Say Goodbye To Those Who Knew Me

SPM’s next week hoooo, and I just got a new modem after frying one last week. I need to repel from the internet

More dark-sounding stuff from the Arctic Monkeys (Humbug is a tasty album, I must say)

The Jeweller’s Hands

The Fire and The Thud

Have I ever mentioned that I love Mulan? It has always been my most favourite Disney film ever.

Ah..Disney used to sound so good before the raid of Miley Cyrus and co.

Graduation Night ‘09

Graduating Class of ‘09 – 5 Gamma
3 people missing but they’re negligible

When I was a lot younger, I used to think that ONLY ONE class can graduate, simply because “Graduating Class” was used instead of “Graduating Classes”. That’s when I thought that graduating must be something really hard to do.

I dare say..I was partially right. It is hard to leave the people you’ve grown attached to throughout the years of schooling.

Anyway, it was Graduation Night last night. Held at Sheraton Subang (which has been renamed to Grand Dorsett). The moment I arrived, I saw many people in formal attire. Wasn’t used to seeing all of that because I’ve never really attended any occasion this formal before.

Camera equipments for the night:
D40 – Stuck at ISO 1600 [expect some noise], Aperture Priority
SB900 – w/ diffusion dome, gel filter: TN-A2
..and the ever-trusty 18-200mm

I didn’t take more than 200 photos last night because I got a headache and hence, I was lazy to take photos. To get near the wee stage, I’d have to walk through a sea of round tables…and going through all that “Excuse me, pardon me, coming through”…

I shall jump right to the photos and probably slip in a few mini-intros of familiar faces, here and there.

“But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.” – The Five People You Meet In Heaven

This be Elena Ang. I’ve known her since 2003, when she was my classmate and sat behind me. It all started with this small metal bar which I brought (don’t ask – I’m just weird)

We ended up cutting up coloured erasers into small bits and placing them on the metal bar. We added our own “artificial cheese” (made out of glue with diffused yellow-coloured pencil lead in it) and I named that creation “Chopped Salmon Brains” HAHA.

Up ‘til now, she’s my best friend. Together, we’re a small-and-big combo like Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. Whenever we hear/see something odd, we’d just exchange the did-you-hear/see-that? look. It’s a strange connection but it’s awesome.

Farisha [KISS] Qistina is one of those super-open-minded Malays, like meee She came to Sri KL back in 2007 and none of us knew much about her. Sooner or later, we learnt that she’s a hardcore gamer (or more like, 75% of her family are hardcore gamers). We also learnt that she’s DAMN good at drawing [more on the sketchy side], has a really nice cursive handwriting, and plays drums and guitar.

She may not be a loud person like most of us, but she has a great sense of humour and her sarcasm is always very entertaining. Not to mention, the funny tales of her father.

Teh Yee Suh, or should I say..THE Yee Suh smiles a lot, this is for sure. She’s a new student this year, and is an extremely hardworking one. She’s too nice..she consoled me when I felt deep emotional turmoil (yes, it has been the two darkest years of my life)

Lee Chen Ji and Goh Chai Leng. Chai Leng was my classmate back in Std 1 (1999) while I only knew Chen Ji in Form 2. Chen Ji is a humble dude whereas Chai Leng is not a person to be messed with (seriously, I think she could stab anyone with her killer heels)

Vanessa Lochnessa Tan can turn any drawing into a perverted one, hahah. Wong Hwee Wen, on the other hand, is super random. These two are bound to make anyone laugh

Leong Wei Li/Snow White and his “son”, Nagusha Rachagan/Snowball
Nagusha’s voice stiiiill hasn’t broken yet.
Wei Li can imitate Mr Perumal really well. From “You, take your bag and out from the class” to the infamous “WHERE IS YOUR WAAAARK!”, he sure can do it one.

Yesss..Reading the menu. He asked for a shot.

Vanessa, Hwee Wen, Samantha (SUSAN!), Elena and I

Faris, Wei Li, Vanessa and Nagu

Featuring The Queen of Samanthahahaha Land (God knows whatever happened to her Samanthem)

Plus Diyana.

