The Marauding Tone Zones Of Crawldaddy

Maybe

2007-10-12T10:56:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I'm not sure how I should be saying this
because I've no idea what you think of me
maybe if I do not want to say anything at all
you would turn away and let me be

maybe.

Myspace account now open!

2007-09-27T13:05:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Hey all! I've just opened a myspace account for Ark Analogy, and you can hear our songs there and view our lyrics at the same. Hopefully if you visit, you can hear much more songs, and get informed of our gigs in the future!

http://www.myspace.com/arkanalogyrocks

happy listening, and do add us if you're on myspace too :)

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Lazing on a Sunday afternoon

2007-09-16T17:34:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well, I'm stuck in camp now.. lazing the day away doing my job as a duty storeman... a job, in which you literally have nothing to do especially on Weekends. I've already finished reading the 2 copies of Rolling Stone Magazine, and the one copy of Guitar Player magazine which I bought at Kino yesterday evening. I'm actually re-reading my 1-week old copy of "The Godfather".

I have become a fan of Mario Puzo's writing... to date I have four of his titles in my possession (one loaned out to a bunk-mate of mine). Since "The Godfather" is one of his best-known works... I suppose I have a greater affinity towards that book. Now I have a much more deeper insight towards the value of family and friends, but of course not in the criminal sense.

However, since Friday evening, I've had rather weird dreams... now don't call me gruesome, but the one on Friday night was about my dad choosing to get decapitated due to some terminal disease.. I remember waking up in tears after pleading in my sleep for him to stop, biting my pillow in fear.

Last night's dream was strange but in a strangely pleasant way compared to the previous dream I had... I dreamt that I was driving through Europe, visiting the places I visited in France, Germany and Switzerland, but oddly with a surrogate family. Is this the portents of my future?

In any case, I'm now praying for September to be over with, so as to get back to work with the rest of the band. I'm already writing lyrics for a few more songs which I have yet to put riffs or melody to, but I'm doing something worthwhile. I'm seeing if I can join a band temporarily for the moment until the rest if the guys are able to free up their commitments.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The gig was goooood

2007-09-02T09:33:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

First of, I'd like to say a word of thanks to the folks who came down to have a listen to us: Steph+Nigel, Joe+Kimmy, Colin & Chris, Garry & family, Ted from 30 SCE+friends, Declan from Raven Coy (who sat in front of my amplifier during the 1st set XD), and last but not least, my folks and brother who walked in so abruptly, but not unexpectedly.

This is the set list from last night, I'm sure many people were curious as to which ones were originals (the ones with a *)

Set list for Ben & Jerry's gig
Saturday 1st September 2007

01. Jumpin' Jack Flash
02. Immigrant Song
03. Pocketful of Blues*
04. You Shook Me All Night Long
05. Examination Blues*
06. Rush Hour*
07. Tell Me Again*

(break)

08. 11:05*
09. Whole Lotta Love
10. Communication Breakdown
11. Duel Groove (raggae jam)*
12. Wind & Thunder*
13. Highway To Hell
14. The Healing of Time*
15. I Believe In A Thing Called Love

All in all we had a fabulous time (was slightly nervous in the first couple of songs), although parts of the drum sound (especially the hi-hats) were less than satisfactory, we did enjoy ourselves (I brought my own amplifier for an extra dose of volume and destruction) also I managed to pull off more whole, good solos than bum ones.

I must mention that I took full advantage of my new 20-foot long custom cable to walk around into the audience during a few solos, showing off my chops XD XD XD XD.

We did receive good reviews from the B&J management, and I do hope that those who listened in, while walking by were not too shell-shocked by our kooky concoction of old-school rock and roll, some raggae, jazzy pop and pounding hard rock. Steph did mention something about that despite the lack of applause sometimes, the audience was tapping their foot, which was what I was going for anyway: a good beat.

Till the next time then.. we'll be taking a nice long break until Mervyn has settled down in BMT, Boon to finish off his moon-cake festival work commitments and the band will probably be back in action by the 2nd week of October. I'll definitely be notifying you guys of any more performances here on this blog :)

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The gig is ON!

2007-08-31T23:18:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Hey all, tomorrow is the gig at Ben & Jerry's!!!! Please make your way down to The Cathay and grab your seats, hold on fast because we're going to bring you some fast and furious rock and roll XD

I've already planned a set list, bought myself a new 20-foot cable (so that I can walk into the audience whilst playing a guitar solo, perhaps?) and tweaked my gear to optimum levels. You can say that the efforts to make this gig a smooth one dates back to 2 weeks ago wen we passed our audition, and I'm barring no holds in making sure that we give everybody a solid performance.

Of course the band had been practising, honing our chops, working on the cues and sometimes up to the most precise of notes. All in all, we worked really hard: Mervyn's developed more complex beats, Boon's steadied up his bottom end and I've trained my voice to take on the strain of 6-7 rock song back to back on top of working at my lead playing to make up more interesting solos and phrases.

Anyways, I really hope to see my friends coming down to support us, Ark Analogy... and I pray hard that everything will go smooth-sailing!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Good, The Bad and The Repulsively Ugly

2007-08-25T21:32:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

First the Bad:

It's been 3 weeks in my new camp since I left Tekong, and well everything seemed to go alright until this week. I succeeded in getting annoyed with 5 different people and had shouted at 4 of them. This is one of the few times I have ever lost my temper at a stranger.

This situation kind of reminds me when I was back in Secondary school, where I would encounter individuals whose characters were starting to form, you would have such characters such as:

1. The Wankers - these people had no other role in life other than to be utterly self-indulgent, petty and selfish.

2. The Stoners - people who, well, stone. In this case, the folks who love a good nap on the job.

3. The Jokers - guys who love a laugh, but often at the expense of others regardless of race, language and religion. Such indiscriminate people.

4. The Jesters - similar to the jokers, but rather these guys tend to imagine that everyone is open to tom-foolery, and that it is perfectly fine to disturb others while one is at work or trying to have a bit of a rest.

5. The Retards - guys who seem six bricks shy of an full load. Nothing seems to enter their brains despite one's persistence. They are also prone to outbursts of unnecessary laughter. No apologies here.

6. The Quiet Ones / Good Guys - folks who just prefer to keep their head down and stay out of trouble.

The Repulsively Ugly:

Now, I'm sure you have a better understanding of what sort of company I'm in. I'm rather appalled by the way in which the persons within my department tend to be childish, immature, violent, petulant, petty and irrational persons. I'm not proud of the fact that I'm associated with certain people who are a vicious and uninviting combination of some of the less desirable characters as mentioned above.

I am glad that despite the majority of persons having an attitude problem and the inner urge to disregard higher authority, a select few are thankfully normal, hard-working individuals, with the usual quirks here and there. I had a rant with Steph earlier in the day and I'm just happy to get this off my chest. I pray that things will improve as soon as one of the undesireable individuals ORDs next week (good riddance, asshole) and that no one desires to take his place as Asshole-in-residence.

**********

Finally, the Good:

On a brighter note, I'm glad to announce that my band Ark Analogy will be performing Live at The Cathay outlet of Ben & Jerry's on the 1st of September, Saturday evening, 9pm.

We will be performing for 2 sets of a half-hour per set. Over the past few weeks we've been practising hard honing our songs and writing a few more. In addition to that, I had invited a few of my friends to our jam sessions in order to understand how our music would be accepted (or not) by the other youths of my generation. So far the reactions have been relatively positive, and we have every intention of not letting our supporters down.

Make no mistake that I have been working on my craft as much as possible so much so that I can barely remember a moment of my precious weekends out of camp when I was practising guitar, making improvements to my gear or jamming with my mates.

Therefore, on behalf of the guys, I cordially invite you to join us for an evening of unbridled rock and roll, mixed with a dash of Jazzy Pop and a healthy dose of Blues. If you have any problems finding your way there, you can tag for my number.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

What a waste, but it's the weekend anyway

2007-08-05T10:55:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

How to begin? I suppose I could start with how I used have a limp after a hard day's work from 7am to 5pm back in the day after my O levels, and I was working like a mad dog 5 days a week. Then I suppose I can fast forward to BMT and how we would do all sorts of strenuous exercises.

One fine day it just happened. Whenever I sat down cross-legged on the floor and tried to get up, my leg would have this excruciating pain and stiffness at the knee joint. Needless to say that this was not an easy thng to live with. What's worse is that it didn't stop after 2 or 3 days. I stayed with me for 2 weeks, and only now is it barely noticable.

Due to my injury, I had to go "out of training", that is to say one cannot continue with the normal BMT regimentation until and unless my injury has healed or is not bugging me too much. X-rays have shown no clue as to what is wrong with my leg joint, and a physical examination by the medical officer has denied any tell-tale signs apart from a supposition by the MO that it could be a cartilage area being pinched and torn in my knee.

So now I've been posted to 30 SCE (Singapore Combat Engineers) as a storeman. Ironically my physical condition has not allowed me to be able to carry heavy loads, and I've been excused lower limb for a month until the 3rd of September. The place doesn't look too inviting, but I suppose that it would grow onto me after a while just like the bunks in Tekong.

I wonder what would happen if I had to downgrade, or worse still if they refused to down-grade my PES status. Either way, my wish is to audition for the MDC (Music & Drama Company), in hopes that maybe I can get a place singing or maybe just playing guitar.

Ok, forget all that now.

Had a nice evening with Skinny Pole on Friday night. Despite the fact that I was somewhat ill with a bout of flue (?) and slight fever, I suppose I made a huge blunder taking a bus to Orchard, what with the congestion on a FRIDAY evening... I ended up being half-an-hour late (sorry mada!).

The jam yesterday evening went alright. Steph and her Nigel managed to kip down to watch us jam, with a mistaken impression that we were having a performance :P The good news is that now Ark Analogy has 8 original songs and one more new one (which is pretty reggae-ish) on the way.

If you guys wish to have a listen to us, you're most welcome to contact me on where we jam and the time. We always appreciate an audience no matter what the size or race or gender.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Tommy Emmanuel Live 21st July 2007

2007-07-22T11:13:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I had no idea at the beginning of this week that after booking out from Tekong I would actually be going to watch a live performance by Tommy Emmanuel himself live in the Esplanade Theatres. However, I must say that I did have prior knowledge of the performance, only to forget about it due to the rigors of NS life, which during the week included various physical activities and the almighty rifle range, which proved both boring due to the waiting and exciting due to me having never fired with a rifle before.

