Climbing Closer

2008:

- Clubbed with mom at zouk.

-Had worst sem ever.

-Fell sick mid year that paralyzed me for 2 months, during which i found out which people are truly nice and which are not.

-Best birthday ever with only a few close friends with a cake visited me when i was sick, hope they know how much how much it means to me (i know some were away, you're counted too)

-2nd best christmas ever, spent it at friend's house with a couple others talking crap.

-Mom the best. Always.

-Wasted plenty of petrol and time doing the stupidest things which i can't justify.

-Went vietnam.

-Gave up on a bunch of things.

-Got my new DSLR =))

-Got my hair cut twice, both which shortly after i fell terribly sick.

-Bought less than 5 new clothes.

-Best animated movie: Wall-E

-Best drama: The Dark Knight

-Best cartoon: Dragonball Z

-Best comedy: Yes Man

-Best band this year: Lifehouse

-Amended relationships/friendship 3 times

-Current Status: Lost, directionless. But still hanging by the moment =p

-Resolution: None.

-Last words for 2008: Just another day!
Bye.

-2009 wishlist (not resolution)"

• New lenses
• External flash
• GRADUATE
• Travel more
• Music
• Hopefully still alive
  

-Drifting-

Merry Christmas?

-Fairer than a thousand lilies-

Oh My God!...

... is a play i attended with TienMing, Rach, Justin and PapaBing.

Here are my thoughts on it:

- Some of me friends complained say its not nice and all. For me, i thought it was nicely done, the backdrop was nice, wall made with white squares which can be turned to a different color using lighting techniques, each color represents different settings and i think it somehow represents the mood of each scene.

- Noticed everything was white in the play, the furnitures, to the floor, to everything else but the actor's and actress' clothing. To me it represents purity, or what religion strives to present itself as. Since the play was about religion, as the title implies.

- The actor and actresses were pretty good, expressive, though some to me were overly expressive. I must agree with PapaBing that the director quickly used comic relief after every heavy statement on religion, to avoid conflict? or we still conservative in nature?

- In the play, it got me thinking, that religions are religions, what separates one from another? Aren't we in the end all humans and actually are related one way or another? Why then the world treats every one differently, sometimes solely based on religion allegiances. I guess, i was moved by the message that sometimes underneath all the things we wear and masks, we are just a fragile core easily shattered, easily broken.

- Also, another message i think it was trying to give was that why do we hold on to religion so much? to what end? for what purposes? Sometimes, embracing it too much quickly becomes a bad thing, we lose focus on what is important, what is needed, instead we want to be important to people that have no connection to your departure from this temporary world.

- Where do we stand? Are we just being religious to make ourselves feel better? To balance out the darker side of humanity? Things to ponder about, i guess if our motives are wrong in the first place, no different if we say we are followers of God or not.

Objective Review:
- Ok, enough of my own views of the message in the play. Here are some thoughts on the performance itself. (though i may have mixed it in earlier in the section above)
- Worth my money? It was alright, though i think the story could be written clearer and more things added to it, instead it was a bit too much talking, and if you don't know BM, i think a whole chink of it would be useless to you. (not cross-cultural).
- I don't understand why plays need to always make reference to sex or anything related to it. Intentional? I like to see a very witty play without some subtle jokes to sex. I agree it's funny, but only so much, only soooo much.
- As i mentioned, backdrops nice, acting standard quite good. One of the better plays i've seen, to me that is. =)

-Same Difference-

Fore!

-4th Pic in Hotel Washroom! ParkRoyal Hotel in Vietnam-

I'm back, Baby!

Falling For You

We did it! Mich! WE DID IT!

Haphazard planning to go to Sg. Pisang waterfall actually happened.

All started last week when i was suffering (studying some psych finals), Mich popped an offline message saying let's go waterfall, i agreed! And while i was not really a planner, some final pushes from her and we got a few people to go! (HocMun, Jeff, Justin, Mich, Mich's sister and also a friend - Ben, and myself)

So yes, tuesday morning, breakfast with me pallies, then rendezvous with Mich and her side. Then off we go!!
Unfortunately, we made a few errors while navigating =p
We ended up making a few wrong turns and had to backtrack to restart the whole journey, hehe.

