:+: Fine after rain :+:

I bought a book called Broken Mirror II - Awakenings just today after I saw Hui Lin dangling it at me on Sat at Bukit Panjang Plaza's Popular . I was surprised when I saw it cos I didn't expect a sequel since I bought Broken Mirror when it 1st came out in 2000 .

I went to Westmall's Popular in search for Awakenings but I didn't had any luck as it was sold out . Only til I went to Sam's Bookshop then I managed to snag myself a copy , the last copy in fact ! Somemore it was selling even cheaper than the selling price at Popular , haha suckers !

I'm not usually big on books but this's an exception . In case you're wondering what's all this Broken Mirror hooha , it's about true stories that the author Dawn Tan collected/wrote with regards to drug abuse . Yup you got that right , drug abuse .

My mum was giving me the face when I asked her for $ to buy Broken Mirror II when I told her that I want to buy a book on drugs . Til I further elborated saying that I want to get a book containing stories about drug abuse , she heaved a sigh of relief I think & let me just say that aside from smoking , doing drugs's the 2nd next thing I would never ever do.

I haven't finished reading Awakenings for obvious reasons . I only managed to read a couple of stories in this book which contains about 10 true stories & from what I read so far it's really touching to see how former drug addicts managed to turn their life around in a world that's filled with toxic drug abuse to now where they finally found inner peace both with themselves & also with the people that's dearest to them.

There's even a true story called Dark Poems which centres around Nicholas who's a lawyer . I haven't read that yet but that should be interesting & also on Damien Sin too , the very same author who wrote the catalog of Classic Singapore Horror Stories.

Not to mention the journey/struggles/personal demons/issues that they had to face which led them to take drugs & also on why they embarked on a journey to self destruction . If you ask me , it takes guts/courage to admit that you have a drug problem & also to be able to fix the very problem that you created yourself . That's 1 mean accomplishment & sometimes at the end of the day , you ask yourself wondering why you decided to smoke weed , chase the dragon etc .

Is it worth it ? If so , at what cost & usually the cost to pay for is hefty & ain't worth it in any single bit & Broken Mirror II - Awakenings's 1 book I recommend everyone to get.

& oh Jamie , thanks for the signed CD sleeve ! Got it today in the mailbox , love the message you wrote inside + nice handwriting you got haha

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Saturday, April 28, 2007

A sibei big happy b'day to the lead guitarist of Lunarin aka Y ! hopefully he will have a great b'day celebration today . SMS'd him this morning to wish him a good 1 , he said thanks :)

The wee hours of the morning was madness with a capital M ! It rained at 5am++ & me being a total lazy ass , I only got up & closed my room windows haha , couldn't be bothered to close the other windows in the house . Luckily my mum's not around or else she will give me an earful once again !

Played some old school games again on the computer like Hoyle Casino , Oregon Trail II + Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games . haha what memories I had of Timon & Pumbaa cos of the games being offered such as Burper . Didn't know that the ability to burp really loud's considered a much needed skill in here.

When comes to burping , I can do that for sure ! Just try not to give me gassy drinks or else the windows will rattle once I unleash my atomic bomb burp/s !

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Friday, April 27, 2007

Quite a lot of people have said that I'm a nice person but in reality am I ? For the past few days & not to mention weeks , I have been giving thought about the whole nice good girl tag & honestly you know what ? I'm a bit sick of it .

I came to the conclusion the hard way that sometimes being nice to people ain't the best thing around . Oh sure , I ask them flavors/helps to help me but in return I sometimes get a zero response from them , despite the numerous times in me chipping in to help which you can basically say that it's 1 sided affair although it's usually a 1 sided love affair .

Not to mention my patience tolerance level's surprisely high but I suppose it wouldn't be long before I probably decide to just snap & vent out to people that I'm not the same old person anymore & I'm not a doormat but I wouldn't go around on the net & on my blog/s slamming them , it's just stupid & childish to begin with .

The problem lies with them not me at the end of the day but I don't know , human begins can be really complicating at times . It's the same thing for a family . You might have a love/hate relationship with them , putting up with their nonsense etc but you still love them at the end of the day . Probably the same concept applies in here too.

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It's now or never , I'm going to the arcade later on which I can't wait . I wanted to go yesterday but I didn't eventually cos I spent the whole morning recording songs off MySpace haha

Perlini Silver sent me an SMS to state that today there will be a 15% discount on items for its loyal cardmembers but strangely enough I don't have anything in mind to buy despite seeing that SMS . It's like I don't feel anything at all . I haven't delete the SMS yet though oops

Allura & Jamie are playing live sets later on tonight at Home Club & Prince Of Wales respectively but I'm not going even though I want to . I have no idea where POW's located at & also same thing goes for Home Club too . Even my mum advised me not to go to POW so for once I will listen to her despite the fact that admission's free.

Yesterday morning made an unofficial comeback to Gareth Gates's official forums . Man I can't believe I'm saying this but it's so good to be back despite almost a 5 months absence from the place .

I had good memories of it til a rather major big backlash swept the place & not to mention I was losing interest in Gareth a bit as he has been away for so long + during that period of time , I was starting to help out with plugging for Electrico but once the dust has been settled , I came back & what a nice warm welcome I received yesterday .

The usual group of people still hangs out there but only this time with a change of usernames but still it's good to be back !

Does this mean that I will be ditching in helping Electrico/Lunarin & others ? No way but this will mean that I have to be able to juggle even more now . Maybe I should become a professional juggler by nature !

Dance With The Devil - a song by Mika Nakashima in which recently I'm starting to dig her stuff & so's Angela Aki . I wish I would have discovered both of their material much much eariler as they're really talented .

Mika does Jazz but Angela's material's just amazing with her unique blend of Acoustic/Indie/ . Hui Li was shocked when Mika went all rock with the material she did with the hit movies NANA & NANA2 which she stars in the leading role . Although I didn't watch the movies , I like the song Mika sang which's GLAMOROUS SKY which's so far her only No.1 hit single in Japan .

Am considering to get Mika's latest album YES & Angela Aki's debut Home now ! Interesting to know that during the week when Home was released , it debuted at No.2 , 2nd only to Utada Hikaru's Ultra Blue & it was speculated that if Angela were to release Home a week eariler , she would have claimed the No.1 spot but ah well things do happen.