So, the performance.

Having bought the tickets last minute through SISTIC, I managed to get to The Esplanade (for future reference I always pronounce the word "esplanade" as "ess-plar-n-aid", rather than the psuedo-highbrow "ess-pler-nard") half an hour before the start of the concert, which commenced at 7;30pm in the evening.

I paid my former colleagues at Maestro Guitars a visit, and accompanied them down to the entrance, before making my way to a seat on the 1st level (that is, one level above the main seating area which is directly in front of the stage). Owing to me entering the place for the first time, I was expecting to be awestruck by the supposed beauty of the place. While the concert hall was indeed beautiful, I have to admit it was of a beauty belonging to a modern age that is trying too hard to capture the spirit of renaissance grandeur.

The stage was sparse, only bedecked with 2 guitars on their stands, a microphone stand, 2 stage monitors and a personal amp and effects unit plus a piano stool for the man himself to use where appropriate. Bathed in a sublime blue light, I was eager to see the man so hyped by my former colleagues at Maestro who somewhat idolised him, and constantly played his songs at work both on the guitar and on the workstation.

Finally after about 5 minutes after settling down in my chair, the lights dimmed and Tommy Emmanuel came onstage to raucious applause. I have to say that watching him come onstage in person, so comfortable and feeling at home, makes me envy such a veteran performer. I myself would always feel somewhat nervous and a little jittery.

Launching into a barrage of country-style licks, he moved from pure passion to pure speed and technical ability and back again. However, at times I felt that Tommy was showing too much flash, too much "here I am, I'm playing guitar at a gazillion beats per minute". Then again, I suppose that that is my mentality as a player to churn out notes at an "as-per-necessary" rate.

Tommy set's consisted of many of his trademark songs, many of which I only know by ear, not by name. However, what truly struck me about his performance was the way he carried himself, how he shifted his posture to and fro as the mood of his music weaved in and out, tapping his foot to the beat. His showmanship was impeccable, and he actually managed to make a mainly Singaporean crowd rise to the occasion and applaude him where his performanced merited it. I particularly applaude him for his innovative use of echo and reverb to add a deep punch to his sound, his percussive tricks and somewhat gimmicky flashy actions.

One can't fault Mr Emmanuel for such stage wizardry because it was never done in excess but rather it did balance out a performance which would have been rather bland if such eye candy wasn't present.

Overall I must say that I was very impressed with his performance and his choice to run over-time from the originally planned timing of 1 hr and 30 mins to a full 2 hrs and 30 mins. he came, he played and he conquered, but unfortunately I was not converted. Say rather that my eyes were opened to a new level of showmanship based on an individual's performance. Being a team player I know many such tricks would devastate a group unless rehearsed religiously, and I am grateful that I am able to catch the man who has captured the imagination of so many.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

4th week then a jam

2007-07-14T23:36:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

How wonderful it is to book out and be able to jam with my band at long last since I enlisted (wow four weeks ago?). The biggest surprise is that Ark Analogy has only shown the slightest sign of rust, since our last performance, which was somewhat marred by a poor venue and frayed nerves.

Today's jam exceedingly well, after all I had given Merv and Boon adequate time to warm up, practise etc. I'm very grateful to them for their commitment and for giving me their time on a weekend to practise songs. Most of the songs went flawlessy from a rhythm point of view, but a large portion of the lead work was somewhat messy due to the acquisition of a brand new pedalboard to replace that travesty of a treasure chest my previous effort in making one myself was.

Sometimes I really have to give it to them because they have not asked for anything in return, and respectfully I have turned to them for advice and direction whenever I'm not sure where to turn to when writing a song. After all, as a band we're only as good as our collective output, and as long as the three of us are content with the output, I'm sure it's good enough for an audience which is not too fussy.

I tend to find it hard to pin down what sort of band we are. After all ,thus far we have covered genres ranging from chill-out pop, to jazzy rhythm, hard rock, blues rock and of course rock and roll. My latest contribution to the band has received the remark from Boon, being it sounding rather close to stuff by The Police. Which is kind of interesting, because I've so much music of various genres stuffed into my Ipod such that I'm soaking things in which may not be completely apparent to me.

Since entering tekong, I've listened to John Mayer, Micheal Buble, The Eagles, and so much more, rather than my rock staples namely AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy. I suppose one my have two opposing views of this situation, namely that I've either 1. matured to a point whereby I can incorporate any form of music into the band, and still make it listenable and enjoyable; or 2. somewhat left behind my true rock roots and chosen to "modernise" my sound.

Truth to tell, I personally feel that it is a little bit of both. I feel that yes, I have matured in a certain fashion musically. However, I have not exactly progressed in terms of technical ability, nor perhaps the ability to write better lyrics. Some of better lyrics still remain with older songs such as "Searchaway, Spring In Christchurch", "Healing of Time". I still hope to be able to write good lyrics without resorting to falling back on pain and hurt.

Anyway, by a long shot I'm satisfied with today's jam because the three of us have managed to create a rough version of our new song, and I hope that I will have the opportunity to continue working with them next week.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

reflection

2007-07-07T12:03:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well this week was kind of strange and different for me. Firstly I had my graduation ceremony at NYP on Wednesday. Booked out early in the morning and managed to reach NYP at 10:15, only to find out that I forgot to bring a tie and the collar piece for my graduation gown.

Truth to tell, Wednesday was a bad day for me despite the fact that I could walk away with my diploma and tell the bad memories to fuck off for the very last time. I just so was tired of being around my ex-coursemates, I honestly could not share in the general joy that we would be receiving a qualification that alleviates us from O level holders to Diploma holders.

I suppose I'm still somewhat bitter about the unfairness over my the grade for the final semester's work. Instead of earning at least a B for my project, I was handed a C+, which in all honesty was a slap in the face by a lecturer who instead gave all the distinctions to the students whom were under his tutelage. I'm not bitter towards the individuals who received the honour and awards, but rather I feel that they too deserve their fair share of moonshine. I applaude their work and their dedication to their craft.

That said, I know it's all water under the bridge and nothing I say nor do can bring up my grade nor add that little bit of merit to my certificate. The best I can do is to soldier on with the task at hand and make the best of my time on Tekong. I suppose returning to Tekong after the forced smiles of graduation, trying my best to impress upon myself that happiness for happiness's sake is the best move, was a relief from the falseness of being courteous to the people who so alienated me and made the final year of my study in NYP so uncomfortable and unbearable.

I'm glad that at long last I can finally be confident that I will never have to sit in the same place with certain individuals whom I know I will ever speak to ever again. I am liberated, unchained from the labour of being politically-correct to those whom I previously had the obligation to help, support and provide knowledge to.

However, I still hold a few persons dear to my heart, as an inspiration and a means which I could remain sane throughout the final year. So here's a big thanks to Jool, Alvin, Jessie, Jace and a few good lecturers whom I could turn to in times of uncertainty especially when dealing with unsavoury characters.

Looking back on the 3 years, I know I have gained an immense amount of knowledge and I do not regret one bit of the sweat, blood and toil with which I have earned my Diploma. Only God knows how much more I deserve for my effort, and I pray that someday my skills and dedication can, in turn, be recognised and appreciated instead of being side-lined and over-looked by individuals who fail to see a bigger picture.

******

It's an odd sense of gaiety that envelopes me whenever I book out, and return to civilisation. Walking off the ferry somehow made my spirits lift up so high. Yet it's also kind of strange that I should feel both a sense of dread and yet a feeling of confidence when I book in because I know that my buddies are right there next to me whenever we go through any troubles or tasks or difficulties.

I thank God for those individuals who have made my time thus far so much less intolerable than I have imagined it would be.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back for a while

2007-06-28T21:47:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Hey all, I'm doing fine in NS, although next week promises top be hell especially due to unco-operative platoon mates from neighbouring Sections -___-.

Well for the uninformed, this is the denominations in the army:

1 Company = 200 people = 4 Platoons

1 Platoon = 50 people = 4 Sections = 12 or 13 guys per section.

For the record, I'm currently in Raven company, Platoon 4, Section 2, bed 5 (in short, BMTC2/R 4205). Still alive and kicking (very!), but please send your regards via SMS or a phone call after 2145 hrs. I'll be bringing in my guitar, Ipod and probably a good book or two to keep myself unbored.

Take care of yourselves then, and pray hard for my welfare and well-being.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The gig as coooool

2007-06-13T10:26:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Ark Analogy played it's first gig yesterday along Orchard road. Despite the shitty sound, we played alright, had a lot of fun, and did something for a good cause (almost). Oh yeah, I'm also wickedly pleased that we played VERY loudly, to the point that no less than 3 stores / outlets complained about being unable to hear their telephone conversations behind closed doors, which I think is utter bullshit.

I would also like to thank Kawai and his gf, Colin, Amanda, John and Joe for dropping by and listening to us perform. Much apologies to Steph and her Nigel for not being able to update you guys on the last-minute change in venue.

Anyway the setlist was as follows:

1st Set:

Jumpin' Jack Flash
You Shook Me All Night Long
Pocketful of Blues* (dedicated this to songwriters who had writers' block)
Immigrant Song
Rush Hour* (dedicated this to super stressed people, esp 3rd yr NYP students)
Tell Me Again*

2nd Set:

Bad Moon Rising
A Horse With No Name
Wonderwall
Hey Jude (dedicated this to guys who had no girlfriends)

3rd Set:

11:05*
Highway To Hell (dedicated this song to fellow tekong-goers)
Blues in G*
Communication Breakdown
Whole Lotta Love
The Healing of Time* (dedicated this song to lovers who were hurting)
I Believe In A Thing Called Love

* = original composition

One more thing, I'll be in Tekong tomorrow for the next 2 weeks (or more), so I'll see you guys once I get back from my desert island.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The GIG is tomorrow!

2007-06-11T13:00:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well my friends, the gig is tomorrow, Tuesday 12th June, 3-5pm.