But we managed to get there though unsure of our own navigating skills, with a help of a local, we managed to reach the starting point of the trek.

The locals warned us not to get lost, and don't follow voices O_o haha, they really meant don't follow the schoolchildren's voices there while trekking because it will lead off and we may get lost.
After much tips from them, we decided to start!
Er, unfortunately, we totally totally got screwed at the start, we crossed the river to the other side, to find the road leads no where (or so someone thought.....) so we crossed the river again, but the local redirected us back, so we crossed again, but we still clueless to where to go, then we decided go against the local's advice and trek a different path, mana tau we found the tunnels! BUT, we have to cross the river AGAIN, this time even in harsher conditions, since it was quite a hassle to cross the river at that point, after much tussle we did it! Whoa, about an hour plus JUST to get to the 2nd starting point!! Totally memalufying.......But the tunnel was cool, dark and kinda walking towards the light at the end of the tunnel hehehe


So we started our path, it's like stream trotting! Follow the river to its source, muddy, wet, but i thought it was pretty fun, nature! Took couple of pics, i think we had fun, or so i personally thought so. Streams weren't particularly hard, good thing i wore shoes, got much grip, only downside was it accumulates sand and rocks in ya shoe and makes it painful to walk. hahaha, also we actually lost quite a few stuff =p
Including a pair of slippers (one from two members makes a pair!)


Midway we met a group who came later than us but already on their way down, they said," You should have followed us". Haha, big help, but nah, it was alright. An hour passed, we got to the waterfall! It was awesome, had two water falling from two sides, a very nice sight. The waterfall became heavier with the passing of time, and the wind brought chills to our already wet self =)


Nice, cold, VERY COLD indeed. But it was nice to submerge yourself into the cold water and just relax. Of course, HocMun took pics and so did others. I like it there alot, well maybe some other time will head back there! All in all, a great experience, not everyday we get to leave the concrete jungle for something this natural, i guess i can get used to the idea of hiking and all, plus it paves way for great nature shots, which i am quite interested in.


Going back wasn't as long, because we kinda leveled up haha...Took us less than when we went up, found Justin's other slipper which he lost earlier, but kinda wasted, because he abandoned the other slipper elsewhere because we thought we couldn't retrieve it anyway ahahahaha, life, what games it plays on us hahaha


Went back to thank the local, he told us got a few more waterfalls ahead, but not for amateurs, apparently haha. And we had lunch and head home. Ahh, tired, but well worth it, good people, good weather, good trip. What a way to begin holidays!

A few hours planned trip became half a day outing haha. But we did it! Mich we did it! Congrats!
Woots!

-For or Against the Current?-

Water Course

Went shopping with mom, bought one stuff, then head home.

Think mom also cannot stand shopping with me, i detest window shopping (for clothes), if for guitar, or other me-related stuff, i totally would spend some time but still a relatively short while looking at it.

But good thing is, for the rest of the afternoon, it was my time, no one to chat with ( =( ), no one to email, no one called me, i called no one, mom left me alone, just me, myself and i.

And it was good, my text says some people deliberately find time alone but not to say they are anti-social, but a time to rest and find themselves and grow.
Precisely that!

It was good, so good, i wished it hadn't end so soon.
Just spent time watching, doing nothing, dazing, recollecting thoughts, thinking, missing, guitar, staring at the ceiling, gaming (yes, finally back into gaming, thank you holidays!), dreaming, reading.

I got a friendship hierarchy going on, sound bad, but there are acquaintances, friends, close friends and more than friends.
No points for guessing which one has the least people in it =p

Easier to organize, i mean i treat them all mostly the same, but when comes to things to prioritize, then i would prefer the higher ups than down, but i enjoy meeting all, so don't get me wrong, just easier to organize this way.

Rarely i shift people around, but some tend to move up, rarely people move down. But as i always say, close friends i need a few is enough.
You bother to know where you stand? haha, as if i bother telling as well.

