few can understand what its all about -Queixada

the new year

2006-01-08T21:55:00.000+08:00

ok..so its eight days into the new year..i kinda feel obliged to say sth abt sajc..though very few people actually read my blog or even bother to drop by it..still..to hell with all of that..if i wana write sth..u all can't stop me

the new campus now at woodsville near potong pasir..don't ask what it feels like to be in opposition territory..seriously..the only difference from anywhere else is that the HDBs are of the old design..that's abt it..evth else is just as dandy as the rest of singapore..mac is near, but not near enuf..and well..its jus mac..nth special abt a fastfood chain which does nothing to better your health..Kallang River runs right through SAV..don't reali understand why we built a new campus there anyways..

for the building itself..well..i shant complain abt the lack of aircons or the fact that it isn't exactly complete yet..there are still some paint jobs been done all over the place..our cultural centre is huge though..its a great place to hold a gig if we wana..but see how la..cp is getting a lil troublesome..y am i bloggin? i duno..anyway...

heard the council band got booed off stage during orientation..maybe its true..maybe it aint..hope sam or the others din take it too hard...i duno...i kinda saw it coming the moment they introduced the rule that any band auditionin for orientation had to have a council lead singer..still..hai..k..well..off to sleep..

Being myself

2005-12-28T22:33:00.000+08:00

Here's a small song i've written today after listening to 'remember the name' by Fort Minor..same kinda style..though i haven't figured out how to begin/end the song..intros and interludes and all that.. enjoy..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
now *all you little kiddies better listen to me
cuz there's *stuff you need to hear and stuff that *u need to see
it *aint for fame or fortune, money or pride
this is *all about me, making *sense of my life
you see*, nobody respects you when ur tryin to learn sth cool
*tryin to write a new song or *break out of school
nobody *smiles when you're doing something unusual
just *glare at you, laugh at you, *mock you like a criminal
so *why don't you GIVE UP? break down and cry?
pick up ur *homework man! you'v got no *time to rhyme!
U think *society is built on the backs of the illiterate?
just to *survie you'v got to learn how to *pull your own weight
*Why do you keep fighting man? writing these lines?
You think that *one day u might just get rich from *all of these rhymes?
*Think man! why do you keep wanting to fly
when god *gave you feet to walk and not *wings for the sky!

I'm just tryin to do what i want to do
I'm chasing my dreams, and so should you
I'm just tryin to stay true to myself tryin to be me
and all i want is just to be free

Now there's this *fight within a dance, a martial phenomenon
But *people think its breaking, or some *menafestation
I'm *addicted to its practice, addicted to its sound
and i can't *stop myself from feelin vibes, *oh, up and down
But people *misunderstand, they think that i'm violent
That one *day i'll get into fights, and die to the *sounds of sirens
They can't *see that all i'm tryin to do, is carve a NICHE for myself
They can't *SEE, either that, or *THEY just refuse
What's *wrong with being free? Or wanting to break out?
What's *wrong with this song that you just *want to shout?
We all *want to be free, from stress and oppression
What's *wrong with my unique *form of expression?
*Here's what's wrong son: you're mixing with bad company
*Comin home at night with some *excuse, some story
It *looks like a cult man, have you forgotten your faith?
*No dad, i'v just taken off and *put down my chains
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

yet another month

2005-12-16T00:57:00.000+08:00

hmm..another month..alright..lets see..

went to the philippines for Escola Brasileira Capoeira, Philippines' Batizado..the capoeira workshops were great..the style is really different as well..Master teaches us the more traditional style, while EBC is more into stylistic and impressive moves which master doesn't reali teach us..met lots of friends ere..but fun as the capoeira was..manila can only get so interesting when all ur friends are working or studying through the day and can only meet you at night when the workshop is on..so to sum up the whole trip..the cap was good..manila was a drag..

one thing i did learn from a very good friend though, was that life is not just about reacting to things as you go into them..if you're going to do something, than do it with a concious effort..with a plan in mind. He also taught me that life isn't always about showing you are the best..though u may be better den some..in relationships...sometimes the stronger has to give way to encourage the weaker ones to grow..and on the reverse..when i face someone above me..it is important to respect that he is superior, i am inferior, and therefore, despite my ambitions..i must remember that everyone has a place in life..

a month

2005-11-15T02:26:00.000+08:00

hmm..its been a month since i'v blogged..i tink its abt time i put sth up..

exams went fine..easily promoted..though my maths needs alot of work..i'v been without a com for some time due to the need to get it repaired..so here's an apology to those who have come to look at the most stagnant, un lively and totally ridiculously mundane blog on the face of this earth..i shall try..with wat limited time i have..to update more frequently now..

rite now i'm organising a trip for some argola de ouro capoeiristas to go to the philippines to participate in the week long capoeira fest in Manila held by EBC philippines..i'm reali excited about the trip, but organising it has so far been an uphill task..i'm the youngest guy going..under 18..and yet a month ago.i took the initiative to start organising this trip because i reali reali want to see wat capoeira is like in e philippines..and i reali reali love capoeira..i'm kinda dead now at 230 in the morning..but hey..trust me..i love this sport..

organising the trip has not been easy..ppl wana noe the cost before they agree to register..but in order to give the cost..i have to book tickets..and in order to book the air tickets..i need the final no. of ppl..so..things jus dun go that smoothly..right now i have abt 8 ppl who will be going: Mestre Ousado, Sylvano, Luke, Devina, Chern Kai, Cegonha, and Juno(Montana), along with me..and maybe saracura will join us towards the end..maybe..so..after much hard work things are starting to pay off..

tmr i will work on the band t-shirt..to be worn every time we perform..its gona be a long and arduos task..cuz each shirt is customised yet uniform..

