Crikes V

Hmm.

Okay, I know I haven't been able to blog recently, but it's because I had work, followed by a day full of preparations for handing up projects for TWO competitions, Vivocity and FDA. Then after I handed in my stuff, I had a sketching class at night, which went on until about 9:30, before heading home to remember that my cousin (and wife and kid) came over from Hong Kong to visit us... what a day.

Well, I was working on the item which is supposed to cover up that hugantic hole my mum bore into the ceiling of the loft with her head (bar none), and I'm glad to say that it's roughly 30 percent through, much to the dissatisfaction of Uck-me (my mum).

So here I am, blogging my way into time which is meant for me to prepare for my folks, my grandpa (who incidentally came down from KL just this morning with my Uncle) and myself to have some noon-time makan. I have no idea where we're going to eat, but I'm guessing some chinese restaurant which serves green tea and possibly dim sum (yuum). I'm just guessing wildly.

Tonight's going to be my first Friday night back at the pub (last week I only managed to work wednesday, thursday and saturday), and that means a great set after my shift is done. I've gotten myself mentally prepared to see a few old familiar faces who have no idea what happened to me, causing my absence from work and the gigging scene. I just have to put my finger to the light and mention 'machine saw', and I'll be seeing grimaces and winces. LOL.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is honesty truly the best policy? IX

Hmm.

Had a great time with Rob last night, which culmulated in an extended jam of Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back In Town'. Had a great time getting to know his cats (four of them), which were wonderful to be around with.

Well my folks are just a pair who could not stop asking why I was not going to the class chalet. Simply put, I cannot be bothered, I can't give a damn, and I have much better things to do than run around town, wasting my time, money, effort and energy with a bunch of people who have no plans to let me be their friend.

All I am to these people is just the guy who plays guitar (unneccessarily) and whose tastes in music leaves something to be desired. Well screw that, even though my dad told me that 'it's only politically correct to attend the chalet'.

You can call it arrogance, you can call me stuck up and aloof, but same fact remains... I'm keeping myself grounded and (like I mentioned a few posts back) I will not fool myself into false hope, no matter how hard they try, no matter how devious they attempt to be. I can't count the number of times I've been used, played around with, humiliated at by these people. What a better way to prevent that from happening by turning up and giving them more chances to do so.

I

Will

Not

Falter

And frankly, I have bigger plans for myself, and I will not allow this bump in the road to further malign me.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Mother's Love XXI

Hmm.

Well, it's been a long time since my mum did something out of the ordinary, and let me tell you more. FYI, the following has not been exaggerated nor blown out of proportion, it is a factual account. I dunno why I'm only writing about this now, but I can only say that I had no time.

Around last wednesday evening, I was in the shower and my folks were at it like cats and dogs. All of a sudden, I hear this resounding boom, followed by my mother's whimpering, and then my dad started shouting at me:

Dad: 'Oei, call the ambulance, call the ambulance!'

As i was in the shower, I shouted back this bit of trivia back to him, only to be met with cursing when I emerged. I could see my mum lying on the floor in some sort of daze, and lo and behold, there was this huge hole caved into the ceiling of the loft. On the floor, bits of plaster littered aroung my mum (who was still sighing in pain) and my dad who was shouting at me for not calling the ambulance.

While it's only fair to say that quarrels between my folks are a literal daily affair (hence my initial indifference when I heard the resonant boom) occurances of sudden violence from either party tends to be seldom, but I wouldn't be surprised if they happened anyway. It's been a norm for all of us since the day my folks decided to move to Shanghai and back.

Whatever the case is, what seemed to have happened was that my folks were quarreling as usual, and my mum decided to charge at my dad. As the ceiling of the loft is fairly low, she must have rushed in her infinite fury and hit the ceiling with her head, and as a result of the shock due to her hear crushing the wood and plaster, she landed on her rear end and lay in a state of shock.

You know, my mother loves to blame me for being an insensitive, ungentle, violent cad. In truth, this side of me only happens when I'm severly annoyed, and you can't blame people for getting angry when a certain something refuses to budge or adhere to your desire. Well now we have a classic case of hypocrasy, and I'll be damned if she dares to tell me I'm always violent.

After all, I have that hole in the loft's ceiling as proof.

And as for my dad who scolded me for not calling the ambulance, I shot him back because he had a phone right in front of him, whereas I was in the loo, and on top of that, his computer was turned on and he could have easily found out what the appropriate number was to call, because I'm personally unacquainted with the proper numbers to dail in emergencies (ok, I'm gonna pick that up soon enough).

Next morning I was scolded by mother again for not being sensitive and caring. Well, what the fuck... when I cut my finger all she could ask was whether stitches were neccessary in order to keep costs low. Then when she did finally turn up at the hospital, all she could do was scold me and turn on her black face. So much for sensitivity and caringness.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Hmm.

Last night I went to see John's band, Subway Stars perform live at the Prince Of Wales pub down at dunlop Street in Little India. The band's performance was tight most of the way, except for some parts where they had to start a song twice due to a bad sound set-up etc. The band's lead vocalist, Joe, wasn't too bad especially when you see that they play music which is something like Travis, Coldplay and Blur, and it's all originals. I give them 4 stars just for using static from a radio to give a song atmosphere.

Thing is, while the music was good, the sound wasn't all that fantastic, but that's understandable especially when it's only their 2nd gig at the POW, and there was a hum from the equipment and the huge corrugated metal sheet behind the band made the sound so much more distorted. Apart from that, the main cringe I had throughout the performances was that the singer kept apologising for the bad sound, until I shouted out 'Never say sorry!', to which he acknowledged positively.