Yesterday night managed to watch finish the DVD of Ayumi's Arena Tour 2006 A ~(miss)understood~ . Woah it was fanastic & I personally think it's on par with her BEST of CountDown Live 2006-2007 (Live Performance) .

Her (miss)understood tour is fab man . From the numerous costumes , special effects , songs to her band , everything was great ! It's funny but the audience loves the lead guitarist in her band a lot & so do I .

Not that he's good looking & all but it's the way he plays , it was really captivating & he's such a professional & I swear the other tour DVDs that I watched of Ayumi , the scenerio's the same too !

Ayumi has 2 keyboardists in her band as well & yes they're really cute haha

Some of my fave parts on her (miss)understood is when she did the live versions of Pride , rainy day & for her encore , the standard follows such as her composition Humming 7/4 & asking the audience to sing with her on her 1st million selling single Boys & Girls but I strangely find her live version of BLUE BIRD a bit weak leh

But I guess with me dabbing into J Pop now , before that I wouldn't have known some great composers such as Bounceback , tasuku & DAI , especially DAI if you ask me

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Betrayal , such a powerful word if you ask me . I saw that word being flashed on TV yesterday , an episode on Teen Titans to be exact .

I didn't watched that episode again cos it's pretty depressing but it led me to think that sometimes human beings can be cruel unintentionally/intentionally which in this case Terra betrayed Beast Boy (or BB as he's known) but ultimately she redeemed herself for the sins she committed including sacrificing her own life to save the city from a volcano eruption.

Same thing goes for Rose/The Huntsgirl in American Dragon : Jake Long . Like Terra , she has feelings for Jake but cos of the fact that she's a member of an organisation who has to slay magical creatures , she was forced to betray Jake after the big boss discovered her betrayal to the clan .

But Rose eventually sacrificed her life for the good of all magical creatures which means the destruction of the Hunts clan & not to mention which left Jake devastated . Same scenerio for BB too.

I do feel for both Rose & Terra cos it's quite unfortunate that they have to sacrifice their own lives in order to redeem for the sins they committed .

But most of the time , reel life for Betrayal doesn't necessary happen & take place so easily in real life . I have my fair share of people betraying me in my face or at my back countless of times when I was younger & it ain't a pretty sight to begin with.

So far , I have never betray anyone cos the after effects of people being betrayed & vice versa is just too poison to stomach & it lingers on after a very long time . It sucks & for a period of time , I just couldn't understand the human species .

I remembered when I was in sec school where I had the most amount of betrayal backlash , just like an abused spouse who's willing to stick with his/her abusive spouse , I kept clinging on for dear life. Only eventually I just let go & refuse to buy into the whole bullshit & I have learnt in my 4 years in sec school , never to betray a person or else karma will bite you in the ass & not to mention the sense of regret you will experience , it's ain't worth it . Not in any single bit !

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So today's the start of my so called LONG holidays . Man has been a while since I have so much free time in my hand . Well not anymore I suppose cos when I start my 2nd year in Uni this coming Aug (hopefully if things goes according to plan) , I wouldn't enjoy such long holidays anymore cos my 2nd & 3rd year , it will be in the form of Trimester .

+ I heard from lecturers who heard it from the grapevine though seniors that I will only get like what a week worth of holidays once I climb up the ladder .

My mum wants me to find a temp job for the month/s of May - July as she doesn't want me to rot at home big time . Already did the 1st step eariler when I emailed my resume to someone .

So some of the things I want to do when I'm currently on holidays are :

- watch Muse's Hullabaloo & Absolution DVDs ! Already bought them a while back , now just have to watch them . Am curious to see whether Hullabaloo or Absolution's better . Dan thinks it's the former.

- watch finish Ayumi Hamasaki's area tour of (miss)understood DVD , only managed to watch the beginning , pretty something . Still a bit bummed that she's not performing in S'pore as part of her Secret tour , I would pay to see her perform super duper big time !

- go to the arcade more often to kick even more butt !

- watch more movies ! 1st stop , is Spiderman 3 that will open next Tue woo hoo . Followed by Fantastic 4's sequel , Rush Hour 3 & maybe Transformers

- be more active in the Gareth Gates forums ! has been a while since I last visited the place . Made my unofficial comeback of sorts today , the place has changed a lot !

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Altogether now : awwwww

While I was studying/revising for my final exam paper that's scheduled to start at 2pm later on today which's Maths , I suddenly had this small wondering thought as to I think it will be so damn cool if my parents/relatives were to buy for me a labtop ! Provided if I'm able to do well this time round for my 2nd semester . Not to mention overall for my 1st year in Uni !

Yesterday I tried in vain to fix up the internet connection in my room's computer & it has been very bad all the time , with the connection being cut in my face time & time again & as of now , the problem's still there & it can get very frustating especially if I'm downloading things off the net/talking to people on MSN.

Not that anything's wrong with my room's computer , it's just so happen that it's the way my house's being constructed that's why . The corridor I mean . It got so bad that I had to use Hui Li's labtop eventually & her labtop's a bit of a weirdo sometimes.

But I don't know whether can this request will be able to turn into reality but I suppose it's er reasonable to a certain extent cos I mean who would say no to a brand new labtop eh but we'll see how things goes

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Monday, April 23, 2007

3 papers down , 1 more to go & it wouldn't be long before I'm wrapping things up for my 1st year in Uni this coming Wed . Oh man , it seems like yesterday I was starting my very 1st day in Uni .

Had a rocky start in the morning . I didn't slept well today & sooner or later , you guessed it , I was down with flu . For some reasons what-so-ever , I always have a cold if I don't have enough sleep.

To make matters worst , the flu got the best outta me when I sat for Econs . Luckily the room wasn't cold but when I was doing the paper , 1/2 way I was having the sniffles & the next I was doing the paper . It wasn't a pretty sight to begin with & I managed to exhaust 2 packets of tissue in no time.

1/2 of my brain had to deal with my cold & the other 1/2 was struggling to try to complete the paper in vain so I basically had a spilt personality in the afternoon . Maybe next time I shouldn't be so lazy as to not to bring my jacket as sometimes in campus , it can get unpredictably cold or hot , depending on what type of weather you fancy.

& the weather seems to have a mind of its own lately . 1 moment it can rain real heavily & the next , it's all hot & sunny . What's up with this ? has the weather gone loco ? most probably so.

