Gabriel Grumbles.

2006-01-16T01:13:00.000+08:00

Wo Bian Le

I have changed.

2006-01-15T01:29:00.000+08:00

Tiring fun

Only slept at 3+ after doing feature 2. Needless to say, I was exhausted even before going to school. On the other hand, I have my new handphone, the wonderful Nokia 6230i! Finally, a dictionary that has actual English words.

The Pitch 05/06 was quite well done. The speakers were quite interesting and the food was great. It was a tad long though and by the end of it I think many people had trouble keeping their attention on.

Parents seminar was quite an eye-opener.

Dinner with Arman, Yihan and Zat at Marina and phototaking at Esplanade was fun.

It was weird how Arman, Yihan and myself all took turns to feel nauseous. Plus, there were Arman's and Zat's "physical ailments" hahaha.

It's quite cool to hear that some of my bestest friends have, in this last week, gone through some self enlightenment and rationalising about general philosophies in life as well as more specific matters, just the same as me.

Tired now. Going to zzz.

Gabriel.

ps. A lethal combination of killer diet plus late nights has caused my skin to become the ugliest it has been in months. Time for detox!

2006-01-11T21:48:00.000+08:00

Had a good day

Today was a good day, filled with little pleasant surprises. I can only pray this streak lasts.

The weather is really...wet. It has been raining non stop (as I'm sure you S'porean readers of mine would know [like I have overseas readers]). While it really is a hindrance when I'm outside and attempting to travel around, it really is very calming with the rain sounds and strong breeze when I'm sitting in my room with my dim, yellow light, listening to soothing music. Very very therapeutic.

Today was a good day.

Gabriel.

2006-01-08T17:57:00.000+08:00

Rainy Sunday afternoon

Note to self: when in possession of a foldable umbrella, might be a good idea to bring it out in rainy weather rather than stash it in the cupboard.

Just watched last week's episode of Campus Superstar. I have to say it was rather disappointing but hope it'll get better as the weeks pass. In this episode, at least, the guys were quite a fair bit stronger than the girls. Alas, both the girl and guy that I placed at 4th out of their respective five were eliminated. It's sad cause I quite preferred them over those I placed at 5th. Well at least my favourites are still in there.

Lalala. have a good day y'all!

Gabriel.

2006-01-06T22:50:00.000+08:00

Yawn

Finally handed in feature 2 outline today, marking the end of one of the most exhausting weeks in my poly life so far.

It's great to finally be able to have some fun without worrying about some kind of school work.

I'm so tired now but I'm at that not-willing-to-sleep-because-I-have-no-homework-stage.

It's quite irritating. The past few days my body has been really tired (my eyes, especially, are always heavy) but somehow when I get into bed my mind just can't seem to get to rest. And it's not like I'm brooding over much (more than usual). I just somehow can't get to sleep. I hope it doesn't continue tonight.

Gabriel.

ps. Today me, Arman and Jean wore very similar clothes!

2006-01-05T22:54:00.000+08:00

Random thoughts of a tired mind

-The more I listen to Carrie Underwood, the more I'm falling hopelessly in love with her. "I Ain't In Checotah Anymore" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel" are two of the best country songs I've heard in years.
-I hate assignments where success is dependent on other people. Getting interviewees for feature is more difficult than writing itself.
-I hate the way that assignments lately have changed my character for the worse. I'm needy, dependent, whiny and lack integrity. Well, more than usual. I hate myself sometimes.
-Within four days, I've broken about 10000 of my resolutions. This is not good.

Gabriel.

2006-01-04T00:33:00.000+08:00

Of heavy lids and soggy fries

The little speech that Mr. Desmond Kon made today was awe-inspiring. The amount of intellect and thought that he oozes with each (sometimes rather random) word he says is staggering. I'm very impressed with the way he thinks and the way he manages to bring in so much of his academic context and apply to something that is applicable to us. Of course, this is not to mention the fact that he spent 20 minutes effectively chastising us without anybody the wiser about it. He is the type of academic I aim to be in the future. His tirade today, although alienating to some, was a motivational experience that drove me to aim for greater heights.

Handed in PR today. I wouldn't call it perfect but I'm quite proud of it looking at the amount of time we had to work with it. Now, if only we could better that success for our comiss essay and presentation. in a few minutes, I am going to resume on my part of the essay. Looks like sleep is going to be scant and truncated today. I'll probably work on the essay till 3am before heading off to a nap and then waking up at 7am to read through and print everything.

I'm really worried about feature writing. Up till now I still can't even confirm a single one of my interviewees. What am I to do?

Looking at the schedule for the next two days, I think I'm going to be working my (J.Lo sized) butts off. Boy am I going to be a happy...er...boy when Friday is over.

Oh yeah, it's been only two days since the start of the new year and I've already strayed from some of my resolutions. Nontheless, I will presevere on! I do find that, with a set of resolutions and guidelines to follow as well as a mysteriously renewed vigour for my faith, I am finding it easier to push and apply myself a bit more.

Good night and wish me luck for all my assignments!

Gabriel.

2006-01-01T02:10:00.000+08:00

A New Year, A New Beginning

So, 2006 has started.

Armed with a new bag, new shoes, new clothes, new accessory, new hair colour, (soon-to-be) new phone and new blog skin, I'm ready to charge into the new year with a bang.

For the first time in goodness-knows-how-many-years, I'm going to set myself some resolutions that I'll try my best to follow.

Gabriel's 2006 Resolutions: I resolve to...
1. Strengthen my relationship with God
2. Live life in the image of Christ
3. Not miss a single church service
4. Respect my parents
5. Help out with the household in any way I can
6. Be more sensible and mature
7. Be more considerate and helpful
8. Stop procrastinating and being lazy
9. Be more in control of my emotions
10. Drastically reduce my rate of lies
11. Put in utmost effort for every assignment
12. Prioritise work over play
13. Stay on the Director's List
14. Stop spending recklessly
15. Practice sound financial planning
16. Save at least S$1100
17. Be content with what I have and not hanker
18. Set to schedules that I set myself
19. Become less timid and self conscious
20. Get fit enough to obtain at least a silver for NAPFA
21. Learn how to play basic guitar
22. Be proficient in Mandarin, both written and spoken
23. Eat healthily
24. Read/watch the news at least four times a week
25. Pick up a new skill

Have a great 2006 y'all! Happy New Year!

Gabriel.

2005-12-31T00:53:00.000+08:00

2005 in retrospect

So, it's the end of 2005 and, just like a sheep who is majorly conforming, here I am with my little own look back at the year.

This year has been the best in recent times, especially after the major trainwreck that was 2002 and the mildly disastrous 2003 and 2004. In fact, this has been my best year since secondary 2.

Not only did I make quite a number of amazing friends, I also had a rather smooth ride. What's more, my grades are finally improving to some semblance of what I had in lower sec. Here are some of the things that made up 2005 for me.

The good:
- Meeting new people and making new friends. I got to know my t106 classmates better, I got to know my t203 classmates at all, I got to know Arman and Yihan. 'Nuff said.
- Getting on the Director's List.
- Finally getting a book prize, even if it's just for an IS module.
- Finally scoring some As and ADs.
- The New York trip. Great people, amazing locales, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- Getting my stories published in SNAG and Lime.
- Moving to Guilin View, with the beautiful view and facilities.
- Finally going to church regularly.

The bad:
- Leaving Jurong, my home of 14 years.
- Two words: Newspaper project.

The cheesy
- Gabriel's World of Quirks (now in syndication across 10,000 TV prod classes)
- The Thirteenth Hour (hour...hour...hour...)

Like I said, one of the best things in 2005 were the people. Here are some of those I want to take the chance to give thanks to. In no particular order (except the first two):

Thanks to God up above, for creating the world and saving us from our sins.

Thanks to the parents, for creating me and providing for me.

Thanks to Seance (Adelene, Wailreng, Kim, Yufen), for giving me so many great years of memories, for still staying in contact and for being such great fun.

Thanks to Yihan, for always being there for me and being the bestest pal one could be.

Thanks to Arman and Jean, for being the most kinky people in the world (other than me, of course).

Thanks to Khai, for being my first and longest lasting friend in mass comm.

Thanks to Agnes, for being the funniest person I have ever met.

Thanks to Rhonda, for being the ditziest affair I have ever had.

Thanks to Kat, Avonda and Sarima, for still remembering me after we left t101.

Thanks to Debbie, Grace and Darren, for being the most tolerant, fun and smartest teammates one could ask for.

Thanks to Aaron, for being my church/shopping/walking around buddy every Sunday (and sometimes other days).

Thanks to Weijian and Shin, for being the coolest people in Jurong.

Thanks to Robyn and Yisze, for brightening up even the most mundane of lectures.

Thanks to my classmates of t203, for making each lesson fun and special.

Thanks to the NY journ team, for leaving me with the best school trip memories ever.

Thanks to all those who have been there when I needed people to be there.

Thanks to you, my dear reader, for visiting this piece of literary diarrhoea on the internet.

As the last few hours of 2005 are being spent, I hope you've all had a good year and here's wishing you a 2006 filled with fun, happiness and good health. Cheers!

Gabriel.

ps. Sorry man, would have loved to do a collage of the most memorable photos of the year. Alas, assignments are really a time-killer.

2005-12-30T10:09:00.000+08:00

(:

I'm proud of myself.

I actually chose not to go out for a night of fun with good friends tonight because
a. I've spent too much this week
b. I have work to do
c. I've been out too much this week

Now, I'll be even prouder of myself if I can actually finish the multitude of tasks that I have set in front of me.

Gabriel.

2005-12-27T22:28:00.000+08:00

had a good day

Feature writing 1 was handed in today. Here's hoping that feature 2 will be better.

I suffered a cut on my index finger and it's totally hindering my typing.

After 18 years of being black, my hair has finally changed colour, albeit subtly.

The Country Music Awards 2005 show was great. I reallly like country music. I've always felt it's been in a class of it's own. Intelligent (and sometimes mature) lyrics, catchy choruses, beautiful melodies and classy, mature feeling performers who have no inclination to put image over music.

Gabriel.

2005-12-26T17:06:00.000+08:00

last few days in retrospect

Ahh, the last few days have been good.

Friday morning started off with me and Yihan trekking to Orchard to arrange my interview. Although there was a slight hiccup, the problem was solved in the end. Woohoo!

We then spent the rest of the day walking around, trying to goad each other into revealing what we want for Christmas. In the end, we bought each other bags hahaha.

Oh yeah, I got to see Jiahan and Linus both in one day at Orchard hahaha.

After a wonderful day of just hanging out in Orchard, we took the MRT and I dropped off at Bedok to meet Megan for dinner. Grace arrived soon after and we left for Debbie's church to watch her musical.

What can I say? Debbie is a hilarious actress. The musical was quite well done, to me and the music was entertaining.

Saturday morning I took a bus to Ikea to meet Grace before heading on the Gillman Heights, where the rest of the class (actually about half of the class) was. We had a fun afternoon of several games (with many forfeits of which I had the most minimal of) and lots of food.

In the evening I went over to Kim's with Wai and Yufen to have a wonderful dinner cooked by Kim's mum and Kim herself (to a very small extent). After a night of hanging around in Kim's room watching videos, we popped over to Adelene's to say hi before Wai and myself went off.

Sunday was spent mostly at gramps, eating loads of food again and playing monopoly and badminton with my little cousins.

Mum gave me a bottle of perfume and some aftershave, which was hilarious cause earlier on Friday I had bought myself a brand new bottle of perfume. And then on Sunday my uncle gave me another bottle of perfume and some aftershave and similar products from Marks and Spencers. I can't bear to open their gifts. The boxes are so nicely packaged. My aunt also gave me a HUGE chain with a dogtag as well as a book which, alas, I had already read. Nontheless, I was thankful for their gifts.

Today has been very relaxed so far, which is good for my soul (or something like that) but not so good for my uncompleted assignments. Sigh.

Going to the other gramps later for some fried turkey-cousin (aka KFC) and other unhealthy food. Ciao!

Gabriel.

2005-12-22T23:44:00.000+08:00

marred by one

Journcamp was...interesting. I think I pretty much fouled up most of my sections to a certain extent, although they could have been worse. Chances of me getting a post are slim, especially after being informed of the new, much smaller structure of Trimedia. Oh well it's over so I guess it won't do much good if I keep brooding about it. I'm just happy I didn't commit too many huge errors (other than that whole subbing section).

Radio test was good. I think Ms Kwan's in a festive mood. Goody for me hahaha.

Chronicles of Narnia was nice. It was fast paced (not to mention a little scary) at the beginning and at the end, although the middle section was a tad draggy. The visuals were beautiful, the CGI amazing and the soundtrack simply alluring. The acting was not bad too. Too bad the characters were a tad 2D and didn't have much growth. I did manage to find quite a bit of the supposed religious undertones all by myself hahaha. Actually they are quite glaring. Oh well. It's a very nice movie. Go watch! 4 out of 5 stars.

The wind is blowing so strong now. I'm actually shivering as I'm typing this. Plus, it's been going on and on for the last hour non-stop. I wonder what's causing it?

If not for the fact that my interviewee is apparently out of country and that there's no way I can complete my interview by the Tuesday due date, I would be having a wonderful night. DARN IT.

Gabriel.

2005-12-21T22:33:00.000+08:00

blessings in disguise

Today I experienced many blessings in disguise.

I went to Ms Chan all scared of approaching the subject of my feature outline but ended up with a clear direction of what to do and write.

We (me and Deb and Gra) ran out of laptop battery doing media kit folder in macdonalds so we relocated to Bugis library with its amazing atmosphere.

We couldn't print at the shop we wanted originally so we had to relocate to another shop, where I saw SOO KUI JIEN! (OMG FANBOY MOMENT!)

In the end we couldn't print at all but we learnt all our vital mistakes in designing so we have time to rectify them.

Had to bypass the fiction section at Popular but ended up at the game section and saw "Ultraman" the game!

8 Days doesn't seem to be on sale today but I found Lime (WITH MY NY CHEAPO STORY!!! AND A FREAKING UNGLAM PICTURE OF ME!!!) instead!

Woohoo!

###

Tomorrow = doomsday.

Radio test and journcamp. I am so not ready.

Gabriel.

2005-12-19T23:30:00.000+08:00

nonono

I'm really bad at sports. Everytime I enter some sports court it turns out to be Comedy Central Singapore edition. Today's embarassing tennis game was compounded by the fact that I only slept at 430am this morning because I was doing webD.

I realise I can't do without sleep. With less than six hours of sleep I feel uneasy and fatigued the entire of the next day.

WebD has been handed. Now all I need to worry about is Feature 1 (outline of doom returning tomorrow), journcamp + interview this Thursday, Radio test (also this Thursday), PR media kit, Comiss group essay and presentation, InE documentation and proceedings as well as Feature 2 Outline. The usual stuff lar.

Gabriel.

2005-12-18T00:39:00.000+08:00

revelation of the day

Technology (especially certain website designing softwares) hates me.

Pretty soon, I predict, the feeling's going to be mutual.

Gabriel.

2005-12-16T23:59:00.000+08:00

confession

I always tell people that things I design are done in a minimalist style because I like it that way.

Truth is, I'm just not creative nor adept enough to come up with more complicated designs.

Web D makes me depressed with the sheer amount of stuff that I don't know how to do.

Gabriel.

2005-12-16T22:17:00.000+08:00

long overdue

Well I've finally gotten down to blogging.

Our webd deadline got extended to Monday, which is good considering I have been in a terribly lazy mood these few days. Seriously, I have not done a single ounce of work at all in the last few days.

Here's a recap of the more significant events on the past week.

Saturday

Well the turnout at the carnival was quite dismal, way below expectations. I guess we could still be considered a mild success, though, considering we at least broke even on that day itself (a feat many other groups didn't seem able to replicate) and we managed to sell off the rest of the cookies on lecture day.