Coming to you live in front of Takashimaya / Ngee Ann City Plaza, Ark Analogy will be playing 7 covers, 6 originals and 4 acoustic songs. Kindly come down before 3pm so that we can have a pre-gig chat, and perhaps for you to find a nice spot in order to stay out of the heat.

However, if you're REALLY keen / fanatical, you could join us for our pre-gig jam session held at 10am-12noon at Paradiz Centre basement 1, Music Ensemble Studios, the middle room. You can ask either Pauline or Steven where we are, and I'm sure you will soon be able to discern the rock and roll music permeating through the middle room door.

We would also like to extend this invitation to all of your friends who would like to enjoy some lively (and loud!) music, especially since extra support / fan presence would be most welcome and appreciated.

Just in case you're wondering why I'm making such a big deal out of this, FYI I will be entering the army on the 14th of June (yes, it's this Thursday), so this is one last hurrah for us before I shave my head, don the camoflauge overalls and become a slave to the Singapore Armed Forces on that desert island.

So once again, feel free to drop by and give us some love. We're probably going to need it.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Was tired but it was good

2007-06-05T09:49:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Work yesterday was just... *groooaaaannnnsss* tiring. Stock-taking, I tell you is one evil which comes with any sales job. What makes it worse is that I slept at 1am the previous night helping my dad pack his equipment for an exhibition in Thailand. 5+ boxes with some weighing in at an excess of 20kg is no mean feat man.

Then yesterday morning I had to wake up around 7:30, to help my dad do the final loading of the boxes onto the wooden pallet and secure then in place with strong straps and cling-wrap so that the boxes will not shift when being shipped / lorried-about.

At my current level of physical and mental state whereby I need to focus on so many things at many points in one day... 6.5 hours of sleep is just too little. Yeah I know plenty of you guys out there are surviving on much less and I think the human race will probably evolve to a point whereby one just needs to plug their brain into a wall plug and charge for 2.5 hours and they're all ready to go back to work again.

Anyway, before I went to work, I had to kip over to Colin's place to retrieve the Esplanade outlet's keys, before heading home for a quick shower and to get my guitar, pedalcase and stuff. I reached Esplanade 15 min late (sorry Vincent!) and I was in a state of near-exhaustion. Imagine carrying a 3kg load on your back, a 2kg load around your shoulder and a 15kg load on one arm and walking a combined distance of 2km in under 20 minutes. Can die man.

In the end I was working at the excelsior outlet, and the moment I saw the clock hit 7:25, I started to close the store and clicked the lock shut at 7:33 precisely. After walking all the way back to Esplanade to return the keys to Vincent, I trekked to city hall with my gear to get on the MRT ride to Dhoby Ghaut.

I reached the jam studio about 10 minutes late, but the guys came in only 30 seconds later... apparently they had just had their makan, while my stomach growled on with a lack of nourishment (argh).

As we set up our gear, we noticed that the band next door had their bassist's amp practically on 11. I can't understand why some bass players just can't understand the term "volume control". Is your drummer THAT deaf??? Are YOU as a bassist DEAF as well???

Once everyone was ready we kicked start our jam with "Jumpin' Jack Flash", followed by plenty more songs. At 8:50, we had polished off about 7 songs. I called for a break, and when I came out, to my surprise and a lingering sense of dread, I saw Mr Porteous of the Exxit, lounging outside with a fag in his hand. Sitting next to him was Ark Analogy's former bassist, Tobias, and behind was Steph, their drummer. Realising that ignoring them was not the way to go, I decided to say hello.

What was interesting was the fact that it seems like the few members of The Exxit had heard what Ark Analogy was playing inside the studio. Tobias even plucked up the courage to ask me "was that a new original?" I had no idea what song he was referring to,, but I resisted the temptation to say "yeah, that's the 6th original since you disappeared without any notice and since I happily left the Exxit". Considering that they were courteous but silent, that seemed like a good course to undertake.

Upon finding Stan, Liesl and Drea the four of us trooped back into the studio where I promptly introduced everybody to each another. We kicked off the 2nd half with a slightly limping Communication Breakdown but we did rectify it with a 2nd try later in the hour. I guess our guests enjoyed themselves despite the high volumes, but I hoped that they were pleased with an updated rendition of "Healing of Time".

All in all, the jam went pretty well despite Mervyn being slightly sick and Boon being rather tired as well, along with my guitar string breaking mid-song and forcing us to re-do "Pocketful of Blues" with 2 false starts. But the mere presence of my old friends there to listen to us play made me pull out all the stops and I produced some pretty good solos.

On a new note, Ark Analogy will be trying to get a gig along Orchard road on the 12th of June, 3pm onwards. Details coming soon.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

ROARR!!!!

2007-06-01T10:57:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Fantastic. Absolutely smashingly awesome. What am I talking about? Thursday evening's jam session with the guys of course.

At long last, Ark Analogy sounds like a real, breathing, struttin' rock and roll machine. We've been together for abut 6 months and now at long last, after a false start last week in which our morale was pretty low, we've come back with a greater inner fire.

I suppose we had alot of time to warm up and practise during the day due to it being a public holiday. Out of the 11 songs we played we only made no more than a handful of mistakes btween the three of us. I'm sincerely glad that we as a unit are able to bring out our passion for those songs, and to give it a greater sense of depth despite only having 3 instruments (and a vocal) to determine our sound.

Which kind of brings me to an individual who used to play bass with me and Mervyn before we found Boon. Or rather it was only because of this individual that we had to look for a new bassist. How to describe him... he honestly was too busy with his other commitments, namely school, his church duties and of course his co-curricular activities. Now I'm not blaming him for having alot on his plate, but what I'm somewhat annoyed with is the fact that Ark Analogy had to grind to a full stop for close to 3 weeks simply because he refused to contact us.

No amount of sms, emails or msn contacting would seem sufficient to bring him back into the fold. You could almost say that he willingly dropped away from us without a word and without a sound. Before his 'disappearance' he stated that he felt intimidated working with Mervyn and myself, citing that he did not feel confident playing with us (to be honest at that point in time, Mervyn and I were gelling musically like peanut butter to bread) and he felt that he made us as a band sound bad. At that point in time, I refused to believe that an individual his age could have such a low level of pride in himself. However, one must move on.

And so he has. It seems a certain Mr Porteous of The Exxit, whom I had a dispute on this blog many months ago due to my leaving of the Exxit, has decided that he is desperate enough to knock upon the door of my former bassist. Such a small world isn't it? Well I wish these individuals the best of luck. Perhaps they can actually start making real music.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

And so Tekong looms

2007-05-30T14:34:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So officially on the 14th of June, I'll be going away to my resort island, where hopefully I will lose weight, gain a good tan, beef up on my muscles and become the quintessential alpha male alot of people want to become.

Yeah right.

If I don't die along the way I suppose I'll be much tougher than what I have become so far. And I suppose I can't complain that I'm pretty much being trained for my own well-being and getting paid (meagre though it may be, but somewhat better off than previous generations of NS men) at the same time for my "sacrifice", "time", "duty to the nation" and all that shizer ("shit" in german).

Anyway, the more immediate concern I have for myself is whether my fingers will literally freeze up and be unable to play guitar. After all, it was 5 days into my Europe trip when I realised that my hands had pretty much lost their ability to do a proper blues scale, much less a simple finger vibrato.

I just hope that all my hard work and honing of one's guitar techniques and nuances doesn't go to waste.

I know it's probably going to sound gay.. but I'm actually starting to love my Ipod mini. And yes.. I know it's pink. But honestly due to my colour-blindness I had thought it looked kind of purplish :P

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

And so I've bought a pink Ipod mini

2007-05-29T08:41:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

For one thing you guys know that I'm not rich in any way. I don't go on shopping sprees, I don't buy my friends big presents, the things I dispense the most are my incorrigible sense of humour, loud music and rock on attitude.

That said, I'm not much of a "let's-go-and-paint-the-town-red" guy, and I don't have too many friends to boast of.

So why... you must be asking did I decide to purchase a pink Ipod mini? After all, the Ipod mini has been phased out of production since the end of 2005 and the current incarnations of the Ipod family are good-looking, just as user-friendly and now somewhat more reliable.

Well, the reasons are:

1. I've been DYING to get an Ipod since the little things appeared on our shores and entered the deepest parts of our inner conscience which control lust, greed and desire.

2. I paid $150 for the full 4GB package. Is that value or WHAT?

3. The buy I bought it off is an old friend and I suppose I can trust old friends.

4. I'm just tired of carrying around a wallet of CDs... and I realised that it looks kind of retarted to change CDs in mrt.

5. I suppose I can always cover up the pink colour with something.

Yeah. Rocking out to AC/DC on my Ipod mini now, so take it easy and chill ;)

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back!

2007-05-18T10:56:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Ah, so I'm back from Europ already... took me 3 days to get off my arse (even though I'm sitting down) to blog about it. So. About Europe.

Places in order of days:

Paris (Day 1-3) Visited: Lourve, Arc De Triomphe, La Defense, Eiffel Tower, Saint Sulpice, Notre Dame.

Bordeaux (Day 4) Visited: the whole place, really.

Montpellier / Sete (Day 5-6) Visited: the whole of Sete.

La Bastide (Day 7-9) Grand Uncle's place. Loads of vintage guitars (yummy).

Lyon (Day 10) Can't seem to recall at the moment.

Bern / Lucern (Day 11-12) Visited too many places and thingsto recount.

Munster / Frankfurt / Heidelburg(Day 13-14) Visited most of Munster, dropped off brother. Visited most of Frankfurt. Went to "the castle" in Heidelburg. Lots of pretty jap tourist ladies :P

Pics will be coming soon.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Leaving on A Jetplane 2007

2007-04-29T11:10:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So it has arrived at last. The day when I can embark upon my journey to a foreign country and fce any unexpected experiences head-on. Much like what happened whn the family went to Italy last year. I suppose it was both fantastic and bad at the same time. Let's hope we're not any more dysfunctional as we were a year ago.

That said, I'm absolutely psyched about this trip. I'm sure you guy are tired of me saying this, but for once we have a superb camera to record down the images for this trip, and I will be exploiting every feature of this camera to the best that I can.

Apart from that, I've done my research and I know exactly which places I would want to visit in our first destination: Paris.