I think it's about time I go to bed early , I'm still having the sniffles as of now.

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Just logged onto The Click Five's MySpace & finally they announced who's their new lead singer after the surprise departure of Eric Dill & they also released the band pic with their new lead singer too & oh my god he's a hottie/cutie !

His name ? Kyle Patrick & he's only 20 years old wahaha & he's a guitarist & obviously the new lead singer for The Click Five . Want further proof he's hot ? take a look :

Ooh wee ! Kyle's the guy in the middle ! Ben who's the keyboardist & still looks hot as ever , he's at the far left followed by lead guitarist Joe . Next to Kyle's bassist Ethan who still looks as fine as always & followed by drummer Joey .
& their brand new album's gonna something titled Modern Minds And Pastimes , it's scheduled to drop on June 26th . I so can't wait for it & judging from Click Five's 1st single with Kyle titled Jenny , I think they will do fine even though I must admit I still missed Eric .

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

2 down , 2 more papers to go & today was really lousy for me cos I have a nagging feeling that I will do badly for the Accounts exam & not to mention overall for Accounts . Then again it's over & not to mention it's pointless for me to dwell about it .

Besides I'm sure whatever the outcome will be , I will accept it & I wouldn't run away from reality . Also I have done my best or so I think . Thanks Des for the words but at least now I know better , I wouldn't be so smug or go big headed when comes to exams .

I mean exams's exams , it's nothing like a small fry test so all the more I should definitely try to take this more seriously . No doubt I was a bit bummed after the exam concluded but after I got my thoughts sorted out , I thought to myself , hey it might not be as bad as I thought it will be . I figure the outcome will be much much worst if I didn't turned up to sit for the paper which's 60% of my overall .

At least I wrote my answers in the exam paper , I didn't submit a blank answer booklet . If that happens , that will be very worrying so I should just go with the flow & see how things goes & also like what ET & Linda used to tell me , sometimes at the end of the day , results don't really matter so much.

No point in me scoring everything all A's where in the beginning , I'm a bitch to begin with which defeats the whole purpose so yup.

& oh eariler on my way home , I saw Amanda on the cover on the latest of Seventeen ! She looked great as always & Des was so kind to send me the scanned interview/cover ! Thanks Des ! & you can check out the scanned material in my music blog for more details .

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Yup today's the start of my exams ie. my 1st paper today was Eng & it was no laughing matter when I sat for the paper earlier in the afternoon . If I'm correct the paper was worth a whopping 155 marks which will narrow down to 50 marks eventually cos my Eng exam's worth 50% .

Doesn't help matters that I only had a miserable 2 hours to try to complete everything + 10 mins of reading time but surprisely I managed to complete it , I just chiong basically & I thought there will be 2 compres but luckily only 1 came up . The rest of the exam consist of vocab , describing a pie chart & graph separately & writing an essay .

The main bulk of the marks came from compre & essay & there was a theme I had to follow in writing the essay which's a compare & contrast essay . Surprisely I found writing the essay rather easy in a way or 2 . The compre was pretty ok to understand but when comes to answering questions for compre , that's a different thing altogether & not to mention I suck at vocab too .

Was pretty amazing that I managed to complete the paper despite having minimal time in checking but hopefully it went OK .

Ah well at least for now I'm done with Eng & you know what this means ? It's the end of me studying Eng as a subject yay so this means for 2nd & 3rd year onwards (ie. if things goes according to plan) , I don't have to take it anymore woo hoo

& also I just need to score 7% outta 155 marks to pass Eng haha

Eariler in the morning before I went to school , I downloaded the flie that Angeline helped me to record . Yup she helped me to record 987 Control , about 2 weeks ago or so , I was on air even though techincally it wasn't live .

It was crazy , in the morning I sent the links to so many people so much so that I had to send it again to a few more people eariler cos I forgotten but that was already settled so yup people , if you received it from me already , good for you !

Hope you can leave me some comments/feedback as to how I sound on air though haha & honestly eariler when I heard the recorded file that Angeline helped me to record , I don't sound as bad as I thought it will be . I only came on air to talk 6 times though haha so on a scale of 1-10 , probably just pass lah , I give myself a 5.5 haha

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Oh yeah it's official , today Kelvin's no longer 19 haha . He finally turns 20 today , happy b'day Kel & not to mention it's also Pei Qi's b'day too so a big happy b'day to the both of them !

Yesterday I was supposed to go for Angeline's 21st Motion In The Ocean b'day party which's held at Costa Sands at Pasir Ris but eventually I didn't went for it cos I have to stay overnight & not to mention you know me , I don't like such events so real sorry HL but to make up for it , I sent her & Kelvin something a few days ago so hopefully they will get it in the mailbox real soon !

& hmm.. speaking of b'days & not to mention the all important 21st b'day , I wonder what will I be doing on that day which's next Jan ? I have no idea since obviously it's still a rather long way to go before I hit the big 21 but hopefully something outrageous or maybe a low key event ? I don't have the answer to it yet but maybe I might get drunk silly on my 21st b'day haha & talking about alcohol & stuff , yes I should probably start somewhere real soon but I have to make it clear that I don't drink to smash or to fit into the crowd .

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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Recently a whole wave of acts have been making a comeback , good ones to be exact ! You're talking about Maroon 5 who's back with their new song Makes Me Wonder & also Linkin Park's What I've Done & yes both bands are gonna release their new albums very soon with LP scheduled to drop their 3rd album Minutes To Midnight in mid May & Maroon 5's 2nd album It Won't Be Soon Before Long in mid May too .

& not to forget Avril Lavigne's 3rd album The Best Damn Thing in which the 1st single Girlfriend's getting massive airplay on MTV & on radio . You can check out all the latest song/album reviews that I done on my other blog , which's a music blog at http://www.karenpang.blogspot.com . Even though I don't update it regularly as on here , I still try !

& I'm so happy that Maroon 5 are back with a new song & it's a nice number & I love the video , it's kinda typical Maroon 5 stuff , raunchy , funky , retro & yup , frontman Adam Levine's still looking fine these days hee hee

who would have thought an airport to be so cool & you should watch Vanessa Hudgens's Say OK , the official one to be exact .

