A brief summary of what happened on Saturday

I went MAAD (Market of Artists And Designer) together with a friend. Review: Feels good =). Of particular interest is a Stall of Poets. You just give them your name and a word, they will write a poem impromptu and you can come back and collect in 10-15 mins and pay any amount you like. I gave them 'Jiefeng' and 'Magic'.

 

*15 mins later*

 

I got back an envelope, type-written (yes, they used those obsolete type-writers):

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

      

 

                  it's a         kind of magic

 

                                                                  jia feng

                                                                 .............

 

 

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(Yes, they spelled my name wrongly, and there is no stamp.) I paid them $5, for mine and my friend's, and left.

 

 

Then we went Raffles City, ate Roti Plata with Egg and Roti Plata with Cheese and Sausage, bought copy of Daily Bugle (the newspaper is owned by Peter Parker's boss) at $1, a Neil Gaiman story book titled Coraline at a comic shop, and saw a very interesting wine glass in another shop. The label on the glass reads:

 

 

'A MAN IS INCOMPLETE UNTIL HE IS MARRIED...

 

THEN HE IS FINISHED.'

 

 

 *Pondering...* (Should I complete myself? ) Hmmm... Haha! =P

 

Then there is still time, so we went CHIMES for a walk, admiring the architecture abit, before we went Victoria Theatre for the production, 0501.

 

 

The Front of House was dark, and there is eerie sound effect. Big glass jars lies on the floor, small lighted light bulbs in side the jars, wires all over the floor and ceilings.

 

We were greeted by a usher and were told that we still can't go into the theatre yet, later we will be shown where is the entrance, meanwhile we can take a look at the installation art... (Met Xiangbin, Jingwen and their bunch of TTP friends while we were hanging around outside the theatre.)

 

The show / experience began there and then, the moment you reach the theatre, even before you go into it, and it felt like we were going for Fright Night. You felt expectant, wondering what the show is about, and abit scared even. It is, for the lack of a better word, interesting!

 

Then it is time and the usher lead us out of the Front of House, round the side of the theatre, and entered through the back door. And we found ourselves on the stage! (Ok, strictly speaking it is the backstage, with the cyclorama rolled up, so the backstage and the stage is merged into one.) We sat on the stools provided, facing the cushioned seats. All around us are metal tins hanging on ropes from the top. Inside are our program booklets. (Ok, it is not booklets. It is just big sheets of paper rolled up.) In front and behind us are strange installations, cage, stacks of fans, platforms and a dog (real one), with the actors doing their respective stuffs. Minutes later, the dim lights went faded out, one actor abruptly pull a rope and all the metal tin buckets with their program booklets rise up. The show started.

 

(Hmmm... I did say I this entry is a brief summary, didn't I? Okok, I will keep it short.)

 

The show ended. Lights up. One actor in front gestured to us, inviting us to walk down the stage and exit by the entrance. (Only after he gestured a few time then we managed to realize he wanted us to leave...)

 

What I think of the show? It is abstract, beautiful, thought provoking, extreme immersing, dream-like, unique. An experience. Nice. I know you will like it. Too bad you didn't watch it.

 

A fulfilling Saturday. Satisfied. =)

 

 

P.S. Sorry sisters. Can’t meet up with you gals yesterday. My fault.

 

P.P.S. For those interested to know what is between 'The show started' and 'The show ended', you can look at my friend's blog entry, though I believe it is such an experience that it can never be expressed through words. (Actually is I'm lazy. Haha! =P) 

 

P.P.P.S. For those interested to know what is inside the poet's envelope, it is this:

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

ILLUSIONS

                              delusions

                                                 magic

 

         capture

                            mesmerize

                                            dazzle

                                                         lie  to  me

 

 

                                                 MAGIC!

 

 

i  want  to  believe  your  tricks

                                                                           when  make  yourself  disappear…

                                                                                                      it’s

 

                                                                               magic!!!!

 

 

         let  me  see  that  act

                                                where  you  cut  me  to  pieces

                                                                                        magic!!!

 

                                                          i am whole again.

 

 

         flowers  churn  from  your  hat

                                                          birds

                                                                          emerge  from  your

                                                                                                       empty

                                                                                                                 hands

 

 

                                                                              magic!!!

 

 

 

                   `                   i stand in awe

 

                                                                           you

                                                                           great

                                                                           magician

 

 

 

 

                                                                 magic!!!

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Nice!

 

 

Updates

It has been a long time since I blogged (and this time yet again is under the effect of caffeine =). The reason is because there is nothing much to blog about. Just working, reading comics and novels (currently Smokes and Mirrors and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and Bleach), sleep. Recently feeling kinda VERY tired after wor, despite the Boss has gone Taiwan again, his remote control is still as strong and we frequently have to work overtime til 7pm. Haiz... sianz. But it more relaxing during office hours la. Have been playing a village building game on the internet. It has spread like a virus and became the craze of the office nowadays - a very fun game!  =) You can try it too if you are feeling very bored. This is the site: http://s3.travian.com

 

Anw the highlights so far...

 

Ever since I stated that I want to watch more theatre performances in my entry long long ago, I've almost watched one every weekend... namely 《暗恋桃花源》, 《黄城夜韵》, Titoudao, and last week 《我们的歌大家唱》.

 

Actually 《我们的歌大家唱》is not really a theatre performance, and I didn't watch it either. It is mass sing-along session held in the National Stadium (whose targeted audience is middle aged people), and I was selling food and drinks in the midst of the audience as a free labour mobile food seller! Why am I doing this? Because of the damned lamp post that I borrowed for hall production la! I don't know why every year hall production sure got park scene one, and I have to borrowed that lamp post for 2 consecutive years! And now I gotta repay the debt with my sweat. Argh!

