Shooting SimKent...

From this week's Monday till today. Everyone seems to be in the "dying" mode in the amidst of the assignments' hell. It seems to me that even the best of the best students who did their harkwork on their assignments seems to be unable to finish their current assignments at hand. See the problem is, I don't see them doing their work.

Anyway, I'm also in amidst of this hell here. Frankly speaking, I hadn't been doing my assignments dilligently. I do do them (or basically doing only my Advanced Computer Animation or ACAN), but I just don't do them fast enough to see the light of hope in front of me.

In basic terms, I'm in a constant stress mode that'll never go away and I'm simply ignoring it for the much of it.

So to de-stress, I suddenly came out with the idea of being mean, shooting at one particular friend named, Kent. Now Kent has no account in Friendster. Several of his friends tried to get him in, but he rejected. He thought that Friendster is nonsense. But from my point of view, he's just rejective that many of his friends will shoot him immediately with a lot of negative testimonials. Because that's what he is, a person made mostly of negative traits (not exactly a bad guy but just have a lot of negative ethics, attitudes and ill-manners).

So I created an account for him, named SimKent, meaning "Simulator Kent". I try to use names that can relate to Kent, but I am careful. I try to use pictures and name that can be related to him, but no exactly the same (just in case he wanted to sue me for defamations, he can't do anything to me!)

In this way, I may looked very mean. But indeed, I admit I'm a mean person. But like Kent is Kent and has lots of negative traits. I am I, and I have my negative traits too.

Anyway, once I started the SimKent account on Friendster and invited some of Kent's friends in as SimKent's friends. And all the testimonials flowed in.

The best testimonials came from Andhika, who is working with Kent in their ACAN assignment. I laughed my ass off! From the testimonials, Andhika is actually complaining about his assignment buddy that he was not doing the right thing at the right time. By this time, everybody should be already doing their aniamtion or at most modelling their props. But Kent is still re-modelling his character's legs and ears, which ain't going anywhere at all because audiences focus will still be on his charcters face (which ain't modelled very well or nice).

Another of Andhika's testimonial was the "stop with the pes E thingy u bastard". This was actually very, very funny. As Kent always proudly state that he is a "PES E" person, which meant for the second lowest medical classification grade for military conscription in Singapore, known as National Service. Kent got a problem with his lower spine, hence not fit for combat. He could only become a military administrative clerk. Kent is just unwilling to serve his nation.

Some people just don't have any patriotism in their blood. I despise these kind of people. I see them as spineless. A person being proud for such a grading so that you can't serve your country because you are unwilling is an unethical being. This people I would just deem them as "weaklings". Most probably end up a traitor to his or her nation when a national threat comes.

Now, as you can see, why many Kent's close friends love to shoot at SimKent, so much.

But whatever Kent is, Kent will always be our friend and we will have to accept his negative traits. Becos' that's Kent, that's what makes Kent, Kent. That is what makes him so interesting...

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"Unethical and unpatriotic people are potential threats of being traitors during a national threat of crisis." ~ Eiizumi

See Sea only... - The Batam Production Shoot, Day 3

Last weekend's Sunday. The next day, we woke up to setup a "grave". A hole has already been dug somewhere in the vicinity of our chalet house by some the Mike's hotel staff. They also got us the leaves around the "grave".

A better tombstone was delivered to us a night before. Engraved with a name too. It was made from styrofoam but it was very well painted, almost like a real one. Except it got way too much specularity due to the glossy paint.

We filled up the hole dug with the soil of bugs (in which the most of the bugs are still in there and alive) which we used the day before. But we had to transport the disgusting soil with bugs to the location of the grave scene early in the morning at 8am, Singapore time. Dawn, Banun and I were truly disgusted (maybe because our stomachs were empty as we hadn't got our breakfast).

In this scene, Anna was supposed to dig or crawl the soil in front of the fake tomb stone.

Kent and I were doing lighting work; covering up some of the morning daylight at the scene. Joycelyn and Banu were throwing leaves ouver Anna, almost burying Anna. But the two girls definitely had their fun.

Next, we got to shoot the close-up of Anna burning of the fake obituary cut-out, in which, instead we use one of the girls’ hands for the shot. It was Jeslyn’s hand used most of the time. There was only to be a one shot to be taken but yet Jeslyn and Kent were already fussing about how to do this and that. We took alot of takes on that single shot alone. We sure burnt up alot of paper.

