forged in the near future.

6) i will lose control and play like siao!!! then my grades will drop like siao too!!!

just volunteered to slog it out at the preparations for rag day. hope something will come to fruition. haha.

when is the damned pharmacy camp coming!!!!!!!!! *peeved*

Initial D

Watched Initial D (Tou wen zi D) yesterday. Not a big fan of it, but i'm an average fan of Jay Chou and heard all the publicity of the movie since Jan (when i was in army), so came to take a look at it. No choice either cos was accompanying ws and edwin anyway...

I expected something serious, like Jackie Chan's Thunderbolt (pi li huo), which was the last racing movie i've probably seen, yeah i'm that deprived when it comes to racing movies. Not too many of them anyway, just look at the immense budget, the stunts, the cars, etc. So it was like, good guy against bad guy, speedometers racing and falling, blah.

Initial D is a comedy. At least when u watch it with ws and edwin, but anyway it was hilarious. The lead guy, (name?) played by Jay Chou, is expressionless, so much so that i wonder if it really fits the character he is playing in the manga. He drives with an air of nonchalance, resting his elbow on the car window and doing the steering with his other hand. The story revolves around him: some people come to Mt. Akina (where he stays) to challenge him, he wins them all (then??), he gets a girlfriend in the meantime, but then abandons her for some reason (see the movie!)

Not very much in terms of plot, but people wanna see (ok, i look out for) 1) the humourous dialogue / action between the characters (they picked some of HK's looniest characters), 2) the finer points of the race: how Jay "drifts", when he steps on the gas and the brake simultaneously, and of course the drift itself, and 3) the love story that weaves around the plot reflecting the plight of Japan's (the story is set in Japan)'s society.

And of course, some people just wanna see Jay Chou act.

Which i think, he acts okay. Waiseng is surprised that he can actually talk without murmuring. He needs to be more emotive in theory but i think for his image, he doesn't need to.

Quite a good movie, all in all.

So bored...

the rest of this week is gonna be boring: take a look

Monday: Went to gym with xz and leo, then went shopping wif them
Tuesday: Went to get the jacket from Timberland + zap a book + voluntary tuition
Wednesday: slack + trek over Jurong
Thursday: swim with Edwin and ws, probably pool later
Friday: interview with some parent
Saturday: chillout at Matt's place with the rest of OG group
Sunday: attend Andy's birthday party. Happy 21th!

Freaked up!!! As i wanted to use the Linear Calculator to calculate how much distance i've walked on yesterday (wed)'s trek, i was told that the Linear Calculator (provided by StreetDirectory.com) needs to be paid for....!!! wtf!!!

So, using my trusty copy of the Street Directory, and a ruler, i managed to get this:
Rough distance = (1.1 + 3.0 + 7.0 + 9.5 + 4.0 + 4.0 + 2.0 + 2.2 + 7.7 + 2.8 + 10 + 6.0 + 1.1) x 17862 / 100000 = 10.8 km.

The journey took me to Jurong Point (hugging the MRT line), and somewhere to Jurong West Extension (the residential areas beyond JP). I wanted to maybe like trek to NTU, but considering the stretches of ulu roads that i'll have to take, and the time that has passed (when i reached JW extension it was about six), made me change my mind. Well next time with an NTU friend, maybe. Passed by Jurong Junior College and the park connector behind it felt like "the road back".

Cool!!!! Morale boosted*

By the time i was back, i was damn hungry (no doubt influenced by some barbecue on the way) and legs felt damn tired. Huuuuuuuuuuggghhhh....

890 kbps!!!!

Downloaded limewire today.

max speed: 890 kbps!!!!

in a matter of seconds the downloaded file (about 2.2 Mb) was done

whhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

Body Building

Today went to xiang zheng's place (condo) to work out at his gym. He's a primary school mate and a friend of Leonard's, and a guy with rippling muscles... *envious*

Went to warm up at his house. Learned alot from Leo and xz, about the different muscle groups. Guess they could pose for one of those physiotherapists or exercise trainers.

Anyway, the first part was about the upper body exercises, that left my arms feeling like jelly after one set was done - training the biceps, triceps, deltoids, pectorals, etc etc. Had alot of difficulty maintaining body posture and the correct setup (e.g. back straight, no leaning, no jerking etc).