 

But it is fun la! Met quite a few old friends from JC days, made quite a few new friends from The Theatre Practice (in short TTP, the show company I helped, and I borrowed lamp post from) too. Hmmm I guess next time it will be even easier for me to borrow that stupid lamp post. =P Anw I didn't exactly leave empty handed that day. At least got a free food and drinks and TTP T-Shirt. Hehe.

 

There is one peculiar incident that happened that night. We worked until around 11pm that night, it was raining hard, and my friends all went back to TTP in a lorry. I was kinda at a loss on how to get back home. In the end I just hopped on a stranger's (she is from TTP, thought she was a JC student but turns out that she is one year older than me and has been working for 4 years as a teacher! An awkward + strange + interesting experience, taking a stranger's family car...) dad's car, took a ride to Bishan, and took a train home. Then just as I reached the lift of my flat, a family of 5 also came in at the same time... the eldest daughter was wearing the same TTP shirt as me... and that family is living just one apartment from me, on the same level! It is so... qiao3! (Shit, don't know the equivalent in English.) Turns out that she was doing CIP for her sec school, NYGH. Well... made another 'friend' (if a neighbour that you just exchanged 2 sentences despite living beside each other for years can be consider as friend).... =)

 

Haha... Actually I am just rambling on things that no one will really be interested in (just like my 《暗恋桃花源》entry), so I guess I better don't go on with the summary of Titoudao and 《黄城夜韵》. Just wanted to write something, hee (damned the effect of Mocha Frappe =P). 

 

There is another thing that is of notable interest to me (most probably not to you). I finally bought HSBC Chinese Growth Fund after all these months! Felt guilty that I didn't do any in-depth research on it.  I just read the graph - after one month of down-slope (triggered by the market correction), the graph is finally continuing with its trend of up-slope for the past 5 years - then I told myself, 'Jiefeng, cannot procrastinate anymore, Just Do It!' So I just clicked the 'Buy Order' button at POEMS website, paid the lump sum using EPS at a ATM I passed by after work, and Woalaa! I got the units after 3 days, at $35.68/unit. Kinda exciting, like playing game, except it is using real money. Hopefully my instinct was right! Huat ah! =P  (Actually I'm lucky that I did procrastinate for a few months before I bought the fund. If I bought a few months earlier, I would have ganna the downslope! Heng ah! Haha!)

 

Back to my 'theatrical education' topic. Next week will be watching 0501 produced by the Finger Players. Looking forward to it. Hmmm maybe I might shun bian visit the MAAD Market before the show... heard of it from an advertisement in Arts Central (yupyup, I've been watching Arts Central since I have nothing to do most of the time during weekdays' nights), that place sounds interesting. =P And Good Friday is in next week!!! It will be a great week ahead!

 

Happy April Fools! =)

 

 

P.S. Just received a sms from my colleague telling me to bring my hard drive tmr as he already got Command and Conquer... It is going to be a very good week ahead. =)

 

Visual DNA

http://dna.imagini.net/friends/swf/widget.swf

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Koped from PF's blog =)

 

 

Shop

Recently, I've been thinking about what I want to do when I graduate. Strangely I don't find being an engineer very appealing to me, despite that is what I've been studying for for the past 24 years, minus the time when I'm not studying. (I guess that left only about 1 year. =P)

 

There are only two kinds of profession in this world - The first are those that maintain and improve our way of life, eg. engineers, doctors, accountants, lawyers, etc. The second are those that give life to our way of life, eg. actors, writers, musicians, artists, philosophers etc.

 

I feel that, in my blood, I belong to the second category.

 

And I wanted to be a shopkeeper.

 

My shop will be situated on a very stylish and lively street, or in a secluded and peaceful corner of a very lively shopping centre. The keyword is 'lively', the place doesn't matter. The interior will be either brightly lit, to give a happy and lively feeling; or dimly lit, to give a magical and mysterious atmosphere; or both. I've yet to decide. Outside the shop, carved artistically on a wooden board or an acrylic, will be the name of my shop: 

 

 

INTEREST(h)INGS

Ideas, Inspirations, Imaginations

 

 

And the things you find in my shop, you won't find somewhere else. At the left side of my shop will be the shelves, on which beautiful bottles of various shapes, sizes, colors are displayed. On the front of the bottles will be pasted with nicely designed labels:

 

|-----------------------------------------------|

|      Bottled Happiness       |     

|      (Just add hot water)        |

|-----------------------------------------------|

 

Of course there will be other bottles like 'Bottled Love' and 'Bottled Dreams' etc.

 

Actually what is inside the bottle is a piece of colored dry ice cube. For those who never play with dry ice before, I promise you that it will be fun. =) Behind the bottle will be a line from my year one hall production script -

 

"Whether you can hold it, or not, it is up to you."

 

=)

 

Bottled ? is just one of my pet products. There are other products also. The shelf next to the Shelf of Bottles will be the Shelf of Ideas and Inspirations. The shelf will be packed with A4 size envelopes, each level is differently categorized: Stories, Arts, Music, Inventions, Business. Each category will again divide into sub-categories, eg. Stories -> Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Triller, Love, War, Short Story etc etc.