Halfway through the Subway Stars' gig, I received a phone call from one of my lecturers, regarding some programme thingie... my ears were too numb from the music to understand 80% of what he said, in the end, I settled to call him back today.

However, last night I had a good chat with Recca, and from that conversation something awoke in me, and it made my heart burn especially since I had such a nice time yesterday with my classmates cycling at Pulau Ubin. It totally shattered my previous hope that for once I could be "accepted into the fold".

As some of you might know I may not be the most popular guy from a social point of view, but rather someone who bases my social status on my ability to have an objective point of view, and also my desire to be as frank and open as possible.

I feel that my honesty has been compromised, when it comes to my classmates. Like I mentioned before, alot of my classmates have the 'short consumer cycle' complex, whereby they use others for their own gain. In this process of personal gain, they are dishonest to themselves, and dishonest to their victim because the person involved would have to pretend to be nice to the victim. The victim processes this behaviour as a pure intention and thereby is willing to help.

Therefore, I have decided that I will be a victim no more, and I will excuse myself from the class chalet citing reasons which are beyond their meagre comprehension. I'm tired, and I'm sick of being fooled around with, and it's fucking degrading to put myself in a position where I'm just wanking hope out of thin air.

And it's all for the greater good: they don't need to see me, and I don't want to see them anyway.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! XVIII

Hmm.

Alright, during the course of my shift just now (wednesday evening, although it's already thursday morning) I managed to meet up with Big Boss Colin McDonald!!!

OMG!!! I just bumped into him as I was walking away from BQ bar, and I just slid into the conversation with him:

CM: 'Hey, (my name), how're you?'

C: 'I'm ok Mr McDonald, how's things with you.. going to Molly's or heading home?'

CM: 'Well, I'm heading home, I've spent too much time at Molly's and I need to go home to my family so that they can start recognising me again'

C: 'ahaha yeah'

(short pause)

CM: 'so tell me, how's your musical career coming along?'

C: 'well, it's been good so far, because Gerry's been really supportive for friday nights etc, and I've always wanted to talk to you about something'

CM (raises eyebrows a titch)

C: 'I was wondering if you could let me have a couple of gigs somewhere like Molly's (sees surprised expression on CM's face) or anywwhere if it's possible, because I'm REALLY passionate about it'

Skipping back a few weeks, I was hanging out with Gerry and Mags at Father Flanny's and Gerry was in the loo, so I was just chatting with Mags. Mags told me she believed that if I talked to Colin myself, and expressed my passion and enthusiams about the whole pub-gigging thing (which I really do, mind, body and soul), he would be willing to give me a shot. Ok, back to the conversation:

CM: 'well, we'll see how it goes (smiles) and I'll talk to Gerry (smiles again, and I reciprocate) but for now, I can say yeah, it's a go, and it's great to see your playing take off'

(shakes hands and makes a move)

Oh man... I can almost see myself gigging pretty soon. Now that my hand's back to 99.99% (pls dun forget that I did four songs a little while ago, and one of them included 'Highway To Hell') and I've been listening to more music, it'll only be a matter of time, and I hope 'a matter of time' would start before the end of the holidays.

If you read the final line of the conversation carefully, he expresses his approval regarding the whole issue, which rightly means I've got a gig coming my way. However, I'll let Gerry and Colin talk to each other in good time, and then I'll see how things work out. Till then, I'll hope and pray.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

In a Little While IV

Hmm.

Well Monday night at Rob's place was fun, had a great time trying out his '59 Gibson Les Paul Reissue, which had the wickedest tone I've ever heard live. I mean, that guitar could produce crunch tones ona clean channel. THAT is amazing.

Anyhow, Alvin, Rob and myself managed to record down a relatively successful take of 'To You', a new track on our up-and-coming album "Steak & Onions", which is currently enjoying the backing of Rob (who incidentally is the editor of the Foreign section of the Straits Times Singapore).

FYI, Robert Lloyd Bartlett is 53 years old, a cancer victim-still-healing, and guitarist extraordinaire. While it is so much more easier for me to ramble on about the little things which happened during the jam session, I want to focus on a more serious issue.

See, Rob's mum has been sick for quite a while, and her situation has always been rather dire, and as Rob put it "it's cancer and a broken back", and one of the main reasons Monday night was a possibility was because Rob's mum suddenly was able to respond to the medication which the doctors prescribed. Rob told me a couple of days prior to last monday that he was afraid that his mum might not make it, so I offered him my prayers, which he eventually thanked me for after he received news that his mum was ok.

Today, as I finished up my shift, played four songs and had a conversation with Robert, he told me that he was afraid that tonight he might just receive the phone call which announces his mother's death. Being a man who has just offered his services to two guys trying to clobber an album together and also offering to put down 100 bucks (Gerry also offered to put down another 100 bucks) for an 8-track mixer... I can't bear to put him through the dilemma of whether he should rush home and speak to his mum one last time or stay behind and cut an album with me and Alvin.

He told me this dilemma, and I told him:

"Robert, say no more. You have to take care of yourself, and please do not feel obligated to continue if the circumstances do not allow us to continue working as a result of your absence. Do what you must, but first and foremost, you need to take care of yourself. Do not worry about our work as much, if not more than your own personal health."

As I mentioned earlier, Robert is a cancer-survivor, but he's still in a relatively fragile condition... on top of the risk of cancer remission, he's also got arthritis in his hands and just this morning he had bleeding in the stomach. I cannot so selfish so as to put this man's health at risk as a result of completing a project on schedule.

Robert is truly a remarkable man. I was introduced to him not more than a month or two back, and a little over and hour ago, I had my arm around his shoulder and consoling him and bringing him back from possible depression. This man opened my eyes again with his musical prowess and charisma. Most possibly I would go so far as to name him my personal idol.

