bones
bah! been quite lazy the past few days havent been doing my readings the past few days. so kinda going into tutorial classes a tad spaced out and worried. but i somehow managed to survive. man, being asian sure makes me uncomfortable. i dont feel uncomfortable with caucasians around me, but do they feel uncomfortable with me around them. and because i feel paranoid in that aspect, wouldnt it be better to just clam up during class? but it is an experience. i'm already having thoughts about my media research project, wot we could research on. wot makes a commercial radio song sell? prolly something along those lines.
in other news, my mobile phone plans have taken a setback. the people at yes!optus are very anal retentive. but i wont go into specifics.

tuesday's gone
that's a lynard skynard song =) shifting away from the great southern rock band of the seventies, my day began at ten. i snoozed for ten more minutes before prepping myself for school. i made my hair, i wonder if im doing it to look a certain way. i dont want to, its just that it looks unpresentable in the morning. oh well, i always have better things to think about. so well, had to collect my student status letter. with this hopefully i will be able to get a new mobile line and samsung t100. so then, lessons from 1130 till 1630. we watched run lola run for introduction to screen studies. i liked it. it was a good take on personifying the idea of random factors. you can make an infinte number of choices, but still have an infinte amount of random factors to screw your life up. see how powerless we are? yeah.. so well, the assignments and readings are piling up, but i still mull around. tad worried, but i hope to do well in the end. i met some new people today. all sporean, well, kind of. think one of them's just started living here. roland. he's the one. he's only seventeen! but looks older. just started playing guitar for over a year, but already he's shredding and forming bands. he likes a perfect circle too, as well as a host of other darker, gothic aggro-metal types. got to know him thru a guy called kevin who's a bit over-excited about things. and dosent exactly seem very open-minded. guess its just not my cuppa. and yeah, when roland and i were discussing guitars, a guy i've seen around joined us. jonathan another bassist / guitarist. trivia : he played guitar in soul satisfaction the winners of europa's battle of the bands. how awesome is that? well, great to have met you guys! gonna go out for dinner with housemate felix and neighbour wayne soon. yeh.. not cooking. i mean, how many times can you eat carbonara? gonna try cooking fish (salmon) terriyaki tomorrow i hope!!

the new hardware

sunday's about church right?
today i went to vist peivn's church. full gospel assembly - perth. it was a charismatic church. they had heated prayer before service. and the pastor was calling people down to join them. haha, it was a pleasant shock to me. i knew that i had stepped off into the deep end. the uncharted waters. going to a new church was a battle of dread and expectation of wot God could do. i was wrestling with my immature self, of trying to enter the courts of worship. i wished i didnt have the struggle of people looking. it was alright in sjsm, cuz well, they're all familiar faces. and well, it was a 'bout of pretty serious spiritual warfare. i dont know if i won or lost, but after the very good sermon, i was challenged that there were foundations in my life i needed to deconstruct so that i could build the foundation that God wants to establish his kingdom in.
key point : to be born again, or be truely filled with God, to grow and want more. you have to grow th kingdom of God within you. it dosen't just hit you like that. also, when you try to assimilate certain convictions God places in your heart, your flesh / carnal nature will rebel. i mean, these are you foundations at the start. so you need to break these down, so that the first seeds of God can be planted.

so well, the sermon was about entering the kingdom of God. so we had a rough look at our spiritual maturity. and we were given little examples of the level of maturity. i guess a good gauge might be how much you're allowing God to do in you, and how much you want him in your life.

and well, also. i dont know if i have to transfer my roots from sjsm to a new church. or grow new roots. you know.. can i just treat the church i choose here as a temporary thing. which gives to the temptation of non-commitment. haha, will prolly have to pray hard. at the end of the day, dont think its my call to really decide. so yeah.. i was just thinking about the guys back home. usually we hang out after church.. and well, thinking about it, makes me miss it. =)

biding time
have been downloading some videos. some fine catches with misteeq's scandalous and a live concert by a perfect circle (key find!) haha, i really do like that misteeq song. which was a suprise for me. the video was also pretty slick. i guess i got sentimental about zouk. also, watching a perfect circle made me reminice the two gigs i played with my dark star.