 

Inside the envelopes will contain papers where there are ideas or inspirations for its respective category. Each envelope will have a different price, ranging from 50 cents to a few hundred dollars, depending on how inspiring it is. Let say you randomly take a $20 envelope from the Invention - Mechanical section, this is what you will find inside:

 

 

                                                                                   ***********************

 

Hi, You Who Are At A Loss Of What To Invent,

 

Have you ever thought about what is the most troublesome dish on a dinner table? That's right! It is a plate of prawns that have their irritating shells on! Imagine how much you will earn if you manage to invent some simple and elegant device to remove their shells! Here is what you need to get started - 3 possible ways how a Prawn Shell Remover could work:

 

*Some very hazy diagrams and very vague explanations*

 

Well, this is it! Hope that you will be inspired, and successful in inventing it, and earn big bucks! Btw if you haven't read the Terms and Conditions in small print at the back of the envelope, you might want to read them now. Good luck!

 

Regards,

The Shopkeeper

 

************************

 

Yup, behind the envelopes:

 

Terms and Conditions

1. Once opened considered sold. No refund.

2. Five percent of profits from the product inspired by information contained inside this envelope will be given to the Shopkeeper. Hehe.

3. Each idea will only sell to you and you alone. However, if the idea doesn't develop into a product in 2 years, the Shopkeeper reserves the right to sell the idea to another person. 

 

 

My target customers will range from primary school kids who don't know what to write for their composition, poly students who don't what to do for their project, to established artists, musicians, professors etc who are looking for inspirations for their next breakthrough. =)

 

 

Let me continue with the layout of my shop. Besides the Shelf of Bottles and the Shelf of Ideas and Inspirations, is the Shelf of Surprises. On the shelf will be boxes of assorted shapes and sizes, all wrapped up nicely. There will be a range of prices, but you will never know that is inside. It will be all random randomness. It may be a lucky clover leaf, or a little hand-made bookmark, or an art sculpture, or a brass puzzle, or a board game you have never played before, or a pair of tickets to a play you will never have thought to watch. All you know is that, the things inside will be an interesting novelty which can't be found easily elsewhere.

 

For people who wants a little surprise in their life. =)

 

 

And that's all for the shelves on the left. At the end of the shop, there will be a display counter, behind which there is a man, and behind which there are more shelves. Who is the man? He will be a magician cum trickster. In the display counter and on the shelf will be bags of tricks, magical devices, strange contraptions, poker cards, wands and books of magic. Here you will be able to learn the secrets of mind reading, spoon bending, levitation, misdirection, transformation of objects etc etc. ...little miracles that brighten up your life and the life of others around you.

 

On the right will be another counter, quite a big one, and that is where The Shopkeeper, which is me, will be. And guess what, I'll be selling coffee - mocha, latte, cappuccino, frappe etc etc! Haha! All coffees will be served with double shots unless the customer requests otherwise. At the center of the shop will be tables and chairs, for people to chill out, read magazines, chit-chat, relax, discuss, brainstorm, and think of world changing ideas (with the help of my double shots coffees, of course =P). And once in a while, when he feels like it, the in-house magician will go around and amaze the customers with his little walkaround magic. I guess pple in this stressful country needs to be amazed once in a while. =)

 

Yup that's all. So what do you think of my shop? Anyone wants to invest? LOL!

 

 

Trivia

A caffeine rush never fails to make me want to blog. Tried Belgian Chocolate Ice Blended instead of the usual The Ultimate at Coffee Bean. Damned sweet, but it's rich. Nice. =)

 

Anwz today's entry will be ramblings as usual. It will start off with a little piece of trivia and end off with a little piece trivia.

 

(Don't worry, they are not the same trivia. Though I originally intend to make it so. Hee. =P)

 

Trivia Number 1

Have you ever wondered what the piece of rectangle on your laptop, which allows you to move the cursor using your finger, is called, and how it works? I've been musing on the above questions during one of my fits of 'boredness' at the office. I tried rubbing the rectangle of my company's laptop with a rubber, my wallet's leather, and a small cute furry Australian 'Hugging Kola Bear' (whose is hugging a stick of glue). The rubbings might had excite / stimulate the Kola Bear, but they sure didn't make the cursor move. And I wondered why. So, I did a little research today, and here's the answer:

 

The rectangle is called a Touchpad, and it works by sensing the changes in capacitance created when your finger touches the pad. Put simply (as I understand it), the touchpad is made of a conducting metal grid (determining location) covered by a non-conducting plastic membrane. Your finger / body is a (grounded) conductor. If you know your physics well, 2 conductors separated by a thin non-conductor causes charge built-up, and that charge difference between the conductors is called capacitance. And the Touchpad senses the change in capacitance on the metal grid as your finger moves around, and moves the pointer accordingly.

 

Kola Bears (toy ones) doesn't work because they are insulators. Try metals, they works (given enough surface area).

 

I tried explained this to some pple. They gave me the 'Human body is conductor meh?' look. Then I would give them the 'Ya hor. Why har?' look. Afterall human body isn't exactly made of metal, isn't it? So, I did a little research, and hence, I present to you, Trivia Number 2!

 

Trivia Number 2

Actually the answer is very simple (I've just forgotten it). Given enough voltage, current can pass through almost anything, even insulator. Strictly speaking, materials ain't exactly divided into conductor or insulator (or semiconductor, for those who are engineers). Conductivity isn't so black and white, there are a range of greys in between. Human body is less conductive than conductors like metals, but is more conductive than insulators like plastics/ceramics - somewhere in the middle of the spectrum... but still, it conducts current in that situation nevertheless , so, human body is a conductor.

