Vertigo! II

Hmm.

Well, I'm now in class for V.I. aka Vertigal Integration, and my group has just gone through the judging process for our final concepts. In the end, my concept for a rocking paper-weight, aka the Rocker, was chosen by the lecturers to become our final product.

I have to say that my ideas were not really the best, but at that point in time, my ideas were the simplest, most feasible to be readily manufactured, albeit a lack of definite size and proportions.

Apart from that, I was just idling my time away.. I haveto get a lot of things done by today: my resume for Comm Skills for tomorrow, spray-painting my mouse model for monday, finishing off my M&M tutorial for monday as well, working on my studio project plant pot for tuesday, John's bass guitar pickguard for Wednesday, V.I. model starting on thursday etc.

In short, it's going to be a very busy week, but that's the way things happen in Industrial Design.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Idiosyncrasies Of Crawldaddy Part III

Hmm.

Decisive:
1. having a particular, important or conclusive effect; 2. having or showing the ability to decide quickly.

Motivate:
1. be the reason for (somebody's action); cause (somebody) to act in a particular way; inspire. 2. stimulate the interest of (somebody); cause to want to do something.

Impatient:
1. a.(at something/with somebody) unable to deal calmly with something/somebody; not patient; b. showing a lack of patience. 2. very eager to do something or for something to happen; anxious.


Haven't you realised that waiting for something to happen will only result in you being left behind? Who's going to hold you by the hand and guide you along willingly when all you do is stand there, shaking a leg, sucking on your bubble tea and refusing to budge an inch? I'd dare you to say that you can't finish your work on time, and I'll be there to remind you that it is in fact: your extreme sense of procrastination, your inability to motivate yourself, and essentially your pure laziness which has corrupted the others around you to enter the same vein.

Do others a favour... draw that cap on, suck yourself into the world of indifference with which you have become accustomed to and comfortable with. Do not draw others in with your own breed of selfishness and lack of sensitivity, because it is not your place to influence others in a negative way, nor is it necessary for you to make our society more redundant than what it already is.

While you sit there and wait upon others to make the first move, let me just impress upon you that having this sort of attitude will NOT get you places. Neither will it make you richer, faster (duh) nor will it get you the dream house you always wanted. Go ahead and revamp that chassis on your car, get a new set of headlamps and continue to be uninvolved with group works.

You are mediocre. You are a black hole on this society. You are unwelcome.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: this is directed towards a guy, and this guy is not Alvin Chee :p.. he's much older.

Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers II

Hmm.

Today passed in a blur of colour, humour and pain in the legs. First thing in the morning, I woke up to the sound of my brother's radio alarm clock blaring the pancakes out of his room. I suppose I can't blame Brother Dearest.. he tends to sleep very late (or early in the morning, to be more accurate) and hence, he is supremely unable to wake up before 10am on saturday mornings.

Alvin came around 10:10 am... and we proceeded to work on our mouse project. We're both doing different mouse designs, but I guess ergonomically both of ours are on the same level of comfort. The problem is, I had previously applied the emulsion paint without the thinner, then I had made the mistake of blowing the thing dry using a hair-dryer. The end result was like some form of blue-white concrete... not the effect I desired.

Therefore, I had asked Alvin to bring along his wall putty in order for me to salvage my mouse model.. because I can see no way in which I can use emulsion paint to finish off this model... it's simply too tricky to work around with, and simply too much work involved.. so I'll just use wall putty to encapsulate my model, and sand it down.

Currently, it's (hopefully) receiving it's third last coat of wall putty to fill up the small holes, before I wake up tomorrow and sand it down and add some more coats to ensure the whole thing as smooth as silk.

Work just now was a very boring affair, although I did meet up with Jose, who commended me on my 'performance' on Wednesday, quoting him, he said:

'It was a very huge improvement from the first time I saw you sing... you were much more natural, much more at ease and definitely much better vocally, and guitar-wise it was very good as well... good job!'

Hehe... I suppose I'm not really keeping in line with my mother's request for me to never sing at the pub again. The total tally of times I had played has already reached 7, with her telling me to stop after the 2nd time :p

The whole 5 hours I spent in the pub was such a bore: although the rugby was on, very few people turned up and most of them were not even interested in the match itself. However, there was a slight quirk around 10:30, when I was having a small conversation with a new colleague at work.

David is a Frenchman who is married to a Singaporean wife. Apparently, his wife is older than him by 4 years, but that is not the issue here. His command of the English language, while not very high, has already been punctuated by elements of Singlish culture, and also by the fact that he uses the word 'F***' almost with second-nature ease.

For example:

'Hey, I saw this girl just now... f***ing beautiful, with f***ing big boobs, and f***ing great body! I f***ing said to myself, "whoa, f***, this girl has to be a f***ing rare breed" yeah, f***ing beautiful woman'

To which I would respond with:

'Just keep it hanging, mate... you're married after all!'

Thing is, he and I were just talking about the different views of Molly's and Townhouse from the CCTV screen, and one of Townhouse managers, Tye, was also present:

David: 'hey, that girl there (my colleague), do you think she's my type?'

Crawldaddy: 'man, she's already got a boyfriend'

D: 'Ah.. don't f***ing matter, asian girls f***ing lie to you like *that* (snaps fingers) without no f***ing problem'

C: 'well, I met her boyfriend before, and that's a very general way of speaking, my friend'

D: 'Ah well... I'm only 36'

C: '46?' (I had heard wrongly)

D: '36! F*** man, I'm not that old!'