2 days into my holidays, seems so little and so much to do!

Anticipating 2009. A full year ahead. Will you join me?

-Hmmmmmm-

The Joke

-Always someone out there better than you, accept it or fight?

-Waves of familiar faces, are you one of them?

-Throne traded for the scars, can you do the same?

-Amidst the crowd, is there a place for you?

-In the end, who can stand?

-Layers after layers, lost or conformed?

-Open your eyes, reality or illusion?

-The unseen standard, fall short or strive?

-Friends and foes, pick a side or walk away?

-To be or not to be?

-Sometimes not too bad to pretend to be one of them-

12 Days Before Christmas

-The Fuzzy Tragedy-

Buzzz

As i sift through the business of the roads in Pj, i peered around, as much as my eyes allowed me to. Bombardment of billboards and colorful pretttyyy pictures landed on me all at once, filling my brains with nonsensical crap, turning over whatever cells i have left in my brain to generate information, to influence me, to make me succumb to their pressures and entice me to bow before what was before me.

Interestingly, as i took a step back, or in this case, slowed my car a lil. The lies were apparent, the truth stepped in.
Bloody crap (not literally, but figuratively)! We all are too busy!
Everything is now fast, *snap fingers*, fast, let's move it, let's go!
Fast! Breakfast should be fast (ignore the pun). Tv should be without commercials, banking without queuing, online/vegas marriage.
We're busy everyday every year.
Where did time go?
No where. 24 hours a day is enough.
Take time off, do things at your own space, with busyness comes lack of actual thinking (i mean wisdom), we often rely on things to get us somewhere fast or do things speedily, but never stop to appreciate finer things in life.
Time to slow down. Look at the stars, moon, water dripping from the tap. Whatever, just slow down.
Don't play catch up with the world.
Though i don't know how true is this but:
B e
U nder
S atan's
Y oke

I hate being busy, sleeping time all gone, GONE I TELL YOU!
Dammit.

-Fishies in a Circle-

SOS - State of Shock

Exams couldn't come sooner, wanna live life outside of books and lectures already!

2008 drawing to an end, instead of emo-ing, i say good riddance!
Time to leave it behind and not stay inside!
Time to move on!

yay!-Why can't we see when we bleed we bleed the same?-

Bask

That makes 3 pics of me being in hotel restroom taking pics of myself in the mirror. The other 2 in FB. Guess which hotel is this? Full body mirror! whoo-hoo!

Raining days are the best, cooling, makes the day's timing go wild with you guessing the time since it is mostly cloudy throughout the day.

Been actively doing 'stuff'. To a greater extent than i expected of myself, and it is good, Better than wasting time doing other stuff which was lame and benefited no one.
People flew back from overseas, met with them, they're alright.
Waiting for Nesh.
Nesh!! NESH! You are the only one left i'm waiting for, come home quick, i get to spend that FEW days with you since i not going anywhere else!
Come back! COME BACK! ok sound too desperate, he's a guy, and no, he's not gay. i.....am....not too.


Been turning down outings and mamak sessions with pals due to finals, argh! why can't our sem be in sync with public unis? makes more sense that way than some of us so oddly out of place during this time of the month when it should be holidays!
I like, one guy i used to dislike, nowa good friend of mine says, "we're making for lost time" when he hangs out with me. How much time must we lose due to petty disputes? Either solve it or cut it.
Rainy days. The drops from heaven quenches the thirst of earth. Magnificent.

- Apple Of His Eye-

Distortion

Finals this week, 3 papers in the span of 2 days, prepared? Who can ever be? Confident? Whatever God allows me to be.
Do my best.

With the mission trip officially postponed, time to buck up and have a blast during holidays =)
Cousin's wedding in Vietnam! more photo shoot outings! Local trip in other states! Singapore!!!!!
YAY!

Too much to do, too little time for petty nonsense to bother me!
Take charge.
As Steven Curtis Chapman puts it,
" I'm diving in
I'm going deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush
Lost in the flow
In over my head I wanna go
The river's deep
The river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swim
I'm diving in"

-Slippery Ground Makes You Fall-

It Starts With..

