The Murky Waters Of Songwriting XV

Hmm.

Well, I've just penned yet another song, which I daresay is one of the more decent songs I've managed to come up with, and I've come to be very proud of this song.

It's an instrumental, loosely based on some chords I picked up while learning the Beatle's 'Blackbird', which mainly uses fingerpicked two-finger chords. I think I'm going back in the direction creating Nick Drake-ish songs, which utilise two-finger chords and would sound absolutely great with a cello or violin accompanying the arrangement.

I won't be telling you guys what the title of the song is, because I have named it after the girl I have crush on... haha, no revealing as of yet.

So why have i named it after her? The answer is obvious... the music within the song expresses the feelings which I have within for her... which are just the feelings of peace, joy and happiness, but still a dash of sadness because I dare not approach her and I'm not sure where I stand in her mind.

When the time comes... maybe I will ask her out... will I have the courage then? Absolutely.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

View of headstock 

Pickups, bridge, and knobs and pickup selector. 

Close up of the body. 

One last look (maybe) at my guitar.. 

One down, two left to go...

Hmm.

Yesterday's Marketing test was suspiciously easy... almost too easy for us to be able to have a peace of mind because it just seems so unbelievable. I dunno.. I definitely screwed up one question, but now I have to focus on my Comm Skills test later in the afternoon.

I'm quite psyched about getting my electric guitar traded in, especially since i can trade it in for a wicked-sounding SG guitar (although it technically "isn't" an SG guitar, but a "copy") which looks, sounds and plays so fantastically... I've been fantacising about all the cool songs i can finally play without sounding too metal or too 'modern rock', but i can finally nail a 'classic rock' sound.

Did I mention that I took a test, and it turns out I belong in 1971? Yup, so that probably explains the reasons why I love Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and Rolling Stones. Not to mention some Pink Floyd songs.

Apparently, Alvin was at Bras Basah complex yesterday, and he managed to get notified by the shopkeeper that I could go down to Bras Basah between 1 and 3pm on Monday to get my guitar evaluated and hopefully traded in without any extra cost. Gosh, I'm not sure how I'm gonna pull that one off...

Well, first things first, I gotta clean up my guitar, remove all the extra paint stuff I drew on it, and make sure the electronics are working fine. I had actually changed the volume and tone knobs (the old ones were a tacky chrome colour, so I changed them to a glossy black colour), and added a rhythm/treble plastic circle around the pickup selector so that it makes the guitar look more 'old-school', because Les Pauls use that plastic circle around the pickup selector.

Secondly, I have to bring lots of stuff to school on monday for Patrick's evaluation... my guitar, my echo unit, my 'Pop Art' clock, the presentation board for the clock, the concept drawings for the clock, the toy cars i built for the first project etc.

I pray I can get a decent mark enough for Studio Project, and maybe I could have a shot at getting a top spot in the class once again.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Mother's Love XIV

Hmm.

My mum hates me.

I'm not exactly fond of her either.

She sees me as a tool, a faulty appliance.

I see her as a nuisance.

She hates my music.

I hate her voice.

I had previously blogged a whole post on how irritating she is, which makes Zelda look like an ant compared to her elephant. Then Blogger.com focked up my post, and it disappeared.

So now I'm pissed.

I've got a test later in the day.

I gotta vacuum the house by 10am.

I can't play my guitar without feeling guilty.

I can't type a sentence without a mistake in it.

I can't make my life any simpler, and she's making it worse.

I'm in love.

I'm not getting anywhere with that one-sided love.

I don't know how she feels about me.

i just feel so hopeless and insignificant.

Why can't things be simpler, and uncluttered?


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is honesty truly the best policy? IV

Hmm.

I'm just thinking of a special someone... when should I ask her out? I've been tossing the idea through my head ever since I last heard the song 'Wild Horses' by the Rolling Stones. I've become very much intrigued by her, and so much so that I do believe maybe I've become just too much of a thinker, and I should take some action soon enough.

Today Twilli came into Limky's class looking so dieheartened, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't due to the fatc all of us didn't know how to do his assignment, and what's worse, we all did badly. Fock that! I even failed a test for the first time since Secondary Three.

I just see people so deep in relationships I just wonder whether I'll be just as sad when I've fallen out with someone whom I believed I could share life with. Yet again, I couldn't get over Tina for like three years after we initailly fell out, and there wasn't even anything worth talking about.

Will I be so depressed? Maybe I will be because I've already given so much thought and soul into hoping that maybe she could give me a chance to be myself around her. Not that I haven't been honest in the first place. I just wish I could be less impatient... I gotta take it in my stride.

Hopefully I've grown into a better person over the last school year, and she could see that while I have still remained as vivacious and loud as could be, I'm less lame (it's Alvin's turn to go full throttle), and I've definitely become more mature in terms of sensitivity to others, and most importantly: I know what I must not do to make a bad impression.

Truth to tell, even though I'm the youngest in my class, I feel like I'm almost 25 because of the way i feel towards her especially when she smiles... I just melt into nothingness. I also love her voice... when I hear it, it feels better than the jolt of electricity I get when the solo for 'Stairway' starts.

Gosh.. I'm getting so darn mushy on my blog. Oh yeah... I'm just in love I suppose...


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Woooaaahhhhh....

Hmm.

I had lunch with Char and Alvin today, and what fun we had... Alvin and I had to wait for her simply because she couldn't find her spectacles and she was significantly delayed. In any case, the main point of us having lunch was just to hang out, talk crap ("asparagus" disorder), shoot the shit (more "asparagus" disorder) and for Char to return the micro Marshall amplifier i had lent to her since more than three months ago.

Just in case you were wondering what the "asparagus disorder" is, just go to Alvin's blog www.giantzucchini.blogspot.com and you will find all of Alvin's flaws pointed out in bold, and with the exclusion of the fact he openly scratches his family jewels*.

*Brandon Goh, an old schoolmate and friend states that Alvin is known as "the grand-master ball-scratcher".


Sorry Alvin.

Anyhow, I just think it's getting stupid, talking about what makes a person different from others in a bad way... you need AC/DC to wake you up, and no more Planet Shakers. For one, you'll never witness me scratching me balls in public. No more Planet Shakers.

Anyhow, managed to smuggle Alvin make to my place and jam and record some stuff... all of it turned out to be rather crappy because of 1. the lack of more microphones and 2. the lack of a good sound card and 3. the lack of a good sound-recording programme and finally 4. the inconsistancy of modern-day technology, particularly Compaq computers... they suck really bad.

Don't get me wrong, the musicianship was absolutely there, but i suppose we all tend to get all tired out after a hard day's work working on two lumps of blue foam, sticking sand onto the two lumps and spraying the lumps with silver paint and lacquer.

Oh, and those two lumps of foam are modelled after my own two hands, and is supposed to be Patrick's 'Hands' door stopper. Apparently, Zainudin and a couple of other people say they aren't too bad on the eyes, but i still think they look good in a crappy, crude sort of way... just like Modern Art**.

** a.ka. subjective crap.

However, I suppose I'll be trying to push out the mechanics assignment given out to us by Limky and is supposed to he handed up tomorrow... I'll be needing Alvin's help for this one. For the record, I have never, ever liked or enjoyed doing mathematics... it's just due to the education system in Singapore, I have turned into a number-crunching freak incapable of making sure my times-table isn't focked up by the amount of blue foam I breath in every time I enter the darn workshop.

I simply hate maths... I have never understood why it's so important why A maths is 'The key to a brighter future' other than the fact I can progress academically using my A2 for A Maths, 70 percent of which i have happily forgotten, and the rest I am trying to push out of my head.. Is stuff like logarithms or sine/cosine going to help me survive in the outback desert or siberian tundra? i suppose I could calculate the odds of survival with no food and thereby ensure my life will end not by lack of food, but through depression.

