My Part-time Job over the June Holidays!

I needed to find one that was preferably conducted over the weekends, so as to give me time during the weekdays to revise for my mid-years, which are coming after the June hols.

It has to be well-paying too for what it is worth, since the money has to go into my Stormtrooper armour costume, for my admission into the Singapore Garrison of the Internationally-recognized 501st Legion, which will arrive from the US in mid-June (and I must pay for and collect it as soon as possible).

Furthermore, I had hoped that it would be a no-stress affair, something I can do that is fun, enjoyable and would relieve me from my revision stress.

Seems like I hold very high expectations for my part-time job, eh? What are the chances I can find one that fits all three stringent criteria?

Months ago I had considered doing saikang (shit-work, basically you are tasked with an extremely mundane and tedious workload) at a sports complex of which a freind's father of mine was boss. $9 an hour, if I worked 9 to 5 over two five-day work weeks I would hhave just enough to cover all expenses. But that would mean having to sacrifice precious time which could have been used for studying. The situation looked desolate, and I was ready to submit to it.

One fateful night, after a photoshoot outing with the 501st at Merlion Park, the gang and I hung around for a while. And that was when I got acquainted with Movie Mania, through a charming individual with a burning passion for the things he loves. He was a former 501st member, and was the first Darth Vader costumer in Asia.



Now I make temporary minimum wage by putting on costumes and putting smiles one peoples' faces, old and young alike. My appearances are mostly on weekends, the pay is reasonable, and best of all, I have so much fun doing it. :3

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I remember, it was only 3 years ago when I first encountered the 501st. Back then all I could do was gape in awe at how these fellers could bring a silver-screen element to life, and take pictures with them like any other fan would do.

Last year at STCC, I went with my then-classmate Ron, another Star Wars fan, and met up with the Gordonator, whom then I associated with as an active Singaporean animeblogger. Both of them had intentions of joining the Singapore Garrison. We inquired about it, and I was daunted by the cost and the dedication required to build up these armour kits (just as I was surprised at Ngee Ann Civic Plaza two years ago when I heard the same thing from the guy manning the booth). Nevertheless, I eventually signed up as a volunteer together with the both of them (Ron had actually successfully compelled a very reluctant me into joining).

Fast forward to today, both of them are trooping around in their Stormie outfits, and I serve as an active volunteer, photographer and personal assistant to the two them, as well as the other costumers in the 501st wearing more badass costumes like Boba Fett and Darth Vader. From the 501st I'm getting premiums and collectibles, photo-taking opportunities, developing friendships with like-minded Star Wars fans, and even invites to parties and family gatherings (where I show up at the door and get responses like, "oh, you're with the Star Wars right? Hey [insert name here], your star Wars friend is here!")

Still, what remains was my passion for wearing costumes, pretending to be some character from some TV show or movie which I like, and entertaining crowds with my gimmick. I did not want to limit myself to just Star Wars in the 501st. So God bless the fact (yeah I'm semi-Christian now) that I met Reno that night, and got contracted as a costume 'talent' under Movie Mania.

The first step I took was joining the 501st. Many steps later, I'm doing what I love and getting rewarded for it with Movie Mania (and still with the 501st). Just goes to show how important taking the first step is, eh?



Back to my part-time job. Over the next few weekends (and a few weekdays here and there), I'll be making costume appearances at various locations in an Optimus Prime costume, as the MM gang and I pave the road to the Transformers 2 Gala Premiere at the 22nd of June. If you're in Singapore and wanna meet up some time and take pictures, feel free to contact me.

P.S. Best part of everything? I get to pose beside Movie Mania's very own pretty-faced Optimus Prime (Sexy Female Version)! B)

Infatuations; i.e. How I Deal with Them.

I pick up my trusty old guitar, and sing and strum along to this song. Very long but alluring intro, nicely harmonized, with an infectious bass riff, cosmic guitar licks, a radical drum progression, and airy piano scales.

I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie

How I wish you could see the potential
The potential of you and me
It's like a book elegantly bound
But in a language that you can't read just yet

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

There are days when outside your window
I see my reflection as I slowly pass
And I long for this mirrored perspective
When we'll be lovers, lovers at last

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

I will possess your heart
I will possess your heart

You reject my advances and desperate pleas
I won't let you let me down so easily
So easily

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

You got to spend some time, love
You got to spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart

I will possess your heart
I will possess your heart

The lyrics really do hit home for my case. This is how I feel all the time when it comes to this. For me it's about getting people to like me as I like them. I do think there is some potential of me being a boyfriend, only I'm the only one who can visualize it. Sometimes when I see that person I like I start to dream of how it would be like to be with her. I guess I just gotta try to 'spend some time' with them, before I can ever get a chance to 'Possess' their hearts. B) Too bad I don't have time to spare either. I devote too much of it to my studies and my laptop. :/