It was a fun experience, albeit in an i'm-not-ever-going-to-do-that-again way.

We sold cookies...

we (me, Nicole, Darren and Yihan) got tattoos...

and Darren found his one true love...

After the entire thing ended, I went to Westmall with Nessi, Nurul and Yihan after a horrendous neoprint taking experience at Clementi (really good shots but the machine ran out of paper so it went crazy with the printer).

We watched Chicken Little.

A lot of people told me, prior to me watching it, that it was quite a lousy movie. However, after watching it, I found I actually liked it quite a bit. The characters were endearing, the dialogue was witty, some scenes were hilariously dramatic (which made the movie feel even more lighthearted), the pop culture references tickled me (although the target demographic of the show probably wouldn't get them) and the soundtrack got me singing along (silently, of course). True, there were some dull or downright cheesy moments and the script did take a huge 180deg change halfway through the movie but I really enjoyed it. 3.8 stars out of 5.

After the movie I went to Sembawang Music and bought the Chicken Little OST, as well Carrie Underwood's album and the Bryan Adams compilation "Anthology", which I have been looking for for ages. I really like Carrie's album quite a lot. Seems the idols this year produced really good albums. I like Carrie's album (best country songs I've heard in a while), Bo's album, Melissa O Neil's (from CI3) album and I absolutely LOVE Shannon Noll's (AuI 1 runner up) album.

So we had an exhilarating and stitches inducing air hockey session in the arcade. I can confirm right now that it is the best sport for mass commers to destress from the heavy workload we are always struggling with. It's the most therapeutic thing in the world, not to mention huge loads of fun.

Sunday

Went walking all around Orchard with Aaron. Then went back to Westmall and bought a new pair of Converse sneakers, totalling my count to three! I am a Converse boy man. They really should get me to endorse on my famous and popular blog. (Don't laugh at my self-delusion k. A boy has to dream right?).

Monday

Yihan came over and we watched 40 Year Old Virgin, which I rented from the Play! vending machine outside Westmall (great prices, incredible convenience, irritating registration).

I didn't really like the movie very much. I found the lines contrived, the acting unspectacular and the jokes far from funny. It's still a somewhat feel good movie though. 2 out of 5 stars.

After the movie and some milling around, we went to Guilin to take photos...

walked to the station, passing by the hills which are alive with the sound of Gabriel...

before heading to Jurong East, where I finally bought a decent (and CHEAP) pouch for my GBA-SP.

We then headed down to CCK to take the LRT for fun...

before reaching Ten-Mile Junction for a short walk before we had to split (Btw I would like to point out that LRT commuters seem to be very inconsiderate. Unlike the MRT commuters, who would mostly give way to alighting passengers, the LRT commuters just crowded themselves right in front of the door and blocked the entire exit. I felt sad for those who were trying to get out, until I encountered it myself, whereby I was infuriarated and wanted to smack some of them who looked especially nonchalant about their terrible inconsideration).

I then met Rhonda for a hearty dinner at the amazing, offers-a-whomping-selection-of-food, cheap and good....Westmall food court!

Tuesday, Wednesday

Had lessons and TOTALLY did not do any work at home. At all.

Thursday

Radio lesson was scary. I totally fouled up my first radio practice for the test. Thankfully the second time went better. I really hope Monday's practice will help me further and I also hope that the machine won't fail on me during the test itself and not play the MD.

Yihan came over after school to do homework with me but I ended up not doing any at all. Grrrrrrrr.

Friday (that's today!)

PR test went a little better than I expected, although I'm still not expecting anything above a C, knowing how this sem is turning out.

Hung around in school after lesson and bugged the hell out of everyone in the atrium.

Y'know, I'm really scared for this sem. I am not doing well AT ALL. Feature Outline 1 is almost a definite F, especially from the way P Chan went on about common errors committed during tutorial on Wed. PR started out fun this sem but is now turning out to be quite a headache because I just can't seem to grasp the news release writing techniques. Comiss still remains a humongous question mark that nobody can decipher. Web D is...well...web D. 'Nuff said. And radio is so scary. So many things can go wrong in next week's test.

So many of my friends from the other cohort are amazed at how my cohort survived the last sem but seriously, I would take that semester over the one I'm having now ANY DAY. At least I more or less got most of the modules.

Trimedia interviews should be coming up soon and I'm terribly worried for that. There are only so few spaces available and I heard quite a lot of people signed up for it. Granted I am supposed to have some form of advantage because of the NY trip (although in what way I can't actually fathom) but that would make it even more embarrassing should I get rejected. Plus, one of the factors they will be looking at is newswriting grade (a C for me) and the feature writing assessed tutorial mark (a C+ for me). Not very encouraging marks, those.

It's ironic how I came into mass comm wanting to be a journalist, I still want to be a journalist (as of now) but my writing grades are the lowest, aggregated, amongst all my mass comm modules. I guess I'm just not cut out for writing, although I am not sure what I actually am cut out to do also. I'm pretty sure I don't want to do media management in uni (if I actually get there) but it's the only module which I have done adequately well in. BUMMER.

Oh well, it's off to finally do Web D I go. Chow! (And I salute you for reading up till here).

Gabriel.

2005-12-10T00:49:00.000+08:00

wow

We finished. I can't believe we actually finished baking ahead of schedule. In fact, we exceeded our quota by a little.

Last night we took 2 hours to come up with a dismal figure of six small gingerbread men and one large one. Today we took 7 hours to come up with 190+ small gingerbread men and 12 large ones. That's a productivity increase of more than 1000%.

What's more, we didn't even have to stayover, a fact I thought so certain that I actually brought clothes and a toothbrush over.

Nicole's mum mixing up the dough + me kneading & moulding the dough into gingerbread people + catherine and nicole organising and decorating = a formidable force, apparently.

For the first time in my life I actually sat myself down to do a (what I considered) mundane and physically wearing task and I sat there for 7 straight hours (standing for the first two hours) just continuously kneading and moulding, with a combined total of 1/2 an hour's break in that entire time. I'm very proud of myself yeah.

Hopefully tomorrow goes fine and we make good sales.

***

In other news, I feel so stupid academically.

First thing this morning I took the comiss e-tutorial test and, because I totally misinterpreted the questions, I only got 1 out of 5 correct.

And then during PR workshop Ms. Ang gave us back the news release that she marked this morning. My paper looked like it got passed around in a kindergarden with pencil overload. I am so going to fail my news release.

And then, there's radio, which I'm so afraid for, not to mention the webD website which I have no idea how to coherently link all the techniques that Shan taught us into one website.

And then and then, this stupid mistake (stupid but big) that I made in feature outline 1 keeps bugging my mind. I have this feeling I'm going to get totally ripped (justifiably) by P Chan and fail the assignment.

Sigh.

***

In more groundbreaking news, I have discovered thinking logically (albeit slowly) can (sometimes) overcome an almost non-existent sense of direction. Woohoo for me!

Gabriel.

2005-12-09T00:52:00.000+08:00

quote of the day (or rather, yesterday)

Nicole: No one told me when I signed up for mass comm that I would be kneading flour and baking cookies late into the night.

Amen, Nicole, amen.

How in the world to finish all those gingerbread men (and boys and girls) in time? AHHHHHHH!

Gabriel.

ps. I'm NEVER, EVER going to be a chef. Might consider being a teacher since Grace said I was good at it hahaha.

2005-12-08T09:49:00.000+08:00

hint hint

Warning: Shameless self-plug ahead.

When I was young(er), I used to want a different Power Rangers Megazord toy for every single Christmas (and I usually got it, spoilt brat that I was).

Now that I am 18 (at least physically), I fancy that my tastes have evolved slightly (although not that much).

Like Kelly and Belinda sing, here's My Grown Up Christmas List. (It's a link yeah. Click it and it brings you somewhere).

Cheers!

Gabriel.

2005-12-07T23:30:00.000+08:00

eeeeyer

Ok MSN messenger, as per usual practice, has decided to kick me out unceremoniously and without warning, this time just as I was transferring some files with Enoch.

Despite the fact that I still have internet connection and that troubleshooting on the programme turned up no errors, I just can't sign in.

Bleurgh.

Gabriel.

eta: Yes! I'm back on!

2005-12-06T22:33:00.000+08:00

dui bu qi

Today was, according to my terms, a good day.

Lessons were more interesting than usual somehow, PR pop quiz was quite ok, webD was a blast with Mr CKK showing us all his cheemified, too-intelligent-for-lowly-beings-like-me-to-grasp projects, "Grave of the Fireflies" was touching and disturbing, "Rivers of Zadaa" finallly arrived at San bookshop and I (more or less) sorted out my problem.

Gabriel.

ps. I find it funny that the 2nd Malaysian Idol's album is in Chinese. And what is even funnier is that I like it quite a lot.

-###-

So the problem has been more or less sorted out. The air has been cleared.

Nontheless, I'm still very sorry, especially for the fact that sometimes I'm just a selfish, insensitive *&^#$)*(&#$.

2005-12-05T15:45:00.000+08:00

tralala

So the crazy week is over and I've submitted all my assignments for now. I've made mistakes on all of them. Heck, I might even fail some. I guess I'll have to say goodbye to the DL. Bye bye!

I was so sick last night and so tired. Today I'm better.

Here I wanna say thank you to Amy and Hafiz, my wonderful friends who handed up my assignments for me in school. Thanks peeps!

Hopefully I'll be well enough to go to Wai's BBQ later, even if it's just for a short while.

Recently something has been bogging me down. I guess the most irritating thing to me is that I just can't seem to come to a final decision. I hate it when I can't decide how I actually feel about something (be it event, person or even, say, a movie) but it's been happening more and more. It's so ridiculous and a very good show of my inherent inability to form an actual opinion that, for everything I do, I HAVE to seek opinions with others. For this one, though, it has to be my own decision, my own choice. And I hope that I make the right one. And that nobody gets hurt in the process. Hai.

Ok lar I should go enjoy myself a little bit now. Read some books, play some GBA-SP, surf some web. Enjoy myself while I still can.

Gabriel.

ps. Arrested Development is the featured article on wikipedia.org today!

2005-11-29T22:28:00.000+08:00

just to let you know

People always say that being in poly, mass comm especially, is all fun and slack. No stress, no sweat at all. Well let me give you a little taste of what we actually endure. Here's what I did today and my schedule for tomorrow. (Although this is not indicative of every single day in mass comm, it's happens often enough. Plus this is not even near the horrifying times nearing final project datelines).

Tuesday (today):
8.30am - Wake up and finetune radio script
9am - Shower and head to school
10am - Feature writing lecture
12nn - Discussion about magazine project
1.10pm - Lunch with classmates
1.35pm - Run to radio studio to book equipment (only to find that the uncle is not in)
2pm - PR lecture
2.58pm - Run back to radio studio to book again
3.08pm - Run back to lecture hall to avoid being late
3.12pm - WebD lecture
4pm - Comiss lecture
5.05pm - Go and photocopy notes for assignment
5.15pm - Head down to Clementi to prepare for interview
5.40pm - Walk around Clementi to survey sites for interview
6pm - Sit at mac to finetune interview and radio script some more
7pm - Interview with SPI guy
8.20pm - Quick dinner with Yihan at mac
8.40pm - Dad fetches me back home
9.05pm - Quick shower
9.20pm - Read through lecture notes for next day
10.10pm - Read through email and blog
10.30pm - Write questions for featwg interview
11pm - Read through more notes for next day
11.20pm - Read through comiss essay notes
11.45pm - Planned wash up and Bible reading
12.15am - Planned sleep time

Wednesday (tomorrow):
7am - Wash up and head to school
8am - WebD tutorial
11am - PR tutorial
12nn - Quick lunch and revise notes
1pm - Featwg
3pm - Quick break to revise notes and script
4pm - Comiss tutorial
6pm - Radio Production in radio studio
9pm - Head home
9.45pm - Planned wash up time
10pm - Settle radio paperwork
11.30pm - Continue on comiss essay
12.30am - Planned wash up and Bible reading
1am - Sleep

If you look at it you'll see that I spent (and will be spending) most of my time either in lessons or doing work, with almost zero break times. Even then, I'm already considered quite a slacker compared to some of my contemporaries.

Assignments due in the next few days:
Radio magazine - Thursday (25% of overall module score, I think)
Comiss Essay - Friday (20% of overall module score, I think)
Feature Writing Outline - Monday (25% of overall module score, confirm)

Because of radio assignment and the fact that my days end so late, I can only seriously start on comiss essay one day before the due date, which is seriously not enough considering I have no idea what the essay entails. Also, I have to squeeze in time to contact an interviewee for my featwg assignment and hope against hope that that person will be free for me to interview before Sunday. Couldn't start earlier cause we only managed to confirm our story ideas today.

Mass comm is easy and fun? Next time anyone says that to me I'm gonna jam my newly bought retro pencil up his or her nostril right through into the brain. That's if I've not already fainted from lack of sleep and a burnt brain.

Gabriel.

ps. To make matters worse, IT'S RAINING LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS HERE!!!

2005-11-27T22:30:00.000+08:00

sunday report

Y'know I actually like spending time with my little cousins, now that they've grown a little and are capable of carrying out quite coherent conversations with me. In fact, my eldest cousin was agreeing with me about how Kelly is sooooo good as well as discussing with me the finer points (pun intended) of Avril and Hillary Duff.

I was actually quite shocked to find out that she only got around my score for her PSLE. I figured she would get some phenomenal mark. But then again, the PSLE is supposed to be way harder than when I took it.

Today, one side of my stupid earphones gave way while I was jogging. Stupid lar. Now only one side has sound. And this is the 2nd pair I got for my mp3player liao. The one that came with it spoilt months ago. And this one, Sony no less, cost me quite a bit. Now I have to rely on my phone to play mp3s and it only has space for like 15 songs?

I just realised that A LOT of deadlines are coming up. SO FREAKING SCARY LAR. I am soooo unprepared. How how how?

Gabriel.

ps. If you missed my report of Friday and Saturday, please scroll to the entry below this. I'm quite sure you would have missed it since I posted this entry only 10 minutes after that one. Why didn't I just combine the two? I'm just weird that way, I guess.

pps. Just now my mum said that she wouldn't mind me piercing my ears and stuff. Wow, seriously I'm quite surprised. I thought my mum would object violently.

2005-11-27T22:12:00.000+08:00

gabriel's friday & saturday rendezvous (or something)

As the title implies (made yer look, didn't I?), this will be the blog entry about the just-past Friday and Saturday.

In just these two days (as well as the Thursday before), I made up for my lack of cinema entry in the past few months by watching four movies, three of which I will (semi and very un-feature-writing-ly)review somewhere later in the blog. The fourth, Psycho, I will be doing for my radio assignment so I won't put it here.

So, without furthur ado, let's start off with the Friday, the day we always thank God for.

***

FRIDAY

The day started off with PR lesson, which I, again, enjoyed immensely. It's the only lesson that keeps driving me to think every moment but not burn me out. I must learn to give more original and creative answers, though. I can't just keep rephrasing what everyone is saying.

After lesson, I headed down with Yihan to watch Tiong Bahru. We were just in time to catch the only screening of Just Like Heaven that day.

Just Like Heaven is a very typical romantic comedy with a very typical plot. However, what made the movie special, to me, was the chemistry between the two leads, as well as the fact that I'm a huge sucker for romantic comedies.

I won't reveal the plot (go watch the movie) but I will reveal that the movie has its happy moments, its sad moments and quite a few of those (as Yihan said to me) that just make you go "awwww". Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo both put in really good performances and the supporting cast made the show even tighter. I'd give it a score of 3.9/5, just short of achieving a 'great' rating of 4.

So after the movie we went on a little spree around TBP, checking out all the shops and blowing away a huge chuck of (Yihan's) money at the arcade trying to win a PSP, a task that we, needless to say, failed. After that we decided to head on down to Raffles City shopping centre for dinner (at some really nice bread-soup place with way-too-flaky pies) before heading down to the Esplanade.