Diyana, Candice, Ness, HW, and Wei Siong at the back

Dumbfounded, ay?

Di, Candice, Yvonne, Ness and HW.

Esther, Sarah and Sucelia.

I was carried away by something, I’m sure.

Wei Li, Nagu, Bryan and Xian Ming

Sucelia Han! I can’t help but to think of the Paddle Pop Rainbow ice cream when I look at the colours. Pals since ‘05. She wasn’t really into make-up back then, haha. Now look at how she’s changed

Nagu, Zenvern, Seng Giap, Wei Li, Faris, Chee Hang and Wei Siong.

HAHA Farisha looks dead-tired!

My camera’s too heavy to be used in a situation like this..

Celine and I. We’re both Wans. This was taken in the toilet, by the way.

With Chen Ji and Ooi Wei-Jun. Obvious height difference. Wei-Jun used to be in band but left because he went to pursue his librarian dreams (I’ve mentioned this before, I know it)

He sings well too :O ..and those were the days (Form 3) when we used to taunt each other about certain things HAHA. Ahhh, how I liked the Form 3 life.

Yeoh Seng Giap, Yee Suh and Yau Chee Hang

Sherlyn Fung and Pn Kamala [Alamak], our Sejarah/History teacher. I remember what she said months ago:

“..and I know that Franz Ferdinand is also the name of a band..” – on the causes of World War I

“ZOMG, BLING!”

FF It was one of the wow-factors of the night.

You know what this reminded me of?

This. Yeeeah, Zuko…

It’s not “Enjoy Your Inn” – It’s “Enjoy Your Dinner”. That was an awesome mini-show but there was too much food after that, man. SEVEN dishes, if I’m not wrong.

Our class performed “You’ll Be In My Heart” and “I’ll Be Missing You”. It always has to do with someone being somewhere, these song titles.

Kinduvva screw-up because we didn’t tune the bass and guitar together

Farisha and I had to share one chair. Zzz. Check out the white heels I’m wearing (they belong to my mom, though)
I call them Space Shoes.

In case you’re wondering, dywt? = Do You Want To? Jajaja, a song by Franz Ferdinand. The initials looked nice to my eyes, so I just had to put it there on my bass.
Also, note the Apple logo sticker.

LA!

Initially,Yew Wei Siong (middle) wanted a picture with Farisha. Then Low Wei Yang (left) crashed.
This is only Stage 1.

Stage 2 – Four people came to crash the photo.

Stage 3 – 7+4=11

Stage 4 – You do the calculation.

Stage 5 – Faris strikes the “O HAI GUYS!” pose.

Stage 6 – Then comes Crystal and Nagu.

Stage 7 – HAHA Wei Li.

En voila..Stage 8 is the photo at the beginning of this entry.

Chee Hang wanted a picture. Pretty random, I must say.

Alpha people ahead..

Adriz Shazlan and Jason Ong (aiyah, eyes closed!). I’ve known them both since Form 1, and they were originally a Gammarian last year..until they shifted to Alpha. Could’ve been in the same class as them for 5 years straight. I guess these guys should be called the Masters of Perverted Jokes. I can tolerate their jokes..well, most of the time.

Steffi Lim the Great. We’ve performed together for quite a few times. Am still quite in a shock about last year’s Talentime.

Back in Std 6, we used to “discuss” about the Simpsons after every show. We’d memorize lines too, I think!

This is Rohit Menon. Have known him since Std 1. He’s still a silly guy. Racist jokes are always based on him, that poor fella.

“ENOUGH!”

Audrey Woo and I. A really entertaining Alpharian, and fun to talk to. Usually, we’d trade class gossips.

Alan Tee Tong Yong and I Apparently, my smile is widest here and his face is somewhat come-hithery HAHA..Ok, I won’t be afraid to admit that he is my ”person of interest” for more than 3 years already, heeh. Alan was a classmate back in Form 2 and 3 and he’s a very sincere guy, really. At least that’s what I think I’ve had a heart-to-heart conversation or two with him and I must say, it’s a rare occurrence. I’m glad to have him as a friend but I do wish that I knew him a lot more throughout the years..