hai..fuck..i dun wana talk abt op..fuck fuck fuck..should have fuckin slept more..fuck..hai..wats done is done..fuck..ok..gdnite ev1..gona berate myself..like i always do..

i'm jus looking forward to philippines..i'm jus looking forward to a time where i can forget i'm a student of MOE..and become a student of the world..of life..a student a capoeira..

middle of the most tiring days of my life

2005-10-05T22:20:00.000+08:00

hmm...its the middle of the exams..history..though partially screwed up..is finally over and econs..though short of time..is also finally over..i'm not sure how they'll do..seriously..i jus hope i can pass and make it to the nxt year..i dun wana retain..if i reatain i'll just die..

the wkend mugging sessions are taking the toll on me..i need alot of slp, alot of rest..i hope i can stay awake enough for maths to pass..i reali reali dun wana get retained..

hai..in addition..i'm helpin deal with the problems of other..so..noble as the undertaking might be..i'm still not superman..so its getting to me...

reali wana go for philippine's batizado in dec..think of all the games..it'l be heavenly..and i want to get some air moves mastered before i head over there..i tink i'll definately need it.. that's all for now..better get back to studying

AA Ctr

2005-09-18T21:22:00.000+08:00

k..before that..many thnks to professor ivan and mestre ousado who gave us a great lesson today..especially the sequencias

today we practiced the macaco..planted backflip..and we practiced mestre liminha's sick backflip..but i can only do it on my right side..did a spinning handstand too..haha..

aa ctr is damn hot..like damn hot..u don't perspire or sweat there..u DRIP..as in seriously DRIP..yeah..oh well..and its mosquito infested too..should report it to the dengue hotlines..haha

there's suppose to be kiwi cup today..couldn't make it..busy doing floreios..i have to learn how to spell that..

welcome gopal and krishnan to the team..our newest capoeiristas..

sith lords have earned two new apprentices in their ranks..haha..jk..nvm..private joke..

ZZZzzzz.....

back to school..bantus..argola de ouro

2005-09-13T20:32:00.000+08:00

back to school again..e past wk's capoeira festival has left me beat..i don't know how i'm managing to pull through school anymore. its reali tiring..just doing work..getting up early in the morning to go to school..compounded to that..there's just no motivation to study, even though the promos are coming..god grant me strength..

hmm..bantus is in singapore..and i'm sure the politics are going to get heated up. i really want to go see them train, but i'm not sure what to do after that. If i like what i see, the atmosphere..the class..i may want to go across..but what abt mestre ousado? if i dun like what i see..i'm sure that one day or another..i'm going to have to let mestre know, or at least help him realise, that he's facing stiff competition from bantus. I'm not sure about co-operation, because i'v never heard about it in the capoeira world..i'm gona have to check it out at beribazu..hope those guys can help..

ode to the chairman

2005-09-09T22:25:00.000+08:00

Ie, I praise God on high, my friends
Ie, Long live Capoeira, my friends

Ie, remember our chairman, my friends
Ie, who led us on our first steps, my friends
Ie, who has now left us, my friends
Ie, who will forever be remembered, my friends

I sing a song of rememberance
I sing a song of reverence
I sing a song that mourns a loss
I will always remember
Do not forget him, strong as a the tallest tree
I will always remember
Yet still bowed to wind of the courageous one.
I will always remember
Do not forget him, the way he would sing,
I will always remember
The way he held each and every one of our hands, camara
I will always remember
Always remember the lessons that he taught
His words of wisdom that we understood
I will always remember
Always remember him helping us along
I will always remember
As we walked with him, along the path of capoeira.
I will always remember

White Cord! Batizado! Rouge!

2005-09-08T04:19:00.000+08:00

today, i got my white cord! or well..yest..its 4 in the morning..but anyway..yes! i'v finally got it..gona have to remember to bring it for trainings and performances now that its part of my gear..haha..played with mestre jorge..the axé was just great..i was feeling like..totally nervous about the graduation ceremony..but it was great! the moment i went into the au(cartwheel..its the starndard way of entering the roda, which is where we play) i knew it was going to be great..we played and played..high and low and even flying..we both pulled of parafusos..or tornado kicks..though mine was in response to his..haha..it was jus wonderful..

after that..went out with the phillipinos!! wearing the singlet i bought from instructor joel..its a damn nice capoeira shirt..i'll wear it arnd some day..haha..volta grande bought a berimbau..150 bucks..at least he din get ripped off as much as some of the older students..ok..back to the phillipinos..we went to eat at pasir panjang..and slowly we started to lossen up..start talking to each other..then..hope the police dun read this..we packed 9 ppl into gwen's car!!! its like..whoah..the car isn't big..haha..went to brenda's place..added her car to the fleet..and then went to meet the mestres at emerald hill..where they drank..din get drunk of course..but i had water..n nothing else..so sad..but oh well..i'm under aged...anyway..after that..at 2am..the place closed..and we went to rouge..club..they let me in without qn..but mayb onlin cuz i was with ev1 else..and oh well..haha...they drank a bit more..all the beer..hate beer..but anyway..after that..they went to dance on the club floor..like mestre..52 years old and the phillipinos..20+...it was so funny to see mestre dance..flirting arnd..haiyoh mestre...blackmail blackmail..haha...by the end of the night we were reali like talking and laughin with all of the phillipinos..oh..i even got a picture with a girl who was called 'esquiva' (a capoeira evasive movement)..so we took a picture.. me doing and outward crescent kick (cuz my name is queixada)..and she doing the esquiva..haha..kk..shall blog more later today..wen i have the energy..