Finished the second set of upper body exercises and tried the treadmills. Quite fun, walk-jogged about 10min on the treadmill (very tiring) and then walked about 30-40 min on the treadmill (about 1 plus km). Hope that helps to reduce the abdominal circumference. Which i sincerely pray it does.

Did some of the cycling machines and other stuff, then we broke off for washup.

Very interesting day.

Lindsay Lohan - Rumours

Song for Sheares Hall Exposure Camp 05-06 Mass Dance

Saturday, stepping into the club
The music makes me wanna tell the DJ, turn it up
I feel the energy all around
And my body can't stop moving to the sound
But I can tell that you're watching me
And you're probably gonna write what you didn't see
Well, I just need a little space to breathe
Can you please respect my privacy

[prechorus]
Why can't you just let me do
The things I wanna do
I just wanna be me
I don't understand
Why would you wanna bring me down
I'm only having fun
I'm gonna live my life (but not the way you want me to)

[chorus]
I'm tired of rumors starting
I'm sick of being followed
I'm tired of people lying
Saying what they want about me
Why can't they back up off me
Why can't they let me live
I'm gonna do it my way
Take this for just what it is

Here we are, back up in the club
People taking pictures, don't you think they get enough
I just wanna be all over the floor
And throw my hands up in the air to a beat like (what)
I've gotta say respectfully
I would love it if you would take the cameras off of me
Cause I just want a little room to breathe
Can you please respect my privacy

Repeat Prechorus

Repeat Chorus

I just need to free my mind (my mind)
Just wanna dance and have a good time (good time)
I'm tired of rumors (rumors)
Followed (followed, followed, followed, followed, followed)
What they want of me
Why can't they (they, they, they, they, they) let me live
Take this for just what it is

Repeat Chorus x2

The tune still goes deep into my head and the groove into my moves... imagine being subjected to the same music every day during mass dance practice.

Not a bad song, really.

Argh!

Someone should really kick me in the arse.

Musings (<--- what does this word mean) I


it was ten at the bar, that's when you came
you sat down and i asked your name
sat beside me and we talked for a while
all was dark but i could hear you smile

although we couldn't see each other
you made me feel, that something has unlocked, in my heart
although we don't know each otheri think
i'd feel that i've known you forever

but as the night draws near
i fear that the morning will come
just wanna get to know you better
but then my mouth suddenly goes numb
but when i see you next time
maybe just to say hi and then bye
then it struck as fast in my heart
it was just wishful thinking on my part

The day b4 the camp

Emotions too many too talk about. Packing leaves me totally exhausted.

Wang is leaving on the 16th. Guess i won't be there to see him @ airport.

Hope the camp is nice. Hope i get enough zzzz.

(dot dot dot dot)

Enough for today, must sleep soon. Arrival sheares hall tmr at 0800 hours.

Cycling again (Part II)

Fill in the blanks with the following words:

Leonard Waiseng xiao mei mei sheet

Went to east coast park (ecp) for cycling with __________ and __________, as usual.

The day was bright and sunny.

Had lunch at Suntec's Burger King, to the approval of __________ and __________.
Got the Star Wars cup / tumbler for FREE! But we didn't take it cos it's too bulky.

Took 36 to ecp.

Reached there around 3:00 pm. Got bikes at the usual joint. The sun was kind today. __________ asked me to try my first stunt! which was to try to lift my a** a few mm above the seat, while riding, which i did not master. As usual, alot of crap regarding all things under the sun by __________ and __________. This time, felt my wheels became lighter. ___________ performed some cool stunt involving bringing the front wheel upwards while moving. In gear "one-one".

Cycled to both sides of ecp. No chiobus this time, but hell lotsa kids, probably a phenomena addressed by the school hols.

However, on the way back from the east side of the beach (towards bedok), we were joking and such, and hence as a result of human error on my part i served slightly into _________'s path, such that my front wheel made contact with his back wheel. This incident caused me to panic excessively, such that i lost control of the bike and:

1) swerved left and right in an uncontrollable manner, causing me to lose forward momentum
2) cycle into the other side of the track
3) and get hit by an incoming 9-yr old _________________ on the head
4) causing both me and the little 'un to both fall to the ground, the _________________ on the grass beside the cycling track, me on the track itself (OUCH!!!!!)
5) her mum was cycling after her (____________!!!!!) So i quickly propped up her bike, and asked the _____________ if she was ok. Thankfully her mum did not f---- me for what had happened, she kept saying it's all right and the _______________ also did the same (phew)
6) Ended up with some injuries of my own, which included:

a) a lacerated kneecap about the area of a 20c coin (consequence of not wearing jeans)
b) slight abrasions on my foot (consequence of wearing sandals)
c) a slight sprain on my left hand on the 4th finger, such that it hurts when i flex it, esp when typing (OUCH!!!!)
d) some slight bruises on my right knee.