Nice short haircut she has now & oh god , don't get me started on Zac Efron ! He's looking HOT these days & he stars as Vanessa's love interest in the video but if you asked me , I wouldn't be surprised if they're together not just in reel life but in real life as well . I mean come on , they look so cute together in High School Musical so I wouldn't be surprised if their reel life romance spills over to become a real life one

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Spent the whole day on youtube watching episodes of Extreme Ghostbusters . Man what memories & I can't believe it has been 10 years since its broadcast so it was just like old times .

I know it's hard to believe that it has been 10 years but up til to date , some of the episodes still lingers in my mind & some of them are still able to scare the life & daylight outta me & yes it still freaks me out sometimes but I gotta admit 10 years ago , when I 1st watched the Extreme Ghostbusters , it sorta kicked start my journey of discovering the paranormal world & paved the way to current shows like Martin Mystery . Who says you can't learn anything from watching cartoons eh ? it can be educational you know !

Like eg. on that infamous episode about clowns where they're demons & instead of vampires who feeds on blood , the clowns feed on laughter which's why after watching that episode , after all these years , I'm still a bit scared of clowns & who can't forget the part where Eduardo got bitten by a vampire jack in a box & he was transformed into a vampire clown cos he trapped 1 & he became a replacement . Ugh , after seeing that episode on clowns quite a few times , makes me reconsider not to laugh so hard & much or else ...

& who else can forget another episode on that salesman who gives people wishes but in a sick twisted way . Like there was this subway conductor who told the salesman ghost that he's sick of hearing his own voice & wished he wouldn't hear it again & what happened ? his mouth was erased from his face like iterally after looking into that stupid salesman's briefcase . Er next time I better be careful on wishing for things then or better yet don't talk to strangers & speaking of wishing for things , if you come across an old wishing well , don't ever think of wishing for a bride/groom while tossing a coin , you might end up with someone yeah but instead it will be a spirit with NO SKIN :O EEW

Another one that still scares the shit outta me's the bone demon Gu Mo who takes away all of your bones if you're a bad person . When I say all of your bones , I meant it , as in your whole skeleton & what you're left's just flesh . YUCK

& 1 of the most freaky episodes's mirror demons where you look into reflective surfaces like computer screen , specs & etc & then suddenly a red demon jumped right into your face , kicks your soul out & takes possessed of your own body & the ring master wants you to do the same to the people of this world & he wants to rule both the spirit & human world with his mirror demons . I couldn't sleep that well after watching it but it wasn't as bad as the clowns episode.

So if people around you started to behave strangely , like the part where Garrett got kana & he managed to walk & climbed outta his wheelchair , you know what's going on .

& who can forget of that orb who takes away your eyes when you look at it ? omg that's high on the paranormal level & the worst thing was that the museum wanted to display that item to the public . Who can imagine how many pairs of eyes will be taken away by the orb demon yeesh & if a Grundel who's like the Boogieman ever knocks on your window on a stormy rainy night who asked you to come out & play , don't open the window or else you will become 1 of them & the cycle continues on.

Another episode that I would never forget's when creatures of a fiction horror book came to life & just like in the storyline , the trio turns innocent people into freak mutants like themselves . EEW just imagine you're being tied up in the operation theatre where you're about to have a chainsaw for a head or whatever . Oh god . Maybe that will led me not to buy horror fiction books anymore now.

Then again some of the episodes are pretty stupid , like the demon who possessed food & whoever eats the infected food , he/she will eat more & the demon will suck your life force while it grows bigger & I honestly think that the Sphinx's a joke , who would bothered to suck people's intelligence when the people it asked can't answer a stupid riddle it imposed , does it implied something ? then again the riddle the Sphinx asked's pretty interesting yet makes sense , maybe I should try asking its riddle to people next time .

But the double episodes where the Real & Extreme Ghostbusters work together as 1 , that's a classic no doubt & you gotta admit Eduardo & Kylie do make a cute couple & it has been strongly hinted in most of the episodes that they do actually like each other even though they didn't dare to admit it . What a pity , if the show continues onto another season , there might be been further development but alas things weren't meant to be.

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Monday, April 09, 2007

I had a blast yesterday at D'Marquee which's located at Downtown East . I headed there to catch 4 bands & the one & only Rivermaya in performance !

Straight away after tuition , I went immediately & everything lasted for almost 3 1/2 hours . Outta the 4 bands that opened for Rivermaya namely FlyBar , Addiction , The Great Spy Experiment , John Molina & Krueger , I enjoyed FlyBar & Great Spy's performances a lot .

Especially Great Spy since before that I missed out 2 of their performances so 3rd time's the charm ! Their performance was fanastic & lead singer Saiful's pretty dashing to boot haha . Great live reditions of Captain Funkycurls , Class A Love Affair , Siti In The City . Hope to catch their next performance soon !

FlyBar's another local band while the other 2 are from The Philippiness & I think they have potential to do good for the local music scene & they're pretty talented . In fact they kick started the event somemore & the lead guitarist's talented . At 1 moment he will be playing the harmonica & the next the violin while the lead singer ain't so bad himself . There was 1 part where he was playing the saxophone .

Woah that's something & they're not bad if you ask me .

I thought Des & co would come but eventually I only managed to hang out with Leonard of sorts since he was in charge of manning the sound for Great Spy & Rivermaya yesterday . Des had a bad bad hangover . Poor thing hope he's ok now .

They were selling Carlsberg beer inside D'Marquee at S$4 a cup & a few mins before Rivermaya took the stage at around 5pm onwards , the prices were slashed to S$2 a cup :O & no I didn't bought anything . I can't drink anyway so no point in buying .

Rivermaya's merch were on sale though , like wristbands , postcards , stickers , posters , T shirts but I wonder how come the most important item's missing on the list ie. their CD . It makes sense to sell their CD alongside with other items.

Rivermaya came onstage to perform & tear the place down with their great performance & when I reached D'Marquee around 2.45pm , there were a lot of people already & I think the bulk of them flew down from The Philippiness just to see them perform !

It was the 2nd time that I caught Rivermaya's performance as I had the honour to catch them at their maiden gig at Bar None 2 years back in which they performed alongside with Electrico but at that time I wasn't familiar with their music , save for You'll Be Safe Here but this time I'm better prepared for what to look out for .