All my life I have sucked at maths.. I still do because I have no darn interest in it... i just suck it in and blow it out my arse because sometimes just sticking to the crap can have some unexpected results i.e. getting A2 for A maths and E maths. I'm not proud of that achivement.. I'm just indifferent, it's like being fed on hay and getting the expected results: shitting it out with difficulty.

The weird point for today was when Ayob said that it is a shame I wasn't an actor.. according to him it was 'such a pity' i wasn't in the acting business. Well, my talents seems to lie in both shores of producing and playing music and improvising bullshit. i suppose I could try out acting, but I'd say that the producers had better give me a lot of freedom of expression, not to mention room for improvisation.

I'd better work on my Limky assignment.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

What the lousy buggeration II

Hmm.

Today brother dearest and myself had to accompany my dad, his three brothers and my grandparents to clean up the grave of my paternal great-grandfather, and I was obliged to put joss sticks on the grave even though I am a chistian in heart and practise.

I prayed for forgiveness before I went through the whole procession, and gyess what, after the whole things was over and I went back to my Gramp's place, I managed to put my foot into a long kang and cut up my shin.

Guess that's punishment enough from God. Hope I don't make the same fault again next year. Problem is, my mum still stubbornly refuses to allow me to go to church, and she just brushes the whole notion aside and saying I had made the decision to convert upon the basis of emotion.

Well guess what? I had converted in Secondary Three, and the main reason I turned to God was simply because my mum and dad were so busy fighting each other when my dad cheated on my mum they decided I was just a piece of shit that they could vent their emotional frustration upon.

I've no regrets converting... in fact i wish I could become a purer person, but thank God for Alvin, because he's such a hard-core bugger, I can't possibly feel comfortable if I don't pray before meals. In fact, the moment I turn 21 and I can go watch dirty movies unperturbed, I'm going to register myself with Alvin's church and do my part for serving God, to make up for lost time.

Believe you me, when my mum screamed at me over the phone when I told her I had converted, I sure felt a sense of satisfaction i can remove myself from the stigma that your parents can solve everything.. I had to be independent, and I can't possibly depend on my parents for every single thing.. another reason I work part-time.

Anyhow, I've got to start revising for my marketing and comm skills tests next week.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Saturday Night Blues

Hmm.

Well, it's been a quirky, odd-feeling saturday for me... woke up late to have some breakfast. Then proceeded to jam the morning away before going out in the afternoon, getting myself a brand new edition of Guitar World magazine (which I do believe is one of the better-priced magazines in comparing the amount of information versus the price) featruing (who else!) Jimmy Page, who commented on the 30th Anniversary of Led Zeppelin's sixth album "Physical Graffiti".

Since I already have the album, it comes as no surprise that I know much about the music contained inside the album. Coming as a two-disc set, I suppose I can have some inspiration when it comes to album presentation (if I do manage to cut a disc of decent-sounding songs with Alvin anytime soon).

Truth to tell, the main reason I feel my saturday is just so off-key is because I'm looking back on the situation i had landed myself in back on Valentine's Day. To be perfectly honest, I was so engrossed with trying to impress and make a good impression on that person, I completely forgot the main thing upon which is the most important to breaking the ice: being myself.

People can say that buying flowers (paper ones, though they might have been) for a girl and giving it to her on V day is brave, courageous, thoughful, great, whatever. At the end of the day, I still haven't accomplished the task I aspired to achieve: that is to ask her out.

I was just going through the whole process of how I might just start to ask her in my head, but then I suppose it could either end up in her saying Aye, to which I would suggest: "maybe we could hang out and have a coffee at a place I know" or she could say Nay, to which I wouldn't know how to react to.

I suppose the greatest danger, and nonetheless the greatest fear of entering an active relationship is the feeling of being hurt. I personally have been pierced with that agony of being there and not being noticed, and the feeling just didn't go away even though years after I have gotten over that person.

While I might demand: what the fuss is all about that fear for? I believe that sometimes you have to respect other's decision to reject that which they do not desire and we all have to find another way, one way or another to find that special someone we so desire.

Back to thinking about that special someone; even though she's in my class, I have no fears about being hurt because I believe that with every scar I collect, with every stumble, with every failure I encounter, I'm on the road to success. It may seem block-headed in my thinking, but what is there to lose, when you have everything to gain: love, friendship, companionship, reciprocation.

But that path is still awaiting for me to tread, and I'm not going to walk that path with someone who won't reciprocate my care, love, and devotion. My other classmate told me i have to make a move, and I just can't sit on my butt to wait for opportunity to fall into my lap.

He's right: he's gotten about 7 girlfriends so far.

Of course I'm not going to such extremes.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Murky Waters Of Songwriting XIV

Hmm.

Alvin and myself have been planning to finish off the track 'No More Tears', which includes me on vocals, acoustic guitar and mandolin. Alvin contributes his vocals, banjo and even does a harmony mandolin solo (as in he does an overlapping mandolin solo over my initial mandolin solo).

The problem with that song is Alvin isn't satisfied with the mix because the instruments come in at the wrong time (which he, says makes him shudder whenever he hears the song) and I myself am not satisfied with the vocals (because the harmony goes off-key) and the guitar sound, which I feel sounds too sythesized.

We initially decided to re-record the guitar track, vocals and re-mix the mandolin solos.

Being the itchy-handed bugger I am, I completely re-did the guitar tracks, mandolin tracks and threw in new vocals. All that remains is Alvin's Banjo, mandolin harmony solo and vocals.

The resultant song which I finished yesterday, has better-sounding acoustic guitar and of course, better vocals (I improved my voice by double-tracking my vocals).

I think my voice sounds terrible, but when I double-track it, and compress the result, it sounds much better. Should I employ this method everytime I record? Even though it may make me sound better than I do in real life, I think the record deserves a good vocal sound.

Another good example of double-tracking my voice is included in the latest version of 'To You', in which I overlay new vocals over the old 'live' version.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It's Got Balls!!!

Hmm.

Just finished uploading the 'final' version of "To You", a song written by Alvin and myself, involving a crazy mandolin, a wacko guitar and...

an electric guitar sound with balls!

Ok, believe it or not, when you hear a sound like the electric featured on the song, many people will think it sounds like a vintage Gibson SG played through a 100-watt Marshall, but the truth is, it's just my Mockingbird, through my overdriven Marshall 15-watt, and a lot of sound mastering.

Taking a cue from my idol, Jimmy Page, who used a similar method to 'thicken' his guitar sound on 'Black Dog' (Led Zeppelin IV), I first recorded the guitar sound using my amp to blast into the mic, placed on the floor.

After recording the sound track, I then equalised it to boost the bass and treble, and leaving very little midrange.

As I had recorded the sound in stereo, I

1. transformed it into mono,
2. and then quint-tracked the sound (parallel-mixing the sound five times, by placing it in stereo on the left, in between left and middle, middle, between right and middle and right),
3. boosted the volume,
4. reduced the background noise,
5. further triple-tracked it,
6. and then noise-reduction
and then boosting of volume.
7. finally, I compressed the sound and added some reverb.

Quite a fair bit of mastering, to be truthful, but the end sound is quite wicked, although it lacks a lot of bass, but it makes up in sustain and drive.

What happened to the remaining portions of the track?

The original track was a 'live' version of the song recorded in stereo and the vocals were quite weak. So I just put the original track on the left-side, the electric sound on the right, and added another set of vocals to top off the song. The final thing I did was to add some volume and compress the sound.