_____________ propped up my bike and revved up the gear and such, put it in working order again, while i went to wash my wound. The feeling of running water felt caustic as it skimmed the surface of the wound, with the result of myself making hissing sounds. The wind made it more stinging as we tried to complete the rest of the course. I was practically hissing all the way and back.

Went to Mcdonalds' to lick my wounds, over a Large Iced Lemon Tea and countless jokes by _____________ and ____________. Where are the chiobus??!??!?!?

Went to a Guardian pharmacy in Marine Vista (or something like that) for chlorhexidine antiseptic. _____________ took note of a strange topical application that i thought was of good market value but no genuine practical purpose, neither aesthetic purpose for the masses. Quite a novel idea, though.

Left ecp circa 1720 and went to orchard. Shack. Some chiobus at last, but too sleepy to take note. Had dinner at Taka, then decided to shop for a present for my "mortal" as part of the Sheares Camp. Went to Heeren. Saw a pen with a thumbs-up appendage at the top of it, decided to get it for $2.90. ____________ took note of another similarly designed pen with the universal sign of disapproval instead of the thumbs-up appendage, but i thought that would not be a fitting present for a girl who has barely known u for 4 days.

Got another present, a handphone holder for $5.90. Guess she'll love this too.

Went back at home circa 2100.

It was another nice day.

CAMPS

The introductory booklet from NUS came just yesterday. Inside was:
1) a letter from the Admission Officer saying that i am in pharmacy on 010805
2) some forms
3) some envelope containing a booklet about NUS camps.

went to check on the camps recently, on the net: i have noticed a certain stereotype about them:

To break the ice (and hopefully have fun in the process):

- Night walk / exploration of the campus building or some barbecue.
- games where lotsa people play together (and i dun mean whacko)
- some angel/mortal game where they tag a guy with a girl
- stuff at sentosa, probably playing beach games
- some "chillin' " at cocolatte, china black, zouk, etc etc.

well and it's kind of sien.... i'm thinking of joining 2 camps (neither of them is my fac camp), and they clash with each other (for a day only)!!! means that i'm gonna hafta spend 3 or 4 days in camp, rush back, and spend 3 or 4 days in another camp. Total of 6 or 8 days outside. By myself. Shacks.

Well, i said i wanted a taste of BMT, but to pay about $80 for this is erm.........

Adrenaline overrush.

I wish someone will SERIOUSLY consider explaining seriously, the nature of all this.

Bleargh.

Half-life x 2

Was playing HL2 yesterday, Monday, and somewhat last week, and it was FUN!!! Reminiscing of those days when i put many zombies to the stake, or no, crowbar.

I just managed to get to "Anticitizen I", where i just emerged from the depths of the City 17 prison, a place where its graphics are so good that i could almost feel the dank stench of the prison. (Helps playing on Wang's GeForce 6600). Facial expressions and bodily features are much more realistic than much other games, you can evn see all the wrinkles on their faces. As if they were real.

Basically the story is about Gordon Freeman from the first Half-life series, he gets put on a train to City 17, this dystopic place where the police control the masses with an iron fist. And obviously the people aren't happy, so there's this nice cute gal called Alyx Vance, whos the daughter of your (his) scientist friend Dr Eli Vance coming to lend a hand, by bringing u to safety, giving ammo and all sorts of help.

Other stuff from the original Half-life are inside HL2 too: Barney, the friendly policeman in Black Mesa, some scientists from the Black Mesa research facility, the weapons: pistol, magnum, SMG, shotgun, bazooka. No gauss gun or hornet gun here, which is sad :(, and the crossbow sucks (have to consider trajectory: cannot fire while moving). The energy suit concept is still here, with the machines on the wall to restore life and energy. And of course! the enemies: headcrabs (now there are 3 types), zombies (3 types as well). Vortigaunts (those assholes who shoot energy towards u) are now your dearest allies, and no mention of squid-like creatures or any other big-daddy types. Rather, the enemies here seem to be the damned police of City 17 - they call them the "Combine", their machines like dropships and gunships, and many devious traps and puzzles, which i think sets HL2 in a totally awesome new fashion. Oh yeah, our favourite barnacles are also here - remember those damned organic mouth-like shitters hanging on ceilings with their tongues sticking out.