Paris. Ah, some of you might already be musing to yourselves... the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum etc etc. Well I'm glad that at long last I'm going to visit these places in person, and I promise yoi that I willtake good pictures. You can depend on that.

Well, still have loads to do. Au revoir!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The gig was okay

2007-04-25T13:07:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Last night was the 2nd of three evenings I am playing at Molly Malones Irish Pub since Gerry went away on holiday with Mags. Tonight will be the third and final evening.

Well the first evening (Friday) went pretty well, a friend / ex-colleague of mine popped by with her friends, and I sang "Desperado" for her. I suppose the shriek than came from the corner when I sang the first word was a scream of joy. Nice girl.

So last night. It was okay I guess... the pub was pretty empty for the first set, and by the 2nd set, a bunch of caucasian folks waltzed in and started dancing and singing along, which was great. Their zest for more songs caused me to only break after the 2nd set for only 10 minutes before I had to dive right into the third set.

Boss was very kind to lend me a top-of-the-line Maestro Custom Dreadnaught 1 guitar to use for my gigs both last night and tonight. Speaking of which, I do hope that the pub on Wednesday evenings will be much more populated than last night's meagre below-20 head count. The guitar sounded fantastic, and I arguably sang much better because I felt more comfortable knowing that I was playing essentially the best dreadnaught guitar that Maestro could offer at the point of press.

Was browsing through some blogs, and FrianGraham's post about interracial couples caught my eye. I have to say that it is true that somehow the desirability of chinese guys seems to be deteriorating amongst the less oriental-inclined female demographic. I mean... if they're not exactly orientally-inclined.. they would obviously be leaning more towards non-chinese guys.

It's not to be marvelled at. As the saying goes, "the grass is always greener on the other side". That is until the parents find out that their precious daughter is dating a non-chinese guy and oh wells. My stand on the issue is that love should and ought to transcend race or culture. However I am still somewhat uncomfortable that somehow guys like myself might actually have to look beyond the boundaries of the chinese population when it comes to dating.

Would I make such a move? I have absolutely no idea. I have yet to be over-the-top, physically or mentally attracted to a female of a different race. But I'm not exactly crazy about girls who only speak chinese. And I'm pretty sure none of that mainly-chinese-speaking demographic would be remotely interested in an individual such as myself. Obviously due to my lack of prowess in the chinese language.

That said, I'm confident in my usage of the English tongue. Would that be an attractive feature?

What the heck. I'm entering Tekong in about 52 days, I'm going for a (hopefully) good vacation in France, I'm in a band that's actually making music, I might be in love and I'm going to sing tonight for good money. Life seems to be alright for now.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going to France

2007-04-23T23:01:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Ok, so on the 29th of April, I will be flying off to France for a nice 13 day holiday. Most of the preparations have been done, even to the point where my dream of purchasing a solid, decent camera has been realised. When I mean solid, decent camera... I mean the Nikon DSLR D40. Yah think big, black, chunky, long... hehehe it's pretty much an entry-level professional camera. I even briefly flirted with the salesgirl during the purchase (oops).

Ok ok you guys just chill ok? She was making eyes at me, and I just humoured her slightly. She seemed the think that my reason for purchasing such a high level camera ("just for general usage") was pretty impressive in the way that I was specific about the quality of shots that I desired.

Anyway. The camera is simply fantastic. I took a shot of my brother's face I could zoom in all the way until I could see the hairs on his face. It also has this fantastic macro function which does a very good depth-of-field effect. Will definitely be taking very good quality shots of the France trip :)

Tomorrow is the 2nd of 3 gigs at Molly Malones. Kindly drop by if you have nothing better to do or if you wish to hear some old fashioned tunes sung by a semi-professional singer/guitarist. First evening was very cool.

Having hot dates on Thursday and Friday evenings. Can't say anymore except that Thursday's date is with an ex-coursemate and Friday is with an ex-colleague. Will not reveal anymore except that I feel good and I'm going with the flow XD

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

RANT!!!

2007-04-18T23:03:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

*Disclaimer* At the point of posting, the blogger was in a relatively foul mood due to the presence of 3 ulcers in the user's body: one on the lip, one on the gums and one at the back of the throat. The blogger was also very harassed by his mother and father due to an undisclosed issue, one that involves alot of planning and talking to higher educational authority. All in all, blogger just feels very sensitive and in a need for a very big defecation session.

I was just browsing through my friendster account, and I could not help but notice how someone posted multiple postings on the board with titles like "I'm 80% male, 20% female!!!", or "I'm mature now!!!". Begging your pardon, but seriously, if you're so conscious of your damn sexuality just go and be with whoever you go out with and stay straight. And about maturity? If you were so damn mature you wouldn't even be posting such fucking horseshit on the friendster board in the first place. Grow up, yeah?

And now one of my former bandmates has joined the company I'm working for. You know, as a keyboardist he was fine, but the shit had already started when the bugger masqueraded himself initially as a drummer (cannot keep the beat to save his skin), then as a bass player, but the worst part was that during that whole tenure of him being in a band with me, he kept asking me to refer potential keyboard or bass students to him.

I mean, seriously, fuck you. Out of the few times we jammed together he was always late and not even remotely ashamed of his lack of consideration. Then he wants me to refer people I might have a history with to let him teach them an instrument? Kiss my blues, rock and roll, country, oldies pop-influenced ass. I walked into the store today when he was on duty, he was still the same old bugger. Just as greasy, shady and dodgy as the day I met him. God, the thought of his face just makes me shudder.

So today I gave my first lesson to a new student. Lesson went very well due ot the student already having some experience with the guitar, there was literally no blank stares like "uhh, could you explain that one more time?", which is arguably what students should be asking but anyway she was a very nice person (older by at least 5 years and caucasian so not remotely interested) and a very willing and energetic student. For once my lesson 1 materials became obsolete within the first 15 minutes.

Also gave Colin the tip-off for a job interview... Boss seems to be ok with him, but no confirmation yet. Didn't even eat lunch before the lesson and only reached home at about 4pm, so had very late lunch. Considered it to be "teanch" (tea+lunch) which did'nt seem to go down quickly enough due to irritating presence of the 3 ulcers.

*stalks off to take a shit and a shower*

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Guitar teacher, moi?

2007-04-11T00:20:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

You know just 2 months ago I only dreamed of being a guitar teacher, and when I joined Maestro guitars my dream was answered in more ways than one.

My first student was thankfully a fast learner... however due to her studying commitments, she had to fly off within 11 days of the 1st lesson, and that was kinda funny because she did all 4 lessons in 2 weeks.

Anyway, after that student had finished her lessons, I was soon assigned to teach 4 little indian expatriate girls. Now, if you think any girl below the age of 14 is a handful, imagine someone like myself trying to handle all four at one shot.

I mean.. me.. cynical, short-tempered, grouchy, prone to outbursts of annoyance. All of the sudden I have to tame myself and tame my students as well. It has not been easy, particularly since they keep jostling for attention amongst themselves and trying to make me pay attention to each individual, individually rather than collectively. However, I guess it's only fair / divine intervention that each week one girl would be missing, so I only need to tackle 3 girls at any one session.

The good news is that they understand english very well. And the accent is very much kept under control.. if not I'll be speaking in an Indian accent even if I didn't want too. For those who have heard me mimicking the accent, yeah it's funny.. but I'll be damned if I was stuck having to speak that way. No offense to the Indians however, because I honestly find it hard to take folk who have a thick accent (regardless of race or origin) seriously.

Anyway, my 3rd set of students is a pair of guys who are wayyy older than me. Put it this way, they're even older than what people have often mistook me to be. So they're taking electric guitar lessons from me... One guy has been MIA for 2 weeks now, and the other guy... is willing to learn, but just can't seem to stop bashing the damn strings. I keep emphasising "finesse", "dynamics", but I guess all he wants to do is just wank away indescriminately.

My 4th set of students just had their first session with me today, which went surprisingly well despite the fact that it's a mother-and-daughter combo. No, don't get any funny ideas, both female specimen aroused nothing but a sense of professionalism on my part to try and impart as much knowledge as I can within the first few lessons and take it from there.

So I do hope that my lessons can continue as smoothly as possible, and for my gig on the 24th and 25th to both be successes.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

eleven-oh-five

2007-04-02T09:46:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Hi, new song just arrived. Titled "11:05", I wrote it as kind of like a kick-back to the days when I used to get up and play some guitar after my shift was done, usually at 11:05pm on friday evenings.

It's not perfect, but I think it's rawness has an edge. Kinda. Hope you like it.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Ark Analogy!!!

2007-03-28T14:51:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Allow me to introduce my new band, named Ark Analogy. You must be wondering why the naming of my trio has taken so long. Well one of the reasons is that we were focussing more on the music of the band, rather than the image or even the name. Music is our priority here, anyway.

So, why "Ark Analogy"?

I'm sure all of us have heard or have read about the ancient tale of Noah's Ark. Long and short of it is that God came in a dream to a man named Noah, and God told Noah to build a huge vessel to contain a male and female specimen of every living creature on earth. Noah was supposed to bring his family aboard, and the moment he shut the boat, God caused the heavens to rain so much that the whole world was flooded and everybody except those onboard the Ark perished.

So why the "Ark Analogy" then? Well the whole idea of the term "Ark" is that we want to be the vehicle of musical expression that literally floats above the dead scum that we to disassociate ourselves with. Do note, it's a disassociation, not a dissing of the music that we do not enjoy. Our primary musical direction is old-school rock and roll. Simple, short and sweet with the good ol' guitar solo thrown in for good measure. And the word "Analogy" speaks for itself regarding why the band is named as such. Confused?

Who are in "Ark Analogy"? We have 3 musicians in, including Mervyn (Drums / percussion), Boon (Bass), and myself on guitar and vocals. We hope to have gigs soon, and any notification will be via this blog and msn.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Workworkworkworkwork

2007-03-22T22:19:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Huff... working tomorrow, mainly by myself at Maestro @ Esplanade. I hope nothing goes out of place, though. Actually, today marked the end of a 4-lesson beginners' course in which I actually taught someone how to play guitar.

I hope I did a relatively good job... but frankly my student was blissfully acceptive of the knowledge which I chose to impart. Also I have to say that she has the potential to go far in the field of playing guitar. In fact she improved so quickly I personally felt that she could be what I am currently (given the right amount of effort and passion into playing) in slightly under 7 years.