As I left the pub, and sat in the taxi... I thanked Gerry for the cash to take a cab, and I also prayed for Robert and his mum. Never have I prayed so hard for someone whom I met just two months ago. I'm still praying for Robert, and I'll probably pray for him before I hit the sack.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Do I have A Disease? V

Hmm.

Well Alvin came over today to polish up the tracks for our incarnation of the 'classic FGG track' "It's All Joon Kiat's Fault", now officially known as "It's All Murphy's Fault". For those who do not know what this is all about, kindly refer to previous posts.

Anyhow, Alvin and I have been looking for ways to expand our line-up, especially since our areas of capabilities have been stretched thin to the point where Alvin covers piano, banjo, bass, 2nd rhythm guitar, 2nd mandolin, vocals and mixing duties. I, on the other hand, cover lead guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin, 2nd bass, harmonica, vocals and production duties.

Our choice of additional bassist, 2nd guitarist and drummer have all come from (uncannily) Alvin's church youth group. So much for my love for showmanship. I just hope these guys will have some sense of flexibility when it comes to moving around the stage. No detracting from you guys, but for those who have seen me in action will know what the term 'action' means.

C'mon, you've read my previous posts (and they're almost 100% accurate) that I'm like some wild thing when I'm doing an energetic number. Of course I'm not expecting mayhem and all that jazz, but I dunno... I've noticed that when Alvin plays live he just tends to stick to a certain area, he doesn't move much around.

For myself, I can only say one thing, and that one of the main reasons why I bought that SG is because my old mockingbird prohibited myself from jumping around during a song. I can even play the guitar behind my back now LOL!!! Did I mention I attempted (and successfully accomplished) Angus Young's 'spasm attack' by kicking wildly on the floor mid-solo and completing a full 360 turn before getting up?

Bottom line says this: I hope that if the new guys come in, we will have a level of ESP which enables all of us to be comfortable and thereby become much looser (the only person whom I notice is much more comfortable is the drummer) but still retain the level of musicmanship.

Personally, I still have to work on my duckwalk LOL.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is honesty truly the best policy? VIII

Hmm.

Well it's already the holidays for many an NYP student, but for my class, we're still stuck with an M&M test on tuesday (and I'm jamming with Rob, Gerry & Alvin on monday afternoon... LOL) and Jeremy's A2 p-board on thursday.

I dunno. Cuz most of my team members for Jeremy's project have already finished up their rhino models, we're all set to combine our stuff and put it into a p-board before sending it for printing. However, we're behind schedule because one of our team members is lagging behind. Let me just list everyone in the team down:

Crawldaddy: myself (duh), finished rhino model and (multiple) renderings two weeks ago.
H: used to lag, but he's gotten his work together, waiting to combine rendering pictures.
V: laggiest member of the group, serious procrastinator and somehow has distinct love for complications but doesn't know how to solve them.
SP: also a former lagger, now also waiting to put work together.
CL: 2nd fastest in the whole group, can't wait to put everything together. Has almost zero tolerance for V's procrastination and has made negative remarks on V.

While CL, SP and H have completed their stuff, I'm assuming that they are attempting to produce proper renderings for their product. And so far, only CL has shown the proper attitude of working hard in this project (amid all our prior projects etc).

Well, I'm seriously not kidding when I say that V likes to procrastinate. For crying out loud, she's always handing in her stuff late, and unless I'm much mistaken, her social life tends to solely revolve around her church (not that I'm saying church is a bad place to be) and she has a tough stance on bending her personal rules when datelines are tight.

For example, her product is supposed to be something like a sea anamone, and she has trouble trying to create the shape out using Rhino 3D software. When I questioned her as to why she chose such a complicated shape, she replied (defiantly) that Jeremy asked her to move along with that idea.

Here's my take on this issue:

If you chose a sea anamone as a basis for your product's form, and you know that you're gonna have difficulty doing it on Rhino, why the fuck would you have the brains to go ahead in the first place? Of course no one'll help you if you don't know how to help yourself. Don't give me bullshit that by doing this form, it's going to be a challenge.

Could you pull it off in the first place? If you can't pull it off then FORGET ABOUT THE DAMN FORM, and move on. You have the right to change your ideas, and propose them to Jeremy on the basis that you have no idea how to create it in Rhino. However, your behaviour seems to suggest that you are incapable of the humility to do so. Frankly, that's a shitty attitude, gal.

You told me in your letter at the beginning of Yr1 2nd semester that you wanted to be friends. However, your attitude towards meeting datelines and working ethics suggests that you can't give a damn about how your behaviour reflects upon yourself. I try to think objectively when the rest of our classmates complain about your behaviour behind your back, but I can't help but feel in the same way EVERYBODY does:

You are a lazy, unmotivated, self-indulgent person who has no right to demand more time just because you have unwittingly shot yourself in the foot, tied yourself to an anchor and thrown yourself into the ocean. For once, make an attempt to meet the dateline, and don't give me the old worn excuse that you live far away. You are a servant of God, and you jolly well know that God will not help you if you do not help yourself.

Time is running out, and we can't afford to risk our necks for you anymore. If you do not produce that Rhino model by Tuesday, I will not help you create it in Rhino, I will not help you in rendering the model, I will not put your model in the p-board, and I certainly will have no qualms booting your arse from the group becuase of your ignorance and selfishness which has delayed our project beyond discomfort.

My heart is hardening as each day passes, so do not be surprised that when you can't deliver, my heart has no capability of sympathy towards you. Do not underestimate me.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

and here's the rear view.. note that this chair is 'inspried by the bumblebee' 

new graphics for my lisse chair... 

