Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Secrets

There is a reason why I don't openly let people know my blog address. Well, actually... there is more than a reason really. I mean, in a way, one's blog is one's secret hiding spot from everyone else; a place that no one else is able to see except the really, really close ones or the ones whom you allow to see into your inner thoughts. You may argue that what I am referring to is actually the brain, where no one except the brain's master is able to gain excess into, and not a blog. I agree with that to an extent but you have to agree with me that sometimes there is just so much on our minds that we have to jot our thoughts somewhere, anywhere. Hence, the existence of personal blogs: a place to jot thoughts down.

I feel that by blatantly telling the whole world your blog address, you are trying to gain the whole world's attention. Perhaps, it's just me but I would rather stay quiet and be in the shadows. Letting everyone know your blog address would only be letting your inner thoughts be allowed to be pried by unwanted eyes; In a way, you are now an open book which is 'predictable' and 'boring'.

Then again, everyone is entitled to their own thoughts. I'm merely sharing my personal opinion on blogs. Feel free to disagree with me.

I'm happy in this secret haven of my own.

“Give me a break, God. I’m about to do a great service for you.”

It was quiet. I sat there on the toilet bowl, appreciating the rare silence. It seemed to me as though God was finally on my side. Then, the bell rang and all hell broke loose. Demons of all kind emerged into the corridors. Imps ran out towards the doors, shrieking an unknown evil language. Succubi were scattered along the hallways, waiting for their next victims. Leviathans stood in the middle of the corridors, eagerly anticipating anyone who crossed their paths.

I looked up at the brightly glowing light bulb on the ceiling and murmured, “Give me a break, God. I’m about to do a great service for you.”

As though acknowledging what I said, the light bulb flickered and I knew that God was trying to show me his gratitude. I gave an elaborate bow and continued to stare into space

Now, it was my free time. I could think whatever I wanted before I executed my mission. God had chosen me to do a favor for him. Not anyone could be chosen; only a select few were special enough to do favors for God. I was grateful that God had thought of me so highly. I will definitely not fail him. I wondered how God would reward me, how heaven was like. As I continued wondering, thousands of questions raced past in my mind. The chosen ones had their names on the newspapers all over the world. Would my name be there too? Would the other faithful followers of God worship me just as how I worshipped the rest of the chosen ones? Would there be a church named after me after my service?

I shook my head violently, attempting to shake these questions off my mind. Thinking of the rewards now would only distract me. I had to stay focused on the mission at hand. There was one thing I was sure though. I would definitely take down more demons than the chosen ones before me. When I had seen reports of these chosen ones on the newspapers, I was at first in awe but over time, I sneered at their feeble attempts to appease God. There was only one of them who I had the deepest respect for. This particular person was Ax Ishmael.

Ax Ishmael, also known as Seung-hui Cho, had taken down thirty-two demons and wounded twenty-five others in his duty for God. He was a brave soldier of God and I was sure God was pleased by his acts. I was particularly impressed that he managed to escape into the heavens before the demons got to him. I had studied his strategies and methods extensively in hopes that I would be able to achieve the high standards he had set and more.

Even though I had done thorough examinations and thought I was prepared, I could not help but to feel nervous. There were butterflies in my stomach and I could not seem to move; I was rooted to the toilet seat in nervousness. Doubtful questions crossed my mind and I gave myself a tight slap, scolding myself for thinking these silly thoughts. My hands felt shaky and I almost lost my grip on Sanctimonia, my demon-killing weapon. I was losing control of my body due to nervousness. This was not good. How could a soldier of God lose his touch due to some stupid human emotion? I looked around desperately but there was nothing I thought could be useful to regain control of my body. In an urgent attempt, I kicked my foot against the cubicle door, moaning as I felt the intense pain in my foot that began to grow with each second that passed after contact. I was relieved though. I could feel myself regaining control of my body.

I thought about the demons that were lurking in the corridors. These demons had tried to bring me to the dark side by pretending to befriend me. However, my faith in God allowed me to see their true colors and I was not tempted by their attempts at all. When they realized that their plan was not working out, they started showing their true colors, thinking that by bullying me, they would eventually convince me to join their side. However, they were wrong. I was not swayed from leaving God’s side. These disgusting naïve fools that tortured me endlessly and mercilessly for the past few years… Soon, I will have my revenge on them. I remembered a particular incident, just months back, when they put my head into the toilet bowl and tried to flush it off. In fact, the toilet bowl in which they used to torture me with was the exact one I was sitting on right now. The thought of that incident made me see red and I spat at the ground in anger. I took deep breaths and tried to keep myself calm.

I made my final preparations. I jumped on the spot to loosen my muscles, allowing me the much-required reflexes to combat these demons later in the battle. I took a look at Sanctimonia, making sure that it was in working conditions and that it was ready to drink the blood of the demons I would slay soon. I said a short prayer and took a deep breath, opened the cubicle door and slammed the toilet door open, bracing myself for the battle that would ensue very soon.

The slamming open of the toilet door alerted the horde of demons and they stared at my direction.

‘Shit!’ I exclaimed as I realized my mistake.