So yeah. This song goes out to all my current infatuations out there, about 4 to 5 of them at least. Just wanna say to each of you, I find you nice and attractive, and I might wanna date you a while. But just for the record, I wish to remain celibate, liberal and full of choices for the rest of my life, and fap to mine own pr0n. >.> So try not to go too far too fast with me. ;)

I had originally planned to write something more detailed, but concluded that it would sound too mushy and self-deprecating. So meh. :\

Meeting the man Himself...

Hey there.

So I'm here right now at the backseat of my dad's car, typing this blog post on Notepad while I have a lack of access to a stable Internet connection amidst a pang of heartburn from gobbling a quick dinner, and motion sickness from typing in a moving vehicle. We are currently commuting to the airport, where my family shall bid farewell to my uncle, aunt-in-law and grandmother who had come from the Philippines to visit for a week.

If you don't know by now, my blood is a mix of 1/2 Peranakan (3/4 Chinese, 1/4 Malay) and 1/2 Filipino (inclusive of 1/5 Spanish). It would just so happen that an aunt on the maternal side is also a Japanese citizen, and that meant I have the rare fortune of an actual Japanese relative, of whom I had the pleasure of entertaining her corresponding visit to Singapore as well (she had flown back just last night). More about my relatives, and 'me and my Japanese cousin', later on. Tiny tinge of cous/in/cest alert!

She just so happened to miss tagging along with me to one of the more important events of my life today (more so than my birthday even), a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet with Blogger maestro Danny Choo, a mna whom I have respected and looked up to for a very long time now.

As usual, I had no access to my mum's Canon Powershot, so I borrowed my uncle's Sony Cybershot. It was to my misfortune that his camera happened to be low on battery and memory. That's okay though, it's Gordonator to the rescue. Kind sir offered to lend me his super awesome DSLR to snap a few shots of the event.

*Excuse me while I hold back the urge to vomit.*






Danny was an immensely nice guy, no different from his Internet persona. I arrived pretty early (received the complimentary Trexi toy above from the registration counter; not really my kind of thing), a very 'Un-Singaporean thing to do' according to Animax manager Gregory Ho, and the man even took off a bit of time preparing his famous Macbook to chat for a short while with me. Kagamin was present too of course.



I was touched to hear that he had remembered me when I introduced myself as AK. To be one out of the many dannychoo.com members to have had an impression on him is saying a lot to me; It was a great confidence boost. I was doubly surprised when he noticed and commented on the 'lucky go'en (five yen) coin' hanging off my neck. I have been keeping it as a personal treasure from a Japanese friend of mine, and had worn it today after a very long time, admittedly in vain hope that it would make an impression; unexpectedly it did. I was very glad for it.

*Argh, my head is killing me. I knew this was a bad idea.*

The process began with an address by Animax CEO (?) Gregory Ho, regarding his soopur seekrit plan to utilize the blogs of those who have come to be educated with the way of the dannychoo to promote their very own original anime production, LaMB (here's where the blogging competition comes in, see? They hid the details in the e-mail that was sent to me earlier). This was the Animax Awards entry from some one or two years ago, by a lazy bum Filipino (that makes me equal to half of this guy, if you know what I mean) which did not win the award but attracted the attention of Animax SEA, who promised some time ago that they were going to blow it up into a full-scale anime themselves. The end product? Webcomics, user-generated content, music videos, advertisements, lots and lots of hype-generating stuff. I expected nothing less from the organizer of this event. He knows how to run his business well. Then there were the usual promos, webcomic features and ads, been there done that. And finally, Danny's talk managed to get underway.

Indeed, as I am currently engaging in a blog improvement process, this talk came in quite handy in pointing me the right direction, which is of course the dannychoo.com direction. I was introduced to things I've never heard of before, like Search Engine Optimization, Affiliation, etc. which I so happen to be only drabbling in. I shall definitely set to work with putting the things I've learnt today to good use, in appreciation of Danny's taking his time to present this talk.

Danny Choo's presentation skills have improved dramatically since his first live speech in Germany. There was this one post he made regarding giving speeches, and I did notice that he had himself implemented the speech strategies identified in that post, strategies he had learnt from other speakers, into this talk right here. There were the occasional 2D girl breaks, the humour jabs, and the well-known 3D vs. 2D girl poll was thrown to the audience at one point. Very impressive stuff indeed.