They did a lot of songs from their You'll Be Safe Here CD & I like the live versions of Serious Offender , Sunday Driving & Take My Cue . They're fanastic live no doubt & a lot of girls will definitely agree that frontman Rico's hot . Yup I agree & so's bassist Japs haha

Saving the best for last , they did Bali Song , A Love To Share & closing their almost 1 1/2 hour show with You'll Be Safe Here & everyone in the crowd including S'pore Idol 2 finalist Paul Twohill , went nuts like iterally .

Was great seeing Rivermaya in performane again & I did asked Leonard whether can he try to get an autograph or 2 from them since he will be seeing them again later on for he's going to man the sound system for 987's Stripped where Rivermaya will be performing acoustic by invitation only . He said that he will try , thanks !

& if you want to download free stuff for your phone , go & register an account with http://www.zedge.net/ . Been spending the whole afternoon downloading free themes for my phone & it's great ! highly recommended !

987 Control Song List Set

If you managed to catch yesterday's broadcast of 987 Control on 98.7FM yesterday which was aired from 1-2pm , then good for you I suppose !

If not that's ok cos I'm gonna be spending the next few mins talking about the list of songs that I picked to be played on air & also on why I choose them to be on my list since the time I was being allocated to talk on air was limited.

I received feedback from people telling me that I sounded wooden & a bit too rushed when I came on air to talk during the talk sets . My main purpose wasn't to get people to like my voice . Rather it's to show or in this case let people/listeners hear on the songs that I like which shows different sides of me basically.
Not to mention I don't expect anything in return from people since at the end of the day I'm not the one benefitting much , it's the artistes that I picked that would !

Without further a-do , let's hit it !

1. Electrico – Teenage Queen

No surprises on why I chose to kick off the list with this no. & it's no open secret that this's my fave no. off their Hip City album . Then again I have to include them in the list or else I will have 6 pairs of hands coming after me & then I will be thrown into a room to be punished with nothing but their music being blasted at full maximum volume for 24/7 straight haha

2. Utada Hikaru – Exodus '04

Ahhh this no.'s awesome ! In fact this's 1 of the 1st few tracks that I heard from Utada when I 1st started to get to know her music & don't worry just in case you're wondering is this a Japanese song , it's actually an Eng no. since this's taken from her debut US album Exodus which was released in 2004 & not to mention she's bilingual in Eng & Japanese as she was born in New York to Japanese parents.

Anyway Utada cowrote this with Timbaland who seems to be everything these days if you know what I mean together with another track on the album called Let Me Give You My Love .

I actually wanted to play that but I found that not very memorable nor strong & in addition , the lyrics are quite sexually suggestive . Then again almost 1/2 of Exodus contains songs which all of them Utada wrote to have such content & ya I was shocked when I bought Exodus & saw the lyrics on the sleeve . Wah overnight I was changed haha

If you go to http://www.lyricsbox.com & search for the lyrics to her Exodus album , you know what I mean . Especially The Workout , Tippy Toe , Wonder 'Bout , You Make Me Want To Be A Man . Devil Inside , Easy Breezy are fanastic though . Must be due to her marriage with her now ex husband at that time which caused the whole album to be in this state.

Then again it's a great album !

3. John Legend – P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)

I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE this song ! Goodness , it screams out SEXY & it's a very sexy no. with great lyrics to boot & honestly I think John's 1 very under-rated artiste . He's dubbed the male Alicia Keys which's not necessary a bad thing since both of them play the piano & sing very well .

I think this's a great song to make out like mad in the bedroom haha

4. Lunarin – Dry (Acoustic)

Great song & it shows a different side to Lunarin if you ask me . Not to mention I helped them plug their MySpace when I came on air to talk . I actually wanted to play Absolution but decided not to or else people might be scared away by their music or probably switch to another radio station altogether .

A couple of people who tuned in said that they loved this song a lot !

5. Jesse McCartney – Just So You Know

Another no brainer which's my fave track off Jesse's 2nd album Right Where You Want Me . Right before this was released as a single , I knew it has great potential to be released as a single & somemore it's the fans & Jesse's personal fave too .

I love the lyrics since it's something that everyone can relate to so I don't understand why this's not released in US & what's the reason ? it's bcos' of a lack of support from his record label Hollywood Records/EMI music . Idiots !

6. Rivermaya – A Love To Share

They did this live yesterday at D'Marquee which's at Downtown East & great performance they put up ! Listeners on 987 have heard the monster hit You'll Be Safe Here , Bali Song & the so called 'latest' 241 (My Favourite Song) so it's about time that they hear this

7. Jamie Michael – Bonnie & Clyde

Great local artiste , great debut album to boot so all the more should plug ! I was having a rather tough time deciding which song to pick from Jamie's debut as I like everything but decided to go ahead with Bonnie & Clyde which he uploaded it on his MySpace .

Would have loved to play Untitled , People Watching but all contains F words haha but I have to say Jamie's songs are very catchy , as evident in Same Folk , Right Or Wrong , Stupid Love Song .

8. Muse - Invincible

Wah another tough choice & honestly am a bit sick of hearing Starlight on radio . No doubt it's a great track from Blackholes & Revelations & it's the most mainstream single they released to date but come on lah , have to move on & give Starlight a break.

Wanted to play Supermassive Black Hole although 987 did played it but I seldom hear on air . Then again better not . Wanted to play the 3rd single Knights Of Cydonia as that was the song which sealed the deal for me but don't think that will see the light on air cos it's too long clocking in at almost 6 mins.

Also thought of playing the kick ass Assassin & Map Of The Problematique but that was canned cos people might not like it & so decided to go ahead with Muse's latest 4th single the ballad Invincible . Great video that accompanied it too & did I mention , the interlude Solider's Poem is lush

9. Fort Minor – Believe Me

This wasn't my choice actually ! My original Fort Minor selection was the fanastic High Road which features John Legend but Desiree had to replace it with Believe Me bcos' of the swear words on High Road , like 'asshole' , 'shit' & 'bastard'.

Wasted man cos I adore High Road a LOT & I wanted to play it for listerners to play as it's so super catchy & it's definitely my fave track off FM's debut The Rising Tied .

Then again I'm not complaning so much about Believe Me which features Styles On Beyond on it (no not The Dance Floor group contestants) . You can hear High Road on http://www.myspace.com/fortminor & there's definitely more to life than just Where You'd Go , Remember The Name & Petrified.

