freddie just made my shirt obsolete =(

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=447330&cc=4716

=(

I'm really really really really sad he had to leave. I know he kind of bombed last season and the season before last, but he was truly one of my favourite Arsenal players. Worse is, he just made my Arsenal shirt obsolete!!! (double frowns)

In other news, I went to NTU for Medical Checkup today. Had to go in with all the other foreign students since I hold an Indonesian passport, and so had to report to the ISC like every other FMS (fucking Malaysian scholar) who were in NTU for the first time ever. (I'm Indonesian, by the way) And the worst part is I almost got forced into joining the orientation programme for new Indonesians! I went in and said, Hi I am a foreign student from Indonesia, I'm here to do my medical checkup so I would need the requisite forms? Okay sir, Welcome to Singapore. You are from Indonesia? Okay, please take these (gives me a shitload of forms of which only one is relevant) fill them up and put them over there with the people over on that table. Then go home and come back tommorow, that's when the Indonesian programme starts. Oh, no. I'm actually a local student but I just hold a passport, so I am not going for the orientation thingy. Can I just get the form? No sir, all new foreign students are encouraged to sign up for the orientation programme so as to get you sufficiently naturalised that you can live in Singapore. No like I said, I'm actually a local student, that I've been in the Singapore system since many years ago, so NO NEED FOR ORIENTATION. (Which part of that did the person fail to get?)

Ok, so I filled up the forms... Better be compliant than risk all the wraths of Indians, Malaysians and other kuchikurang foreigners combined. Never mind, so the medical checkup was also pretty routine, except for the urine test. Okay, all the urine tests I've been through in my life goes like this. Doctor gives a cylinder with a cover that can be secured shut, and you go to the toilet to do it. The lady gave me a cup and a strip of paper, and I somehow missed the bright yellow instructions on the table. So I went, got a sample, and went back with the cup full of it. THANKFULLY some seniors saw and looked puzzled, so one of them explained to me, you only need the strip of paper. I was so embarrassed at that very moment! So I did the best thing possible, laugh, say "cheh, no wonder lah" and went back to the toilet to get rid of the incriminating stuff.

Other than that it was so boring and tedious that I wonder why I went NTU (cause it's so friggin far)

Met See Wai and Tony for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. Like ordered a bit too many side dishes, cause I forgot that their "side dish" is served in baskets. Ate until I was so stuffed before CY left for her $2 movie and me and Tony both went home. Of course, today I managed to obtain a very 白目 picture of CY to use as the contact picture in my phone. So it's not exactly a wasted day.

Oh, I am going to Johor tommorow for a short one-day visit. Not that I like going Johor to buy stuff, but this is cause my Social Visit Pass expires on the 26th (this thurs) but the ICA building just has to be closed down from today till the 26th. So I have to leave the country and come back so they can issue me an extension for the visit pass... If not I'd be blacklisted (if I actually overstay) and the myopic ICA people will be condemning a person like me from ever coming back into the country. How mean.

smarvo arsehole!

Went for a day of Mee sua outing yesterday. What can I say, I suppose this is the first ever outing EVER organised to have such a large turnout, like 18/22 of the people who can turn up. Morning was spent waiting for the latecomers (ahem, Cheryl) and "brunch" (more like lunch, really) at Thai Express. Must say the food there is pretty good. I had the soft shell crab thingy, not very worth the 10 bucks since the serving is quite small.. would love to try the green curry next time (Justin ordered that, and I tried. It was SHIOK.)

Much of lunch was spent talking about the impossible circumstances surrounding the improbable, deplorable and depreciative gossip of two OG-mates and one senior attached. Couple of times we laughed so hard I almost puked out my food. The rest were really very gross suggestions. (GASPs in horror) Then we went to MINDS cafe, a pretty nice place with just ONE toilet (when we were given free flow of drinks) and lots of funny board games. Spent 4 hours there, but most of it was wasted cause we didn't know how to play most of the games. A lot of noise and shouting involved, though. More people actually came to join us here.

