Music?

It's the dark ages of alternative rock music. With the hype of the Arctic Monkeys just wearing off, and the realisation that most of the other hyped-up bands are pretty much going the one-hit-wonder route, audiences have been left disillusioned.

Peter Bjorn and John doesn't seem likely to put anything as catchy as Young Folks. As for the everly-so-unpredictable Foo Fighters, their new album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace is nothing to write home about.

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Oh yes we do have The Wombats, but that's sorta old news.

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Emerging bands like Young Galaxy? I'd pine for them, but they're still a rather long way to international mainstream-dom.

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The Hoosiers aren't too shabby at all, pelting out 3 radio-friendly hits in a row, but I wouldn't call them alternative rock anyway. Too poppy.

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And that's all from the alt rock scene that I can recommend you while keeping a straight face without guffawing at my own lies. One look at the UK Top 40 charts and you'd see that this is indeed a rather dull lull for the scene.

Instead, you get a rather talented crooner who goes by the name Newton Faulkner. This guy's got talent and a great voice. He makes Damien Rice look like a part-time bar singer to be honest.

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Some time ago, we had this hit, which confirms what we'd thought all along - that Mutya Buena was indeed both the heart and soul of the Sugababes back when she was in the group.

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Leona Lewis, of course, is a perennial favourite.

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Speaking of female chanteuses, hot in the UK is Adele.

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And as for movies, I'm totally looking forward to Sweeney Todd and Kite Runner. Now, who's gonna watch those with me?

Crash

And in the news yesterday was a bunch of 4 youths in their teens. The (probably) rich kid got his driving license, and straight away decided to test his own manoeuvring prowess the very same night with his 3 friends. They chose Old Upper Thomson Road, which is a narrow winding road through the outskirts of the central catchment area nature reserve. They used to hold motor racing events there in the 70s and now it's just a seldom-used road frequented by nature lovers and cyclists alike.

The kid crashed the car at one of the bends. No, it was probably not due to the road conditions - the roads there are well-drained and banked appropriately for the speeds usually seen.

The 2 guys in the back seat died. Front passenger got his arm badly mangled. The driver himself had just a bunch of scrapes. Some would say it's utter injustice but there are as many who would say that it's poetic justice for the driver, having to live the rest of his life in that guilt.

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I don't know if the numerous long-tailed macaques gathering around the accident site last evening when I cycled there were mourning.

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Exams were ok I guess, made some silly mistakes along the way, but I swear I did put in way more effort than in the other exams in the past. So did the whole batch. I am suspecting that this year's results for the batch will be an unprecedented high.

Other than that, my life is pretty much in stasis now.

Be back when something interesting happens!

Anvils

It's a friggin weight on my mind, the impending doom exams. Orphan Annie cells, Huerthle cells, Reed Sternberg Cells, clear cells, oat cells, nutmeg livers, cystic kidneys, inverted papillomas, my brain is on overload.







SHY CAT SEZ NO TAKIN MAI PHOTO.



I tricked my old and ageing Panny discman (I use it for its tuner) to charge batteries, by stripping the insulation of one of the cells so it closes the contact points.

And damn, I lost my recipe for French toast. Made it this morning, and had to adlib all the way through. Argh.

10 slices of bread
4 eggs
Forkful butter
375ml milk
Lotsa cinnamon powder
Dash baking powder

Soak the bread in a mixture of all the rest. Burn them over moderate heat in a frying pan until brown.

Wholemeal bread tastes terrible when made as French toast.

And I really should have a soft copy of all the recipes I have.

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I miss the outside world. I feel cranky. Once I get past the pesky exams, I'm gonna have a ball of a time. I hope.

Driving Lessons

Looking at the old cranky display to find out the car number.

Waiting in the car, staring at the morning sky, watching those turboprop planes make their final approaches into Seletar airport. I once saw a twin turboprop plane banking so steeply (was it a Dash 7?) I was afraid it'd drop out of the sky.

Fiddling with the pedals and the steering wheel, watching the instructor's face turn sour whenever I mess up. There's this instructor who animatedly acts like he's gonna fly out of the windscreen whenever I go across a road hump too fast....

Every lesson I feel slightly better about myself, being better than I was the previous lesson.

And the driving centre has old and new cars. The old cars have very finicky pedal response, and are definitely less torquey than the newer cars despite the old cars having a slightly larger engine. The newer cars, well, it's annoying how the front pillars obstruct the view.

2 hours. That's the duration of each lesson and that's also the maximum amount of time one can take the right seat without slowly turning insane from the stress from the traffic and the instructor.

That, interspersed with copious amounts of Pathology revision and idly surfing the web. That's pretty much how my life is now.

I bought some new shoes and suddenly everything is right.

=(

Feeling sorta helpless and weak now.

I wish I had someone to cheer me on.

This one's for the birds

9 January 2008 - Qantas plane loses electrical power but lands safely in Bangkok


10 January 2008 - 9 hurt after Air Canada flight hits turbulence


11 January 2008 - SIA's A380 plane lifted off grass verge at Changi Airport's T3


17 January 2008 - British Airways Jet Crash Lands at Heathrow Airport

And January is barely halfway through.

