Why Would I Write

  • The Birthday Song

    If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from all my years working in offices – the birthday song is usually one of the most cringe inducing activities the company participates in. I’ve always wondered why, and it turns out there’s a number of factors nobody gets it right.

    Usually, there’s no accompanying music, so everybody sings the song in whatever key is in their head. Even if there was accompanying music, not everybody sings in key.

    Because we have no music and director, everybody sings it at a different speed. Some go fast, some slow. Again, everybody is singing it like how they hear it in their own heads.

    Once in a while, all the voices somehow meet in the middle and compensate – in both tempo and key. But then, along comes the octave jump at the end and everybody is caught off guard again.

    Oh, let’s not forget messing up the names of the people we sing for. Sometimes people use nicknames, sometimes we get the names which are on the cake, sometimes it’s their full name – I don’t think I’ve ever sang a birthday song where everybody was 100% on the ball.

    So what’s a problem without a solution? I propose that before we start singing, we pass to the singers cards with the following details:

    Name to sing:
    Key (a pitch pipe would also suffice for those who don’t know their notes):
    Tempo:
    Language:

    That should solve all birthday song related problems.

    Also, I’d like to wish my mother and my best friend Happy Birthday – thanks for being two very wonderful people in my life. I love you guys <3.

  • R.I.P. Na’Vi 2011-2015

    I don’t talk about Dota 2 much on this blog besides the occasional mention about me playing it. But after last week’s sad news, I wanted to dedicate a post to my favorite team. Na’Vi (or Natus Vincere) was the team that got me interested in the competitive side of Dota 2.
    (more…)

  • Podcasts: the best way to pass time during long commutes

    I initially started writing this post about using the internet to download MP3s, and how much I loved creating mixes. Halfway through the post it seemed like I was getting no where, so I scrapped it.

    Now I have no idea what to write about.

    I’ll talk about podcasts. I don’t know how popular podcasts are in Malaysia, but I only know a handful of friends who enjoy them. It’s strange because a lot of people listen to shitty DJs on radio, but don’t actively seek out amazing talk shows available online. Most of them for free too!
    (more…)