C: 'haha alright then'

D: 'hmm... anyway, how old are you?'

This is a classic question for me, simply because I get the kicks out of people guessing my age wrongly, and when I do reveal my true age, they simply cannot believe it.

C: 'Why don't you make a very good guess'

D: 'hmm... 33? 32 years old?'

Tye: (snorts in disbelief)

C: 'you seriously think I'm, say, between 33 to 35 years old?'

D: 'Tye, how old are you? I'm thinking you are roughly 35 as well?'

Tye: 'I'm around 35-36 years old'

C: 'So you think I'm roughly two years younger than Tye over here?'

D: (nods) 'F*** yeah'

C: I'm actually 18, my friend'

D: 'F*** off! No way!'

I then proceed to show him my IC, and then he just looks at me and says:

D: 'You look so much older than what you really are'

C: 'Well, it's both a good thing, and a bad thing'


Which is perfectly true... sometimes I wish I can look my age, but then again, I'm thinking of my peers who look so much younger than their real ages. Sometimes, with youth also comes the fact that people may not take you seriously, and just simply brush you off... I guess I have overcome that obstacle with flying colours.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! XI

Hmm.

Today's been real rush... especially since I've just re-discovered that I have to finish off two tutorials for my Materials & Manufacturing module... due on monday. With no Microsoft Word, and loads of projects on my hands... time seems to become a serious issue nowadays.

Anyway, I had finished off most of my graphics stuff on the computer in school, all the way from 12 noon until 4:20pm. Along the way, I also researched my Gibson report, typed out 80% of it, and then proceeded down to the print shop to get the stuff printed out.

Although there is another print shop nearer to Block M, I've decided to go to the one at Block R level 1, due to I finding that printing company is much more reliable, and efficient compared to that auntie at block L level 2... who is a constant reminder of Zelda's biggest problem: vanity.

That Block L print shop has one wall plastered with pictures of a lady, whom I soon discovered to my horror was actually the print shop auntie all spiffed up and actually looking ten years younger. Despite her efforts to make a better impressions upon her customers (people who want to photocopy things), I can only grimace whenever I need to go there simply because it is more convenient.

So there I was at Block R's print shop, and I loaded in my zip disk into the reader which was sitting on the desk next to the computer. After a while, I noticed that the reader was not functioning.. no matter what I tried (like pulling out the plug and re-attaching it etc), the thing could not work. Eventually, the auntie tried prying the zip disk out of the reader.. to no avail. The disk was stuck in there no matter what we tried.

In the end, the aunties decided that the unit was already spoilt, and the immediate action to be taken, was to extract my disk from the reader ASAP. By now, it was already 4:55, about time I headed to work. I therefore, left NYP today with the print shop's zip disk reader with my zip disk stuck inside.... and the whole thing resting snugly inside my behemoth of a bagpack.

I've still got to try and dismantle it, so I'll give it a shot tomorrow.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Crikes III

Hmm.

Well, all I've got to say is, for the time being, I have to go into overdrive mode in order to get my work done... especially since both my Product Planning & management and Graphics projetcs are due next week, on the same day (tuesday).

Oh, and just for the record, I have a half-ruined mouse to complete by monday, which will be followed by an evening at the pub celebrating my colleague's wedding (no booze, I promise).

Thing is, I just seem so sluggish mentally, as of late. I don't know what's come over me.. is it school blues? Or is it the withdrawal symptoms of under-practising my guitars? Whatever the case is, I've got a major problem trying to keep my time in check, and also there's this nagging fear of being left behind...

I just hope I can finish my work as soon as possible, because I'm just eager to get it over and done with.

To top it all... I haven't even got Microsoft word on my computers.. so I'll have to find another solution especially since I'm working tomorrow and on saturday as well.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Crunch Time II

Hmm.

Well, mum's home from Warsaw (Poland), and my life's back to the ritual of mum-screaming-while-I-sit-back-and-slack.... whatever.

Things in school have started to move faster... two of our projects ae due next week, and I've virtually lost all of my research material due to the fact that I wanted to transfer some info from my zip disk to a school computer. In the end, when I wanted to transfer back the info, all of it was lost along the way, so now neither that school computer nor my zip disk has the files...Arggghh!

So here I am blogging here in school while seriously contemplating whether I should break out of my procrastinating mood, or whether I should just sit back and idel the afternoon away before I go to work in the evening.

Anyway.. got lotsa stuff to work out.. see you guys later, and thanks to those who enjoyed 'Legends Of Zelda'... there is more to come!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Classic Legends of Zelda (reissue Quirks with Zelda VI)

Quirks With Zelda VI (reissued from October 15 2004)


Hmm.

I just finished my lesson in the morning, and I had lunch with Charlotte, Alvin and Charlotte's friend, Juline (whom Alvin and I pulled a false-name pun on by secretly calling her 'Joo-Lyne').

Ok, I do know how to pronounce her name properly.So we had lunch, and I had the evil pleasure of describing to both Charlotte and Juline how my brother got dunked into Milford Sound when I was in NZ earlier this year.

Of course, they really took attention when I described how I faked sleeping when Zelda got on the same bus as I was on a couple of months back:I was taking the bus to school, and I realised that when the bus turned into the busstop, Zelda was waiting to get on board.

Desperately wondering whether to acknowledge her presence or just stare into blankness, I settled to pretending to be asleep. So Zelda got onto the bus, and I managed to pretend well enough that I was in deep slumber although Led Zep was blasting in my ears.