What's with this chain of aviation incidents happening to huge, highly reputable airlines? I should do what the rest do and...... blame the terrorists!

Predictable comfort

Let's just say, a slow, non-earth-shattering life is also a very comfortable life.

Hung out with Bernard on Saturday. Sunday slacked. Monday Tuesday Wednesday driving lessons. And revision for the dreaded exams. Shopping for clothing, clearing a voucher for Thai Accent green curry and getting a Wisma Atria voucher. Grocerying. You know, everyday kinda things.

Mundane chores are the rivets that keep our lives together.

And the comfortable comfy comfort of just chatting with both old and new friends online.

Living on the edge, perching on the edge of the seat, gearing up for the adrenaline rush aren't my kinda things, it seems.

Forgive me if I'm hiding in my comfort zone, cause I really like the warmth here. I can't find it elsewhere.

KC presents - The Spice Girls

Oh noes. I seem to have neglected this blog.

Been caught up with Pathology revision, driving lessons, long-drawn nights on MSN messenger and IRC just crapping around being happy - yes. Happy.

There's not much to bitch about lately. Therefore the lack of any substantial blog entries. No news is good news, right?



I know I'm getting old. My birthday is fast approaching and I'm still in the process of coming to terms that I'm freaking 22 and many months already! And in many ways I still feel and act like a kid. Being an adult and having to decide on things by myself - major things like career. Having to pay the bills. Getting coupled with someone else. Having to take the rep of my mistakes all by myself. Those things scare me. And I'd prolly never grow out of the mentality. Many adults never do; they just pretend to.



Oh, some of the past few days were spent ripping some of the CDs I have but were too ashamed to listen to. They're like, tween pop from over a decade ago. And songs that supposedly, only girls listen to - you don't usually find Spice Girls fans who are male. There's B*Witched too, there's Aqua, Mariah Carey and there's a number of compilation albums containing an embarrassingly large amount of Boyzone, Cartoons and Steps.

Ripped them all, even if it's just for nostalgia. They're not lousy songs, they just have the nagging reputation of being tween music attached to them. But that's not going to stop me from enjoying them!



I'm listening to the Spice Girl's Stop this very moment, and that synergy of the 5 silky smooth - yet uniquely exotic - voices over a catchy energetic tune never fails to impress. Most girlbands simply can't get their voices to work together. Call me fruity, prepubertal or whatever, but I like the Spice Girls. And you can't deny me the right to like what I like.

If you don't like me liking the Spice Girls, then I don't like you either! Bleagh!

2 Random Photos

Ramen at Liang Court.

The good: The bamboo shoots and good soup.
The bad: Price and lack of meat. Oh well, black pig prolly isn't cheap.



I ran today. Yay. Did I mention? Old models of Nike running shoes including the Air Max 360 and Air Max 180 are at almost half-price at Sportslink Ang Mo Kio. Got myself a nifty pair of Air Max 180+II for just $109 and I was like totally in disbelief that they not only were super duper discounted, but they actually had size 11! Pretty happy with my current Nike Pegasus, so I thought, might as well just grab that deal!


(Stolen from Nike Japan)

KC has a random encounter with...

... a 5m long reticulated python!

Here's a pic of it I stole off Wikipedia:



I was minding my own business, cycling along Old Upper Thomson Road when I saw this behemoth straddling both lanes of the road.

Let's just say, good thing I'm already used to the SPD pedals and could do an emergency brake and unclip comfortably.

I nearly shat in my pants, seeing this snake that's longer than a car. Such pythons are the 2nd longest snakes in the world after anacondas. And yeah, they do sometimes kill human beings, though they'd prolly find the monkeys in the area more palatable than the sweaty cyclists.

It's too bad that it had slithered away before I could make sure I was in a safe position to take a photo.

Over the 4 or so years I've been cycling there, I've seen teeny tree snakes, monkeys copulating, monitor lizards, various roadkill, bright blue birds, but this is the weirdest so far!

Incursion

The best ideas I get are when I'm drenched, naked and alone.

In the shower, I mean.



I think I might seriously consider writing a novel. Essentially, it'd consist of a pilot who, moments before dying in a plane crash (some idiot drives a fire engine into the runway and the plane smashes into it), has a whole long flashback on his life.

The people he could have been but didn't have the chance to, the things he could have done but never had the time to. The tragedy of having to make choices and burning bridges and crossing out all the alternate realities that he could have chosen.

Indeed, he's a kickass pilot, but there'd be whole chunks of his life that he's not so proud of - parts of him that he keeps only to himself. His love life is in shambles. And he's alone. Very very alone.

Charlotte Church & Amy Winehouse - Beat It

Whoa. Amy Winehouse's voice is really versatile.

8 facts about the second day of the two thousand and eighth year

Before I start off this entry proper, I have one thing I have to get off my mind.



Jacob's Creeks Chardonnay Pinot Noir sparkling wine is possibly one vilest alcoholic drinks I've ever drank. I've drank Made-In-Thailand Asahi beer, $7.90-for-750ml red wine and orange juice left to ferment in the fridge for two whole months.

