I went to sleep last night with...

Burn cream on my left index finger.

A hot water pack on my right hand.

Chinese medicine sprayed on my arms and legs.

Compression shin-socks.


I got the blistering burn at a barbecue.

My scab from my roller blading incident last week has peeled off.

The scab on the paintball wounds are beginning to peel.

My right thumb had an old injury that acted up at fencing on Tuesday.

My shins hurt from the 2.4km run earlier this week.

And my knees from the 10km blading session yesterday.


2 more days to Ninja Warrior.

Birdplane

YEEAAHHH!!!!!

Let me be honest

Because honesty is so rare these days.

I'm going to wear my heart on my sleeve and tell you a secret.

You've followed my blog for so long, and I shall reward you with a rare glimpse of who I really am.


I cried while watching the musical Wicked.

7 times.

Half the time I was crying was because of Elphaba's awesomeness in becoming what she had to be.


The other half of the time...

I was crying because of unrequited love.

On and Off...

... and the liminal space.

I feel you bro.

This... can't be real... but.. I know it is.

This is my life...

There is nothing new under the sun

I took a break from my studies to design my own nerf gun.

This was the schematic:

I thought this was something I could build from scratch.

It had a simple enough firing mechanism that would allow me to fire darts at quite a long range by storing the energy in the bow itself, rather than a spring (which I knew would be more complicated to source for). I also solved the problem that previous long range Nerf guns had- they lacked a mechanism that allowed for continuous firing- by putting an entire "magazine" of darts in the front that would advance to the next round by gravity.

This was a totally original concept and I was proud.

Once the exams were over, I checked out Toys'r'us to see what new products there were. To my dismay...

I didn't even tell anyone about my top secret designs...

There's something about the night

And about the thunder before the storm.

There's something about cold winds,

Nature,

And isolation

That calls to me.


I don't understand why, but I'm drawn to the night, to nature, to speed and to some sense of danger.


Last night, though it was thundering much like tonight, I went rollerblading down Punggol waterway after 9pm.

No one does that on a Monday evening.

I had gone on Sunday, but went again on Monday.

No one goes on a Monday evening.

Half the street lamps were switched off.


I climbed to the top of a slope that had 4 sharp turnings on the way down and went down without brakes.

I learnt that even padding cannot protect me from stupidity.


So here I was lying on the floor facing the red sky.

I fell quite hard when i didn't manage to make the turn at such high speed.

The wind was knocked out of me.

My left arm was bleeding, my right knee was numb, and my hips and shoulder hurt.

The flashing red light i wore on my waist had been knocked off too.


I lay there for a while, not caring what people thought, because there was no one around.

I didn't have my handphone with me.

I stopped bringing it since the time i fell on it while blading.


Instead of turning back, i pushed on down the quietest and most eerie park connector from Punggol to Sengkang.

There were no buildings nearby, just thick vegetation on both sides of the path.

Somewhere on my right beyond the trees was a river, and on the other side there were no lights.

I was on alert the whole time here. I felt the constant gnawing sense of danger.

I guess for the first time in a while I felt alive.


I don't think I was made for a comfortable life.

I'm drawn to a bit of danger as though it is in my blood.

I can't live in safety and feel like i'm living.

I feel like i'm meant to live for so much more.


That evening, I got lost, fell a few more times, and strained every muscle in my body.

I got home at 1.30am having covered 22.24km.

And that made me feel..

The key to building Mace Windu's lightsabre

The Most Beautiful Girl

Ladies...

Now if you expect to be treated like princesses...


It's possible. But that's quite a high expectation for a guy to live up to.

Actually, it's a standard that will lead you to nothing but disappointment.


Think of being loved by Bruno Mars.

The only way he can show his love to you is by throwing his hand on a blade.

Or catching a grenade.

You do realise he can't actually do both right?

And his proving of his love would make it impossible for him to hold your hand henceforth.

Just sayin'.


Ah but if your expectations are a little lower.

If you want a man who will treat you specially...

Like you're the prettiest girl in the whole... wide... room.

Then you might just find a nice guy who might just impress you.





I like this song because it's honest.

I don't want to love my girlfriend in a way that destroys me.

I want to love my girlfriend and wife, like these guys sing of the girl they like.


Because while she's not the most beautiful girl on the streets, they still think she's in the top 3.

And they say she's beautiful, like a tree.

And she could be a part-time model.

But should probably keep her normal job still.


Unromantic, yes. But it's a pragmatic kinda love.

And it's honest. That's important.

Oh so THAT'S what "don't burn your bridges" meant!

Goodness.

Luckily I found out the meaning online before I actually went and burned my bridges.

That was close.


Okay so I should take the bridge and run for my life for now, but leave intact for later.

That's the danger in receiving advise in metaphors.

The Office

Newsflash

Call for Fire:

But what do if it's not fire I desire?