However, this was not the time to pause and reflect on my mistake. I gripped Sanctimonia hard and aimed it at the head of the nearest imp. With a pull of the trigger, blood splattered everywhere. The imp stood still with a hole in his head before he finally collapsed in defeat. Adrenaline rush flowed into my head and I began to gain momentum and rhythm.

With a swirl of my hand, I took down three other demons, their blood splattered all over me. I licked my lips and savored the taste of demonic blood. It was fresh and delicious.

“AHAHAHAHAHAH!” I exclaimed as I aimed Sanctimonia wildly around me.

The demonic blood seemed to have the ability to make me look intimidating as the demons started fleeing.

“DON’T RUN! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WANTED TO BE MY FRIENDS?!” I shouted in their direction.

They refused to turn back and acknowledge my questions. This made me feel angry and I held Sanctimonia with a vice grip. I reloaded Sanctimonia and started hunting down the demons. Whenever there were any movements around me, I would turn and shoot at that particular direction, hoping to take down a demon or two. I was in a mad rage by now. I started to fire Sanctimonia wildly.

I heard a creak of a door behind me and I swirled around.

“COME OUT YOU FOUL DEMON!” I shouted madly at the door.

There was no response. I walked slowly into the room and saw a male imp hiding under a desk, shaking in utter fear. I laughed in a savage voice and approached him.

“Come out boy… don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you.” I whispered to him, smiling evilly.

A calm, familiar voice came from behind me unexpectedly, “Stop, Aries. Put that gun down.”

I spun and to my horror, it was my form teacher, Mr. Silva.

“…hello there… Mr. Silva” I whispered.

“Hello, Aries.”

“What are you doing here, Mr. Silva?”

“Stopping you. Now put down that gun.”

His words made me remember the job at hand and I aimed my gun at the imp.

“This is my mission, Mr. Silva. God gave me this mission! To eradicate the demons in this school!”

“Rubbish. Just put down that gun and we will talk about this, okay? Don’t harm the poor boy.”

I aimed a shot at the wall and fired, “Do you think I’m kidding, Mr. Silva? I said God gave me this mission!”

“Don’t be stupid, Aries.” he said softly and approached me.

“WHY ARE YOU HELPING THESE DEMONS, MR. SILVA?” I was furious by now. Why was Mr. Silva helping these foul beasts? He was the only man of God in this entire school. He should be helping me terminate these demons instead of standing on their side.

“Now, Aries, I know that your fellow students haven’t been the nicest bunch of people around. They have been bullying you for years but you should have known better. They are just immature. They don’t really mean any harm.”

“STILL…” I began in a feeble attempt.

“Just pass me the gun, Aries.” He approached me gently, nearly reaching me by now.

I knew that if he was to reach me, I would surrender and the demons would eventually get me. I would rather die than let the demons get hold of me. There was only one way out of this. I took the gun in my hand and aimed it at my throat, closing my eyes as I fired.

Journal Entry 12

Monday, November 2nd 2009

Gwahah! I felt like being in an evil mood today. I have finished the required 10 journals for ‘Creative Writing’, whereas, my classmates have yet to finish it. Hence, I could not help it but to laugh at some of them, especially poor old Deborah who was unfortunate enough to become the target of my teasing. She got so annoyed by me that she slapped me across my stomach. Doing that did not help her situation at all; it merely made me tease her even more.

Today, I went for ‘Orientation Training Camp’ interview with QiMing. ‘Orientation Training Camp’ was a camp where you were required to attend to be able to help out in events such as ‘TPRawks’ and ‘Freshmen Orientation Camp’. We both signed up as ‘Group Leaders’. Our interviewee shocked me though; before the interview, she came to us and leaned against my shoulder, texting away on her cell phone. I did not expect the interviewee to be so… friendly.

The interview went smoothly. I thought I had done quite well in the interview. With each question she shot at us, my trusty mind raced at nanoseconds to cough up a satisfying answer. Though I had to admit, I did not expect the interview to be filled with so many questions; I was half-expecting my mind to fail me. However, my trust pal surprised me, yet again, by how well it could function under pressure.

After the interview, I rushed to class, expecting myself to barely make the 15 minutes grace before I was counted as late. To my surprise, the whole class was waiting outside the studio. Apparently, the 12 pm class before us had started late and they were still occupying the studio. We waited patiently and by the time we started class, it was already 3.30 pm. The lesson today was rather dry and I struggled to remain awake. At 4.30 pm, Pat, my lecturer, announced that class was over for the day. We remained transfixed in our seats. ‘Did we hear correctly?’ we wondered. She repeated her words and like magic, we recovered from our frozen state. Today was a pretty relaxing day!

Journal Entry 10

Saturday, October 31th 2009

Today, I woke up early to go around town taking photos of food-related signage. After that, I headed to school to work on my ‘Typography and Layout’ assignment. On the way to school, I fell asleep and missed my stop. When I woke up, I looked around me and found myself in an unfamiliar area. I panicked and rushed down the bus at its next stop. A young lady stared at me as I turned around and took a good hard look at my surroundings. She was probably thinking that I was an idiot who took the wrong bus and found myself lost. I crossed the road and took the bus back to Temasek Polytechnic.