Cut finger update IV

Hmm.

Wahaha... my finger is now working at approximately 75%, and I am able to solo like normal!!! Apart from being able to do solos, I'm already able to perform normal strumming songs at about 80%, because my finger cannot clench entirely, therefore certain chords are a crutch to play. It also seems that I would be able to work next Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sorry, Superdel, my friday would be taken up by a trip to Pulau Ubin with my classmates.

Cool thing happening next Monday, though. Gerry's arranged for me, Giant Zucchini and himself to go to Rob's place to jam XD!!!! Rob's like the only guy I know who owns all sorts of cool guitars: a '59 Gison Les Paul Reissue, a '52 telecaster, a Stevie Ray Vaughn signature stratocaster and god knows what else.. oh yeah, a Martin acoustin!

Well, since plans are in the pipeline for me to join Rob and Gerry in their band for upcoming Irish events as a mandolinist/2nd lead guitarist/ backing vocalist, I hope that this coming monday would a be a great opportunity for all of us to get down and play some MUSIC.

Man, I'm so psyched.

Anyway, if you read GZ's blog, Garry also gave my class a similar talk about going to the Overseas Attachment Programme thingie. Problem is, there are only 3 people who are eligible for going overseas, and for those three people to get there, they have to go through at least 3 rounds of interviews on top of the portfolio review.

I dunno... personally I wonder if all this while my attempts to make my products look sophisticated and sleek would allow me to have an advantage over my peers. I pray that I will have the chance to go Germany (I managed to visit it once when I was like 5 years old? I don't even remember anything about that place) and meet new people. I wonder if there will be two people going to Germany? It's so far away, and the company would be very welcome I guess.

Oh well, as long as I am eligible to sign up for the Programme, I'll be fighting till I drop dead because my folks have pledged their cash if I can go. LOL.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It's All Murphy's Fault!

Hmm.

Well I went over to Alvin's place today, he showed me how to play his latest offering titled 'Seventy Times Seven' which is altogether a fantastic song, lyrically, but the way he sings it can be improved somewhat.

Apart from '70 X 7', we also managed to polish off the lyrics for our classic FGG track 'It's All Joon Kiat's Fault'. Being the terribly politically-incorrect people we are, we've decided to avert possible attacks from Joon Kiat by not playing that in public ever again, and now we've converted the song title to 'It's All Murphy's Fault'. For those who could discern what the previous lyrics were all about, you may find some similarities between the 'new' version and the previous take:


Working every night just to get work done
Slaving away and I can't get no fun
All I want is just some time in the sun
It's all Murphy's fault

Spending money like water from a tap
I've cut my finger, it hurts like mad
I've had four stitches, and it looks like crap
It's all Murphy's fault

It's all Murphy's fault X2
When everything I do just comes to naught
It's all Murphy's fault

Early morning and my cat puked on the floor
I cleaned it all up, but it puked some more
My head is aching and my hands are really sore
It's all Murphy's fault

It's all Murphy's fault X2
When everything I do just comes to naught
It's all Murphy's fault

Open up my freezer and there's no more food
Crashed in my garage and I screwed the hood
Hayden Christensen acts like a piece of wood
It's all Murphy's fault

It's all Murphy's fault X2
When everything I do just comes to naught
it's all Murphy's fault

It's all Murphy's faultx2
When everything I do just comes to naught
it's all Murphy's fault

It's all Murphy's faultx2
it's getting kinda late and we have to stop
it's all Murphy's fault


For those who have no idea as to why we chose the name 'Murphy' the reason is very simple: whenever you do something and it goes wrong, it's not that Satan is following you around, nor due to some time a while back you broke a mirror and the seven years aren't up yet nor you're just plain dumb. It's Murphy's fault.

See, Murphy created this law 'Whatever that can go wrong, will go wrong', and that's precisely what happened to me and my damn finger. And till this day, Murphy's Law still commands respect and widespread hatred. Of course God tries to help us, but it's all Murphy's Fault.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

That's The Way

Hmm.

I've recently learnt a new song, and one which I've been yearning and longing and dying to play since I first heard it. The song is titled 'That's The Way' by Led Zeppelin, and it is definitely one of their loveliest songs in their song catalogue.

Structured around a simple two-chord sequence which is employed on open-G tuning, this slow peaceful song was often accompanied by a mandolin when played live, and it was accompanied by a slide guitar in the studio version.

I'm just so happy I've finally learnt this song, because I know it's relatively simple (and oh yeah, it sure is) mainly due to the usage of the open tuning. Funny thing is, I managed to learn this song when my left fretting fore finger is only operating at roughly 45%. No wonder, this song is in open tuning, which only requires three-finger chords and one four-finger chord, which I manage with relative ease.

In any case, this song has been added to my repertoire of 40+ songs, which I am building up in anticipation that I might land a pub gig. If that happens, I'll be inviting you guys down to have a listen.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Crunch Time II

Hmm.

Today's Comm Skills test was a disaster waiting to happen. Whatever skill in improvisation didn't matter... it was just a horrible paper. Even Roland also went down in flame and glory.

Whatever the case is, I've just realised that I've gotta hand up a report tomorrow, and I'm scrambling for time and energy... once I'm done with this post, it's crunch time baby.

I went down to Peace Centre today to get my new Presentation board for Grpahics printed out. Apparently the old board didn't satisfy Ms Tan's idea of how my board's layout should have been, but anyway... it's guaranteed a much better p-bpard this time around.

During the half-hour while the guys at the print shop printed out my stuff, I went around checking out the guitar shops, and i found some pretty good bargains, but of course, some of the stuff I unearthed was in a simple effective term, CRAP.