After the talk, the audience of mostly 'amateur bloggers' (including me) as quoted by TJHan, were invited to network with each other and exchange name cards. I don't have a namecard, which is a real pity, but I did manage to retrieve a lot, from Gordon, TJHan, Alafista, Darkmirage, Nipah, Tragic Comedy, Cavalock and Danny Choo himself. TJ even invited me to join him, LianYL and gang for a game of TF2 some day. Heheheh.

I got a chance to take a few more photos, and with Danny's permission even spent a bit of playtime with Kagamin. She would be the very first Figma I have ever played with. :3 I'm such a noob. I also caught up with the bunch for a good hearty chat about friends, blogs, anime and the works, and promised to exchange links. Yay, moar publicity for me. :3

*Oh shit. Nearly threw up. I could almost taste the foul digestive juices at the back of my tongue.*




You know by now just how I am obsessed with being 'unique', don't you? I didn't bring a notebook or pen or anything to get his autograph, instead, I brought the right shoulder armour of my Gundam Astray, and a Gundam Marker. The end result? Danny Choo's autograph on my Astray, plus a complimentary from a rather uneasy Darkmirage. DM is either not very good with Gundam markers, or he's got a pretty dull signature.

For the record I do not consider Danny Choo as my idol, and I refuse to call myself his fan. Rather, I prefer to think that we are comrades, even though is may be of a higher rank than me. I do not worship him, but I hold him in high regard, and accept that he is willing to extend a warm friendly relationship and even guide me along my path as a blogger. Also, he can do an amazingly convincing LotR Gollum impression, besides the different accents he easily switches around with during his presentation. Respect, brudder.



The talk ended on a rather wet (read: rain) note. After another Animax interview, a group photo of everybody who had stayed behind (thanks for the pic Alafista), and a mad dash for the remaining free food (the only primary reason I attend events like these), we bid our goodbyes and went our own ways. Gordon and I headed down to KKnM (my very first visit there after I relinquished my boycott against them) to pre-order my set of Clannad After Story 2009 calendars. Very nifty place indeed, it's good everything you'd ever want and more. Even the store owner Sharon turned out to be a very approachable and friendly person. Nice place. I wondered why I abstained in the first place.

Kinda tired right now so I'll only upload the photos I took with my Cybershot, while I wait for Gordon's batch of photos to come in tomorrow. Then, another blog post. Bah, how pathetic.

By the way, for all those of you who attended the talk and are still wondering, the codeword is R5D421B. Lulz.

P.S. Yes Panther, I noticed you didn't come, and I understand why.

*Yes, Terminal Three! Now to get me some free internets, and a sink to puke into.*

*Updated on 20th november 2008 with more pictures, amidst mouthfuls of yesterday's buffet leftovers. Ymm, one day-old snacks.*

School, Advertising, and Thanks for the Hits!

Hey guys, I know it's been a last time since the last post (which I don't doubt had you Rickrolled), and now that the brief March holidays are here I thought I'd add a few updates on my IRL situation. JC life's been going smoothly so far, I'm having no problems coping with homework as of yet (I'm in fact starting to develop a liking for doing schoolwork which I deem relatively easy).

Meridian Junior College is starting to become a sort of second home for me, these days. I find myself staying back in school more frequently, whether it's to watch soccer matches on the synthetic soccer field from the grandstands at the sports gallery, pump some iron at the gym, finish up work assignments in the 2nd level of the library, the quietest air-conditioned place in the college, rent and watch movies for free in the Audio room, or simply chill out at the canteen, a bowl of Gyuudon from the school's Sakae Sushi outlet beside my laptop, blasting Daft Punk in my earphones to mask the sound of the pouring rain outside, while playing a casual game of Single-Player Risk on the lappie while friends spectate and offer strategies, like what I am doing right now. Now this is the life. The best part is, they offer free wireless Internet too (only when it's working, of course).

My peers are the most motivating people I know. (Almost) everybody aspires to be a leader, like what the school encourages us to be, initiating social activities like celebrating birthdays and going out for lunches together. They are keen on helping out in schoolwork whenever I need assistance. They offer comments about how I do things, comments that are positive and constructive. They encourage me in whatever I set out to do. Most of all, they are honest and won't try to put someone down for the fun of it. There's nothing more I can ask for :D.
My new school uniform, stiff as it still is up to now, is actually really refreshing to wear. I simply love the colour (sky blue if you still don't know). It dries off quickly after I sweat. I can wear one set for two consecutive days since it doesn't crease very much. And it does not give off any smell. (^_^)

The teachers here are great too. they're sporty, outgoing, fun-loving, have good senses of humour, and are always there to lend a helping hand. We have hunky man teachers who not necessarily teach PE who are willing to offer a tip or two about bodybuilding and woman teachers with high-pitched 16 year-oldish voices that schoolboys here take a liking to (my gorgeous Physics teacher for example). Our principal is outspoken, charismatic, understanding and likeable. What more can I say?