10. Astreal – This's Dormant

Ah great song & I like the album a lot . Wanted to play the rest but they're too long so unfortunately had to go with this one . It sounds even better when it's done live & I'm looking forward in seeing them in their next performance

11. McFly – 5 Colours In Her Hair

Another choice that was canned ! I so & BADLY wanted to play Transylvania but at the end Desiree replaced it with their debut single :( cos my time was overshot !

Boo hoo , I wanted to let people hear that there's more to life than just 5 Colours In Her Hair , Obviously , All About You , I Got You , Star Girl since these songs are like the only famous ones that 987 plays .

HELLO , don't they know that McFly has released other excellent songs that didn't see the daylight on radio such as Room On The 3rd Floor , I Wanna Hold You , Ultraviolet/The Ballad Of Paul K (especially this one ! ) , I'll Be OK to the most recent like Sorry's Not Good Enough ( I HEART THIS ) & songs they also didn't released as singles such as Just My Luck & Too Close For Comfort

I have no idea why Sorry's Not Good Enough wasn't picked up in S'pore at all tsk . People who're not familiar with McFly are forever gonna stuck in a rut at this rate

12. Sweetbox - Pride

Oh man this's probably like the toughest song choice that I had to make . It was a very tough call between Pride & Every Step bcos' I love both songs to death but at the end I went with Pride .

I 1st heard about Sweetbox's name when I found out Ayumi Hamasaki used some of their tunes on her 7th album (miss)understood & decided to find out for myself & listen to the originals & after finding most of them on MySpace , now , I absolutely adore both the Eng & Japanese versions of Pride , Every Step (Ayumi's rainy day which incidentally my fave track on the album) , Beautiful Girl (Ayumi's Beautiful Day) .

I find Sweetbox's Bold & Delicious a bit weak & bland as compared to Ayumi which's more stronger & got more oomph whereas for Ladies Night , er both the Eng & Japanese versions both sound the same to me & it's a bit annoying . Wasn't able to find Sweetbox's In The Corner though.

Check out Sweetbox's Pride on http://www.myspace.com/addcitedanddelicious & Ayumi's version at here . See whether you prefer the Eng or Japanese reditions . For me I love both !

13. The Great Spy Experiment – Captain Funkycurls

Saving the best for the last it's Great Spy & finally I managed to catch their performance yesterday at D' Marquee & they were awesome & 3rd time's the charm I say cos I missed 2 of their performances beforehand .

Live version of Captain Funkycurls is gorgeous & this's actually a double A side that accompanies Class A Love Affair which was the 1st song I heard from them . I'm looking forward to their next performance & also on the release of their debut album too .

Well that's that :) & I would like to thank Desiree for all of her help & also to all the wonderful people who tuned in yesterday , much appericated !

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Saturday, April 07, 2007

I caught 2 DVDs back to back yesterday & today in which both of them are Ayumi Hamasaki's Countdown Live Tours of 2005-2006 & BEST of CountDown Live 2006-2007 (Live Performance) respectively .

Yesterday I watched the BEST of CountDown Live 2006-2007 (Live Performance) in which you can find the DVD of it together with her A Best 2 (White) greatest hits compliation which the cover looks like this

& for the Countdown Live Tour of 2005-2006 :

I loved the BEST of CountDown Live 2006-2007 (Live Performance) , it's awesome & you can definitely tell that Ayumi has great stage presence & not to mention she's the one who visualised this & the Countdown Live 2005-2006 tour . Was a bit disappointed with the 2005-2006 DVD cos I feel something's lacking in it which didn't give it the extra oomph & somemore doesn't help matters that the 2nd DVD keep on skipping & pausing like shit.
I feel that if Ayumi were to bring her latest tour Ayumi Hamasaki Asia Tour 2007 ~ Tour of Secret ~ to S'pore , I'm sure a lot of people will attend it including me regardless how expensive the tickets will be but sadly she wouldn't be bringing her tour here simply bcos' no record label nor organiser is able to afford her to perform . I wouldn't be surprised since I'm sure the production cost to set up her concert might be even higher than Rain's which cost a staggering S$5 million !
Then again , there's always a next time in the future so hopefully Ayumi might be able to perform in S'pore real soon as I really wanna see her perform . She's a great performer & has come a long way since her debut in '98 with poker face .
Next DVD to watch will be her Arena Tour 2006 A ~(miss)understood~

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Friday, April 06, 2007

Just came back from MediaCorp after I did the recording of 987 Control with Desiree Lai & the whole process just took barely under an hour but it was a neat experience !

Initally I thought of taking 852 & then alight 1/2 way so that I can take a cab to MediaCorp cos I assumed that I had to walk a lot since I thought that MediaCorp was far inside Andrew Road but at the end , I took 852 , crossed the road & walked to MediaCorp even though I alighted at 1 bus stop after my supposed destination !

But still it wasn't as bad & far as I thought & I still had 15-20 mins to spare ! The problem came when I reached the reception & the receptionist said that they don't accept my private Uni ID even though my IC no.'s on it & they wanted my IC instead in order for an exchange of a vistor pass to access the radio building . Things were a bit ugly cos the receptionist was talking on the phone while entertaining me at the same time . Poo

So I called Desiree up telling her about my dilemna & asked her to come down to the reception desk to settle the necessary paperwork . Was the 1st time meeting her & she's a lovely person !

She led the way to the radio building & it was the 1st time I ever stepped inside MediaCorp . Even though I been there (the outskirts of it) a couple of times to collect some prizes that I used to win in some radio contests but that's it .

The 987 studios's located at level 6 & I walked past the studios of Class95 , 987 & Yes93.3 before Desiree brought me into the production room & I saw Justin Ang inside the room as he was doing some editing to some trailers on the computer & nice blond hairdo he got . Didn't saw Vernon A though.

After Justin left , it was time to get to work & I handed the USB cable port & my mp3 to Desiree so that she can plugged into the computer & the equipment she used to record & edit my talk set/s were quite intimidating .

I wasn't scared of them but had to admit was a bit nervous when I talked & recorded the talk set/s using the microphone being provided but eventually it went smooth smiling despite a few retakes since everything was done under 1 hour so this means that after I left , Desiree had to stay behind & edit & put everything into place.