for a perfect circle fans, i have some great news, and their current line up is :
guitars and vox : billy howerdell
vox : maynard james keenan (tool)
guitars : james iha (ex-smashing pumpkins)
bass : twiggy remirez / jeorgie white (ex-marylin manson)
drums : josh freesh

sitrep
where am i? *sigh* today, kinda came and wentl. if you wanna know wot perth's like. its pretty boring. its friday night! and .. i'm stuck here. know wot i mean? i miss you guys back home. but will this be my new home? anyhow, a good piece of news i heard just now, is that shaun is sessioning for my dark star whilst i'm away. in case you don't know, shaun's shoes are pretty big ones to fill..
in other news, i am surviving on gundam seed, but its only 15 more episodes before i run out. just installed counter-strike, and hopefully raven shield. they might help over these boring lulls.

closet star wars junkies
be careful of wot you do behind closed doors..
here

beth orton, i want to kiss your feet

i know i dont talk about her much, but i probably love her as much as i love sarah.

said this to marcus
it takes more muscles to frown than smile, but apathy needs no work at all.

because guys grow up
well well. guess i havent been blogging regularly, when i should! haha, but man.. life here in perth is a real drag. haha.. you just wanna bum and crash out. daymn, i'd better start working on my beer gut if i wanna make it to the beach without embaressment. *ahem* well well, the purpose of today's entry is to bring you up to date about one of my most exciting activities since stepping on asutralian soil. cooking!

recipie 1 : aglio olio. basically i tried to make this olive oil and garlic based sauce to toss with pasta, but i fried the garlic too long. plus the pasta was not thoroughly cooked. failure.

recipie 2 : pasta stir fry with beef. if only the beef wasn't so tough and had that strange beef taste. i'd have liked this. i'll try putting onions in the next time too. cut down on marinade. pass.

recipie 3 : pasta carbonara from a jar. i used carbonara sauce in a jar, so all i had to do was heat it over a saucepan. i added some pork sausages to it. and it was pretty darn good. but minus points for lack of original ingredients. pass.

sky diver
well, today was dad's last day in perth. he flew back in the afternoon. i'll miss him. now i'll miss everyone, cuz he was the last sporean link from home. now, i'm alone in that sense. i'll admit, there is a joy of liberation and freedom. but the chains of uncertainty still hold me back. i must pray, this strange journey that God has allowed me to tread upon. he has been patient, and i am grateful. pray for me, that i will not grow complacent. please pray.
school came and went. i didn't exactly make new friends yet. i wonder if they are essential. yeah, i am jaded. because all i wanna do is do well in school and increase my musical technicalities multi-fold. but i know that sounds so selfish. hsia ling is visiting peishan at the moment, and they kinda took me out for dinner. it's funny, cuz we never hung out much in spore. but oh well, it was fun nonetheless. we had pretty good conversation about various issues. spiritual stuff did pop up. i wonder if i'm rated for intelli-conversation. but that's just paranoia. today's thought might be : our paranoia might stifle us in the supernatural ways God can really manifest his power we've been in our normal world for far too long. God can be paranormal if he chooses to be. also, i found out hsia ling is an adrenaline junkie, and she has gone sky-diving with adrian "the yuenster". this news i never knew. but total respect for taking the leap.

the yuenster, leaping off into the unknown. still in awe. awe baby..