What a busy day! But it was all worth it, producing a song which features an absolutely wicked electric guitar sound, and on top of that, making the term 'Hammer-Of-God' come true for this song.

So what are you waiting for? Listen to the song on www.fgg.dmusic.com and give me some feedback! I'd love to hear what you guys think of the song.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Hands Down!

Hmm.

I had a ball of a time today working on my Patrick 'Hands' doorstop, and it sure involved a lot of puns.

I suppose the good thing about having a carved blue foam hand model is that it looks so realistic (although it is blue) and when you use it for the following joke-activities, you will be sure that you will draw weird stares:

1. 'Hand'-phone. Using the model like a handphone.. except you are using a real-looking hand as a phone.
2. 'Hand sticking out of you shirt'.. perfect for making people go 'Lame....'
3. '"my hand has turned blue!"' saying that while holding the model and sticking it out of you shirt sleeve.
4. "Can you take take care of my hands?"
5. "Don't worry, they're in good hands"


Accompanyed Alvin, Jace, Uncle and Wen Ning to Bras Basah and I found my dream guitar!!!! It was modeled using real Epiphone guitar parts except it is finished and put together by the guitar workshop itself. Man.. it was such a dream to play that guitar... and what's even better is that I sounded just like Angus Young with that "SG" guitar!!!

I'm planning to trade my B.C. Rich Mockingbird with that guitar, and hopefully the margin of cost can be reduced of eliminated. Hopefully.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is it true?

Hmm.

Your Seduction Style: Ideal Lover

You seduce people by tapping into their dreams and desires. And because of this sensitivity, you can be the ideal lover for anyone you seek. You are a shapeshifter - bringing romance, adventure, spirituality to relationships. It all depends on who your with, and what their vision of a perfect relationship is.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Gosh, must've been something in the water!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Ah Hah!

Hmm.

Your Irish Name Is...

Diarmuid Ryan

What's your Irish Name?

And now I know what name I can introduce myself at the Irish gatherings...


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Told You So...

Hmm.

You Belong in 1971

1971 If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Guess that's why I like Led Zep, the Rolling Stones and AC/DC.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

What The Fock?

Hmm.

Your Brain is 80.00% Female, 20.00% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Possibly that's why I am so obsessive-compulsive?


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Crikes II

Hmm.

I suppose my ergonomics test went down in all of it's flame and glory because i fouled up so bad, I instantly lost 26 points off one qustion.

I just couldn't make things worse on top of the fact my bike's rear wheel is punctured (yet a-focking-gain) , and i am just so bloody tired. Just so bloody tired.

On a brighter note, I've been receiving good reveiws from a certain Paul McCleland on the Dmusic.com site paeg I've set up for the Fuzzy Green Grass regarding our cover of 'Dark As A Dungeon' and my cover of 'Whiskey In The Jar'. Needless to say I listened to his stuff, and it wasn't all too bad! Reminded me of a bit of Neil Young thrown in with something funky...

On another bright note, my dental appointment went quite well today and my dentist said I could remove my braces in a couple of week's time if my teeth do not cock-up and disrupt their present flight of progress.

I'm just so tired right now... tomorrow also have to go to school bright and early just so I can make some further headway with my Patrick 'hands' doorstop. Apparently, I can maybe use concrete to make my doorstop, because it is cheap and heavy, while it is also sturdy and easy to create!

I'm just trying to find the best way out of this dilemma, and on top of that, I have my Comm Skills oral presentation on Thursday, and my group hasn't even rehearsed our presentation material. I just hope nothing fouls up.

And i just want to finish fixing my bike before I get out of the house tomorrow.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Pop Tart VI

Hmm.

Today has been an amazing day for me.. I managed to secure the final concept of my doorstop for Patrick (Patrick, for crike's sake! Patrick! It's focking amazing!), more on that later; i also helped Alvin spary-paint his lighting project artefact; I also managed to oversleep on the bus and push my flat-tyred bike home, and watched The Incredibles (what a focking cute show) on DVD, courtesy of Brother Dearest.. and guess what? I've only barely studied for my ergonomics test which takes place tomorrow.. I'm so gonna die.

Ok, Patrick.

I came up with five concepts involving either one 1:1 scale hand , or two hands holding the door, and using the weight of the 'artefact' to prevent the door from closing. The end-result is kinda like a sculpture which prevents your door from slamming shut due to a gust of wind.

Anyhow, I presented my concepts to Patrick and he just laughed:

Pat: 'Hahahahaha... (snide grin)'

C: 'Ok, so what do you think? I just came up with these few concepts, you know using a hand as a kind of "blocking" device.. yeah'

Pat: 'Look, (my name), when I said last week that I wanted you all to incorporate a meaning into your design, i also want you to not just think about whether the product wroks well, but whether it sells well'*

*Note: this sentence has been edited and summarised from five seperate sentences.

C: 'Ah hah, ok, so you don't think these will sell well?'

Pat: 'No, I just feel that when someone looks at your product, they won't go "hey, it's so cute" or "it's so funny", because of the way you approach a problem'

C: 'Meaning?'

Pat: 'Well, I noticed you've been very practical and pragmatic in your approach for design, I'm no saying it's bad, but then your product becomes less appealing, you see? I don't know what people will think when they see two hands sticking out of the group and holding the door between their palms, also how are you going to make the door stop?'

C: 'Ah hah, you see I originally intended the material to be either cast bronze, steel etc to weight the door down, and block it form moving, you see? It's not a wedge-type.'

Pat: 'Oh? So it's a weight kind of door-stopper? Then It should be fine, and it looks kind of like a sculpture yeah?'

C: 'Yes. So can I proceed then?'

Pat: 'You can do anything you like, but in the end, you will be graded accordingly (snide smile)'

C: 'Ok, thank you.'


That seems alright to me, though. I suppose that really made my day, overcoming that particular obstacle, and I even managed to procure some blue-foam to make the full-scale model for my door stop! Whooo Hooo!!!

I had a fine time doing my 'Hands'... Alvin and I managed to come up with some lame ideas to lighten up the mood due to he having to hand up his lighting project tomorrow. Poor bugger. I, on the other hand, skipped AutoCAD to make my 'Hands' doorstop, and even managed to have some fun apart from that caused by my 'hands'.

Zelda had created an MDF model and it was supposed to be like two globes fused together with some rubbery material... and it was then vacumm-formed with a plastic sheet. the end result was like two huge boobs, and I exploited that fact to use the discarded failure prototypes to shove under my dustcoat.

i suppose I looked quite freaky with two boobs* and huge ones at that.

*Note; I do not intend to be a drag or to impersonate or imitate a woman subconsciously. Every action I took was purely out of the spirit of fun, which is to just poke fun at Zelda's creation.

Anyway, I think i need to study for my ergonomics test.. so see you guys around.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Workin' Blues V

Hmm.

Last night as i worked at the pub, a bar just opposite us was featuring a band which produced numbers whci hi couldn't even recognise, but all I have to say is that...

The band sucked because:

1. The guitars were focking weak - featuring a sound which would make the average joe shake his head in pity and cause Carlos Santana to choke on his perrier, along with guitar work worthy of a three-week guitar-solo course graduation, they TWO guitarists really don't make much difference.

2. The singer was weak - the bugger sounded like he'd just come back from a close encounter with a yeti, and he still hasn't found his voice back from the shock.

3. Where's the focking bass? - I couldn't even hear the bass. The only consistant person was the bloody drummer.

4. They can't play a song right - covering the Rolling Stonews classic 'Dead Flowers' which yours truly knows to the bottom detail, the band couldn't even capture the spirit of the song, much less make it work with the singer's weak voice and inexistant bass. Don't give me shite that they wanted to give a new perspective on the song... bollocks.