I would't be able to hear the final product til Sun though . I did heard some parts & yes I sounded weird . Funny though , Desiree sounded the same to me on the 1st talkset when she talked & introduced me . But she did told me that when she heard her own voice on air , she herself said that she sounded weird too & vice versa .

After that was done , I was given a little tour of the 987's Studios . Woah , it was very cool , the equipment they used are state of the art & high tech but the studios was so messy tsk , the Muttons In The Morning left rubbish practically everywhere & Desiree had to do the cleaning tsk

& she did explained some issues that I asked her , like the use of the equipment , headphones & how/who decides the songlist to be played on 987 & it was cool . Went back to the production studio cos she said Young was inside & she called Daniel Ong to get some lunch for her from McDonalds.

I saw Young yes & he was in the production studio doing up tonight's 987 Top20 & ooh I saw the list of the artistes that're on the chart . He said that I'm not allowed to see it as it's top secret stuff but he was only kidding with me haha & I did told him that I tuned into the countdown every week so regardless whether I saw the list or not , I still will tune in & yes he cohost it with Daniel Ong.

If I'm correct , I saw that quite a lot of artistes are moving down the chart & there's a brand new No.1 for this week ! Yup so that means Akon Feat Snoop Dogg's I Wanna Love You is being kicked outta the top spot ? by who ? I'm not telling but I know who it's .

& before I knew it , had to say goodbye to Desiree since she had to rush to edit the programme that I recorded with her but it was a fun experience & made me realise that being a radio DJ is not as easy & glam as it sounds since it involves a lot of coordination & behind the scenes work despite all the perks that you hear that radio DJs are being lavished with but underneath it all , it's a lot of hard work baby !

& yes I did what I had to do & to sorta safeguard my privacy & stuff , I didn't tell the DJs whom I met eariler on what I do on the sideline & not even my surname cos I think some things are better left unsaid lah

But was it a Good Friday for me ? you bet !

*Desiree informed me that 2 of the tracks I selected , they had to be omitted cos it was over schedule ! Damn & to think I wanted to play McFly's Transylvania but too bad that has to be scrapped ....

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Wah today's already my last day of the 2nd semester . That's fast ! Seems like yesterday I just started my 2nd sem & was whining like crazy that the schedule will be tough & terrible . No doubt it was but I'm glad that I managed to survive .

This's not over since I have the final exams that I will be taking in the weeks to come so even though holidays haven't arrive yet in front of my doorsteps , my mood has already been switched on to holiday mood haha

Finally today I changed my phone to Sony Ericsson k800i . Bliss but had to get used to the messaging system which's very different from Motorola L6 for sure . I think it will be ok , just at the moment not used to the way the messaging system operates but in days to come , I'm sure I will be able to adapt to it.

I had to pay an additional S$100 since my contract's only worth 11 months to compensate in a way or so . Somemore this S$100 will extend my phone line to 2 more years so why not . Traded in the L6 which only had a market value of er S$50 so at the end , I paid S$50 less which's better than nothing lah.

Finally at least I don't need to put songs that're 1/2 cut anymore & a much much better camera to boot too !

Desiree called me when I was at the arcade so that I can give her the songlist & er she called back & said that the 987's database don't have a lot of songs that're found on my songlist :S so she instructed me to put the songs into my mp3 & bring them to the studio tomorrow .

Maybe I should bring the USB cable along too just in case . I know I had done my fair share of presentation for a while now but hmm... this's gonna be unique since I'm just communicating verbally & people wouldn't able to see how I look like .

Then again there's always a 1st for everything isn't it ?

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Oh hohoho so Dila tagged me & I have to come up with 6 weird facts about myself . Since I'm quite honoured to get tagged by Dila , so why not ?

1) I used to hate bats to the core but now I consider them to be 1 of my fave animals as I find them interesting & mysterious , just like ravens.

2) I find Harry Potter , Lord Of The Rings , Star Wars very boring . In fact I don't know why am I not appealed by them despite so much hype but I'm a huge fan of Spiderman & I can't wait to watch Spiderman 3 ! I caught the 1st 2 & honestly I think the 2nd's more fanastic than the 1st.

3) I have a 6th sense & a knack to be able to sense bad things from happening before they're about to be befall on me.

4) I hate flip phones

5) I don't like fish & chips

6) I hate the word wicked , it sounds tacky when you said that song's wicked or something , it makes me go urgh !

Had my last lesson of Maths in the morning before I went to the hospital to visit Dan . I know I told him on Mon that I wouldn't be coming cos I was bogged down with work but of course I beg to differ naturally haha .

Initally I was supposed to follow my dad to collect Hui Li's labtop from the hospital but this morning he said it wasn't necessary then I was like ok lor at least today after my last Maths lesson has been wrapped up , I can go to the hospital to see Dan & both Amanda & Des were kind enough to provide me with the necessary details & a bit case of f.y.i , I will be seeing them this Sun at Downtown East since they're gonna be catching Rivermaya with free passes courtesy of Marcia . Ooh so lucky , if I know I shouldn't have bought my tickets so early haha

Poor me , had a nasty cramp this morning before I got up at my right leg . You know how sometimes when you sleep & you had the urge to stretch your body & then BOOM , next time you know , you have a nasty cramp in the form of a lump popping out in 1 of your legs . Yup that was what happened & you imagine , it was & still quite painful , had to iterally limp my way from home to school & from school to the hospital.

I wanted to visit Dan tomorrow but I know for a fact that he might be discharged so since I had nothing on after Maths , so I thought why not?

Was a bit lost when I reached the hospital cos it was sub divided into 2 buildings & eventually I managed to find out the ward & room where Dan's & haha I was so unglam , I knocked on the door & poked my head inside & saw him .

I think he was surprised that I came or so I think since I already said in the beginning that I wouldn't be coming . Haha guess not & yeah it has been a while since I last saw Dan if you ask me & I brought some kiwiberries which I bought eariler at NTUC to give him & ouch on the current state he's in & we talked for a while , it's always good to catch up if you ask me despite his current condition.

Well at least he's outta danger that's the main point & thankfully he's recovering even though he had his operation yesterday . Luckily I decided to come today instead of tomorrow since he told me he might get discharged in the afternoon or so & so heng ah !

