The last post for the year 2008
Time has passed real quick... in just a few minutes or so, the current year is coming to an end, and another year is about to dawn upon us.
Personally I feel that 2008 has been a more challenging year for me. Not just because of the many problems that the world is facing (as mentioned earlier), but also because for the first time in my life, I have started to look at things with a wider and broader perspective, and with a more reasonable and sensible approach as well. No longer was I the narrow-minded individual who sees things only on the surface, and no longer was I the type to 'do most things at the very last minute without proper planning'. Due to a misunderstanding that happened sometime after my birthday, I have also learnt to be more mindful of my own feelings and thoughts, though the desires of the world can often tempt me to do something unthinkable. I admit that even now, I am in constant struggles with my inner demons...
It's sad to know that there are still people out there who like to brag about their own lives, what they have accomplished, what stuff they had bought, and which artistes they like, all for the sake of seeking attention (and destroying themselves in the process). I created this blog to voice out my experiences and thoughts on various issues, never intending to seek attention. It is due to the observations and analysis of other people's actions that have forced me to re-improvise my point of view and blogging style.
For the first 2.5 months, I was still schooling, and those were clearly the most stressful times of the year. Perhaps it was easiest when i quit my part-time job at Shaw House after Chinese New Year in order to finish up on the final year project, but I was close to throwin in the towel when I saw how ineffective the disciple system of the school turned out to be when dealing with those who often throw MC or go AWOL. Perhaps it was because of this that I began to develop a very strong sense of justice, I can never know.
Between April to July, it was mostly stagnant, save for the times I worked at ABS and revisited Thailand after nearly 7 years of delay (this period of stagnancy does not include the times I went to watch "U Are The One" recordings every Monday). It was indeed in Thailand that I truly learnt to see the true beauty of God's creation and learnt that the true pursuit of happiness is being patient, being surrounded by lovely people (in this case, the kids in the village) and enjoying the simplicity of life, not just about chasing stars, going to various shopping complexes, buying branded goods or even owning a new PSP.
In August, it was truly a dream come true when I got to work as a part-time calefare for a few weeks at MediaCorp alongside familiar faces (Gurmit, Fiona, Ben, Tracy), new faces (Khai, Jeszl, Angie, Wenn, the other calefares) and even friends I had not seen for a very long time (William). I realized that it was never about the money, but more on the experience and the fun of it... that's what professionalism is about. Oh, and unlike what I did last year, I won't be mentioning the names of the new friends I had made during the past 12 months... way too many to count (esp since most of them I had known via Facebook)!!
From Sept till now, I guess you can say it was the least stressful time of the year... getting a 9-to-6 job at NLB (even if it's on a temp basis). I get to make new friends, do various assignments and manage my time properly and analytically (though sitting in the workplace for 8 hrs can be really dull most of the time). Of course I still attend events once in a while, but I made sure I don't get too blinded by this 'CCA' of mine (if thats the most appropriate word to use). That is mostly why I had made the rather tough decision to give the Ch 8 countdown party at VivoCity a complete miss and attend watchnight service instead...
This year, I was glad to have attended the birthday parties for 4 of my top fave artistes... Joanne's on 13th April, Nat's on 17th April, Felicia's on 12th October and Elvin's on 18th December.Not only that, I also got to celebrate Christmas with Joanne and Elvin... :-)
I wouldn't say that 2008 was a 'better or easier time' for me, since I've had my shares of ups-and-downs in years past. What is to come in the year 2009, we will leave it in God's hands.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Better luck at rehearsals (though not totally)
Happy Birthday to Brian and Farhan Firdaus
Last night after work, I went to good ol' VivoCity once more to check out the rehearsals... this time round I stayed for a little longer, and there was better luck. Although I didn't get exactly what I want, at least I got to take pic with other artistes, as well as get autographs from some of them.
Can you spot a "Spider-Man" in one of these pics?