We had a looooong ~~man-to-man~~ boy-to-boy talk at the very peaceful library before heading down to the...er...seaside thing?

Tried to take some photos but unfortunately my attempt was thwarted by the darkness, my lousy camera and my ridiculously horrendous lack of aptitude with the camera. In the end I only took a few shots.

Then, fearing that we would be whipped by our respective guardians if we stayed any longer, we journeyed home.

I whipped out the new issue of Lime that I had purchased earlier on. They have gone through their revamp and are now targeted at a slightly older audience. I have to say I really like their new layout and look. Plus, there's Christine's photoshoot thing inside. Congrats Chris!

And then, it was Saturday.

***

SATURDAY

Lazed around, watched Pokemon, the usual.

Watched High Fidelity in the afternoon with mum (on VCD). I loved the book and I hoped that I would love the movie too. Well, it sort of reached my expectations.

The movie stars John Cusack, Jack Black as well as small cameos by Catherine Zeta Jones and Bruce Springsteen.

The plot itself, is nothing much to speak of and the dialogue was lifted almost line by line from the book. It's really faithful, though.

John cemented his place in my head as one of my favourite actors by emoting convincingly every single scene with a huge plethora of feelings and expressions. Jack Black, on the other hand, seems to me to be a one-trick pony. His performance in this movie, while plaudible, was uncannily akin to what he did in School of Rock.

Being a music-driven movie, the soundtrack did not disappoint. Each scene was jampacked full of music ranging from Aretha Franklin to Queen to the afore mentioned Bruce Springsteen.

Unfortunately, while the movie seemed (mostly) to hit the right spots, there was just that little spark missing that made it memorable. A feel-good movie greatly aided by its soundtrack. I give it 3.45 out of 5.

The afternoon was spent lazing around and, as usual, attempting to do work without really succeeding. Then, at around 5pm, we left to go down to this place we read about to eat.

We finally found the place after a while, a quaint little bar/chill out place (???) called Villa Bali, hidden in the midst of Alexandra. The food there is really really good. The cheese naan I had was steaming hot and oozing with cheese. The curry, with soft, succulent lamb pieces complimented the naan perfectly. The prices of the food were a bit on the steep side though. The ambience was also very soothing. The entire place was outfitted in Bali style, with wooden furniture, flowing fountains and lots of green plants, creating a spectacular effect.

After our dinner, which bloated us all up (that silly girl still said the food was in very small portions some more), we headed down to Westmall to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Prior to viewing the movie I had heard many scathing reviews from several of my friends and I went in with rather low expectations. To me, though, the movie wasn't half-bad.

I guess I went in with just the right amount of information about the movie. Having read it a long time ago, I couldn't remember all the finer details and thus couldn't criticize how Mike Newell has been liberal with some of the plot points and all but I remembered enough to ensure I didn't get lost at any time in the movie.

I thought the first few scenes were too rushed and had a very disorienting effect, especially to people who had not read the book before. Throughout the movie, too, were little details littered here and there that would have required the audience to have watched the earlier movies and read the books to fully comprehend and nothing was done to rectify all these could-be confusions in the movie itself.

After the first part though, I thought the movie was spaced and timed quite well and the pace didn't let up at any point. If anything, it proved to be a little too fast for some.

The cast put in good performances on the most part. Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint did well as teenagers going through the usual puberty symptoms, as did the fabulously beautiful Emma Watson (although some of her more emotional scenes were a bit over the top). They need new hairdressers though. Maggie Smith and Shirley Henderson, in their few minutes of appearances as Professor Mcgonagall and Moaning Myrtle, respectively, managed to infure more finesse than most of the rest did throughout the whole movie. Stanislav Ianevski, Robert Pattinson and Katie Leung (as Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang) were ok, a little stiff but still adequate. Unlike most of the world, though, I actually find Katie quite cute in the girl-next-door kind of way. She has nothing on Emma though.

Michael Gambon, who portrayed headmaster Albus Dumbledore, was a bit off though. I've never seen such a panicky, flustered and physical Dumbledore before. Quite unlike the books. Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, too, was quite different from what I had pictured in my head.

One of the best points about the series is the visuals and this movie didn't disappoint. The scenes were, to me, very well shot, with just the right amount of (fairly mindblowing) CGI to help the narrative. The scenery, especially, was captivating. One particular scene that caught my eye was when everyone was heading towards the portkey right at the start of the movie. The scenery was soo beautiful!

Oh well, this movie wasn't spectacular but, to me, it was definitely a steep improvement over the previous installment. 3.8 out of 5.

So, after watching this movie, I decided on something:

Oh well. That ends my report of Friday and Saturday. Stay tuned for the Sunday edition coming soon!

Gabriel.

2005-11-27T01:02:00.000+08:00

coming soon to an internet browser near you

Gabriel's
Friday & Saturday
Rendezvous (or something)
Stay tuned!

Gabriel.

2005-11-23T23:29:00.000+08:00

feedililily deee

So yesterday was more or less a good day me, as some of you might know.

Today was ok. Nothing really good happened but nothing really bad neither. Some random points.

1. After 4 weeks of school, I finally feel anxious about schoolwork and it came in a big way. I think this semester is especially stressful for me because none of the modules look very scorable and I've been terribly complacent. It's gonna be intense and very pressurizing to make sure I do the best I can, stay on the Director's List, don't pull my high achieving teammates down, don't disappoint my family and do well enough to get to uni. Argh! I'm not ready for this.

2. Ayyy I think my radio topic is very interesting but sometimes I wish I didn't choose it. Doing a radio show on the paranormal can be very disturbing when one has to research for it in the middle of the night. In fact just now I got so freaked out doing it in school I had to wussily take a cab home to avoid walking that dark path from the busstop. Can't imagine I'm actually wanting to get this assignment over with and get back to normal, boring research so I won't freak myself out anymore.

Speaking of paranormal, today me, Debbay and Gra were just discussing the SPI the atrium and how to contact when I looked up and saw...someone wearing an SPI t-shirt! Turns out they were here for some FSV filming so we talked to them, after a few hours of deliberation, and got some contacts and stuff.

3. Wah lao ay Khai got more lobangs from Berita Harian lar. I would say that I'm jealous but I guess I have no one else to blame other than myself for not using the opportunity properly. Anyway, well done Khai! Congratulations!

4. It was my first time, my deflowering, if you will. It was...embarrassing, to say the least. When I first entered, I felt confused and puzzled at first. I was wondering what was going on. I had no prior experience in these kind of matters. Then, when I finally realised what was happening, I turned a bright shade of red and quickly withdrew myself. Unfortunately, someone caught me in the act and I think I lost all my "face" then. What a horrendous first time. It wasn't what I thought it would be like at all. I thought it would be fun giggle inducing. Unfortunately I just embarrassed myself silly.

I must try never to walk into the wrong classroom again. (Heh what were you thinking, you? Sewer for brains! [2004, PWong])

Gabriel.

2005-11-21T22:09:00.000+08:00

and the winner is

Congratulations to Kate DeAraugo, Australian Idol 2005.

To be honest, I am very surprised that she won. Looking at some of the posts on the forums, I'm not alone in my sentiment.

Even though Kate did outperform Emily last night, I felt that the latter should still have won the competition.

Emily had so much more going for her than Kate did. Not only did Kate not score a single touchdown in the season (the only top 3 member in all three seasons to fail to do so), this was actually her third time trying out for Idol. Apparently, she tried out for the past two seasons but was rejected at the producers stage. What she had going for her was the fact that she had been consistently good and was the underrated underdog. Emily, on the other hand, was an Idol virgin who scored about 10000 touchdowns and gave amazing performances from time to time. The one thing she had going against her would be the fact that she was a wildcard.

Along the entire competition, Emily had always been one of the frontrunners while Kate was "just there".

I predict that just like last year, where the good but under-the-radar underdog won against the hugely popular wildcard, the runner up will do better than the winner by far.

Having said all these, however, I am in no way declaring that Kate is undeserved of the crown. I actually prefer her to Emily, although I like both. I quite like her womanly, sometimes raspy, tone and cool demeanour. I just feel that Emily had more idol-ish performances and should have won (a situation akin to AI3, where I preferred Diana Degarmo but agreed that Fantasia was the winner).

Ah well. I do like Kate's version of the idol single though (Yeah I'm sorry I keep sending out all these somewhat contradictory statements. I'm always very conflicted when it comes to Idol shows.) Unlike everyone in the whole wide world, apparently, I don't really like this year's single and much much prefer last year's.

In other groundbreaking news, I suspect that my house is having a mini fruit fly infestation. They are EVERYWHERE. There's one or two in my room right now. There are some in the toilet. There is, literally, a thin cloud of them in the kitchen. The funny thing is that, right up till today, I didn't have any exposed food (let alone fruit) anywhere in the house so I don't know what's keeping them here. In fact, even after my dad bought a bunch of bananas and hung them at the kitchen door today, there were no flies on it at all. They are all perched on the window sill in the kitchen and on the shelves. Weird creatures. Rather annoying too.

Gabriel.

2005-11-21T17:56:00.000+08:00

observation of a (slightly) less delirious mind

The smell of coleslaw in close proximity, if you didn't know beforehand that it comes from the coleslaw, smells like a weird fart.

Gabreil.

2005-11-20T23:36:00.000+08:00

gabriel wong's series of unfortunate events

***
Foreword (foreward? fourward? forward???): My brain's activity is at an all time low thanks to sleep deprivation and there is a high possibility that I might just go on rambling incoherently later on in the entry about everything so do bear with me as I heave my verbal vomit.
***

So after the debacle of the earlier post I made this morning, I finally went to sleep at around 5am, only to wake up at 750am to go to church.

At church, I am ashamed to say, I fell asleep during the sermon more than once.

After church, me and Aaron (pronounced Air-ren, he...er...pronounced to me) went to Orchard to walk aimlessly around Far East Plaza. At Sunny Bookshop (which, along with the very similar sounding San Bookshop, is my current favourite hangout), I bought two books in very good condition for relatively cheap prices. The sales assistant was soooo cool. She knew exactly where every book was and every author that I threw at her she managed to inform about the status of the many books available in her store. I predict I'll frequent that place much in the future.

Then I went to Lucky Plaza in search of GBA-SP and PSP prices. I figured I would get the GBA-SP first since it should be cheaper than the PSP by quite a bit. Thanks to the low prices offered by one of the shops, I started my transaction, only to realise that I had fallen into the trap of the salesmen, who practised very unethical sales techniques. Alas, it was too late to do anything. In the end, what I spent on the GBA-SP could have gotten me a PSP and an extra game.

The experience stunned me. For the entire afternoon, I was actually traumatised by the event. I had never felt so misled and so foolish in my life. For the next few hours, all that ran through my mind was what transpired in that 15 minutes in the shop. It felt so surreal (not sure whether this is the right word to use but bah). I experienced this heaviness in emotion that I have never felt before. Admittedly, it wasn't that horrendous an event, it was just the fact that it happened that somehow caught me off guard and sent my mind reeling.

i thought I had done adequate research. I thought I knew enough. I thought I wouldn't lugi (or however it's spelt). I thought wrong.

Now, however, I have moved on from that state of petrification. As Aaron advised me, I shall just treat this as an important, albeit expensive, lesson about purchasing these kind of products in the future. Anyway, harsh as the process of getting it might have been, the end reward is that I now have a spanking new black GBA-SP, which is something I've always wanted. I shall just try to put this experience behind me and fully enjoy the gadget I know hold in my hands.

(I do realise that the above few paragraphs make me sound like I'm making a big Everest out of a little Mt. Faber but I'm not quite capable now of phrasing my thoughts in a more rational manner. Just take my word that the experience was truly harrowing.)

Going to Topman, I discovered that there are quite a few new t-shirts that I like. They would have to wait for me to replenish my budget though.

When I went home, mum showed me the horrifying phone bill of charges incurred in New York. It's HUGE (ok not that huge compared to some people but for me, it's a lot. What I chalked up in that one month is usually what I pay in three or four months). Thankfully, I managed to work out a lucrative (for me) deal with her and settle the whole sordid affair.

So, thanks to all these recent events, I am quite out of money and will have to radically change my spending habits in the next few months so as to recover from my expenditure today. This means that the clothes, books, CDs, iPod video and the PSP would have to wait. They would be great to get as presents though, yeah. (HINT HINT!).

For now, I'll just concentrate on school, concentrate on my "Speak Chinese, better" campaign, concentrate on my books, concentrate on my new GBA-SP.

Yeah ok I think I shall go off to sleep now. Thanks to having dinner out and generally being of unsound mind (although not that rare an occurence) the whole day, I have not done the housework and homework that I had planned to do today. I shall have to do them tomorrow then, after what I hope will be a good night's sleep. I really need it. (As you can see, I'm one of those very weakminded people who cannot think properly after just one night of little sleep. This blog entry is all over the place, a sure testament of my delirium at the moment.)

Bye bye!

Gabriel.

ps. The AuI3 Top 2 Performance night was, as with other finale nights, rather underwhelming. Neither of the girls had any amazing performances. Emily, in fact, was quite dreadful compared to usual. Kate actually outperformed her on all three songs. Oh well, I still think Emily should win although I would rather listen to Kate's CD. Maybe I'm just confused.

2005-11-20T03:43:00.000+08:00

grrrr

I am now very irritated because I have been trying (to no avail, obviously) to sleep since 1am.

Having tossed and turned frantically, turned the radio on and off, watched the television, organised my notes and done some reading, all in order to get myself to sleep, I now find that, although my eyes are tired, my mind is perfectly alert.

This is a lesson that I've learnt: never ever take afternoon naps, EVER AGAIN. All these hours of suffering just for those two little hours of mild satisfaction.

Argh I'm so irritated. Even if I can get to sleep right after I finish this blog entry (highly improbable), I'll only be able to catch about 4 hours of sleep before I have to wake up for church. This is undoubtably going to affect my concentration in church as well as hamper all my plans for the day, which include walking around (and shopping at) Far East Plaza, getting some exercise (research has shown that lack of sleep leads to inefficient exercise), doing household chores and starting on some assignments and revision.

I hate not being able to sleep.

Additionally, my bladder has decided to stop functioning properly and just give me hell. This extra problem is causing me much grief as I struggle to get to dreamland.

URGH. BLUERGH. )(@*&$#)(*&$.

Gabriel.

eta: Plus, as you can see, not having enough sleep makes me irritable and snappy and I get angry at every little small thing. I HATE THIS.

2005-11-19T00:25:00.000+08:00

face a-bursting

Yesterday Yihan acquainted me to Pasir Ris with a cheaper-than-usual-but-still-looks-the-same haircut and a "romantic rendezvous" at Pasir Ris Park, which has lots of crabs in its mangrove swamp part and a beautiful beach view.

Today I returned the favour by showing him around Bukit Gombak, more specifically my home and the tennis court. Not so lang man lar, but still fun heh.

Congratulations to all those O- and A-levels people who have finished their exams. Time to have fun ay? (No excuse not to ask me out now yeah?)

Y'know, for the past few days I have been thinking through all those parts of my life which were successful and I realised that, one way or another, I was aided more by luck than by natural abilities. Each and every time something really good happened, it was usually because there were other mitigating circumstances behind it other than my aptitudinal excellence. The point was hammered home just now when someone asked me a few questions from a module that I supposedly aced last sem and I didn't have the answers. Sigh.

Gabriel.