I met a couple of his relatives who came to visit him including his mum & oh man she's so PRETTY with a capital P . I didn't saw his dad cos he was working but at least now I know where Dan got his good looks from , well 1/2 of it . Did I say good looks ? Ok that's it haha & he knows that I'm gonna be on 987 Control this Sun cos of Des .

Alamak , I wanted to tell Dan that piece of news personally & Des ruined it ! Kidding & Dan said that he will try to tune in this Sun . Aww he don't need to but he will try :) & he sorta kept on bugging me to get a doughnut or 2 from BreadTalk since there was like 1 whole big bag that was on the table . Even his mum asked me to . I obliged but at the end , I took 1 back with the intention of giving to Hui Lin . See I'm not so mean ok ?

& not to forget , I did seeked Dan's advice on some stuff , like my studies on whether should I go ahead & take my final Eng exam this month or in July & other personal issues too & am grateful to what he said .

Although he wouldn't be going for Rivermaya's gig this coming Sun , but the rest of the gang are , except Dave so I'm looking forward to see them for sure since the last time I saw the rest was last month at the airport but it's cool , I know Dan needs to rest big time at home . If not , I think he's gonna get a lot of nagging from his parents & Jacq no doubt haha

& what do you know , when I got back home , at 5pm or so , I heard my trailer being played on air & oh my god , I sounded so weird & so not like what I thought if you ask me . I did cringed a bit but it wasn't as bad as I thought it will be.

I think the trailer will be played on 987 for the next few days til Sun I think but if you managed to catch it , er good for you !

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Oh man I think this's gonna be 1 heck of a milestone for me so far this year in 2007 . Why ? Simply bcos I'm gonna be on air this coming Sun on 987FM via its weekly programme called 987 Control where I will get to be a DJ for an hour from 1-2pm , playing my fave songs & sharing a few interesting & probably rubbish ancedotes here & there so it will be awesome for you to tune in & to show me your undying love & support.There will be probably surprises along the way as to what song/s I plan to pick to be played on air so you just have to wait & see !

I received a call from Desiree , 1 of the 987 DJs during Accounts eariler . I called her back during my break & was stoked when she told me all the details ! She asked me whether am I able to come by either tomorrow or Thurs to the studio to record but I can't unfortunately but I will be heading my way down on Fri even though it's a public holiday.

So techincally what you're gonna hear on Sun , it wouldn't be a live segment so sorry to burst your bubble too early :P & finally when I got back home eariler , Desiree recorded the trailer with me on that I'm gonna be on air this coming Sun taking over 987 Control & let me tell you , it's so not glam to record a trailer that you usually hear on air .

It might seem easy but it's not & it was pretty funny trying to nail things down & right with my vocal pitch & stuff . She said that I can pick about 13-14 songs & talk about possibly any topics with the exception of some if you know what I mean . Ooh it's gonna be a daunting task if you ask me ! I already have some songs I have in mind to play & talk about but the rest I will need some time to think about.

So that means for the next few days or so , have to decide what songs I'm gonna pick to be played on air then & not to mention do a bit of homework too . I think Fri's gonna be fun recording with Desiree in the studio , am psyched to see what really goes on behind the scenes & the works.

I probably SMS'd so many people that I'm gonna be on air 'live' of sorts & to think I just SMS'd in to try & give it a shot to be on the programme . Didn't expect that I would got it :)

To try your luck , SMS Control_YourName_IC & send it to 72346 & each SMS's S$0.30 cents.

& for those living overseas ie. out of S'pore , try to tune in via the net at here . If you're unable to , drop me a note at my tagboard & I would gladly send you a copy of the show which I have in mind to record using my mp3 this coming Sun .

Way appericated ,muaks ! :) & oh P.S I already have laid down the songlist ! Yes I know it's that fast !

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Monday, April 02, 2007

What a rather super slack day I had for English . Tons of presentations that my classmates did eariler . Well I mean those who didn't presented their fair share last week had to go this time round & you imagine , I sat though almost 3 1/2 hours of listening to people presenting but yet there were still a no. who haven't done theirs & have to go for this coming Thurs which incidentally will be my last Eng lesson cum final last lesson for my 2nd semester !

I got quite bored to the extent that I SMS'd Leonard asking what's Jamie's day job & haha he called me back instead cos there was something wrong with his phone which caused him to lose all his contacts I think & funny thing was that he knows 3 Karen's haha . Til I said my surname he knows who I'm heh heh

But before I left , Miss Lee released the results of all 7 of my assignments including my research report in % in which I totalled everything up which arrives at 60% but the % was shrunk to 50% eventually & boy oh boy am I happy with the overall result despite the strange yet weird comment at the back of my report when the marker asked me how come my report's so terribly slanted . Er....

Let's just say that I scored quite a huge chunk outta 50% so practically I won 1/2 the battle so to speak & if you're 1 of the lucky ones who managed to receive my email or read what I posted in the MySpace bulletin , then you're in luck !

So this means that I will & want to take my Eng final exam this month on 17th instead of waiting til July . It will be pointless anyway . Just like what Hui Kai said , better to get it over & done with !

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Sunday, April 01, 2007

Cheh had false hopes that tonight I will be going out for dinner with my family but it turns out that wouldn't materialised after all . Is this some kinda April Fools joke ? most probably !

Read in Hot magazine about Utada Hikaru's divorce . Didn't surprised me so much cos I know for the beginning of March about this but what shocked me was that her parents filed for divorce last year for the 7th time ! That's crazy ! & I remembered last month's LIME stated her parents got divorced for 6 times but woah on what Hot reported !

Which led me to wonder , is there such a thing as to you getting divorced from your spouse but somehow your feelings for each other resurfaced again & then you get married once again & the vicious cycle continues ? That's something to ponder about but I don't want to point fingers at her parents but this's quite ridiculous to get divorced , remarried , divorced again & the cycle continues . It's like what am her parents trying to implement ?

In that marriage's like a rollercoaster ride you can take for fun ? I don't think so & from the reasons that Hot reported on why Utada divorced from her ex husband , is because they couldn't communicate on the same level anymore despite being married to each other for almost 4 1/2 years.

In fact I wasn't surprised on the various reason/s that they gave which led to the breakdown of their marriage . 1 reason's probably due to their huge age gap since Utada's ex husband's 15 years her senior.

Then again who am I to judge her ?

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