Anyhow, I was working today, and I pretty much encountered the biggest cock-up imaginable, and even got scolded by a customer, when I wasn't my fault and I was too tired to bother with it. Come to think of it, I can't be bothered to talk about it anymore.

Ok, who wants a Guinness Pint hat? Bidding starts at 30 bucks!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Music To The Ears II

Hmm.

I have recently discovered a music-sharing website for groups like my band the Fuzzy Green Grass to post their music and let others hear them.

The website is www.dmusic.com, and you can check out the Fuzzy Green Grass's stuff by searching for our name... check us out!

For now I'm just trying to upload as much of our good material as I can, and hopefully you guys can go and enjoy the music!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Red For Warning

Hmm.

You Might not want tobgo here unless you have a high tolerance for bullshit.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! VI

Hmm.

Whoa. Work yesterday was such a blast... the pub was packed to the brim with Guinness-guzzling folk who just can't seem to stop blocking your way whenever you need to move from one end of the pub.

I suppose the best thing of the night was that I managed to get hold of a Guinness Pint Hat, which was so stupendiously huge, it got in the way of door-frames and over-hangs when I wore it. The Pint Hat was basically the top-half of a pint of Guinness draft formed into a hat, and the brim was like a three-leaf clover. Pictures coming soon.

The night was just a very long, torturous ordeal involving squeezing oneself between all sorts of people and getting food nicked out of the bowl as you tried to pass by. Needless to say when you move from one end of the pub (and beyond) and back, you'll encounter at least three people asking you in thick, Irish accent for 'Two Guinness and half a pint of Cider, please'. Then you'd have to neglect your other duties to ensure that guest gets their drinks and hopefully you'll get back to your duties in time to prevent the supervisor from shouting at you.

Anyhow, apart from the pain in the legs, feet and arms and back, I managed to have a genuine smile on my face and I trotted around and looking absurd in that huge hat. But I must admit I enjoyed wearing the hat.

I finished my shift at midnight and I took a cab home and woke up this morning to revise for my Mechanics test at 1pm (just now). I suppose i did alright for the test because i managed to do all the questions without much problems and I also checked and rectified some mistakes.

After I got off the bus to go home, I decided to visit my local second-hand guitar shop and I managed to buy a second-hand echo unit!!! It cost me a cool S$120, which burned a huge hole in my pocket but somehow soothed the envy I had of Alvin whose father bought him a laptop!!!

Bugger got a laptop and it wasn't even his bloody birthday! I can't even get two cents worth of gifts from my parents who have decided to be the most miserly and allow me to get my own presents, apart from my mum, who gave me my mandolin last year for a 'belated birthday gift'... bollocks. Anyhow, I've already gotten used to getting next to nothing or no acknowledgment for my birthday from my parents ("Oh, today's your birthday ah? Go and sweep the garden please..") but surprisingly Brother Dearest still manages to get me something no matter how late in the day it is.

Just in case you were wondering.. it isn't my birthday yet. I'm just envious of Alvin. But he's dependant on me for some things. In any case, he's got no excuse to bring his gear over and record at my place simply because I've got a keyboard, four guitars, a wah-wah pedal, an echo unit, a mandolin, a good microphone and also because he owes me the reciprocation I've deserved from him since last year.

I'm just going to try and find my camera and take a shot of myself and the Pint Hat... and post it soon.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! V

Hmm.

Today's St. Patrick's Day. a.k.a the Irish New Year Day, which means I'm due for work at Molly Malone's at 6pm. What the crap... I've got mechanics test tomorrow (open book) and I even slept during the last lesson in Limky's class. I'm sure to die tomorrow even though it's an open book test and I managed to copy down a couple of question solutions etc.

AutoCAD today was a real blast.. we had no lesson, and we just sat down together over several com terminals and did our Comm Skills e-assessment, which is kinda like an online Comm Skills test... since all of us were there to do it together, we decided to find someone do be a test dummy and do the test questions first before allowing the rest to copy down the test answers (true/false, multiple-choice).

In the end, yours truly offered himself as the test dummy, and we all sat down together to work out the answers. The result wasn't that bad: 17 out of 20 questions. After I finished my test, the rest were very eager to try out the test, only to find out that their test questions were entirely different or variations from mine, which meant that their copied answers were completely useless... Kudos to the whole class for helping me get 17 out of 20! However, don't rule out my intelligence: I and one of my classmates helped another of my classmates get 17.5/20!!!

Did I mention I did an e-survey regarding feedback for the modules I took for the whole semester? Anyhow, I put alot of negative feedback for Patrick's module and some negative stuff for Ayob's 'Material, Form and Perspective' simply because the both of them were quite unhelpful during the whole course. Twilli even asked me whether what i did was true.. apparently i had told someone about it and they spread it around.

Ah, whatever, some of the lecturers deserve to be lambasted for laziness, negligence, ignorance and dickness etc.

Apart from the two of them I gave the oher lecturers their dues and put in some comments about the short workshop times. Bugger Ayob refused to give us time after 6pm, citing he had 'already discussed it with the deputy director'.

I just once again thank God I'm not in the same class as Alvin because he seems to have a hard time getting his things done on time, and I hate to be in such situations even though he's working with a much better lecturer (Zainudin), but still stuck with Patrick for the second semester in a row. He's also needing to mess around with all the dreaded materials: blue foam+wall putty, MDF, clay and plaster... *shudder*.

i just put myself to imagine what I'd be doing if my lecturer forced me to make my model using all of those materials.. I'd probabaly go crazy just cutting and sanding and applying the wall putty... i'm a very impatient person.

Talk about impatience.. Comm Skills ended very late today because we had an oral presentation and the last group ended their run at about 12:35... 35 mintues eaten into out lunch time.. and their topic of presentation was... food.

I then decided to have Hokkien Mee because I hadn't tried it since goodness-knows-when. i suppose I was extremely agitated and angry when the hokkien mee took 10 minutes just to appear. By that time I almost wanted my money back and get something quick: a hungry man is an angry man.

Wish me luck for tonight... I need the energy to run up and down and serve beer-deprived folks.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It just Keeps Getting Better And Better II:Catch no ball!

Hmm.

I came to school today and tried very hard to secure a computer in Block M's level 6 Com lab. As usual, the seniors were hogging the darn desktops and all I could do from 8:50 to 9:15 am was sitting there at a desk within five metres of the computers and waiting just so I could copp any computer that managed to go unattended or if a senior managed to finish their 3D rendering or whatever they were doing.

In the end, I accomplished little with the sitting and trying to jot down my thoughts regarding my Comm Skills project (due tomorrow!!!) on the foolscap paper lying there innocently and I could almost hear the darns paper mocking me for my mental incapacity and physical inability to write things down. Worst thing was, I had Led zep blasting and that yielded no mojo neither.

In the end, at about 9:15, one senior finally left a terminal and I quickly occupied it only to discover the unit could not accept my zip disk because the zip drive was faulty.

Nabeh.

Anyhow, I managed to use the internet on that com to get all the facts I needed before I jotted them down onto the foolscap paper. In the end, by 9:30 I had gotten restless and decided that i couldn't milk any more info out of the darn com. So I decided to pay Alvin a token visit at the workshop.

I had originally decided to come to school to play basketball with my classmates in the morning as we had no lessons, and since I felt that my bones and flesh needed a much overdue workout and crash course in how to sweat constructively. Oh, and the 'sweating constructively' part does not, I repeat does not, apply to my bones.