2005-11-16T21:57:00.000+08:00

rainbows, ponies, marshmallows

Things I enjoyed about the past few days:
1. Reading Gwyn's and Yihan's minds during MSN conversations (and having mine read by them), thereby letting us say the same things at the same time umpteen times.
2. Actually getting all the html coding right on the first try and in record time during WebD. I'm smart!
3. Hearing that SNAG is out already.
4. The hilarious "debate" during comiss that ended with everyone supporting each other's stands and utter confusion.
5. Classes! (yes, don't need to wipe your glasses or your..er...eyeballs)

Things I have not enjoyed about the past few days:
1. Feature writing assessed tutorial. 'Nuff said.
2. Hearing that Fox might just cancel AD mid season.
3. Not being able to find SNAG anywhere near my place.
4. The stupid hot-and-wet-at-the-same-time weather.
5. Not being able to watch Harry Potter first. Chong Yihan and Grace Yap you both should die!

Wet blanket thought of the day: People make choices. So do I. How come I always seem to make the wrong ones?

Gabriel.

2005-11-14T01:16:00.000+08:00

subtlety works, sort of

I've made a very small change in my blog. Who can see it?

Gabriel.

2005-11-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

aui top 3

Personally I feel that this year's AuI top 3 doesn't match up to last year's, as is the case for the entire season. That said, however, I do think that Emily should take the title with Kate being the runner up.

Emily is probably one of the best vocalists this year and she has had some great performances. She also has the most touchdowns this season I think, although this year's touchdowns don't seem to be as good as last year's. Her "Baby One More Time" this week wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. In fact I quite enjoyed it. Her "I Will Always Love You" is probably one of the best performances this entire season and, while it still has some off parts, would deserve that touchdown that Mark almost gave her.

Kate has been growing on me throughout the weeks. She also been improving steadily both in terms of image as well as stage performance. Her emoting, especially for last week's "Impossible Dream", has been nothing short of touching. This week I felt "Heaven" was a bit disappointing, although it was mainly due to the subdued arrangement, but "Like A Prayer" was actually much better than most people have ranked it. She's still deserving of the top 2.

That said, it doesn't mean that I hate Lee or anything. I do like the fella and he has had some good performances but I just feel that, at this juncture, he has been outsung by two much better vocalists. Anyway, he'll still go on to have a successful career with all his teen fans whether he wins or not so the crown should be given to one of the two girls.

Today I watch SA Idols 3 for the first time and I'm quite surprised at the high quality. Despite what some people have been saying on the forums, I had my doubts as there were some other series which I heard were amazing but in the end proved overrated to me. It's sad that the girl I thought should win has already been eliminated. There is some good talent left though.

Gabriel.

2005-11-11T00:29:00.000+08:00

random things i've learnt recently

1. Darren enjoys being called a bottomless pit.
2. I get high from coffee.
3. Darren can be late for lessons starting at any given time.
4. Yihan apparently does not wear underwear (so he says).
5. Yihan is also apparently my long lost twin brother.
6. There are religions in Singapore I have never heard about.
7. Debbie has a snack fetish.
8. Debbie, Grace and myself are all morbid people.
9. Dorcas has moved to Bukit Batok temporarily.
10. Nasi lemak and rough bus rides are not good for the stomach.
11. Agnes has a US uni t-shirt fetish and wears them every day.
12. Arman has hair that, like mine, refuses to stay up.
13. Wizard magazine is still amazing after all these years.
14. MSN messenger likes to kick me out for no apparent reason.
15. Empty taxis never pass by you until the moment you call (and pay extra) for one, at which point several empty taxis will parade in front of you as if to say "haha sucker!".

Gabriel.

2005-11-09T22:30:00.000+08:00

optimistic, for once

So today was a good day. Lessons were inexplicably enjoyable and unexpectedly fun. Spending time with classmates was also smile-inducing. I just hope future Wednesdays will be like this.

Twas' was a relaxing day. School, Holland V, Clementi. Had fun at all three places. Talked my throat hoarse, literallly.

Contrary to what many people have commented, this sem's modules look much harder to score to me than the previous one. Right now, though, I'm still bursting with hope and unexplained enthusiasm and optimism. It's probably the coffee that I drank this morning. Apparently I'm very susceptible to that potent brown liquid.

Gabriel.

ps. Big Bookshop price tags are very difficult to remove and leave a very sticky residue.

2005-11-07T21:25:00.000+08:00

bummed

The elimination of Daniel England was an ugly spot on what was a formerly beautiful day. Emily and Kate for final 2! Bah humbug.

For some reason I'm very tired yet, when I tried to sleep, I just couldn't. Bahhhh.

Gabriel.

ps. Congrats Khai on having the first published story in the team! You stole my place, you evil girl! (:

2005-11-07T01:14:00.000+08:00

putting my trust in His hands

Sometimes teenagers get sad for no apparent reason, this inexplicable semi-depression caused by nothing more than raging hormones (please do not correct me if I'm wrong for biology has never been my strongest suit). However, there are sometimes when there are valid reasons that incur much thought and unhappiness in one as young as myself.

As I was surfing online just now and chatting with some friends, several thoughts passed through my mind - thoughts about problems that had been subtlely surfacing and intensifying without my notice and which have now grown too large for me to muster. When I type my problems out here, several people will probably go "ah, he's thinking too much, that one," and just claim that I am being paranoid and/or overworrying myself about an uncertain future that is not going to become any clearer at the moment. However, I do feel really strongly about my problems as they concern my future as well as my emotional well-being. Thus, if you are one of the afore-mentioned people, please do not venture on in what looks like is going to be a long entry. For those who want to read on, I apologise beforehand for my incessantly long paragraphs and what seems to be the ramblings of a troubled teen with too much free time on my hands.

First of all, I was reflecting about the New York trip that had just gone past recently, as any faithful reader of my blog (or several others) would know. I thought about the amount of stories that I would be publishing from the trip. To some, two stories printed in two different magazines would seem like a divine gift, especially for aspiring media practitioners like myself. In fact, if you had told me two months ago that I would be publishing two stories by year end I would have been ecstatic. Now, however, I feel that I have not fully maximised the opportunities that going on the trip has allowed me.

I did a quick mental checklist of some of the stories my teammates are currently doing and the publications they would appear. Most of them had decent-sized solo efforts that would appear in well-known publications, including several stories for Berita Harian, Eats and Telescope. In comparison, I only have a short two page travelogue for Lime (a large part of which would not be written by me) and a two page story for SNAG magazine, which is still new on the market and relatively unknown. While I am very honoured to be writing for these two publications (and I do hope that they will consider me for future endeavours), I am disappointed by the fact that my stories are small, both in length and amount. If I just had just tried harder at pitching to publications before the trip and applied myself more during the trip itself, I might right now be adding a much larger number of articles to my currently non-existent portfolios.

I know people will tell me not to dwell on the past, to learn from my mistakes and move on. However, as an emotional teenager, I find it very difficult at the moment to move on from the fact that I had the chance of a lifetime thrown at my face and I only have the gall to try so little and I used the chance to nowhere near its full potential. I know that 2 stories is still something to be proud of and that I have could have done much much worse at choosing publications than the two I'm writing for but still, I'm greedy for more.

My second problem is one that has been building up for months. Since my secondary school days, I have often considered myself an above-average writer, a presumption that was fueled by my English results at that time. Other than my dream of becoming a child psychologist, my greatest ambition was to be a journalist and use that "above-average" writing ability to good use. Full of passion for writing and thinking that I knew what I wanted, I entered Mass Communication.

Little did I know, however, that only a year and a half later, my dreams of writing would be totally shattered by two modules that I thought I would enjoy the most and do relatively well in - written communication in year 1 and newswriting in year 2. Not only did I not do well for neither (in fact, I even failed an assignment for newswriting), my passion and interest in writing as a career have been totally quashed. After spending three semesters in MCM, I have finally learnt the truth - that I possess neither the aptitude nor the knack for writing anything worthy of publication and that there are scores of peers who are way more adept than me at this particular activity.

Because I had entered MCM with only one track in mind, I never considered any of the alternatives. As such, I am now at a loss of what I should focus myself on. The subjects that I do the best in are, ironically, the ones that I have the least interest in. Conversely, all the subjects that might pose a viable option for me are those that I do not do well in at all, especially the writing subjects, as mentioned above. Now that I have been officially turned off the prospect of writing for a newspaper or publication, I really don't know what possible route I could take in the future.

True, there is always the psychology route to pursue. However, most of what I know about child psychology is only a presumption based on media portrayals. How do I know that I will not become disillusioned with psychology like I currently am with writing? Of course, there is also the matter of how I am going to get a degree in psychology in the first place, as it is a well known fact that only the creme de la creme of polytechnic students get offered places in universities and I am nowhere near that cream. The psychology dream seems as far away, right now, as any other of my not-so-realistic goals like being a world-class novelist (compounded by my inadequacy in writing) and being a singer (pfft).

Thus, I have to work on the assumption that I will not be getting a degree. If so, what other vocation in mass communications can I choose? Advertising? I'm not good at that. TV presenter? I would love to but I have neither the charisma nor the charm needed to carry off that role. Of course my TV production grade was less than satisfactory, too. Media Management seems to be my only saving grace so far but that's the module that I am/was least interested in and I have no wish to carry on that vein at all.

Since I apparently have no clear goal now, I am worried that, come year three (which is very soon), I will be unable to choose a coherent set of modules that will further my career but instead, because of my inability to choose a clear path, I will end up choosing three electives that might or might not be beneficiary to me and also be complimentary to each other. Other than that there is, of course, the fact that, without any focus, I might lose steam in my work and that will lead me to even lower and more abysmal grades than the ones I have been obtaining the past three semesters.

My last problem is a small one but nontheless a prevalent one as it affects my choice of electives in third year. I want to take Chinese Presentation Skills as an elective but my Chinese is nowhere near up to the standard that I believe is required for me to do well in that module. Thanks to years of neglect, my Chinese has become really rusty, both in terms of speaking and in terms of writing. Proverbs, phrases and even words that use to flow so easily in secondary school now resist coming to me even when I try my hardest to remember. I even have trouble communicating smoothly with my Chinese-speaking relatives now, a problem I have never had my entire life. While I was not exactly a Chinese scholar or anything, I did pride myself, when I was younger, on the fact that I was more or less fluent in conversing in Chinese, something that I felt was lacking in many of my more intellectual peers. Now, however, I do not even have that one thing I can pride myself on anymore, for my Chinese is no more able than that of those whom I used to scoff at. I am trying my best to improve my Chinese and get it back up to standard but I doubt that it will be in time and I might not even be able to take the module at all, in this case.

As you can see (if you are still reading this at all which, if you are, I really applaud your patience and eyepower), I am emotionally encumbered by details that might seem minute to others. However, these problems are preventing me from leading the carefree life that I usually partake in.

As of now I guess there's nothing else I can do but leave all these matters in His hands. What is done is done and cannot be undone and what is to come is for no one to know except Him. I just hope that, in time, the veil currently shielding my eyes from enlightenment (corny as it sounds) will be removed and I will be able to choose my path confidently, knowing that I will be able to do well in it. For the stories problem I'll just focus on what I can do instead of what I could have done. For the future problem I'll just leave it in the hands of God and for the CPS problem I'll try my best to improve on it. Other than that I'll just hope. Hope, and pray.

Gabriel.

ps. Some of you more astute readers might notice grammatical errors littering my entire entry. I am sure there are many, though I am lazy to check for myself. If there are problems please do not tell me. This is meant more as an emotional venting platform than a piece of writing that I am perfecting so I'm not really that insistent on fixing my errors.

2005-11-05T22:25:00.000+08:00

weeeee

Finally, a good day after all the bad.

Woo!

Gabriel.

2005-11-04T08:50:00.000+08:00

reflections from yesterday and this morning

Watching MMPR: The Movie brought back a wave of nostalgia. Although the special effects were crap, the acting was nothing to shout about and the plot and lines are cliche, the show still holds a special place in my heart. I remember how Power-Ranger-crazy I was in years gone by and sometimes I wish I could go back to those innocent times when the biggest worry in life I had was how I was going to weasel the latest megazord toy out of my parents.

The hot plate was filling. Not really all that fantastic though. The service, although earnest, was pretty hilarious. The people there take you seriously. Ask for Sprite and you'll get a can without any cup of ice. Ask for a cup of ice after that and they'll ask you who it is for.

On the car ride back home, this really cute little boy of about 4 years of age was in the adjacent car. When both cars stopped at the traffic light, he stared at me for several moments before blowing me two air kisses. Absolutely squeal-worthy.

I realise I've been very easily pissed in the last few days. Must be that time of the month again.

Eeeeyer, the weather is just horrible. During the past few days, the sun was up and searing the hell out of everyone during the day and the rain only came in the late afternoons. The one day that I decide to have a tennis game in the morning (today), it decides to rain early. Pfft.

Gabriel.

2005-11-02T23:41:00.000+08:00

relieved

Had a cathartic experience.

Thanks to those who asked. I appreciate it very much.

Gabriel. Is. Happy!

Gabriel.

2005-11-02T17:53:00.000+08:00

major bummer

Y'know, these days, it seems as though nothing ever goes my way. As such, I am troubled by many things.

Technology really seems to abhor me, as do people in general.

Maybe these are some signs to some questions I posed to Him. As a Christian, I guess in times like these, He's the one I should turn to and I shall.

I pray that all will be better soon.

Gabriel.

2005-11-01T02:40:00.000+08:00

oh crap

I was just telling Yihan that, back when I was in sec sch, I was fat, pimply, ill-tempered, immature and not the brightest spark around.

To my horror, I realised that I still am all those.

Gabriel.

ps. Dan S is out of AuI3. For once the voters got it right.

pps. To everyone in Singapore: a belated Happy Halloween, an on-time Happy Deepavali and an early Selamat Hari Raya!

2005-10-30T23:38:00.000+08:00

lids can hardly open

Doing household chores, while rather...well...chorish, can be very gratifying.

Organising photos too can be gratifying, although the process of going through 2000+ photos one by one, creating new folders by my new labellling conventions, going through each new folder to create more new folders and then renaming every single one of them is very very arduous. It's been three days and I'm only 65% through with the organising part. I think the renaming part will just kill me. Hopefully I'll be done before the end of the coming week.

My eyelids are closing.

Tomorrow: First day of Semester 2.2. InE - Community better be damn interesting!

Gabriel.

ps. I really want a new digicam that comes with lithium. I wanna resume my camwhoreness and take photos every few minutes but my current camera (with its faulty battery problem) doesn't allow that. Urgh.

2005-10-29T20:20:00.000+08:00

in mourning

More bad news to top off a "bah, humbug" day.

Even though the mini coffeeshop opposite my place (with the cai fan that I alone, out of my family, loves) has gone through renovation and now offers a few more dishes (those of which I have eaten surprisingly tasty), I was horrified and greatly saddened to learn that the zhu chao stall (greatest zhu chao in Bukit Batok) nearest to my place with the awesome dishes and delivery service has moved to Pandan Gardens. It was a great blow.

Goodbye zhuchao-stall-next-to-the-Econs-minimart. I shall miss you, greatly. My stomach shall miss you even more.

Gabriel.

ps. I know I said the NY report will be out by Saturday but other events (work) has taken up most of my week and I still don't have all the pictures so it'll be pushed back to who-knows-when. I WILL do one though, I promise.

2005-10-29T16:34:00.000+08:00

sigh

Well yesterday and today are just those days when nothing seems to go right. Nothing really bad happened, of course, but tons of little things spoilt both days. What a bummer.

Gabriel.

2005-10-24T19:30:00.000+08:00

pfft

So Anne has been eliminated from AuI3. I was so hoping it would be Dan S. Out of the top 6, I really wanted Anne, Emily, Dan E and Kate to be the top four, with any of the first three taking the title. Dan S I never liked from the beginning. Lee, I like but I still have to say that he's out of his league right now. Alas, Anne, who has been one of my earliest favourites, became a casualty of what I call the Amber Syndrome (shined in the earlier rounds but had boring performances later on).

Oh well.

Gabriel.