Take two

“Very happy la now?” – Elena

With Vicky Chow. I think she’s the fourth person in this entry to have their eyes closed. Aye.

Off-focus
Christabel Lim of 5 Beta, a fellow Nikonian! Good to have known her — Otherwise, I’d have to go and take photos on my own during events :/

Class reps singing school song & Auld Lang Syne
L-R: Mr Ching (you can see that he’s really enjoying it), Kavin (5B), Jason (5A), James (50), Rekha (5T), Nagusha (5G), Heng Hau (5D), Joon Jern (5S) and Maskurnia (5R, but missing from the pic)

Featuring Mr Phuah on guitar, far left. He CAN play well! I think most Bio teachers are musically inclined. Mr Roland can play the euphonium. Seen it with my own eyes.

Overexposed
Standing in a line, ready to shake hands with the big shots and etcetera. I only lined up for a short while. To tell ye the truth, I’m not close to any of the teachers; Not even to the extent that I don’t want to part with them..but I do like Cik Umi..

Sound bitten

Sound Bites
by Alex Kapranos (lead singer of Franz Ferdinand)

It’s the only one left in MPH and I guess I should consider myself lucky because it’s an autographed copy (!!)

You see ah, I don’t even have to meet Mr Kapranos in person to get an autograph. Too bad it’s not Nick McCarthy though!

Believe me, it’s not one of those printed signatures. It’s genuine. If you look closely, you could see the ink spread on the page. I even checked the back of the page — I noticed some variation of ink opacity and pen pressure. Never have I studied a signature/handwriting this carefully before okay..

The book was listed under “Travelogue”. Not the kind of books I read, really, but I was curious — I wanted to know what the guys consumed while touring around the world (and their eating habits haha). Alex is a foodie, after all.

[Culinary is a form of art!]

Nearly every “chapter” featured different kinds of food, so you might as well just call it a food journal. Durian and sea urchin included. To be honest, I do feel a bit of hunger pang while reading Sound Bites

A little less food and a little more sound..

5 7 5

Little geisha doll
Grabs hold of a katana
Made of stainless steel.

Little geisha doll
Glances eerily at you
What is she thinking?

Little geisha doll
Follows her killer instincts
..I don’t write haikus.

The Way of the Russian

Der internet connection is stable again. Not what I expected at this time, though.

one Здравствуйте.
[Sdravstvuytee/Hello.]

I had my last piano class with my previous teacher, Ms Yeo, somewhere in the middle of last month.  I’m not the quitter or anything, but my teacher had to leave Malaysia for Australia as she is getting married :’-)

Note: I am currently doing my Advanced Certificate.

It was just last month when I found out that I was getting a Russian teacher. Today was my second class with Mrs Irina (I think). She used to be an examiner (for piano practical exams) in England. Sounded scary at first but she really is nice (and very pro)

My first class with her last week was something like a strange encounter. There I was, playing the piano. My teacher’s daughter was there to decorate the room and at some points, she’d speak Russian with her mother. Being the half-absent-minded person that I am, it really felt like I just entered a Russian household

The strange bit is that…I just learnt the Russian alphabets a few months ago.

two SB-900. It’s here.

For some odd reason or another, I seem to get my photography-related items mainly in September.
Chronology:
2007 – D40
2008 – Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6
2009 – SB-900

I need to study flash photography soon though! :O

three What if…Science classes (especially Physics) are exactly like an episode of Mythbusters?

How about…: What if we had these guys as our Science teachers? Or at least, tour to different schools for some demo on what they do?

During the recent trial exams, I’ve been thinking about those questions which I asked myself (once I’m done with my paper).
If we had the Mythbusters to teach us, it’s definitely going to be very interesting. C’mon man, who wouldn’t agree with taking Science to the EXTREME level?