After I was done with my assignment, I went out with the usual bunch to Sentosa for a Halloween event. We were supposed to meet at the Harbour front MRT station at 5.45 pm, however, as expected, some of them arrived late and by the time we finally arrived at Sentosa, it was already 8.15 pm. When we arrived at the location, the sheer number of people there took me aback. It seemed as though the whole youth population in Singapore was there. We rushed to collect our tickets, which were sold to us at a student price of $16, fearing that we were going to have to queen for an extremely long time.

Indeed, we had to queue up to enter the ‘haunted house’. We made the dreaded walk down the queue, our sense of horror increasing with each step we took; the queue was just terribly long. It seemed like ages by the time we reached the end of the queue.

In the end, we queued for 3 hours straight. Expecting the ‘night walk’ to be good due to the large amount of time spent queuing, we entered the ‘haunted house’ in an excited mood. However, it was a major letdown; even the Design Orientation Camp’s night walk was better than it! It was my first time celebrating Halloween and it turned out to be a major disappointment… just great.

Journal Entry 11

Sunday, November 1st 2009

Today, I woke up early to do my ‘Typography and Layout’ assignment which was due the next day. However, the desktop refused to start up. I was on the verge of panicking. What do I do?’ I asked myself desperately, ‘I’m so screwed! Shit!’

As I was about to break into a panic attack, my dad suggested that I went to his office to do my work. I agreed with much gratitude.

At his office, I worked for 9 hours straight, I was quite surprised by how quickly time passed; it seemed to pass with a twinkling of the eye. It seemed like noon just minutes ago…

The speed at which time flew made me contemplate though. My friend, Bane, had told me the night before that I was being a ‘geek’ and a ‘nerd’ by working so hard and ‘not having a social life’. I was not offended by what he said. In fact, I was pretty amused by his words. However, at that particular moment, while sitting in front of my dad’s desk, his words came back to me and made me wonder. ‘Am I workaholic?’ I wondered aloud, ‘… I hope and think not. Hey… wait a minute. I’m only 17. An age when I should enjoy life and not think so much! Why the hell am I thinking about this?’

I guess though, the reason why I am working so hard is because I think a lot for my future. I do not want to be an ordinary designer struggling to make ends meet with his freelancing jobs. I want to be an accomplished graphic designer… or at least, have people think that my works are great and refreshing. I think that life is short… why waste time? If I want to accomplish something with my life, I should start working on it now. I do not want to be forgotten just like that after I pass away. I want to be remembered.

Yes, I know. I sound stupid but that’s just me… and my over-thinking brain.

journal Entry 9

Friday, October 30th 2009

I had a real scare today. I came to school early to add the finishing touches to the assignment that was due at 3 pm. After that, I went to the print shop to get my work printed out. However, after printing them, I forgot about my external hard drive and left it there on top of the computer. I conveniently forgot all about it until the ‘Typography and Layout’ class nearly ended. I panicked and asked Pat to excuse me for I had left my external hard drive in the print shop. She immediately let me go and I made a mad dash for the print shop.

I asked the lady who worked at the print shop whether she had seen an external hard drive left on top of the computer. She shook her head. My heart sank. All the work that I had done since the start of school was in it and I had not made a backup copy on the desktop at home. A huge portion of work which I could use for my portfolio in the future was gone and all the blood, sweat and tears put into working on them had gone to waste. I walked dejectedly out of the print shop and back into class.

Seeing my body language, my friends asked me what had happened. I told them about it and they suggested that I should go back to the print shop one more time to ask. Thinking that they were right, I rushed to the print shop yet again. This time however, I noticed a familiar-looking external hard drive on top of a mountain of thumb drives at the corner of the print shop. Indeed, after further inspection, the external hard drive was mine. I heaved a sigh of relief and then, politely asked the print shop lady whether I could take back my external hard drive. She gladly asked me to take it back.

On the way back, I felt my chest. My heart was pounding madly. It felt as though it was going to beat out of my chest. First thing I do when I get home later is to save a backup copy of the contents in my external hard drive on my desktop. I should have known better that after the last time I lost my thumb drive. Let it be a lesson learnt, yet again.

Journal Entry 8

Thursday, October 29th 2009

Sometimes I feel as though life is a mean joke. You may have a hundred ways you want to live it but since you only have one life, you can’t live your life in all one hundred ways. Even if you have a hundred years to live, an age most people are not able to live up to, you can’t possibly do all one hundred things you aspire to be; it’s an average of one lifestyle per year. You may want to be a graphic designer, a writer, a photographer, a traveler, a game designer, a tattoo artist or a filmmaker but due to only having one life, you can’t do it all.

Many a times, we have heard about stories of people who dreamt of being an architect, for example, and yet, they ended up being an office clerk at some unknown company. It makes you think that life is a mean joke. A lifetime is almost gone and nothing you have done in it is really what you wanted. Well, its cruel reality, my friend. Sometimes, to survive in this world, we have to abandon our little dreams and do things we are not interested in. Of course, there are always the exception here and there of people who were able to survive working as what they had always dreamed of being but these lucky ones are few by the number and most people are better off being told to forget about their dreams and ambitions.