2005-10-24T08:14:00.000+08:00

not so rosy

Aieeee, more and more people have succumbed to the mysterious ailness that plagued the girls. This doesn't look good.

My diarrhoea has been getting worse. I don't even dare leave the house for long now just in case I suffer an attack.

Somehow the trip has whacked out my bio clock but in a very different way. Now, I seem to require very little sleep. This morning, for instance, I only went to bed at 3.30am but I actually woke up at 7.40am, fully charged and with no help at all from the alarm clock, which I had set to 830am. So far, I'm feeling perfectly alert and energetic, as though I had snoozed until 11am or something. What's more, I didn't even laze in bed like usual. I woke up, spent a minute or two orientating myself and hopped right off the bed.

Meanwhile, on non-health related issues, writing the SNAG story shattered my self-confidence. It was one of those days and one of those stories where, no matter how hard you tried and how many times you edited it, there was just a very wrong feeling about the story. I felt like the story lacked focus and cohesive and was generally a very badly done affair and yet, no matter what I did, the situation seemed to be unsalvagable. I can only hope Mr. Yee won't rip it apart that badly.

Because of this recent development, I am approaching writing the cheapo story today with much trepidation. It's very sad, actually, how doing something I've always wanted to do as a profession (instead of, say, newswriting) is such a difficult and gut-wrenching affair now. What's more, this is not a school assignment. These stories are actually going to get published. I'm not supposed to be fouling it up so badly, my first and only major chance to shine.

Argh.

Gabriel.

2005-10-23T13:42:00.000+08:00

the apple in brief (or not so brief)

Hmm I guess I'm not that affected by jet lag. Other than a slight case of ~~diarrhea~~ ~~dyerhea~~ laosai, I have been feeling perfectly fine, going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning and waking up just a couple of hours later. Normal holiday fare, then, it seems.

Both Agnes and Steph are having some kind of gross ~~illness~~ ~~disease~~ mutation. I hope they recover soon and also hope that it isn't some kind of side effect from coming back from New York. Take care, girls!

I was initially hesitant to do a full length report on my escapades in New York because
1.everybody else is already doing something similar and one can just read theirs for details
2. it will take a lot of hard work and effort
3. by the time I get it together it might not be timely anymore
4. i'm lazy.

After thinking it through, however, I decided that the trip was one of those once-in-a-lifetime-never-coming-back experiences and probably the most exciting thing that I can blog about in a while so I have decided on my next course of action: I shall do a million-or-so page feature story on my time in New York with a day-by-day description as well as pictures. Of course, this would mean that I have to reorganize my notes chronologically as well as wait for the (billion or so) pictures to come in from everyone. I also have to wait until my stories are done and I am free before I can embark on this arduous task. Hopefully I can have it out by this coming Friday or Saturday. Keep your eyes peeled for it!

For now, however, I shall list out whatever random notes pop into my head about the trip. Without further ~~adue~~ ~~adull~~ ado, here is part of Gabriel's Apple[s], done in point form for easier perusal.

1. New York weather is crazy. The rains are torrential and the winds are ceaseless and stronger than anything ever felt in Singapore. They blow, hard.

2. New Yorkers (New Yorkans?) are generally nice people. WIth some seedy/dodgy exceptions, almost everyone I have asked for directions on the street (and there have been many occasions) has kindly aided me, with some going all the way and offering me the fastest and most convenient way to get to my location. Some even approach me to help without me asking.

3. New York stuff really is expensive, especially for those weaned on cheap food and bargain buys. The (exceptionally rare) bargain bins in NY offer prices that are akin to Singaporean prices before discount and those items going for normal prices (be they CDs, books or clothes) are simple heart (and wallet) wrenching. In comparison, Singapore is about the cheapest place on earth. For S$3, one can enjoy a sumptuous and filling meal back home whereas in NY, S$3 (or the equivalent USD1.8) can barely buy some candy.

4. Skittles bubble gum is about the most wondrous snack ever made. They taste as varied and as amazing as normal skittles but, because they can't be ingested, they don't cause the phlegm effect the usual sweets back home do. Wonderful wonderful wonderful.

5. Each visit (be it to Dow Jones, New York Times, Conde Nast, Columbia Uni or even MTV studios) has inspired me to reach for greater heights in my academic affairs so that I can one day land a great gig of my own.

6. There are MANY MANY MANY Dunkin' Donuts, Wendy's and Subways around but not that many Macdonald's and even fewer KFC. Maybe they are all just restricted to being in Kentucky? (Side note: I wish we had Dunkin' Donuts back home though. It's lip-smacking.)

7. The Bowery Whitehouse where we stayed while in NY (known affectionately as the Bowelry) was about the dingiest, most pathetic "hostel" I have ever stayed in. Most people who know me would know that I am a paranoid, pessimistic worrywart who always prepares himself for the worst but even I was caught off-guard when I saw the room which Zat and I would cohabit. Room? More like a closet, even more pathetic than the one Harry Potter lived in. That said, though, it was definitely an experience living in such a place and there were many moments of spontaneous glee.

8. In comparison, the Econolodge where we stayed in Connecticut was like heaven for almost the same price. I was so depressed about going back to the Bowelry on the last day because I had spent two wondrous nights in the wonderful Econolodge, with it's toilet in the room, cable tv offering Comedy Central, sound proof walls and free breakfast with a waffle making machine.

9. Much like the corresponding residential areas, I enjoyed my 2 day visit in Connecticut as much as I did the 10 day visit in NY. Connecticut is the most laid back, peaceful, small-town community, popped-out-of-a-tv-show place I have ever seen and I would love to live there in the future.

10. Yale University is the most amazing school I have ever seen in my entire 18 years of age. The campus grounds are sprawling, the courtyards are tranquil, the colleges (where the students live) are rustic and look comfortable, the people are good-looking (not to mention smart) and the squirrels! Oh, the squirrels! There are so many of them and they are all so cute!

11. Connecticutian (??) pidgeons are crazy. They suddenly take off collectively for no apparent reason and circle in perfect formation in the sky being coming back to the ground to resume their feeding. I almost got murdered by a marauding flock of them.

12. Someone actually chose me if they had to choose someone to bonk in the team. Awww, I'm honoured.

13. I hate long flights. My legs are uncomfortable, I'm always sleepy, the food isn't great and the toilets are the scariest things in the world. I did manage to catch a few movies I've always wanted to watch though.

14. The New York subway system, while overwhelming and confusing at first, is actually quite intuitively done and, once one gets the hang of it, it is very convenient and easy to get to places one wants to. What makes it cool is that there are soooo many stations situated so close to each other so that you can just get off at the station you want and walk to your destination in a matter of minutes.

15. NY cab fares are scary. They start off at USD2.90 and rise USD.40 every 100m. If you convert that to Singapore dollars you would get an idea of how petrifying the fares are.

16. I wish I saw Kelly Clarkson when she was in NY on the 16th. Boohoo.

17. Late nights spent in the Bowelry whispering secrets or taking weird photos are fun, really fun.

18. Saving the best for last, I want to say that the trip was made much more surprisingly pleasant because of my teammates, who kept me laughing and having fun throughout the 12 10 11 whatever day trip.

Alright that's about it for my list. I'm guessing hardly anyone of you faithful readers would process any more points anyway. If I think of anything new I shall add that to my full length report (coming out this Friday or Saturday!).

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and, if so, I shall now attempt to flatter Agnes totally by copying her idea of mini-testimonials for my teammates. To facilitate my writing and to ensure that i don't leave anyone out, I shall write them using the buddy system that we employed in NY.

Zat (aka my buddy; Ernie): Man, I'm gonna miss being your sleeping partner (heh). Strange as it may sound, I'm gonna miss attempting to wake you up at least 4 times every morning and dragging you out of bed. Those late nights in the Bowelry with Gwyn and Rett, taking pictures, making gross jokes and lying on the bed together sure were fun eh? (I am honoured to be one of the Bondage Boys). And, apparently, we're the only two people in the team who felt that sharing a shaving blade was fine. Oh well. See you around in school (and you better treat my Ernie toy with care)!

Gwyn and Rett (aka the other two on level 2): You girls have been great..er...corridor mates and your company has been much appreciated on those long, late nights in the Bowelry, as well as running around NY doing stories. The trip would have been very different without the two of you, as Connecticut proved. Kudos to Gwyn, also, for lugging her great big-ass camera and whipping it out everytime I have an interview to carry out.

Khai, Agnes and Shila (aka the threesome in the team): Aw man you girls are such fun. Khai for being one of my bestest buddies coming into the trip and still one of my bestest buddies leaving the trip, Agnes for the AMAZING number of guffaws you attracted from the team as well as the number of kinky things that you said (are you trying to dethrone me?!?) and Shila, for being my dance partner on the plane and for being so patient, always following me around on my stories faithfully. I hate to keep repeating this but the trip wouldn't have been the same without you three heh and I hope to see more of you around in school.

Steph and Adeline (aka the buddies who missed each other much): The two of you were such random bundles of joy and fun (ok I know that sounds wrong). Didn't get to hang out with you all much but group meetings and outings were cool with the two of you. And of course, Steph, I shall remember being terrorised by Connecticut pigeons with you and Adeline, you with your scary questions on the plane.

Ben and Gerald (aka Ben and Jerry's [or is it Gerry's?]: Didn't get to hang around with you two much neither but it's been cool having you two around, constantly reminding me of the ice cream that I love so much and for the occasional laughs you weaned from me during lunches and dinners.

Hajar, Idayu, Yiying and Christine (aka the ones I didn't see that much of): Although I didn't get to spend much time with the few of you, I do remember several moments when one of you brought a smile to my face by saying or doing something funny (both intentionally and not)[ayay I know I sound like a perv but I'm not] and it was fun having you girls around for the trip. Also, thanks Chris for following me around being my photographer and for asking your uncle to ferry us to Brooklyn Bridge and Rockafella Centre for the amazing views.

Alright that's about it. I know I'm not as funny or articulate as Agnes in her testimonials but ay, I try my best.

Ok lar that's about it for now. I think the entry has gone on long enough already. Also, I have to start writing my stories after lunch so no time to dawdle anymore. Bye bye! (Oh and NY people, if you do drop by, please drop a tag and leave your blog addresses or something).

Gabriel.

2005-10-22T18:24:00.000+08:00

the big apple? i fit into my mouth!

Like the title, I have been incoherent and incomprehensible several times in the past two weeks.

Some people have already blogged about NY and more would be doing so, I'd expect. Me? I'll be hopping on the bandwagon later tonight. So keep your eyes peeled and don't go away. Stay tuned for...

Gabriel's Big Apple[s]: Experiences, Observations and Reflections

Gabriel.

2005-10-10T00:24:00.000+08:00

see ya in 12 days!

Alright people, I'll be gone in a few hours' time and I'll only be back on the 22nd.

Recent events happening in NY are not very reassuring. Please pray for me and the group to make it there and back safely.

See ya!

ps. Will try to blog once in a while but I don't know whether I'll have time.

2005-10-08T02:45:00.000+08:00

fats spilling over

Okokok, seriously, I ate wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much during dinner at Fish and Co with Khai, Zat and Tea. I ate about enough for three people.

Big big ulcer in my mouth, caused by a reckless brushing of teeth that day.

My cough still hasn't stopped yet. Very annoying.

Strangely, with the trip so near, I still don't seem to feel much excitement. In fact, I don't feel anything at all. Perhaps it still hasn't sunk in yet.

Oh well got loads of work to do the next few days. I'm packed to the brim.

Gabriel.

2005-10-06T23:24:00.000+08:00

relief

Hmm I'm very relieved to report that my results are not as bad as I thought they would be. I passed everything! Woohoo! My gpa is kind of disappointing though. I have no idea how the school calculates it. People who want to know what I got.....ask me on msn lor.

Eeeyer I finally received the game I bid for on ebay but I have no idea whether it's original or not. Confusing evidence points to both.

My cough is irritating me. I hope it goes away soon. All my other flu symptoms have.

I'm quite nervous about the NY stuff. It seems I'm still quite unprepared.

Ok I'm off to breathe my sighs of relief and cough my dry coughs. See you!

Gabriel.

2005-10-06T00:55:00.000+08:00

trepidation

So, results are coming out in approximately 7 hours' time. I'm really really scared. I know I won't do well but I just hope I don't fail anything. Again, here's what I expect my grades to look like (most probable grades bolded):

Advertising: C+, C
Appreciating Literary Works: B, C+
Intercultural Communication: A, B+
Media Management: B+, B
Media Research Methods: C+, C
Newswriting: D
Television Production: C+
Grade Point Average: 2.3 to 2.6

Not exactly fabulous and a far cry from last semester but realistically I hope I don't get any worse than these grades, especially not for newswriting. It's really nerve-wrecking.

Gabriel.

2005-10-04T01:27:00.000+08:00

lord of gabestown

Lords of Dogstown is a nice movie. It's not the type of movie I would have chosen to watch but it was really nice. Don't really know what to say about it but I give it 3.75 stars.

Roxanne is out. Bah, I knew it would turn out like this. The Australian voters are going the same as the Canadian voters.

So I got majorly outbid for the one ebay bid that I thought nobody noticed. Dammit.

My voice has been going the whole day. Discomfort in the throat is horrendous.

Just now was thinking philosophical stuff on the way home but I'm too tired to type it out now.

Tired.

Gabriel.

2005-10-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

sick sick sick

Been sick since Friday. I really hate this feeling. The worst part comes when I try to sleep cause I'll be stuck in this half asleep yet not fully asleep mode for the whole night. Also, I'm permanently tired even though I keep sleeping. My nose and throat are really sore. And now that the sneezing part is gone, I'm at the dry cough section and I have this really sexy gravelly voice (ok the sexy part might not be true). Heard Zat also like that since Fri night. Haiz.

AuI3 so far has been a bit boring, although still much better than CI3. Right now, my favourites are Anne and Emily. I also quite like Dan E, Roxanne, Kate and to a lesser extent Lee and James. I really hope that Milly and Dan S go next, although I'm sure they won't, looking at the idol voting patterns this year.

Oh well.

Gabriel.

2005-09-30T00:16:00.000+08:00

bah

Cognitive dissonance has been hitting me for the whole day. Everything I did seemed to only fuel the horrendous feeling. Bah.

Gabriel.

2005-09-29T01:18:00.000+08:00

new hair

I have no fringe anymore. My hair is now officially weird because I can't seem to put a handle on it. Sometimes I think it's not bad, sometimes I think it's hideous. It's only been a day, some more.

I am so jealous of Khai and her amazing BH deals. They are so nice.

Money has been flowing steadily out of my wallet and my bank account lately without much prospect of it coming back.

In other news that is not really news, I should learn to watch the things I say.

Gabriel.

2005-09-25T19:00:00.000+08:00

turning into putty

The aches and physical jelly-ness that results from three straight hours of intense sporting is very satisfying, even if the sporting sessions themselves weren't really.

Tonight, I predict that, thanks to my lack of sleep last night and my activities today, I shall have a really good sleep till tomorrow.

Gabriel.

eta: This week's AuI3 performances were so disappointing. I finally recognised most of the songs and I thought quite a few of them would rock but none of them gave a "whoa" performance. Even Anne, Emily and Roxanne were just ok. Tsk tsk.

2005-09-25T01:35:00.000+08:00

something for izzat

Your Daddy Is Darth Vader

What You Call Him: Old Man

Why You Love Him: He takes you to church

Who's Your Daddy?

2005-09-25T01:15:00.000+08:00

shortlived euphoria

I really love miracle services at church. During those three hours, I (more or less, sometimes trying in vain) switch off everything else in the world and just spend it all with God. After the miracle service, I'm always filled with a number of strong emotions. First, I feel at peace. A sense of serenity overcomes me during and after the service, leaving me happy and seemingly contented. Next, a feeling of intense optimism fills me up. I acknowledge all the problems and obstacles that I'm facing in life and yet, no matter how unsurmountable they seem, I always feel like things will turn out for the better, especially with God beside (and behind) me. Lastly, every miracle service fills me with this urge to be a Godly, good person. I always feel like smiling, being nice to people, not getting angry or irritating and tro to be always helpful to them. Every miracle service somehow leaves me with the conception that anger is not something I can or should experience easily.