I also managed to find the same acoustic guitar which I own, and bought for 180 bucks about a year or so back... and I dunno why, but it seems like my guitar plays, and sounds much better than that hunk of junk. The sound was weak, and for some reason... it was damn heavy.

I guess my acoustic guitar is one of those cheap-assed copies from the factory which just so happened to be the best off that line. For one thing, when I played that guitar and recorded it down, a friend of mine thought I was playing something much more expensive. LOL.

I had gone back to the print shop, when to my surprise, I was hailed by Recca. Of all people to meet, I met her and we had a nice conversation all the way. It was a great ending to a busy afternoon, because she's a great gal and you'd never fail to laugh at what she has to say.

FYI, we openly acknowledge that we are not each others' type.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Is honesty truly the best policy? VII

Hmm.

A simple conversation makes my day
yet from each other we stay far away
knowing that sometimes it cannot be
from our torment we haven't broken free

maybe I've almost been blind all this while
and I could have possibly ridden that extra mile
but for us it has always seemed quite impossible
as for the reason, you know, it's really quite simple

Knowing you're probably my other best friend
and you know that I'll be willing to give you a hand
it's never good enough and that of course I know
but for someone like me the wait is never too slow

maybe it's just your eyes which always startle me
or the words from your lips which sound so sweet
but for the time being what will be, will be
and I guess fate has decided when we will meet.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

A Rush of warmth to the Class V (Right)

Hmm.

Well, the holidays are a'beckoning, and we're left with a week and one day before our holiday officially starts. There has been talk of holding a class chalet, and maybe holding it at the same place which we had a chalet the last time.

Not that I'm complaining, but having a class chalet seems like a drag, on top of all the stuff that I want to accomplish this holiday:

1. Get my finger recovered back to it's old flexibility... current rate: 30%
2. Finish recording 'Steak & Onions', and hopefully invite Gerry to play guitar and sing on some tracks. Also come up with more material for the album along the way.
3. Go to Rob's place and check out his '59 Les Paul Reissue, SRV Strat, '52 Telecaster, Rickenbacker lap steel and Martin acoustic.
4. Finish off the chair-redesign project with Alvin.
5. Buy that $168 Vox Pathfinder 15-watt.
6. Get a date.

Ok, number 6 was just a joke, because I'd never have the time nor the energy and parental consent to actually go out until past 11pm. Hopefully that will change once I turn 18 this November. Sounds juvenile. I know.

Back to the class chalet... I'm also iffy about the whole thing firstly because I realise that although I have tried very hard to be a nice guy to everyone in class, the simple fact is that this act of conformity has not been entirely reciprocated, and I'm not exactly pleased. In fact, one of the main reasons I come to school with that black look of dismay upon my face every morning is because I feel so damn pissed with some of those people.

Make no mistake, my classmates are good, self-respecting people who have friends and have no qualms about making friends. However, they may not be the most reasonable people in the world, and I'm not afraid to say it out loud that I'm not taking this sitting down. I've had enough bullshit, and it's getting a little lame when every little damn thing other people do becomes blown out of proportion.

My classmates have given me feedback from Year 1 semester 1 that I was a real son of a bitch and I tended to be a pain in the arse. Fine. I play nice the 2nd semester and I had fun during the class chalet. 2nd year comes along, I'm still playing nice but it feels like I'm starting all over again.

I've tried to be much more warmer and accomodating, I've even attempted appreciating your brand of teen-pop. To a certain degree you have accepted me and alot of people are nice to me. I'm not expecting 100%-welcome-with-open-arms, and I'd be surprised if you did so.

I feel like I'm back in Secondary Three/Four ... when I was relatively respected for my abilities in D&T. I was being used for my expertise in metal lathing and woodwork. Now it seems like people around me are doing the same: dump after use. I'm tired. Maybe I won't be going for the chalet anyway.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Cut finger update III

Hmm.

Some good news, I've removed my bandage today, and I've cleaned out the affected area... to no pain at all. That's a sign of promise, but my finger is still slightly swollen, and bending it at the affected region is still somewhat prohibited.

Thing is, I don't want to get too hopeful about the finger, and I certainly do not want to rush it into recovery by flexing it too much, but truth be told I'm in a rather tight spot seeing that I have not worked since the week I cut my finger, and I have no source of income whatsoever.

However, I'm just hopeful that my application to Yamaha Music comes through.. I applied for a sales staff post, and it's just the environment of equipment and squeaky-clean instruments which appealed to me... no second-hand smoke, no need to clear out ashtrays, no need to sweat like a damn pig just walking up the stairs.. and best of all: I get to know what's the latest gear coming in, and what's hot and what's not. Plus point: if I'm bored, I can play guitar.

I think it's time for Crawldaddy to leave the waitering line... and explore different possibilities. After all, I've spent roughly two years serving people food and drinks, I've accumulated invaluable experience along the way (e.g. having a banquet dinner is an absolute waste of time and money) and I think it's time I'm going through a new experience altogether, and learn more about the stuff I love so much: musician's gear.

I've got plenty of side-projects that are coming my way: Gerry's band which requires a mandolin player (hopefully I can also take the role as 2nd lead guitarist) and backing vocalist; a new chair 're-design' contest, which will involve Alvin and myself; and of course work on 'Steak & Onions' which is expected to feature a couple of guitar solos, and some slick mandolin work. New-old music has never sounded any better.

Back to working at the pub... I dunno, maybe the charm of working in that place would only appeal to me if I was a pub singer and not worrying whether my customers have paid up or received their pints of bitter on time and whether their food is still hot when served.