I see that with a proper person in command, processes always go for us slowly. Then, I told Dawn that witout a proper person in command, we do things very slowly. Then she replied, why do we needed a person in command anyway? Saying that we all knew what our stuff and what to do (but from my point of view, we only know nuts).

Yes, I agreed with her that we knew our stuff and knew what to do, but without a person in command to organise the whole team properly and appoint a priority task for each person to do, we're basically running around like "squirrels". Because out of all the things we know we had to be done, there's simply no consensus of the team of what thing we have to do in first priority first!

That is why there is always a need to have a leader and a leader we can follow! I don't suggest the leader to be me, cos' I'm really scared of biting and fussing squirrels which cause leader nothing but serious headaches and stresses, which in turn shorten one's life.

Anyway, after that, we skip a shot Kent and I suppose to go for, to shoot a moving python. But because of that burning paper scene, we haven't even had our breakfast and we're leaving two hours later. So Mike decided to skip the python shot and allow us to go for our lunch instead.

After lunch, we quickly packed up all our stuff and equipments and was ready to take a ferry along with Mike back to SIngapore, back to home. Be fore we left, the team took picture with Anna at the front of our chalet house.

I took a nice nap at the ferry and was surprised when I reach the Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal's pier. I was agaain surrounded by very kiasu people, eager to get out.

I was pretty glad I reach back home to Singapore... The only regret leaving Nongsa Point, Batam, was that we only able to see sea only; not able to swim in the beautiful sea at the beaches when we're there... We can only see sea only.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"A 'leader' isn't a leader unless he or she is given the mandate and the support he or she needs." ~ Eiizumi


On the Road, Take me Home! - The Batam Production Shoot, Day 2

Last weekend's Saturday. On the next day, we all work up pretty late. It was 9am (but in Batam, it was one hour earlier than Singapore time, hence it was 8am. I’m using Singapore time.)

Kent was as usual, was the lazy pig. He would probably wake up on time unless there’s a fire alarm, just as he would probably die unless you starve him to his grave.

Anyway, the girls woke earlier and I was awakened by one of them. So, I brushed my teeth, wash my face and hair.

Failing to wake Kent up, the rest of us decided to head for the canteen for breakfast. That was the only breakfast for the whole “working” trip. It was simple bee hoon or bread which has to be toasted by ourselves and spread jam or butter over.

I’ve kindly packed a take-away of bee hoon in multiple serviettes. As much as I wanted to starve Kent. This was definitely not a good time to do that. Cos’ I’m on gonna let him get away from doing any proper work on the excuse of hunger. (Already, on that day, he rejected some work on the excuse on wounded palm due to some allergies. I wouldn’t even care if he rots in hell.) He was still sleeping when I went back to ask him to eat his breakfast. So I went back to the canteen to look for the girls again.

After that, it was the stupid up-slope walk for the unwilling exercise again. We were on our way to do the task of collecting some soil again. We did collect some soil the previous day using Stone Age technological tools of twigs, branches and stone to dig. But luckily, I spotted supposedly a gardener or cleaner digging soil with a spade. I pointed out to the girls and we all approached him. Then Banu asked the “abang” or brother in broken Bahasa Melayu to dig for us some soil.

The girls were very happy about it. I wasn’t that as ecstatic as they were. But I was certainly glad that I wouldn’t have to dig for soil for hours while feeding mosquitoes.

But the sad part was we had to bring a big plastic of soil up again and again at the stupid slope till filled up the wooden box with soil. The girls finished the job by putting some mud made from the overnight rain by the roadside.

By late morning, all was ready for shooting and Kent had wakened from his “grave” and fed on his bee hoon. We moved the heavy wooden box of soil into the house using four people, as if it was a coffin. Then, Tommy arrived with our live props of slimy bugs. There were vicious-looking centipedes, bamboo grubs (but I think they all mistaken it as maggots because it was a white as maggots *duh!*), mealworms, earthworms and the dead scorpions in alcoholic solutions.

So for the rest of the morning, we were shooting close-up of the bugs and also close-up of Anna’s hands clawing the soil with the bugs in (who was pretty brave, I would prefer squashing most of the slimy bugs instead), with the exception of the centipedes.