I wish I could take photos as good as this guy...

... can paint.

There's always been one thing i've wanted to do...

Fence blindfolded.

Gotta Catch 'Em All

This makes me so sad

So... 2 Singaporean girls were offered contracts with Korean Talent scouting media agencies and they turned it down for their studies.


I'm absolutely disappointed.

I understand why Candice pulled out of Singapore Idol to pursue her studies.

There really is no future here.

Unless you think being on 7-11 advertisements is awesome.


But becoming a Korean star has a much higher ladder you can climb.

Korean kids spend years away from school to train just for auditions, spending around USD40,000 just to be trained. Mind you, this is training for the auditions, not actually becoming a star yet.

Only 0.1% make it pass the auditions.


These 2 Singaporean girls... made it.


But they are not going to take it because studies are more important.

The career can wait, but studies cannot.


Are you serious?


They said in an interview that youth and looks don't last, so they need to complete their education first.

That contradicts their argument of pushing back this option of becoming stars till after they study. If looks don't last, then why are they not using their looks now? (Let's overlook the problematic concept of rewarding good looks just for a while.)

The truth is, you can study at any age, but you can't be a star at any age.


They basically gave up a once in a lifetime opportunity that the 99.9% of Koreans auditioning spend tens of thousands on and still fail get.

They will probably never get an opening this big again in their lives.

And this saddens me.


Why are we so fixated with a single route of advance in Singapore that we miss out on the best just to go for the good?

Yeah sure, study hard and be a doctor or a lawyer. Those are good jobs.

But is our fixation with these good jobs going to prevent us from seizing opportunities for the great ones?

If you are given the opportunity for more... to become an international star, or an MP, even the President... are you going to take it, or is your definition of greatness going to limit you?

I'm not asking you to give up your studies to become Taufic.

I'm asking you to dare to dream out of the box.

The Hunger Games

Alright you loyal fans of the book.

For me... the film was better.

*dodges flaming arrows shot at me*


Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great intro to sociology for teenage girls.

But I really want to knock some sense into Katniss sometimes.

I can't stand hearing her thoughts and not being able to shout at her.


Such a heartbreaker.


Why do such girls get the attention of ridiculously desirable guys in books?

Gale and Peeta are on opposite sides of the awesome guys coin.

Edward and Jacob too. Kinda.


Why would the most desirable guys be fighting over such a girl who does not have the backbone to honor them by not playing with their hearts?


I know these books were written for teenage girls, but does this reflect real life?

Darn you auto-correct.

What I thought of The Avengers

It basically was the assembly of the world's biggest egos in a single room.

Or the assembly of the world's biggest movies in this generation, combined.

Here's the plot as I saw it.



*Spoilers ahead*



It took a bit of Stargate to get Loki to earth.


Then he used the power of Agent Smith from the Matrix to take control of Hawkeye and the scientist.


The ensuring explosion takes out the SHIELD base the way the movie 2012 took out the Earth and Aunt Robin barely escaped the collapsing cave in a car the way Pierce Brosnan did in Dante's Peak after driving backwards the way Mater did in Cars.


Cut to scenes of Black Widow being interrogated by guys we know are about to get whooped the way the guys in Iron Man 2 did. (Same moves and stunts, with the addition of a chair this time.) She asks Agent Phil on the phone to hold on while she kicks their butt the way Carmen Diaz did in Charlie's Angels 2.


Agent Phil visits Tony Stark on his new building and he pulls a Minority Report type interface out of the laptop with details on all the Avengers taken from their previous films.


Kid in India asks Dr Banner for help and runs through the city with him following like in Slumdog Millionaire and he gets enlisted.


Captain America shows off muscles in the gym the way the colonel in Avatar does so before enlisting too.


After arriving on the Shield aircraft carrier, it takes off the way the aliens do out of the water in Battleship.


Welcome to the command centre that is as advanced as the one used to track down Jason Bourne. Positive ID on Jason Bourne. I mean Loki. Both of whom are not trying to hide anyway.


Hawkeye does a Mission Impossible with last minute sending over of eyeball information from Loki and they get a rare metal to power the cube of infinite power that the Transformers were fighting over.


Loki makes people bow, but one old man resists like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino and he is saved by Captain America who jumps in out of nowhere (how he slipped through the crowd of thousands kneeling I still don't get.)


With Iron Man's help they capture Loki who then gets thrown out of the plane by Thor the way Major Lennox threw Galloway out of the plane in Transformers 2. Iron Man grabs his helmet and jumps out of the plane like he did in his second movie, and Captain America follows like he did in his first.


On the ground, 3 of the world's finest egos are smashing each other to pulp the way the top 3 Soldier 1st Class in Final Fantasy Crisis Core did. No one really injured of course.


Back on the Heli-Carrier they imprison Loki and study his scepter, and his raises tension among the whole group who don't realise that the sceptre is a horcrux and turning all of them against each other.