settle down - zwan
17 july, thursday
touched down in perth. thank you all who showed up at the airport. love you all loads! love you all even though you weren't at the airport too! =) thanks for all your prayers, well-wishes, gifts and friendship all these years! well, after touching down. dad and i took a cab to the new place :
56 Prescott Drive
Murdoch, WA 6150
Australia
18 july, friday
woke up. not used to cold. frost-bite on ass. went down to university with dad. signed up for units. pretty cool. toured the university more. didnt wanna look like a 'freshie fruitcake' on the first day. "excuse me, where's the ladies room..? i dont wanna go there, so i thought i'd ask.." yada yada. home. dinner with housemates at nearby asian cafe. dad paid. useful.
19 july, saturday
woke up. seat cold. mist when i breate out. took bus to perth city with dad. that is after cross-country walk to bus-stop. perth city is so-so fun. lots to see. but prolly can't sustain my interest for interest. mental note : must find decks and modulous bass!! took bus home. dropped by kardinya shopping centre to get misc. items. room now messy. dropped by singapore link event because housemate cheryline wanted free food. she's not glutton by the way. thought it'd be cool to meet folk, but i played it cool and acted aloof. met a geeky norweigian and even geekier sporean indian called ramesh. noticed some femail species. home. picked dad up. bought second hand stuff from dude called gerald. best deal of philips 2.1 600W speaker set with sub-woofer. went to eat chilli mussels with housemates cheryline, adrian and neighbour jessie. dropped by wayne's birthday party. who's also my neighbour. drank jessie's drink on behalf of her because wayne was being somewhat dickish forcing her to drink. but he was in that happy place. i didnt interfere on behalf of cheryline because i reckoned she was fiercer. still, he was a dick.
july 20, sunday
woke up. feet cold. bus to freemantle. b.fast of bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, tomatos and toast. found record store. great. home. rearranged room. repaired a table. dinner with felix and jessie at a food court. peivn popped by after her flight! pleasant suprise. hung out, talked. checked her place out. jealous. home. shower. blogging.

times are a changin'
well, i'll be flying off to perth in about seven hours time. touching down and writing a new chapter in 12 hours time. how do i feel? dreamlike.. i can't believe it's happening. stuff that i thought, i got over, seem to be resurfacing as i question my actions and thoughts. but it's too late for a change of mind. destiny has been set in motion. i'll see you on the otherside

reunited and it feels so good
well, mom and sis are finally home after spending four weeks in canada. they were visiting jia hui, alan and baby josh. must say they really enjoyed themselves. and for dad and me, it was an experience of bachelorhood. don't know if that's supposed to be a good thing. =p well, we're only gonna spend one day as a family unit. cuz well, i still am gonna fly off to perth so that i can pursue an education. as the day draws nearer.. it's like facing an ultimatium, or death row. it's like, i dont wanna sleep, i wanna stay awake. for wotever reasons i dont know. like breathe more spore air, or meet more local friends online. or just not packing to give the illusion that the day is so far away. but i'm afraid of changes, 'cause i've built my life upon you. but time makes us bolder, children get older, and i'm gettin' older too.. either that, or the caffine hasn't worn off yet.

drinking game
i am so irritated. am watching e!online's rank on channal i right now. the catergory is "25 sexiest men in entertainment". if you had to play a drinking game which involved theword word "sexy" i guruntee that you'd be soooo plastered on the floor i'd have to scrape you off the sidewalk. your liver would have disintegrated to ashes, or at the very less, transmongified into foi gras. every line in the descriptive monologue by the marternally babelicious brooke burke involved the word "sexy". i mean, you'd think they'd use a thesaurus to make the programme more gramatically exciting.
fyi :
(5) Ewan Mcgreggor
(4) Bradd Pitt
(3) Collin Ferell
(2) Ben Affleck
(1) Benjamin Brett

and the gathering at the radpad
snapped by morgan


the yuenster sharing his original pieces and personal choices to a grateful audience.

afua gig on 1307013
snapped by morgan

landslide - fleetwood mac
i took my love, i took it down
climed a mountain and i turned
and i saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
till the landslide brung it down

oh, mirror in the sky, what is love
can the child within my heart rise above
can i sail thru the changin' ocean tides?
can i handle the seasons of my life?

well, i've been afraid of changing 'cause i've
built my life around you
but time makes you bolder, even children get older
and i'm getting older too

well, i've neem afraid of changing çause i've
built my life around you
but time makes you bolder, even children get older
and i'm getting older too
oh, i'm getting older too

ah-ah, take my love, take it down
ah-ah climb a mountain and turn around
and if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
well, a landslide brought it down

