ah, as i bask in the freedom of.. freedom and sit back comfortably in my computer chair not expecting a 'HEADS OUT' from the commanders downstairs or checking the time to countdown the minutes to lights out, i can't help but smile.
chinese new year brings great joy to kids who anticipate the numerous hongbaos they're gonna get, unhappiness to married couples who have to fork out those numerous hongbaos, and elation for NSF who get the much appreciated break from army.
of course, those who have guard duty and field camp are exempted from the elation.
i look forward to saturday when i'll be meeting amanda and spending the day with her, but at the same time i don't as the next day will be sunday and that will be when i have to book in. it's like the last meal of a criminal on death row - he looks forward to it and not.
ah, that was quite an extreme analogy wasn't it? well i'll be stuck in Tekong for 2 weeks after booking in, due to my field camp which starts on the 15th, the very same day that is rumoured that the 'A' level results would come out.
ah, the dream of walking back to school with amanda's hand in mine is quickly shattered and relegated to just that - a dream.
IPPT is next week too, and if i fail that, i'll have to stay in the subsequent weekend after fieldcamp for extra training -_- i honestly doubt i'll fail unless i get a cramp while running or injure myself or something. I should have no worries then? No, what if i get a cramp while running or injure myself? As long as there's a possibility of failure, there's an inkling of worry.
oh well, i shall isolate myself from army the next few days, albeit running to train up myself at night. after all, the moments of civilian-hood are limited and short, and i should enjoy every second of it. time is even more precious than before, more precious that money, more precious than anything.
If only time could come to a standstill when we want it to. -cue ChronoGuard from Jasper Fforde's books -
(Go check out some of his books if you haven't. i wouldn't describe them as 'logical nonsense' as amanda does (and apparently weiqin does too).. more of a mystery/thriller in an unreal world)
Happy Chinese New Year to all.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
quiz
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 :)
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 :)
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
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