Axé

super sunday

2005-09-04T21:29:00.000+08:00

k..well..not that super..but it was definately better den yesterday..

went for training..it was kinda slack..and i was worried that with the isolated headache..i mite end up with hyper ventilation, but luckily it didn't happen..so that was lucky...that was good..wat wasn't lucky and wasn't that good was that sylvano chose today to take it all out on me..so..i had to jogo for the longest time every..my legs are full of lactic acide now..

after class..we went to taka, where we were supposed to perform at around 5+..guess wat? mestre was delayed in fetching the other mestres(will find out their names tmr) from the airport. and when he got home..he realised that the keys were still with sylvano..so we waited abt two hrs to start performing.and wen they arrived..well..they deemed the ground to dangerous to play on..cuz it rained today (take note of this past line..let it be known as REF1). later on..one mestre all of a sudden started to play the berimbau (lets call him M.Braids for now, cuz that's his hair..all braids), and another mestre (he shall be M.Pot Belly..for obvious reasons) started playing the atabaque..and caught in the middle, holding the agogos, was me =p so M.Pot Belly asked me to play..jus for the fun of it..so ok..i obey..and play..here's where the fun starts.. i had no idea wat they were playing or what they were singing..but they seemed to be talking to each other through the song. and eventually when we stopped, they were all smiling at each other and joking in portugese..so i had no idea wat was going on at that time.. we kept the atabaque and the agogos, but all of a sudden, M,Braids started playin again..and we all started singing..den sylvano unziped the atabaque bag and started playin along with M.Braids. and guess wat happened next?(look back at REF1) very soon..one thing led to another and M.Pot Belly started to play with M.Ousado. and well..before long, the atabaque was out again..haha..i got replaced by M.Ousado on the atabaque after they were done and they sang for a while..i walked around to the side..to give them space and guess wat? M.Pot Belly wanted to play with me..haha...so we played..very hard to play with a mestre with lactic acide coursing through ur thighs..but it was a great game..he even game me a near kick to the face..(yeah..in capoeira..u can actually feel happy wen u lose).. and we played even though my thighs were aching and burning from all that acid..they still are now..which says something about how hard it is to play..the music and atmosphere was just so infectious..we couldn't stop..after we shook hands..i played with sylvano for a while..and M.Braids played with him..and they said the floor wasn't safe enough..oh well..haha..today was great.. haha..

thx to mum and dad and chris and michelle for the birthday gift of beancurd and dough balls filled with peanuts and tou sa...haha...

barney..i'v told u why already rite? hope u understand..

and to all those who remembered my birthday..thx alot guys..reali made it special for me =)

axe
Queixada

sad saturday

2005-09-03T23:50:00.000+08:00

ok..today was bad..performed at crescent..it was reali bad...din reali have a good game..hell i din reali have good games today anyway..sux lah..feelin depressed today..so i shant rant on. today sucked..period.

the shadow looms

2005-09-02T16:40:00.000+08:00

lets see..i haven't touched this in over a month now..and i'v got pressure from some one to start bloggin again, so i shall..

K, so what's happened in the last month?

rugby has been great..tink i'm gona be permanent in and/or out centre.. hard choice btwn the two..if its in centre..there's more comm..out centre..more physical demands..so i duno..i tink either one should do fine..as long as i don't break any bones. heh..finally can pass to the right..took so long to learn..but its finally down..scored one try in a recent game with sas..it was quite ok, we got trashed, but it was a good game =p lots of learning experiences *ouch*

i shall leave capoeira for the end..right now..on to that not so glamorous, totally irritating and almost complete waste of the time: the National interschool chinese songwriting competition. I swear, if it wasn't for the money, i would'v pulled out of the competition a long time ago. all the administrative, beaureacratic bullshit (i'm not spellin rite..but i dun care). first they kicked out half the band..cuz ey weren't from the same college..then dennis couldn't make it for the first round of auditions..which meant we couldn't pull him in later on anyway. So..blessing in disguise..along came james tan (henceforth referred to as tan). tan played lead er hu..i tink its the only thing which got us into the finals. (for all those who dun noe wat an er hu is..tink chinese violin..) so we got into the finals..got lots of feedback from the judges so i had to do a minus-one track..which was like..a super difficult task with my sister distracting me most of the time "gor..can i borrow..." and "thanks gor..." putting the stuff on the keyboard..how to continue recording lidat? hai..nvm..still love her..she's too cute to be angry at her for long. anyway..digressing..finals was good..we managed to bag a gold for stage presentation and silvers for arrangement and lyrics..of course..the NJ guy owned all of us..sweeping almost every other gold..if not all..oh well..met some interesting friends...n i relai mean interesting..dun wori..not weird..anyway..shan't elaborate..less i get a beating.

so..what else has happened?teachers day was a rush..and i shant elaborate..but to samuel tan and ur guitarist..all i can say is that it was a reali nice paint job..painful as it was..haha...in fact..u should patent the idea..before i do haha....

k..finally..my most passionate subject that everyone hates to read..but oh well.. CAPOEIRA!!!

haha..grading exams are coming, and i'm due to get my corda acrue (white) soon. I'v been training a whole year for it..and its 6mths overdue..but it aint as bad as raphael..he's gone from yellow-green (that's like..grade 4..) back down to white cuz he just entered master's sch. i reali pity the guy wen it comes to cords..but he's great to play with..haha..and like he says "as long as i get to play, it doesn't matter" Right on, camara! mestre showed us the things we had to remember last week..and he's giving us the list of moves and katas to memorise tmr..hope he remembers..which reminds me..i still have to burn gustrovao a cd from mestre ananias..i shall do that later..capoeira music..haha..its an acquired taste. have to be a capoeirista to appreciate its beauty and complexity..either that..or you have to have had grown up in brazil..haha.. tmr there will be two performances..first i'v heard of in my one yr with mestre ousado. for all those who are interested..there will be one at cgss (crescent girls) arts awareness day in the morning, starting at around 11am. the second one will be at Takashimaya! near the fountain..that one will be around 6oclock i tink..with two foreign masters who would have arrived by then..a spectacular show to watch. Oh..and if anyone who is reading this still has like no idea wat in the wourld capoeira is..its the ORIGIN OF BREAKDANCING.. a brazilian martial art and art form..its a dance, song, music, and a fighting form. Its one of its kind..totally unlike anything here in the east..i guarantee..for more information.. visit:

www.adoclife.com (singapore's only capoeira school's website)
http://acdp.atw.hu/acdpnewvideo.html (a video site for loads of videos..amateur..but good for a preview)
btw..copy and paste..i'm lazy to add hyperlinks..