On the way to the workshop, I managed to bump into Chin Yee, who is one of the basketball 'kakis', and I decided to forgo the trip down to block R since I had already hooked up with Chin Yee.

Basketball went quite well, although i couldn't shoot for nuts during the actual game, but I ddi fine during the practise 'sessions'. Chin Yee turned into my basketball mentor by teaching me how to shoot, stand and basically how to play the game. I don't know whether you guys know... I haven't touched a basketball since Secondary Three.

In the end, i had lunch with Chin Yee and Co before visiting Alvin at the workshop. Apparently, Zelda had cut her hair over the weekend and I had not noticed because I didn't even want to let her think I was looking at her. Much less notice any difference.

Note: there wasn't any difference in the exterior nor the interior (brain).

I then went back up block M to type down the notes I had made for my Comm Skills project. At first, my group mate Twilli (not his real name) had suggested we all try and make to the five-page mark to ensure we were safe content-wise. Guess how many pages I managed to conjure up?

Six bloody pages... including pictures and text, but I have to admit that the pictures allowed for me to get away with a somewhat limited volume in text.

After I finished off my Comm Skills project, I emailed it to Twilli for processing, and hopefully I could receive the full report (from the entire group) by tonight for editing. After I had sent the email, i decided to join Alvin down at the science centre as he had wanted to see (and involve himself) in the robotics competition.

I have no idea what sort of itch he had in his shorts, but he sure spent a lot of time down there.. and I'm sure if I didn't pull him to his sense, he'd still eb at the science centre and knocking himself out with all the politics and gore involved with your oh-so-innocent, geek-infested robotics competitions.

I just went there to hopefully regain my sense of belonging with Saint Andrew's secondary (apart from the fact one of our juniors will be joining Industrial Design next semester) and hopefully manage to enjoy the view. View of what i will not say.

I suppose the littlest jokes can make your day... one of the servos on the robot got spoilt and Alvin, Minister of Silence Yoke Shyng and yours truly had to go to Chinatown just to get a replacement servo and hopefully repair the old one at the same time:

Alvin: 'Yes, we used the servo to drive an arm'

Auntie: 'Ok...'

Alvin: 'Ah ha.. and the arm was supposed to grab some balls..'

Auntie: 'Ok...'

Crawldaddy and Yoke Shyng: (snickers)

Alvin: 'Yah, so when the motor spoiled..'

Crawldaddy: 'It catch no ball!'

All of us just laughed... what fun! On the way back, we dropped by a food centre to get some drinks... while i had gotten myself a green tea, and Alvin ordered a Soya bean milk, somehow the order got mixed and he got a sugar cane drink instead.


Ah what can i say.. we're all weird people..


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It Just Keeps Getting Better And Better

Hmm.

Let me just openly proclaim I like Alvin for all the worth he's got despite that there are times he just makes me want to smack him... almost want to smack him. I just love the idiosycrasies he gets up to.

Today is no exception.

I was just done with Patrick's lesson and I decided to message him for lunch. He replied that he was down in the south canteen, and I joined him soon afterwards. As he was at least four people ahead in the queue, he managed to get his lunch before me and I soon joined him to enjoy our lunch.

There are times when you know you have a good friend, because the two of you share similar views, similar luck in love, similar tastes in music, politics and of course, food.

I managed to order the exact same food as Alvin. And let me tell you, this has happened at least three times, and don't blame the monotony of the food variety or the stereotype in my gastronomic palette. It even happened with me and one of Alvin's classmates.

To top off the lunch, a mynah bird managed to give Alvin it's blessing by shitting on his pants on the right pant sleeve.

Alvin: 'Erm, (my name) do you think this is what I think this is?' (remember 'Bananas in Pyjamas'?)

Crawldaddy: 'I think it is! Holy Crike!!!'

Afterwards, whenever we wished to put food into our mouths, we always cast a wary eye heavenwards, and that even extended to conversation because you can just imagine me pointing my finger at Alvin and a drip of bird-crud just slops onto my finger.

I didn't wish for such anointing even though I had an AutoCAD test after lunch. It went fine, by the way: the Auto CAD test.

Halfway through my lunch with Alvin, i received a phone call from my classmate who called for an urgent meeting within group memebers regarding a Comm Skills project due this thursday. As I bade Alvin a short farewell, I cast another wary look upwards before making my way back up block M.

I was finishing up with my project meeting when Alvin came in with his pants all cleaned up, albeit a huge water mark where the shit had landed. He just came in grinning when one of my group mates quipped:

Classmate: 'hey, you left you bag in the toilet right?'

Crawldaddy: 'What???'

Alvin: 'Hey, at least it's safer since room 610 is unavailible right? What's more you guys were having patrick's lesson just now.'

Crawldaddy: 'But the toilet??? Dude... (opens mouth in disbelief)'

A: 'Well, it's safe there.'

C: 'And you are here because...?'

A: 'well you wanted your zip disk back right? it's in my bag.'

C: 'Ah hah... so you want me to accompany you?'

A: 'Yes!! (grins)'

So I followed the bugger, and true enough, he had hidden his bag within one of the toilet cubicles, bag, toolbox and topped off with a paper bag. I suppose the best part was the moment Alvin got all of his possessions out of the cubicle, the toilet flushed by itself.

That set us laughing for like a whole minute.

The next time he does that, i just hope he gets another blessing from above.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Pop Tart V

Hmm.

Patrick's class project has shifted (or rather moved on) from the clock (in which I've managed to make a pop-arty one) to... doorstops.

A rather unanimous vote from the class has allowed all of us to focus on designing a product meant to make a door stop in it's tracks. Initially, Patrick made all of us bring a household item last week. After presenting our items, we decided to level the playing field by deciding upon an item which all of us can find a wide array of design possibilities.

Therefore we chose the doorstop.

I had a very huge mental block regarding desogns for the doorstop, and at the last minute on Sunday night, I managed to wring out ten concepts before calling it a day. Believe you me, i wasn't trying very hard to come up with concepts, I was just having a hard time eradicating the irrelevant ones which kept popping up in my mind.

This morning I came to Blcok M and churned out four more designs, and the total strength of 14 concepts managed to justify the shacked look on my face even though I had AC/DC blasting in my ears the moment I got out of the house.

I suppose I have decided to focus on either having a 'wedge' or 'so heavy it'll block the door anyway' approach to the design regarding the doorstop.

Patrick was really weird today: he came late and he was almost cheerful throughout the entire procession of our 'presentation of our concepts'. He even explained the approach we should take regarding the design process of our doorstop. He even gave me advice on how I should go about and design my doorstop.. what I should avoid and what i should exploit.

Amazing.. he was actually teaching today! What can I say... he just might have gotten lucky last night. Not to leave out the fact he was smiling with us. SMILING!!!! WITH US!!! Gosh, he sure knows how to make the people around think he's very, very weird.

Anyhow, I just hope the wanker just stays this way, because it sure is producing a very positive energy within the class. I'm suspecting foul play no matter how cheerful he stays.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

I'm straining myself for this one... stairway to heaven. 

Once again, I manage to make people look and stare. 

Moi is on the stool, playing 'When You Say Nothing At All'. 

My two beautiful (and availible) cousins, Clarissa and her older sis, Jacinda. 

Myself and Brother dearest.. notice the wine? 

yesterday morning... bright and early before the wedding. 

The Wedding Of Ephraim And Karen

Hmm.

Yesterday was the wedding of my cousin Ephraim to a lovely lady named Karen. Ephraim first introduced Karen to the family a couple of years back during Chinese New Year. She proved to be a very nice, wonderful person indeed.