It would be nice to be a pub singer... it's one job which I do believe one could work in and still retain that satisfaction so long as your repertoire continues to expand and evolve. I'll lay it on the line:

1. If I do get selected by Yamaha music, and their pay is reasonable... I'll go for it.
2. If I do proceed to work at Yamaha (and if gerry doesn't manage to help me get the pub singing job) , I'll quit the pub, but still go back once in a while to sing a couple of songs.
3. If Gerry manages to help me get a gig at the Pub or somewhere else, I will only have that pub singing job, and no other.

I'm praying very hard for point number 3, because a lot of hope is pinned on Gerry helping me to sell the idea to Big Boss Colin McDonald... Gerry said that he reckons my chances are roughly 75-80%, but no promises, and I'd only get to play two or three times per week (which is what I'm shooting for, anyway).

Pray hard for me, my friends... if I do get the job, I promise to be very nice.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

NEWS

Hmm.

I'm at present in the mode known as Not Exactly Willing to Study.. even though I've got this huge test monday morning.. and my Comm Skills module results are banking on the passing of that test. I dunno... I just feel so distracted and in a state of dilemma because i have to study and work out the presentation board for Graphics on Tuesday morning, and I still have to print out the presentation board at Peace Centre.

It's just that I feel like I've been overtly distracted this whole damn semester, and I'm losing grip on my schedule... I'm not as in-control as I used to be. Maybe I do need to cut down on the music stuff in my mind, get a non-smoking environment job and let Gerry know that I'll still be in his band, but maybe not working at the pub any longer.

I dunno, one part of me wants to stay at the pub, and that'll be for the sake of musical exposure, but on the other hand, the smoky environment and rushed feeling I get at work doesn't appeal anymore to me after 7 months. What's more, I have commitments to the SDN club and I'll be busy with a tonnes of school work when my 2nd semester of Yr 2 starts in November.

The fact that I'll be busy with three different projects within this month of september means that I'll be laying my mind off music (hopefully) and concentrating on the task at hand (also hopefully) because these three projects are meant for Design competitions... and they are not easy to work on. Fun, but not easy.

Truth be told, I'm rather pissed with Vincent for not giving us adequate direction which has resulted in nobody in class working on the ENERGY project, and FLY for Jie Hong also needs a digital p-board on monday. How the heck am I supposed to find time to work all of this out? I seriously need a break, and a good-paying job.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

another view... 

view of squeeze bottle for rhino module 

I like this colour too though... 

Mosquitoe chair... improved view... 

M&M3

Hmm.

Today's tenure in NYP was largely taken up by our Materials & Manufacturing (M&M) presentation. In groups of three and two, each group had to work on the selection of a certain product which had 'Design For Manufacturability', or DFM.

Our lecturer, Mr Phua Tian Soon, is a nice guy, but his monotonous voice and dead-pan lectures make me fall asleep by the time we get to lecture notes pg 3. As such, I find his lectures just a verbal replica of the notes.

We had a little over 10 weeks to work this whole thing out, but it was eventually rushed out in roughly three weeks, due to time constraints and the fact that we were all bogged down by all sorts of tests, project datelines and afternoons sitting in front of the damn computer waiting for our 3D models to appear slick and polished.

So we all had a turn presenting our stuff, and Mr Phua surprised us all by shooting down one presenter after another, and I have nothing much to say except that some of my classmates deserved to be shot down when they included tough terms to fathom and they themselves have no idea what the heck they are presenting.

I was partnered with Chu Leong, and thankfully, the both of us are somewhat skilled in the art of improvisation (I'm not bluffing.. ask people around me). So when it was our turn to present, we managed Mr Phua's sniper-shot questions with relative ease, thoguh I have to admit, some of his questions were rather tough, and they were meant to test our weak spots.

Eventually, Mr Phua shocked us all when he declared that if he were to mark our presentations by the book, a whole 3 quarters of the class would fail. He also mentioned that he was disappointed that we took his module lightly, and it would be unwise to do so.

Now, being the type of lecturer who slacks off, marks our papers at the last minute, not even going through tutorials most of the time, and cancelling most of our lessons last-minute... that's rather rich of him to criticise our class for not taking him seriously.

However, some of my classmates do deserve their fair share of credit, because a lot of them did the required research, but (it is only fair to say that) some did not do enough preparation for the presentation.

Anyhow, I have a sinking feeling that Chu Leong and myself are the ones who are safely within that 'non-failing zone': simply because we weren't shot down, for one thing... and secondly, Mr Phua did not criticise our presentation at all. Not trying to be smug or anything, but just hoping and praying we will manage to scrounge a good pass or at least a B.

I've still got my Comm Skills test on monday, graphics big presentation on tuesday, big report to hand up on thursday, and M&M final test following monday. I'll be working on those then.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Blogskin blues

Hmm.

I've been looking around at blogs which have been set up by the people around me, and I've noticed people love to use very customised blogskins, which of course some are pretty cool, and others I have not much comment on.

Anyway, I do realise that my blogskin is just plain frickin' boring, and I'm simply too lazy to change it (or search for one which would suit my fancy, in which case, would collectively feature every guitar God since 1960, including myself :p). Certainpersons have not really taken to my blogskin positively, and I'm just telling myself......... well I like it the way it is now, and those people can kiss my butt because of one simple reason:

It's not the blogskin, but the posts which define the blog; and if your posts talk crap, then it's final: your blog sucks.

I sometimes find them flashy blogskins a bit gimmicky. Forgive me those who feel otherwise, but I dunno, I just feel that when you have a blog which is dominated by a hugantic picture, and people have to bloody squint just to read your posts... isn't the purpose of the blog already redundant? It's a jounal of your life, and as such you tend to fill it up with little details and funny little quirks... do not distract them with the bigger picture (pardon the pun).