Yep, Felicia was there, she was the team captain for Love Blossoms team (comprising of Pat Mok, Priscelia Chan, Constance Song, Vivian Lai, Zheng Geping and Zhang Yaodong). The Little Nyonya team led by Ben Yeo comprised of Dai Yang Tian, Qi Yuwu, Nat Ho, Darren Lim, Cynthia Koh and Jeanette Aw (who came a little later). The hosts for the entire event were Dasmond Koh and Kym Ng. Also present were Jesseca Liu and Paige Chua. I saw Dawn and Elvin at the backstage region, but their segments came much later.
Last night after work, I went to good ol' VivoCity once more to check out the rehearsals... this time round I stayed for a little longer, and there was better luck. Although I didn't get exactly what I want, at least I got to take pic with other artistes, as well as get autographs from some of them.
Can you spot a "Spider-Man" in one of these pics?
If you think these 2 cuties look familiar, you're right. It's the teen twin-sister duo known as BY-2. They look so hawt in super short pants and with thier pouty lips, I nearly "turned" into Venom again... WHOOPS!!! :-X
I can't believe I missed out a chance to get Dai Yang Tian's autograph on the 8 days caendar which I had brought... still I managed to talk to Nat Ho for a while, I even told him my desires to duplicate myself so that I can be at more than one place at the same time. He told me it's ok... no need to worry cos I will be seeing him again very soon (aka Saturday)! :-)
More pictures taken before the rehearsals began. That's a crescent moon in the first pic, I was unable to get a crystal clear shot of it.
Yep, Felicia was there, she was the team captain for Love Blossoms team (comprising of Pat Mok, Priscelia Chan, Constance Song, Vivian Lai, Zheng Geping and Zhang Yaodong). The Little Nyonya team led by Ben Yeo comprised of Dai Yang Tian, Qi Yuwu, Nat Ho, Darren Lim, Cynthia Koh and Jeanette Aw (who came a little later). The hosts for the entire event were Dasmond Koh and Kym Ng. Also present were Jesseca Liu and Paige Chua. I saw Dawn and Elvin at the backstage region, but their segments came much later.
Joining in for the seocnd round were Lucify, Yvonne Cai, Shawn Tok, Keely Wee, Teresa Tseng, Diya Tan and Carrie Yeo.
Me and Ben Yeo... I know the picture's kinda dark, but that's bcos I forgot to switch on the flash function.
Me and Daren Tan... got his autograph on the 8 days calendar.
A few minutes later... I heard a very familiar tune... I quickly turned to see who's on stage...
IT IS!!! IT IS!!!! RUI EN...!!!! :-D
I quickly rushed to the other end of the stage to get a better view...
Turns out my guess was correct, Rui En will indeed be singing "Qing Wa". Only a handful of her fans (myself included, even though I am no longer part of the FC since June) were present. I still think she should eat more... look how scrawny she is :-(
Prior to reaching VivoCity, I was already sensing a great disturbance in the Force, and so I looked around to try determining the main cause, while my "Spider-sense" is still tingling... and at ard 9 pm, I finally found the main source of the disturbance!!! And it was in the form of...
who else but the infamous, attention-seeking, despicable MKP!!! The very joker who said he wants to "live his life the way he wants it to be"!!! The very thought of im still makes me wanna puke.
This time I'll let the captions in the photos do the talking... I felt almost sorry for Cheryn to still be associating with such a joker/jackass/loser/abomination like MKP. Good thing he's not going for the countdown party, otherwise he will get it.
It is mostly because of him that I made a mistake in shouting Jeanette Aw's fave phrase as Yueniang... instead of "huan wo ji tang", I shouted "huan wo ji fan!!" and people started laughing... DOHHHH!!!! What was I thinking??? :-O
Anyway me and a few fans headed to the other side of the stage to try reaching Felicia, but to no avail. In fact, she walked past me before I could even respond on time!! And I knew I couldn't stay any longer since I still have to work on New Year's Eve (even if it's half-day).