Yes, I know I sound really bitter now for no apparent reasons. I have no complaints about my life; it’s been a hell of a ride on board the rollercoaster tracks named ‘Life’. It’s just me and my thoughts… or maybe it’s just the morning grumpiness.

Journal Entry 7

Wednesday, October 28th 2009

‘I hate school. I hate the Sun. I hate the pillow. I hate the bolster. I hate this bed. I hate this room. I hate this house. I hate this street. I hate this country. I hate this earth.’

These were a few of the things I muttered grumpily to myself when I woke up this morning. Well, obviously I don’t really hate any of the things I mentioned above. It was all said in a moment of impulse when you wake up and you feel terrible; as though anything and everything that happens on that day would turn out bad.

Today was an extremely tiring day. I helped out as an actor in my friends, Anisa and Ratnam’s filming for a ‘Moving Images’ module. I shall never look down on actors ever again after my first and, most likely, last day of my ‘acting career’.

In the short film, I was an ‘emo’ kid who was going to commit suicide. This kid writes a suicide note in his school canteen, then runs to a high level in his school to commit suicide. Sitting on the latch, he throws the suicide note into midair and jumps off. The final scene shows him dead on the ground floor with the suicide note landing gently on the ground beside him.

The initial parts of the film were pretty easy. All I had to do was sit there and write a suicide note. After that, it got tougher and tougher. For the scene where the kid runs to a high floor in his school, there were 3 shots. For each 3 shots, I had to run 5 or 6 times to make the film look fine. There was also a scene where I had to run up a flight of spiral stairs. I did a good job on the first cut, however, I had forgot to run with the suicide note in my hands, and hence, I had to take that shot all over again. I also had to lie on the ground, just in front of the lift, with my body contorted for the final shots. It was pretty amusing lying there on the ground listening to what the people, who just got out of the lift, had to say when they saw me. It was a tiring experience, however, I had lots of fun and I had picked up a few things about filming. I was particularly interest about the filming equipments. I had always wanted to try my hands on making a film, yet I did not even know some of the functions on filming equipments. Now however, I can proudly say that I know a thing or two about filming.

I’m now going to start reading a book called ‘A Catalog Of Type: Hand Job’ that I purchased from the stall which set up in school today. Now… I know that the title of the book suggest something dirty but in truth, if you look at the title with a pure perspective, you will realize that the book is actually all about typography done by hand. My ‘Typography and Layout’ lecturer, Pat, recommended it. Can’t wait to start reading now!

Journal Entry 6

Thursday, October 27th 2009

Today was a hectic day. After the Creative Writing class, I headed to the area outside the library to help the Design Studies Club in the launch of ‘iCool’. It was so chaotic there that I could barely locate any Design students, much less locate Lijin, who I thought I was suppose to find for instructions. In the end, I found her and realized that my help was not needed anymore. Thus, I hang around with the rest of the Design students I had managed to come across.

I was so worn out by the day’s activities that by the time my ‘Typography and Layout’ class started, I could barely keep myself awake. Fortunately, today’s class was just a summary of the Typography aspects of the module and I did not miss out on anything important which I had not taken note of yet.

After class, I had to rush to level 3 to help organize things for the Design Studies Club’s upcoming recycling event. We did work quickly and efficiently, exchanging a few laughs whenever we chanced upon something amusing in the pile of materials to be organized.

It has been a tiring day for me but I must press on. After doing this journal, I would be working on my other assignments. I know all too well about the consequences of pushing work to the late minute. This time, I am determined to learn from my mistakes and not let work ‘snowball’ over and overpower me. I sound determined and hardworking, don’t I? I wonder if I really would do work later…

Journal Entry 5

Monday, October 26th 2009

Today, on the way to school, I thought up of a few ideas for the young adults’ essay I was going to write for my Assignment 4. As I stared out the window, I let my train of thoughts carry me into a surreal world that was created by the creative juices flowing within me. Some of the ideas I came up with were simply too common and I dismissed them immediately. However, there were a few ideas, which I felt was less common. One of these ideas involved a villain who controls people’s inner demons, using them to overpower them. The ideas were all a bit sketchy though. There was not really a plot. I felt that there were a few missing pieces to the story.

Fortunately, during the Creative Writing class today, more ideas started to form in my mind. As I was doing the ‘Imagining a Character’ exercise with my partner, Deborah, solutions to the loopholes in my story started to pop up in my mind. I am going to keep my story a secret for now though. Wouldn’t want to spoil the story now, do I?

I have to admit the more I read ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, the more doubtful I was about its storyline. It felt to me as though the story lacked a climax to it, however, by some supernatural force, I was compelled to carry on reading the story. After today’s Creative Writing lesson, I realized that the characters were the ‘supernatural force’ that was compelling me to carry on reading. I felt that what was said in class today was true. The characters were indeed guiding the readers onwards from one part of the story to the next. I have learnt that if I wanted my story to be interesting, my characters must have strong traits that can attract the readers.

I feel that today, I have learnt much on how storybooks attract readers. Hopefully, I will be able to apply these skills on writing projects I do in the future.

