Why Would I Write

Category: Thoughts

  • So you fought an honest battle, but this was meant to be.

    (this post was started on March 20th)
    Here I sit in my room, barely awake from a dream I had last night which was one of the oddest experiences ever. I was at a company dinner, it wasn’t mine, I can’t recall who now, but there were ang pows given out, and I picked the one with a hundred bucks. Then later I ended up at some Inspidea company dinner as well, and won another hundred bucks from a lucky draw. I felt pretty happy that night, winning 200 bucks. Other events included me jumping into a swimming pool while dressed up in formal wear. It’s just amazing what dreams are made of. And when you think about how dreams are based on life, it makes you appreciate how wonderful life is. Life is brilliant, it’s amazing in fact. We should spend every waking moment doing what we want to do. But instead, most of the time we just spend it talking, planning, thinking about things, and not seizing the day by the balls and going all out; putting words into action and plans into motion.

    I feel that’s what I’ve been doing a lot recently. Here’s the list of things that I said I’d do, but haven’t done yet: my comic, the artwork for my EP, a redesign of this website, sketches to upload to deviant art, pen lyrics for new 2storeyheart and The Wishing songs, finish reading my books, finish my work on time, and that’s only some of the things I can accomplish at home. There’s still stuff to do in the rest of the world. I’m already 25, and there’s a lot I haven’t done.

    (resumed March 28th)
    What is the point of going for something when you’re uncertain of the future? Do you do things to try and change things into your favor, or do you give up knowing your efforts will go to waste? Do you accept what you’ve been given? Or do you strive to defy all odds? What if no matter what you do, it won’t ever work out the way you want it to be? What if no matter what you do, it works out right, all the time? When do you know to continue chasing something that’s flown away? Does the man who takes his one last breath of air before he jumps into a pool of sharks think about whether he’s going to die from shark attacks or from drowning? How about the pirate with the pistol that pushed you off the plank? Maybe he thinks about the pirate shooting him. Or that giant octopus lurking somewhere?

    Is a man idealistic if he jumps into a pool of sharks, and expects to not get bitten, and be rescued by some mermaid or Aquaman passing by? Or maybe saved from above by an angel swooping down from the heavens? How about what about all the water in the sea suddenly drying up leaving the shark to flounder around uselessly? What if the man yells at the sharks, “Hey, I love you sharks! Therefore, you should love me back! All my life I’ve been nice to you, I take care of you, I feed you, I study you, hell I even named my first kid after you guys! Do you know what I mean? Do you? Do you? And you’re just gonna rip my throat out like I’m some any other guy swimming in the ocean, can’t you tell?”

    Imagine he did that, and the sharks agree not to kill him, and crown him as king of sharks and they let him be. But then, a Pit bull swims into the middle of the ocean and mauls him to death.

  • Umbrellas.

    So the other day, I walked out for lunch and brought an umbrella along with me because the sky was gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain. While I ate my food, the weather got gloomier, but it didn’t rain. When I was done with my meal, smoking my after meal cigarette, the sky was still dark, but it didn’t rain. I walked back home; nary a drop of rain. When I was almost reaching home I thought to myself, “damn, I didn’t need this umbrella.” Then I thought again, “but if it rained, I would have been prepared.” And I don’t know where I’m getting at with this post, but at that point in time, it hit me (and it felt like something blog-worthy) – it’s better to be prepared for something, regardless whether it happens or not. Like bringing condoms along on dates, regardless whether you’re going to spend the night together or not. It’s always, always, better to be prepared.

    And no, I’m not expecting a child soon. But if I did, his/her name would be Excited.

    There you go Albert, it’s not a gig update or a movie review 😉 btw, movie reviewing isn’t a job- I do it so I can continue going for press screenings 😀

  • It’s that time of the year again.

    As I sit here in front of my computer, fresh out of the shower, clean shaven, smelling like Team Force, and I’ve just finished packing my bag. I realize it’s that time of the year again. The end of the year. Where you sit down, spend some time reflecting on the past year and think about what you’re going to do for the next one. The last time I did this was approximately 6 months ago. Where I said it was time for a new season in my life. And looks like I did.

    First off I’d like to apologize for the lack of blog posts. When your current job requires you to write 30 blog posts a day, I’m sure you can understand what I mean when I tell you after I’m done with my daily quota, the last thing I wanna do is sit down in front of the computer and write another post. Especially when you finish at 10am in the morning. Yeah, I know, my work starts at 5pm and is supposed to end at 2am, but I’ve been struggling to hit the quota on time so I have spend a lot of time catching up. It’s been affecting me, but I’ve been dealing with it and I’m doing my best to improve. The day where I end on the dot will come soon. Next step would be finishing before 8 hours. But let’s take it a step at a time, baby steps.