However, work matters seem to be taking a turn for the good. I've got a model-making job for an MNC that promises to have good pay *big grin*. Apart from that, my attachment company DX also got back to me regarding some part-time work. So that pretty much means on top of the model-making job, part-time work at DX and working and teaching at Maestro I'll be completely tied down until the holiday at the end of April.

Oh yeah, had a makan-cum-chill-out just now with skinny pole. I had a great time... something which is rare nowadays considering it didn't involve a pint of ale, which goes to show that a boy's night on the town isn't the only thing which is fun. Don't worry, I promise I'll find my bearings, and I apologise once again for making us walk all over bugis.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

It was ooookkkkaaaaaayyy lah

2007-03-17T20:20:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well the Tan Kah Kee presentation for my bicycle stand went rather blandly today. General reception was initially rather warm, but it soon turned lukewarm once I had finished explaining how it worked and what the dimensions and materials it was made out of.

I suppose since the panel of judges comprised mainly of middle-aged engineering folk who probably have little sympathy for a little thing called a 'design concept", the whole hope of my concept actually even making it past them is a slim as George Bush ever getting a third term in office even if the United States Constitution allowed it.

Anyway. Before all of that happened, I had went out on Friday evening to Molly's for an evening of song, drink and cameraderie with my drummer, Mervyn and of course the inimitable Gerry Cox.

In short, I had alot of fun, drank my beer and sang my head off both during Gerry's set and when I had the chance to get onstage myself. I'm glad I kind of got high before the "big day", but heck.. I designed that bicycle stand at THIS same time of the year, LAST YEAR. If you can imagine how jaded I am with this concept... it's like how countless of americans are pissed off with Simon Cowell.

But I'll keep my fingers crossed, just in case :P

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Trio Is Complete

2007-03-14T00:21:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

After months of hanging around and looking for people, with a couple of false starts and disappointments.. the trio is finally complete. Well at least it looks promisingly intact.

Today's jam went rather smoothly.. despite the rain which delayed our bassist and threatened to soak my guitar and pedalboard, Mervyn and myself managed to scrape off the rust of our musical skills and managed to warm up before the mystery man arrived. His name is Boon.

We jammed a couple of songs.. including one which I had completely forgotten about:

1. Highway To Hell (a nut or too loose but still having a solid foundation)
2. You Shook Me All Night Long (my bad on the solo squeals)
3. I Believe In A Thing Called Love (yes, ladies and gentlemen.. with the assistance from Boon for lead vocal during the chorus)
4. Communication Breakdown (he managed to nail the chorus bassline!!!)
5. Whole Lotta Love (still needs a little tweak here and there but most of the pieces are definitely in place)

I hope we can take things slowly... and build up our repertoire as time passes by :) Please pray for me that this line-up will be stable and we can have a good time jamming and hopefully performing together in future.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

And it's all over now.

2007-03-11T22:36:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Sorry not in a fantistically blogger mode right now. Shall give you all a low-down on the happenings recently.

1. Fusion show is over, my face appeared in the 10/03/07 Straits times Life Section due to a featuring of NYP's ID graduating batch showcases :D
2. as a result of the fusion show I do believe I lost 2kg.
3. Of the 100 namecards I printed out, only 11 are left (might be less now).
4. Started work at Maestro Guitars at Esplanade (in front of Haegen Daz).
5. Work today was good :) managed to sell 3 guitars plus a few miscellaneous items.

Tomorrow would herald the start of my recording of my original materials.. hopefully I would not be interrupted by the old folks XD

Tuesday evening ushers in the audition of a new bassist. I pray that it would go smoothly and fruitfully.

Wednesday is the trial presentation for the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor's Award interview. My bicycle stand (which was also featured in the newspaper article) managed to enter the 2nd round of entries. Praying hard for progress.

Anything else I'll update you guys lah. LOL.

Cheers,

Errik

Helpless, helpless, helpless

2007-03-03T00:32:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Oh my.. stoned out of my mind with my bicycle model. Must be all the dust getting into my head through sanding my model. I've never felt so helpless and deflated. Perhaps yes I have felt so deflated but not through a static object that is not even complete!

I hope I'll manage to finish up my model in time. I hope. let's hope Eddy Murphy will uplift my spirits =D

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Vindicated

2007-02-22T20:04:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Anguish is the tone of the week. I may have had my laughs as well but honestly this week was just fucking boring. No doubt there have been red packets and loads of cash (won't say how much :P), but I've got so much work left to do.

It's mind boggling.

Ah wells. Anyway, finally I have completed the building up of my pedal board. Previously I had to unplug all of my pedals after playing guitar, and that was because if I leave my pedals plugged in, the batteries inside of them would die out quickly.

Since I have already bought a power supply adaptor for my pedals, and the missing link was a power adaptor convertor for my EHX Double Muff, today was the first time I could walk away from my set-up without having to bend down to unplug any cables. Which is nice and very convenient.

At the most turn of the mains power so that the adaptor won't heat up.

Life will be back to normal, I hope.. once the weekend is over. Until then, I need to rest my mind and pray hard that i will have the strength the complete my Bicycle appearance model.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Whee!

2007-02-06T21:05:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Final presentation is over! A sigh of relief, but not too soon I hope. there's Fusion and the confidential Industrial project to be embarked upon.

But I'm just feeling glad. Many weeks of hard work and I feel satisfied no matter what the lecturers said. Then again, it's not like they shot down my project and I'm being blindly proud of my work.

I'm also looking forward to the jam on Sunday, hopefully we can iron out the songs which we have been doing, and maybe iron out the original as well. At least now I know that i would not need to have a dilemma when it comes to which guitar I should bring to the jam sessions.. the choice would be the lighter and less hefty guitar.

Oh wells. I'm off to slack then.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Head, mind and brain again

2007-02-04T20:53:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well I'm about to start on my final p-board. I have to hand the 4 images on top of my presentation tomorrow, so why the heck am I still blogging???

I guess I just need that little bit more stress for me to function. Yes, I can feel it coming already. It's kind of like when you need to use the loo, but you just hang on outside doing your other tasks, before the urge is so great you cannot risk prolonging it anymore. Pardon the crude expression, but I guess that's the way I function.

Like clenched-up bowels, you mean? Nah.. I just thrive on stress I suppose.

Back to work, then... to-do list:

1. Finish 4th P-board
2. Finish ppt file (should be quite fast, this one)
3. Finish mock-up (not easy, but do-able)

Perhaps I'll be able to start on the ppt file by tonight. Yeah, here goes nothing...

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Just a little bit

2007-01-31T20:50:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Just a little bit more.

A couple more renders and maybe a few more complementary sketches.

Overcome the fever and sore throat perhaps.

Buy or probably make the components and finish off the mechanism model.

Difficult? Incapable? I think not.

It's just one week left anyway, and time is running out too soon.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Hello there, final-week-before-final-presentation!

2007-01-28T10:53:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Next week, confirm I would have to either hang this around my neck or simply stick it to my forehead.

Oh yeah.. bring it on babes...

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Noobs (part 2) and illness

2007-01-28T10:33:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well I'm going to be real brief about NYP Open House Day 2... in essence there were fewer (if not none at all) dumb question, and far more sensible and intelligent ones. I guess the people who walk about in uniforms really need to start looking at their graduating seniors who are far more serious about their future.

On the other hand, Friday was an incredibly busy and tiring day. On top of guiding the noobs and poly-student-wannabes, I had to do more rendering tweaks for my bicycle (OMG.. being colour-blind is such a drag now), help my classmates with their 3D modelling (sigh.. not that I wanna be BHB but being somewhat of a Rhino software expert sure has its pitfalls), and to top it off, I fell ill towards to afternoon.

Saturday arrived in a haze of wooziness, I called in sick for work, and my boss gave me the weekend off (thank God, and well... my boss). I spent most of the day shivering due to a fever and a cough. However, oddly enough I was still functioning at 90% when it came to playing guitar. Singing-wise it goes without saying that my voice suffered immensely.

Well at least today I feel somewhat better - I'm in the runny-nose stage of a cold, which hopefully heralds the ending of my illness. I've got a jam session in the afternoon and my brother has taken my EZ link card!!! He has yet to reply my sms regarding when he will come back (he's involved in a sport called lawn bowls, which equates to an activity that somehow appeals to the older generation due to a lack of need for dramatic physical action) and hence return my EZ link card.

I spend $45 on that card due to MRT concession every month leh. It's not cheap and it certainly isn't amusing when your sms goes unanswered.

Anyways.

To all the graduating batch of NYP IDC P5 and P6 students both in school and on attachment, as your peer, I wish you all the best in the final stages of our semester / attachment period and may God bless us all with grace and perserverence. May we not falter as the finish line approaches.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Noobs (part 1)

2007-01-25T22:20:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Righty-oh. Today involved a long render of my bicycle in flamingo (clocked in about 3-4 hours total time), and a major feature of the late morning-to-late afternoon was the Open House guidance tours.

Yes, you read that right. NYP is currently having its Open House for future Poly Grad-wannabes. Or you can also say cannot-make-it- / refuse-to-go-to-JC-hence-therefore-go-poly wannabes. Short form is noobs.

They love to ask questions, don't they? Yeah I don't mind giving answers on topics like how come 3rd year students look so stressed, or why the 2nd year students seem even more stressed.

What peeved me off was the best question I've heard since the last time a huge bunch of kids from the secondary schools visited NYP.

"Where is Tammy ar?"

Wah lau, do I look like the kind of guy who has friends, who sends their friends videos of a teenage girl getting it on with her boyfriend? Has that issue not been forgotten yet? Has your "little brother" been frozen in that state of boneness since you excitedly watched that few minutes of teenage lust?

My answer: "In your dreams"

I actually forgot to add "wanker!".

Seriously lah. When you come to an institution of tertiary education, kindly do not ask the guides such questions. It is only reflective of how quickly your little fella spasms into fullness at the sight of a half-ball. Pardon my french.

But on hindsight, I'll admit that I was, on the whole, kinda "fierce" to that group of students (as Jessie pointed it out to me rather gingerly) and I asked for no quarter. My perspective is that if you ask half-assed questions be prepared for an ass-busting answer.