So there I was, sitting down there with my eyes closed and head resting on my bag (which was upright on my lap), and trying to snore very softly. I soon felt someone (well, it was obviously Zelda) shaking my shoulder. I just tried to hold down my laughter, and proceeded to ignore the shaking shoulder.

Eventually, I gave a sleepy grunt and swept her hand away, and I continued on my false slumber. Just after a few minutes after I shook her hand away from my shoulder, the stupidest thing happened: my left earphone dropped out of my ear. Faking I was disturbed by the absence of music in my left ear (and also partly out of fear she'd try to wake me by yabbering away), I groped very convincingly around my shoulder and stuffed the earphone into my ear, all the while eyes closed, and continued my slumber.

Only when I needed to change buses, then I 'woke' from my sleep complete with sleepy-looking eyes and tired grunts. i didn't even look at her, and only 'noticed' her when I sat down at the busstop, and she just stood in front of me. Freaky.

Well this afternoon, I was having my lesson and I was cutting up cardboard to make a box. Apparently, some idiotic bloke started playing Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful', and he managed to play the same song thrice.

WI finally pointed this irritating factor out to Alvin, Zelda cut in:

'Ay! At least Christina is better than Britney right? Right? I mean, Britney is such a slut.' said Zelda.

Crawldaddy: 'Oh well, actually they are both the same, don't you think so Al?'

Alvin: 'Yeah, it's quite true'

Zelda: 'Ay! Don't you dare to insult Christina Aguilera ok? Ok? At least she sings better you know..'

She then proceeded to point an exposed black marker at my face.

Having a cutting knife in my hand, I pointed this out to her, and she the said:

'You haven't died before right? You don't know how it is to die right? Right?'

Crawldaddy: 'It's obvious, Zelda. I standing here, which means I haven't died yet right?'

Zelda: 'Ok, right, right. But you don't want me to paint your face black right? Right?'

Crawldaddy: 'Well, I'm sure you don't want me to cut your face up with my knife right?'

Zelda: 'Oh! Oh! (covering face with hands) Don't touch my face! It's Worth Millions!!!!'

Crawldaddy: 'Riiight... worth millions of what? Piles of shit?'

That caused her to chase me out of the studio, brandishing her black marker like some samurai sword, while Alvin laughed his head off, and saying: 'That was a good one! That was a good one!'

Yep, She sure doesn't get it right? I mean, isn't it enough that she's so irritating, the day before she just stood in front of everyone in her presentation clothes, and saying:

'I'm going shopping later..' in a voice I'm sure everyone could hear.

'Oh! I don't have lip gloss on!' proceeding to put her lip gloss on, she then proclaimed:

'Look! Clinique eh! Clinique you know???!'.

Dot.

Zelda: 'Oh, I'm meeting my friend later..' My classmate, couldn't resist the urge to fall into Zelda's trap of attracting more attention asked her:

'Guy or girl?'

Zelda: 'Of course guy larrrhhh...'

Dot.

So she just proceeded to put her lip gloss in front of everybody as though she was posing for some cheap-arsed make-up commercial, which portrays their models as tarts(body-sellers).I'm sure most of my classmates were trying very hard to hide their winces and looks of shock and abhorrance.Yeah, she sure doesn't get it.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Stolen Bike Update

Hmm.

It seems my mum isn't very surprised my bike got stolen... or so I felt when I was on the phone with her yesterday morning. Thing is, she wasn't very amused with my desire for a laptop... she claimed that my rough-and-tumble style of handling my things is not condusive for ownership of a laptop, or anything worth more than $700.

Ok, fair enough, I treat my stuff rather roughly... that's because I want to wear it down to an 'evergreen' state, whereby it can't be worn down anymore. This is with the exception of my guitars (and mandolin).. which are only painted upon.

Coming to my electric guitar... I've managed to create new tones by using a slave-and-master technique, by first plugging in my guitar into the effects pedals, followed by my marshall micro-amp, and finally the 15-watt marshall, which is set to clean.

The gain on my micro amp is then put to 75%, followed by minor tweaks on my 15-watt's EQ settings. After that I just turn on my overdrive pedal, and then I have one of the most unique fuzz tones, coupled with my SG's sweet humbuckers.

Talk about my SG (once more)... I bought (or traded in) my unofficial Epiphone (wif my old mockingbird) for $450, which was leveled down to $150 once I traded in my mockingbird. Today, I noticed the same guitar down at Swee Lee, going for $800 bucks, and the only big difference was the 'Epiphone' brand on the headstock, followed by a 'crown' inlay.. which are omitted in my Guitar Workshop version.

When I tried it out, the sound was not even as powerful as mine, and on top of that.. vertually every bodily aspects were identical as mine... maybe my finish is slightly thinner (which is better :p).

In short.. I've got a better guitar for a lower price, with a thinner (and better) finish!!!


Crawldaddy

Crunch Time

Hmm.

Plainly put, I do believe my Sunday will be a day full of last-minute work, and unnecessary frustrations.. including the need for a trip down town to get some art supplies (namely cutter blades, spraymount, fixative spray {?}, G-tec refills and maybe even a Copic marker refill), and some books regarding guitar history (namely Gibson history... which is my area of research for khairul's report-on-a-company's-'design' project to be handed in by the next week after this monday).