Journal Entry 4

Sunday, October 25h 2009

I just received a phone call from Anisa, a year one student in ‘Moving Images’. She asked if I was willing to act in a short film for the current module that she was taking. Normally, I would find it a compliment when someone thinks of me when they needed help but for this particular favour, I was reluctant to lend a helping hand. She wanted me to help out as I fitted the ‘emo’ character she needed in her short film.

Now, not that I am being a spoilsport but how am I ‘emo’? Do I slit my wrists or wear black eyeliners? I’m not offended though. It’s refreshing to hear people’s opinion of me once in a while. Anyway, I agree to help them out so expect Wednesday’s journal entry to be all about it!

Anyway, today was spent cutting up newspapers and magazines for my ‘Typography and Layout’ journal; I had to cut up typefaces from newspapers and magazines and classify them according to what kind of typeface they were. I left a whole landscape of newspapers and magazines around me. Strangely enough though, I was kind of fascinated by the mess that I had caused and was extremely tempted into taking a snapshot of it all. In the end, I did not do so. I could imagine the horror on my mom’s face when she gets home and sees the trail of ‘destruction’ that I had left. I started to feel a tinge of guilt in me and I made sure that I cleaned up after I was done.

A fine Sunday afternoon spent just like that. Damn…

Journal Entry 3

Saturday, October 24th 2009

I woke up this morning with a mission on my mind: to find a topic to base my assignment 3 on. I took a quick glance at my bookshelves. Towers of books loomed over me. My task seemed impossible. I told myself not to give up so quickly and started my daunting task. Somehow, my quest for ‘the Holy Grail’ was easier than I had anticipated. Within minutes, I found a book that fitted the bill perfectly.

I had bought the book based on the recommendation of my secondary school Literature teacher. However, based on reading the first page, I had decided that the book was boring and thus, I threw it aside. Now however, I realized that it merely did not appealed to me then. I felt that I was now ready to take another attempt at reading it, to take the plunge into the world of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.

I had a dilemma though. I was also tempted to base my assignment 3 on Gerard Way’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’. I felt that it would be fun to research on the ‘My Chemical Romance’ vocalist and his writings. Should I do something fun and which I can relate to or should I do something that would be safely classified as ‘literature’?

The rest of the day was spent in school struggling with my ‘Typography and Layout’ assignments. For some reason now, every time I see words on the streets, I become obsessed with whether the typeface of the words were suitable for whatever it’s designer was trying to achieve. Sometimes, I feel that I am going mad and that I should just bang my head against the wall to stop my mind from commenting on any more typographic works I see. Well… obviously I know better than to do that. I’m not that insane to attempt to bang my head against the wall.

Journal Entry 2

Friday, 23rd October 2009

It’s been a long day today. I feel so worn out now. Two pieces of work were due for submission today: Assignment 1A and Journal Exercise 1. I’ve handed them up on time. I hope that I did well for them.

For some reason, a phrase from the list poem, ‘A Market At Ueno’, that Paul printed and handed out to the class, has been bugging me since I laid eyes on them. The phrase is ‘hour-glass pears’. The adjective ‘hour-glass’ describes the shape of pears perfectly, however, most people would not think of using this particular adjective to describe pears. It made me think of something that Mr. Mark Low, my secondary school ‘Design and Technology’ teacher, used to say about inventions that I felt was very true. He said that most good inventions are inventions that make people say, “Hey! I could have thought of that! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s like… common sense!” However, the fact is that they did not think of it, if not, they would have become the inventor of whatever they were referring to.

I felt that what he said could also be applied in how we write our compositions, journals, etc. We can use adjectives that most people would not think of but which would describe the object we are referring to perfectly, so as to stand out from the crowd. An example would be the adjective ‘hour-glass’ which was used to describe pears! Suddenly, I can feel enthusiasm for English flowing within me!

However, I feel a bit worried about my Creative Writing assignments. I don’t know what to do for assignment 3! I wanted to do my assignment 3 on Alan Moore and ‘Watchmen’ but apparently, Stanley, my classmate, was going to do his assignment 3 on them too. Hence, I am stuck here thinking of who and what to base my assignment 3 on. Maybe I should just try to relax and take a breather from work for a while. I feel so panicky. I sure hope that I would be calmer tomorrow and be able to think of a subject for assignment 3!

Journal Entry 1

Thursday, 22nd October 2009

I don’t really know how to start this journal as most journals I have done for school work in the past are all related to class activities or homework. However, for this particular journal, Paul, my lecturer for Creative Writing, wanted it to be more personal and about my own life. So yeah… I’m going to try doing just that. Here goes nothing!