First time ever take pic with Carrie!! :-)
Me with Diya, whom I nicknamed "xiao-mei-mei". She then made a sulky face and called me "kor-kor". :-p
Before leaving the place, i took pic with both Carrie and Diya. They will be singing the main theme for "Beach.Ball.Babes" with Teresa.
So I left the place at abt 2230 hrs, took train back to Kovan and walked home... heading to slumberland at 12 midnight. (hehe, 5 Princesses seen in one night...)
I'm not quite looking forward to the watchnight service later tonight even though it was my choice to go for it... then again, I felt it's better than getting cramped in the midst of a countdown party.
One final note: I may not be the type to make resolutions, but if I have to make one right now, it is that I shall stop dissing my enemies here or anywhere else as of January 1st... if ever I do so again, somebody please give me a punt kick to the head already!!! I am trying very hard not to be mean towards people like 'you-know-who'... but I find it too much to handle at times.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thoughts of the year 2008
Happy Birthday to Marcus Ng and May Goh
Time has passed so quickly indeed, and we are about to usher into another year. All I can say is that this year was indeed one of great turbulence and difficulty.
- To start things off, a popular artiste died before the first week of the year was even through... Jimmy Nah MC King. His passing was unexpected, and he had so many unfulfilled wishes. He is still sorely missed to this day... :-((((
-And a few weeks later, an international star was taken away at the height of his fame, and his passing left shockwaves throughout the entire world... Heath Ledger.
- Lydia Sum sucuumbed to cancer in February, and half her assets went to her surviving child Joyce Cheng.
- There are still a few cases of mass killings in universities, quite similar to the Virginia Tech University massacre last year.
- Quite a number of natural disasters took place within Asia... the cyclone in Nagris, Myanmar... the earthquakes in Sichuan, China... another landslide in Kuala Lumpur, the mudflow at Java, Indonesia... too many to mention.
- And who can ever forget the case of the melamine-tinted milk products in China that had affected the dairy industry for a while?
- There was the political unrest in Bangkok that resulted in the resignations of 2 prime ministers as well as the temporary closing of 2 major airports.
- Followed by the Lehman Brothers' Bankruptcy and the Wall Street Tumble which led to tough times in the financial department.
- There are cases of terrorism still going on, such as the Islamad Marriott Bombings, and the Mumbai bombings that cost the lives of about 200 innocents, among them fellow Singaporean Miss Lo Hwei Yen.
- AND who can ever forget the manhunt for the infamous ex-JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari, who escaped from Whitley Detention Center in the afternoon of 27th February (thanks not to the incompetency and carelessness of 2 prison wardens)??? It's not a prison break, but a toilet break!! Even til this very day, he is still at large... who knows he might have been killed and chopped to pieces... or eaten up by tigers (no pun intended)?
But let us not miss out on the achievements that Singapore had achieved...
- Singapore beat Moscow to win the bid to host the first ever 2010 Youth Olympics.
- Team Singapore secured its first silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at table tennis nonetheless. Singapore was also the first country to feature the Olympics in HD format.
- Singapore earned 2 bronze and a gold medal during the 2008 Paralympics, in horesback riding and synchronised swimming.
- Singapore was the first Asian country to premiere "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", due to the fact that Lucasfilm Animation Singapore was involved in the production for the 3D feature series.
Hopefully, the upcoming year will be a better one... one of healing and restoration.
Oh yes, there is one more good piece of news I forgot to mention... BARACK OBAMA to be President of the US as of 20th January 2009!!! :-D
Time has passed so quickly indeed, and we are about to usher into another year. All I can say is that this year was indeed one of great turbulence and difficulty.