In the morning was the church wedding at St. Anne's church, which went well and allowed for lots of 'family reunion' as well, since we don't really have much time to communicate with our cousins, uncles and distant relations with our hectic schedules.

Lunch was a fun affair, it was held at the Patara, just one level below the place I used to work: the Raffles Place Convention Centre. The food was spicy, sweet and sour at times, but it was all good as well. I managed to get to know one of Karen's friends, who was also the Emcee/event host for their lunch and dinner. Their wedding album was similarly exceptionally beautiful, with the photos captured well, and just bringing out the beauty in the two persons.

Well, I suppose the highlight of the day was the dinner at night... there was this fantastic guitarist named Carlos who performed some really great spanish and jazz pieces. However, since I had played my guitar for a couple of family reunions, my third uncle decided to recommend me to give a performance for the whole restaurant, which included the combined families. I performed just after the main course, which was fine, I didn't want the folks to choke on their steaks, fillets and shanks:

C: 'I have a history of making a fool of myself'

everyone: (raucous laughter)

C: 'But what a better day to do it again, once more, on Epraim's wedding?'

everyone: (chuckles)

C: 'Umm... I just have one thing to say...' (followed by a bout of silence)

someone: 'Nothing to say issit?'

C: 'Okay, if I do screw up, just blame the wine!'

everyone: (appreciated laughter and clapping)

So I just sat there and played out 'When You Say Nothing At All', which I deem to be THE crowd favourite of all time with my family. My third Aunt was cheering like a hooligan because she liked the song so much.

The next song was 'Blackbird', which i suppose didn't draw much clapping due to it not being a very popular song, and I just played it to 'show off' my guitar capabilities.

Then my third Aunt called out 'Stairway To Heaven!!!'

And I obliged, but added in this bit:

C: 'this if for Ephraim... God Bless his british accent'

much to appreciated laughter on lots of people's parts, and allowing him to choke into his wine (yesss!!!).

The dinner ended on a great note... there was a lot of praise for my performance (wow, you can really sing quite well!), my guitar riffing (your guitar playing was quite good!) but i suppose the best one is this: (did you join Singapore Idol?).

No.

Photos coming soon!!!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Brother Dearest IV

Hmm.

I was picked up by my brother and mother last night from work, and then we proceeded on to pick up my dad from the airport as he had just touched down from a flight from Switzerland.

Along the journey, I had my headphones on, and my brother had a CD inside the car stereo. I suppose the CD had already finished, so he took out the CD, and popped in a new CD. I had decided to give my ears a break, when mother of all horrors, I realised he had popped in a 'Simple Plan' CD.

I just thank God I had AC/DC going on my discman because I couldn't stand sitting there in the car and listening to bullshit emanating from the speakers.

I've been reflecting on why the 'aggresive' music my brother listens to is just so inexplicably distasteful to my ears... then it hit me: the music I listen to has real balls.

Ok, I'm not referring to the albums having testicles hanging off them. It's just that the music I listen to has a sense of toughness and maturity such that it doesn't have to touch on issues such as: self decaprication, wallowing in self-pity, being unperfect (hehhlloww???), whatever. Believe you me, the music I listen to touches no such issues. Maybe being left by a woman.. but that's it.

Led Zeppelin has stuff that just exists... no particular topic. AC/DC may touch on issues about how you can really rock and roll... the Rolling Stones just want to rock out... and Simple Plan can be summed up in one proclamation:

Utter Crap.

C'mon! Any amateur thirteen-year-old guitarist can produce the sort of guitar playing that the two guitar players churn out. Any whiny-voiced fourteen-year-old can sing just as well as their lead singer. Any suicidal, broken-nailed fifteen-year-old can write the songs they perform.

But the one thing that really, really gets to me is why they have two guitarists when the music is already so redundant, repetitive, and talentless. Don't bullshit me that they have two guys so that there is more addition of colour to their sound... because there is no colour whatsoever. Also the vocals really makes my skin crawl.

Ok, so i just stuffed my ears to block out the crap, and AC/DC really worked!!! I had recently acquired yet another four more albums... 'Who Made Who', '74 Jailbreak', 'Blow Up Your Video' and 'Ballbreaker'. So that means I have 7 albums out of their 16-album catalogue. I'm just so glad they really rock, and they don't disppoint in any way.

Another thing about my brother is, he had bought Jet's 'Get Born' album, which I used as the basis of my marketing report. I had listened to the album while doing the report, and truth to tell, Jet really rock! Their music is similar to the Darkness in terms of Hard-rockness, but they are more towards the AC/DC-typish of things concerning song structure and vocal styles.

I suppose Brother Dearest had bought the album because of the catchy hit single 'Are you Gonna be My Girl'. Then he just neglected the rest. What a shame.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Legends Of Zelda XIII

Hmm.

Today was a particularly weird day for myself... I forgot to do my Comm Skills assignment and did it last-minute. After Comm Skills, I managed to do go down to the workshop to help Alvin with his vase model.

So Comm Skills ended at 11:15 or so, and I reached the workshop at block R to find out that Alvin had gone to have his makan without anyone. I gave him a call, and met up with him and had lunch, or rather let him sit opposite me aned watch me eat because he had already finished by the time I had gotten out of the queue.

When we came back to the workshop, we found out that the workshop was kinda like some sort of war-zone... with bits of foam, either in chunky or powder form, strewn over every square inch of the place. Sitting there innocently was Alvin's vase model, which he had desperately tried to patch up in my absence. Did I mention the vase was Alvin's assignment?

Anyhow, besides the various seniors who were busy with their things in the workshop, there were a couple of Alvin's classmates including the infamous Zelda. The thing was that everyone was working on their MDF, a very hard manufactured wood which is a pain to cut, saw, sand or anything which involves contact with the wood.

As I surveyed the progress of the work surrounding the vase model, Zelda continued to hover in the background and kept asking Alvin funny questions. I suggested that Alvin continued to sand the wall putty, and hopefully make the surface more smoother. In the end, I had to make a custom sanding block for Alvin so as to make his job easier, and even then I did most of the sanding (which is true, mate).

After I had sanded the model and blown the dust off it with the air-gun (not the type with which you shoot birds, by the way), I passed it to Alvin so that he could putty it up. Before he applied the wall putty unto the model, he decided he wanted to use an applicator, like a bit of MDF to apply the wall putty. He eventually found one, tried to cut it down with the scroll saw, but encountered some difficulties.

The thing about the scroll saw is that the user requires some background information regarding how the machine works. The blade (as it moves rapidly up-and-down) rests against a roller, which adjusts it's distance from the blade by turning a wing nut and adjusting the distance by manual movement. Alvin couldn't even turn the darn wing nut by hand.

I just took one twist, and off it came (once again, no offense, mate).

As he was applying the wall putty, I noticed that the wall putty had become pretty congealed in some places, and I took it upon myself to mix the wall putty to a homogeneous liquid. I found an unused bit of MDF, and used it to scrape the congealed wall putty off the sides of the container and mix it with the rest of the liquid.

Then Zelda came around and started bugging us and listening to our conversation. Alvin was putty-ing the vase, while i stood there mixing the putty, which gave off a sort of funny smell, and had a viscosity and colour similar to Vanilla ice cream. That's when it all started:

Z: 'Haha! Look! Alvin's applying vanilla ice cream on to his vase! Haha!'

A: '...'

C: 'It's wall putty...'

Z: 'Yah! I... I ... I meant that he was putting wall putty on to the vase mah!'

C: 'But you said it was vanilla ice cream just now'

Z: 'he looks like he is playing with the wall putty'

C: 'he looks like he's playing tennis?' (I was just trying to make this pointless conversation more interesting)

A: 'haha..'