By the time I was done with 5 rounds of students, I gave up and went back to doing my own work while my classmates and Alvin plodded on with batch after batch of impatient kids. However I must say that I have made plenty of headway for my bicycle and all that remains is colour choice and final renderings for the presentation boards.

I can't imagine what tomorrow will bring. Open house is 3 days, remember?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

who's that girl?

2007-01-24T22:06:00.001+08:00

Hmm.

Didn't I catch your eye the other day,
Or was it just simply meant to slip away?
The slight smile that was on your face,
which disappeared without a trace.

Would I ever dare to ask you something,
a question that always has been lingering.
Would now be the right time my dear,
because time is not on my side, I fear.

Will there be a time for the need of hope,
hoping you would see my point of view.
would this weight be too heavy to cope,
since the strings of my heart are few.

Maybe it was just another passing glance,
not the beginnings of some simple chance.
For now I have no such plans for myself
since my feelings are left up on the shelf.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Money!

2007-01-22T20:12:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I need cash folks... hopefully once I regain possession of my atm card (cannot give specifics as to why I don't have it now), I'll feel less constrained.

Jam on Sunday wasn't the best.. Tobias was ill and his sms to me apparently didn't get through so I kind of spent the whole hour jamming with Mervyn and we decided to call it a day after one hour and 4 failed phone calls to Tobias's handphone.

Even weirder is that I scheduled to purchase a pedalbag off a guy today but I somehow could not get through to his handphone. A phone call from him an hour after the scheduled meeting time revealed that we were both waiting for each other (I had no idea how he dressed like) and that his phone had crapped out on him and he had only realised it just before he called me.

Sheesh.

Could it be a *curse* with the Dhoby Ghaut area? Or is it just my phone? I realised that the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station has very poor mobile phone reception. I had to seriously wander about the station to try and find that particular 'sweet spot' just to make a phone call... only to be rejected -____-.

Oh wells, hope the deal goes through tomorrow (meeting up with the same guy only now at City Hall MRT.. which has much better mobile phone reception) and I'll pray that Tobias gets well soon.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Jam was gooood

2007-01-14T20:20:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Today marks a turning point for me. I've shed of the skin of my old band, and started afresh to a healthy start.

I met the drummer slightly earlier and we jammed in the studio before our bassist rolled along. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the drummer basically nailed all of the 3 intended jamming songs plus one more which I had not planned in advance to jam, but had asked him casually if he knew how to play it (and he said yes).

So bassist came in and we nailed 2 out of 4 of the songs... bassist had some trouble learning the bassline of the song because apparently his stereo system had a very low bass output and he could not hear the bottom end properly. However, me did managed to play each song well, and only one song was left 90% done right.

Overall a very satisfying jam session, will be jamming again next week.

Any band name suggestions? This invitation does not extend to fools who tag indiscriminately.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Aww, how sad

2007-01-11T21:58:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Dear Poo Head,

how sad that a working relationship that spanned no more than a year should come to a close in such a manner. I don't feel sore about the way you tagged my board. Do you feel sore that I chose to leave your band and start anew?

Allow me start from the beginning for the benefit for anyone who might be reading this.

When I first joined your band, I had already played in several bands which didn't last long due to the individual members' inability to set aside their time for a jam once a week. So when Fabian put up an advert on the forums looking for a singer, I chose to take my chances.

However, prior to auditioning for you guys, one of my old jamming pals who had apparently jammed with you before warned me about you in particular. He told me that you had an ego issue and you were somewhat selfish. Choosing to believe the best in people in general, I decided to see what you were like in person before passing any judgement.

The audition seemed to go well. Which brings me to one point in your tag on my tagboard: that my vocals do not suit rock music. By what definition is a vocal "good for rock music"? Or is that statement just an attempt to save your ego? You told me that you guys auditioned 15 people before me and yet in the end I was the one whom you chose as a band. I would no lying about this would I?

So tell me since The Exxit is a rock band, if my vocals didn't suit the band's style why did you choose me in the first place? I do recall one of your ex-girlfriends telling me that you told her that I was one of the best vocalists you came across. I therefore believe your tagboard statement is purely out of spite. And you should know better.

Along the way, I got to know everyone better, and I even met your girlfriend who I believe is a very nice girl. To be honest, you never treated her well, you abused her trust and devotion and in the end you broke up with her over a whim. Did you even bother when she cried her heart out? No, you were so isolated in your own world that you were immune to everyone else's sickened disbelief that such a thing could arise.

Next, the issue of Covers versus Originals. Granted, you wrote some nice riffs, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you are running dry after only 4 songs? You barely had the drive to write new songs, and for some weird reason or another your idea of a 'good song' was to make it as complicated and with as many guitar and keyboard solos as possible.

You seem to cite Dream Theatre as an influence on the forums. Let me tell you something, if you do not have the technical ability to play in such progressive structures, kindly do not have the belief that shifting and modifying a song's structure once every week would improve a band's productivity, much less your ability to play guitar. Oh and you're telling me that a band won't get anywhere by doing covers?

Contrary to your belief, there are countless top 40s bands out there making the rounds on the singapore pub and bar circuit and making big cash along the way.. and oh well, what songs do they play? COVERS. During the audition, we did only 2 covers before you handed me a set of horrendously-written lyrics to your original song, which I had to modify in such a way that the lyrics could be set to it in a listener-friendly manner.

In the many months I was in the Exxit doing YOUR originals, ever wondered why it was such a breath of fresh air for the rest of the band when I decided to contribute one of my best-written songs? I wonder if you even paid attention to the approach with which I presented the song to the band. In case you were too intoxicated with cigarette smoke at that point in time, here's how I did it:

1. I presented the band with a complete song structure complete with chords and lyrics.
2. I played the entire song out to let everyone have a listen (and guess what you decided to go out and have a smoking break during my demo)
3. I asked everyone for their opinion as to what can be improved and if they wished for anything to be added or removed with regards to the song structure and lyrics.

I don't know how you viewed my song and I even gave you the chance to do the solo, but you were unable to decipher out a way to do the solo, much less learn the solo the way I did it. It only goes to show how willing you are to learn another person's song and that your ego only deflated when it was embraced by everyone else. Gosh, until the very last day when we jammed in that studio you could not even play the chords correctly.

And you have to admit that I tried my best to learn your compositions. But what for? I was only supposed to be a singer.

During the asianbeats, we somewhat breezed through the 1st round but when it came to the 2nd round, your idealogy regarding originals reared its ugly head once more. Choosing to vote between a complex song and a straight-forward rocker you and Anup voted for Six Shooter while me and the rest voted for Midnight Rock Show.

Needless to say the 2nd round was a disaster. To be honest, who the fuck plays 2 consecutive rounds in a competition with both songs having extended guitar and drum solos??? I was tired of the fact that you overrode a band majority vote for a crap song structure. And why was that? Because of your fucking ego.

On to another topic. Band etiquette. Face it. You play too fucking loud. In case you're suffering from a listening disorder, your worst crime is pluging into an amp before standing right in front of the amp which I had plugged into. How in the world would I be able to hear myself? Not to mention that your amp would be right in my face and I'd have to struggle to hear my guitar.

Even worse is when you call for a jam and we have no new covers to do and all we keep doing is going around in circles playing YOUR songs YOUR way and yet you have the cheek to proclaim that the band has no official leader? That's some serious cocked-up thinking.

And on a final note, if I'm not a good rock vocalist, allow me to say that I believe I sing better with songs that do not require me to strain my vocal cords. And who are you to judge my singing ability when:

1. you can't sing
2. you're song-writing is mediocre and confusing at best (even your dad said so)

So the next time you choose to find a member of your band, maybe you should find someone who is not as capable as you are so as to bolster your fledging ego and your need to assert your presence. So good luck to anyone who chooses to stick around with you.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: in the event you intend to audition for a band, kindly do your homework and know if their former guitar player was one of the most phenomenal guitarists in Singapore. They did leave a lasting impression during the asian beats for a very good reason after all.

Bands and bands.

2007-01-08T21:16:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I'm starting up a new band, and hopefully it's going to be more "happening" than my current outfit, which is still on a hiatus due to our bassist being in Indonesia. It seems that we're not exactly doing covers as I hoped we could be, and that's certainly disapointing because we're kind of dead-locked in our cycle of recording and re-recording our songs without moving forward.

This new band's direction I guess would be to have loads of covers, preferably AC/DC and Led Zeppelin and maybe some ZZ Top and Cream / Eric Clapton stuff thrown in for good measure. I'll also probably steer clear of any Deep Purple because I'm frankly tired of that group's stuff.

It promises to be an exciting affair because I'm teaming up with two of my old jamming buddies and they're not too bad in their respective instruments (Bass and Drums). I chose to stick to a 'Power Trio' format because:

1. less people to contact when confirming a jam date and time.
2. less people to worry about in terms of availability.
3. not too little nor too many opinions when it comes to choosing songs and exchanging ideas.
4. in jam bands, there's usually only 1 guitar because in the event that both guitarist's styles are too similar, it could lead to both players' solos sounding the same.
5. Jam studio prices are usually in denominations of 3, and although it would be more costly per person...
6. fewer people = simpler instrumentation = less learning time.
7. I guess a smaller group means stronger inter-personal relationships? More friendship to go around? That's just a thought.

In any case, I'm looking forward to the jam and I hope everything works out fine.

Oh yes, I'm also having another performance at East Coast Marine Cove on Saturday evening.. timing should be about 7pm onwards.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Some pictures for the forums

2007-01-02T14:35:00.000+08:00

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

So it's here at last

2007-01-01T22:30:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well. 2007. Here at last.

Am I happy about it? I dunno... it's the year I'm entering NS and finishing up my Diploma course. Hopefully it's also the year in which I can accomplish the following:

1. Gain better personal fitness.
2. Finish recording all of the songs Alvin and myself had intended to do since 2005.
3. Get my diploma with top honours. At least that's what I hope I can achieve.
4. Sell off any useless guitar gear lying around the house doing nothing.
5. Get a new part-time job. Hopefully something that involves music.

People are such fascinating individuals. Last night I met so many wonderful people during the NYE countdown party at East Coast Marine Cove. I had plenty of fun and the people who were involved with the organisation and execution were fantastic as well. It was pretty much one of the best parties I've had in a while.