Best of all, we’d get to see BIG BOOMS a.k.a. explosions (+ a very happy Mr Savage and an ever-stoic and invincible Mr Hyneman)

While I was studying Physics last week, I couldn’t help but to yawn as I read the boring text. It’s nothing new but that’s when I thought of this: If our textbooks had pictures of Kari, Grant and Tory explaining stuff at every page and every corner, I’d be delighted. [I may not have photographic memory, but I know that pictures are easier to remember than words.]

I’ll just keep on dreaming. Gunnaw start looking for the Mythbusters address and send them a copy of the drawing…

Aggravate the ice-cream man

Something which I could listen to for a whole week:
Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning

Sounds kinda “dark” but I like it. Even bought their album because I know that these monkeys can create interesting chord progressions.

(+) Lady Gaga looked like a walking work of art at the Video Music Awards ‘09. I mean it in a good way. And “All The Single Ladies” as the Video Of The Year? Nonsense..

Silenced

Will not be blogging in a very long time. Currently facing the mother of all unstable internet connections, and of course — Trials.

Don’t expect anything for now.

Of pyrotechnics and ambidextrous swordsmanship

It was a quiet birthday, yesterday. The only time I left the house was when I went to sit for Grade 8 Music Theory examination.

I’d still like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who wished me. My facebook got flooded in a pretty nice way. Heh.

Last Friday, my good pal Farisha gave me an early gift:

(This is deemed a rare occurence because as far as I know, nobody has ever received anything from Farisha :O)

Also, for the past week, I borrowed her Avatar: The Last Airbender DVDs (all three seasons) and finished watching it on Saturday.

**To tell you the truth: Even before I watched it episode-by-episode, I already knew the spoilers because I’ve watched random episodes here and there on Nickelodeon, guh!**

Now that I’m done watching it AND trials are coming in just a few weeks, I shall talk about Avatar like there is no tomorrow
WARNING: You might not understand.

<avatar talk>
I know that I’m not a fan of anime/manga style cartoons, but this one is an exception. Awesome graphics and effects. Even the dude who provided the "voice" for Momo (lemur) and Appa (flying bison) did a really convincing job.

I thought that the battle between Aang and Fire Lord Ozai was a little strange. Could’ve been a wee bit better but well wells. Still a good show, though

Whenever there’s a show that I like, there’s always a favourite character (this theory isn’t always true though). For the past few years, I have three favourite fictional characters, and they are Admiral Norrington, Severus Snape and The Phantom of the Opera, all of which I’d like to call…The Three Bachelors.

About this particular favourite character from Avatar, he has some mutual characteristics with The Three Bachelors.

1. He sails around on a ship and he’s excellent with swords

[but he handles two swords instead of just ONE sword, like Norrington]

2. He has…powers

[but he doesn't need to use a wand like Snape does]

3. Half his face is scarred

[but his mood swings aren’t as bad as the Phantom’s]

The big difference(s): He’s a lot younger and he didn’t die (which is exactly what happened The Three Bachelors)

So who is this character?

Heeere’s Zuko, banished prince of ze Fire Nation. I like this character because he’s clever, agile, stealthy, and he appears to be the only character that changes drastically throughout the series (that includes his hairstyle hahah) Yay for character development. Wheehew.
(Can YOU smell a fan art coming?)
See, he was bad-ass at the beginning that I just had to look at my brother and say: "Waaah, damn YENG."
By the end of the series, he turned good and nearly everyone had travelled with him for a "life-changing adventure". So nice and still very yeng.

Besides that, I really like the uncle-nephew relationship between Zuko and Uncle Iroh. The optimistic Iroh loves tea and he is such a heart-warming character — you can’t hate him. He is like a walking fortune cookie who treats Zuko as though he is his own son, despite losing his own biological son during a war.

I think that his [romantic] relationship with Mai is very dull. He could have been involved with Katara of the southern water tribe instead. A lot more drama, that way (slap me and knock my head, I am addicted to the show)

Lastly, there’s a film based on the show which will be released next year. I don’t mean to sound like a racist but appearance-wise, it’s bad news. You can find the comparison between the actors and the real characters right here: http://www.racebending.com/v2/. Seriously man, whaaat is this!