I guess miracle services are like wine to me. Unfortunately, like wine, the effects are short lived. As the week progresses, all those wonderful feelings stated above all start to dissipate, only to be replaced by confusion, frustration, anger, easy irritation, foul mouth-ness, selfishness, bitchiness and pessimism. Maybe it's just human nature reasserting itself. Maybe it's because I'm just not trying hard enough to put myself beyond all these. Whatever it is, by the time I realise my folly, damage has already been done, to other people around me and to myself. Sometimes I feel so ashamed of myself for letting all these devious emotions get the better of me. All my attempts these past few months to be as nice as possible, not get angry so easily, not react with irritation and to stop talking badly about people or things have not been very successful.

I really hope that, as time passes and I mature, I will be able to be permanently overwhelmed by feelings of the former rather than the latter paragraph.

Oh well.

New York stuff sometimes leaves me reeling in despair.

It's thundering and raining really heavily now, with lightning bolts flashing at me every few seconds.

Hurricanes and dengue fever - scary scary scary.

I just found some evidence that my laptop has been fixed once and for all. I really hope that my deductions are accurate and that I do not have to go back to mel again anytime soon (ie. this century).

I had the weirdest combi of food for supper - leftover hawaiian pizza slices and a cup of HL niu nai (aka milk).

Observations tell me that my body is turning seriously lactose-intolerant, which is very sad because I love millk and I used to drink loads of it.

My Chinese has really really turned very lousy (not that my English is much to shout about these days neither). I really hope I can buck up in time for CPS in third year.

Alright I'm going off now. Have a nice week and, for all my NP friends, have a nice holiday (or what remains of it).

Gabriel.

2005-09-24T01:32:00.000+08:00

pictures

Last two days have been cool. Spent time with loads of friends.

4 Brothers is a good movie. Although it was a bit cliche and predictable in parts, the dialogue was well written and the show had enough moments to keep me interested, something which gangster flicks rarely do for me. Mark Wahlberg's hair looks bad, though. I give the movie 3.5 stars out of 5.

Loads of photos have been taken in the last two days. Unfortunately, it was about the most misopportune (if there's such a word. if not...move over Webster) time. My skin is blotchy, pimples are a-popping and my hair is in an unsalvageable pathetic mess.

I don't like pictures taken using flash. Everyone comes out pale like a ghost and it always feels so...unnatural. Photos taken in the daytime without the aid of a flash look so much more natural and nicer to me. Of course, there's the fact that flash emphasises flaws quite dramatically, especially wayward pimples. (Ok I'm sorry. I may be a mass commer but that doens't mean I know a single thing about photography terms).

Woohoo! The SNAG guy was, like the Lime editor, cool. Soooooooo cool. Just waiting for FiRST mag now. Please reply!

Yeah I'm off.

Gabriel.

2005-09-22T02:20:00.000+08:00

bye bye money

Yesterday, went to Salvation Army with Arman and Khai. Bought cheap stuff and saw Andrea De Cruz.

We then proceeded to Far East Plaza by cab, stopping at whatever-the-name-is hotel to act as tourists first.

Ate more unhealthy stuff. I can feel the pimples a-popping.

Went to Wisma and spent about $80. At least this time most of the stuff I spent my money on were from my wishlist, albeit not those of utmost priority. Didn't manage to find any of the important ones I should be buying.

It's only after I bought both a new wallet and pencil case from The Wallet Shop that I realise that both of them are Myuk Accessories, which is the brand of my previous wallet too. Guess I'm a Myuk boy huh?

I miss my mouse, which is currently out of commission due to my AAA batteries running out.

Today I walked around town with a big plaster on my nose, both as a disguise as well as an impromptu sociology experiment. Pity the responses weren't strong enough for me to write an essay about.

Later today, free movie screening with loads of mass commers. Woohoo!

Gabriel.

ps. Pendragon is an amazing series. Teen fantasy is so my thing.

2005-09-21T00:01:00.000+08:00

goosebumps

To my utter dumbfoundedness, I looked out of my window in the afternoon and found myself staring at, literally, several thousand flying insects buzzing around in the space outside my window all the way to the Little Guilin. I hurriedly ran around my house shutting all windows, feeling like I was in one of those post apocalyptic movies with weird visible viruses flying around. The sight was horrific and yet fascinating at the same time. Thank goodness they cleared out after a while.

I got rejected by my favourite magazine. Nevertheless, the editor in chief sounded really nice. I still want to work there next time. This minor setback will only spur me on to try my best with other publications for the trip. After all, it isn't everyday that I'm given a chance to significantly jumpstart my journalistic portfolio.

Today when I was looking at some of my CDs, I found the shrivelled carcass of a baby lizard. I remember chasing it around the room a few weeks ago, trying to chase it out of my room. I lost sight of it, though, and thought it escaped long ago. Obviously, it did not. What shocked me was that I just took a piece of thin tissue paper, picked it up and threw it into the dustbin, with nary any squirming nor signs of disgust. I should take part in Fear Factor man.

Things I have been hooked on the last few days: Bejewelled, Solitaire, Pendragon books, HK drama serials on Channel 55, comedies on Star World. What would life be without all these mundanities? Everyone should experience at least most, if not all, of the above.

I know I may be embarrassingly behind-the-times but I just watched the first two episodes of Naruto today and I must say that I found it terribly entertaining and interesting.

I really should stop wolfing down unhealthy snacks and fast food. In the past month, I have eaten enough junk to fill a garbage truck.

I have to start controlling my expenditure too. Grossly overspending every single week does not figure into any sound financial plan.

It's hightime I start writing more meaningful, intellectual entries. Alas, I have neither the mental capacity nor the patience to do so. Too bad for you, my faithful readers, all 5 of you. I am trying, though, to change my blogskin, to no avail. I actually designed it last sem but have not had the chance to upload it till now. Being the tech idiot that I am, I am totally reliant on others to fondle with the html coding and stuff, which will probably be my downfall next sem during webd.

Oh well. It's back to Pendragon I go. Great book, great book. I desperately want to be a "traveller" too.

Gabriel.

2005-09-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

cool beans

Today's Lime meeting was cool. Ms. Stella Thng, the Lime editor, is sooooooo cool.

My NY teammates are cool. Sooooooo cool.

KFC and Orchard Road are cool. Sooooooo cool.

Bejeweled. Cool. Soooooo cool.

Cool beans.

Gabriel.

2005-09-16T23:09:00.000+08:00

happay

Melissa won. 'Nuff said.

Renee Olstead is so cool. Again, 'nuff said.

Gabriel.

2005-09-16T01:24:00.000+08:00

pimples a-popping

Wow I actually managed to exceed my expectations for booklet sales at Carl's Jr today. Cool cool.

Spent the day with Aggy and Sarima, having lunch at Marina Square, taking a nauseating bus ride from Marina to Bukit Batok, walked around Westmall and then to my house for "Connie Carla", various tv shows and dinner. Very relaxing day.

Wow I spent A LOT of money over the last two days. Other than the usual overindulgence in food, I also bought four CDs, a movie VCD and two books. Tsk to myself.

Argh my skin is really getting very bad. Must be the combination of late nights, stress and bad diet I had. Time to sleep and eat well man.

Alright I'm off.

Gabriel.

2005-09-14T22:16:00.000+08:00

suddenly so tired

Advertising is over. It didn't go anywhere near as well as I thought. Although I was quite messed up about it last night, my confidence was boosted after I did the Mar 05 paper. Unfortunately, this paper was about twice as difficult as that one. There's no way I'm going to score now.

So school has ended. It seems so surreal though. Last sem I mentioned that, at the end of the first sem, there was actual closure to the sem. Sem 2 came to an abrupt end after all the hard work but at least it was still an end. This sem just does not feel like it has ended. Perhaps it is because we have been working straight for the last few weeks and it suddenly came to a stop like this. It hasn't sunk in yet.

Maybe it's because there's a ton of work to do for NY that this semester of hard work does not seem to have ended at all.

The laptop situation seems bleak at the moment, which is sad because school has ended and mum is away on holiday so the mice (or mouse) are supposed to come out and play. Nothing to play on though. Bummer.

At least there's NY research, books and the newly applied Channel 55. Hong Kong drama serials rock my non existent pajamas!

Walking around the whole Orchard/PS region with my classmates = cool.

Canadian Idol 3 finale seems so exciting. I really really really hope that Melissa wins. I heard she rocked out on the winner's single, which apparently is much better than the previous two CI singles, which even I admit were quite dismal.

Alright the next section is more for me than for anyone else - my grades projection. I'm just putting this down to set my expectations and stuff so if you don't wanna get bored to death just go to one of the many wonderful sites in my links list. I'll do it by modules with my expected grades, the most probable one being bolded.

Advertising - I was a straight B student going into the exam (which I was happy enough with) but alas, the exam was quite the bummer.
Expected Grade: C, C+

Appreciating Literary Works - Talk about a module that I had no idea what was going on half the time man. I don't even know how I fared for this one so it'll be an "educated" guess.
Expected Grade: C+, B

Intercultural Communication - This is the only one which I'm happy about so far. I don't know how I did for the last test though. It didn't go too well if I remember correctly.
Expected Grade: B, B+

Media Management - Ah this module. Throughout the entire semester I was doing relatively well and I was quite satisfied with my results. Unfortunately, my final project was handed in late (thus incurring a 10% deduction) and our final presentation also had a major booboo.
Expected Grade: B, B+

Media Research Methods - Haha this one, the thorn in everyone's side. Like advert, I went into the exam with an overall B grade and but the exam will probably bring me down. Don't think it'll be as bad as ad exam.
Expected Grade: C, C+

Newswriting - Eeyer this one. Started off quite well for the first assignment, went straight into the drain in the second assignment. I thought the final project will help but it went into the drain again. Sigh. So sad that this will probably do even worse than gracomm, even though it was supposed to be something I'm passionate about.
Expected Grade: D

Television Production - Hmm the presentations went quite well I guess. The test totally killed me though.
Expected Grade: C+

As can be seen, this sem is quite far from the last sem. So horrible. My GPA will probably drop to around 2.5? I don't know how they calculate it. Won't be over 3.0 though. Bummer.

Oh well I'm off. Again I say, Channel 55 rocks! (Haha at least I still have this since my mum accidentally cancelled Star Movies. I think I'll ask for HBO instead. It has as good movies as SM but has those exclusive shows.)

Gabriel.

2005-09-13T20:45:00.000+08:00

so dead

In approximately 13.5 hours time, I will have officially ended my first semester in second year. The end of the advertising exam will demarcate the end of a tumultous, harrowing semester wrought with unpleasantries.

Right now, though, 13.5 hours seems so far away. My ad revision is FAR from done and there is NO WAY at all that I will be able to finish every single chapter by tomorrow. Thus, like most other people I know, I have resorted to covering all the main points that JLow listed out to us that day. This method, while the most feasible one at hand, is highly confusing and disorienting. My notes are all over the place, I don't know where to begin, where to find all the correct sections and this has led to an immense feeling of tredipation, unease and hopelessness. It's really torturing.

On one hand I wish the 13.5 hours would pass sooner and I would be free of this semester's trappings. On another hand, I wish we had one or two more days so I could revise at my proper pace. I guess this is karma. I should have started earlier and been more hardworking last week. I guess you really reap what you show huh?

I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I'm going to do better for the mrm exam than the ad exam. It's kind of sad.

As you're going to see in my blog entry tomorrow (which will be my grade analysis and projection), this semester is going to be my worse by far. Horrendous horrendous horrendous. I don't know how a semester that started out more promising than the last two combined could have depreciated so badly.

Depressing? Ja.

Gabriel.

2005-09-12T20:21:00.000+08:00

sitting in the atrium

So here I am, sitting in the atrium at 8.24pm, worrying about advertising, about my complaint to Toshiba and about my lack of anything for this Wednesday's meeting.

MRM exam went a little better than I expected. It's still nowhere near even a B+ grade though. I'm just contented that, this time, I didn't forget anything really really important. All of the mistakes I made and the questions I was clueless about were really because I didn't study it before the exam and not because I just forgot it during the exam itself.

Now I'm just worried about ad, which I have absolutely no time to study for.

I hope this Toshiba thing blows through soon. I don't wanna blow it into a mountain from a tiny mole hill. Just wanna get my laptop fixed and done with.

We got back ad report today. I guess it's an ok score, not that bad. Today has been a good day.

It's fun to see mass commers around school. Don't ask me why.

Falala. Note: for people who wanna get me a present for no reason, please go to my wishlist to look at my WHOA THAT'S LONG list of wants. :)

Gabriel.

2005-09-10T17:55:00.000+08:00

facial hair growth

So I had another nightmare last night. Thank goodness it was nowhere near as bad as the previous one. This one was just one of the usual i-have-a-presentation-in-one-hour-but-i-totally-forgot-to-bring-some-important-stuff varieties. At least the scene was set in broad daylight in a crowded street and did not feature any scary, supernatural entity, other than presentations, of course.

The duku mum bought are so sweet. Ahhhh.

MRM is still killing me. I've entered that part now which is totally unyielding to my intellect. No matter which way I approach it, I just can't seem to get the full picture. I still haven't started on ad yet.

I'm so scared of NY stuff. I haven't done much yet and there doesn't seem to be much time to do much more in the next few days before the meeting. Urgh.

So Aaron is out of CI3, leaving Melissa and Rex as the top 2. I really really really want Melissa to win but I have this nagging suspicion that Rex, whom I really don't like, will. Yeargh. So far I quite like the previous two winners and I hope the trend doesn't stop here.

Mel called and said that my laptop is ready for collection. I really hope it's the last time I go back there with a problem but I really doubt it, especially if all Toshiba did was to replace the hdd, which is what they did for the two previous times.

Gabriel.

2005-09-09T23:11:00.000+08:00

boo

I can't believe I was/am so affected by it. This is definitely the worst nightmare I've ever had.

No other nightmare has ever succeeded in waking me up so suddenly before and left me shivering in my bedsheets, scared to even move out of my blanket but unwilling to go back to sleep lest the nightmare continued.

Thinking back about it in the day, the whole fright thing seemed so ridiculous and rather embarrassing. Analyzing the nightmare part by part, I don't even know what exactly was so scary about it except for the appearance of a p********.

I guess part of the reason why it freaked me out was because the scene was one of those very creepy, foreboding ones that always raise my goosebumps. Another reason could be that the scary part was actually a very abrupt and short ending to a very long dream, most of which was very harmless and in fact quite pleasant. It was quite horrifying how such a normal, mundane dream could suddenly turn so terrifying so fast. Of course, it could be that I'm just a scaredy cat by nature.

Maybe it is cause, although the dream was long, I could remember EVERY SINGLE detail about it, which is something people usually aren't able to do. Plus, there's the fact that this petrified sensation didn't dissipate the moment I woke up, like all my previous nightmares, but in fact became amplified.

Now, thanks to that one dream, those 10 seconds of horror, I've been reduced to a jumpy boy who does not dare to be in the darkness or be alone in his own home. I'm such a coward.

In other news, my revision is going really really badly. I can't believe I'm so far behind schedule and yet I allow myself to not concentrate fully and still procrastinate. I know that time is running short, I can actually feel the sense of urgency this time, but I just don't seem to be able to do anything about it. Weak excuse from a soft-willed, escapist? Perhaps. But that's who I am.

Praying to God for dreamless, refreshing sleep and an iron will. Please pray for me too.

Gabriel.

2005-09-08T00:11:00.000+08:00

hahaha

I think I'm sick. I actually - get this, people- find mrm interesting to study. In fact I'm reading the entire textbook line by line in correspondence with the lecture notes.