you
made it happen. i thank the good Lord for friends who shared the stage, watched us perform, cheered us on, supported us, took pictures, held camcorders, recorded our music. being there for me, in companionship or or in confidence. praying for me, leading me, worshipping with me and reprimanding or pushing me beyond my known limits. you've all had a part to play in my life for one, and in the lives of each other. in one way or another. while we may not know the real reason why we're friends, we are. and to me, that's wot counts. that's enough proof for me that God's put you here for a reason. i wish i could say i love you guys to death, but i'm not that great a friend all the time. but thanks for being one. for those at the gig yesterday :
gt, thomas "funk soul bro" wu jack longay, kunz, shaun "shredder" seow, lyndon "lor sor" long, jonathan "bender" eng, daniel "double stroke" tan, "terrifying!" koh tat yang, melissa, weiyi, adrian "the yuenster" yuen, vinz aka napkin man, ian "the tagalok stallion" ortega, clement, huahui "pasir panjang bro", sue "lao pok" anne, daniel autobahn, morgan c. hoax, chris "funkymunky" yong, wei tee, jimmy!, weikang, liwen, eugene, wanlin (thanks for the cow!), xiuling, anne, jeannie, dearest cherie, hsia ling, kelvin "perthsucks" mok, steven "cobra-lat" tan, dympz, sharon and nic.
and even if you weren't there, we can't be there for each other all the time. but we're always together in spirit. to those that aren't in that list but you know who you are.

'twas was another night
can't believe i ended up at dbl-o on saturday night with my jc friends instead of my usual homies at zouk. but haha, it was still fun. i mean, it was a refreshing change in companionship. felt pretty psyched that day 'specially after waiting in line for an hour half. frankly, i had good mind to head back to zouk for reasons unmentioned. but i stayed on at dbl-o for reasons unmentioned too. =p but well, yeah, really enjoyed myself that night. apologies to vinz, ian, huahui, clement, mark, yanting, caroline and cheyanne if you wanted to seh me that night. but i was with dympz, agnes, sharon, felice, ryan, adrian and nicholas. and we are still on planet earth.

feel connected
been contemplating again why i blog. today i feel it's something like, being around people. well, it's not really about blogging, it's wiring up to the internet. y'know, i'm usually home alone alot. i guess it fights a certain feeling of lonliness. when the wing dings go off and you see people online. yeah.. it's like companionship. but yeah, it sounds weak and shallow. but sometimes you gotta do wot works. and to prove that i'm still gonna be connected, i'm typing all this on the laptop. oh man it's lovely. i just feel so w-i-r-e-d.

sobering up to the storm
right, so it was another night out. had dinner with a coupla army mates. y'know before in safti it wasn't like that. colleagues were friends only at work. the only hanging out after work and in 'real' life would be with cain whom i've now fallen out with and shaun, who's still a good bud till this day with the rest of test the next day. teaching me bass and inspiring us to more technical superiority and freedom =) well yeah, the purpose of this is usually i don't get too attached to work, but when i shifted camps to pasir ris where i spent my last year of ns, i met new friends. friends whom we hung out with whilst staying in. being around someone twenty for seven can go either way as with most things in life. but i guess when we had dinner at one-ninety at the four seasons hotel, i't was all good. gary, byon, jamie, muarice, thomas, weining, terrence and sean who gave me an AWESOME shirt and farewell dinner. i guess it is true, you do have friends from army. how's that for two and a half years of cynisism?

after that it was down to zouk with vinz, clem, thomas, sean, huahui and adrian(thanks for coming down even though you were so tired). met leodi and dickhed's friend chris(who vaguely remembers that i was the clerk during his cadet days). well, the music was nothing to rave about. dominant tribal, which meant more drinking. i don't know.. it didn't feel special. but still i'm glad to know that going to the club is not a constant high. it serves as a reminder that happiness isn't dependant on these things. you will feel sad at times, and no amount of alcohol, pills or drugs and chemical highs will give you true happiness. remember that =)

dark clouds befall me
can you smell the rain? if i had a digicam, i'd take a picture of the outside and immerse your soul in the melancholy of the drizzling raindrops. it just feels so peaceful now, the dim light over my desktop, mercury rev's frittering playing thru my speakers. i'll see you all in the next age.

he's sleeping on my bed..
my homie, funk soul brother thomas wu jack long-gay is nesting blissfully on my bed. poor dear had to wake up early to send a friend off. then came over to my humble abode and chill. plus work out parts for the two new songs for the set this sunday. it's a tad rushed, but i think we've got it down. so no fears, this is how we will end.