yeah..so those interested..come down and watch us..free of charge ;)

k...so that's it for now..hope it keeps u guys entertained for a while...

oh yeah..special mention for wl..who wants to have special mention for little more den it'll boost her lil ego.. =p this girl can drive u up the wall..literally.. god have mercy on us all..

Axe
Queixada

2005-06-22T22:30:00.000+08:00

hmm..lets see..its wednesday..and how do i feel? quite crappy actually..my back hurts..and today has been pretty boring..other den the fact that i'm now entitled to a 'get a life' card from 77th st..which i should be using quite often..at least..to purchase stuff for other ppl..once i receive it by post..so..jus for the sake of earning street dollars..bring me shopping if u ever go 77th st..or some other outlets..have yet to review the whole list of participating merchants..

meanwhile..taka roda this sunday..those interested can come and see us perform live at takshimaya probably arnd 4pm or 5pm..depending on whether mestre ousado remembers that there's a taka roda this wk..

dad's pretty pissed at me not wanting to study..but who can blame me? i mean seriously..i know that the exams are coming and all..just that i dun feel the need to kick up such a fuss..i study..its not like i don't..just that he can't see wen i do..oh well..jus finished a talk with him..he found chris' trick candy..labelled aphrodesiac..haha.. anyway..i'm gona have to study more den i do now..n work out more..mayb adopt the OCS schedule..study..work out..and enjoy the wkends..seems feasible enuf.. (ian..stop sniggering..i know ur course is like..PERFECT) i'm gona have to become a soldier two years before i enlist..how convenient..

pw isn't going so well..screw it..we only jus decided on which idea to adopt..our GPP will have to be impressive..if not..die.. hai..gd luck guys..haha..

oh yah..kim probly won't be reading this..but get well soon all the same.. k? hope it stops hurting soon..

be going for p6 chalet on fri..so gona work till den...haha..cya guys..

viva capoeira regional!

i'm back..

2005-06-07T22:39:00.000+08:00

well guys.. i'm back..decided i'd update my blog again..i'v got nth to do =p

*freaking crazy drum roll* Morning Mist ALL the way!!!
we've just finished our performance for the no smoking campaign.. wasn't the greatest of performance..but it was the one i enjoyed the most..despite the hot whether..the small crowd..and the VIP!!!! haha..well..maybe not DESPITE the VIP but oh well..haha..(for those who don't know..it was eunice olsen) i reali love this band.. Paul Frank.. Hong Rui.. Darryl.. Dennis.. u guys rock! haha..i have a feeling this band is going to go far..and my apologies to PF.. i'll try restrain myself next time k?

capoeira
how can i leave this out? my passion...my sanctuary...my circle of freedom and expression...not many ppl may understand this..but for those who do..my game's better than ever..enjoyin every bit jogoin with u peeps..master's back.. and his workouts a great, rite guys? haha.. the good ol days of sweatin it out during trainin are back.. =) batizado's coming out in sept..and from now till den..watch out for takashimaya performances ;) quejada's gettin corda crue!! haha..hopefully

rugby
i tink the team's great..especially the way we encourage each other.. i know we can do reali well this coming season.. there's no reason not to! SAINTS all the way!

finally.. to my buds in church.. ian..when can i get those books? i want em!!! haha.. sherman.. damnit..i want republic commandos..if only my com.. to delci.. u and ian so evil..tryin to chase away ian's potential gf! haha.. jk..to liz.. hang in there.. u'll make it thru the hols..i guarantee..haha..jiao you siao mei! haha..

k..i'm off..got nth more to say..for now..heh..

acrobat in the making..

2005-01-25T21:26:00.000+08:00

finally did it! and twice too~ haha..today, after sch..i rushed back home in time to meet jon hwa and we practiced our acrobatics! guess wat? i finally did my front somersault two times successfully today..on hard ground! yeah it was 2x out of 12 or sth but i still did it! haha..

jon n i are tinkin of makin an action flick..since we'v got so many martial artists..somehow aaron strikes me as the main character, but for reasons some ppl would probly loathe..haha.. anyway..tinkin of sth like a 1 on 2 or 3 kinda short film..for those who don't reali know wat i'm talkin abt..go search for the 'damn' series.. its performed by the 'stunt monkeys'.. reali nice films..n i'd like to do something like dat..hope it works out..

tmr is the annual SAJC x-country so i'm gona get some rest soon =) cya guys..

2005-01-23T21:39:00.000+08:00

ok..its been quite a while since i have blogged..and i guess ere have been many changes in my life..xy left me the end of last yr, and even though it was largely and entirely my fault..i dun feel ere have been any feelings lost with her..it was a relationship that wouldn have worked out very well anyway, in my opinion..

rite now..i'm attached to joyce.. and i'm hoping that i can make this relationship work out.. she's an extremely nice girl, and i wouldn't want to do ath to harm her or hurt her.

today's capoeira was a disaster..i don't know wat's been happening to my game..lately i'v not been able to play well.. my spatial awareness has gone down the drain, ere's nth much i can do to improve it..i'm stuck with the basic moves, which reali isn't a problem, but my reading of the game has declined tremendously..

hmm..anyway..i'v got to get some stuff done.. hist tutorial..etc.. going to play tennis tmr.. =)

oh..btw..in case ere is anyone who isn't sure abt wats gona happen in feb. its CAMPUS RUMPUS with the Saints! fun fair tickets are on sale! if anyone wants to order tickets, give me a call on my hp.. anyone who's reading this blog should noe my no. if not.. worse come to worse.. place an order on the tag board.. any amount of tickets will do.. (jus dun give me weird no.s like $4.32)

thx all!