Tommy and Brad had to direct our centipede actors to run pass the camera view with twigs. There were times one of the two centipedes would try to escape out of the box.

There was also of shooting the two dead scorpions fighting, directed by Joycelyn and Jeslyn with twigs. Since they were dead, the whole scenario was weird and funny as the girls had their fun.

After that we finally finished the bugging scenes by early afternoon and cleared all the crawling mealworms in the house and put them back in the wooden box of bugs (with the centipedes taken out). And we quickly cleaned up the house which was dirtied with soil here and there.

We headed for lunch hungrily by late afternoon. After that we went to look around the area somewhere near our chalet house where we gonna shoot for the next day.

Up next it was the cemetery shoot. We had to travel together in a small bus with an Indon driver (basically a SUV), while Anna, Brad, Mike and Tommy (who did their driving) got into another vehicle with a top opening.

During the journey to the cemetery, Mike popped his head from his car opening to shooting the road and the surroundings. On the journey, we all realised we forgotten to take our video camera for our behind-the-scenes or the making of (I supposed it was nothing but making of a mess).

Kent asked Joycelyn, who was in the front seat to wave at Mike’s vehicle to stop, in hoping Mike’s vehicle would stop, so that we can get our video camera which was in Mike’s vehicle. Joycelyn, instead waved her hand out idiotically as if it was a “hi” or just trying to feel the wind.

Mike’s vehicle did stop for us to get our video camera, eventually.

Then again, along the way, everybody was trying to get their hands on the video camera. We were really making a big fuss. I was attempting to get the camera too; I had a purpose to shoot the dashing road lines behind the car (I was at the very back seat). I thought it was a good idea rather than shooting the passing road lines at the front, which had dust and sand from the vehicles at the front and was shaky, so we can’t zoom the shots.

The realized that idea pretty much later, but they continue to confuse and fuss along with other ideas too.

With only a few seconds of the camera in my hands I lost the camera. To whom? To Kent! So I gave up on touching the camera.

With the heat and humid weather, Kent’s blabblings and Banu’s impractical sense of ideas, all their fussing and confusion gave me a total stress of periodical headaches throughout the whole trip to the cemetery.

I kept quiet then.

Without a leader in command, we will always have this fussing situation.

We finally arrived at Galang Memorial Cemetery, at an ex-Vietnam refugee camp, after crossing over about five islands in which I don’t know their names all the way from Pulau Batam. By then, I was pretty lost and giddy after the long car trip of fuss and heat.

Worse still, in that heat and humidity, all of us were in long pants to prevent mosquitoes from biting our legs. We’re also in full gear to prepare for the shoot.

When Mike asked me to take the chance to shoot with his video camera, I went “Huh?” for while, and was temporary lost. But I “woke” up immediately after that, after many of Mike’s instructions to how to shoot the current scene went into my head.

I immediately went into my working mode and started shooting. The scene was a very low angle shot (on the ground basically) of the vehicle driving to my front (which was very, very close to me), then Anna alight from the vehicle and she ran up a short stairs into the cemetery. And then the vehicle drove away.

That time, I felt no fear of the vehicle bumping into me and crushing my hands, which were on the road. I was still feeling a bit giddy then.

Then, the next shot was shooting of close, over-shoulder shot of Anna running into the cemetery. The, I felt slightly creepy at the cemetery and was initially reluctant to accept another chance to shoot. I had to be careful of where I step at the peaceful place, as there were spots where there were tombstones. I was just being respectful to the dead entities still alive in another world.

About the Galang Memorial Cemetery:

It wasn’t exactly the place for dead Vietnam refugees. But mostly for the brave souls who were trying to escape from the turmoil of the Vietnam War during the 60s, fighting for their freedom.

Some were simply escaping from the communists, for being a little richer than others and for being simple businessmen. They were treated as capitalist threats. But all they wanted to do was to earn a living for themselves and their families at that time.

That was truly unfair and fate was cruel. They died to try to find their new world of freedom to Australia.

They either had different religions and different faiths, seen on their tombs stones. Christians were marked by the holy cross. Buddhists were marked by swastikas. Some had tombs which have something like Chinese temple’s architecture on them. I supposed they were Chinese religions related like Taoists I guess. Some tombs had a carved head busts on them, which were quite scary at times when you look into they faces.