Truth be told, I'm still scared my time is running short although I am making good progress (my graphics conceptual stuff for the week is done, only to be placed in Microsoft Word, printed out in size A4 and pasted together) with my work. I'm just afraid that I would have too many distractions at home (namely the guitars lying there looking so innocent and yet so alluring) and outside (the many guitars begging to be jammed on, the harmonicas begging to be bought, the pedals begging to be stomped upon, the strings begging to be strung onto my electric guitar etc).

I've found that the quiet solitude of Block M in the evenings very condusive to producing ideas, getting work done, personal thinking sessions, etc. That is in a stark contrast to my home, where I have to get my stuff together in a tiresome manner, dread having to be called by my dad to come down and do some odd errand.

Frankly, I'm well shot of doing chores and errands, not to mention even bother to hear what he has to say... he is so dependant on the efficiency of others and those who are able (not necessarily willing) to get the job done, he's practically falling apart without the eventual intervention of other people.

Sigh.. it's getting late (or early?) and I'd better get some sleep if I am to function at all tomorrow.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Mind in Mono

Hmm.

Alvin and I had a small chat with Vincent Shum, our studio project lecturer (although we are working on different studio project programmes)... who is one colourful character.

In top of the fact that he tends to have outbreaks in cantonese, and he wears very outlandish (and very huge) jade rings, he also has this very funny character and never fails to tickle Alvin and myself with his hand movements and actions.

So Vincent was talking about how our ideas were always 'in the box'. I guess he wants us to break away from the norm of how to design a particular product, and instead dismantle all the components and rearrange them into something unique (not traditional and modified) and ultimately interesting and fun.

Well, I've come with something, and since he wants something outlandish.. I'll give him outlandish all right.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Mother's Love XIX

Hmm.

Well, my mum left for Poland yesterday.. Warsaw to be very exact. Thing is, the day after she left, my bike kena stolen!

What the crap man.. I locked it as usual, and yet it still got stolen. Whatever... I really can't be bothered with that bike, because the gear-changing knobs are literally rotten, and I'm stuck in the lowers gear possible perpetually, what's more this particular bike has always given a lot of trouble, and I couldn't be bothered to look after it anyway.

Also on my mind is whether I should request my parent's permission to purchase a laptop. I've come to this consensus that the possibilities of me using the school computers will only be limited to five programmes: namely Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer.

Apart from the lack of school computers availible (they threw in like ten more Coms, but the old coms began to break down.. so it's still the same), there's the environment with comes with using the computers... which is usually a noisy, mandarin song-soaked environment.. completely uncondusive to working on projects and images.

Hence I've decided that I have (already) saved up enough in reserves to purchase a full-blown laptop, but of course I wouldn't want to place too much cash on it, because I know these electronics things are rather fiddly to work with. Also frankly, the only two pieces of electronics equipment I fully trust is my Marshall amplifier, and my electric guitar.

Apart from (hopefully) being able to have wireless internet capabilities and (also hopefully) a good sound card (I'm praying for sound blaster), I'd be using a laptop for sound recording and writing songs on the go. Apart from the fact that having a laptop is a major convenience piece of equipment, I personally feel the urgency to get a laptop because I do believe that the time has come for me to start being a profession design student, instead of having to tong-pang computers all the time because my home computers do not have Microsoft Word.

I'll see whether I can propose this to my mum when she gets back from Poland, but I think I'll try and settle the bike issue first.. namely facing the very loud and long-drawn-out music.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Wahahhaa... the truth seldom lies

Hmm.

Your Birthdate: November 13

Being born on the 13th day of the month should help make you a better manager and organizer, but it may also give you a tendency to dominate people a bit. You may be more responsible and self-disciplined than you realize. Sincere and honest, you are a serious, hard working individual. Your feeling are likely to seem somewhat repressed at times. You are apt to be much more practical, rational, and conscious of details. Your intolerance and insistence on complete accuracy can be irritating to some.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Shit Happens

Hmm.

Today I brought my electric guitar to school in anticipation of the 'church practise' which Alvin requested my presence in order to help out with his 'worship session'. So I arrived this morning at LT Q-10, took out my electric guitar (and micro-amp), and proceeded to play 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You', albeit a weak battery which cause my sound to fluctuate whenever I hit the strings very hard.

Alvin arrived soon after, and the lesson soon started with the arrival of Garry Tan, our very comical and friendly lecturer. Garry proceeded to start with last week's activities... which are sort of like the 'prequel' to this week's stuff. Alvin then began to get agitated, and was virtually hopping in his seat while Garry carried on with his briefings and as soon as Garry finished, Alvin shot out of the lecture hall, half groaning in discomfort.

Apparently, Alvin needed to defecate very urgently... he claimed that the unholy combination of cereal, milk and his dashing to enter LT Q-10 on time had caused him to answer nature's call very urgently. On top of that, he was carrying his trademark 'tekong-ready' bag, which can eclipse the sun in a single, sweeping motion.

So Alvin arrived back in class in the midst of some discussion amongst myself and a loosely-formed group of fellow yr2s and some yr3s. We managed to finish the discussion on time before Garry called for a short break, with which I and Alvin had the following conversation:

A: 'I need to go to the toilet again'

C: 'Why? I thought you just did?'

A: 'I know, but it seems there is some form of complication, and if you will, I shall spare you the details. In short I think I might have messed my shorts'

C: (unsure)'messed your pants? Oh crap, don't tell me you..' (uses sweeping motion of hands to depict the flushing out of waste material from bowels).. 'in your pants???'

A: 'I thought it was gas, ok?'

C: '...'