Well then came dinner, which was originally supposed to be at some Turkish place I can't remember how to spell. Then it was supposed to be Fishermans' Wharf (which has really good fish and chips), but it was full so we went to some Indon restaurant which was again turned down cause some people can't eat spicy food. (well the Indon restaurants here are relatively mild. Trust me on that) So in the end it was Manhattan Fish Market again. (my second time this week). We shared the humungous platter (two platters actually, I can't remember what.) but since I was the only guy among the 6 sharing I had to eat more, which made me quite sick of MFM for the moment.

After dinner was pretty standard. Some people left right after dinner, but the rest went to walk around clarke quay without much aim whatsoever. Ended up sitting together and talking crap on some bridge near Brewerkz there, and then everyone left.

Oh my, what an interesting post.

Okay, something more interesting. I went by Bras Basah today to get books for my students, and since it's Bras Basah I always visit the guitar shops. Scouted for big big amps, tried a "Smarvo" amp in one of the shops, but the service I received from the owner was very disgusting. The moment he switched on the amp there was noise coming, so I asked him if it was the cable that was spoiled or the guitar that was not well-insulated. His reply was a terse, no. There is no noise. I don't know if he is really deaf or he just wants to push crap onto customers. I mean he could admit it's the guitar, or the cable, and replace it right? Am I not a potential customer? And he so grumbled when I asked him if I could borrow a pick. Like, manz, no wonder Swee Lee is a much better shop.

The friggin owner aside, the Smarvo amp was pretty good for its price. About $250 for 50 watts of power. Though the in-built distortion was kind of disgusting. And the noise factor (which I really suspect is the cable or the guitar, but was unable to confirm) might really put me off buying it. Noise when distortion is on I can understand, but noise while on clean? That's disgusting.

So I crossed over to Swee Lee to look around. Their stuff are WAY more expensive, but the quality is there. I enquired about the Ibanez 30 watt tone blaster, costs about $300. It's pretty small enough to fit into my room, and powerful enough to be heard 17 storeys down. Ok I will probably never ever try that but it's a pretty powerful package. And the staff were more understanding and helpful. So I tried it with a Washburn they had, pretty okay I guess, the Washburns, which have very limited flexibility since the one I tried only had ONE volume pot and that's it. Okay, so I'm supposing how much cash I could save up and how much space I can clear in my room first before deciding what I'd be getting. Either the 30w Toneblaster for $300 or a super big smarvo (I doubt it cause it's like, 1 metre by one metre cabinet) for around the same price. Though I can imagine being yelled at for buying the super big one.

Some group pics of mee sua!

no no, for real I can play lots better than that!!!

THis is damn throw face. But it brings back memories! =D

completing contemplation compilation of communications

I've no idea what the title means.

Just came back from watching DIE HARD 4.0. As far as action movies go it's pretty much the same - bad guys with big conspiracy plot to start the end of the world, a heroic figure who goes in with guns and super duper martial arts moves, and they all save the day by killing all the bad guys and just escaping with a few scratches. But I got a burning question!
















HOW THE HELL CAN THIS THING FLY LIKE A HELICOPTER UNDER THE HIGHWAY?????

Well that's really what happened in the story...

And another complaint... when Asian "stars" make it into Hollywood films, the main purpose is just to market the film to Asian audiences. Cue: Maggie Q (Die Hard), Chow Yun Fatt (Pirates). They are JUST THERE TO BE KILLED IN THE MOST UNGLAM WAY!

Chow Yun Fatt died of a super unglam cannonball shot. Maggie Q died by being crushed in a van that somehow went down a lift shaft. She died without saying even as much as 5 lines in the movie.

You can't blame the caucasians for being smart money-grabbers. We Asians do it too.

Ever watched those HK TVB serials where the ang moh guy is always that sharp-faced guy? And he always plays a cop. Stereotype eh. And those HK movies where the biggest baddies are ang-mohs and they get whooped by the chinamen.

Moral of the story: watch Bollywood or Kollywood. Even watch Indon films, whatever. At least no caucasians are involved, yes?

gear for sale

I actually posted this on Audioreload but I got like zero hits... then I realised that nobody ever goes there other than to look for band members. So I was hoping I'd get a bit more response here yeahh...... Will sell cheaper to friends!!! AH!