Miss the days of Half-life multiplayer, cos there's no multiplayer for HL2. Sniping people with the crossbow, blowing people with the bazooka (with homing device), dropping snarks on unexpecting people, and ruling the game with the gauss gun. Cool, but damn tiring.

So much for all this gaming.

Lao shu ai da mi

What the ****! why is everyone so hip about this song!!!

The lyrics are quite simple, to the point of being quite idiotic... and suggests blind love.

The person who sang this song is like... urrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! She should probably keep her identity secret, man. I'm not gay, but I'd prefer Ocean anytime.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF TODAY'S MUSIC COMING TO!!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!!

Finished tweaking my musical equipment... i think. Finally - i should have done this a year ago or what.

Let me explain how it works: composing is done via:

1) on the synthesizer, where i compose by playing the keyboard - set the drums, melodies, accompaniments, pads, tweak the effects, etc. May not need to tweak the effects first. basically can just get a demo going.

2) the computer (laptop), where you can further tweak the effects further by e.g. adding flanger, changing reverb, pan, sustain etc. cut and paste some parts of the music here and there. save the music to .wav file.

3) convert to .mp3.

Installed the USB-MIDI driver which will connect the input from the synthesizer to the computer, and downloaded the windows xp patch file.
Installed the software, SoundForge 7.0 (yeah kinda outdated), for editing purposes to the input.
Have yet to find a freeware audio file converter.

All right! Although i've not tried it out yet, it should be ready. And i need to know how to:

1) switch the output on the synthesizer to MIDI, so that messages come out in MIDI form
2) learn Soundforge 7.0

Ok, Soundforge 7.0 is NOT as good as Cubase SX, but it can cut and paste, add effects, but only one track. and dunno whether can use MIDI or not. try first.

lets' see what junk i can come up with. gotta come up with something, after all the cost that's involved.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

went to meet my juniors from band at adam food centre for "brunch". there were mingfeng, eejin, cheryl, pk, and their junior (whose name i have regretfully forgottten).

they talked from since 10 am to about 1pm when we left, about all topics, too many to list. mainly about old times. refreshed ourselves with each other's current situations. one thing i confirmed: mingfeng was the guy whom i'd suspected in a unit very close to mine! just one phone call away. should've surprised him if i'd known earlier.

went with mingfeng and pk after the brunch to band practice: alumni. saw a couple of familiar faces: tim, qiheng, and fengying (?, the student conductor with natalia back then). and some seniors whose names i dunno at all. but mostly juniors. after all, i'm considered year 5 there... which makes me feel old again. 'winnie' wasn't there though... he was in aust. neither did i saw our conductor Mr. Ho, cos by the time we arrived the NJ band had been dismissed.

that said, what made me feel most nostalgic will be the instruments. the band space has somewhat doubled, there's a lot more leg room, the old instruments are still there, e.g. the bells and chimes, but there are some new ones. e.g.the synth.

the synth is a new one, the yahama S-90 or something. check it out here --> http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/s90/index.html. one of the newer products, it's operating system (OS) is the same as my motif es-6, so i've no prob navigating around the different instruments. though i noticed there was a piece of paper stuck to the synth stating which instruments to choose - and they were all GM! - which was quite a pity. differences are: no sequencer though, the keyboard is weighted like a real piano, and they have most of the motif sounds. however, the amplifier is still unchanged! so what's the point, the sounds coming out still quite bad: they have a high attack with every note having a "tk' sound, quite irritating. and bass notes seem more amplified, as usual. nevertheless it's a good piece of equipment, quite high-end and i would love to work with someone playing it. if i get the chance...

initially i wanted to sit and watch all the way, but when it was time for the alumni band to play together, they asked me to help out (not enough players). hence, back to the mallets (bells mainly) again. was standing on my toes for most of the practice, mainly missing notes and getting lost in the music. wonder if anyone noticed a guy wearing the "parental advisory" shirt standing there not doing anything except looking damn bewildered.

hell, but it was fun playing music with someone else, and i'd love to hear those instruments again. but... guess i'm not playingthere, cos it'll take a mountain of practice to get back intoshape.
guess i'll just get the tics for the etude concert instead. haha.