So in a short moment I was taking a leak in the loo, while Alvin proceeded to undertake the task of cleaning up the mess. A moment after he entered the cubicle, he let out a resounding:

'EEEEWWWWWWWWWWW'

I guess the sight of shit in your shorts doesn't look very pretty. Also try and ensure that you are aware what the difference between gas and actual defecation coming out from your rear end really is, because the outcome might just surpass your wildest imagination.

The rest of the day passed easy, with a short SDn club meeting, which culmulated in myself volunteering to be part of a proposal and planning team for the upcoming (and very much later in the year) talent-time competition.

Alvin and I proceeded to Queenstown MRT from Yio Chu Kang station with some haste because we were rather late for the worship practise session. I had never done something like this before, and i was looking forward to it, despite the fact that the journey from Yio Chu Kang station was punctuated with conversation topics surrounding the topic of the day, which coincidentally resided within Alvin's shorts: shit.

The session was pretty good, although I did make a lot of mistakes.. I was particularly impressed with the clean sound that one of Alvin's church amplifiers produced... sharp and balanced, very funky indeed. The pianist and drummer were both very friendly and casual... However, I was disappointed in the overdrive tones, which were muddy and absolutely horrendous to use. In short, it was the shitty sort of sound you hear with which most local metal bands use.

Anyhow, moral of the story: don't shit in your pants, and do know when you have done so.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: Alvin gave me the unconditional approval for this post, and I couldn't refuse because you'd never know: sometimes, shit happens.

Chelsea Flowers

Hmm.

I've got this magnificently troublesome graphics project to complete in two week's time, and frankly I feel like I'm swimming against the tide over here.

The project consists of designing a logo+typeface for a ficticious company known as 'Chelsea Flowers'. According to the design brief (no, not the lingerie), this so-called 'Chelsea Flowers' company is a leading floral and decoration company specialising in using fresh plants to decorated indoor spaces in order to lighten up the mood, spruce up for important occasions etc.

The kicker for this project is that the moment you see the words 'Chelsea Flowers' form up in your mind, if you are the male soccer nut you'd see the Chelsea Football Club logo materialise in your head, complete with line-work lion. If you are just the objective by-stander, you'd already be seeing flowery lines and your floral what-nots.

In any case, not too unlike my previous projects, I try to keep my logos simple, yet mature (if not somewhat classy). I do try to throw in some friendliness and less high-browness if I can, but as is always the case... I fail miserably. I thrive on making my logos look high-end.

Thing is, I look at my classmates work, and sometimes I wonder why they have the tendency of using very curvy, organic-shaped, wormy sort of fonts for their logos. Don't take me the wrong way.. but aren't such wormy, curvy lines sorta childish? The brief mentioned that the 'founder' of this ficticious floral company (Chelsea), is some sort of high-brow woman who is hired to decorate offices, state dinners and all the fuddy-duddy high-class events. On top of that, she apparently has been 'interviewed by Oprah'.

So here I am thinking that maybe it is a VERY good thing that I am different (thinking-wise) from my classmates in this sense, because I do believe that I am the only one who is exclusively using serif (Garamond, Book Antiqua, etc) fonts for my logo and typeface. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Some things seem to be heading in a good direction... there is an energy in our class that seems to be positive, yet there still lurks that dangerous negativity below the surface. I pray the negative emotions will be removed soon.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

All Along The Watchtower

Hmm.

Have you guys ever listened to Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower'? I personally heard it once, and after that, I was just baffled with the timing, the rhythm etc. Soon after, I heard Jimi Hendrix's version.. and it suddenly made sense.

I guess I'm not the only person to experience this sense of confusion regarding Bob Dylan's version... numerous persons whom I have read about also didn't get his song, until Hendrix re-did it... and what's more, Hendrix's version rocks harder:

"There must be some kind of way out of here"Said a joker to the thief
"There is too much confusion,I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine,
Ploughmen dig my earth
*None of them along the line*
Know what any of it is worth"
"No reason to get excited"The thief he kindly spoke.
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I have been through that
And it is not our fate.
So let us not talk falsely now,
The hour's getting late
"All along the watchtower, Princess kept the view
While all the women came and went,
Barefoot servants too.
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl

And there you have it, the lyrics to the song.. check it out if you can.. the guitar solo is just wicked.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Sick Again II

Hmm.

Well, I'm down with a bad headache, fever, cough and sore back... all thanks to work at the pub (or so my dad proclaims to my distaste), and I'm thinking maybe I should try and give tuition instead (as suggested by the very blunt and observant doctor who attended to me at the polyclinic) for some very good reason:

1. Tuition centres generally do not permit smoking, whereas in the pub.. we change ashtrays ever so often.. thereby prompting people to light up even more.

2. Duh... such a smokey environment is guaranteed to expose me to high levels of second-hand smoke.. but I'm not giving in.

3. 50 cents extra doesn't make up for second-hand-smoke exposure per hour... my health is more important than cash (or is it?)

4. Female power at work is still at an all-time high.. with the guys being bullied ever so often (I'm a guy, but I'm still tolerating the glares and mood-swings).

5. There is a higher probability that I'll earn more cash doing tuition.


Whatever the case is, I've got my work to complete, and a bad headache to cope with, so I'll leave you guys to it.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! VIII

Hmm.

Just got off work.. where I had a good time playing guitar after my shift, in front of the whole pub (once more), and this time I think I didn't do myself justice.