Rays of light emerging through the window facing my bed awaked me this morning. I jumped out of bed in shock and looked at the time. It was already 7.30 a.m.! I was going to be late! I ran out of bedroom, grabbed any pair of shirt and jeans that were within my sight and dashed into the bathroom. As I took a quick shower, my mind wandered, searching for the reason why I was late. After a minute or two, I remembered what happened the night before. Doing the heavy workload given for my ‘Typography and Layout’ module exhausted me and by the time I got home, it was already past midnight. I collapsed on my bed with the intention of taking a rest and before I knew it, I was deep in slumber. I cursed myself in my mind as I turned off the shower tap, dried myself with a towel and put on my clothes. My mom looked at me with great amusement in her eyes as I ran around the house like a clown looking for things that I may need for the Creative Writing class. I knew what she was going to say as she opened her mouth in a seemingly slow motion. Before she spilled the words out, I relied her, ”Yes, yes. I know! I’m going to be late! Can you don’t rub salt into my wound?!”

She immediately closed her mouth and gave me a disapproving look. I pretended I didn’t see the look on her face and hurried out of the house to hail a cab…

This is the only event that I can think of writing into the journal so I guess this is the end of my first entry. Hope I have much things to write about tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Blind

Today, I was doing a poster for one of Design Studies Club's events in the MacDonald's at Bugis Street when something caught my eye: a man in his forties lighting his cigarette.

At first, it didn't register in my brain but after a few minutes or so, I realised that the man was attempting to smoke in MacDonald's and there was a smoke detector just above him.

I was starting to panic. The MacBook that I was using didn't belong to me. It belonged to Hilary Jane and I knew that if anything happened to the MacBook, she would kill me. I was thinking of what to do. Should I keep everything and place the MacBook on my lap (under the cover of the table)? Should I tell one of the MacDonald's employees?

The most ridiculous thing was that none of the MacDonald's employees noticed that he was smoking. This despite him lighting the cigarette several times. God, are they blind?

Even if they were slightly blind, they should have at least been able to sniff the smoking smell! God! Fortunately, the smoke from the man's cigarette wasn't detected by the smoke detector and that he left quickly.

People these days... why are they so non-observant?

Music

An empty house
A feeling of being trapped
Must Get Out
A deserted street
A feeling of emptiness
Must Shout Out
A music player
A rush of emotions
Feels much better...

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Passage of Time

Happy Birthday Ma-Ma. I miss your milo a lot! Hahah. Yes, although you have aged a lot and it is evident on your skin, you are one of my pillars of strength..


Mommy! Thanks for always supporting me in everything I do! Although sometimes I do things that you may not like, you still support me no matter what. Thank you.


Although I have grown and matured, I am still that small and naive boy of yours! :)

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

27th September 2009, 3.30 AM

Again... Hilary Jane's favourite hobby: writing blog posts for others. Enjoy (or at least try to... haha).

Disclaimer: What you read below is not the opinion of PENLERS. It is the opinion of HILARY JANE. (Hahaha! I'm bolding this in case people can't read this!)

27th September 2009
Location: Bane's house

I'm playing Supermario Car racing with Bane. Very fun yet childish. WII ROCKS! It was an awesome day today. Indeed. I went to my dearest Hilary Jane's church for her youth anniversary celebration! Fun only! She acted as a crazy witchcraft, she is good at acting! Awesome! Next, it was bbq time. Food was not tasty but it was lovable dinner because my hearty Hilary Jane cooked for us. BANE, BOBBY, JOWIE & QI MENG! AWESOME. I shall stop here because my phone sucks! I use my phone to type a post for my personal blog as a draft first :) Love you deep deep! <3

Sunday, September 27, 2009

A Lifeless Ordinary



Song from the new Motion City Soundtrack record. Can't Wait!

Friday, September 25, 2009

19th September 2009, 01:59

This is what happens when you're bored at 2 in the morning with a bunch of friends and one of them decide to write a blog post on your behalf:

Disclaimer: What you read below is not the opinion of PENLERS. It is the opinion of HILARY JANE. (Hahaha! I'm bolding this in case people can't read this!)


19th September 2009, 01:59
Location: Sherlene's House
People: Bane, Bobby, Hilary Jane, Qi Ming, Sherlene's cousin

We're watching ORPHAN right now. It's damn thrilling and exciting. But I'm tired. Idiot myself. I don't allow Hilary to use my phone to type a draft for my blog. And I didn't tell her my secretive blog too. Am I cruel and mean towards her? Yes... I think so? Today we kept doing the <3> Hope that she will allow me to date her. Oh, 26th September 2009. Her Church youth anniversary. I wanna go! Cliff go! Kay, go. Time to stop! ;D love you deep deep people. Bye <3 <3 <3

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Message From The Dead


Message from the late Heath Ledger via Modest Mouse's 'King Rat'. He wanted to tell people about whaling. Feels surreal to see one's creations after one's death. Wonder if this video will work... if people will stop whaling...

Nah... they won't.

Untitled 13/9 8:56PM

Are we all hiding behind a mask? Unwilling to show others our true feelings? I thought I knew and understood people but I realised I didn't. Not even a tiny bit.

I feel sick of myself now. Doubts are filling my mind. I don't think I even know myself anymore. What am I? What do I really want? What do I want to do with my life? I feel uncertain... I feel purposeless.

Sitting on the swing, I wished I could be on this swing forever. It feels reassuring and yet insecure at the same time. For once, I was totally alone. It felt calming yet lonesome at the same time. I plugged in to my iPod and immediately, I felt better. However, after awhile, the feelings came back.