Z: 'No, wall putty!'

C: 'he looks like he is playing with vanilla tennis?'

Z: 'Wall putty!'

A: 'haha..'

Z: 'Hmmph!' (makes hitting motion against our head with a piece of scrap MDF).

A: 'She just doesn't get it'

(Zelda smiles self-indulgently)

C: 'She probably thinks it's a deuce now!'

Both: 'HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!'

Yes.. we're incredibly eevvirrl. I then had AutoCAD after helping Alvin with his vase, it was fun because I finished before everyone else, and just sat there playing the two latest songs Alvin and myself had recorded on Tuesday night.

As usual, their response wasn't exactly fantastic:

'Why so noisy one?'

'What kind of music is this?'

'Is that (my name) singing?'

'Is that Alvin singing?'

'How come so noisy one???'

Indeed, their taste in music is still limited to pointless, love-sick ballads designed to make me want to drown myself due to the boredom and monotony when it comes to their chinese songs.

After AutoCAD, i managed to help Alvin create a mould out of CLAY for his vase... and we exited the workshop at 6:20, tired but decidedly cheerful because Alvin has one little bit of pressure off his back, and I know he'll be treating me to lunch once more because I've been providing invaluable, envy-causing service to him. And that's only the clay.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Ayob's way of saying things...II

Hmm.

I'm starting to believe that my lecturer, Ayob, is starting to get very irritated by yours truly. It's no small coincidence that I bugged him yesterday over details regarding today's "lesson"... which turned out to be another run-of-the-mill, help-ayob-do-this-do-that.

In other words, we didn't have a lesson at all.

I was in NYP early this morning, and since i didn't have Ayob's usual V.I., which is thankfully, OVER, I helped Alvin with his own V.I., with which he had to kip over to my place the previous night just to make sure he didn't screw it up.

His project involves joining a square blue foam base to a PVC pipe, and then using wall putty to create a sort of concave bevel to allow the surface of the pipe to gradually curve and meet the foam base. Oh, and just in case you were wondering what this is all about, it's actually a model of his vase. Which then has to be subsequently moulded out, and slip-casted into ceramics.

While not exactly a very easy task to complete, Alvin did his very best considering his limited capabilities regarding wall putty, and also because of his fractured pinky that disallows him to wet the pinky. In the end, when Alvin departed from my place last night, he had managed to sand the wall putty down to a decent-looking concave bevel. We also managed to record two songs, 'Dark As A Dungeon' and 'To You'. Yeah!

This morning, i had just approached Block R, when i suddenly spotted Zelda! The thought which first entered my mind was:

'SHIT!!!'.

Apart from being very irritating due to her incessant ability to talk without thinking, she is also very disturbing just to sit next to. Poor Alvin... the bugger had to endure her presence for twenty minutes before I turned up and disengaged him from the awkward silence between him and Zelda especially since his MP3 player was sent to be replaced. That means he was deprived of his usual cocktail of country, bluegrass and gospel standards.

Back to what I originally started talking abou,t the workshop was closed, and in the end, Hee Kiah (another lecturer) turned up and told us that if we (by now most of Alvin's class had turned up for their lesson, including some seniors) wanted to workshop to be opened, someone had to go and get the keys from Ayob, who was situated at the other end of the poly for some reason or another.

Yesterday, I had bothered Ayob regarding today's lesson twice, and I suppose he thought I was some kind of pest (I don't blame him), and then at 9:30 sharp, I turned up with Alvin to retrieve the workshop keys from him. Needless to say, he was rather disturbed to see my face so early in the morning:

Ayob: 'Again!?'

He was referring to me turning up and disturbing him, but who can blame me when i ask him a question like:

'Ayob, we are having you lesson tomorrow right? what are we going to do? (hopefully not manual labour, which is the natural result)'

Then his trademark, often-repeated answer:

'Don't worry about it'


Gosh. That adds to the various idiosyncrasies that have been accumulated over the past two semesters including:

'Tio boh?'
'Buay Sai!'
'Hehlloww!!????'

Yeah.. Ayob's way of saying things really make our day.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Mother's Love XIII

Hmm.

With Brother Dearest in the army, and Daddy Darling in Switzerland... guess who has to listen to the old woman wheeze out her problems to all evening?

Yeah. Yours truly first had to endure the daily routine of scold, scold, and more scolding before dinner made its way unto the dinner table.

And it was all because of the bloody rice. Usually, Daddy Darling will have gotten the rice started by the time I reached home from school. By the time I'd gotten out of my shoes, he'd have finished washing only the white rice, which is put into the cooker after the red rice cooks. Then he'd shout for me to wash the veggies, peel the garlic, rinse the bowls and lick his boots.

After getting most of the things done, I'd set up the table and only then I'd be able to get my shower after a (definitely) long day. Oh, and don't forget to bring down the laundry, my good lad.

Anyhow, Uck-Me was just plodding on with her usual 'you're such a lazy good-for-nothing' lecture on how I should remain thrifty (hello, $225 wah-wah pedal), how i should make more effort to focus on my studies (hello, computer), how i should make myself more involved with the family duties (hello, good-looking!). Ok, scratch the last one.

Oh, let's not forget her good 'ol: "Mummy is trying to teach you how to be a better person, if you listen to mummy, you'll never go wrong".

Yeah. Absolute bollocks.

In any case, she's always trying to make me stay downstairs ("come down, boy! eat fruit!"), trying to make me play less guitar ("come down, boy! eat fruit!"), trying to make me talk to her ("come down, boy! eat fruit!"), and mother of all things... just to interrogate me whether: I have a gerrlfriend, I defecate consistantly and if I work few hours so that my pocket money is pathetic.

In any case, all I had to do was; shut up, eat my veggies, and calm her down by telling her I got an 'A' in AutoCAD.

Oh, and I brought in the dry laundry as well.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

As per requested by the ever-vivacious Steffo... I present... Moi. 

Indeed!

Hmm.

Probably the most effective message. Probably.

Kudos to Alvin.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Pop Tart IV

Hmm.

Ok, I've finished my clock... I've taken shots of it and super-imposed the image unto a pure-black (what else) background... and a chrome-yellow mate-page with blue-fonted text to accompany the image.

I suppose Patrick won't really like the last few words (exerpted from the text):

The true meaning of this clock's design will probably remain just as elusive as to what Pop Art is all about.

Yes indeed, the words are meant to be provocative towards Patrick, and I'm sure he'll hate my guts so much after he reads it because he gave me such a hard time over my concepts.


I managed to go Millennia Walk before dinner (at Kenny Rogers) with my mum and brother (Dad went to Switzerland), and I stumbled upon this shop which sold designer stuff, like salt-and-peppers shakers, knifeware, teapots, paper-weights etc... and it was just so inspirational to look at the items... i can't put a finger on what the feeling was like to be surrounded by the fabulous designs and ideas... it was..surreal. Apparently, they only sold really good designs and stuff like that.

Anyhow, I talked with the shop's owner, and I asked them whether they had heard of Patrick Chia... they said no. Ah well, doesn't matter... Patrick's a dick in any case.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! IV

Hmm.

One of the patrons at the pub went up to me yesterday and had a conversation with me:

Patron: 'Hey, you were the guy who sang last night, right?'

C: 'Yeah!'

Patron: 'You did well, actually. it's only we couldn't hear you sing, you were too soft.'

C: 'Hmm, yeah, I suppose i didn't go close enough to the mike.'

Patron: 'i think you were good, what you did, your guitar work was all right, but you need to sing from within, and not rely on your throat so much'

C: 'Okay, thanks, appreciate it!'

Patron: 'no probs!'