- To start things off, a popular artiste died before the first week of the year was even through... Jimmy Nah MC King. His passing was unexpected, and he had so many unfulfilled wishes. He is still sorely missed to this day... :-((((
-And a few weeks later, an international star was taken away at the height of his fame, and his passing left shockwaves throughout the entire world... Heath Ledger.
- Lydia Sum sucuumbed to cancer in February, and half her assets went to her surviving child Joyce Cheng.
- Other well-known personalities who had passed on... Bernie Mac, Paul Newman, JB Jeyaratnam
- There are still a few cases of mass killings in universities, quite similar to the Virginia Tech University massacre last year.
- Quite a number of natural disasters took place within Asia... the cyclone in Nagris, Myanmar... the earthquakes in Sichuan, China... another landslide in Kuala Lumpur, the mudflow at Java, Indonesia... too many to mention.
- And who can ever forget the case of the melamine-tinted milk products in China that had affected the dairy industry for a while?
- There was the political unrest in Bangkok that resulted in the resignations of 2 prime ministers as well as the temporary closing of 2 major airports.
- Followed by the Lehman Brothers' Bankruptcy and the Wall Street Tumble which led to tough times in the financial department.
- There are cases of terrorism still going on, such as the Islamad Marriott Bombings, and the Mumbai bombings that cost the lives of about 200 innocents, among them fellow Singaporean Miss Lo Hwei Yen.
- AND who can ever forget the manhunt for the infamous ex-JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari, who escaped from Whitley Detention Center in the afternoon of 27th February (thanks not to the incompetency and carelessness of 2 prison wardens)??? It's not a prison break, but a toilet break!! Even til this very day, he is still at large... who knows he might have been killed and chopped to pieces... or eaten up by tigers (no pun intended)?
But let us not miss out on the achievements that Singapore had achieved...
- Singapore beat Moscow to win the bid to host the first ever 2010 Youth Olympics.
- Team Singapore secured its first silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at table tennis nonetheless. Singapore was also the first country to feature the Olympics in HD format.
- Singapore earned 2 bronze and a gold medal during the 2008 Paralympics, in horesback riding and synchronised swimming.
- Singapore was the first Asian country to premiere "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", due to the fact that Lucasfilm Animation Singapore was involved in the production for the 3D feature series.
Hopefully, the upcoming year will be a better one... one of healing and restoration.
Oh yes, there is one more good piece of news I forgot to mention... BARACK OBAMA to be President of the US as of 20th January 2009!!! :-D
Revisiting VivoCity prior to New Year's Eve
Yesterday evening, I had this sudden urge to go to good ol' VivoCity just to check out the rehearsals for the upcoming Channel 8 countdown party. I know I won't be able to be part of the fun and madness on the actual night, but since the 3rd level was still open to the public, I was thinking, "Why not go up and take a look?". So that's what I did right after knockin off from work... :-)
The design and arrangement of the stage and backstage tent were pretty much the same as seen in last year's party...
The gigantic Christmas tree that I saw earlier was still there... only this time, it looks much more attractive than the one made last year. Don't you think so? ;-)
No luck on spotting any celeb... but I did see Campus Superstar season 2 winner Shawn Tok running across to the dressing room tent. Nearly felt like smacking his head (haha kidding!) til I realised how much he reminds me of my nephew... anyway, I left the place at 7.45 pm and headed back home to download more episodes of "The Little Nyonya" from MobTV...
Man if only I had the ability to duplicate myself into various copies like Multiple Man, I would probably go to the following places...
- TNT No 1 stay at home and flip between Channel 5 and 8
- TNT No 2 go for watchnight service in church
- TNT No 3 go for Ch 5 countdown at Marina Bay
- TNT No 4 go for Ch 8 countdown at VivoCity
- TNT No 5 go for countdown party at Punggol
Ok ok, perhaps I'm being waaaay too greedy... I guess I'll still be contented with watchnight service even though I can't get to be part of the countdown. Hey, there's still a next time to see some of the more favorable artistes right? :-)
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