Hawkeye strikes and takes down an engine and plants a virus that shuts down another engine in a way only someone who acted in Mission Impossible 4 could do. The heores' base loses altitude with the propellers down, as was the case in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen when one of the heroes betrayed the rest and planted bombs in their mobile base, the Nautilus submarine. In both cases the heroes rushed to get the propellors restarted, before they crash into land or sink into sea.


Unruly Hulk rampages after Black Widow the way Juggernaut rampaged after the mutant producing The Cure in X-Men 3, smashing walls and all.


Hulk jumps onto a small plane that came out of this big plane the way Captain America did on Red Skull's giant plane. Hulk falls to earth, as does Thor who is rolling from floor to ceiling to wall like in Inception as the room he's in free falls.


Captain America is blasted out of the moving vehicle again the way he was in his previous movie at the essential time that he needed to save his friend Bucky/Tony. Bucky died and Tony got kicked up real bad by the propeller.


Loki opens the portal on Stark tower creating a blue beam in the sky like on Independence Day.


Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow pull an Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli walking scene right out of Monsters Incorporated which had ripped off the scene from Armageddon.


The metaloid Decepticons attack out of the portal and besiege the city like they did in Transformers 3. Shia LaBeouf and the rest of the Autobots make their way into the city, hijacking enemy planes to do so. Oh wait sorry no Autobots, same scene, different film. Giant metal serpentine flying creature that tunnels through buildings taken out by a flying Iron Man the way a flying Optimus Prime took out a giant metal serpentine creature that tunnels through buildings controlled by Soundwave.


The higher ups authorize the use of nukes, which essentially is burning down the house to kill a mouse. Not much different from the higher ups in The Core who want to zap the core of the earth that had stopped spinning with the exact bolt of energy that had made it stop. But the team in The Core was in the core and in the blast radius, the way the Avengers were in the city that was to be nuked. The team in the Core tried their own method with the help of Rat at HQ to undermine the system, as the Avengers did with the help of Nick Fury who shot down one of the planes carrying the nuclear missile.


Black Widow gets to the machine with the help of Hawkeye who shoots like Bullseye in Daredevil, without looking at the target.


With all his might, Iron Man carried the nuke that would destroy the city into space, the way Superman, with all his might in Superman Returns, carried the Kryptonite Island that would destroy the world into space. Super/Iron Man came falling down and were thought to be dead.


Robert Downy Jr. was shocked out of his death in Sherlock Holmes 2 by an antidote. He was shocked out of his death in the Avengers by Hulk, the antidote.


They put Loki in a Hannibal mask and Power Rangers teleport him away.


And after the credits, floating in the rubble after the huge explosion in space, something survived. No, it's not the Silver Surfer who was floating in the rubble after the huge explosion in space in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, it's Thanos, who smiles like an intelligent monkey from Rise of the Planet of the Apes.


That's all.


So basically... Avengers took not just the most famous heroes of our time and put them in a single film, but took all the famous film ideas of our time and put them in a single film.

Something like this...





But I'll give it to Avengers for coming up with something original.

One scene to rule them all.

Hulk and Loki.



Oh wait Indiana Jones did something like that already when he pulled a gun on a swordsman.

Argh.

Auntie Kim

Why I dislike reading

I've not touched a book for a long time.

I don't like reading.

But since everyone says the Hunger Games book is better, I thought I'll give it a try.


It's overwhelming.

No not in a good way for me.

As an introvert, I pick up on every word and line.

I scribbled so many notes inside the book I was reading though it did not belong to me.

And my imagination went wild at the thought of this world.


I'm overwhelmed.

My imagination is scarily powerful.

It's okay for a movie, because that's merely 2 hours.

But reading this book for the past 2 weeks and creating a world in my head more real to me than the world I'm living in is a different thing.

It's a good book. But I don't think I'll continue reading to the second.

It's too much for me.


I have to finish reading this book soon.

I'm not who I used to be.

I have Katniss and killing other tributes and fighting the system stuck in my head.

I've already started dreaming about sponsors.

Even chocolate reminds me of Katniss and the Hunger Games. 

This has to stop.

I'm losing sense of reality.


And I think I'll forget about trying to read Harry Potter.

Once again, I'm quite in awe...

This is not a photo.

Spirits Of Oisterwijk
acrylic on canvas 36 x 36"

Jason de Graaf

Brilliance

After a few moments...

... I perceived a line of gentlemen with rifles.

They were looking in my direction.





"I looked around, but could not see the target."

Army Adverts

America

Singapore

Few know what it's like to be in space

But I've been there and back again.

The Law of Murphy

I submitted my application to Ninja Warrior Singapore.

I didn't have time to make a video because it was the exam period and the deadline for submission was tomorrow.

They just extended the deadline by more than 2 weeks.

It's too late to add a video now.