Wow. So I didn't really suck that bad... considering two of the three songs I performed involved complex picking, and i forgot my lyrics on a strumming song. That bloke really made my day.

Another thing about working at the pub is, where else can you go about doing your job and sing along with twenty other beer-guzzling, song-bellowing men and realise you can't even hear yourself? it's such a great environment to see pub-goers singing along with you, and high-fiveing you when you sing along with them.

It's also a good place to know what songs are appropriate for big gatherings, where all you want to do is have fun and sing along. I'm preparing to learn a few songs myself, most of them Irish drinking songs.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! III

Hmm.

Considering all the craziest, stupidest, wachiest and most horrifically couragest (I know that's a wrong spelling) things i have done, I think what I just did at the Pub takes the cake.

I performed in front of (roughly) 50, beer guzzling, tequila snogging people who believe the music just can't get better with every pint they consume. Believe you me, I couldn't have done it worse. And I did it with a whole lotta ridiculousness.

So I just went up there (it's actually a spot-lighted stool) and played guitar and sang. Screw that, make it 'Sang horribly and made a tonne of mistakes playing the guitar'. I played three songs (the choice of which I will not mention) and to put a long story short, on the first song, I sang out of tune, for the second, I forgot my lyrics, and for the third, not many people clapped.

But the most obliterating part was when the real singer came back on and said:

'Well give (my name) a hand for performing, not so many people would have the balls to come up and sing a song for all of you'. yeah.. just a sympathy vote.

I know I suck on my own. Where was Alvin???


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: I know, he would probably stay far away from the pub as much as possible.

A Rush of warmth to the Class II

Hmm.

Things within my class seem to be taking a good turn these few days. I've been connecting with my classmates in what seems to be the best conversations so far, and just hanging out with them just doesn't seem any less cooler than anything else. It's a good thing.

I was having my Comm Skills class today, and since we were supposed to have class at 8:30am, in typical 'first-year poly student' fashion almost more than half the class was late. What came after that was worse: I couldn'y stop my eyes from closing... it's like an irresistable force coming over the eyelids and just pressing them downwards.

Basketball this week is cancelled due to commitments to finish off Patrick's clock, and also due to the need for the males (including yours truly) to apologise to Keri for making her feel uncomfortable about her dress sense.

The thing about Keri is that she is pretty in her own special way, and she likes to come to school in mini-skirts and tank tops, tight jeans etc. Then she came in a tube-top yesterday and all the guys just couldn't stop cracking jokes about it. Naturally and understandably, she's feeling almost pissed with most of us because of our incessant joking.

Just in case you were wondering what we joked about, we just said stuff like: be careful in case it (the tube top) fell off, how we couldn't stand her sudden 'exposure' blah blah blah... yeah, kinda stupid. But it was all in a good spirit, not a negative one.

Anyhow, managed to get a good look at Char in a long while, also managed to wantonly destroy Alvin's vase model. I tried to redeem myself by glueing it back for Alvin.

The most interesting thing which happened today was a conversation between myself and one of my female classmates. We were both just doing our stuff in block M, when she just started asking me about why i worked part-time and whether I stayed in a landed property. My answer to that was: first, I need the cash to prevent over-dependence on my parents; second yes, I do stay in a landed property.

Then she went on to touch on topics such as Alvin's incessant need to wear shorts, and the behavioural patterns of the guys in my class. The latter topic included talking about one of the guys in my class (not me, definitely) who couldn't stop looking at all the girls' chests, and just being a slight perv.

The topics then swerved to how she was involved in a relationship herself with a former R.I. guy, and how he just became a dick in the end. All of the sudden she asked my what I look for in a girl. I said the following:

"What I look for in a girl? I suppose I'd be able to accept anyone so long as I know her character and She just gives me that special feeling. That special feeling can come either at first sight (definite target) or come eventually (possible target), but i do not restrict myself to looks unless she looks like a piece of roadkill originating from a highway somewhere in New Zealand.

In any case, i'm not descriminating against Kiwi ladies.

However, I'm not the type of guy who blows my pay away just to buy a girls stuff (sorry, ladies), but I feel that a stroll down East Coast, pouring out my heart and making a girl feel special is worth more than giving her an Ipod or some expensive gift to 'buy her heart'."

End of what I look for in a girl... not definite, but definitely unrestrictive.

She then said something unexpected (I'm not making this up):

"You know, (my name), if a girl manages to have you as her boyfriend, I'd have to say she's very fortunate."

Can you hear the collective breath of doubt? I think so.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Oh No!!!

Hmm.

I'm now blogging in NYP, due to the fact that i have arrived earlier than usual, and I just saw something this morning on Channel NewsAsia which made me jump up and say:

"What The Fock Happened to Eunice Olsen???"

Apparently, the newscasters were covering a storey regarding the recent dumping of an infant by a 23-year-old single mother. She had dumped her kid down a HDB rubbish chute after wrapping the baby in a plastic bag.

The kid didn't make it.

So the storey this morning involved bringing in Eunice Olsen and some old dude who is supposed to be a specialist in female behavioural patterns. I didn't pay much attention to what he said, but I noticed that Suzanne constantly challenged him significantly whenever he made a comment that suggested that females are almost unable to control their emotions when they are in a single-mum situation.

Of course then came in Richard Lui to calm the situation down.

Then Eunice came in focus... I notice that she has changed tremendously since she dropped out of the public spotlight.

Her face looked as though it was run over by a lorry, and thereafter being pissed upon by a cat. the acidity from the cat's urine then corroded her face, leaving her with huge blemishes and spots on her face. I'm serious, the first thought which came to my mind after "What The Fock Happened to Eunice Olsen's Face???" was "She really Looks Like Shit Now".

No offense to her fans, but her looks are a far cry from the 'perfect' complexion she had during her 'Wheel Of Fotune' days.

Big Money!!!!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Do I have A Disease? II

Hmm.

I just got an sms from my brother this morning reminding me that our dad's birthday is coming soon (it's at the end of the month), and we had previously agreed to sign a song for him on his birthday.

I initially suggested that I write up a song for the occasion, but then Patrick and Ayob came along, and I haven't even written more than one song since.

In the end, we both agreed to try out an existing song, which is (*gasp*) Robbie William's 'Angels'. By the way, I think my brother is going to suck at the vocals.

No offense to him, but his ability to sing high notes has only existed in his very naive dreams. I think my vocals surpass his more than he could ever possibly go, and that's saying something since he was in the school choir, and I was like, nowhere.

Anyhow, it's all in the name for a good cause, but then comes the fact i happen to have a decreasing amount of respect for my dad, and it's falling every year. Apart from the fact that he quit his perfectly good job due to office politics, and then set up a company (in the hopes it will turn in an MNC after ten years) and trying to make me interested in what he does for a (minimal) living.

Come to think of it, I earn more than he does in a month with my job at the pub. Not to mention he dragged me down to do LabelExpo 2004 with him, where I spent like three days manning a stall for him, and explaining his machinery to prospective clients.

Yet at the end of the day, he is still my dad, the guy who introduced me to bands like Queen, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin and Micheal Jackson (scratch the last one please). Without him, I'd be unable to draw properly, be speaking broken English (I do, but hear me in Queen's English), and becoming basically someone who does things out of the fun of rebelling against authority.

However, you can't completely credit him with nurturing the guitar-freak in me... he did it indirectly, by laying the path stones, and allowing me to tread upon them. I just did the rest in my own, hectic and chaotic way.

But he's always been there, helping whenever he can, and teaching me to never grow up and be the bugger he is right now. I still love the man.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: you'd never catch me saying stuff like this about Mother.