So what are your resolutions?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

YMCA dinner

2006-12-30T00:10:00.001+08:00

Hmm.

Just came back from an End-Of-Year dinner at Excelsior hotel.. it was alright and the MC and the games and jokes were incredibly funny. Was pretty full though.

Looking forward to a performance by The Oslo Castaways at Marine Cove tomorrow evening at around 7pm. I will be performing myself on New Year's Eve around 9pm.

If you wish to have a listen, just PM me on the exact location.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Head, mind and brain

2006-12-28T22:00:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I woke up this morning with a definite task in mind to accomplish: clean up and re-string my Fender Telecaster which has been in need of a long-overdue maintenance spree.

So this is what I did:

1. Polished the frets, tuning knobs and stamp-steel bridge assembly including the saddles.
2. Lemon-oiled and scrubbed the fretboard to a nice dark lustre.
3. Buffed away any scratches or scuffs in the finish.
4. Polished the finish as a whole.

After I had completed the job, I was completely satisfied, particularly in the areas which I had polished the metal portions to an incredible shine. However, there was a spot of trouble with the bridge pickup; apparently when I had removed some bits of foam, I had disturbed the pickup, and it was not supposed to touch the brass plate beneath.

Being the curious individual that I am, I sourced the root of the problem and solved it by folding a cardboard namecard and slotted it underneath the pickup. Then it was back to business: the full-blown telecaster twang!

Right.

Just in case I didn't fill you guys in, I went to KL on Sunday morning and came back on Tuesday evening. Sunday evening I had this incredibly huge dinner, after which I effectively lost control of my digestive system, crapped out several times and culminated in a 10-min merlion session.

Only thing was that the merlion effect involved somewhat solid particles.

I spent the whole of Monday delirious with fever and nausea, and I spent the most of Tuesday feeling somewhat better after visiting a local clinic at about 11:30 on Monday evening and receiving some medicine to relieve myself of the nausea and dizzyness.

I tell you one thing: my 2nd uncle's home in KL is seriously one heck of a horrible place to be even if you're not sick. Here's why:

1. It is the living area of 8 adults and 2 small children under the age of 4. My granddad, my 2nd uncle and aunt, and my 3 cousins. Add that figure to my folks, my brother and myself, my 1st aunt and uncle, my 2nd cousin and his wife and you have 16 people.

2. Now, 16 people co-existing within the same house means one thing: noise. And lots of it.

So while I was delirious with fever and trying to get some sleep, I was severely distracted by the noise of all 15 individuals making some kind of noise at the same time. There was the baby screaming, my nephew crying and the older folks chatting, scolding or pacifying the kids and basically making a whole lotta fucking noise.

I couldn't stand it. Half the time I was wishing I would just die there lying with my churning innards and my brain making weird dreams as I lay there hugging the pillow and hoping the noise would go away.

Somehow or another I had pretty much slept almost 30 hours by the time Tuesday rolled along, but I guess it was making up for the lack of sleep I had on Monday evening due to a bad feeling in the gut. Only after the merlion session did I feel any better.

So now I'm still feeling the after-effects of my trip to Malaysia. It seems that 1 out of 5 times I go back north I would return with some sort of ailment. It sucks big time but that's the reality of not existing with a cast-iron stomach and a mental capacity to withstand the noise of 12 people all making some kind of noise at the same time.

I seriously wanted to tell them to shut the fuck up.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Ho Ho Ho

2006-12-25T00:02:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Merry Christmas to y'all and wishing all your dreams come true.

Keep smiling always.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Definitely in the wrong section

2006-12-19T20:23:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

People ask me how my project is coming along... and I guess it's coming along fine. I just finalised the brief with Mr Sannie and he's pretty happy with what I came up with: general, not too specific, but still giving a generous amount of direction and creative freedom.

I spent a fair amount of money today... early Christmas present for myself.

Spoke to Superdel earlier in the day, and I explained to her how an electric guitarist functions in a band. Essentially, the guitarist plays about with his tone, his guitar sound and he uses guitar effects to make this possible.

As for me (begging your pardon if you're not sure about the technical jargons) I plug my guitar into my wah pedal, followed by a booster pedal, an Overdrive, a Chorus an EQ pedal followed by an A/B switch pedal.

The pedal in perspective which I purchased today is the booster pedal, which incidentally costs $72 after Yamaha's festive discount. I had sold off an old pedal of mine for $90 because it wasn't serving my needs in the way in which I needed it to, so I got rid of it, and got this one instead.

So far, I'm very happy with it. I can get really crazy sounds out of it.

Now to my misery.

I just can't stand being in the same area of the studio with Barney. I mean.. her voice, every word she utters sounds like a 7-year-old child whining. GROW UP, and for your own sake, STOP TALKING AS THOUGH YOU'RE ON TELEVISION AND YOU'RE EMBARASSED. IT'S ALL AN ACT AND WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE JUST ACTING CUTE.

How old are you? Do you even take this course seriously? I told myself I would never ever mention you on this blog, but this is way beyond human tolerance. And I have to resort to turning up my music just so I can shut out your finger-nails-on-chalk-board kind of voice.

SHEESH.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back by popular demand

2006-12-17T22:39:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So what has Crawldaddy been up to in terms of recording his original material?

I do recall many of you telling me how much you enjoyed 'Healing of Time', and I personally felt it was a song that was hard to beat.

So after many late-night sessions trying to come up with a decent enough song to take over it, I've decided that this is one song that is seriously hard to beat. Therefore, I have decided to re-record 'Healing of Time', and here it is on this blog in all it's lovey-dovey, mushy glory.

I have added a shaker track and an additional rhythm guitar track to make the song sound much more fuller than its previous incarnate.

So folks and fellow bloggers... enjoy

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Bent out of shape again

2006-12-16T22:56:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Gig: boring

Mood: Indifferent

Monetary status: stunted

Hands: tired

Throat: ulcer-infected

Verdict: It was a very long, drawn out, mother-screaming-at-you-for-spending-too-much-money, nobody-wants-to-hear-you-play-country-music, oh-fuck-em-all day.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Gig is Here!!!

2006-12-15T21:14:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Hello folks! Quick update now: I will be playing at Marina Cove on this saturday 16th of December 7pm so please come and give your support if you have the time, or if you simply want to have a listen at what my live solo acoustic act is all about.

I would say that this gig opportunity is pretty cool, and I was on tenterhooks for 2 days since Wednesday when I had replied the organiser's email and hoped for his reply.

Guess I've got my wish come true :)

So what will be on the playlist, you ask? I can't say much now... but I can safely say that it will be an evening of folk, country, pop and originals by yours truly. If you feel that the recorded nes don't quite make an impression upon you, I daresay my live performance would out-do those recordings any day.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

3 New CDs, ramblings

2006-12-13T20:57:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

To take a break away from playing too much guitar, today I made the decision to buy 3 classic rock and roll CDs:

The Beatles: Let It Be (famous tracks: Across The Universe, Let It Be, Get Back)

Guns N' Roses: Appetite For Destruction (famous tracks: Welcome to The Jungle, Paradise City, Sweet Child O' Mine)

ZZ Top: Eliminator (famous tracks: Sharp Dressed Man, Legs)

I've been dying to get these 3 albums for a very long time, and I suppose I made a very good decision because I've listened to all of them and they have not disappointed me. Haha, good old hard rock roots still run deep in my soul.

Christmas this year is going to be a very long car ride up to KL to visit my relatives, and hopefully catch up with them regarding the recent events. I'm thinking my nephew and niece have both grown alot in my absence and with the presence of their immensely doting Grandparents (my 2nd maternal uncle and aunt).

I can almost imagine their chubby faces when I see them next.

Oh yes, I might have a gig on Saturday evening (see this blog for any further updates) and it would definitely be me by myself along with my trusty acoustic, harmonica and some new gadgetry to spice up my live sound.

So please watch out and hopefully drop by to gimme some lurrveee. Kidding.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

so it's back to bikes

2006-12-10T17:45:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well I'm back to bicycles again for my studio project. I guess it's only right since I designed a bicycle stand last semester before my attachment to DX.

The only issue is: innovation.

I need to find a way which no one has thought of regarding how people ride bicycles. However, maybe I could focus on a bicycle which is designed in such a way that it is very difficult to steal?

What about 'relevant' issues, such as carrying loads, rider safety etc?

Would cyclists need to save space when parking in the future? Why not have a bicycle which has a low centre of gravity such that loads can be carried and loaded much easily?

I'll stew on it for the time being, and thanks for the company.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

2006-12-02T22:19:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

As we all know... Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm sure many of us have plans, or can foresee what we would be doing for Christmas. I'm sure most of you guys have interesting things to do during Christmas... having a meal or spending time with your folks and family.

I wonder what I'll be doing during Christmas... I'm not getting emo or anything, but I guess it's the downside of living in an aethist household and being single. I don't even want to talk to her anymore so please cancel that thought... although it is a very tempting thought. Ok, confusion and contradiction here.

Maybe for Christmas I should just go down to the pub, have a pint or two and have a nice chat with Gerry and Mags.. see how they're holding up and maybe get completely pissed for the very first time. Then again, they're better off spending time with themselves instead of having a hanger-on being a lamp post to their activities.

Do I feel inadequate? Maybe. Do I feel lonely? I don't know. Self-inflicted isolation does has its drawbacks and I made the decision, no one else.. so I can hardly start complaining now can I? Maybe I should start learning from Two-Headed-Snake's pet parrot and start gossip-whoring for the sake of gaining some popularity brownie points. Nah... not my style.

I also want to give a shout out to my bro Jool. Just let him be and rock on mate.. nothing beats self-determination.

I really need a time-out... the adjustment period between ending attachment and starting P6 is pretty much over.. and I have yet to rest my mind and just chill. Maybe that time will only come when Christmas rolls along.. so maybe I can use Christmas to chill out?

Cool.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

1st week back

2006-11-29T22:42:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Ah, back in the IDS once again. Such brilliant planning of the staff... I'm relegated to the bimbo section of the studio, together with Barney, the Two-headed Snake and her pet parrot.