The Gingerbread Man
Runs down the road
Looking for his gumdrop buttons
To no avail did he find any
So where can he go?
Where does life takes it?
Into a glass of milk?
Into crumbs will he return to?
Where dost its meaning to be what he be be?
Run, run, run
For he is the gingerbread man.

When?

When we were back in high school, age seems to matter, in a way that we are respected by younger people.

All that changes when you step into the big boys (or girls) world, where age as a barrier has been lifted, and all you see are people who think they are different and independent striving to be someone whom the society will come to accept as a honorable contributor to its wellbeing.

When they think they are different, they really fall back into the same category or being like everyone else.
With age comes maturity
with maturity comes wisdom
with wisdom comes discernment
with discernment comes enlightenment

Yet, in now a "look out for number 1" world, respect has lost its privileges, age has become something to lie about, the fundamentals has changed.

In uni, as long as you don't make the cut into the high and lofty society, you will never be "someone", this faulty thinking brought down countless souls into depths of despair and to paths of destruction. Sad when you think about it.

Let us strive to be ourselves, wonderfully and fearfully made, to not see things as how we want to see it, for it only invites selfishness.

Growing pains lingers past youthfulness.

Lets trade it for something better.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you appear as "no one", but rather, let us take the risk and go for the "unattainable".

-Upside down, the world plays games on us-

Retro

Old Canon Powershot A80 photo! Nice camera by the way =)

Ok, won't photo spam, this is not a photo blog anyway hehehe

Finally handed in my last assignment for this semester, been a hectic busy one, every week seem to have something to do. Loads of new experience, the sick period i had earlier made things easier for me to decide, such as what to do and where to go.
So this sem i rate it good.

Some friendship improved, some neglected, some unpolished, but all in all, it was good.

Time to move on, gonna graduate soon, must make use of my last year in uni.

Come this holidays, though Thai mission trip postponed, but got plenty stuff to do and plenty of people to meet.

So why not organize some stuff and let me know? I'll be there (yes, i am shamelessly inviting myself to whatever you( who is reading this blog) are planning! i can be your photographer =)
for free?

ABC

Asian Beat Band Competition! Loon Fay from Photomalaysia.com graciously extended invitations for photographers to volunteer for the event and snap pics. Right after church, went down to Beach Club, KL. Monorail broke down, and was super late and packed!!

Basically, i went there with kit lens in my gear (haha, christmas is near, get me some good gear! hohoho!), therefore under those lightings, most of my shots underexposed, and did not do any post processing, but i picked out a couple to show you. Got some more, but uploading slow..so next time la.

This guy above damn cool, like Simymo, i like this band, unfortunately, the rest of the participants were darn noisy, typical rock kind, i dare not say they sucked at playing or singing, but too much noise can become TOO MUCH NOISE. so so noisy, can't hear the words sung, guitar was full of typical malaysian rock solos, only slicing and fast picking but not really in harmony with other band mates and not much rhythm to it. Tsk tsk, can't we adopt "less is more" when writing music? haiyo, my turn to write la!

So shot shot shot, with my kit lens, i can barely do much except to hope for the best with my settings and my trial and error shots. But got to meet new people, photographers as well from the forums, nice people.

At the end of it, we were rewarded with a group photo! yay! Beer which i did not drink, instead i took coke, and it's free! whee!
Got free Yamaha t-shirt too! so cool, and got a tag saying we photographers of the event, haha, indeed, indeed.
Through this, experience gained, knowing my limits and my gears limits, really need to save up to buy some good practical gears! Met new people, which always is a plus point for me.

In the end, the group won and representing M'sia in the international finals is some rocker group whose music i could not appreciate, Sorry man, i like cleaner stuff, noisiness also has its limits mann...
Msian music scene got hope, but not as much when bands who only play certain kind of music are promoted, i heard some underground stuff and they are pretty good, must go learn from them as well. Let's write stuff, anyone interested?