details about sunday :
organiser arts for us all
venue the stage opposite cold storage holland v
time first band 1930. we are the third and last band.
bands test the next day, some other band, my dark star

all this was followed by
a very strange night at zouk. not in a strange negative way. but a strange positive one. so like, after the play. jeannie and i made our way to the club, via orchard road. and lo and behold, who do we meet? my swim junior, nicholas teo and his friend. meeting him is a good thing, because he's a member. anyhow, once there we kinda got seperated. but found each other after i spent my coupons. how apt, took us to the memebr's area where we chilled. and was in for another suprise! nicholas had made plans to meet an ex-classmate of mine. dympna! and who was with her, none other than another of my ex-classmates, sharon! who in turn brought an ex-schoolmate, felice! this is turning out pretty good y'think? but no, dympna had her friends ryan and agnes ! and sharon had her friend yan ming!
this is totally insane. i met an old bmt buddy, vincent and an old safti colleague, mark over the course of the night.
and then, of all places who do i meet at the main floor? wendy!
i went to the club with one other person and ended up meeting an entire possé. and jeannie? well, it's her first time to the club and already she gets into the member's area! bloody insane! i don't have that kinda luck. anyhow, looked like everyone was enjoying themselves, left the main floor for hip hop at phuture midway. better for me. guess we were looser down there.
and like all things that work for the good of mankind, meeting wendy has its pros. and that's because she met the yuenster himself, adrian! who just happened to leave the velvet underground. who in turn called me to tell me he was gonna leave. now i reckoned this could be a free ride for jeannie to get home, so we left the club in quite a hurry. didn't really get a chance to say byebye to the rest of the group wished i did, felice looked cuter than when she was in school =p anyhow! after jeannie was home safe and sound after a sucessfulnight of infiltrating the scene, adrian invited me to chill at his place. i thought this only happened to women? hahaha, so yeah. never been to the rAdP@D before, guess i couldn't resist. well, he's so hospitable. gave me a drink, showed me his decks. let me in on some great videos on his computer like dave matthews, rancid, beastie boys, one-fifth.. tried to make his mov.. oh wait. yeah. then i had to leave. and them i'm back here. cuz i think it was an awesome awesome incredibly coincidental somewhat perfect night. coupled with the fact that i'm not wasted, and can't exactly turn in.

i did find it afterall
yeah, finding the singapore respertory theatre wasn't too difficult. our company basically just arrived there. no hum-dingers, no fireworks. quite a low-key affair for finally getting my bearings right. like it was supposed to happen.. anyways, atomic jaya is an awesomely funny play! haha, the satires do work, and the actors are insanely talented. playing multiple characters and impersonating un-funny political figures. stupendous!

ORD loh! (a commemorative series for that one special day)


shadow of the sun - audioslave

looking for the singapore respertory theatre
oh kay, i'm supposed to know where it is. i'm male, i'm supposed to know these things. but i dont, so i'm gonna let you in on a little secret called the singapore street directory online!. this baby friggin' rules. it's even got my home address when i key in the postal code. tells me how to get to the theartre even! the only problem is recognising where i am on the map. which is still a probem but i think i know where we are..

4 steps to getting lost

my favourite cowboy
i'm watching a backdated version of the late show with david letterman. his guest tonight is bruce willis. he's actually quite a handsome, charming dude. he came onto the show wearing a grass patch as a toupe. that's how funny he can be. and did i mention i love the die-hard series?

soak yourself in my dark star colours
all snaps by morgan

he's got something to say


the fires of hell attempt to swallow those with a voice


but heaven saves those who dare to speak up


lonely slaves waiting to be abused


and they scream in retaliation

hangin' out
y'know, over the past week. never really been spending much time with dad. 'specially now that mom and sis are in toronto, so its just the two of us we can make it if we try! (in falsetto), left to fend against the evil demons of laundry, dishes and scavanging for food. so yeah, today came as a welcome change for both of us. father and son hangin'out for lunch and dinner. sometimes, i try to blur the lines between the both of us, and get him to open up. it was so surreal. we were like friends, and family. God's blessed me with so much. yeh, i set aside today only to alleviate the guilt, but i wanted more than that. i'm not there for him all the time, but neither is he. but something about my upbringing, and my mother's prayers for the family keeps us there for each other.