But this particularly file concoction takes the cake. I know, I shouldn't expect much from a sparkling wine - especially one from a vinery known for its value-for-money wine. I should have seen it coming.

The first thing that hits you as you take its first sip is the discordant mishmash of flavours. Beer? Wine? Sparkling juice? I don't even know what it is.

The next thing is the sheer lack of character to it.

And the last thing is the wonderful after taste reminiscent of brand new tyres, yet-unsullied by the stench of asphalt and car exhaust. I can just imagine a fresh set of Michelins on my dream car - mind you, tyre hairs still intact - while I savour that after taste.

Good thing I bought only a 200ml bottle (to fulfil the 1 litre max for duty-free import). ABd thing there's still 100ml left in the fridge that I have yet to muster the courage to finish.

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Random facts of 2 January 2008:

1. It's official. My nose has been whistling and obstructed like a defective turbocharger for days. It's affecting my sleep. Argh. Should I be kidnapped and have brown sticky tape slapped across my lips, I'd prolly die of suffocation.

2. 2-axled doubledecker bus, full stomach, long bus ride, nausea. Too many hardworking batchmates studying really hard in school. Studying in school sucks, because it makes me feel inferior.

3. Richie got his Acer lappy repaired for overheating issues. The fan got gunked up with dust - which happens to almost every Acer lappy, it seems. It's a matter of time for mine - the fan's making whiney noises lately.

4. Mos Burger Bugis is run by slow retirees. And when I say slow retirees, I don't mean that retirees are slow. I mean, the retirees there are slow. I swear the queues had more people than there were seated customers. I so wanted to just go into the kitchen myself to get the order myself. Argh. That cranberry flake shake thingamajig ain't too bad though. Imagine fresh cranberries, cornflakes, yoghurt on soft serve ice cream; that's what it is.

5. Sim Lim Tower sells all sorts of weird electronics parts. Including CAT 5e, coaxial, solid core and finally, LGBT cable:


(Googled pic, not original)

6. Marina Square is dead empty on a weekday.

7. Meeting up with Mysterious Girl after a long while was a refreshing experience. There's so much to catch up on!


(That's the way she poses. And, erm, I chose a blurred photo for added anonymity.)

8. Thai Express food is better than Thailand's Thai food, I insist! Thai fried beef noodles is quite good but I prefer their curries - and their desserts are really to die for.

Mutya Buena - B Boy Baby - Ft Amy Winehouse

Great cover eh?

Two double oh eight

So, it's time yet again to reflect on the good and bad and ugly of the previous year, in the way all those neverending TV shows do annual specials. It wasn't an easy year - in fact it's hell of complicated, with all sorts of new things I experience and crazy things I learn about myself and about the world.

It's year 2007 that I had truly learnt to love. It's no more about fleeting glances of great looking people and spur-of-the-moment fantasies, but love itself. It's a very intimidating emotion to feel, one that overwhelms, engulfs and sweeps one off his feet. Forget all those wooly theorisations on how ideal love should be; it's all bullshit. Try as one may, it's practically impossible to force one's head and heart to agree.

For the past years my heart had been caged in by the unrealistic demands of the head. And now that I have started to cautiously give my heart some space to roam, opportunities have blossomed and all that theories on love that had brewed for 21 years before that simply turned meaningless.

I still have much to learn and experience. So, 2008 is going to be the year when I'm going to come to terms with it all and work on the experience I had gained in 2007. I'm slow, I know. But that's just the way I am.

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I guess... 2007 was quite alright. Despite the ups and downs, it seems the tangibles do speak for themselves. Lotsa new experiences, learned a whole shitload of stuff about what it is to be who I am.



Academics was messy but hey at least I'm surviving with somewhat decent reserves left. In terms of fitness, I might have lost much of that flab back in 2006, but 2007 is the year I got my bicycling up to scratch again, and traded in some flab for muscle weight. So yeah, I guess I'm a little closer to becoming a hunk.

Social life, it's a flat meh, so that's one thing I gotta spruce up for 2008.

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And 2007 was a year of lotsa scary big-ticket purchases. A Nintendo DS Lite, an iPod nano, a Crumpler bag, G-shock watch, bicycle stuff, trips to Bangkok and Hongkong - and with a new camera, it's not sustainable. So I'd be a pauper for 2008. It's work, I hope.

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And lots of alcohol. It started on the very first second of 1 Jan 2007, when Richie and I counted down over a can of Baron's beer each.



Cheap China beer, good imported beer, port, wine, vodka, wine mixes, Bacardi breezers, cheap Thai alcohol, you name it I've drank it in 2007. I swear I've drunk more in 2007 than from 1985-2006 combined. No it doesn't stem from dependence or a way to numb myself; it's just that I've realised how good alcohol can taste.

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Of course, 2007 was dotted by my picking up of some culinary skills.







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It really hasn't been that bad a year when I come around to thinking about all that I've learnt and experienced since. Yay!

Happy new year everyone!