Alright, enough of the shameless school advertising. I'd now like to direct your attention to the Advertising section of my blog. As you might have noticed (nor mostly likely have not), since December last year there had existed something called Google ads on my blog. I had actually hoped to drum up some pocket money to support myself (I'd hate to break this to you, but my family's currently financially strapped at the moment), so I thought I'd give Google a bit of advertising space. As of now my Google Adsense earnings make up a grand total of $0.00 :P. I really do hope that if you see something interesting being advertised on this site, just take the time to click on it and browse through for a moment, it won't take a lot.

Pretty soon I'll be putting up another ad, this time to promote a place called doingfine.org, a really neat-looking place where you can tell everybody how wonderful your day went, instead of bitching and going emo about everything bad that happens in your life, which is what LiveJournal is basically for. I might just consider being there myself, seeing how things in my life are going at the moment. I hope you'll take the time to check it out too when the ad comes out. you guys will be doing me a wonderful favour, and I am eternally grateful.

I am, in fact, already grateful for the fact that you have taken your time to come and read my blog. A recent check on Feedburner ensures that I get hits every day, from a minimum of 14 to a maximum of 42, with all sorts of browsers, all around the world, speaking all sorts of tongues, using all sorts of Operating systems and screen resolutions. I know it's not a lot of hits comparatively, but I simply can't ask for more, as this is already good enough for me :D. while I understand that most of you come by hoping I'd post something Otaku once in a while, I must apologize that it hasn't been very frequent of late due to time constraints and IRL business. However, I do promise that my next post will be very very soon. I'll do my very best to please, in return for your kindness and time.

Also, here's just to remind you that comments are still open to the public, and that anybody can speak their mind. I'm open to all sorts of comments, and I'd be more than happy to reply to them. I can already see a small but definite rising trend of increasing comments on my blog, and I'm very thankful for that.

well, till next time. For the Clannad fans with 1200 X 800, this one's for you:

Nappy New Year!

Yeah, it's been pretty long since I did a last blog post. Lotsa things have been going on that had been keeping me away from the computer, mostly the fact that my siblings are using the computer.

Spent the countdown at a friend's church. Yes, I still kinda disapprove of how modern youths sing praise songs (rock bands, jumping around), and I actually felt pretty awkward there. I highly doubt I'll be going there today. As I speak, I'm receiving at least 5 text messages from my 'new-found church friends' beckoning me to come back.

Back to school again, it's orientation. Lotsa running around, cheering and stuff. the usual stuff. I'll spare the details, but just to let you know I spent the weekend with sunburnt arms and neck, aching sores and an unsightly bruise on my right thigh. But I think life in a JC's gonna be pretty good for me. I feel much more comfortable here now, and less nervous. The JC life promises more freedom and liberty to do your own stuff, but that also means you gotta do your own stuff. Hope I'm ready for it.

I'm typing this from a computer at the school library, so I have no pictures for now. Hope you all had a good new year.

Dear Beloved Readers and Subscribers of my blog...

It is unfortunate that my personal life blog and otaku blog have to be in the same page. Sadly this is the case, as this blog has indeed started off as a personal life blog, so I feel it is only appropriate that my life rants continue to go here instead of somewhere else. After all, the blog URL says 'Our World' in Japanese, but I am still part of this world after all. I guess you can say this is the advantage, or disadvantage of my blog in comparison to other otaku blogs.

My parents were involved in a very bad squabble late last night, which lasted till about 2 am this morning. It wasn't anything new, and not as serious as last times, thankfully. I believe it had something to do with my dad, in his usual nighttime drunken stupor, criticizing mum about her work-over-family priorities that evening. This came about when he found out that morning that I was at mum's office helping her set up a new printer, when I was supposed to be at home working on dad's admin assignments with the home computer. I did get back to his work later in the afternoon, but made little progress as I still had to share the computer with my siblings, since mum's brought the laptop to work. Dad was really frustrated, cos he was the one who keeps telling me that he has taken good care of the family, and that all of us are indebted to him. He criticized my actions of helping mum out in her office by questioning if I owed her company anything. In a fit of rage he even tried to delete all my admin work, but thankfully, being the computer-illiterate person he is, didn't know how. There he was, yelling at me, "I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!", and a few moments later shouting, "HOW DO YOU DELETE THIS DAMN THING?!"