 

Frankly speaking, I hate grey areas. That's why semiconductor is one of my most lousy subjects. T_T

 

 

《暗恋桃花源》

Watched 《暗恋桃花源》, directed by Stan Lai (赖声川), last Saturday with 2 friends and a bunch of strangers (friends' friends). The play is damned good. Tech is good. Effect is good. Story is good. Style is good. 3 hours long, 3 hours of pure enjoyment (except for a few parts which is a little boring). The story goes like this:

*Spoilers Alert! *

The setting is 1940s, in the war-torn Shanghai, under the moonlight. A loving couple, 江滨柳 & 云之凡 is about to be separated. 之凡 is leaving for her hometown together with her family for a few months. Here, lovebirds promised to keep in touch and pledged their undying love for each other forever blah blah blah... (This is the boring part.)

At the end of the scene, an disgruntled old man, the director, comes onto the stage complaining to the 2 actors that they didn't get the feel right. ("云之凡不是这样的，她就像一朵纯洁的白色山茶花..." To which the frustrated actress replied, "导演，山茶花怎么演啊???") It turns out that they are rehearsing for a tragic play called 《暗恋》. At this point, strange props and pple starts coming onto the stage. Another drama group has booked the theatre for rehearsal that same night! ( 滨柳 :" 怎么这样？为了这出剧我推掉了《白色巨塔》leh!" ) So the director went off angrily to find the manager, and this other group begins rehearsing for their comedic play, 《桃花源》.

(Meanwhile, a mysterious woman was looking high and low for a guy called 刘子骥, which no one in both drama group knows.)

The setting is ancient China, in a house. This couple is unhappy with each others. The guy, a loser fisherman, who manage to catch only small fishes, suspects his wife is committing adultery with his landlord, which she is. To keep a long story short, the fisherman left the house in anger after a big quarrel to go to the dangerous upstream to catch big fishes, while the wife and the landlord happily stay in the house and do whatever they want to do. 

Then is back to 《暗恋》. (A cock assistant 小胖 in 《桃花源》sent its next scene's backdrop to Malaysia, so, cannot they continue.)

滨柳, now married, old and dying, is lying on his bed in a hospital in modern Taiwan. (He immigrated there years ago) After all these years, he still cannot forget 之凡 even though he already has wife and kids. He found out that 之凡  has also came to Taiwan many many years ago, so he puts a notice in the newspaper, hoping that she will see that article and see him one last time... 

Then is back to《桃花源》. The fisherman rowed his boat upstream and encountered a big storm. (Here is where all the impressive effects came in: smoke, lightning, and fisherman flying here and there (using steel wire)! ) At the end of the journey, he reached a Paradise, where red petals falls non-stop (really non-stop for 15-20mins!); cows, horses and other animals roam freely (pple in animal costumes, damn cok! =P). There he met his wife and the landlord look-alikes (the inhabitants of the paradise), who keep telling him to relax... relax.. relax...

Suddenly, there is a blackout.  小胖 had cut the main wire in an attempt to stop the other group from rehearsing... ermm... (Haha!) Ganna screwed, and so, he say he'll repair it during...

---------  Intermission  --------- 

After intermission, the 2 groups, unhappy with the progress they are making, decide to divide the stage into half and rehearsal separately. However they keep interfering with each other and the result is utter and complete confusion. (This s the most hilarious part. =) In the end, they decide rehearse one by one.

《桃花源》: The fisherman, now a very serene and peaceful person (after hearing people kept telling him to relax non-stop), decides to go back and bring his wife and landlord to the Paradise after a few days against advice. However, it turns out that many years have passed in the real world, and his wife and landlord've already married with kids (though they are also unhappy with each other). At first they thought the fisherman is a ghost ("那里有牛，有马..." "哇! 牛头马面!!!"), then when they are convinced he's still alive, they thought he's crazy and refused to believe him...

...leaving the poor fisherman alone in the real world...  

(And for those of you who have read the original 陶渊明 's《桃花源记》, you'll know that the fisherman will never find his way back to the Paradise again.)

《暗恋》: 之凡  , now old and also married, eventually came to visit 滨柳. There, they found out that Fate has played a trick with them. In the vast China, they have managed to meet each other and fall in love in Shanghai despite living in different parts of China. Yet, in the (comparatively) small Taiwan, they were kept from each other despite that they both immigrate there soon after they separated... In the end,  之凡  left, went back to her family, leaving 滨柳 with his. Here, sorrows and regrets lingered in the air...

This is the end of the rehearsal. Both groups congratulate each other, pack up and leave the theatre happily. All left.

Except for the mysterious woman, who is still searching for her equally mysterious beloved, 刘子骥.

--------- The End  ---------

 

It is simply a good show. Spectacular effects, comedy/tragedy contrast, extremely funny scripting aside, it has one thing that I feel all good shows should have - it is thought-provoking.

And it really provoked quite a variety of thoughts:

'Many things in this world are elusive - you will never get it no matter how much you chase / want it. You gotta 面对现实.' (Mine.)

'Stan Lai is encouraging Taiwan to merge back with China.' (My mum's, who didn't watch the show.)

'The 2 directors in the play are being 虚伪, cos they are presenting a story abt one trying to find something/someone, yet they turned a blind eye to the woman who is really trying to find someone...' (Overheard when I was leaving the theatre.) 

'Love is about... ... ... ...' (A friend's blog.)

 

A good show. No wonder it is in its fifth or sixth re-runs since its first debut 20 over years ago. For those who didn’t watch, wait for next re-run ba. =)

 

P.S. For those who don't know who's 刘子骥, read the original《桃花源记》.

 

Carrot, egg, coffee

A little story sent by a good friend. Found it quite inspiring. Share with you guys here, hope it inspires you too! =)

 

 

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

 

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed  them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

 

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

 

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its richness and savored its aroma.

 

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently.

 

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

 

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

 

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

 

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

 

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get even better and change the situation around you.

 

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle diversity?

Are you a  carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

 

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

 

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

 

May we all be COFFEE!

 

 

Eating words

"National Library Board is very kind nowadays (during holidays); it let us borrow 8 books instead of 4. But BEWARE, it is a TRAP!!! The borrowing duration is still the same! Nowadays, who the hell can read 8 books in 3 weeks?! It's trying to make you over borrow, return them overdue, and they make $$$! Lao3 gan1! "

 

- From my previous entry

 

 

Today I did something peculiar - I paid $21 to upgrade my library basic membership to premium membership...

 

... so that I can borrow 8 books instead of 4!  

 

Stupid influx of comics, made me eat my words. Now I've 5 books in my reserved list! Woohoo! My favourite Marvel comics coming soon!

 

Besides reading comics, I've also tried out novels by this author called Neil Gaiman. Just finished Stardust, quite nice. Reading the story feels like piecing jigsaw puzzle... seemingly unrelated scenes and characters were linked together, often in suprising ways, as you progess towards the end. The characters were colorful and interesting - evil witch, woman-transformed bird, scheming princes, fallen star-transformed girl, simple village boy etc. A fairy-tale fantasy. Good read. =)

 

Gong Xi Gong Xi!!!

What I'm going to write has no link whatsoever with the above entry title, except for the fact that it is written on zheng4 yue4 chu1 yi1. Why then do I use this title? Cos I can't think of a title for this entry... it is all random ramblings... hmmm... maybe I should change the title of this entry to 'Ramblings'. But liddat what I just wrote will become fei4 hua4! Alamak! Better don't change. However, what I wrote was fei hua anyway wat, so... erm...

 

(Shit, I have a tendency to discourage/ turn off people who read my blogs, and, I enjoyed doing that!  Read my blog at your own risk. =)

 

Time to blog proper. I just did a very interesting thing a few minutes ago-- Making Iced Almond Mocha! Let me tell you my secret recipe:

 

Water
Cocoa Powder  x2 tsp.
Almond Powder  x2 tsp.
Sugar  x2 tsp.
Owl Coffee Bag  x1
Ice cubes, alot alot.

 

Result: It sucks!!!

 

(Hence the 'ice cubes, alot alot'.)

 

And I'm drinking that disaster now. Yucks!

 

. . . . . .

 

Gong Xi Gong Xi (Take 2)

Damned. My mind is just full of crap... Argh! Guess I'll start off by replying to Singying's comments.

 

"Coz if comparing with your past experience, it may be lacking but there's definitely some good in there that you can be happy about wor "

 

Actually Singying's right. At least, I was there at the conceptualization stage of the production (Preproduction), where the directors and producers spent many nights brainstorming ideas for the script. Although sometime it feels very 'bek chek' that any ideas that I brought up have to go through 3 Directors, 1 stupid Admin Co-Pro (haha!) and sometimes the Producer herself, it was really quite fun working for a cause... to create something out of nothing, from an idea to a public performance... it is a feeling that can't be described. =)

 

The only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is that the script is not original... but it can't be helped la. We simply don't have time to write a new script. The commitee of Producers and Directors were formed just before last year's exams. I just hope that someone will write an original script for Hall Production next year. (I know there are some very bright and creative pple out there reading my blog now. Would YOU want to try writing a script? I promise you it will be fun! =)

 

In retrospect, maybe what's actually making me unhappy (last time) is the realisation of my incompetence as a Tech Director. Despite that I've been working in theatre productions for 4 times prior to the latest one, I know too little of theatre works to offer much ideas to the producers and directors. That's because I've been doing plays, but I haven't been watching plays. From now on I'm going to watch lots of plays, and study every technical aspects (effects, props, lights, sound, costime) used at every opportunity, starting with 《暗恋桃花源》this coming sat! Next year I will be the most zai... Props Subcom... in the production! Yeah!

 

P.S. SY, I gave u potato wedges and yet you didn't thank me that night. *Disappointed* =( Haha! Kidding!  

 

Gong Xi Gong Xi (Take 3)

Anw here's a short update. Life has been getting kinda boring in the office nowadays. Work has fallen into routine, everyday doing pretty much the same thing. Life has also been getting kinda boring outside office nowadays. Now with no production to do, there is nothing to do. 

 

In short, life has been getting kinda boring.

 

So, I've been blog surfing alot, reading friend's blog, even friend's friend's blog. So much so that my stupid company's stupid sercurity software blocked my blog! ('Cos I access my friends' blog through the links in my blog.) Tulan! Now can only play Pinball in the office le (highscore 6,000,000+, who can break?). 

 

The other main source of entertainment for me now is reading comics / manga / graphic novels. Due to the high influx of comics at National Library (at Bras Basah) recently, I've been borrowing a lot of comics home. Of particular interest is the New X-Men series by Grant Morrison that I'm reading now. Intriguing plot with depth, and a different look for the classic X-Men. Nice. I've also made arrangements with a certain library in Sembawang (HAHA!) to borrow Bleach and Ragnarok. Looking forward to it. Hehe! =P

 

......

 

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year, yet I feel kinda low spirit today. Dunno why. Maybe it's because I don't really feel like meeting those relatives ba. When I was small, I still can happily entertain myself by playing with toys / computer games / other kids in other pple's house. Now grown up, what to do? We talk. What's there to talk about? - How's school? What level? What grades? Got gf? Work where? Blah blah blah.

 

Meaningless.

 

Boring.

 

Stay as a kid better. Don't need to worry so much. Just play and play. =)

 

What tarot card are you?

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

 

Actually, I would prefer 'The Magician'. But I'm happy and contented with 'The Sun'. =)

 

Dating Strengths and Weaknesses

'Goped' from Singying's blog...

 

Dating Strengths	Dating Weaknesses
1. Open-Mindedness - 72.7% 2. Sense of Humor - 71.4% 3. Financial Situation - 69.2% 4. Flirtiness - 62.5% 5. Friendliness - 62.5%	1. Appearance - 77.8% 2. Selfishness - 54.5%

Dating Strengths Explained
Open-Mindedness - You are open to trying new things and entertaining new ideas, and this widens your pool of available girls. Sense of Humor - Girls are attracted to people with a good sense of humor. Be sure to put yours on display! Financial Situation - You've got your financial situation under control, which is a very desirable quality. Be careful to avoid girls who are only interested in your money. Flirtiness - Flirting is a good way to break the ice, and you are a pro at it. Being flirtatious will open up many dating opportunities. Friendliness - Your friendliness makes you approachable and fun to be around. A wide circle of friends also works to your advantage on the dating scene.
Dating Weaknesses Explained
Appearance - Devoting a greater effort at making good first impressions is a must. Try to be fit and develop a style if you want to catch a girl's attention. Selfishness - You think too much of yourself and your needs. You must learn to put your partner first and tend to her needs.
Dating Strengths and Weaknesses Quiz by Dating Diversions

Appearance! How true! LOL!

 

Production

Frankly speaking, I was not as ecstatic as I thought I would be when the production ends. In fact, I was not ecstatic at all. A couple of reasons ba...

 

Firstly, I was tired... and cold.

 

Secondly, I didn't get the "wand" (a little gift from the actors) during xie4 mu4, unlike the 1st night's xie mu. (They took back to 'reuse' but forgot to bring! Haha!) But seriously, I was a tiny mini bit saddened by the fact that no gifts were given to anyone during the last night's xie mu. Giving of gifts during xie mus (usually by the actors to directors and subcoms to their heads) shows that there is love within the big production family and it is really very heartwarming. Absence of this 'ritual' somehow gives the feel that the production lacks something...

 

...The memory of receiving a BIG soft toy from my Publicity Group during xie mu at my senior year's Huang Cheng still makes me smile sometimes... =)

 

Actually thought of asking one of the Props subcoms (Weiling) to get sth to present to the overworked Props Heads during xie mu that afternoon... but in the end I didn't. It just doesn't feel quite right. Well...

 

Thirdly, I didn't feel as much satisfaction as I did for the past productions. I've been too slack! Haiz... The role of a Technical Director is a slippery one - the 'Technical' part can easily be covered by the various Tech Heads; the 'Director' part can easily be covered by the Directors; the left-overs, by SMs. Added with the fact that I didn't stay in hall, I simply can't contribute much, however much I wanted to. (Ya I know what you all think. I really want to contribute. =)

 

Regretted being a Tech Director. Should have joined back as a mere stagehand. (Props Head too xiong le, once is enough. =)

 

Lastly. One of my friends told me straight in the face after the show that the jokes are damn lame and the story is quite sucky, especially the ending. Burst the illusion (I had) that the show is good, instantly. Plus...

 

I wrote the ending.

 

More accurately speaking, I edited the original script's ending to the new one we see in the show, according to the other directors' idea. It is not my fault. I'm against editing the original script in the first place. When I read the original script, I was absolutely impressed. It's a 5 stars script! How can you edit an already perfect script and still make it better??? But sadly I was overruled due to copyright reasons, and the story became abit... strange, when time travel comes into the picture.  Not my fault. Still...

 

I wrote the ending.

 

And I agreed with what my friend said. In fact, I knew all along. It not that good, compared to the original.

 

Well, to be fair, it is good enough for the majority of the audience. No one got the 'Woah!' feeling after watching the show, but at the very least, (I hope) they had a good laugh and enjoyed the show. Most importantly, everyone said that it's better than last year's performance!

 

I guess I should be happy with what we have got.

 

And indeed I should be happy, coz at least there is still ONE person who thank me during the debriefing (for asking her to join production, haha! =P)

P.S.

For those who are interested in reading the original script written by professional, feel free to msg me. I'll tell you where to find it. (It'll involve a trip to the library... I don't have it, paiseh.)

 

 

Life

n.   the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living

 

 

For the past few weeks while I've been working meaninglessly in the office, reading meaningless books, playing meaningless computer

games etc etc, ie. living a meaningless life. As a result, I've been pondering very hard about one of the biggest unanswered question:

 

"What is the meaning of LIFE?"

 

I've explored many different philosophies and theories until finally... I've came up with a very simple answer.

 

It is not: "LIFE has no meaning."

 

It is simply: "I don't know."

 

Well well, although I don't know what is the meaning of LIFE, I do know what it is not - as I've stated above, it is not "no meaning". Why?

Because of... DEATH.