Oh, and I'm only selling to get more gear, not selling cause I don't want to play anymore, nono.

1970s Vintage Yamaha G-225 Classical Guitar for $150!!!

I wasn't born yet in that time, I only know this is a really old guitar that's still in very good condition. It's really old, and has two lines of indonesian/english poem (something my uncle used to court my aunt, but that's really beside the point):

"It's impossible for me to present my love for anyone else but only you"

"Pohon berjabang itu wajar. Cinta bercabang itu kurang ajarrr!" Translated: A tree that has many branches is good. A love that has many branches means you should go and die!

There's actually another line but I can't make out what it is.. a large portion of it is faded already...

In any case it's 30 over years old, so the tuners are a bit rusty (if you really want you can change just the tuners from a decent guitar shop). Understandably when i got it I changed the strings (caused my uncle fashioned strings out of some funny-looking washline or fishing line or i don't know what it is) and gave it a nice cleaning-up.

I can apply a new layer of wax if wanted.

Most importantly, of course, the sound's good, as expected of old instruments.

"Nikko" Acoustic Guitar in decent condition for $40!!!

A pretty decent acoustic guitar I bought for around $80, it's an ovation imitation guitar. Looks more expensive than it really is, so it's kind of a guitar you might want to own to throw around and not feel sad about it. To lose it in some park or beach while romancing and not even spare it a thought.

Basically it's a cheap ass guitar I want to get rid of, and I don't have space for so many guitars I don't use. For an additional $10 i'll throw in a gig bag for this guitar.

"KORG Toneworks AX3G Multi FX" for $85!!!

This is a good multi FX tool, only 3 months old, still has warranty from City Music! It's pretty easy to set, has 40 presets (that can't be modified) and 40 slots for user configurations. It's a very useful tool, and I'm only selling cause I want to invest in a good-ol' pedal board instead. Of course it's in good condition - and batteries are not included yeah...

BC Rich stock pickup! For as low as $30!

These are the stock "B.D.S.M" pickups that come with the BC Rich guitars IMPORTED FROM THE USA! I can't guarantee it's manufactured there, but I can guarantee they're good for bassy metal sounds, sound good when distorted. I don't know how to describe the sound, well. The BC Rich people call it "Broad Dynamically Sonically Matched" or something - all I know is cause I changed my pickups to a Dimarzio PAF and Duncan SH11 I don't need this. So just selling one pickup for $30, can be used in bridge or neck, but i'd reccomend neck. Still near brand new condition, other than the fact I desoldered it myself (cleanly). The plastic cover layer on the chrome covers are still there, so there's nary a scratch on the surface of this thing. Or you can buy and use it as a mirror! =D

I'm only selling cause my room is small, I have 5 guitars already and not enough space. And I want a bigger amp, so I need to clear the space.

Only selling to Singapore residents because I have no idea (and no desire) to post it to some far off country (partly because I don't know how)... Bank transfer to POSB, DBS or cash on delivery would be best. Message me if interested.

BC RICH BDSM Pickup Pictures!

KORG Toneworks AG3X pictures!

"Nikko" Acoustic Guitar Ovation Imitation Pictures!

Yamaha G-225 Pictures!

NTUWKWSCIFOC07IHARH.A.R.D.C.O.R.E.Z.Z.Z.Z.Z!

Ok, so I'm back from 5 days of FOC. Truth to be told, it was unlike any other orientation/camp I've ever been in before. Like, which camp has OG named after noodles? mee sua, mee kia, mee taimak (wtf is that) and mee pok. And just nice I'm in mee sua, everyone is damn "nua" (eh that rhymes) until like the last 3 days. And which other camp has the seniors ganging up to punk all the freshmen and are so convincing we didn't smell a rat until people started "dying".

In any case it was an interesting camp lah... though my OG was really really very nua. Like the miss universe "i wish for world peace" kind. Only got 4 guys... pretty nice people, standard guys who happen to be older than me. The rest make up your standard OG: the guys sitting together group talking abt guy stuffs, girls and army, the convent girls' group consisting of a bunch of girls who stick to each other all the time, the gossip group consisting of ba gua people and the group who stone all the time and not knowing who or what to talk to/about.