So unless I can find a blogskin with which I can paste pictures on the side of the blog, which means my posts will be flanked by the likes of Hendrix, Page, Lynott, Clapton, Angus and Neil Young etc, or someone is willing to come up with something like that and allow me to continue using the present post format... I'll be keeping it like this... clean and dirty at the same time :p


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Cut finger update II

Hmm.

Oh well, just had the stitches in my left forefinger removed, and it was much less painful than I had feard it might have been, and admittedly, it was still painful no matter how hard I tried to suppress it.

Anyway, I was still pretty glum regarding the fact my forefinger was not fully functioning, so I decided to try and play guitar with my remaining fingers... which was met with limited success, but curious thing was that I could still do single-note lines pretty well.

I dunno, maybe it's just the lead work spilling out of me which allowed me to continue to be able to squeeze out notes. Last night I just did a warm up... this afternoon after I took out the stitches, I did a full-blown version of 'Highway To Hell' with the sound zooming out of my amplifier.

Ah, the wait is over... the decision as to whom would be SDN club resident, Vice-president etc has been concluded:

President: Eileen
Vice-President (DMD): Micheal
Vice-President (ID): Alvin
Secretary: Crawldaddy
Treasurer: Aaron
Logistics Head: Wei Kit
Proposal Heads: Bryandt & Henry
Event Managers: Sheralyn & Shahidah

I have to say I was rather relieved that I didn't get a post other than Secretary, because I would have done lots of power-playing if I got something higher than what I am now, or I would have been rather disappointed if I got something lower.

Also the fact that I know I'm not a very popular personality in the SDN club doesn't hurt.. having a high position sucks at times, and I'm just glad I don't have to repeat that experience again. Kudos to Sabrina (DMD) and Co.

Oh yeah, congratulations (and good luck) to Alvin who from now on, will be the Vice-President (Industrial Design section) and therefore a person of great responsibility and self-restraint (hope you know what I'm talking about :p). Please try and attend club meetings... you have to set a better example.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

and here's a nice ass-shot 

here's the 3D version of the culprit for that cut on my finger... 

back view of 2nd chair... 

another view of the previous chair 

another chair which I came up with 

my new chair!!! love them legs... 

Cut finger update

Hmm.

I had planned to get down to Block M and finish off my p-board and in the process tell Mr Kuou (my model-making teacher) that my finger was cut by the hugantic bandsaw and I kena five odd stitches. Intending to move on to Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic after I had done my stuff at Block M, I was severly delayed partially due to my settings for the 3d model's texture being on another computer. All was completed at about 9:30, roughly 15 minutes after my allocated appointment time (which was scheduled to be at 9:15am).

I reached Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic at about 10am, and the place was like a packed pub: there were so many people, some people waiting for their number to be called had to stand up and wait because there were simply too many people. Thank God I only had to redo my bandage, which allowed me to wait for approximately 20 seconds before my number was called.

When my turn came to redo the bandages, I was tended to by a younger nurse, and gosh, was she a rough one. I dunno whether it was some medical tactic to help rid the wound of excess dried blood etc, but she kept cleaning the wound, moving from the point of broken skin and thereby causing me a heck load of pain. Then she proceeded to pull out this scissor-like appendage and she was making to cut my stitches when I pipped up:

Crawldaddy: 'uhh, are you gonna remove the stitches?'

Nurse: 'yeah' with expression on face which read 'DUH'

C: well I thought it was only gonna be removed on wednesday?'

Nurse: 'well, it's supposed to be removed tomorrow, so might as well do it today right?' in a tone which suggested I was an ignorant moron.

C: 'well that's the thing... I'm not availible tomorrow, which is why I scheduled it to be on wednesday afternoon' now my turn to give her that look which read 'wake up darhling, and smell the roses (or antiseptic)'

Nurse: 'oh. Ok, so it's wednesday afternoon huh?'

I remember last week I came to the same room, and I was tended to by an older nurse, and she was simply the nicest nurse i had ever come across... she was gentle, for the love of God.. unlike dear miss 'I'm -gonna-remove-your-stitches-today-because-it's-supposed-to-be-tomorrow-and-you're-here-today'.

And it went downhill from there. I ended up paying 2 bucks for the rebandage and I proceeded on to Peace Centre to get my p-board printed. I met up with Roland and XiWai who were also printing stuff out for their graphics project. When I tried to open up the file, it wouldn't open.

In the end, the original file I saved back in NYP could not be opened no matter how hard I tried, and I had to re-do the entire thing from scratch. In spite of the fact that I had all of the original images required, I still had to re-phrase and re-do my text paragraph. Sheesh.

I wound up going to the guitar shop over at Peace Center and hanging out over there before Roland rang me up and told me my print-out was done. And I had a ball of a time during Jie Hong's lesson.. I re-did some of my chairs and I'll be posting images of them pretty soon!


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It just Keeps Getting Better And Better IV: Guitars!!!

Hmm.

Wow.. just had an awesome afternoon and evening with Gerry and Magdalene (aka Mags) partially down at Father Flanagan's, then Guitar Workshop and finally Molly Malone's. Gosh, what a day.

I had met up with Gerry for some lunch at Father Flanny's and wound up staying until 4:15pm because then Gerry could leave from his contractual obligation to stick around in the pub in case he's ever needed to play a set or two. So we just sat there and chatted the afternoon away and then comes in Gerry's girlfriend Mags and we stuck around until 4:15 before moving on to Guitar Workshop.