 

DEATH is the absence of LIFE, it is precisely because of the fact that you WILL die that makes your life have a meaning. Imagine a world where everything and everyone, I mean EVERYone and EVERYthing, is as tall as each other, then there will be no such words as 'short' and 'tall' or even 'height'. These words simply have no meaning in such a world! Imagine there is no mother (oops), no government, no society etc that oppress you, and forbid you from doing this and doing that, then the word 'FREEDOM' has no meaning! (Thanks to my mum, I truly valued the freedom I have. In fact, now that I moved back home from hall, I feel like a freedom fighter!)

 

Similarly, if u live forever, life will have no meaning. The meaning of LIFE lies in the fact that you will inevitably die. It is 'DEATH' which gives 'LIFE' its intrinsic meaning.

 

But the stubborn and persistent YOU may still asked:

 

"Damn you, Jiefeng! You are so full of shit! You still haven't tell us what is the meaning of life! How do I know if what I do in life is meaningful or meaningless??"

 

To that the 'wise' me will smiling reply:

 

"Don't worry about that, brother/sister. Anything you do have meaning (including the 'full of shit' you said just now), just because of the fact that you are living while you are doing it.

 

Just do what you like! =)"

 

As for what you should do... Your lifestyle will depend mostly on your life philosophy, and one will be as good as any other. And that will be another story.

 

 

Style

n.  a distinctive way of expressing, doing, performing something

 

Let me tell you about my life philosophy / religion / style. My life philosophy consists of mainly Epicureanism (a branch of Hedonism, without the sexual connotation) and Capitalism, plus 10% of Zen Buddism, 10% of Taoism, 5% of Confucianism, added with a very slight tint of Cyrenaicism (another branch of Hedonism) and Caffaine Addiction. Note: my philosophy most probably contains some trace of Christianity, depending on the probability of God existing (which is currently about 0.01% at the moment, I think).

 

Surprisingly, there IS a name for my kind of rojak and confusing and conflicting philosophy. It is, in all its different configurations, called "Free Thinkism". Its practitioner is commonly called the "Free Thinker".

 

I'll explain (very) briefly the different components of my version of Free Thinkism.

 

Capitalism - The belief that capital (money) is most important.

 

Zen Buddism - The belief that being Peaceful is most important. All the rest is not important, and certainly not capital. ("六根清净")

 

Taoism - Important? Not important? It is all part of the Tao, just like everything else. Erm... So what is the Tao? Sorry, I can't explain. ("道可道，非常道。") Liddat ah, how? Do nothing lor. ("无为")

 

Confucianism - The belief that being a gentleman/woman is most important. ("君子 blah blah blah...") And that women give men, gentle or otherwise, the most headaches. ("女子与小人难养也。")

 

Christianity - The belief that 1. God is most important and that 2. the belief in belief no.1 will ensure that you won't go to Hell after you die.

 

And lastly, the main bulk of my beliefs:

 

Hedonism - The belief that happiness/pleasure (and the pursue of it) is the most important. Everything you do is to get pleasure out of it.

 

Since Hedonism is the main bulk of my philosophy, I'll talk a little more about it. Actually there is a little problem associated with Hedonism: short-term pleasure always translate to long-term displeasure. (Try play World of Warcraft twenty-four hours everyday for one sem.) So the question is, what do you do about this? This divides hedonism into two branches.

 

Cyrenaicism - The belief that life should be dedicated to the pursuit of intense pleasures despite the intense pains that follows, so that life won't be boring.

 

Epicureanism (my main belief) - The belief that life should be dedicated to the maximising of pleasures and the minimising of pains. Generally, pleasure comes from the satisfaction of desires and pain comes from not satisfying desires. So to maximise pleasures and minimise pains, you have to take care of what your desires are and restrict them to those which are easy to satisfy. What desires are easy to satisfy? Those you are in control and independent on other pple, eg. eat, sleep, read, and play computer games. These can be easily satisfied, as compared to those that you have no control and dependent on other pple, eg. hoping to get leave from your supervisor, getting a girlfriend, waiting for pple who don't reply SMSes to reply your SMS (arghhhh!!!) etc. All these desires have to be curbed if you want to minimise pains.

 

 

... So, to summarise my confusing life philosophy - Free Thinkism V6.0 (my own unique version) into one sentence, it is to

 

Be a peaceful gentleman who is very very happy and can get tons and tons of money... while doing nothing (heehee)... and go heaven after that. =P

 

Personally, I think the last part is God-damned hard (sorry for the pun), I think I'll think abt it when the time comes...

 

Hmmm, so what is your life philosophy?

 

Is it Existentialism (life is nothing except choices, in fact, the only thing you can't choose is not to choose), Stoicism (you've to put up with what you've got cos there isn't a thing you can do about it), Satanism (do whatever you want and screw other pple, worshipping devil at the same time), Darwinism (survival of the fittest) etc etc, or a combination of some, or all?

 

P.S. My explanations of the different thinkings are very very very very shallow. Please read up on them if you are interested. Recommended readings: Everything I Know I Learned From TV and Philosopher at the End of the Universe by Mark Rowlands, Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion from the Matrix by Glenn Yeffeth, the various comics on chinese philosophies by 蔡志中.

 

IA

Industrial Attachment. Let me 1st briefly describe the place where I worked and what I work as.

 

The company I'm working in is ST Electronics (AMK). It has a big compund with abt 4 or 5 buildings. The place where I worked at is a big office situated on the 2nd floor of one of the buildings. The office is always brightly lit, rain or shine (which you won't know when you are inside), and it consists of ard 50 to 60 cubicles, a few small meeting rooms, 2 or 3 offices for big bosses, and a pantry. I am stationed at one of those few small meeting rooms, at the far end of the big office, together with 2 other fellow IA students in the same department/team.