I'm really damn damn lazy to type... so shall not recount the whole camp in any way else. But I guess despite sometimes the camp being slow moving (and truthfully, on the second day I seriously seriously thought about cocking up some excuse to go home) it was pretty interesting when I tried to rah-rah abit (which is unlike me) by taking a massive caffeine intake (4 cans in 1 hour) on day 3 onwards... so I guess that salvaged my memories of this camp.

Like after 5 days, I don't really know all the names... just the faces. Some of them will stick, some will probably turn into "hi-bye" friends. But we will spend 4 years as course mates, and I'm sure that some of us will become great lifelong friends along the way. Yeps.

Anw, i finally realised how much of a legend my sister is in SCI. Like really, legend in the sense like Pele was to soccer and MJ was to bball. Like almost every senior knows. I heard that all the lecturer knows her too. Like I'm really hoping the moniker "Licia's brother" won't stick... it sucks to be referred to as "someone's someone" if you catch my drift.. maybe I'm desperate to be someone special, but aren't we all? So I'm raelly hoping, and praying that I'll be able to do well such that I'd become known in my own right in the eyes of everyone.

And in any case, I've never been to NY. And that forfeit was super duper unfair to me who was klutzing at that time.

I really miss my guitar. I guess I'll ravage it tmr morning when I'm not as sleepy. (that sounds WAY wrong.)

what a real band should be like... fun!

Looking at this makes me want to laugh at all the so called "rock bands" out there today, (cue Linkin Park, Bon Jovi, Dir En Grey, Ronin, Electrico, whatever you have).. all the over-commercialised songs - double edged sword really, not that you can blame them (if there is no commercialisation we'd never have heard these songs in the first place, right?)

Look at the fun they are having and the fun they bring to everyone around them! I mean, who would even dare suggest doing a stunt like that nowadays? In Singapore a band would probably be arrested halfway and jailed for "harassment" or some other offence.

why X-Japan took 6 years to make Dahlia

Don't smite me, all the other X fans.. but to some degree probably they were relieved X disbanded cause then all of them wouldn't have to sit on the floor and stone for six years while Yoshiki makes tweaks that the rest are oblivious to, haha...

Makes me wonder how Dir en Grey makes so many albums if Yoshiki is producing them!

there's hope for the future!

Despite what all the Manc, Pool, Chelski and other loser fans out there think, no, although Henry leaving is not a good thing, it's not crisis time at Arsenal! Here's some research and my findings (out of my boredom): Upon reading through some reports from reputed dailies in London like The Sun, Times and etc, I have concluded selling Henry, though undesirable to most fans, was a calculated decision by Wenger- Dein's leaving was only a moment's folly of decisions, and not only will Dein be back, Kroenke is going to launch a bid for Arsenal after Danny Fiszman sells him his 25% stake, which would bring Kroenke's shares to about 38%. This combined with Dein's 12% would make 50% - ie Hill-wood can go and die.

And here's why Kroenke is not all bad news for Arsenal - he is VERY unhappy that the board allowed Henry to leave and is willing to pull out all stops to keep Wenger at the Emirates. Here's some proof: Dein knows he will come back to Arsenal 6 months after he left, shown by him rejecting Newcastle, Wenger knows that Henry leaving puts the doubt on his future, hence he has a bargaining chip to finally pressure the board instead of the other way round. The advance proof of that is clear: 1) Wenger wants Dein back at the club before he signs any new contract, 2) Kroenke is a good friend of Dein's, and is rich enough to buy over the club if anyone wants to sell, and 3) the Arsenal board are all desperate for Wenger to stay by agreeing to give him a 50% pay rise and 30 million pounds to spend.