    Other than my job, and the fact that I resumed playing WoW (yes, goddamn it is fun), and I still gig occasionally. Throughout the whole year, I’ve managed to play a show at least once a month, sometimes even two or three! This month alone I’ve got two- one just passed last week, and I got one more on the 26th, which I will announce next week. I’ve got the band together, and we’re working on our third song. Being in a band is great, I love it. I love you guys. Jason, Andrew, Syefri, and yes you too Alvin. I know we haven’t done much, but I have a good feeling about The Wishing, let’s make it happen 😀

    Oh I’ve been too busy with my job to catch up on my movie reviews, and since all the movies are already out, I’ll just give quick summaries of the movies I’ve seen lately:
    Skyline – 6/10 – Not terrible, but not very good either. Feels like it could lead up to a video game at the end.
    The Social Network – 7/10 – I kinda expected more after all the hype it got and it was a David Fincher movie (Fight Club, Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), but at the same time I didn’t know what to expect since I know nothing about Mark Zuckerberg’s life. Nevertheless it is entertaining, and you discover how Facebook was invented
    Due Date – 9/10 – Seriously, if this movie doesn’t tickle your funny bone, you’re either paralyzed and unable to laugh or you’re dead/in a coma. This movie is fucking side-splitting. I guarantee it. One of the best movies I’ve seen all year.
    Rapunzel – 9/10 – I don’t know about you guys, but I think Disney hit the nail on the head with this one. It looks like they haven’t lost their magic, and to me, they’ve managed to recreate the classic 2D animation in 3D. The story, the gags, the characters, oh the characters– Rapunzel is a goddess. I fell in love with her the moment she appeared on screen (not as a baby, haha gotcha) and the way she acted– alright I’ll stop here, go watch it for yourself. Again, one of the best movies I’ve seen all year.
    Narnia – 5/10 – Meh. Better than the first one in my opinion, I didn’t watch the second one.
    Scott Pilgrim vs the World – 6/10 – I didn’t catch this in the cinema (they didn’t show it here) but boy I was let down. After hearing a couple of my friends rave about how much better it was than Inception, I finally sat down to give it a shot. Nope. Nowhere close. I’m a fan of cartoony live-action movies, but Scott Pilgrim was just cheese to the max. Knives is cute as hell though. I think she’s gonna grow up beautifully.

    And there must have been one more movie that I missed, but I’ll put it down when I remember. Oh and I still haven’t seen Harry Potter. I should catch it before they take it off the big screens. And my favorite movie this year: Inception – hands down. No other movie even comes close to touching it. Best movie in the world. Ever. I shall quote Ferhan on this, “Inception is better than real life.” Runner ups: Due Date, Rapunzel, The Other Guys.

    In terms of music, album of the year so far: Kids In Glass Houses – Dirt. Every song is fantastic, this album is amazing. I can listen to it from start to finish nonstop, throughout the whole day. KIGH really outdone themselves with their latest release. I wonder how they’re gonna release a follow up to such a masterpiece. Worst news of the year – My Favorite Highway breaking up. They’re playing their final show this month, and it’s really sad to see them go. I wish I could’ve seen them live. Ah well, at least I still have their music to listen to. The beauty of recordings. And Four Year Strong are coming down to Singapore next year, hopefully it’s confirmed and there are no last minute cancellations. I’ll be there for sure.

    What else has been happening in my life? Oh yeah, her. I had a girlfriend for a month, but things didn’t work out (Iwasn’ttherightguyforher) so we ended things before they got ugly. It was a great experience, we still talk, I still think she’s amazing, but it shall stop at there because I have a feeling that we’re gonna be the best of friends. I don’t know why, but I can just feel it. Thanks for the 6-month long rollercoaster ride that ended in a wave pool. It was one hell of a theme park, let’s not go there again. But it was all worth it. And don’t be surprised if you find yourself being the topic of future songs, I only write what I feel, and it’s bound to pop up somewhere, sometime. Thanks for everything, Jasmine. Here’s to the foundation of a great friendship.

    I’m sitting in front of the computer, still clean shaven and smelling like Team Force, waiting for Hijjas to pick me up. My bags are packed and I’m ready to go. Mothers in Singapore, it’s time to hide your daughters.