I hit the roof too. In the middle of their squabble I put on some clothes (trivia: AK's always only in his underwear and shorts at home) and run out the door. It was 2am. I decided to take a walk down to the nearby marketplace then back, hoping that the argument had died down by then. a few things I learned from my journey:
The majority of cars going up and down the mostly empty roads are taxis.
At this hour there are still people walking around, usually in pairs (not couples).
The nearby LAN gaming shop was STILL OPEN. The LANMaster and one pudgy 20-something guy were still inside.
This hour is usually when a certain Indian Coffee House gets the most customers. It was practically packed when I walked past.

Today dad's locked himself up in his room, and mum's at work again. Even our maid's taken the day off. Looks like it's up to me to hold the fort. Wish me luck.

Today's pix.

One Factor That Might Influence Me into Watching CLANNAD.

Douzo girl (Fuko). Oh so Moe.

I feel like starting on Gurren Lagann too (yes, I know I'm late). Can't find episode 2 on Youtube (or anywhere else for that matter, aside from torrent sites, which I'm choosing to stay away from) though. My progress on Ninomiya-kun! so far is at episode 7. Yup, it's not much, but I'm definitely picking up momentum again.

A few more updates on my situation:
-Access to the Lenovo laptop has been reduced to just my mum and me. In other words, when my mum's not using it (which is most of the time) I have complete possession. Not like last time, when my sis used to dominate it.
-I've just started on Grenado Espada. femminile family (small f), Caravaggio (Italian for feminine, the closest word I could get that sounds like 'family').
-I'm reviving my rusty PangYa and Trickster accounts. Now I have to work out a timetable so I can devote equally divided attention to all my games.
-I have to divide an equal portion of attention for gym too. the one near my house has just opened.
-Some of this 'time' actually falls under the wee hours of the morning. No, I'm not afraid. :P
-Not much progress on stories.
Kay, that's it. that=nks for the page hits, everyone who's viewed my blog! thank you, Danny Choo, for creating otaku.fm! Drawing page views has never been easier!

The Laptop Cooling Pad Seller...

Just got back from my fourth day at work at the SITEX exhibition at the Singapore Expo. Lotsa things have happened over the past four days. Some really interesting, others downright irritating.

I work at A1 Computer station, a shop that sells mostly computer accessories (cos Fujitsu nor Asus wants to hire me). The first two days at work involved setting up the racks and putting the stall layout together, as well as putting up the products on the racks. I work alongside quite a large army of part-timers, around 20 of them. But even this figure wasn't enough to settle everything in twenty-four hours over two days, so we actually ended up working way longer than intended (we intend to clock 12-hour sessions of 10 to 10, but just two days ago, because we were pressed for time to set up to booth, had to start at 9 in the morning and end at 2 in the next morning. Absolutely frustrating.

Yesterday and two days ago saw me standing beside a large stack of assorted laptop cooling pads. The more I sold and demonstrated the products on my very own glass shelf connected to an electrical outlet via an extremely lousy USB adapter, the more I learnt about all the different kinds, so much so that I can easily quote the fan speed, power usage, voltage and current ratings, and most importantly prices, off the top of my head. I mentally prepared a set of quotes and statements to use like 'good investment' or 'I can't demonstrate the fan's full speed because of my lousy USB adapter' or even 'if you find any defects within the next seven days you can come over to our store at Sim Lim Square - the address is printed on your receipt - and we can get you a replacement immediately'. I managed to sell a whole lot of pads two days ago, and I sold even more yesterday. Yup, despite me feeling jealous at the people receiving better pays at branded companies like Sony and Microsoft, I love this job. Do come and visit if you have the time, and if you live in Singapore. Forgive my non-constructive English, I'm pressed for time. I really need some shut-eye now.

A Change of Heart!

Today I woke up feeling a lot fresher than I was yesterday. I figured, why bother getting yourself so worked up over all this? It's not like your life depended on it or something, right?

Also, I've decided to brighten up my blog a bit for potential viewers who might drop by from dannychoo.com through otaku.fm.

I start working at the SITEX Convention tomorrow (boo to you, Darkmirage! Why didn't you go, when you said you wanted to?!), getting a pay of $5 an hour, for 12 hours a day, over 6 days, lunch and dinner provided, all amounting to $350, plus a bonus of anything between $30 to $80. from this money I'm getting, $300 goes to a new Compaq Presario my mother might be getting along with a new Starhub MaxOnline broadband subscription (just think, $1699 to $300! It's highway robbery!). Of course, while I'm there I'll be sure to snap lotsa pictures for ya! (I'm beginning to see just how much me blog's lacking pix.)