I didn’t know what happened to this group of people who went to the other world. I basically knew that they met a mishap at sea in a boat near the area at Galang. I’ve over-heard Mike that they were attacked by pirates and all the bad things happened, like looting, rape and murder. But I didn’t really know, but I hope that wasn’t really the case.

Everything went perfectly okay. No supernatural events happened, except an occasional shouting from someone (but there wasn’t suppose to be anyone but us at the place, I just thought I heard wrong). Then, other shots were taken by Kent or Mike to work on.

The sun was slowly set as we finished all the shots before it.

On the way back to the chalet, the same fussing journey was there again... This time mainly because of Kent. Tommy bought us some barbequed maize or corn for us to munch on along the way. After finishing the corn, we realised we could not throw the corn's leftover away as there was no trash can, plastic bag or whatever for us to throw. Worse still, we after eating the corns, our hands were very oily and sticky. We had to hold onto our corn through the rest of the journey...

Then, Kent was complaining why we couldn't throw the corn outside the vehicle's window or someone stop the Indon driver and someone get down to throw the corns onto the roadside. Why was Kent complianing so much and making a big fuss? He was "suffering" due to his weak, wounded hand palm.

For throwing corns outside the car window, it was obviously unethical. Not to mention that flying corns could hit the vehicles behind or whatever. When he wanted to get down at a slow moving traffic, we advised him, against his decision strongly. Fearing for his safety because of the heavy traffic. Then, he continued to fuss about it all the way back to the chalet house.

I was basically quite quiet through the journey back, as all the fuss between the "squirrels" was unbearable (I admit I am a squirrel too. But I'm the ancient, wise one known as "Scrat".) No wonder Mike called us "squirrels", cos' we know nothing but nuts and corns, and quarrel like one.

After that, we simply challenged Kent to shut up for the rest of the journey, against me, of course. But then, of course, he didn't shut his big mouth up.

Reaching back to our chalet house, we took some time to put down our stuff and head for the toilets before we went to eat our dinner at the canteen. This was where we ate the desserts of fruit cocktail (if I'm not wrong, possible leftover fruits from the previous meal), which cause us to have diarrhea for quite a few days (perhaps it was a combination of the fruit cocktail and the roadside barbequed corn).

Almost everyone except Jeslyn had the diarrhea, as she did not have the cocktail. Dawn got her wish to solve her constipation problem which had been a few days, but also got her diarrhea for the next few days. Joycelyn had the worst of her diarrhea (she had two glasses of the fruit cocktail), which cause her to function improperly. I got mine share of diarrhea too. I been to the toilet for at least four to five times over the next two days or so. But it was not much of digestive system's miscomfort but simply wanting to release the businesses in me.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"Some people are 'squirrels' because they know nuts (and corn)!" ~ Eiizumi & Shian


To Nongsa Paradise! - The Batam Production Shoot, Day 1

Last weekend's Friday. Now, now, now... I'm back at Singapore. I was on a "working trip" to Pulau Batam, Indonesia, at the resort area named as Nongsa. The resort place, Turi Beach Resort is own by our rich director, Mike. My production team are having an overseas shoot there. Kent, Joycelyn, Jeslyn, Dawn and Banu and I were there to have some shots of a few scenes.

On Friday morning, 8am, Kent, Banu and I were in school first to deal with some final paper work and documents in order to pass through the customs. We were rushing for time but we managed to get everything done and then carried some very heavy equipments and took a taxi to our production house at Chinatown to meet the rest of the people.

We headed there late but we were quite in time as Dawn and Joycelyn did not arrived yet. So we quickly packed the equipments we needed for Batam shoot. Though we tried to reduce the amount of redundant equipments, we still had hell of work to carry. Mike gave us the final instructions and advices of caution for the journey there. We had to take very good care of our equipments

Mike did not join us for Batam but he'll go there later. So, his secretary, Leila, accompanied us instead. Rushing for time, we quickly packed our equipments and barang-barang into two vehicles. One was of Raja's old car of the 80s. Raja was hired to tranpost us I think. Dawn, Banu, Leila and I took the old car. We didn't mind it old, but in fact grateful. As the old car doesn't have any back seats' seat belts, hence no need for belts at the back. We still have our very big camping bags and others in our hands. The rest of the dudes took a taxi there instead.

We reached the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on time, perhaps even much earlier than I expected. We rest at the cafe there for a while and check our passports, important documents and ferry tickets. All of us each took the responsible of carrying the equipments and others and I took the constant re-count of equipment of fear losing them. There're too expensive to lose.

We all gave our tickets, cleared my luggages, equipments and passports without a breeze. Only I got my passport longer to clear as I have a very young photograph but they still cleared me.

We reached the departure hall of the terminal. Unluckily we were with a bunch of gamblers, of age 40s and above, rushing to change ferry at Indonesia to gamble at casino boat at international waters. And they were all typically very kiasu. The ferry seems to be going slowly. Finally, we arrived at the Nongsapura Ferry Terminal after about one hour plus, almost nearly two hours of hell in the wretched, heaty ferry. The ferry was about one hour dellayed to arrive at the terminal. The people in the ferry squeezed us everywhere! Worst, we're at the area near the exit. Even if they saw us with our heavy equipments, they would just squeeze and squeeze and squeeze.

Haiz... Typical ugly Singaporeans...

Anyway, we finally reached the place! We met up with the arranger there, Tommy. Tommy is jolly and funny fella. He welcomes us. Kent and Jeslyn already knew him during their FYP. There were two Indon bell boys politely helped us with the heavy equipments. We took two small buses with our equipments to the Turi Beach Resort. And we were all hoping for a surprise to cheer us up a little after the tiring journey.

It was a short journey by road in less than 10 minutes to the resort. It was about 2pm plus, near 3pm. The Turi Beach Resort consisted with at least two resorts areas (I don't even know how big is the whole damn place, I never had the chance to explore it), a marina and a golf course. The places I really knew were the Nongsa Point Marina, the Palm Springs Country Course, the Turi Beach Resort hotel (consist of small looking villages houses), and the Nongsa Point Resort chalets (much more modern-looking house, a bit not well maintained) at two beaches of Turi Beach and Nongsa Beach (if I'm not wrong lah). We're at the Nongsa Point Resort chalets.

The chalet house looks very decent from outside and was on a small hill overlooking the beautiful light green sea. It was about the size of a typical double storey five-room HDB flat like Shian's house in Singapore. It has three storeys. The first floor where we could enter, has a typically cheaply designed living room (with a slow cooling air-conditioner), a dining area and a kitchen. The basement has one room and a toilet outside. The top floor is the master bed room with a toilet inside. Each room has one queen-size bed. The whole house's renovations is quite run-down and dusty.

The girls, Banu, Jeslyn, Joycelyn and Dawn took the room at the second floor which had lousy air-conditioning, a bathroom with a bathtub (in which we never had the time to use) and a locked balcony which could not open but with a nice scenery of the sea outside. Kent and I took the undesigned basement room with an ugly scene outside but with a super-freezing aircon to allow us to sleep well at night and cool down during the humid day.

We put down our equipments and then headed for the small executive staff canteen in the vehicles we just took at the Turi Beach Hotel. The canteen was actually a Japanese style-looking bar but was closed for visitors but became as a canteen instead. There was a small buffet with nicely decorated tropical flowers and leaves. It was the only best meal we had at that canteen, perhaps because we were all hungry.

After the nice one hour lunch, we walked back to our chalet house. The worse thing about walking the way back was the upslope road which was pretty steep. So imagine you have to walk that after your every meal.

We went back to our chalet house to unpack our stuff, do some housekeeping and prepared the equipments to wait for Mike. But waited for almost an hour... We should have went for a swim at the Turi Beach instead! Arrive came Brad, an executive producer working for the Disney Channel invited by Mike to help us in art direction and then later came, Anna, our lead actress for the music video who is a beautiful blonde Russian who gladly helped us to act in our project. The girls spotted her at the streets in the city near our production house.

Then finally, Mike came and we could start setting up the props, lights and cameras in the room at the basement room. We had to mess up the room with our own stock of Oreo cookies, leftovers of Lay's potato chips and tons of books and novels from the resort place itself. Move some furniture from the living room to the room. After that, it was three to four hours of working on with the shoot. We had quite a number of takes for a few shots but basically, everything went smoothly.

Then it was the dinner break. It was the best dinner we ever had on that production. We had a dinner with all the people in the production and Lori. Lori is Mike's wife. But she definitely looked a bit different from the photo of her in Mike's office. But in person she is still very pretty. She's an American. She's a much easier person to deal with than Mike. She talked to us in mature topics and treat us like adults, rather than Mike who treated everyone in the team as "kids" or "squirrels".

During the dinner, we ordered the best dishes we wanted to each with Lori's recommendations. From the appetizers to the desserts, every ordered a bit here and there. Nobody could order more than Mr Chan Kent who has a stomach as deep as the universe. He sure dumped into his digestive system with lots of trash.

The grandest dinner ever at Batm took about two hours plus or so till about 10 pm plus near eleven. After that it was another one hour plus of work on the bedroom scene. After that, it was a pretty major clear up of the messiness while leaving some furniture and messfor a short scene of Shasha (the lead character's name) burning an obituary of her husband (which is actually a digital image of a mock-up obituary of Anna's husband, who is still alive that is).

After that, everybody went to had a nice shower and went to sleep at about 1am. The guys' room had a very cold, near freezing air-conditioning system. I slept well that night because I was accompanied with a borrowed sleeping bag from my best friend which was extremely soft and comfy.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"Some people just don't understand the true meaning of suffering." ~ Eiizumi

Visit to the Tekong Chalets.

Today. I went to visit the Tekong Chalets today. It is the BMTC ot the Basic Military Training Centre for the Singapore Armed Forces. Simply to say, it is Singapore's boot camp and it is on the largest outlying island off Singapore, Pulau Tekong.

I've been there before once during my secondary school days when I was in National Cadet Corp (Land). It changed quite a lot but it still looked like a chalet. Of course, as I know it, its nothing like chalet. But comparing to many boot camps around the world, most soldiers would feel this is one.

BMTC, the place I'm gonna be in a few months time to serve my National Service or NS. I do not fear it but is proud of it. Not many people around the world would go through all these militray shit in their lives.

The name is just named in a nicer way. It meant conscription actually, but because conscription in the past requires no pay and pure hard labour of service by taken civilian into the military (its obviously doesn't sound nice too), now most countries around the world would probably named it as national service. Under the cover of patriotism of course.

Shian joked about NS as being "National Slavery". But of course he doesn't really mean it.

As we all know, Singapore is small nation and has to devote most of its population for its economical development and could not maintain a regular armed forces like most other larger countries do. So National Service is implemented during 1966 (if I'm not wrong about the year). Military defence is needed against external invasion for foreign confidence to invest and help develop in Singapore. So when the former British colonial master is pulling out its forces from Singapore., it became imperative to build our own defence for our peopl, by our people. Hence NS was born.

Not back to my visit. So, the bunch of guys (including me) from my course of Diploma in Multimedia Technology must attend this visit which was made compulsory. To me, making only compulsory for guys was a bit unfair like sexual discrimination. The girls should see too. At first, I wasn't really keen on going there as I visited there once and knew what they are gonna talk about Basically the training and welfare of the recruits.

So, along with many other school's students from SP (surprisingly, with girls some more) took buses all the way down from the west to the east at Changi's SAF Ferry Terminal to take ferries down to Pulau Tekong's BMTC. At the place, We seated at the auditorium, waiting for the whole event to start off while waiting there, watching "Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd", a local sitcom. There, I realised Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) students were also in the visit becuase Shian's close friend whom I am also familiar with, Dominic was there (he's from NYP).

There, I am also surprised to spot one of my secondary school graduate classmate, Vivian Koh Peiying. So, I SMSed her a message "Welcome to Tekong :> ". She replied my messages I sent her then. After the long briefing from the deputy commander of BMTC (which I think it should be a presentation, not a military briefing) and the Questions & Answers session with him and another female Public Relations officer, there split the visiting students into four masses.

I was in the group A or Alpha. We first visited the Standard Obstacle Course or the SOC which consisted of 14 different obstacles like monkey bars, Jacob's ladders and others to test the confiodence and strength of soldiers.

Next we visited the combat rations station, where they show all the different types of combat rations available in the army. They came in the usual standards of non-muslim, muslim and vegetarian but they are all Halal. The next best part of this station was to eat them! We got ourselves in buffet feeding the rations and they were delicious! Maybe it was because most of us didn't have lunch yet. Shian and Chee Wee were defiunitely into the rations, tasting almost every single dish on the table.

Next was the visit to the gym and then the bunk of Alpha Company. Showing us all the King Koil beds, the equipments they could have in the room.

After that was the fun part for me and those who haven't touch the M-16 rifles for a long time. We next visited the Individual Military Training Centre or the IMT centre. It is the place of simulation of M-16 range shooting. Most of my friends who did use the M-16 before scored well enough fot this experience. Mine were mostly 99% head or face shots. But out of all the DMMT guys, Jude stands out because he's already an officer in the army. He certainly has his trainning well! I think his rounds hit on the target's Canadian Bull length is around 3 centimetres and its all closely converged! That's a good military standard!

After that, it was snack time and most of us were hungry. We're chowing down our food like starving rats. Just when I was going to leave the snack area, I finally met Vivian face-to-face and said a "Hello." to her. She reply with a "Eh? Hi."

We return to mainland Singapore by the ferries and via buses to Expo MRT station after that.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"What's more worse than losing your love ones?" ~ Eiizumi

The "Sian-ness".

Today's evening. After that Chee Wee, Meng Kiat, Kent and I went straight to Dhouby Ghaut area's Selegie Road's Parklane Shopping Mall for a LAN gaming session. After the Tekong visit, we're all pretty tired but we don't want to go home. Kent and I had the choice to go for our shoot at some studio for our FYP. But we rather go have some fun.

We had up to 2 to 3 hours of LAN session, Kent left for his mahjong before the rest of us three went home. This session of LAN gaming was pretty dull and was not exciting at all. One to describe it was "Sian", absolute sian I just realised for the whole period the FYP went haywired, I went very sian, boring and don't give a damn to important things.

I guess this is me.

When things didn't get to the place they initially planned to be, I slowly start to give them up. Especially with things that go concurrently.This certainly doesn't reflect positively for me. I knew I had to get out of this shit by taking a better and positive perspective on dealing this things. But up till now I'm still struggling to get out of it.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the FYP project. Yes, I am still doing the project but my heart is just not there. Things are just working their way, not my way.

Here's my principle in doing things: I don't do redundant things that is not progressive or absolutely goal-less. If something is not gonna reach its primary goal it initially planned at all and poeple just try to cover up by degrading it with only one eye opened. I'll just condemn it as a failure.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"When question is asked, all you need is the answer of the whole truth." ~ Eiizumi

Unhappening & Unexciting Days

Since last Tuesday till today. What happened these days? Not very happening and exciting week of what I feel.

I managed to flunk my AAUP written test because I study the last hour one hour before the test, studied for only about one hour. Of course, I'm ain't upset over the "F" grade as I was expecting one. It would be a surprise if I gotten a passing grade. In my point of view, I did better for my ACAN practical paper though. It was a simple animation of a character waiting for a bus, who was suddenly shocked when his bus came but failed to catch his bus. My style was the kind of what I call "anti-climax disappointment".

I was suppose to head for Batam for an initial shoot for my FYP music video project. But then... Mr Director Mike didn't made up his mind and cancelled the shoot for the weekend.

Neither a bad thing or a good thing though. Go Batam, I suffer carrying all those equipment and carrying orders. But if I don't go I had my nice, own time over the weekend.

The weekend was definitely one of the best during this period of work and work and nothing but work to complte.

I went for a LAN session with my friends like Bryan, Chee Wee, Andhika, Kent and Meng Kiat on Saturday at Dhouby Ghaut area's Selegie Road's Parklane Shopping Mall. After the session, Andhika, Bryan, Chee Wee and I walked down the Middle Road straight to Shaw Towers.

There we met up with Thomas, Huimin and Junlong. Togethre we watched the movie "Runaway Jury" as we had four complimentary tickets from Chee Wee's cousin brother and bought the rest of the three tickets and shared the total costs among us seven people.

After the movie, we went to Liang Seah Street's Liang Seah Eating Place to eat our dinner where we gourge our food as we were pretty hungry. We chatted after the meal at the place before we "balek kampong".

My Sunday was simply slacking off at home in front of the home PC. Its been quite long I've slacked at home, so I've rejected Chee Wee's invitation of a karaoke session.

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"A happy heart comes first, then the happy face." ~ Shania Twain

Nothing to Report, Just Have Plenty to Do!

In hell, since the hellish times began... Life has been pretty miserable. I've been trying not to bitch about it but review it instead. I'm not the only miserable person though. Lots of people around me are.

We talked about them later. Now let's talked about my life here, first.

Now, last week was suppose to be a "holiday break" or a term break for school. But it was all but negativity that really elctrified my life for a while. Last, last Sunday, I visited the Asian Aerospace 2004 in the morning. Tired that day but I was hoping the air show would show me something spectacular, but instead it was like a normal exhibition held at the Expo or Suntec Exhibition halls. Not up to what I expected. After the morning, perhaps I was bothered by the FYP pending work of doing the presenatation slides I didn't finish (after some fucking hanging problem that dropped off my work, twice that previous , previous Saturday. I didn't enjoy the show.

After that, perhaps guity to comtribute, I went straight to Syazali's house to see what the rest of the peeps are up to. All I got was really nothing much. They started at 3pm instead of 1pm. I hang around there while the gals tried to figure out situations painfully slow, while Syazali and Kent was doing the storyboards music video.

Where's Shian? I forgot to call him along about that meeting... I'm sorry about that he's been cruxified by the girls temporary. No political chips involved, Shian. Just plain forget.

After that, I went along with Kent to Sim Lim Square to provide money for him to buy some cables for Syazali to digitise the videos from the video camera. But guess what? After all that trouble, we never get to let the judges to seen the things we shot while we're working, much...

Kent and I then bought dinner back to the girls as I managed to wringle my way out of the slow, painful presentation preparartion process. Telling them I got presenation slides and red tapes to complete for the next day's presentation.

The next day's (last, last Monday) presentattionwas quite a tough battle but all made it. Although for FYP music video work, we're still in the pre-production phase, the stuff we did was truely better and more professional-looking that any other work done by SP students so far. Even on the presentation, we were bombarded by the judges, especially by our very own "Simon Cowell", Timothy Rodrigues. The other lecturesr as well as judges, Lau Mun Ying was an objective judge, Timothy Teo was a plain joker, our project supervisor, Kenny Ong was sleeping and Ho Kah Hong was just observing. All was well. I didn't reply to any bombarding questions during the Q & A session though. Perhaps too tired to answer. If I were to say anything, I would simply refer to the Kinemaniac, Michael Wiluan, the client himself. Everything in the project was to his control.

After that presentation, we had more "progressive" looking meetings with Michael Wiluan, even though we were alll dead beat. And for almost everyday of the week break, we had that till it "progressive" down-graded the project somewhat. At that time, I was "enlightened" and the project was simply Kinemaniac use of poly students as interns to do work for him, in the name FYP. Some in my project team, thought of it so too (although they tried hard enough to deny it).

Since then, everyday was a new day, just simply forgotten what kind of emotions I went through the day before.

Till last Sunday, I went to the beach with Chee Wee's kakis. Didn't really enjoy as much as I wanted that bright, sunny Sunday, even though finally there's female company like Rachel and Jiayi around. I played beach volleyball with them and the bule-black bruises and reddish sore didn't brought me the attention of that much physical pain. I'm emotionally and mentally numb.

Perhaps why I didn't enjoy as much on the beach was because of the next day's horrible, unknown AAUP written test. I didn't care about the paper, just like Chee Wee. But the paper grades care about us.

Yesterday, Monday, AAUP test and just as I expected, I didn't know much about the module content. But its was definite a fresh thing to see as I did some so-called "revision" studies on the subject last minute, studied for only one hour and one hour before the paper starts.

No wonder its "fresh" huh?

After that, it was de-stress time. LAN gaming session with the most people ever. There's Shian, Kent, Meng Kiat, Andhika, Chee Wee and I. Even more surprisingly, Samuel's gang (with girls some more), with Phylliss, Ming Yan, Michelle, Wei Hwa and Daniel were all LAN gaming Counter-Strike! They were the normally hardworking people. Guess the AAUP was really tough for almost everyone...

Life's like that. I know I have plenty to do, but simply I have not enough mental capacity to deal with them in details. I need something or someone to revive the liveliness in me...

Eiizumi's Crappy/Inspiring Quote or Quotation of this Blog:
"When you feel nothing, you're nothing. And the nothing is impossible, the impossible is nothing." ~ Eiizumi