September 2003 Archives

On my bus journey home from work yesterday, I was sitting beside one well-endowed, slightly sultry-looking lady. I guess she's the type who pays lots of attention to her looks as she took out her makeup mirror to check on her makeup a couple of times. It's funny how I noticed other girls sitting nearby (and those standing) were like, peeking at her (perhaps, amused by her gestures? Or admiring her prettiness?). Needless to say, those army guys who got up the bus all took sneak glances at her (assets). Sitting beside her, there's this weird feeling of discomfort in me...only to be made worse when I noticed her looking my way occasionally, as if trying to talk to me or something (yah, yah, I'm thinking too much. But then again, it's not as if I'd mind *lol*). And so she did. She spoke and her words were "May I know what's the time now?" (chey...) But still, I was a little tongue-tied and showed her my watch. That's all that happened and I realised something about myself. I think I have trouble communicating with beautiful strangers *lol* Perhaps my inferiority complex thingy got the better of me. Sometimes, I can barely look at them while talking to them. This is bad and I need to change that. It's strange that narcissism and inferiority complex can co-exist.

Same thing happened when I met up with Ling to get my tee...

Or maybe I'm just thinking too much.

Hmm...weekend didn't really go as planned : / Firstly, the jamming session went off without our vocalist (who was unfortunately down with sore throat I think). Our male vocalist/keyboardist only came in time for the last 1/2 hr or so. And I think the sore/muscle-ache on my thigh was caused by my Flying V guitar when I played it while sitting down (lesson number 1: Never play a Flying V sitting down unless you're a contortionist *lol*)

Next, the army campmates reunion was cancelled last minute due to the mysterious pop-ups of last minute commitments from most of them. Nevertheless, I took to the streets of Orchard alone :/ Window-shopping and strolling along town on a Sunday night can be kind of melancholic and yet, peaceful experience.

Nearly after a month of not stepping into town, I realised a few bad signs:

-A pair of red Adidas shoes caught my eyes but it's a whopping $120+.

-A pair of MANGO leather pants tempted me as well, but at $300+ (unless I saw wrongly), I'll just stick to my $20+ jeans from This Fashion *lol*.

-Wanted to buy a bigger earring but was too lazy to pick and choose ^^

-Also had the idea of buying fake hair extensions and use it to play around with different styles.

-Everytime I enter HMV, I realised there are more and more CDs I've mysteriously misplaced/lent to someone, but the more the list grows, the more reluctant to buy them...

In the end, I flipped through some hairstyles magazines and bought one that was stuffed with loads of ultra cool potential styles I can do :)

Lastly, a new Emily the Strange t-shirt I got from Ling should hold up my search for new clothing for a lil while...heh.

Lesson learnt during the weekend: Expectation is inversely proportionate to happiness (hahah...what crap.)

Got a couple of events ahead of me and since I've got a 5-sec memory, I'll just list them here as a reminder...

1) Jamming tomorrow!

2) 'Reunion' with the army/campmates on Sunday

3) Meeting up with Ling for the tee (day/timing not fixed)

4) Course on 'Professional Image' in 2nd Oct (duh...I think they'll use me as an example of what NOT to follow *lol*)

4) Polymate/Classmate's wedding dinner in Nov.

5) Chinese Rock fest gig in Jan 2004! (Still can't believe we're playing among the 'big boys' from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapor)

A few thoughts...On tomorrow's jamming. Can't wait to jam again with da boys (and a gal) cos we'll be trying out our new original song for the first time, plus another Jitpunese-rapcore-metal-funkadelic cover song. Not sure if I'd be trying out my new effects there...

On my polymate's wedding. Wow, time sure flies...it's almost like yesterday thinking about the fun times we once had as classmates, and now she's getting married! Hmm...once again, I think the talk will revolve around my 'havoc' look and 'where's your girlfriend' topics -__- And if they do touch on those 'achievements' or 'what have you done so far?' kinda topics, I guess I can proudly tell them of my first 'overseas' gig that took place in Sentosa, playing to locals and Japanese guests *lol*

Anyway, weekend is here! *Inspired mode ON*

My pc is dying. I resurrected it a couple of times in the past, so I don't know how long it'd hold out. Everyday, I get all kinds different errors and my icq can't load up now. Will be doing a full format really soon. *sigh* Haven't done these delicate tasks fer a looong time. Hope I'll pull it off!

At the rate my hair is growing, I'll probably have to visit the salon pretty soon. But it's only been a month since I last cut my hair! Hmm...have to rack my brains for what style to do this time :/ Or maybe I should just maintain the length and style a while longer?

A month ago...with a little fringe.

A month later...no more fringe.