All that aside, here's why Kroenke is really not too bad: He is more than willing to fund Wenger's transfer spending - in the same way as Malcom Glazer has done for Man Yoo, but not in the manner of borrowing in the name of the club. What is stopping that from happening is the alliance of long-serving old fogeys who "want to ensure the club remains English" who insists on not using Kroenke's money and thus forcing Wenger to scrimp, save and sell his best players/his promising players to buy more youngsters. One can thus tell that the old fogeys are more like the Communist Party Elite of the USSR in the past - determined to place control in the old guard - and one can't help but view them as the real villains should any bad thing happen to the club. The signs show even the board are relenting, and thus there is great chance that Dein will really be back and Wenger stays.

Why else would Wenger stay?

1. Henry is important, but diminishing in significance - 10 goals in only 17 games is a good return, but last season Henry spent more time pressurizing the likes of RVP, Adebayor, Baptista, and basically everyone who attacks for Arsenal in his place. Standing in the Arsenal dugout every game next to Wenger only serves to pressurize everyone to play according to his style. As a result Arsenal are correctly labeled as being over-reliant on Henry because only he is capable of scoring goals that are as beautiful as in his dreams after Pires, Bergkamp, Wiltord and Vieira left and Ljungberg became impotent. Thus his leaving is not all bad news - in fact now all the above mentioned youngsters can play as they want and not be inhibited by Henry's visions.
2. It's obvious Wenger is still planning for the future - he is set to appoint Gilles Grimandi as Director of Football, as someone to replace Dein in player recruitment. He is chasing the likes of Babel, Hunteelar, and Tevez as direct replacements for Henry. Heck, he is even thinking about bringing in le sulk back. Some more evidence? Well he let go of Aliadiere at long last, who has been the biggest embarrassment to an Arsenal shirt since Jeffers left. The fact that he sold Muamba to Birmingham but declined to sell Bendter to Birmingham suggests that he already knew he will sell Henry two months ago. And not to mention, by selling Henry and banking in on the outrage and anger over it, he has cornered Hill-wood and the old guard into a corner, paving the way for Dein and Kroenke to be a bit more liberal about the club's direction.
3. Arsenal are not, and will never be a poor club. In fact it got richer. Ultimately Wenger earned a profit of over 7 million pounds on Henry who signed for much less than 16 million a few years ago. In the process the guy scored over 240 goals in more or less 360 matches for the club. So it's a good piece of business. Letting go of Aliadiere, Muamba and some other players also brings in some cash. Moving to the Emirates guarantees about 20 million pounds extra Gate Receipts every year, while renaming it Emirates also gives over 100 million pounds to Arsenal over the ten-year deal (or thereabouts). And not to say, technically Arsenal still own Highbury. That big a plot of prime land in the middle of London is currently being developed into luxury apartments which are already all sold, and upon completion the full amount of cash from its sale will be over 30 million pounds at least (I'm not sure how much they will earn, just that it's a lot of money). Not to mention, there's always Kroenke, and Hill-wood hasn't really dug into his own pockets for a long time cause Arsenal has been self-sufficient in the past few years. Granted we will never have, or spend as much money as the stupid Russian in Chelsea. Granted we'll probably spend less than Thaksin's Man City. Granted Man Yoo signed Nani, Anderson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney and etc ahead of Arsenal (and there was nothing we could do about it). Oh heck, I suppose Arsenal won't even out-spend Tottenham this season. But to all the delusional Spurs, Manc, Pool and Chelski fans who are predicting doom and gloom for Arsenal, don't predict too soon.

In any case, Arsenal have one of the most efficient scouting networks. Outside the young first team, the reserves have the likes of van den Berg, Carlos Vela, Francisco Merida, Vitto Mannone, Nick Bendter, Theo Walcott and Armand Traore. Now I'm not being sarcastic by mentioning those players. Because they are good news. And Arsenal's "failure" or "low chance" of signing Michael Owen, Nic Anelka or Eto'o is pretty much good news too, because Owen can break any time between one day or six months of purchase without warranty, Arsenal don't need gloom and doom monger Anelka in the dressing room (he won't outscore RVP anyways), and Arsenal don't need another ego-maniac (although I hate to admit it, like Henry) like Eto'o.

So it's not bad news, after all =D

dum dee dum

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