1st week as a Saint

2005-01-08T09:19:00.000+08:00

Wohoo.. wat a week.. right now i'm sick, but i'll do my very best to sound enthu about all this.. haha..

1st day:
it was mostly boring, for the right reasons though, refer to previous post for details.

2nd Day:
The second day was a a day of magic, i mean, after the first day, which was so damn boring and so damn sian, we actually did something. i kinda felt bad, looking at vic, wei pink, bi shi, and all the other OGLs, who were tryin so hard to make us enthusiastic, so guess wat? i made a concious effort on the morning of DAY2 of Santierra to be as enthusiastic as i could be. And i even got yi heng and zhen xiong to 'explode' along with me =) it was magical, all that Silarius needed was a few people to be super enthu, and everyone else joined along, we shouted, cheered, screamed so damn loud, that the impossible happened! The SACouncil exco back in the hall could hear us! and we were cheering in a SOUND PROOF LT!!! How amazing is that? Not surprisingly, it landed us the 'Loudest Cheers' award =p *SiLarius Rox!*

the rest of the day we did things like mass dance and other stuff..germaine is one chy creature =p but maybe i can get her no. some other day. (For those i know wana suan me and tease me, i want it only to be friends alrite?)we had to run around the school to complete small assignments, like finding miniature stuff, transferring polo sweets, etc haha.. the one called 'questionnare' was very.. interesting. Haha, we had to go against OG22 i tink, and had to answer diff questions about the school den go pick stuff from the amphitheatre. in the end, both groups got equal points and the councillors had to tink of a way to break the deadlock. so, each grp had to send a rep to go and 'propose' to wei pink, the one who was better would win the game.. stupid, but true.. i guess OG 22's guy was just too shy =p and safe to say, i swept her off her feet, to a certain extent..haha..

oh yeah, today i was appointed OG rep, thx OG4! u guys rock!

3rd Day:
today we started off with Kingdom Time, and the election of nobles. for some reason, i got choosen, i tink is they wana sabo me =p anyway..it was a day full of testing, i mean, the outdoor games were very.. challenging. Not on their own, but today is the day that OG4 reali showed me how strong they were. We didn't win anything, not one.. we always lost, but OG4 has got some of the best spirit i noe. no one complained, or whined, we just carried on, going from each station to another..it was never ending. i reali admire the spirit of these guys, ey are reali the best as far as i'm concerned. and at the end of it all, we came together as one Silarius to cheer. it was reali a great day..

4th day:
last day of orientation, it was super fun..ok..i got sboed onto thestage to do some crazy stuff.. like party and dance.. thx AVA for the great music! finally got my handstand right..and some other stuff too.. haha.. it was great! just partying and having fun, which means anyone who is shy reali misses out.. haha.. had banner painting and other stuff in the afternoon, to get ready for the grand finallae at night, our banner was super funny. we had a colourful butterfly and a retro caterpillar..all thx to Joyce! haha.. aep reali does things to people =p it was terrific..though the first part was like..super lame, the rest of it was wonderful, Vendetta provided us with an on site rock show..with dancing, screaming and all that..super fun i tell u! we formed circles involuntarily, and soon people were just jumping inside to show off their moves..it was great! like where else in the world can u find such spontanity?

Terrific, the whole thing ended at around 9, den OG4 went for a dinner at harbour front, and after that..home sweet home.. damn..i miss SA..

5th day:
First day of lessons! econs tchr is damn scary =s super strict..she's the head of arts so i guess its ok..gona have to do alot of self study on my own to flesh out the skeleton that the notes provide us with. i also suddenly realise that JC lessons are quite slack..there's so much free time during schl hrs u duno wat to do with them..stil..jus hung out with OG4 and some other guys who happened to walk by.. oh.. for those who wana know..i got into 05A31, which is lit econs hist math..

Math was kinda boring, though..it was the same stuff as last yr..i guess its jus a refresher course this time..still..tutorials will have to be done later..

ok.tat's as far as i can go, i cant type anymore for now..so i'll see u guys arnd. =)

1st day of Orientation

2005-01-03T22:52:00.000+08:00

hmm...what shall i say about today?

actually i felt it was quite wasted.. cuz of yesterday's capoeira and bbq, i was super tired..there was almost no way i could do all the stuff that we were spose to do with enthusiasm... just felt like falling aslp everywhere i went.

OG4 seems like a good place..nice peeps ere..though i din reali get to meet all of em..the guys like yi heng, alex shayne, reagan (hope sp is correct) are quite cool.. cheeky..witty..gona have to find some way to keep up with their tricks..haha..

found a capoeira article on their terraces, small..but it was there..haha.. surprised they knew about it..

speaking of capoeira..i tink i can get a cca within the sch and not compromise on my jogo.. dad says i'd do well in rugby, so maybe i'll try.. as a winger of course..not one of those guys that are big and tough and collide with people head on..

hmm..mass dance tmr..and more games..hopefully OG4 will liven up..and vic won't have such a hard time..haha..

can't reali say SA rocks at the moment..but we'll wait and see..

second day or caroling(20th dec)

2004-12-21T10:03:00.000+08:00

too tired yesterday to post sth..so i tot i'd do it this morning instead..while some of the details are still fresh..

after gathering at Yishun MRT stn at arnd 915 yest, the grp of us went to a children's daycare centre to do our carolling..it was kinda funny to see catherine trying to be an mc and talk to e children..she was so nervous at first..but who could blame her? its kids she didn't know..and well..it takes some guts to do this sorta work..eventually, however..the team managed to warm up to them and it was great..with all their innocent smiles..so easily pleased and so easily entertained..they were just bundles of joy..haha..

after that we headed for lunch and den down to "Singapore Christians' home" (or sth lidat) which was run by the government..it was a small cozy place..but sth abt the place made me feel uneasy..i guess it was all the hospital beds and seeing them in that state..made me think abt wat it would be like to grow old.. and the thought repulsed me..still..we sang..did wat we went there to do..and at least brought joy to some of them..

after that it was on to the "All Saints home" which was better..at least it looked peaceful..instead of lookin like a holdin aread for ppl who were abt to die..so it was easier for me..the team was also more relaxed..haha..and it turned out great..three floors in total..covered them all well..haha..

after that we had a great dinner at wei hui's place..her bro is a great chef..haha..after which we had some christmas quizz thing and wel..it was great..

after all this however..i'v been tinkin..where does duty end and service begin?

busy sunday..

2004-12-20T01:53:00.000+08:00

hai..today wasn't reali the best of my days..i woke up wif my injured knee swollen and hurting like crazy..even when supported by e knee guard..still..had to rush to church to practice for worship..which didn't go very well..haha..

but after that..we had a 'training session' by uncle philip (FINALLY! after all this time) and we arranged the song 'Better Than' (which reminds me..i have to go find the lyrics..haha..)it was great..ian was steady on the drums (finally!) chris(both of them) did great fill ins..i guess it was the environment i guess..it was sth we were doing for fun and we wanted to do it well..ere was no pressure at all, and instead of doing it for the sake of doing it..we put evth we had into it and came up with a nice song..wonderfully arranged..full of energy..even without the proper lyrics..many thx go to uncle phillip..who was able to help us organise ourselves..recognise each other's strengths and weaknesses..haha..we may need him as a band manager..until we learn to manage music ourselves..oh yeah..ian and chris(es)..let me re-evaluate our band..i give it 7/10 now..instead of 3/10..

unfortunately..that small jam drained all my energy..and my injury got worse..hai..so capoeira..as hard as i tried..i din play well..lost it half way and couldnt play a good game..hai..

after that..ritz carlton! haha..thx to py, iz, caleb, jontham for the treat..it was great..haha..ate until i was bursting..but sadly..i was allergic to all the gd stuff ere..hai..nvm..i dun live to eat..haha..ms ng..we'll see you arnd! thx for all the guidance and care u'v given us for the past two yrs..

ALEX!
RELAX!
and JUST DO IT! haha...

jing carol planet paradigm

2004-12-18T01:30:00.000+08:00

k..started the day off wif jing er..went to teach her some capoeira stuff..as much as i could..this morning..talked with her abt xy and abt other relationships and stuff..talked abt homosexuality and the psycology behind it. i find that i learn alot from her..she's been able to open my eyes to a world out there which i tot did not exist..and make sth which was taught to be morbid seem like something common place for her..she's been through it all and seen it all..

when we talked abt xy and i..well..at least i got positive feedback along the lines of 'you two will last quite a long time'..i hope its true..

after capoeira..i rushed down to a bible hse to do some carolin..which was reali the downside of my day..even though i was doing work for charity and evangelism..i found myself decidedly empty..like wat i was doing was pointless..the fire in me for e work of god has just burnt out..i can feel it no more..my whole heart for god seems to have burnt out as well..and for some reason..it feels alrite..i duno..i'll sort this out anth time (any church members who see this and wana talk to me..i ask that u dont for the time being)

after the singing i went to a concert at singapore shoppin centre planet paradigm..it wasn't too bad..ere were actually some good bands..but after a while..all that they did was hammer away at the overdrive and it wasn't music anymore..just noise..hai..came back..got a lift from nat's mom..tired and slpy..still..got chatting to do..check back anth time..

ok..guess e secret is out..

2004-12-18T01:09:00.000+08:00

alright..for those of you who know..good for u..for those of you who dont..ask those who do..so yeah..e 'secret' is out..and i'm not gona deny it..haha..i just hope that this time..i wont repeat my past mistakes..

to my special one..i'll do my best! and even though we're heading diff paths in jc..i hope our bond remains strong..

from me to you..with lots of love..

wonder how to tell my parents wen ey get hm.. =s

2004-12-12T22:30:00.000+08:00

ok..sunday..wkends over..but the new wk is ahead..

the past two days have been rather bumpy..i can't help but ask my self if i'm spose to read into things as much as just respond to them..i mean..i used to think that spending time to plan what i wanted to do and how i approached a problem was worth it..but after today and yest..it seems as though its easier to just follow wat i feel like doing..to let reflex and natural movement take over and guide my actions..

in capoeira, when a move is made..it can lead to a million possibilities..and another million more ways to counter and change the situation to suite urself..reading the opponent's moves before they make it is a little difficult, but ultimately..it can help u land a good counter attack..in e roda..its especially useful..

in life..perhaps its useful as well..more and more i find myself increasingly aware..increasingly sensitive to my surroundings (meaning i noe wats goin on) instead of sticking to my attitude of ignorance..reading into what people do and say seems to be the only thing which can help me make my decisions now..there are no voices in my head to guide me..so..i guess now..i'll let my instincts show e way..

3 days, 2 classes, 1 chalet (updated)

2004-12-10T20:46:00.000+08:00

yups, the second chalet of the hols..this time, to celebrate our dear tina's bday..though i'm not reali sure if its celebrate in advance or celebrate on..ere was no birthday cake..no song..but ere were alot of exchanging of gifts..at least..amongst the girls..haha..

this chalet was quite unique..for me at least..i'm sure there should be others like it..but for me its the first time i'v had a chalet in which two classes from two diff schs combined..haha..just to celebrate tina's bday..one class (obviously) was the 6B 2000 class and the other was tina's sec4 class (4 Diligence) from SCGS..it was quite fun..meeting new people..

first day we had a bbq..it looked like it was going to rain wen we met up at tenah merah mrt, but thnkfully e skies witheld their 'blessings' that evening and we were able to get a great fire started that lasted into the night. only problem was that there was simply too much food! we cooked everything and had enough to last us the next day (for all meals) but in the end we din eat them cuz of hygiene reasons =p It was THAT much food..prawns..sausages..taiwan sausages..beef..fish..satay..chicken wings..potato..squid..rice..bee hon..too much stuff already..

during all the cooking etc..we had mahjong..tv..talking screaming..etc..and that night no..slp watsoeva..haha..just sitting arnd..card tricks..card games..jokes..riddles etc.. we were all super bored and we went out a few times to the playgrnd..den i kena..haha..but nvm..its nth much..its already healing now..maybe i should document the healing process or sth..haha..jk..

we watched the sunrise (or tried to) from the bridge over the canal..but the trees blocked the sun..still the cloud display was still great..haha..felt kinda weird being with a bunch of girls watchin the sunrise..haha..but at least zhong de (alex) was ere also..after that we split into two groups..one (the large one) went cycling.. n e rest of us went swimming..haha..finally convinced phyllis and shoo fee to actually get in the water..i mean..y wear a bikini if ur not going to show it?

after that..tina, phyllis, xin hui, xinyi, jian xuan, zheqi and i went cycling..but only after walking 45 minutes and 6km for it..jus cuz the peeps at safra refused to lend us bikes or let us help them refit the chains on the bikes which were 'out of order' tina said it was a 15min run or sth..sounded super near..but nvm..it was fun while it lasted..phyllis actually managed to learn how to ride a bike in 25 min! i took like..a few months (years?) when i was young..haha..jianxuan got chased by a gay too..anyway..after that..we all went kayaking..after a short nap..watched planes..rafted..basically had fun out at sea..n help phy with some of her kayaking skills..went back to e chalet..went swimming (again, yes i noe..) and phyllis learnt how to swim!!! again in less than 30min..that girl is one quick learner..later on..taught her and shuying how to play pool..ey are fast learners..

that night..tried to tell ghost stories..but no one had any good ones..haha..i went to slp cuz i had to teach the next day, zhong de had his performance..n i'm not sure why phy slept too..anyway..those who stayed awake got to see the sunrise again..

nxt day..pack up..go home..end of 3 days, 2 classes, 1 chalet..

xinyi! get that tanning session organised! haha..n invite alex =p

wats in a title?

2004-12-05T22:39:00.000+08:00

yeah..wth..can't tink of a title..so heck la..

today i went out wif mel..jus for lunch and some catchin up..this girl ar..super lazy man..i duno how kenneth copes with her..haha..doesn't want to walk, loves to rot (it rhymes too) i had to like..drag her off her ass jus to get out of marche..haha..den it started raining..poor mel is scared of the rain..hehe..

went for capoeira afterwards..the training was good..but i din get to play in the roda today, m.Ousado had stuff to teach jing er (yes..i finally got her name) and some of the other beginners..like myself..so i hung back..hope i get to play nxt time though..haha..

tina's finally got her watch back..so happy birthday tina..u owe me one! haha..ate joyce tried to learn drums..she's not bad..just a lil bit too hysterical..haha.. we'll see how she does tmr..

capoeira feels good..transit link sux..

2004-12-04T22:51:00.000+08:00

its sat! the wkend! and guess wat..it was well spent..

morning..the first thing i woke up..i could think of only one thing.. DTX!!! haha..gona be spending alot of time on that baby..haha..make love to it..in accordance with adrian's golden rule: "Make love to your instrument, or your instrument will not make love to you" played in the morning..more songs with my bro..great team the both of us..but the best part of today is yet to come..

capoeira was wat i was reali looking forward too..getting back into the roda..playing with mestre ousado..melissa and the rest..it was great today..we've got one new student, i tink her name is jin wei..not sure..forgot..i'll get it again tmr =p but anyway..roda was reali good..even though i was a bit rusty, i still managed to survive using all sorts of..heheh..tricks..but in capoeira..tricks are applauded..not scorned..so in the end..got praised..haha..but beda not do too much..later mestre take out his own bag of tricks..den i'll end up outside the roda every few seconds..haha..

after that went to seoul garden with chris and dad..had ALOT eat..and i mean Alot..haha so much meat!felt like a pig..i can almost imagine someone like xinyi tellin me how my exercise in the aftn was wasted cuz of dinner..haha..but nvm..i'm not a health freak..or overly concious abt my weight..as long as my game improves..hehe..saw s1 ere i noe i'v met before, but had no idea who she was or where she was from..mayb if i run into her nxt time i'll find out..heh..

still..despite all the good stuff that happened today..ere was shit too..transit link for one..the bloody system is biased against me..i attached my card to giro, so i'm technically not spose to run out of money..but recently, cuz of buyin stuff for steph's bro and other stuff for the performance..i'v got broke..like..only $19 in the bank..tapped my card on the gate..and they told me sth like 'Bad Debt' worth $20..so i went to pay the $20 with cash..and guess wat..ey still din let up..'Bad Debt' again and again..couldn get on the train..i swear its daylight robbery..bloody transitlink..their lucky they're e only company in spore with mrts..so i'll have to cont using their services..

anyway..tired rite now..waiting for frens to come online..so tot i'd put in a lil sth to my blog..to those who actually bother to read..thx..haha...u guys must have like mountains of patience or e equivalent amnt of free time..haha..

it is here!

2004-12-03T23:55:00.000+08:00

YES!!! the drumset is finally here..it sounds great..and there are all sorts of different drumkits to choose from..i have like..i tink..40 diff drum kits to choose from all in ONE drumset..the room finally looks complete...if i have enuf time..i'll probly put the picture on the net or sth..so u guys can see the rm..haha..we even got carpets to mark the area where all jamming would take place..its great..only downside is that we have to close the curtain at night so that in the mornin the sun doesn't bake all the equipment =p

chris (my bro, not christiane) and i came up wif some cool stuff today..so shiok..playing with him..we're probly gona perform at a newyear's party and we're planning to do some original compositions..haha..

hmm..some girl called xinyi called me today..wanted me to join some caroling thing at fort cannning on the 17th, and ronica asked me to go..so..yes ma'am...i'll turn up for practice..no choice liao..haha..i dun even noe wat its abt..so jus..going..haha..

tmr i'll be heading back to capoeira again..can't wait..i'm gettin fat and under polished..haha..cya guys soon..

one more day...oh yes..the chalet..

2004-12-03T15:44:00.000+08:00

one more night, and the dtx will arrive! yes! haha..jon liew and wongyang n ryan came over today..just to see how the new rm looked like..haha..ey were..impressed..i myself can't wait for the drums to arrive tmr..

the chalet i had from monday to wed was quite interesting..no thx to the poor turn out or my overly lethargic ex-classmates..it was actually..cuz of the chalet beside us..some poor sec3s, who couldn start their fire..haha..we started buildin our fire earlier, but our fire starters were deffective..had to get new ones from cheers..during this time..the chalet next to us wanted to have their bbq as well..so ey started their fire..ey got a pretty good one before we got ours..but theirs died out in the end..and the first batch of food they put on the fire never got cooked..not even to a medium rare cuz their fire just gave out half way and died..our first attempt failed, but after that..we restarted..actually cleared the pit and restarted..with good planning and new firestarters..and got our ambers in no time..managed to cook all our stuff real quickly..and decided..with the help of miss chua..that we would help them out..so towards the end..we handed them ambers to use till we got all our food cooked..and when we did..we lent them our bbq pit too..along with our cooking services..haha..laughed and played..matchmade cassandra and jian xuan (he sure can blush) just for fun..haha..and made alot of jokes..ere was also this girl who couldn stop laughing for some reason jus cuz she was cutting some chicken..haha...the next day, alex and i felt like doing alot of stuff..but..guess wat? the rest of the class was lethargic..like pigs..so we called on our frens from the night before to go out and play..and we did..bladed all around pasir ris park..had fun..made each other suffer..haha..brought them to this playground we visited the night before which has this g-force thing which can make u black out..haha..a few ppl almost did..had alot of fun..later that night alex and i even learnt how to play mahjong for the first time in our lives..haha..its quite an interestin game..din noe it was interesting..i tot it was sth that only the old grandmothers play..not us..haha...but it turned out to be great..managed to get to noe the rest of the class..like cassandra, sheryl, kenny, stanley etc.haha..watched a movie with them that night too..real good bonding..haha..so..on the whole..even though the chalet itself was a disaster..with ppl poning and leaving halfway..it was still a great experience..especially making those new friends..

so..to you guys from GMSS.. u rawk! and rawk on!

wana link?

2004-12-03T14:10:00.000+08:00

hey guys..been bz..so can't reali improve my blog very quickly..so for all of u who want to link me or want me to link u..jus post it on comments for this entry..and i'll link u in due time..k?

afresh and anew

2004-12-02T16:45:00.000+08:00

ok..for those of you who know me already and know wat i've been through, i'm here cuz i'm starting anew..ok..i noe its kinda obvious cuz its the title of this entry, but hey..things have gota keep changing rite? (and well..i was lazy to delete every single entry on my diaryland accnt..)

things have changed both physically and emotionally, at least for the time being, there have been many cases when things have just gone back to the way they were since all those months ago.. i'm hoping this time, it wont..

physically..me and my bro are having a serious revamp of our rooms..haha..cuz of our mad obsession with music, we've decided to turn my rm into the bedrm, and his room into a study/music rm.. we came up with the idea quite a long time ago, but it was only approved this afternoon, and guess what? both beds are already in my rm, with a computer table in between us..he uses the pc, i use the laptop..n internet connection is now damn fast cuz ere's nth blocking the signal between the wireless router and my com! haha..probly go on a browsing spree later..haha.. but anyway.. his rm is now in a state of mess..we're tidyin it up tmr..and on friday, the DTX III standard arrives haha..and then..this hse will just ROCK! for those of you who dont know what a DTX is..check out yamaha's singapore website..

another physical aspect..is my hair..i noe this may sound vain and all..trust me..i'm tryin not to be..it scares me..but wat so amazing about this is that i din have to cut my hair or comb it or style it or wateva to get it..i was feeling hot..on my way to chalet wif my 6b frenz..so i put on my cap..forgot to take it off..but when i did..my hair was..wow..different..i'm not sure if its nice or not..but its new..its a kind of centre parting merged with armani (i hope i got those names right)..those who know me or see me will know soon enough..cuz i dun plan to change this hair do..tryin to grow it long..

emotionally..lets jus say i hope i've settled down..hopefully.. and no..i dun mean settle down with someone..but just..settle my emotions..

tt's all for now..look out for more entries and hopefully a tagboard..haha..cya guys..link me if u want alrite?

-James