(echo: This is madness!)
</avatar talk>

Y’know what I just noticed? My favourite characters are all anti-heroes (or at least — at certain points in their lives)

I’ve never developed a liking for any superhero, for all I know. It’s ironic that my classroom’s theme is/was "Superheroes"..

..glory days, baaah.

A Little Nightmare Music, please?

School will be closed next week. I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry. School has been really quiet this week anyway.

In the previous post, I mentioned that it’s very unlikely that FF will come to Malaysia for MTV World Stage Live. To make things a little better, IGUDESMAN AND JOO ARE COMING TO MALAYSIA~ (I thank Sean for informing me about this)

Not for MTV World Stage Live lah of course.

Yeaaaah.

Info according to the official website:

Monday 16. november 2009
	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – with Gidon Kremer
	BEING GIDON KREMER: The Rise and Fall of the Classical Musician Igudesman & Joo with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica
	Announced : 18-06-2009 17:16:05
Tuesday 17. november 2009
	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
	IGUDESMAN & JOO: “A Little Nightmare Music”
	Announced : 18-06-2009 17:16:22
	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – with Gidon Kremer
	BEING GIDON KREMER: The Rise and Fall of the Classical Musician Igudesman & Joo with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica
	Announced : 18-06-2009 17:16:06

Hohoho, and SPM starts on the 18th of November. I don’t care whatever happens man, I am willing to see these guys in action a day before my major exam (As long as I am well prepared…)

Where ART thou?

I have been away for to long and it’s August already (MegaSale month!). A summary of what I needed to talk about:

one I finished my Home Theatre model for Art (Paper 3) less than a month ago.

Absolutely not the final product!

When I received the question paper back in February (or was it March?), I remember telling myself “If can, I’m going to add a lighting system.”

And so I did.

This isn’t exactly the final product either. It’s just missing some speakers, that’s all.
If you are a fan of Monkey Island, you’d know that the drawing on the TV (yes, it’s a drawing) is based on the scene outside “Planet Threepwood”.

Also, the TV can swivel to the left or right.

You can jolly well bet that the whole model itself costs more than RM200.

To tell you the truth, the making of the circuit required 99% improvisation (the worst part is that I had no internet connection, and that means I have no where to refer to). In the end, I killed about 3-4 light bulbs.

Behold! The circuit.

Lightbox thingy! I didn’t glue the box properly, as you can see.

This be Yvonne’s model. The SpongeBob is hand-drawn, yes.

One of the decorative lamps she included

This is Farisha’s. Best model ever, hands down. FYI: Her dad is an architect.

two On the 22nd of July, I (and many others) missed the solar eclipse! They say that it was supposed to appear around 9-something in the morning. We had our Biology paper at 9.10AM. Aiyah, even if we didn’t have the exam, I don’t think it’ll be easy to spot the eclipse due to the cloudy Malaysian skies. The next night, however, I saw this:

Close enough lah.

three Went to play paintball on the 24th. Got shot at the neck and I felt so negative about life. Dementor’s Kiss hahaha. The mark even looked like a hickey that day! :O

four Malaysia will be hosting MTV World Stage somewhere this month (not that I’m a fan of MTV)…but I heard that FRANZ FERDINAND MIGHT BE COMING. Might be only lah — They’re touring around in the US at the moment, if I’m not mistaken.

…I guess there’s no chance of them coming, eh? Even if they are, my mother wouldn’t allow me to see them by using H1N1 as an excuse. If I get to see them [and at the same time if I actually have a high chance of dying], I get to die happy knowing the fact that I met them, right? Haha.

five It’s probably old news now but the saddest news since last week is: Yasmin Ahmad passed away on the 25th She was 51.
She was responsible for the Petronas ads we see on TV, and not to forget Sepet! She will always be remembered as the story teller; the best film maker Malaysia could ever have. Her films can really make you (or at least, me) do a lot of deep thinking. Although some of her films are considered “racially controversial”, it speaks a lot of truth. Like in Sepet, there was a line (spoken by a Malay character) which went like “All Malay men are lazy”.

Rest in peace, Kak Yasmin.

PS: I have never attended a funeral before.