 

Everyone in my office works on the different system in the transit system, ie, MRT. My department is in charge of PA systems, (whereas other departments includes CCTVs, telephone lines, radio etc). It consists of only my boss, 3 other perm staffs, and 4 IA students (1 from poly leaving soon). There are 2 projects on hand now for my department - setting up of PA system for the local Circle Line MRT, and setting up of PA systems for Gao Siong MRT in Taiwan. I belongs to the Gao Siong project.

 

So, my job scope?

  

Ans: Putting speakers on the architectual plans. Sounds easy? Well, there are lots of knowledge behind it. We have to know abt the different types of speakers, calculate the coverage (power decreases with distance, both vertical and horizontal), learn to read the (damned) architectual plans, determine the different zones etc etc. Shan't bored you guys with the details, but frankly speaking, it is not that difficult either.

 

As for the pple here, they are all quite nice. When I asked one of the perm staff taking care of us whether normally we have OT or not, he replied. "Huh? What is OT??" At 6pm sharp they will actually remind us to go home, which I think is quite rare among the IA students. (The norm is the other way round right?) Then there are many fellow IA students in the same office, so actually quite happy to make a few more new friends. Workload-wise, normally we have to ask for work to do when we are sick of reading up the required reading materials. Quite relaxing so far, hopefully it will continue into the future. =P

 

Hehe. Ming tian hui gen hao!

 

 

 

Update 2

Hmmmm, you are still with me? Well this shows that you are a true friend who is truly concerned with my life, or you are a true friend who is truly bo liao. Anw, no matter what, you can see that I AM truly bo liao.

 

OK, continue my MAJOR update, this time mostly in chorological (dis)order. During the week right after my exams, I've been administering exams to other people, i.e. I've been an invigilator for an outside exam. The job is kinda exciting as you can watch other pple suffering the same suffering you suffered for the past few suffocating weeks. But the excitement quickly died off when you have to travel from Boon Lay to Expo Hall ONE(!) everyday for 8 days.    

 

Most notable during these 8 days is the stupid aunty (1st timer invigilator) who enjoyed pointing out the faults of everybody. Even I 5th timer lao jiao also ganna fault, and it is not one time but a few times! What "put the answer paper properly la" and "cannot sit at empty candidate's desk la". Wah liew eh, as long as the paper is there, who cares if it's put upside down??? (And I didn't put upside down lor, I just didn't take the pains to align the papers carefully so that they are parallel to the sides of the table. Liddat also tio gan. WTF.) Cannot sit at the candidate's desk??? First, I must state that we are allowed to sit. Maybe she was concerned that I might give unwanted pressure other candidates nearby. But, the nearest candidate 360 degree around me is FIVE DAMNNED DESKS AWAY!!!!

 

Aunty, for goodness sake, don't let me see you again, ever.

 

Other than that, it has been quite fun: made a few new friends and a few hundred more bucks.

 

In the meanwhile, I had been busy with production stuff. I've been tasked with (re)writing the ending of the production script. Other than that, meeting and coordinating the tech crews with the directors. Other than that, give some advice here and there, help out here and there. Other than that, nothing le. Haha! Slackest Inner Circle staff around. Anw, I had been helping out the Sound Crew to source for sound effects and music. Quite fun. Get to hear some rarely heard beautiful music. Enjoy. I love production!

 

Then is the Interhall Contract Bridge Competition. Our captain was very nice, and never gave us any pressure.  He told us that it is just a game, just enjoy lor. However, whenever you made a mistake, he screws you left right upside down like nobody's business. (Tangning, relax la. =P) Anwz, we got 7th, 2 positions below what we got under my leadership last year. Not I good lah, is just that the overall standard increased alot this year. But still... HAHA!

 

Then there are books. National Library Board is very kind nowadays; it let us borrow 8 books instead of 4. But BEWARE, it is a TRAP!!! The borrowing duration is still the same! Nowadays, who the hell can read 8 books in 3 weeks?! It's trying to make you over borrow, return them overdue, and they make $$$! Lao3 gan1!

 

Anwz, the books I read for the past few weeks are some books on script writing, Cell by Stephen King, State of Fear by Michael Critchton, Matrix and Universe X (Marvel) comics (they call it graphic novel),and I've just finished The Philosopher at the End of the Universe by Mark Rowlands. If you want me to recommend I would recommend the last book. It tries to explain philosophy concepts using examples from movies such as Matrix, Star Wars, LOTR, Terminator, Minority Report etc etc. (All my favorite movies.) And it is quite a gem I stumbled upon 'cause its categorization is not at the usual 100.00 for Philosophy, but 791.43 for Movies. I'll summarize something from the book for you guys to think about.

 

The Problem of Freewill: Are we really free? Free as in do we really have the freedom to decide what we want to do, eg eat, sleep, walk, talk etc etc. Tom Cruise in Minority Report said that we are, but the philosophers state that we aren’t.

 

Why? Because everything we decide to do has a cause, and every cause has a cause. Eg. I decides to eat. Why? I'm hungry, Why? I long time never eat. Why? I've no money. Why? My parents didn't give. Why? Blah blah blah times infinity until BIG BANG! and the universe is borne. Therefore it is inevitable that I decide to eat and since it is inevitable, my decision is not free. This is call Determinism.

 

There are counter arguments and counter-counter arguments for the above topic (and in the end, it is concluded that we have no freedom). If you are interested, you can read the book or argue with me.

 

(You see, I really have no choice but to torture u peps with this philosophical mumbo jumbo. Don't blame me!)