I suppose it's also because I'm really, really, tired after a whole day at school, followed by a rigorous work regime (which incidentally includes climbing up a flight of stairs at least 20-30 times for every work day). Some say that such an active job is like working and exercising att he same time, which is quite true, but somehow I'm not really conviced that it is so.

About half-an-hour into my shift (around 6:30-6:45pm), I was outside the pub, walking into the pub whilst carrying a tray full of food, when two guys who were in the pub a little while back accosted me:

Guy1: 'Excuse me, mate... do you know where Muddy Murphy's Irish Pub is?'

Crawldaddy: 'Umm.. I'm not too sure.. let me ask my manager: he knows these sorts things'

Guy2: 'Umm, cuz I heard that there's this huge whore-house (!!!!!!!) right beside the pub itself, and we wanted to head on in that direction'

C: 'right... give me a minute, I'll get back to you in a moment'

Guy1: 'ok'

I guess that when he mentioned 'whore-house', these two blokes weren't really interested in contributing to the country's economy in the most decent way possible. I just asked my manager where the pub was, and I proceeded to tell them:

C: 'Ok, thing is, you heard of Orchard Road?' (gesticulating with my fingers, motioning a long line)

Guy1: 'Yeah.. I think I heard of it sometime ago.. so is Muddy Murphy's along Orchard Road?'

C: 'Yeah.. it's next to a hotel as well, and there you should be able to find what you want' (I was absolutely baffled as to what I, myself, was talking about)

Guy2: 'So how do we get there?'

C: 'Well, you take an MRT' (I stop short at the blur looks on their faces)

Guy1: 'I'm sorry, what?'

C: 'The MRT... something like a train, underground? Like the Tube in London' (a look of recognition then flahes across their faces)

Guy2: 'Ohhh.. right... yeah, ok'

C: 'you go in that direction,' (using my right arm to point in the direction of Raffles Place MRT) 'and you will find an MRT station called "Raffles Place MRT"'

Guy1: 'In that (points in same direction) way?'

C: 'Yeah... and when you get there, you can follow the maps and take the train to "Orchard MRT", which is right where Orchard Road is'

Guy2: 'Ok, right.. MRT to Orchard MRT'

Guy1: 'Is a taxi cheaper?'

C: 'Well, a taxi is faster, but it is more expensive... it only costs slightly more than a Dollar to get there' (which is perfectly true)

Guy1&2: 'Ok, mate.. thanks so much'

I just pray they lost their way, and hopefully get their minds washed clean... sigh... the problems with the open sea.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Day Of Redemption

Hmm.

Today has been a really interesting day... full of it's ups and downs. I have to say that if one has to go through a slight emotional rollercoaster, today would have been a perfect example.

First thing in the morning, I managed to get my V.I. sketches together, only to be shot down by Mr Micheal Gan, because the sketches of my concepts had no meaning to the design... I can't argue, because it is very true that I designed with the form in mind, and not being stemmed from a value which could be exemplified in the design.

We proceeded to come up with more concepts, and I produced one concept which was meant to look like a splash made by a droplet made unto a surface of still water.. however, due to my inexperience in drawing 'motion-capture' stuffs like this, I ended up drawing something like an eight-fingered human palm, much to Khairul's (my poly mentor) amusement.

Lunch was a very social affair.. having lunch with Alvin and a lot of the guy juniors.. hehe felt like I was back in SAS, where the only people at lunch were your male classmates, and friends.

During lunch, I had discovered that one of my juniors had been somewhat traumatised by the criticism directed towards her by one of her lecturers... which resulted in her crying in the lift before lunch, which I did not notice because she hid at the back of the lift and she was surrounded by her classmates.

As soon as I heard what happened, I decided to give her a consolation text message.. because you can never know what is going through the heads of girls (or anybody, for that matter) when they are sad, traumatised etc.

She gave me a call after lunch, and since I was free until 2pm, I decided that maybe it was best if she could sit down with me and pour it all out. I found the poor girl all red-eyed and sniffling and we sat down at some benches, and she told me all of her problems... to which I gave her my full attention, and I guess she felt better after heaving her troubles off her mind (she could smile, at last). Haha... a listening ear can do such wonders.

I told her that she should not doubt herself too much, get plenty of rest (her lack of rest during the week had resulted in her poor concentration, and thereby incurring the criticism of that particular lecturer) and not put her mind to her troubles. I just hope she does get enough rest because a slight impairment in bodily health can wreak havoc on one's mental and physical capabilities.

I just thank God I also managed to find time to go down to a floral & landscape gardening shop along Jalan Kayu with my classmate Grace, because I seriously needed the relevant research on indoor tropical plants for selecting the type of plant for which I will be concentrating my Studio project concept designs. I guess it's really fun to have a different experience outside the cold and stark studios in Block M, and manage to get some green into my surroundings, and on top of that, have a nice time talking to Grace as well.

I suppose it's mainly because Grace is one of the few classmates I can actually have very long conversations with, which is why I found her company very encouraging and (man, I need to find a better word) uplifting. I mean, we can talk about anything from the interactions between she and her boyfriend, to her study habits... notice it's all about her (which isn't too bad.. she's doing most of the talking). Sometimes she'll ask me about myself, and I'd give her an answer which might be a link to another topic.. which is great, because apart from XiWai and Rebecca, I seldom speak at length to my classmates.

Today has been very interesting, indeed.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Legends Of Zelda XVI

Hmm.

Today, we had initially gathered for the Design Seminar thingie on the 2nd floor of Block Q in anticipation of entering LT Q-10. However, due to the presence of several foreign individuals (people whom I am unfamiliar with), our admittance into LT Q-10 was somewhat delayed.