This feeling within me... I loathe it, but at the same time, I'm... enjoying it. Am I sick in the head? I don't know.

I'm not hurt.
I don't need help. I don't need 'saving'. I don't need people to sympathize me.
I just need to be leave alone by myself.
I just need people to fuck off.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Emotionless

Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel heartache from sad blasts of the past.
Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel fear from being afraid that our future will be fragile.
Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel nervousness from presenting our ideas to an audience.
Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel jealousy about someone who did something better than us.
Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel regret about a close one that died.
Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel heartache, fear, nervousness, jealousy, regret.

Sometimes, I wished we humans would not feel.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Kid, Once Again

I feel like a kid once again. Today, home alone and feeling bored, I decided to melt chocolate to use as spread for my bread. I placed a bar of chocolate on a plate and put it into the microwave, setting the timer to 5 minutes. After that, I went to bath. While bathing, I heard loud cracking sounds emerging from the kitchen. I grabbed my towel, fastened it around my waist and ran towards the kitchen. As I suspected, the sounds were coming from the microwave. I immediately turned off the microwave's power supply and opened the microwave. I realised that the plate had cracked and bits and pieces of the plate was flying everywhere in the microwave. Guess I haven't grown up yet. Can't wait to see the look on my mom's face though. Its been awhile since she last scolded me for damaging something in the house. Wonder what she will say... hmm.. Man, I feel so dumb now... but at least I had fun. HAHAHAHAHAH!

(Penlers apologises for the temporally short fuse in his brain. He will be back to his usual self soon.)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Shown Passion

A series of my photographs are up on exhibition at the Cybercentre in Temasek Polytechnic. Although it only features 10 photographs and is located deep inside Cybercentre, it is a huge step for someone like me who did not know how to use a DSLR camera 2 years ago. Hopefully, this isn't the last people see of me and my passion for photography.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Baby Steps

I took my 'baby' steps in my quest to master Photoshop during the free block I had 2 weeks back. Here are the fruit of my labour:


First artwork done on Photoshop with help from an online tutorial. I wanted to show vines entrapping the person but it didn't come out as I wanted it to.


This was done with help from an online tutorial as well though it was way more complicated than the above one, giving me a headache in the process. For some reason though, I managed to finish this one up faster than the above one.


Initially wanted to create a new website template for this blog but ended up creating a 'background' picture of a silhouetted cow and penguin.


I did this without any help whatsoever, so you can say that this is my first real created artwork. This artwork was initially about me. I used Domo to represent me as some people say I look like Domo. The things emerging from Domo are my interests: Camera representing photography, Headset representing music and Gun representing virtual shooting games.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Surprises

Tonight while sitting alone and looking at the city by the sea near Esplanade, my attention was broken by a loud sound and bright colors in my peripheral vision. It was fireworks from the National Day Rehearsal. As the fireworks display went on, the people around me were transfixed by it. The man beside me stopped puffing his cigarette and called a close friend to share his delight. The kids just behind me screamed in delight every time the fireworks appeared. The couple on my other side hugged each other. I could not help it but to smile. It is small surprises like these which makes me feel that life is precious...

Friday, June 26, 2009

King of Pop

Michael Joseph Jackson
29 August 1958 - 25 June 2009
Always will be remembered as...
The King of Pop

The End.

I open my eyes and wondered
Why is there colors in the world
When the world is going to end...
It should be black and white
Like the ending credits to a movie
That is critically acclaimed
But never appreciated by the viewers.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The City

I love exploring the city during the weekends, especially the business districts. During the weekends, the business districts are extremely quiet, often with no soul in sight. Walking in the business districts gives me a sense of peace.
Who says there is only peace in the countryside? There is even peace in the city... it's just a matter of whether you can find that peace or not.
Walking in the silent business districts gives me freedom. On these streets, I don't feel constricted by the people around me. I feel like the king of the world with the freedom to do whatever I want.
Yet on the same time, walking among these 'giants' make me feel insignificant... like a speckle of dust.

The city can be lonely during the weekends.
As it turns dark in the city,
The darkness tries to engulf the lone figure wandering the streets.
Entrap the figure the city tries...
To make him a companion for the night...
Before they return to him for the weekdays.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

17 June





All photographs taken on 17 June 2009.

Girl in the Summer

PENLERS PRESENTS A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS TITLED "GIRL IN THE SUMMER":

Girl in the Summer: Stare
Stare

Girl in the Summer: Hair
Hair

Girl in the Summer: Look
Look

Girl in the Summer: Shades
Shades

Girl in the Summer: Photographer
Photographer

Girl in the Summer: Cover
Cover

Girl in the Summer: Wind
Wind

Monday, June 22, 2009

June 15/16

Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories

Sunshine Through the Leaves
Sunshine Through the Leaves

Car Meets Nature
Car Meets Nature

Anthony Road
Anthony Road

It's A Hard Day's Work
It's A Hard Day's Work

Up The Steps
Up The Steps

Through The Gaps
Through The Gaps

House Meets Nature
House Meets Nature

Connected
Connected

Friendships That Last
Friendships That Last

Zooming Past
Zooming Past

The Long Walk
The Long Walk

Support Youth Troops
Support Youth Troops

Prison Break
Prison Break

Graffiti
Skull Graffiti

Dogs in Shades of Black
Dogs in Shades of Black

Robot Graffiti
Robot Graffiti

Peace Within A City
Peace Within A City

Building Of Graffiti
Building of Graffiti

The Wait
The Wait

Grr..!
Grr...!