a big shout out of thanks!
hey all! the gig on saturday was fantastic! it was great sharing that first time experience on a public stage with friends. thank you one and all for supporting the band and our material! adrian, vinz, clement, daniel, ian, joseph, lockie, chris, weichin, jimmy, lyndon, tat yang, leodi, your friends, caroline, angie, your friend, wanlin, diana, xiuling, jeannie, your friend. *phew* if you guys didn't go, we'd play to a non-existant audience. but thanks for coming and for all the kind words and encouragement. it means a lot to me =)
also, for everyone who contributed to vinz's masterplan of aquiring me the gravis battery pack, thank you so much!! i mean, you're all real sweet, and i didn't expect such a fantastic present! thanks thanks!! i really don't know wot else to say. love y'all lots! @<

debut!
we're really playing! sometimes i can't belive it. all those times when i'd be at the youth park, dissing bands. they're gonna say the same thing about us now! a dream come true! haha, but seriously, i do feel a bit of pressure, a kind of nervous excitement. it's a bolster in confidence that everyone in the band likes our own music. but yeah, i really wanna know the opinion of friends and the public. thanks in advance to all who're gonna make time to catch us play. and even if you're not coming, thanks for your direct / indirect support in each of our lives. and yes, i'd still like honest opinions.

my dark star live!
event : diva la soccer
venue : the youth park
date : today
time : 1945

my feet are still killing me
man, wot a horribly rushed day i had yesterday. well, the first half of the day was a complete waste of time thanks to the saf. they pushed the ippt trial test back from morning to evening. at the expense of my convinience of course. anyhow, i tried and tried like the little tank engine. but i could not jump farther than 216 for standing broad jump. which means i'm back at square one. but i'lljust kick major ass on tuesday when its the actual test!
anyhow.. after severly aching my feet thru intense high impact jumps and a 2.4 klick run to boot, the tendon area of my feet are so tender i've found a new method to tndorising meat. hell, homo-sapien brisket noodle anyone?
and then had to rush down to the youthpark for a rehearsal. we may not be pros, but i'm still gonna gripe about the lack of 'profesionalism'.
the sound crew was so inactive. well, they didnt give us any input about our sound at all. and we cant hear ourselves from where we are. really stunk. but oh well, guess you just cant be too dependant on some people. no offence to sound / stage crews, they're the backbone of any successful gig / concert.

do you need a reason to wake up?
there's nothing really more fitting to a growling stomach than post's honey bunches of oats with real strawberries! when you awaken first thing in the morning.

bleak

snapped by morgan on 010703

urban reconciliation

snapped by morgan on 010703

geothermal

snapped by the yuenster on 010703

strobe lights

snapped by morgan on 010703

shoegazer

snapped by morgan on 010703
brian : thanks morgan!

sixteen stone

snapped by the yuenster on 010703

the one ring

snapped by morgan on 010703

more snaps by napkin man here

shotgun buddy
hey look! i changed the title of my blogback system. *bling bling* anyhow, was at camp in the morning. my two point four kilometer run now stands at 11:30-11:59 a far cry from my glory days. but that's the least of my concerns. had lunch with ian and napkin man at far east plaza. chicken rice we did have. ian bought a new gimmie five t shirt. seeing this sort of decadance inspires me to one day come up with my own t-shirt label. shotgun buddy was quickly dismissed.

had to meet test the next day, which is basically the forum jammers : lyndon, daniel, shaun, tat yang, jonathan and melissa at alvron studios. great fun meeting up with them after so long!

their set list so far :
change
wave
impossible
love thing
fleeting moment
everything was just wicked! insane perfectionists, super talented but really nice.

after that, had to jam with my dark star
we continued working on our diva la soccer set :
lee
penetrate
overkill
new technology
starting to sound real good. really hope our friends and public like our original material. kinda feel a tad worried, about how everyone's gonna take it. whether, we might freeze up. real fears, real person.

it ended on this note
well, today was a great day spent with great people. the yuenster, napkin man, moragn and chris's sake. we had a blast just hanging around towne, an abandoned neighbourhood at rocher, selegie kopitiam and holland village. taking photos randomly and posing incoherently, we attempted urban reconcilliation. that is wot i shall dub my interpretation of our photohunt. as much time was spent adjusting apatures and lighting as well as conversation spewing from the cuckoo's nest. will post some photos up tomorrow maybe.

my dark star's gig is confirmed.
venue : youth park
day : 050703 saturday
time : 1945

we're playing at an event called diva la futbol. more info here