For that period of time between 8:50 and 9:10 before Garry arrived, I had managed to procure a can of ice lemon tea and discovered that Alvin had arrived during my absence, and beside him was Tijah and Zelda.

Soon after, Tijah, Alvin and myself (still drinking from can) had become engaged in a loose conversation, and Zelda just hovered around the perimeters, occasionally pouncing into the conversation with either a small statement to reinforce the previous statement (notice that she does this a lot of times), or simply bursting aloud in laughter. This is the sort of behaviour which justifies the (many) reason(s) why I am writing this post... She is just damn irritating.

As I was wearing a shirt provided by the pub, which had three illustrations in the order of left to right: a big "I", a pint of guinness and a three-leaf clover. If anybody has the least amount of sense, they might interpret this sequence of 'icons' as the sentence: 'I Love Guinness' or 'I c(love)r Guinness'.

However, upon noticing this perculiar t-shirt being worn by the grand master of indifference (moi), Zelda ventured forth to ask me some stupid questions something:

Z: 'What's that??!!' (pointing to icons on my shirt)

C: 'It's just a simple t-shirt design' (reverts back to state of indifference by slurping on my straw)

Z: 'Yeah, but what does it mean?'

C: '...'

Z: 'Why does it have a three-leaf clover on it? Isn't a four leaf clover lucky? Why did they choose a three-leaf clover??'

C: 'Uh... dunno'

Z: 'So do you know what it means?'

C: 'I'm not sure.. it's just a t-shirt design, yeah?'


Notice that at this point in time, I'm just trying to keep my answers short so that she will not find some sort of reason to ask me more questions.. also I never looked her in the eye during the whole conversation, instead being engrossed with my can of ice lemon tea.

The ploy worked!

We proceeded up to Block M Level 6, due to some lecture hall booking problems, and we ended up in the big studio and we then awaited the task to be given to us by our lecturers.

Soon after, Zelda started some sort of attempt to try and appear smart and witty by telling a joke. I guess her joke failed altogether, because she was to only one who laughed, and I yawned ever so conspicuously, much to Alvin's approval - he gave that sort of grin which said:

"Dude... you are so evil"

Indeed I am.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is honesty truly the best policy? V

Hmm.

Today has been hard for me, both physically and mentally... and subsequently, emotionally. While I am already burdened under the simple fact that I have a tonne of homework to polish off, I still have to be stricken with taunts and snide humour thrown at me from those around.

Isn't it tough enough that I have made a serious effort to conform with the social 'requirements' in order to adapt to my classmates' style of friendship? Isn't it hard enough for me, who does not understand what it is that is going behind my back, and I have to tolerate all the whispers and silent looks?

I think it's time I put my foot down, like I did last year, when I could not take this nonsense anymore. I'm sick of all the expectations. I'm sick of all the politics. I'm tired of all the awkward silences, and I'm done with being someone I, myself don't recognise anymore.

I'm jaded with the half-rotten conceptions people have of me, and it's kinda stupid that I'm even bothered, especially since these people have no idea who I am... they never even bothered to make a serious effort to get to know who I am: someone who has been silently undertaking tasks for the benefit of my pals, and those same people who trample over me and try to break my spirit.

Make no mistake, those to whom I am friendly towards; because friends do not take advantage of each other, they do not hurt those who offer a helping hand. Friends do not expect more than their fair share, and more importantly, friends know how to treat each other with respect and dignity.

If you feel that my comments touch a sore spot, let me put this straight... I will only treat people the way in which I expect them to treat me in return.. no more and no less; if I am friendly and jovial towards you, then please do not turn a cold shoulder... because receiving one yourself is never a pleasant sensation.

All I am wishing for is to be treated in a manner with mutual respect.. because I am someone who dislikes complicated matters. I have always believed in the application of quid pro quo in everyday life... and it only seems fair that I still treat people with the relevant respect even though some do not do the same in return.

I just pray everything will go back to normal... I do not wish to be the punching bag for everyone.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Boey!

Hmm.

Stayed back in NYP today to finish off the remnants of my homework.. and partially because I knew that Boey was going to be holding a night class for the Yr1s...

For those who have remained faithful readers of my blog, you would have seen me post once or twice regarding Boey's drawing classes, and how fun (and tiring) they used to be. I remember that during my first year, I managed to pick up perspective drawing like a duckling to water, but of course there were several fine details to pick up here and there, I managed to get the main point of how to accurately draw and render an object or product.

So here I was today, sitting in M627 drawing some graphics stuff, when Boey comes in, and mother of things to happen to a man, he actually gained weight!!! I could not believe that the guy actually had a second chin when he a perfectly concave chin-neck area the last time i saw him.

To top it all.. he forgot my name.

Anyway, I had finished all my graphic work and my studio project.. and decided to take a tour of my juniors' work... basically swimming through the carnage witnessed during the last year.. when I viewed work from my classmates and myself. Some were good, some were bad, and few were ugly.. to say it in the most impartial way possible. However, I'd have to say that i was amazed that very few people actually used perspective boxes.. the major key to getting proper perspective in sketches.

Anyway, I had a good time helping out my juniors... even drew an almost perspective-perfect handphone for them (albeit a few minor but glaring glitches). I guess it feels good to help people in small, insignificant ways... then you can exert a subconscious effect on them! e.g. you are like a big brother to a group of younger siblings.