The Stare
The Stare

Grimace
Grimace

Photographs
Photographs

All photographs taken during photography trip on 15/16 June 2009.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

CCA Awards Day

The Rhythm of The Dance
The Rhythm of The Dance

In Music They Trust
In Music They Trust

Where The Lights Lead
Where The Lights Lead

As The Bottle Watches...
As The Bottle Watches...

All photographs taken during Temasek Polytechnic's CCA Awards Day 2009 on June 12 2009.

Basic Photography Workshop

The Umbrella's Spin
The Umbrella's Spin

The Display of the Phone
The Display of the Phone

From The Ground
From The Ground

All pictures taken during Temasek Polytechnic's Visual Central's Basic Photography Workshop on 6 June 2009.

Zo Gang



I find this short film very interesting. I find that it accurately shows how Singaporeans in general treat local films and music. The short film also shows references to more well known local films like Eric Khoo's Be With Me (note the part in the short film where 2 guys in black and white hold hands). I find this short film something that foreigners curious about Singapore can watch. Everything in this film is very Singapore. From the language to the references made to the Singapore mentality towards local films and music, it is very much a made-in-Singapore (and made-by-Singaporeans) film that should be shown to everyone.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Think Family

No words needed, just Kleenex.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Wake Up in the Morning

Eyes open
Blink a few times
Sit up on bed
Stretch arms
Get off bed
Open door
Walk off
Legs stopping
Eyes closing
Brains unresponsive
Systems shutting down...
Nose detects an aroma, warm bitter-tasting fluids enter mouth
Brains start operating once again, eyes are wide open, walks with bigger strides
Aah... the wonders of coffee.

Above is just a description of what happens when I wake up in the morning everyday. The drowsiness when I just awoke makes me do things one-by-one in a robotic way. Fortunately, coffee exists and is able to save the day for me! Or else, I would probably be a robotic dead man walking around in school. So here's to coffee!

...no wonder millions of people drink coffee everyday...

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Word Art

Equipped with a notebook, a pencil and an eraser, I came up with these 2 'word art' during my free time in my Indonesian holiday.

These words were a part of the lyrics from MGMT's 'Time To Pretend'. As you can see, I was listening to the song as I looked at the blank piece of paper. Haha...


I can't remember what inspired me to form this statement... I think it was the word 'Helljumper'. I was thinking what if there was an occupation called 'Helljumper' and viola! The words magically formed in my mind.

Creep

I know it's been around 15 years since Radiohead's Creep first hit the radiowaves but I feel that it still has an effect on many people. To me, it's a song about the 'creeps' and 'weirdos' of the world who see a special girl (or guy...) they like but do not do anything to woo her because they feel that they will never be accepted. If only they were encouraged to accept themselves for who they are..

Here's a home-made (I think...) video for the acoustic version of Radiohead's Creep. Hope everyone can get accepted for who they are...

Monday, April 27, 2009

We Are All Alone

All it really takes is for one to sit in the corner of a popular meeting area to realise how totally alone we all actually are...

Enjoy your friends' company while they are still around because in the end, we'll go separate paths and be alone again...

...In the end, we all die alone. Who will be at your funeral?...

P.S. Welcome to the Cliff's Steps... ahahahaha (for those who know what they are...)

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Franz Ferdiand Covers "Womanizer"

The video below is a clip of Franz Ferdinand covering "Womanizer". As you will hear in the video, Franz Ferdinand has made the Britney Spears' comeback single sound distinctly like... well, Franz Ferdinand. Love it or hate it, it's still really interesting to see an artist cover songs by other artists you would normally never associate them to... like Franz Ferdinand and Britney Spears. It may give you a shock at how different the same song sounds like in the hands of different artists initially but perhaps... you'll be pleasantly surprised at the end of the listening experience.

Monday, April 6, 2009

World of Music

I chanced on this particular website that does weekly 'music videos' with various artists. It was really interesting because the artists performed live (unlike real music videos), sometimes in a borrowed studio, sometimes while walking down the road to a pub. The videos were never edited and showed the artists' ability to perform live. It was really amusing to watch the expression of the passerby in the videos... sometimes they were shocked, occasionally they were annoyed but often, they were in awe at the sight (and sound) before them. Well, a video paints a bigger picture than my words. Perhaps then, you'll have a clearer view.

Below is The Kook performing 'Ooh La' while walking to their gig in Paris.


If you liked what you saw and want to see more, you can head on to their English website: www.takeawayshows.com or you can view them on their YouTube channel here. I'll recommend you guys to watch Priscilla Ahn's and OF Montreal vs Axe Riverboy's videos.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Trip to Indonesia

None of my ramblings today... just pictures of my trip to Indonesia. :)