I had called up Lawrence who manned Guitar Workshop and we arrived there and let Gerry have a good look at the amplifier and a couple of guitars. Within 20 mintues or so of looking around and podering his decision, he finally bought a brand new Epiphone Les Paul (with a beautiful wine-red finish and guitar hard-case and strap) and a Vox 15-watt amplifier for a grand total of 900 dollars.

My lord, you guys should have seen the estatic look of joy on Gerry's face, which was coupled with Lawrence's look of gratitude towards me when Gerry left the shop. Lawrence was pratically hugging me for bringing him such good business. In the end, Gerry also expressed his gratitude for introducing me to that shop, and coolest part of it all was when Gerry decided to name his brand new guitar in my honour.

What can be cooler than that? I've been talking to Gerry on how I could possibly get a gig from McCraic's boss Colin Macdonald. Gerry had told me several times before that Colin would have very little qualms about me performing in his pubs and so on, but the only thing which stood in the way was Colin's busy schedule, which only enables Gerry the ability to sell the idea when Colin is in a good mood or when he was availible (which is not so very often).

Well Gerry's mentioned that he'd sell the idea of me performing regularly to Colin when he gets back from a business trip or something. I would not expect too much from Gerry or Colin, because the higher the expectation from anything, the greater the disappointment. Apparently, Gerry's pretty psyched about the whole idea because I've already like played close to two-dozen friday-night sets, and it's been getting better and better (or so a couple of people have commented as such to Gerry, and he told me in turn) and although now I've injured my fretting hand, it's still pretty much a 75-80% possibility I'll get the job.

Today was a good day.. I managed to single-handedly (pardon the pun) gain the gratitude and trust of the two people I least expected to receive it from, and that feeling has now put me on top of the world. I can't say anything now except I'm happy for both men, and it feels good to help these guys out whenever possible.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Clutch that matey! XVII

Hmm.

Well I can't remember how many times people have asked me the following questions since I came into NYP with my finger(s) all bandaged up and looking as though I served time in Iraq or something:

'Whoa.. what happened?'
'Did the whole finger come off?'
'Why did you cut your finger?'
'How many stitches?'
'So are you okay?'

and last but not least....

'So does it still hurt?'

Yes, yes... I know these questions came more due to sympathy and concern rather than pure ignorance, but I'd hate to admit that I'm now only getting attention from people around because of my injury. Maybe it makes me look more human than usual, or that I do make mistakes, and I am only mortal.

Whatever the case is, I'm just glad that I have pals around me, a blessing from God, who have been understanding and encouraging (although you have to admit that I did most of the joking) and just simply being there. Wished you guys were like this all the time, but I can't expect such things because I know it's not really possible with your busy schedules and demanding datelines. You know who you are, and well your names are on my tagboard.

Oh yeah... Brother Dearest helped me get two out of three of the final albums required for me to finish off completing my AC/DC album collection! He got me 'Highway To Hell' and 'Stiff Upper Lip' and boy, are these albums rockin'!

I also managed to go down to Cash Converters at AMK and I bought 4 CDs for 20 bucks!!! It's a real steal considering they're all in good condition, and those albums I have been waiting to get for quite a while. I purchased Smashmouth's 'Astrolounge', Savage Garden's stelf-titled debut CD, U2's 'Zooropa' and Bob Dylan's 'MTV Unplugged'.

I have to admit that I was very happy as I walked out of Cash Converters especially after I found one acoustic guitar priced at 99 bucks which was the perfect calibre and price for Alvin's desire to own some cheap steel acoustic guitar. Go for it man... it seems pretty good on it's own, although I couldn't try it out for you.

Anyhow, I have some stuff to complete before Sunday afternoon when I meet up with Gerry (whom I affectionately call Brother Bono due to his psuedo-Bono hairstyle) and head on down to Guitar Workshop to check out the Vox amps.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Time will tell

Hmm.

Well yesterday went pretty good, I talk to Ms Tan, my Graphics lecturer whose model I was making when I cut my hand. She was a little squeamish about my hand ("eeeeeeeeeeee... dun tell me about how it looks like!!!") and rather helpful and understanding, at least now I do not need to hand up a full-scale model, but rather a 3d model picture.

Then now just a few moments before, Ayob called me into the staff room and went into this tirade about how it was my sense of irresposibility which caused my accident (it is true that I skipped a 'lesson' just to do my model, and we're technically not supposed to cut small cross-sectioned items) and it was my fault all the way.

Gee, thanks for letting me feel much better. Especially when Mother Dearest had already canned my brain like yesterday and this morning and saying the EXACT same things on both occasions.

In any case, it's been a real crutch since my left index finger got cut: I can't play guitar for like 2 months? whenever I shower I gotta keep the hand dry, which eventually leads me to have some kind of 'Saturday Night Fever' pose while the other hand is taking up the slack.

One thing though, it's like the first sensation which I felt after my finegr brushed taht machine saw blade was not the feeling of pain, but rather the feeling of dismay because Alvin and I had planned to work on 'Steak & Onions', our 2nd 'studio album'. But thankfully, during term time I had recorded some acoustic and electric tracks, so Alvin and myself can still complete the basic stuff and when my finger recovers we will be able to finish up the guitar solos and tough rhythm guitar.

I remember calling up my supervisor Ita yesterday and explaining the situation:

Crawldaddy: 'hey Ita, (my name) here... I just wanted to check with you whether Don told you about my hand'

Ita: 'yeah, so how's everything? Are you ok? How did it happen?'

C: 'Well I got cut by a machine saw-'

Ita: 'Oh SHIT! That must have hurt alot!'

And the rest is history.


Cheers,

Crawldaddy