The rest of my money will go into my very first foreign exports goods - A collection of Sangokushi Taisen 2 cards straight for Japan. Following that would most likely be this:


Speaking of whom, I've most recently done a few chapters of this story I'm working on. Because I like Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu so much, and because I like being different all the time, I've decided to show my support and flaunt my writing skills all at the same time by writing a sidestory to the Haruhi light novel series, to shed some light on my take of the background behind this story.

It is being told from the point of view of a young man known only as Akira. Three years back in the story, he had a lot to do with a adolescent girl named Suzumiya Haruhi. How has that made him, right up to the present? It features plenty of events that are mentioned in the story but never featured first-hand, and provides valid explanations to the things that happen in the story itself. You see, I did my very best in enslaving this story to Tanigawa Nagaru's original, so I don't default him anything. (Almost) everything that happens in this story I'm cooking has something to do with the original. And no, I don't regard this as fanfiction, my level way transcends that. It's an original work by me, with original characters and an original plot, except I take characters and references from the Suzumiya Haruhi light novel series. I'll be putting up my first completed chapter here pretty soon, cos it explains a lot about the story's background. Two others will follow shortly.

My First Paycheck: $109.50; Even more Obscurity; Depression

After working for three days at Xpress Works, a telesurvey company, doing administrative nonsense and all that, I am finally relieved of active office duty, and presented a paycheck of $109.50 (seems like they want to be accurate to the nearest dollar). No, that doesn't mean I got fired. I was only supposed to provide extra manpower over a few days to help sort out some stuff. By the way, that company was run by 6 other people around my age, plus a 30-something year-old boss. The environment was very office-like, but the fact that all my colleagues are actually around my age takes a bit of getting used to. We do telesurveys by the way, and I was the main man for keying in data into the computers and generating numbers for my colleagues to call up.

Prom night was dealt with promptly too. Nothing too fancy, just classmates with make-up and fancy dresses. No pictures right now, unfortunately. All I can say was my performance was not worth it. I hate my band. I'm disbanding. Nuff said.

Currently searching for a spot at the SITEX convention. newspaper ads aren't doing very well at the moment, it would seem that my first interview with a minor comp accessory company had failed (woman promised to call me back the next afternoon to confirm my spot, either that or she forgot), so I'm gunning for another one that only goes for 4 days at the exhibition instead of the full 3. Now I know how hard it is to get a job (that everybody else wants as well).

If you're reading this, you most probably chanced upon this blog, either by mistake or by Blogger-surfing. I say that because I'm pretty unimpressed at how unpopular my blog is. It seems as though nobody's reading it at all (or, at least, nobody who's got a Blogger account and can pass comments). My faith and commitment to this blog is slowly fading, and at this rate I'm getting too lazy to even post pictures. Whatever it is, I still have the will to type. And that's all I need.

I wish animeblogger would hurry up with my support ticket. I'm still having problems with my account and they don't seem to care. I have links at various other blogsites but it doesn't really matter cos no one's clicking. It's very depressing, this all is. I can't do any anime or Japan-related blogging while it's still awaiting support (yes, I'll be changing the name and theme of this blog too).

I'm still committed to my other commitments, though. It's a good thing a new gym opened up within my residential district. It's not a good thing it's only open at night.. My story's coming up very nicely too. But at this rate I'll need to put it more hours so I can get it done... As for the plot... A Singaporean guy living in Japan. FYI, my blog was inspired by this story, not the other way around. Even though I created this blog first, I had the story forming in my mind way before.

Speaking of which, I have a lot of things forming in my mind which I find very hard to conceive into action. Well, that's cos I'm lazy. Good thing I know it, so I can find ways to solve this problem. Too bad I'm lazy, so I don't feel like doing anything to help my laziness at all. See the conflict here?

I've decided to get myself a new graphics card for this computer too. Looks like I can't install any more games on the laptop without getting screwed up by my mummy. Beh. GeForce 8600 sounds good... Wonder if I could pick it up at SITEX, too.

I still have my quiet self-thinking times, and whenever I do I always think about myself in relation to the world. I used to be confident in my upcoming O level results, but after all that 'I don't believe you' crap from my dad, I'm starting to use these quiet times to worry about my O levels instead. Not healthy. Also, I still get envious of people at better positions than me, in terms of popularity, skill or even money (not quoting names). I keep thinking of ways to make myself special, to make myself admired. Yes, I'm an attention seeker, and it was all derived from that precocious thinking of mine when I was very young that went something like 'it's my life, I control it, so I want it to be special'. That's why I'm usually always the oddball of the lot, and people tend to want to make fun of my attempts to be different. They may laugh at me for being different, but I laugh at all of them for being the same.

Ah, whatever. Enough said. Time for a serious workout.

Exams are OVAR!!!

Yup, it's official. It came and went, so quickly that I'm left asing, "what, already?"

Overall, the exams were quite breezy. The subjects weren't too hard, except for geography and perhaps Physics (surprisingly). English went well, I made sure not to go off-topic this time. My A. Math levels have improved a lot too.

Now that the exams are done and the holidays are at hand, it's time for me to set out to do what I've been planning to do since months ago. In fact, I sorta dreaded the end of exams, because I'm left to pack my schedules with all sorta stuff, mostly tedious work which I'd hate to embark on, though I very must have set my mind to doing. The list is as follows:

1. GET A JOB. (during exams, I compete against my peers in academics. After exams, I compete with them once again for job vacancies)
2. Revive my BF2142 account (currently getting the new patch).
3. Revive my PangYa! account.
4. Remove the excess baggage round my tummy.
5. Build up some bulk on my arms and torso.
6. Fix and get started with my animeblogger account (still awaiting a reply from the staff to my support ticket).
7. Watch and review some anime (Goshusho sama Ninomiya kun and such).
8. Get me some PVC figurines (targeting Minase Nayuki from Kanon and Asakura Ryoko from SHnY).
9. Write a few short stories / novellas (aiming for three).
10. Build a personal custom-built desktop computer.

By the way, this is the first post I'm making on this blog using my new Lenovo Laptop computer. Mom bought it about a week ago. It's even more advanced than my existing desktop computer that's about three years old already. Runs on Vista, 1GB of RAM, Nvidia graphics, and Intel Centrino duo.

speaking of new stuff, I also happen to have a new Sony Ericcson K530i. I've long since been a supporter of Sony Ericsson, and since I didn't want to spend a hundred bucks or so for a Walkman 880i, I went for the $0 K530i model instead (comes with student plan). The cool thing about my plan is that can finally use a mobile device to access the Internet. At the moment, I'm using it as a Feed Reader for dannychoo.com.

Pictures of them up soon.

19-10-07 Update

My animeblogger.net account is finally open (it runs on Wordpress, by the way. Something I'm not used to utilizing)! It's new and still under construction at the moment, but I promise to clear it up as soon as my O's are over (which will officially be on the 13th of November, though I expect to have a bit of free time before then). Once that's done, I'll commence with my Anime Review posts, starting with a non-mainstream ecchi anime I've just gotten acquainted to (thanks very much to Danny Choo). It's so non-mainstream that not enough info about it is up on Wikipedia yet.

Revisions for the O's are going smoothly. So smoothly I'm beginning to worry if I hadn't been putting in enough effort yet. True enough, I haven't (or so it seems). I can still afford to go arcade-ing and cycling round the park in the afternoons (it's consultation period now, graduating students taking the O's don't need to go to school, they studying wherever they like). And I keep telling myself it's cos I've got a schedule at hand and that freed up a lot of space for leisure, when actually, in the first place, my study hours to leisure hours ratio is alarmingly small.

See how efficient it is to be spotting your own mistakes? Would've been better if I were more pro-active and less lazy, then perhaps those mistakes could be more quickly resolved.

Recently I find myself unable to sleep well at night. I would toss and turn in my bed from eleven pm till 2 am plus, and wake up only after eight in the morning. A cause of worry for me as most of my exams would be starting from 8 am onwards. And it would be during the times of insomnia that I would start thinking about all kinds of things, like how successful people like Danny Choo or even Darkmirage are and how I'd wanna be like them, or plot ideas for potential stories forming in my head, perhaps even stuff that I plan to do after the exams (believe me, there's a lot in mind right now). I never think about studies, unless I had forced myself to get up, sit at my desk and attempt a few more Ten Years' Series papers (done that a few times now, at least it felt satisfying and tired my brains out).

It's been getting very rainy and cold recently. Either because the monsoon season's setting in or the effects of Global Warming are finally taking effect. Increased temperatures in Earth could cause increasingly heavy torrents in tropical areas, which might lead to flooding in Coastal and low-lying lands, so says Nat Geo magazines and Geography textbooks. Not that it really matters to me, but the rainy weather had gotten me wearing pyjamas in the house more often, and had once caused me to crash into another bicycle while cycling back home through Central Park in the rain because it severely limited my visibility and handling and breaking abilities. Ugh.

Now that I have a proper blog for anime and otaku-related stuff, this blog right here may very well revert back to its blogskin-dot-com layouts...

Haruhi-ism, Rain

It has been going on around me for the longest time now, and it only hit me recently that it's becoming more than just a pseudo-religion to me.

A glance around my table at any given time I am at home will show these:
Pasted on the front. I got the picture on the left from a recent anime convention. Pretty decent fanart.

My document file, which I carry around with me in school. I never put it in my school bag.

Keitai strap.

Inside the back cover of my file (something wrong with uploading)

Beneath the shelf. Comes with the novelty products I buy from Comics Connection. May not be official merchandise, but I'm fine with it all the same.

Something related. Back cover of my file.

Now you know.

There was an incident a few days ago, as I was cycling home after a jamming session with my friends (no, we only do VK Rock). Another cyclist passed by me as I went down the roadside walkway. From a stereo system somewhere around him, a Walkman Phone perhaps, came the familiar guitar riff from Haruhi's God Knows. I immediately stopped the bike and watched him as he zoomed off behind me. I even had the urge to follow him. No, it's all involuntary.

This is of grave concern. It's starting to overtake me, Haruhi-ism.

I have to be frank with you. Personally, I dislike Haruhi. As I read the novels in the Baka-Tsuki translation site, I can't help but agree with Kyon about her selfish and eccentric behaviour. Eccentric I don't mind, but I detest selfishness in people, especially because I have a brother who tends to be self-centred too, at times (no, I love him very much as a brother, thank you). I fully support the statement "she believes the whole world revolves around her" because I used to use that quote on my brother too. But every time I look her pictures, at her deep yellow eyes, naturally angry eyebrows, yellow hair bow, and North High winter seifuku, I can't help but think, "y'know, she's actually just a normal high school girl who has a different perspective of the world (like me, but I view the world in a better sense :P )." "And she's so darn cute."

Most recently I had my preliminary examinations in school. We had to take it in the hall, which had 8 cooler fans and 10 normal fans, along with plenty of ventilation. But I felt like roast chicken in there. Rather, my hands. They were so sweaty I left moisture all over my pen, I almost smudged the ink on my paper, and left marks all over the desk. Bleh.

Today poured heavily after school (we had Geography today, by the way. I never expected it to be so easy). I had to pay up for my orders for the class photographs, and had to run home in the rain (humming Endless Rain by X-Japan as I did so), grab and umbrella (a huge Taylormade one, big enough to shelter three people but leave their ankles sopping wet) and my bike, and head for the bank to withdraw money from my savings. Along the way I escorted two classmates (I don't get what's so special about sharing an umbrella with a girl. maybe that's cos I was pushing my bike in between) to their blocks, good thing it was along the way. My shins down were wet, sure enough, along with the whole left side of my uniform (the umbrella wasn't big enough for three people and a bicycle, apparently). After securing the payment I accompanied another two more to their houses, and along the way back home I passed by the school gate and admitted a whole bunch of about 6 random people running down the carpark to the opposite side of the road.

It felt really great, being Good Samaritan for the day. Every day I try to assimilate myself into Japanese culture (OMG Geek lulz), and Japanese culture includes willingness to go out of one's way to help others. It was no problem for me as I'm naturally a very generous and helpful person, even before I decided to start acting like a Japanese.

The best part was it was Friday. I had no worries wetting my uniform pants or my shoes. While I walked I noticed that Singapore walkways tend to hold a lot of water in them. Stamping in the pavement produces a splash that reaches my knees. I was reminded of my childhood days when I used to play in the rain in my raincoat and Wellington boots. Ah, the nostalgia.

The songs I'm listening to at the moment are from the SuzuHaru character soundtracks. Asahina-san's Toki no Puzzle and Nagato-san's Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite. and Haruhi-san's Parallel Days are my favourites. Also, while searching for translations of said songs and other Japanese songs in my playlist (I tend to do that all the time. I find that Japanese songs have a lot of feeling and meaning in their lyrics), I couldn't help but notice that 'Lost My Music' has a lot of relation with a love story I'm currently working on (yes, I still find time for these things during the exam period).

Speaking of which, I was really influenced by The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi when I read it that I wanted to write a fanfiction (haven't done so in a long time as I had ingrained in my mind the fact that fanfiction is stupid) on SuzuHaru where the characters take on each other's roles. Imagine an eccentris Kyon, an Emo Haruhi, a forever-smiling Nagato, a silent, inpervious Mikuru, and most importantly, a timid but awesomely pretty Itsuki. But I find it scary to imagine Kyon ambushing Itsuki and getting him to cosplay... *shudder*

More stuff about Japan soon. Meanwhile, thank you for relieving Japan of your problems, Abe-sama, and do your very best, Rozen Aso-sama.