Of course I might not say that later when I get to the headache chapters.

Of course I might not say that neither if I find that I've run out of time to finish studying.

But for now I'm happy. Interest is a good thing when it comes to studying.

Maybe the horrendous coffee I brewed is making me high now.

Gabriel.

2005-09-07T18:23:00.000+08:00

sigh of resignation

So I brought my laptop back to mel again. And apparently they are going to do the exact same thing as they did last two times so I don't know how it's going to help. I just hope they see the memo that the mel guy left that said they've done this twice already and hopefully they'll do something else new.

I have a feeling this laptop thing is going to draw out for quite a few more weeks. I just hope I can get the problem fixed by the time I go to NY, whether it be that my current laptop is finally fixed or that I get a new one.

Like Jean was telling me last night, though, there is a small silver lining in this situation - I can concentrate on my exams with less distractions.

So today NY meeting totally freaked me out. I am so unprepared for it. I don't wanna foul up *whines incessantly*

Tried to study in school but me and Aggy ended up going to Creamer for ice cream. Omg the ice creams there are great man! The apple pie and cookies n' cream combi is simply or-freaking-gasmic.

Ok I'm supposed to have started on my intense mrm mugging yesterday but I'm lagging so much behind it's not funny at all. Must start must start.

Alright see you then.

Gabriel.

2005-09-06T23:02:00.000+08:00

ay blardy hell

Two weeks ago, on Tuesday, I went to mel services to let them fix my laptop, which had a hard disk problem.

"Ok we'll get it replaced at Toshiba," came their reply. I got it back that Friday.

To my dismay, it spoilt again the next Monday with the exact same problem so I brought it back again on Tuesday.

"Ok we'll get it replaced again," they said.

I got it back the very next day and I used it for my presentations and newswriting project.

Just now, the same problem appeared again. Again again AGAIN!

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't replacing the hard disk mean that I have a totally new one, which means it basically acts like a new laptop? Why is the exact same problem occuring so many times if the problem is supposed to be fixed totally?

Urgh. I can't believe I have reinstall and customize everything AGAIN.

This time I managed to back up some stuff but not completely. I only managed to back up my mp3s to the letter "U", which is stupid.

Urgh. I really hope mel would fix my problem once and for all. This cannot happen in New yOrk.

Speaking of New York, I can't believe I'm doing research on Boston when I should be mugging my brains out for MRM exam. Oh well I chose to join. Shouldn't complain so much.

Pfft "darling", all I did was take the best care of you I could. Why are you like that to me? Is it another guy? Eeeeeurgh.

Gabriel.

ps. Khai and Jean, both Toshiba m30 users, are also experiencing the same problem. Is it just the laptop?

2005-09-06T18:39:00.000+08:00

sunshine

Yesterday tears were spilled. Today, laughs were generated (sort of). My classmates are cool peeps.

Gabriel.

2005-09-05T22:42:00.000+08:00

melancholy

Today was supposed to be a good day. The official end of my 1st academic semester in year 2. The end of all our crazy projects. The start of our final exam revision time. The end of crazy sleepless nights and strained eyes from staring at the laptop. It was supposed to be good. In reality, it was anything but.

Thanks to a large large boo-boo, our newspaper was submitted in pitiful quality. Our group, a group I felt started out so promising, had to settle for such a sad ending thanks to a small, fatal error. The scene at the FMS office was fit for a drama serial. My group was not the only troubled one.

Here are some of the gamut of feelings I went through today: fatigue, drowsiness, disbelief, anger, frustration, nausea, sadness, fear, embarrassment. All within two hours of each other, most of them running concurrently.

I am really not fated to be a print journalist. Maybe I still have some hope in feature writing. Newswriting, however, is totally off-territories. I am not going to subject myself to such pain again. I have no idea what to pursue, then, since print journalism was what attracted me to mass comm in the first place.

Today was bad. The situation seems helpless. I just thank God that most of my teammates are such resilient, wonderful characters.

Right now I guess there's nothing we can do to salvage the situation anymore. I just hope that tomorrow's meeting with Mr. Ramani will be fruitful and productive and end up in some kind of closure on this issue at least.

I just pray that we can bury the memory of this dismal failure and not let it distract us from our exams next week.

Well got back MRM current score. I guess it's ok. Not amazing but not that bad neither. Too bad my exam is going to pull it down so much.

ALW was really bad for me. I kept falling asleep during the movie. In fact, I fell asleep literally more than ten times. I have never fallen asleep like that in class ever before. I guess I'm just a guy who can't stay up all through the night with only one plus hour of sleep. It makes me sick, literally.

Wow there's still New York stuff to do, even during our exam period. I just hope that I can somehow find it in me to write decent features for the trip. I can't imagine the horrible embarrassment of having badly written stories with my byline plastered on magazines nationwide. That would be humiliation beyond my ken. I would just go so red my head would burst and my limited amount of brains would come pittering out.

I pray that we'll all have the strength to hold on for one last week. I pray that I won't fail newswriting. I pray I'll do ok for the rest of my modules. I pray we won't have so many conflicts anymore. I pray we'll be kept healthy in these trying period, both emotionally and physically. I know if I pray, tomorrow will be a better day.

Right now I'm so tired my eyes really want to close. Tomorrow is the start of mugging phase one.

Media research exam, here I come!

Gabriel.

2005-09-03T10:19:00.000+08:00

the day after yesterday

So MM and Advert final presentations are over. Both had some rather sizeable boo-boos in them but overall I think we did ok. Not stellar A grades but at least B?

Now the only project left is the killer newswriting. My two editors will be coming over later to discuss the stories. First time anyone's coming to my new home to discuss a project haha.

Yesterday was pictures galore. Imagine wearing a suit, a tie and a blazer, standing around in the stifling heat and taking photo after photo. Hot, to say the least. Very fun, though. These are experiences where we will never get back so I guess it's good to have photos of them.

Watched Hitch last night, finally. Hmm, it's an ok movie. Definitely not top-grade. In fact, the first half of the movie was insepid and boring. It did pick up towards the end but even that was a very cliche, done-many-times-before ending. Hmm 2.75 stars out of 5.

Oh well, lalala.

Gabriel.

2005-09-01T23:40:00.000+08:00

shit

In mass comm, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Anything that cannot go wrong will still go wrong.

It's amazing the amount of events that can transpire in just four days to make you feel like the most rotten person alive.

In one week mm has gone from my hopeful module to my most dreaded. The module which, just two weeks ago, brought me the most joy now brings everyone pain.

I really hate school now and I'm sure a lot of people echo my sentiments.

Bah.

Gabriel.

2005-08-31T22:45:00.000+08:00

media management

The one module I thought I could rely on and now I find out I can't, really. Sigh.

So my laptop is back again, this time from a one-day sabbatical. I'm going to treat it very nicely now but I'm not going to let my guard down like the last two times.

This sem is a killer, not because of the amount of work (mainly it's harder but not actually that much more) but because there are so many things that can happen that will wreck relationships apart and break people down. It's happening to people around me, it's happening to myself. Sometimes being a mass commer really bites. Hard.

Well I'm off. Hope that this time the laptop will last.

Gabriel.

2005-08-31T09:08:00.000+08:00

fighting a losing battle

So my laptop is gone again. Despite the fact I just got the hard disk replaced last week (which should essentially mean spanking, new, lappie), the new hard disk has decided to go the way of the old one and go kaput. I'm just greatful that I hadn't started using it to store stuff yet.

Dammit this means that, for this last very important few days of project rushing, I have no laptop to rely on. Things just have the habit of failing on me at the wrongest times don't they?

Y'know, like I was telling Debbie last night, I always tried to excuse my mediocre grades to a lack of determination and trying. My mantra has always been "if only I had tried harder, I would have done much better."

However, recent events (ie. newswriting) have substantiated the fact that I don't do well simply because I don't have the intellectual capability to. At the end of the day, I'm just not good enough.

It's ironic that this module was one of those few which attracted me to mass comm in the first place. "Passion beats all," they said to me, "you're good with writing, I'm sure you'll do well!". Alas, I wish that were true. Passion doesn't mean nuts (and I don't mean TT Durai's peanuts) in mass comm, only talent.

Right now I don't even know what to take in year three anymore. I've always wanted to do print journalism but, after looking at how newswriting is fast becoming my worst nightmare in my whole poly life, I'm rapidly winning off the idea of being a reporter. Perhaps I should go into media management as a career? Bah.

It's back to newswriting now again. I just wish I could press a fast forward button and jump to next Monday, when I can finally leave newswriting behind and concentrate on the behemoths that are media research and advertising exams.

Bluergh.

Gabriel.

2005-08-28T23:33:00.000+08:00

sunday sunday

Book that I've been searching for since early 2004 + CD that I've been wanting since late 2004 + Total cost of S$16.40 = One very happy Gabriel.

Today would be the relaxing Sunday, the calm before the raging tempest that will be the coming week.

Today, Aaron overshared anatomical information, Weijian actually came with us and dea/tinner was an intellectual conversation about the pros and cons of each generation of Pokemon games as well as the ridiculous dubbing that plagues quality Japanese live-action hero shows.

Dear media management/advert group members, if you are reading this, I am very very sorry I won't be able to join any group meetings that might occur these coming Wednesday and Thursday nights. Got NY meeting on one and an inescapable family gathering on the other. I'm very very sorry k. You can give me more work to do to compensate.

Worried about mrm exam, about tv test results, about media management presentation, about advert presentation and exam but most worried about lack of stories for newswriting. There isn't much time left. I have no idea how I'm gonna pull another two more credible ideas out of thin air.

Worried about tomorrow's ALW. How to write an essay about nothing and make it sound like something in 3 hours? I don't feel like I've learnt much these past 5 weeks. I don't know what to apply, what to use because I haven't gained anything from D.Wee (which, btw, is my fault because I'm just so hopelessly dense and can't think out of the box). I'm so gonna flunk this essay and make a fool of myself.

A Daily Bread message a few days back said that we should not be bothered about insignificant things and concentrate on bigger things. This means we should not spend too much time buying clothes, choosing what to wear each day, worrying about how we're coming off to others, worrying about our general image, worrying about getting material gains. This, however, is much easier said than done, especially for someone as self-conscious as me. I just hope, and pray, that I can somehow pull this off.

Pray for me. Pray for my group/class mates. Pray for my course mates. Pray for those JC people taking their prelims. Pray for the teachers that guide us. Pray for the parents that provide for us. Pray for the friends that support us. Pray for yourself. Just pray. Pray until something happens (PUSH).

Gabriel.

2005-08-26T19:56:00.000+08:00

tgif

Today's advert workshop went way better than expected.

Spent hours waiting for stuff to happen.

Photoshoot for ad was dumb.

Ate A LOT of unhealthy snacks.

Canadian Idol 3. I want Aaron and Melissa to be the top 2 but I'm sure it'll be Rex and Suzi.

NY trip seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Sigh.

Gabriel.

2005-08-25T18:16:00.000+08:00

exhausted and relieved

So MRM presentation is over. Could have been better but it was not bad.

TV is over too. It wasn't perfect but at least Mr.Foo seemed to like it. Of course he had to ruin my semi-celebratory mood by reminding us of the test, which I am very sure I failed.

Oh well. I'm so tired. There's still work to be done but at least not at the sleep from 3am to 5am only variety. Yet.

Ciao.

Gabriel.

ps. My hp's dictionary is probably the worst in the world. It has weird, non-existent words but does not have "tomorrow", "probably", "stuff" and, most ridiculously, "eat". How dumb.

pps. Today when I was filming the actual demo and Debbie told me to wrap, it suddenly struck me that those last 20 seconds were, essentially, the end of TV Production 1. I don't know why but I actually felt a bit sad. Then again, I was sleep deprived and subsisting on coffee so who knows?

2005-08-22T20:14:00.000+08:00

almost on cloud nine

So today I was just doing mrm with my group in canteen one (well more like Debbie, Darren and Grace were doing it. I was sitting there being redundant, as usual). Debbie mentioned that we have to bring our laptops tomorrow to do mrm in school tomorrow, causing me to start whining about how I don't have a laptop now.

"Unless by some miracle mEL actually calls me today and returns me my laptop", I deadpanned, knowing full well it would take longer than one week.

A few minutes later, I turned on my phone (which was running out of battery) to check for smses. I saw a new voice mail, listened to it and almost shrieked with glee.

"Hello Gabriel, I'm calling from mel. Your laptop is ready for collection."

WOOOHOOOOOOO! HE'S/SHE'S/IT'S BACK!!!!!!! My favourite (and only) laptop-which-used-to-be-called-dahling-but-no-more-cheesy-names-please! WOO HOOO!

Alas, with the Mount Faber of school work pressing me down like Sun Wu Kong, I don't have much time to play around with it as well as my new hp. Oh well. I'm still a happy boy.

Yay. For today, at least, Gabriel is a happy boy.

Gabriel.

2005-08-20T23:22:00.000+08:00

fatigue

I am so tired.

Bazaar is over. We didn't manage to raise that much but oh well, it was fun. Of course, there was the time spent with Arman and Zat in the handicapped toilet washing pots, making lots of noise and getting grossed out by disgusting looking tissues.

TV is so screwed. I'm such a terrible host. I would give up on my Kids Central host dream, only that my 8Days/New Paper writer dream seems even further away.

Friday gave me a pleasant little surprise. I shan't let it go to my head though. It's the only bright academic star I have this sem and I intend to at least maintain it at that or better it.

Ides of March was not bad. There's room for improvement but I was quite...surprised, pleasantly (I apologise for my vocabulary, or lack thereof. It's late and I'm tired).

AIDS Awareness was actually quite interesting. Not "WHOA I had such a great time!" or anywhere near but still it was passable, though a tad too long.

Miracle service was...different. Worship was really really really good. The service itself was...different. Sensitive subject that I shall not mention here.

Alright there's soo much work to be done over the next two weeks. I don't know how I'm going to be able to manage it. On top of school work, there's also NY stuff to be done. I'm just gonna die man.

Newswriting is like the bane of my life at the mo. I really can't afford to do badly but right now I just don't seem to be cerebral enough to do anything about that dismal fact.

Ay I should really lose weight man. Today I was sitting in the LT and then I bent down to pick something up and I heard a really terrifying sound. "Plop". I then stood up and what should fall out but my jeans button? (Why I'm sharing this with potentially millions of people is beyond my ken right now).

Yawn. Shall go off now. Remember people, it's "Safe Sex or Save Sex". You shouldn't consider anything else.

Gabriel.

2005-08-18T00:46:00.000+08:00

achooo! sniff sniff

Wow it's been a week of misfortunes so far. The laptop, TV prod written test, FA2, flu.

Looking at the coming two days there's a ton of opportunities for more misfortunes. I really really pray not though.

Nontheless I shall not let these setbacks pull me down. No use crying over split milk (or lack of good angles). I shall just have to work harder and prove myself.

Whoa I've been putting on a ton of weight these past few weeks. Not exercising+eating a lot+lack of physical activity=tub of lard. Eek.

Ok tomorrow (or rather today) is tv prod demo show rehearsal. Right now I've just reached home from baking cookies at Khai's and am taking a short break before embarking on the script. Doesn't look like I'll get to sleep much, though.

Tired tired tired. Everyone is even more tired so I guess I can't complain too much. Being a mass commer = no sleep.

I think I'm just rambling.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S rocks! (But stop it people. I'm not Ross. Seriously.)

Ok bye bye. Please come patronise the All American Bazaar!

Gabriel.

2005-08-16T22:15:00.000+08:00

bummer

Well I think I've pretty much screwed up my TV test. I think I'm the only one who wasn't happy with it at all after we came out. Heck, I even gave away my give away questions. I'll be happy if I pass man. Seriously, it only just hit me that it's 30% of the overall grade, only 10% less than the usual exams for the other modules. Argh.