Feels good to be in ID.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Out with thee, self-anxiety! II

Hmm.

Well, it's finally, Saturday.. and I guess the first week of school is just a taster for what is to come... let me list down all the projects and assignments that I need to fulfill:

1. Studio Project (lecturer: Vincent Shum), 8-odd weeks

Basically design a set of gardening tools which complement a plant pot which can be mounted on a wall, hanging from a ceiling/over-head beam or just some new, fascinating way in which the plant can be displayed. "Happiness!!!!"

2. Graphic Design (lecturer: Tan Mui Siang), about one month

Basically come up with graphical designs for a company's logo, complementing an assortment of items including the following: letterhead, postcard, business card and souvenir. Wahaha.. 20+ logo concepts by next tuesday morning.

3. Vertical Integration (lecturer: Michael Gan & Vincent Shum), 11-odd weeks

A group-work based project involving the designing of one or two souvenirs which can be sold in a shop/ location of our choice, but must include the 'meaning' and 'values' with which a prospective customer can relate to.

4. Model-making (lecturer: Kouo (shit, I can't remember the rest of his name)) ermm... 2 weeks?

Constructing a foam-core model of a calculator and making the model as accurate as possible. I've yet to come up with the GA drawings (ahaha...) which are required by monday.

5. Product Planning & Management (lecturer: Khairul) about two weeks?

Providing the background of a company with design as a major component incorporated into their products, and identifying their 'breakthrough' product.. one which made the company famous.

6. Communication Skills (lecturer: Christine Ong), about three weeks?

Identify a major Fortune 500 company, and talk about it's Corporate culture, etc etc... Hope I can do better for Comm Skills this semester.


In a nutshell... I've got a lot of projects just in my first week, and I need to spend more cash for drawing materials... it seems the start of term is like a catalyst for chaos. I just hope I can find more time to complete the lyric sheets of Burtn Holidays.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Vertigo!

Hmm.

Today was mainly taken up by a whole new V.I. (aka Vertical Integration) project, which involved the two yr 2 classes, and one yr 3 class. I was actually surprised to discover that there were only 13 yr 3s from that particular class... will my class population dwindle to that point?

Anyway, since there were fewer yr 3s than there was yr 2s.. we were split into groups of 3 people, with some groups having no yr 3s at all (mine included). In fact, my initial fear regarding this year's V.I. was the probability of me being slumped together with Melissa (***shudder***), whose company I would notr want to be in for a very long time, if not never at all.

The theme for this semester's V.I. was 'Souvenirs'. Righty-oh.

I was placed with my classmate XiWai (yahoo, man!) and a girl from Alvin's class called Jia Ying. We launched ourselves into action the moment Michael Gan (our V.I. lecturer-in-charge) said:

"Go!!!"

Within 20 minutes, we had brain-stormed the various possible types of souvenirs we could come up with, followed by allocating two types of products to each group memeber, of which each member was responsible for designing five concepts. I guess that I was very satisfied and content with which we proceeded with the brain-storming, product selection and concept-allocation.

I must say, with the enthusiasm and of XiWai, and the apparent easy-to-work-with attitude of Jia Ying, followed by my sense of decisiveness... we are an exceptionally well-oiled machine... let's hope it stays that way.

Looking away from my group.. I find that there are some very unusual combinations... and looking at the group in which Melissa is in, I wonder at how they are going to go about working their ideas. Apparently, Melissa is put together with my classmate, Wei Ting (aka Victorina) and Alvin's classmate, Bei Zi. If I might say so, these three girls are hardly the most motivated people in the world, much less... the recipe for disaster if they do not get their game going quickly.

At least in my group, you have compassionate people like XiWai and myself, who respect other's decisions, and who appreciate and encourage participation from Jia Ying who is very soft-spoken, and somewhat shy. Jia Ying is also responsive in return, towards which I am most grateful, on top of the fact that I believe that she can unleash her creativity when partnering with XiWai and myself.

However I must say, that although I am a driving factor within the group, XiWai gives it more soul, and Jia Ying can be able to give it more heart.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

A Rush of warmth to the Class IV

Hmm.

I've always thought of my class as an organism... but please bear in mind that I only have two year's worth of biology knowledge (notably from Secondary one to two). So what kind of organism do I view my class as..? I'll just put it in layman's terms because, frankly, my terminology for biology is absolutely zilch.

All right.. I view my class, as sort of like a spider. Well, for one thing, this spider has obviously, a head, and then an abdomen. I'm just gonna break it down as simply as I can.

The head of the spider contains the eyes, sensory organs, mouth, fangs etc etc. When it comes to relating people with these sensory organs, I tend to view myself as one of the eyes of a spider... a few of my classmates as well fit into the area of being an eye of the spider, simply because we are more observant, and as a result, are able to let others see (from our point of view) what a specific situation may be like.

A few of us may be associated with the legs of a spider... which support the creature and propel it forward. These people are those who have the willpower to continue to stay by their friends, juggle multiple tasks, and essentially allow our class to complete the circle of progress.

Then we come to the abdomen... which houses the body functions and also the source of the spider-web. A few of my classmates are essentially the soul of the class. Without them, I guess we would only exist in black and white.. and with these individuals.. we operate in technicolour.

For the remaining people... they are the source of entanglements, the ones who spin traps and ensnare unsuspecting individuals... slowing others down and becoming unwilling victims.

I guess I'm still very wary of certain people in my class. but that's only one or two individuals. As for the rest... stay cool and carry on the good work! You guys really rock my world.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy