yay, back for the long CNY break. the only sad thing is that the next time i book in, it'll be for 2 weeks as my field camp is next week :(
i can't wait for saturday! gonna have a possibly very very fun date with mandyy, hope it works out well. what it is shall remain a secret till then :P
dont feel like blogging anything much now, so ill just do a quick quiz i found on winsome's blog and then go watch my prison break. :
1. the phone rings, who do you want it to be?
my honey bunz sugar plumz
2.when shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
i dont shop at the grocery store
3.if you had to kiss the last person you kissed again, would you?
over and over again :p
4.do you take compliments well?
yaaaa
5.do you play sudoku?
yes
.6.if you are abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?
doubt it.
7.if your house was on fire, what would be the 1st thing you would save?
myself! hmm i think i'd grab my hp and wallet cos those are the only things grab-able
8.who was the last person you slept with?
errrrrrrrrr. 11 other guys. in tekong. haha.
9.who do you text the most?
girlfriend and bestie
ok i'm sorry i got really bored of the quiz, and i had to keep pressing enter cos when i copy-paste it it's just all in one chunk instead of being properly spaced out. and the questions are boring. ok let me just end off with the last 3 questions:
45.do you need a boyfriend to be happy?
TOTALLY! hahaha
46.if you could have a job, what would it be?
NBA player. a really good one. then i'll retire at 25.
47.are you easy to get along with?
i think so.
48.what is your favourite time of the day?
BOOKOUT TIME.
ok happy cny eve to all :)
Tuesday 5 February 2008
Saturday 2 February 2008
The Mist and scare methods
bla. felt like i wasted my time today. i woke up late as i was pretty tired and kinda sick, having slept only 5-7 hours total in the preceding 2 days. went to church but there was no sunday school, as it was mission sunday, so just hung out with bestie awhile. rain was imminent so i just went home without bothering to wait.
i havent played bball in 4 weeks! man. i wonder if i can still shoot. or dribble. or will i be some clumsy clown with the ball.
mm, i just got my pay yesterday =) when we booked out the officer told us that the pay was credited to our bank account already. then.. apparently there's some extra money too. i dunno if it's the advance for CNY or it's just some bonus for GST or dunno what, but i had an extra 200-300 dollars =D
then i tried to use the ATM machine for the first time in my life.. and failed terribly. i tried all the freaking options but couldn't withdraw any money. in the end i figured that the machine had no money, as other people also walked away from the machine with a black face and no money in their hands. made me late for my date :(
watched The Mist with my dear girlfriend, which took alot of persuading, as she doesnt watch horror flicks =) hee managed to get her to watch.
k lemme do a quick review.
The Mist is about this mist (duh) that descended upon a town, and a large group of people are trapped in a supermarket. Anyone that went out in the mist would get snatched by some unknown monsters. So they seek refuge in the supermarket and plan for their next action.
In terms of scare factor, i would say they sucked terribly. Their 'scare methods' were all too predictable, and not shocking at all. Ok let me digress abit and talk about 'scare methods' . Skip this whole dark blue section if you're not interested.
Having Horror as my favourite genre of books/movies for the most of my life ( i changed to action/thriller for movies and mystery for books recently), i know of most, if not all of the 'scare methods' employed by movies/shows. lemme list some of them and rate them on their scare factor:
1) Silence Method
As characters approach a scary moment, music cuts, and they walk in silence.. inch by inch.. this sometimes makes us subconsciously hold our breaths.. then BAM. the scary monster/vampire/killer/cat/chicken/whatever comes out.
Very predictable, when music cuts you just EXPECT something scary that it's not that shocking/scary anymore. (Rating: 2/5)
2) Eerie Music
As characters approach a scary moment, the music becomes a particularly eerie tone, adding to the mood.
I like this only when it's used together with the silence method. Like the eerie music goes really loud... then it cuts. then WHAM. scary part. (Rating : 3/5)
3) Point of focus method
One of my favourites! This method makes you concentrate on a particular part of the screen, seemingly normal and harmless. There is no warning whatsoever of a scary part. Then suddenly in the background something scary comes out.
This effect is great as you have no idea it's coming and you're focusing on the screen such that when the scary part comes out it hits you harder.
(used in The Mist, the part where the guy is eating a chicken wing in front of the window.. and bam the insect slams on the window) (Rating: 4/5)
4) Post Anticlimax method
Not used often enough, though i think it's pretty effective.
What happens is there's a typical buildup to a scary moment.. and BAM. You get a shock but it's not the real thing. (for example, a group of people are walking through a haunted house.. then BAM. something jumps out. oh, it's just one of them playing a fool.)
Then straight away after this happens, you get hit by another shock (behind the joker who just played the prank a big monster slowly stands up)
This double whammy works pretty well, i believe =) (Rating: 4/5)
5) No foreshadowing method
Simply put, there's no warning of the scary part that's coming, and it just suddenly hits you.
A simple example would be in 'I Am Legend', when willsmith is examining the zombie on his surgical table and has just given it an injection. All seems normal ... then suddenly it explodes to life and begins thrashing. I think the whole cinema jumped at that point.
I particularly like this effect, though i admit a show would be boring if it just employed this method. The build up is necessary to cause more suspense. Though one or two of this thrown in adds the icing on the cake =) (Rating: 5/5)
Ok back to the show.
Yea besides the weak scare factor, i thought the plot was pretty weak too. I felt the show lacked flow, and was quite.. random, in the way it moved from scene to scene. And the ending SUCKED. like.. it's one of those that makes you go -_-"
mandy whispered to me as the show was ending: "wow if the show ends like this i would say the show really sucked". And after she said that it really ended like that and the lights came on.
(another slight digression - i think i shall call amanda mandy cos i cant think of a suitable pet name without feeling weird saying it online (tried dear/darling/honey all seemed weird typing out), and everyone else calls her manda, so i shall use 'mandy' :P )
So if you're looking a good show to watch or a good scare, DONT watch The Mist. badbad.
~~
didn't get to go to soupspoon :( after the show it was pretty late and we both didn't feel like going so in the end just went home. Soup Spoon is this really nice place at raffles city which sells various types of soup. The soup is really thick and tasty, you have to go try it! Ah, i'm craving for it now, as the weather is so cold. :/
Yknow, i kinda wonder who reads this blog. besides my mei and shamim who are both spamming my tagboard :p even my bestie doesn't visit :( blah. well, i'll update this once a week definitely, when i come out from army. and they'll be long entries like this one. so.. you know when to visit yea.
Time to go pack for army and set off soon. sigh IPPT is tomorrow, hope i pass my 2.4km run. With a cough and terrible stamina (having exercised the whole week, since i was sick) .. i somehow doubt it. Hope i don't end up like those people who collapse and die after the run as they push themselves too hard.
bye
i havent played bball in 4 weeks! man. i wonder if i can still shoot. or dribble. or will i be some clumsy clown with the ball.
mm, i just got my pay yesterday =) when we booked out the officer told us that the pay was credited to our bank account already. then.. apparently there's some extra money too. i dunno if it's the advance for CNY or it's just some bonus for GST or dunno what, but i had an extra 200-300 dollars =D
then i tried to use the ATM machine for the first time in my life.. and failed terribly. i tried all the freaking options but couldn't withdraw any money. in the end i figured that the machine had no money, as other people also walked away from the machine with a black face and no money in their hands. made me late for my date :(
watched The Mist with my dear girlfriend, which took alot of persuading, as she doesnt watch horror flicks =) hee managed to get her to watch.
k lemme do a quick review.
The Mist is about this mist (duh) that descended upon a town, and a large group of people are trapped in a supermarket. Anyone that went out in the mist would get snatched by some unknown monsters. So they seek refuge in the supermarket and plan for their next action.
In terms of scare factor, i would say they sucked terribly. Their 'scare methods' were all too predictable, and not shocking at all. Ok let me digress abit and talk about 'scare methods' . Skip this whole dark blue section if you're not interested.
Having Horror as my favourite genre of books/movies for the most of my life ( i changed to action/thriller for movies and mystery for books recently), i know of most, if not all of the 'scare methods' employed by movies/shows. lemme list some of them and rate them on their scare factor:
1) Silence Method
As characters approach a scary moment, music cuts, and they walk in silence.. inch by inch.. this sometimes makes us subconsciously hold our breaths.. then BAM. the scary monster/vampire/killer/cat/chicken/whatever comes out.
Very predictable, when music cuts you just EXPECT something scary that it's not that shocking/scary anymore. (Rating: 2/5)
2) Eerie Music
As characters approach a scary moment, the music becomes a particularly eerie tone, adding to the mood.
I like this only when it's used together with the silence method. Like the eerie music goes really loud... then it cuts. then WHAM. scary part. (Rating : 3/5)
3) Point of focus method
One of my favourites! This method makes you concentrate on a particular part of the screen, seemingly normal and harmless. There is no warning whatsoever of a scary part. Then suddenly in the background something scary comes out.
This effect is great as you have no idea it's coming and you're focusing on the screen such that when the scary part comes out it hits you harder.
(used in The Mist, the part where the guy is eating a chicken wing in front of the window.. and bam the insect slams on the window) (Rating: 4/5)
4) Post Anticlimax method
Not used often enough, though i think it's pretty effective.
What happens is there's a typical buildup to a scary moment.. and BAM. You get a shock but it's not the real thing. (for example, a group of people are walking through a haunted house.. then BAM. something jumps out. oh, it's just one of them playing a fool.)
Then straight away after this happens, you get hit by another shock (behind the joker who just played the prank a big monster slowly stands up)
This double whammy works pretty well, i believe =) (Rating: 4/5)
5) No foreshadowing method
Simply put, there's no warning of the scary part that's coming, and it just suddenly hits you.
A simple example would be in 'I Am Legend', when willsmith is examining the zombie on his surgical table and has just given it an injection. All seems normal ... then suddenly it explodes to life and begins thrashing. I think the whole cinema jumped at that point.
I particularly like this effect, though i admit a show would be boring if it just employed this method. The build up is necessary to cause more suspense. Though one or two of this thrown in adds the icing on the cake =) (Rating: 5/5)
Ok back to the show.
Yea besides the weak scare factor, i thought the plot was pretty weak too. I felt the show lacked flow, and was quite.. random, in the way it moved from scene to scene. And the ending SUCKED. like.. it's one of those that makes you go -_-"
mandy whispered to me as the show was ending: "wow if the show ends like this i would say the show really sucked". And after she said that it really ended like that and the lights came on.
(another slight digression - i think i shall call amanda mandy cos i cant think of a suitable pet name without feeling weird saying it online (tried dear/darling/honey all seemed weird typing out), and everyone else calls her manda, so i shall use 'mandy' :P )
So if you're looking a good show to watch or a good scare, DONT watch The Mist. badbad.
~~
didn't get to go to soupspoon :( after the show it was pretty late and we both didn't feel like going so in the end just went home. Soup Spoon is this really nice place at raffles city which sells various types of soup. The soup is really thick and tasty, you have to go try it! Ah, i'm craving for it now, as the weather is so cold. :/
Yknow, i kinda wonder who reads this blog. besides my mei and shamim who are both spamming my tagboard :p even my bestie doesn't visit :( blah. well, i'll update this once a week definitely, when i come out from army. and they'll be long entries like this one. so.. you know when to visit yea.
Time to go pack for army and set off soon. sigh IPPT is tomorrow, hope i pass my 2.4km run. With a cough and terrible stamina (having exercised the whole week, since i was sick) .. i somehow doubt it. Hope i don't end up like those people who collapse and die after the run as they push themselves too hard.
bye
Friday 1 February 2008
bang bang.
ah, what a week. my original idea for a blog post changed as the week changed. Ok i must be very careful what i blog, cos it's an offence to publish on the Web anything about the army. i dont know to what degree it is la.. like.. if i say 'SAF uniform is green' omg is that an offence.
Hence i'll try to be as vague as possible when i go into the details. (whee what a paradox eh.)
anyway. the first 2 days were ridiculously slack. it was shooting practice and only 2 platoons could go at once, so that resulted in alot of free time. We could even take afternoon naps. ha. But it got back to normal on wed, then thurs/fri was the live range, where we had our shooting test. I THINK i passed, not very sure though. :S
The rest of the entry is quite long and wordy, if you're busy , you can stop here. thanks for coming chowz
i actually made some blog entries while i was in camp. cos alot of waiting time and stuff, so i wrote like a diary kinda thing.
So if you wanna ask 'how is army', here are my thoughts for various days.
I fell sick on Mon (well i was already coughing since the previous week but it escalated), so here's an entry from then:
"Misery. A feeling evoked by external factors, unfavourable and detestable factors. Waking up to not being able to swallow saliva without feeling like someone's twisting my oesophagus (throat). Nose going all runny as it was raining in the early morning and it was really cold.
Holding on to the small glimmer of hope that i'll get better as the day progressed, these very hopes were dashed as my fellow bunk/platoon mates announced their own misery with synchronized coughing. How does one get better with trillions of germs surrounding him?
I hoped that 5BX would be toned down due to a slight drizzle and wet floor, but i was terribly wrong. The pace was normal, or even quicker than usual. Getting wet with sweat and rain all over my body with strong gusts of wind accenting the effects. Doing crunches and pushups on soaking wet ground. Then changing to a Tshirt which absorbs as much sweat as plastic. I was stuck with a layer of water on my body while marching. Oh yes, the wind was relentlesss. With the onset of fever, i had to gobble down the oily tasteless noodles and a cold hard square chicken-filet thing.
I continue my fervent prayers in hope that at long last, God will actually answer my prayers. Doubt creeps in and queries form, but i cannot falter. i cannot lose faith. In an environment of little rest, hostility, sickness, misery, we all need something to cling on to, somethign to look forward to, something to seek comfort in. Hope is a very dangerous thing to lose.
As i squeeze my eyes shut to end the nightmare, i can only open them to the harsh reality. There's no escape. I have to press on."
And another entry on Wednesday:
"Time flies past. Time comes to a standstill. It's ironic how the only constant in the human world can be perceived very differently at different times.
In army the anecdotes are simple. The physical trainings seem to never end. Yet, when we have our breaks, these breaks seem to end before they even begin.
I feel alot better now. The medicine that the doctor gave seems to work, though they have a weird side effect of raising my heartbeat. I timed it, and my heart was beating at 100 beats per minute when i was just lying on my bed. It kinda frightens me that i may get cardiac arrest or something.
Was having an interesting conversation with amanda last night, something along the lines of 'if you could change something about your life, what would you change?' Like.. go back in time and do something differently.
In this scenario, perspective once again comes into play. One of my biggest regrets in life is now no longer a regret after meeting amanda. If i hadn't done things that way, things wouldn't be what they are now. =)
Vague, i know. If you wanna know more you can ask me personally :)
~~~
ok that ends my post. probably gonna go sleep. bye.
Hence i'll try to be as vague as possible when i go into the details. (whee what a paradox eh.)
anyway. the first 2 days were ridiculously slack. it was shooting practice and only 2 platoons could go at once, so that resulted in alot of free time. We could even take afternoon naps. ha. But it got back to normal on wed, then thurs/fri was the live range, where we had our shooting test. I THINK i passed, not very sure though. :S
The rest of the entry is quite long and wordy, if you're busy , you can stop here. thanks for coming chowz
i actually made some blog entries while i was in camp. cos alot of waiting time and stuff, so i wrote like a diary kinda thing.
So if you wanna ask 'how is army', here are my thoughts for various days.
I fell sick on Mon (well i was already coughing since the previous week but it escalated), so here's an entry from then:
"Misery. A feeling evoked by external factors, unfavourable and detestable factors. Waking up to not being able to swallow saliva without feeling like someone's twisting my oesophagus (throat). Nose going all runny as it was raining in the early morning and it was really cold.
Holding on to the small glimmer of hope that i'll get better as the day progressed, these very hopes were dashed as my fellow bunk/platoon mates announced their own misery with synchronized coughing. How does one get better with trillions of germs surrounding him?
I hoped that 5BX would be toned down due to a slight drizzle and wet floor, but i was terribly wrong. The pace was normal, or even quicker than usual. Getting wet with sweat and rain all over my body with strong gusts of wind accenting the effects. Doing crunches and pushups on soaking wet ground. Then changing to a Tshirt which absorbs as much sweat as plastic. I was stuck with a layer of water on my body while marching. Oh yes, the wind was relentlesss. With the onset of fever, i had to gobble down the oily tasteless noodles and a cold hard square chicken-filet thing.
I continue my fervent prayers in hope that at long last, God will actually answer my prayers. Doubt creeps in and queries form, but i cannot falter. i cannot lose faith. In an environment of little rest, hostility, sickness, misery, we all need something to cling on to, somethign to look forward to, something to seek comfort in. Hope is a very dangerous thing to lose.
As i squeeze my eyes shut to end the nightmare, i can only open them to the harsh reality. There's no escape. I have to press on."
And another entry on Wednesday:
"Time flies past. Time comes to a standstill. It's ironic how the only constant in the human world can be perceived very differently at different times.
In army the anecdotes are simple. The physical trainings seem to never end. Yet, when we have our breaks, these breaks seem to end before they even begin.
I feel alot better now. The medicine that the doctor gave seems to work, though they have a weird side effect of raising my heartbeat. I timed it, and my heart was beating at 100 beats per minute when i was just lying on my bed. It kinda frightens me that i may get cardiac arrest or something.
Was having an interesting conversation with amanda last night, something along the lines of 'if you could change something about your life, what would you change?' Like.. go back in time and do something differently.
In this scenario, perspective once again comes into play. One of my biggest regrets in life is now no longer a regret after meeting amanda. If i hadn't done things that way, things wouldn't be what they are now. =)
Vague, i know. If you wanna know more you can ask me personally :)
~~~
ok that ends my post. probably gonna go sleep. bye.
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