Strange Love

It's been so long since I last had insomnia. Ever since enlisting, I have slept well every night. Tonight is different. I've had so many shots of vodka but cannot sleep. Anyway, I'm doing good in army. Life is not that tough, even in a supposed tougher company like Cougar. They say Cougar company is damn shiong. To me, as long as I have my 3 meals and 7 hours of rest, everything else doesn't matter. POP in a few days, hope I get a good posting.

One Thing Too Many

I think it's important to have passions in life. Activities that you can seek solace from the hectic world; a zen hobby. Right now, I love the drums (always have) and I've developed this passion for tennis. I'd say it's a good balance because one has to do with music and the other has to do with sport. The problem lies with me. I'm an ultra selectively competitive guy. Okay, it's a given that I'm not competitive at all when it comes to studies, but there's a good reason they call passion, passion. If you're talking about drums and tennis, I become highly competitive, and I want to be the best I can be, which means getting the best coaches and teachers. Now here's the problem....

1) Money
I have reached a level where I have to pay $900++ for 12 drum lesson. This equates to about $300 a month, and it will only get higher. This is in addition to the tennis coach I've just engaged, who cost $70 per hour, which is about $280 a month. Although my Mum is paying for it, I feel that it's an unfair burden for her and seriously, what's the ROI on tennis and drum lessons? Zero! I'm neither going to be a professional drummer or win a grand slam.

2)Time
As I'll be going for NS, my leisure time will be severely limited to weekends, and drums lessons will be a waste of money if I don't practice my materials during the week. I mean if I really want to, I can bring my drumsticks in and practice my strokes, but my already slow feet will just get even slower. No speed=no progress. Tennis is the same, no point taking lessons and not having the time to practice the strokes on my own.

For the reasons stated above, either one has to go, and I don't have the heart to drop either one..... argh......... I really really don't know which one to choose.

Wagner

I think Pachelbel's Cannon in D is the most cliched song for weddings and Mandelssohn's Wedding March is very passe. I would have Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral by Wagner.



Beautiful piece of music. I've always loved the sound of the oboe and although the melody played by the oboe is beautiful, a nice arrangement for organ played with a little bit of gusto would also have a nice effect. Of course if you can hire an ensemble to play at your wedding then good for you.

Another song which I would use is The Prince of Denmark March.




Back in the day, I had this friend who would always play the tune on his trumpet. This one's more for the end of the ceremony where you march out of the church though.......

Love of my life......

My biggest love in life now is tennis. For the whole of last week, my back was injured and I couldn't play any tennis. I was feeling really very unhappy about stuff and vulnerable to things that usually would not affect me. It was a really uncomfortable week for me and at that point of time, there was no silver lining in sight. Today, despite my sore lower back, I still managed to have 2.5 good hours of tennis and I feel happy once again. I feel so at peace when on the court unleashing those killer cross court forehands and deft slices.

Tennis is a really therapeutic sport. First of all, it requires 100% concentration and focus to anticipate the trajectory of the ball and your opponent's next move. You also release all of your pent up frustration when you swing at ball and get that sense of satisfaction when you see your opponent struggling to get to the ball. My back still feels a little sore but I can't wait for my next session on Friday!

No hesitation, no delay, you come on just like special K.

My addiction, my obsession, my love.

What do I see?

I see a resemblance to Human by The Killers!

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, I'm talking about this year's NDP theme song by Electrico.



I totally love this song man. Very indie! The synth intro, and the singer coming in together with the drummer playing quarter notes on the hi-hats, it's so totally The Killers.

What I love most is that the word "Singapore" doesn't appear in the lyrics, and it's not your typical cliched "Stand up for Singapore," "Singapore's the best" or "Singapore rocks my balls" type of song. Okay "Singapore Rocks My Balls" isn't really a cliched theme for a National Day theme song. Maybe next year there'll be a song called "Singapore Rocks My Balls" composed most fittingly by Dick Lee.

Then there's the climatic bridge with the chimes which is like the "icing on the cake", or what I would call "the cream to the orgasm." You know the "ooomph to the thrust," "crabs to the vag" or the "cyst to the tryst?" You know what I mean?

Anyway if you freeze the video at 2:27, don't you think the guy on the extreme right kinda resembles Auggy? Tall and lanky. Metrosexual bordering on gay, Armani Exchange t-shirt which is obviously one size too small, wearing his sunglasses on an obviously cloudy day with no sun! NO?!

Not cool, okay?

It's like my back injury. I thought I'd have recovered from it already, so I keep playing and aggravate it further. Now it really hurts. Unlike tennis, there's no way I can win.

What a horrible day. I'm really dying for some tennis action, but my back is feeling the sorest ever on a non-tennis day. I need to put an end to this injury once and for all.

Only 1 way to go about doing this. Won't be able to do it. Sorry.

Hi, my name is Roger!

I feel so happy now. I went to buy a proper tennis bag today. Now I don't have to lug all my stuff in seperate bags. Shoes, racquet, balls, clothes, handphone and wallet can now all go into one bag which I can sling on my shoulders. I also restrung my racquet. Can't wait for my back injury to go away and return to the courts.

I Feel Horrible!