To think this sem, like all the others, started out so promising. Now, I've been reduced to just barely surviving and even that has become quite a formidable task. I wonder how others can just score so effortlessly?

Tomorrow the Newswriting FA2 is coming back. I'm seriously freaked out about that. All along I've thought that it was ok but after today's lecture and hearing Ms. P Chan talk about the various errors committed, I'm so dead. Plus there's the fact that my story has not much going for it, that it's just a "hodge podge of random quotes" (P.Chan, 2005). Arghhhhh.

It's so ironic that I always end up doing badly for those that I think I will do ok. Eeyer.

Oh people, please come patronise the All American Bazaar at Flea Avenue on Thursday! And please buy cookies from me!

Gabriel.

2005-08-15T21:33:00.000+08:00

scared, very scared

So the synopsis is in. My laptop needs to have its hard disk replaced. That means everything on it will be gone. It will also take a week or maybe more. Haiiiii.

Actually I'm not that upset about what is lost anymore. It's just kind of a sad thing.

I'm really scared. I don't think I'm being paranoid this time. If it does actually happen then I'm just so dead. I just pray and pray that it doesn't.

ALW makes me see how un-out-of-the-box my mind is and how I fail to think of anything other than the usual. I would say that it is the most mentally stimulating module to take though and, at times, the most interesting. Hopefully over time I can start thinking out of the box more often and more easily.

It's sad how even second rate US sitcoms like Yes, Dear, Still Standing and King of Queens are still way funnier than any Singaporean comedy.

Gabriel.

2005-08-14T21:44:00.000+08:00

royally pissed

I originally wanted to post this witty , humorously sarcastic blog entry about my estranged relationship with technology. Now, nothing's funny anymore.

My laptop has crashed. Totally crashed. Everytime I turn it on I get a blue screen with an error message and no option to do anything at all. All my 2000+ photos (collected within 3 years), my tons of mp3s and my videos are all gone. My school stuff is gone too. And worse, the stuff I was safekeeping for Arman are gone. I'm so sorry Arman. I'm really sorry.

I HATE TECHNOLOGY. Handphones that have faulty battery meters, washing machines that shrink t-shirts after just one wash, mp3 players that always have weird errors and laptops that crash inexplicably despite constant, vigilant scanning.

The most ironic thing? The very time that I turned the laptop on to back up everything onto CD-Rs was the very time that it decided to just hang totally.

Great, now on top of all the school stuff that I have to worry about, I have to worry about the stupid laptop too. I CANNOT STAND THIS. STUPID STUPID STUPID LAPTOP.

WHAT DID I DO WRONG TO YOU? All along all I did was take the best care I could of you. I scanned you for spyware and viruses every two days. I made sure everything I downloaded or installed was virus free. I took care not to overload you by opening too many programmes at one time. When I brought you out I even made sure that, whatever happened to my bag or even to me, nothing would happen to you.

And yet? You choose to act like this to me, crashing on me just as I'm going to back up everything, crashing on me just as the final projects are all coming. I hate you, you know that? I FREAKING HATE YOU! Rot in hell, laptop.

A very very pissed off,
Gabriel.

2005-08-14T00:37:00.000+08:00

the fun and the not fun

The fun of the past two days:
-Jean's B'day BBQ today. Filled with gossip, laughter, weird drunk antics and lots of food, glorious food. To top it off, there was an after dinner 100m dash for the bus. Like I said before, the ingredients for a great evening=great food+even greater company.
-Cookie baking at Khai's place. Fun and yes, I did enjoy Gilmore Girls (ssh!).

The unfun of the past two days:
-My laptop, which stability and protection I have always been proud of, has suddenly chosen to die on me. Since Friday morning, everytime I turn it on and leave it on for a while it hangs and comes up with a blue error screen. Once or twice the blue screen came up after only about 10minutes of use. I am now hastily backing up everything and then sending it for a checkup.
-Newswriting is really scary. I didn't managed to get much from the press conference.
-The weather is stifling. Waiting for Hajar today at Yishun MRT was no joke.
-Since coming back from the BBQ, I have developed a nagging ache in one of my teeth. I hope it's nothing serious. Think it's time for a dental check up. Haven't had one in ages.

Gabriel.

ps. So, dear friends, if you see me online these few days and talk to me but I don't reply, or I suddenly go offline halfway through a conversation, don't worry I'm not being rude or anything. It's just that my laptop has hanged again.

2005-08-11T00:00:00.000+08:00

ramblings of a tired mind

I know it's wrong to feel jealous. But when you hang around the same people I do and you have my abilities and intelligence, it's very difficult not to. My inner Hulk is only becoming bigger and greener. I'm like a little lalang caught in a tornado of myriad talents, overwhelmed totally by the immensity of everyone else's aptitudes.

Today had a painting session for TV prod settings. Ah damn ego deflating lar. I have discovered, to my horror, that my art has only deproved since its already dismal days in lower sec. So paiseh lar. My paintings are so easy to spot because they are the ugliest in the lot. I even dripped paint on my shorts and shirt somemore leh.

Two pop quizzes and I'm so unprepared for them. The one week I totally forgot about them and they both came. Pfft.

I'm so worried about media research methods. I have NO IDEA what's going on.

Mr. Ramani said that about 3/4 of the cohort got penalised for plaigarism for FA2. That is very worrying news.

Got back ad analysis. Well the mark's ok but it could have been way better. I'm rather disappointed with myself.

New York, New York. It's so exhausting. Plus, I'm always on my toes because of it.

Project Improve Chinese day 1 sort of failed. Thanks to Dorcas, I am now, permanently embarassed. Tsk.

Tireeddddddddd.

Gabriel.

2005-08-08T18:04:00.000+08:00

jealousy

Sometimes you can't help but feel envious, especially when people achieve things you've always wanted but was never able to.

Right now, I'm an Incredible Hulk.

Gabriel.

eta: Aussie Idol 3 looks promising, more so than Canadian Idol 3. Aussie Idol just seems to be a very well done production, unique in its own way. Let's hope it'll give me reason to let it remain my favourite idol show worldwide.

2005-08-07T17:32:00.000+08:00

sunday afternoon

Hajar told me yesterday that Book Writing and Publishing has been taken off the list of year3 electives because the tutor, Mr.Kon, "has left for the greener pastures of Harvard," (Hajar, 2005). DAMN IT. I was so settled on that and, apparently, quite a few others were too. Well I have no choice then. I'll probably take Print Journ, Online Journ and, get this, CHINESE PRESENTATION SKILLS. Yes, ok can stop laughing now. My Chinese ain't that bad k? Just a bit rusty (ok rusty enough that if you touch it, it'll disintegrate) but I just need practice to get back into linguistical shape. I hope. Heh.

I think next time when I'm damn free and damn rich, I shall take, on top of Psychology and Journalism, a degree in Anthropology as well as Symbology. These are all so cool. Of course that's if I'm free, and rich, and, most importantly, possessed of some kind of Newtonian intellect.

So last night I went with my family to watch Seven Swords. The movie is actually not bad. I was quite intrigued by the concept of the swords. However, I felt the movie editing was jarringly bad, with weird scene transitions and background music suddenly being cut off and changed to another one. It's probably a result of the cut of one whole hour of footage that I heard about. Some of the action scenes were also really disorienting and I couldn't tell what was happening, although that might be just me. All in all, not bad. I wouldn't mind catching the next four sequels (yes, four). 3 stars.

And, of course, being a movie screened in a neighbourhood shopping centre, there was the usual handphones flashing and ringing, people talking loudly and, in this case, a really loud infant, who was talking literally nonstop throughout the whole movie and sometimes even switched to some wailing for effect.

I really wonder what has happened to Singapore's new generation of parents. How can they let the child go on like this for such a long period of time. I mean, if it was an unexpected burst of noise that's forgivable but this kid was really talking throughout the whole movie. Although the kid was rather annoying, I would say that, in this case, it is the parents' fault. Children are young and they are oblivious to any annoyance they might be causing to people around them and thus, parents should be the one to step in and reprimand, or at least tell, the child about it and ensure it does not happen again. If the problem is not nipped in the bud it might just develope into a real problem. In last night's case, all the parents' did was shush the child a few times, something everyone else could have and almost would have done. After that, it was obvious they gave up and just left the kid to his own devices while they enjoyed their movie.I really abhor these kinds of inconsiderate, selfish behaviour. As parents, it is their duty to make sure their children do not disturb others, even if it is at the expense of their own movie enjoyment. If I was sitting closer I might have tried to talk to the parents. Alas, I was half the cinema away, silently fuming at not being able to hear dialogue because of the kid's ramblings.

Oh well.

This morning we had a guest speaker at church talking about whether the Bible is still relevant in this age of science. Actually, I felt that he had gone a bit out of point in his sermon and in the end his whole speech seemed to just serve the purpose of bashing the theory of evolution. While I felt some of the points he made were interesting, there were lots of fallacies in his argument and it was obvious that he was only letting us onto things that would sway our opinion towards his and not the whole picture. Oh well, I did buy two things after the service: 1. The Integrity Worship iworship twin CD set I wanted from long ago and 2. this book about the 20 most FAQs about the Bible and the answers to them. Aaron also bought this interesting book about UFOs and the Bible and I guess I'll borrow his after he's done with it.

Man I've wasted this whole weekend away doing goodness knows what.

Notice my blog entries have been really long lately? I guess I'm in a rambling, sharing, here's-my-life-story-even-if-you-couldn't-care-the-hell-less-about-it mood.

I need more hard drive space for my laptop. Way more.

Gabriel.

2005-08-06T01:24:00.000+08:00

tireeedddddd pt.2

Ok I'm so...exerted now (sorry, I've been using weird words like these the whole day). The time now is 1am on Saturday morning but this entry is for the whole of Friday, where lots of stuff happened, some up, some down, most disappointing.

Let's start from the top then.

It began, as all weird days do, in the millipede-infested building known as the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Teaching Hub, aka bk56. I reached school just in time to take the same lift as Mr. Bangras (and Mr. JLo) and ended up being first in class, together with Dorcas and Melvin. We then had the MM test (after everyone else arrived, of course). Well what can I say? I'm very disappointed in myself. Despite having been one of only a few, apparently, to have read through all the readings thoroughly this morning, I blanked out on quite a few questions and answered wrongly for others. It wasn't even a particularly difficult test. In fact, it was rather easy, if not for the fact that I got increasingly frustrated with my inability to remember stuff I should be able to. What can I say? My AD (or A+ or even A) is gone.

We also got back the MM Financial statements test. I actually did ok, but, being me, the moment I got the results and felt relief, I started thinking about how I could have done better and blah blah blah. The usual want-more-no-matter-how-much-you-have greedy syndrome.

After MM we had a lot of time so we went to the library. Very interesting book I read.

Next it was advert. We got back the creative stuff. Ms. Low told us that for two out of the three, we would have gotten A if not for one small error (apparently not so small, then). Because we had used the word "original" instead of "authentic", we got a final grade of BBC, instead of AAC. We should, as Ms. Low said, kick ourselves in our tushies. We could have been one of the top in the level. Argh. Argh. Argh.

After advert I went home, made a few phonecalls and smses and arranged a whole entourage to accompany me to FOP. (Ok fine, I just approached 3 friends who were obviously interested in the FOP and not me).

So at 5ish, I left home amidst the sweltering heat to meet Linus at JE, before meeting up with Aaron and Rhonda. We proceeded to Kallang and boarded the shuttle bus, where me and Aaron had our unglammest moment of the day. Despite the fact that we were getting on a shuttle bus, I took out my wallet by reflex and attempted to tap it on the ezlink reader, only to have an error sound and message. And then, I was still completely oblivious to what was happening and actually tried to tap again before good sense finally caught on. So paiseh lar.

At the FOP itself, we took forever to get in, melting throughout the whole process. We also took forever to locate any seats, although by a stroke of good luck these two girls decided to not chop for their friends anymore and we had four seats. Pity though that it was right at the top so we weren't in the midst of the whole festival. At least it was centralized though.

What can I say about the FOP? It was great. Simply great. Hillsongs and Delirious both live up to their incredible reputations. The worship sessions were amazing, as was the whole spirit in the air. Everyone just seemed so enthusiastic and excited. Excellent excellent excellent. I sang till I literally could not talk. I've never felt so...charismatic (in the Christian sense) before. But I guess I finally let go of my inhibitions and self-consciousness during the FOP and just concentrated on praising His name. After all, it is the Festival of Praise.

Brought a camera to take pictures but didn't end up with any. Pity though, who knows when I might get to see Rhonda and Linus again?

After FOP I tried to locate the large amount of MCMers that were supposed to be there although I was unsuccessful. (I did see Nuanyi when I first came to the Singapore Indoor Stadium though).

We left FOP at 11.10pm. Thanks to three consecutive mistakes in judgement made by all three of us guys, we ended up at City Hall at 12.15am, waiting for a cab, having walked for a long distance for absolutely no reason, taken a bus for absolutely no reason and then missing the last train home. Finally I arrived home at 1am. Geez.

See? What an interesting day right? Bluergh if you say no. And pfft too.

Well I'm really tired now. A headache is festering and my voice is totally gone.

Tomorrow (or rather, later on today): Saturday morning cartoons (or rather, cartoon), resting, relaxing, doing a little work, packing my room. I need some rest.

Gabriel.

ps. Weird thought of the day - during overexertions of voices that lead to sorethroats, most people's voices would become low and throaty and somewhat seductive. Mine, on the other hand, went all the way up the pitching scale, resulting in me sounding like some freaky ghost of a boy with an unbroken voice.

pps. In case you're reading this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAFIZ! Have a great birthday.

2005-08-05T00:04:00.000+08:00

tiredddddd

TV lesson from 8am to 11am. Was on full alert cause I'm scared of being a lousy host. Researched for NY from 11am to 6pm straight. Almost destroyed my eyes staring at the screen. NY meeting from 6pm to 9pm. My brain was totally numb by the end of it.

Thus is the life of a mass communicator. Looking at the next few week's deadlines, it's going to get even worse.

Hello Panda, indeed man. Hello Gabriel too.

Look at my long list of stuff coming in the next few weeks:
Week 11 (that's later this morning): Media Management test
Week 12: Sales Promo Due
Week 13: TV Prod written test
Week 14: Media Management business plan, Media Research Methods final project presentation, TV Prod studio demo show, Advertising campaign proposal + presentation
Week 16: Newspaper project, Media Research Methods exam, Advertising exam
Week 11 to infinity: Massive research for New York trip

Each of these assignments require a tediously tremendous amount of work and brainsqueezing and team effort. Week 14 is going to kill everyone. 4 final projects all consecutively. I just pray I survive. I pray that everyone does too.

I hope FOP can help me destress. When in times of stress, just let go, have faith and let God do his wondrous work.

Gabriel.

ps. Mum said a GIGANTIC cockroach about the same size as a thumbdrive (I kid not) flew into my house just now. Alas, when she bent down to cover my food with a plate, it went flying and she didn't see where it flew to. We've searched for it but to no avail. I just hope it flew out and is not hiding in some decrepit corner of my room waiting to ambush me. Urgh, so much for my living on the 24th storey helping.

2005-08-04T00:02:00.000+08:00

xmen? bah. fmen better.

Sakae Sushi with the JG. Lovely, as usual, more for the company than the food.

Who cares about XMen when you have FMen? 8 t-shirts and 1 pair of surf shorts (or whatever they're called). 60% discount. Total cost=$74.00. I'm converted man (but from what I don't know).

Suddenly all the final projects come at one shot. Plus, there's tons of NY stuff to do. Bye bye social life (not that I have much of one).

Well wish me good luck and all the best.

Man, the weather now is so nice. My windows are fully open and there's such a strong breeze blowing in it's like there's a fan on. Hmmmm.

Gabriel.