It's funny how the situations in the movie, 'Turn left, turn right', and Dido's 'White Flag' mtv seem to be happening to me. Though I haven't caught the movie, I guess it's about crossed paths and those 'so close yet so far' moments between two persons. Same goes for Dido's mtv where Dido and the male lead are always in the same places but they hardly 'connect' with each other...

First time, we briefly met. A gentle smile and a simple 'thank you'. A nameless encounter.

Second time was among the crowd. A familiar face in the queue, our eyes met. A blurry swirl of people and she's gone.

Today's coffee break, a peek out the window. There she was again. A mad dash; she's in view. A little hesitation, she's gone again.

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Guess I'll just combine these two entries...

Yay, I'm gonna have my picture in my Department's staff listing :) This time round, our 'in-house photographer' suggested a change to the boring old style of just a passport size 'mugshot', thus the picture below :P I guess it's a bit out of place with the rest of the serious, straight-faced NUS Profs and staff's pictures *lol*

Damn. I think my face is too fat >__< Oh, and the photographer joked that what's missing in the picture is a lady beside me -__-;

Though I've purchased the domain name, Loversoul.com, it has never been up. It's supposed to be a collective of things about me like my music, compositions, art, pictures, etc. In the absence of content, I've come up with a few splash screens in the past, but have never utilized them. So, here's one of the few...It's done in Flash, so do click and check it out :)

(Oh, I think my band members are gonna kill me for this, but anyway, you can also get a sneak preview of a song we're current working on ^^)

Supposed to post this yesterday...

Sparked by the entry below, I've come up with this crappy poem:

A guitarist's love song

Love is like a song,
It's beautiful when everything flows.
At times it sounds terrible,
not something you'd like to sing along.

So you see, it's not easy to write a hit.
Or a song that lasts forever.
But it's not far from being a classic,
if the player and guitar work together.

erm...it's supposed to sound decent and all, but weirdly as I typed along, it seems inevitable that certain associations are brought in (hey, I just realised the similiarities, okay!) *lol*. Hey, I'm not a sexist, and women are not tools or playthings, but I associate one with a guitar cos guitar's my passion. Only a guitar geek like me can write such crap XP

Been spending these days on my guitar stuff. Checking classifieds, forums, buying effects, selling effects, bought amp, trying to sell amp, researching, checking reviews, etc. It's almost a trial-and-error thing cos you'll not know what you're gonna get until you try it...and many times, they don't work out to the sound I want. But I know it's a matter of time before I get my sound and the 'perfect' gear for my needs.

*sigh* If only building a relationship is like building a rig for my guitar. At least I know where to look for the gear, how they fare according to other users, alternatives I can choose, ability to try before I buy, etc. As to relationships, I'm almost clueless, there's nothing to 'research' on, no 'reviews' and there's no way to 'try' it without taking a huge emotional/psychological (and maybe a little monetary) risk. And there's no ebay or yahoo auction if it doesn't work out well. You'll suffer more than just a tainted user account, for matters of the heart hurt hell lot more than a burnt hole in the pocket.

But on the other hand, I suppose (cos I've not been in one) a relationship is exciting and truely amazing because of its mysterious ways. Every little discovery about a person, every pleasant surprise, every lesson and things you learn from it all build a more fulfilling experience.

Now when do I get started?

I caught the movie, A.I on dvd recently and it's a pretty good show. This story's about a robot's amazing journey to be a real person. It can sound pretty deep or shallow, depending on how you see it. But when the storyline involves a robot in the form of a young child, who's programmed to genuinely love its imprinted mother (or whoever adopts it), a couple who's faced with a dilemma, a society who fears the domination of robots, and issues like moral and responsibility, they all add up to make the movie pretty thought-provoking.

There were a couple of scenes that really tuck at the heartstrings while others stimulated the tear ducts, but at the end of the day, it's the message that stood out. It's not a matter of whether robots can genuinely love, but rather, how much we want to associate with it, depend on it, the love and responsibility we bestow on it...

It seems like humans create robots (or technologies) that are ever more capable, attractive, intelligent, etc...to be things that we aren't, to do things that we can't...but in the end, will we feel its threat, its existence which might outlive the human race? That's one of the subtle issues touched on in the movie.

On the lighter side of things, I think David (the robot child character in the movie) is really capable of human emotions and it's amazing to see how he's finally able to dream, and cry and be inspired, etc (tho I wonder how it's possible)...in the end, I'd really want to believe that he's turned into a real boy cos he's capable of intangible things like we do.

The movie has a little surprising element at the end which some will say it's a little far-fetched...but the future's anyone's guess :)

P.s Jude Law a.k.a Gigolo Joe, is kooky and funny in A.I...nevertheless, still charming....hahah!