I am really sensitive to caffeine. I only had a cup of coffee at 5pm, but I've been feeling really edgy since then. Now I'm feeling quite weird. Not good at all. Doesn't help that I'm feeling a bit agitated at the moment as well. Tomorrow's a Friday but there's nothing to thank god about, cause after working in school from 745am to 330pm, I have a quick meal, then rush off to work at the restaurant till 12pm. Initially I was quite enthusiastic about holding two jobs so I can save up for my masters (and also some stuff I want to buy,) but now I feel so tired, I don't want to work tomorrow night. Oh well, maybe a good night's sleep will make me feel better tomorrow.

Ben

Sometimes when I feel like everything in this world is going against me, like the world is a black abyss closing in on me, raping my heart, suffocating my lungs, I close my eyes and listen to this song, and imagine Michael Jackson serenading me with a song he specially wrote for me. This would creep the hell out of me and I realize that my life isn't so bad after all, and that things could be much worse. Talk about being touched in a million ways by a melody.

Sucker love is heaven sent.

One of my favourite Placebo songs. Love the tune, love the lyrics. Applies to all their songs. Seems like there's a certain longevity to Placebo as they constantly update their sound. I must catch Placebo live before I die. I don't think they'll ever come to Singapore, so I'll go overseas to catch their shows! Soon. Hopefully.

Oh yeah, the Risen Christ Youth Out Loud gig went well. Our band got 2nd! (Coincidentally, it was also our 2nd performance together.) The prize was a $30 dollar Island Creamery Ice-cream voucher, which was a bit off, cause they gave six $5 vouchers when we had 5 members in the band. I joked that I'm the drummer and all drummers are the backbone of the band so I should get $10 bucks while the other 4 members get $5 each. Turns out it isn't such a funny joke after all cause it's a serious fact.

Anyway after so many years as a symphonic band boy chalking time on stage, I still get stage fright. When I go on stage, I don't add all the embellishments I include during practice. I keep it simple and just keep counting in my head. One solution is to drink before I go on, but that kills your coordination, and if it's a church gig, you can forget about holding a can of beer backstage.

On a totally unrelated note, I'm super into tennis now. I have to play a few times a week or I'll feel restless. I'm going to buy a 2nd hand racquet from Pussy Shit (it's the name of my bassist and also my tennis buddy) and next month, I'm going to buy another one. Got a particular model in mind already. The only thing is to check out the price.

I also start my full time job on Wednesday which requires me to get up at 6 every morning. I better adjust my body clock and get used to sleeping at 10pm every night.

Question

Even if the situation plays out the way I want it to be in my head, what can I do? What would I want to do?

Nothing. I must stop being so greedy. Get on with life.

*Piak*

That's the sound of my sticks breaking. Yea I broke my favourite stick last night. The worst thing is I wasn't playing some hardcore song or intense dance-punk stuff. I was playing Mandy Moore's version of Umbrella. Yes. I broke my sticks playing a ballade version of Umbrella. That is damn sad. I hate breaking sticks. In Singapore, the price is infinitely inflated. A pair of Vic Firth 5b's used to cost 16 bucks in 2003. Now they are 23 bucks. Bloody unaffordable. In the states, the same pair of sticks only cost SGD$11. Thailand sells their stuff for around SGD$14 despite having to import their stuff as well. You know why the prices are so damn high in Singapore? Cause there's a bloody monopoly. Yamaha gets the exclusive rights to distribute Zildjian drumsticks, while Swee Lee gets Vic Firth. So they charge whatever prices they want, and we have no choice but to still buy from them.

My Beloved Band

This is the interview we did during the auditions. Heavily edited, and many many parts cut out. We did a great version of Maroon 5's Sunday Morning. Wish I had the video, but I'm sure I'll post it in time to come. Do come watch us this Saturday. Message me for details.

Gig.

My band will be playing on the 27th of June at Church of the Risen Christ for some band competition. Tickets for the gig cost $7 and $5 for the early bird special. Frankly, the only band that's worth watching is my band. We'll be playing Rihanna's Ballade of Umbrella in F Major Movement II, Op. 21. and Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. Do come down to support my band.

Oh and we finally have a band name. We're called The Third Persons.

Link: http://sg.geocities.com/gillyburp/index.html

Ici vient le soliel! *Da di da da di da da di da da di da di da*

I love the song "Here Comes the Sun." It always makes me happy when I listen to it. I also always thought how cool it would be if sung in french. So..... I decided to translate the lyrics using an online translator, and try singing it to the tune. *Cue to say, "No he didn't!"* You can try it too.


Ici vient le soleil, ici vient le soleil,
Et je dis que c'est bien

Petit chéri, cela a été un hiver solitaire froid long
Petit chéri, il a l'impression d'être des années depuis que cela a été ici
Ici vient le soleil, ici vient le soleil
Et je dis que c'est bien

Petit chéri, les sourires revenant aux visages
Petit chéri, il a l'air des années depuis que cela a été ici
Ici vient le soleil, ici vient le soleil
Et je dis que c'est bien

Le soleil, le soleil, le soleil, ici il vient
Le soleil, le soleil, le soleil, ici il vient
Soleil, su

To top it all of, here's the bastardized version of the song. Yes, nothing bastardizes a song more than remixing a trance version of it.