At least I have my own terminal which is devoid of a 2nd party (I'm so incredibly selfish when it comes to this matter of sharing computers), and at least I'm facing away from the people whom I do not even wish to be associated with, much less come into eye contact with.

Begging your pardon for my lack of compassion... regarding this bunch, all such passive emotion has been burned out of my very soul. All that's left is a detached sense of pity and an overwhelming feeling of indifference towards their miserably inappropriate sense of humour.

So far, I've been pretty aimless, particularly since no one seems to know who my supervisor is and therefore no one wants to take any responsibility. I've been involved in my own little project, which is to take part in the G77 guitar-designing competition. So far, so good.

My chair has come in, and it's a beauty. I won't say it's perfect because the hand of man will never create something that is perfect... hence our continuous pursuit (would I say it is in vain???) of perfection. I guess it's a pretty good work on the part of the manufacturer and partly deviating from the original concept due to several structural and engineering issues.

But other than that I suppose I'm pretty happy with it.

JH has finally decided to throw my bike stand design into the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' Award competition after 3 months of procrastination. While I appreciate all her help during my P5 and for the chair manufacturing... this belated entry has somewhat been met with jadedness on my part because that project was just so far away behind me... I couldn't wait to forget all about it.

Anyway.. if it gets in.. it's worth a shot right?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back in action once again III

2006-11-25T23:29:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So it's back to school on monday. Back to an institution which I somehow feel lacks alot of the expected knowledge or understanding of what it takes to develop an individual into a competent designer.

Back to an environment where design students whose creativity would thrive in a spirit of free-will (albeit with obvious self-control) but is effectively quashed with notions of rigidity, silence and reckless insensitivity to industry requirements.

I won't be relieved to go back to school. I think I would be fascinated for 2 minutes before wondering out loud to myself why I still feel compelled to go back and subject myself to 10.5 ours of an engineering regimental system.

The only thing which would draw me back is as follows:

1. The obvious fact is that if I don't complete the final semester I won't get my diploma.
2. I still like design, and the computers in school are pretty good: best make the max out of them.
3. My chair design prototype has been completed and I promised the Uncle I would meet him in school when he delivers it (dumb, yes, but...).
4. I have alot of friends there and a few people still owe me a meal *grinds axe*
5. Haiyarrr... just whack lah. Meaning I'm too lazy to go about opposing the system for the sake of doing so.

Anyways, I kind of miss NYP. But don't get me wrong.

I miss less people than those whom I do not even remotely feel nostalgic towards.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

An ode to Ignorance 2

2006-11-24T22:30:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

They must think the sun shines out your arse
a justification for you to search for greener grass
I'm thankful that the feeling has long since passed
yet again I knew that this feeling would never last

I won't blame you for the indifferent blind eye
how could I when you are always a shot shy
of achieving your dreams which failed to fly
and so I hence-forth bid you a wry goodbye

Whither you would go I would never understand
Is it too late for you to reach back for my hand?
Is it worthwhile for me to taste what I know is bland?
This is only one of the few times I have made a stand

I guess you forgot the times when we had fun
when your heart was in more pieces than one
oh how I wished that from pain you could run
thanks for the fun, honestly for now I'm done

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

An ode to Ignorance

2006-11-23T21:38:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

A breath, a whisper and all was lost
a kiss which bore the heaviest cost
impressions which imprint the most
not the last and surely not the first

pure heart was not the least forgiven
a sorrow in my heart which was riven
a love which I truly could have given
was seen as a base form of treason

only one had stolen your heart away
despite all your pains along the way
the one man who simply would not stay
too many a time I've heard myself say

there's someone out there waiting for you
who could show what true love can do
you couldn't see my meaning did you?
affection is to set one free into the sky so blue

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

2 days left

2006-11-22T20:36:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well I have 2 days left before my attachment is over. I have to say that it has been incredibly fun, enlightening and educational.

Most of "incredibly fun, enlightening and educational" applies to the areas of design, but a significant amount is with relation to male humour.

I think I'm spending way out of my means... I have spent a sum total of $42... inclusive of a bag of potpourri and an alarm clock from Ikea, a magazine, coffee and a bun and lunch at Ikea.

Not to mention that I have just arranged to buy a Sennheiser microphone off a guy on Friday evening for $90.

Anyways... must stop spending money!!!

Oh yes.. to Fran, my email is bitten_stealen@hotmail.com. kindly email me your handphone number thanks. I still can't recall who you are!!! -____-

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

A gig not to be

2006-11-20T20:52:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I spent the majority of my Sunday being amused due to the fact that my band refused to play at GasHaus. It was an emo / metal gig and I guess it wasn't the best place for a self-respecting rock and roll band to showcase themselves, especially when the gig organisers had given us a 5:30 timeslot, but went back on their word.. pushing us to 9:30pm.

When you're the singer / guitarist of a hard-working band which has striven to perfect our chops and songs, and had the prospect of a gig, which is supposed to be the sharing of one's music with a wider audience, only to be low-balled by the gig organisers over an issue known as "money-making", I think none of you out there would blame me for..

Standing up for my rights.

That's right. I will not be low-balled and be treated like a fool just because a bunch of ignorant fools want to make money out of me and my friends. I will not allow my band and myself to be walked all over by a load of money-grubbing bastards who claim to be proponents of supporting the local music scene.

In the first place, how can the gig organisers claim to support the local scene when the bands they featured can hardly be debated upon as worthy of a stage? Big words, you say? Here's what those bands who played on Sunday were like through my eyes:

1. They could only scream. When they tried to sing, they were horribly out of tune.
2. The instruments were out of tune.
3. I'm sure none of you could appreciate the noise they produced.

And don't you dare tell me otherwise because I've been playing guitar for 6 years, mandolin, harmonica and bass for 2 years, and I know my fucking instrument and voice, and I know when a band is in tune or not. Thank you very much.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Smile

2006-11-14T22:52:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

This is my latest favourite song. It's a love song by David Gilmour, also known as the singer, song-writer and lead guitarist for now-defunct classic progressive rock band, Pink Floyd.

Novia got me his latest solo album, titled "On an Island", and although the song had already premiered on the 'In concert" and "Live at the Meltdown" DVD, I have fallen in love with this song because it's just so simple, with it's 3/4 waltz timing and such beautiful lyrics:

Smile

Would this do, To make it all right
While sleep has taken you, Where I'm out of sight

I'll make my getaway, Time on my own
Search for a better way, To find my way home
To your smile

Wasting days and days, On this fight
Always down and up, Half the night

Hopeless to reminisee, Through the dark hours
We'll only sacrifice, What time will allow us

You're sighing... sighing

All alone, Though you're right here
Now it's time to go, From your sad stare

Make my getaway, Time on my own
Needing a better way, To find my way home

To your smile

It's slightly sad, but I guess I love it all the same.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

19 at last, what a blast!

2006-11-13T23:48:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well folks, I'm officially 19 now.

Work was pretty slacked today.. I was just texting my friends and silently praying that my handphone would last till the night was over.

I had finished work and went to Fisherman's Wharf to book the table before going back to Clarke Quay MRT to wait for my friends.

A very big, fat thank you to all those who turned up: you guys rock my world!!!

In a nutshell, the evening was filled with nice food, lame humour, dirty humour, truth or dare (hahaha.. I know Char and Hui Hui still wanna get me for daring them dance and lick the table respectively apart from the very intriguing 'truth' questions I asked them) and good music.

Not to mention incredibly satisfying company.

So tonight I totaled 2 beers, one large fish and chips and a whole load of laughter.

Good birthday, I must say.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

PS: Alvin, the album sounds great and also special thanks to Novia for the David Gilmour album.

The Day before I turn 19

2006-11-12T21:45:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

It's 9:45, and I'm going to be 19 tomorrow.

Apart from being a year older from the year before, I realised that I've grown somewhat different from the person I used to be.

I'm less assertive: unless my sense of professionalism kicks in or I'm being taken advantage of.

I'm more relaxed: I tend to take things in my stride, and I take things as they come.

I'm less agitated: despite a theft and many dumb remarks on this blog... I guess it's to be taken as a lesson to be learnt.

I'm more forgiving: why be bogged down by things which would only serve as elements of misery?

I'm less emotional: not to be confused with the fact that I'm an intense person, but I suppose like as mentioned above, I've gotten through meltdowns and I'm alright. Yeah.

I'm more insightful: upgrading my already piercing analytical perspective, I guess I can look from another person's point of view much more asily than before.

Ok, deep stuff aside. For those who read this blog and know that I'm turning 19 tomorrow, I'll be holding a makan with my band and a few friends near Clarke Quay mrt station tomorrow at 7pm. I'm not able to blanjah anyone, unfortunately and there would not be any live music by yours truly a la year 2005. But I guess you could live with an evening meal of Fish and Chips and maybe a cold beer.

If you're interested in joining me (I would also be going to Mad Fleming's after the makan) you can sms me or call me on my mobile.

If you have no idea what my mobile is, kindly contact someone who does. I'm not about to release it on this blog.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Friday blues II

2006-11-11T00:02:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Just came back from a jam with the band, bassist was absent so I had to fill in somehow. I think I'm an okay bass player. I just can't sing and play bass at the same time... that would be madness!

Was just thinking about... argh how can I put it across? I think I've pretty much been a fool for that girl since the day I laid my eyes on her. I've been kind, understanding, punctual, forgiving, loyal and patient.

But I don't think it really matters anymore doesn't it? A lack of expectation will lead to a prevention of disappointment I guess.

To my friends who have heard about Monday evening, I'll be meeting you guys at Clarke Quay mrt at 7pm. I don't think I would have the cash to blanjah you guys, unfortunately... but I just want to have a nice meal with my friends and band and maybe go to Mad Fleming's for an evening of music by Heritage.

We'll see how it goes.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Death by sketching

2006-11-09T21:49:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

My gosh. I've been sketching practically non-stop since Monday. I do believe that the amount of paper I have sketched over could possibly amount to at least 80 pages of A4 paper.

And it's all concept sketching, with 'detailed views' included as well. I must say that this is the second time I've ever sketched more than 50 views within one week.

My hand managed to take a break only at about 3pm today... it's been practically non-stop and I even had to OT until 8:45 last night, and around 8pm the night before just to get most of the sketches out of the way.

But it seems like the storm has blown over for now.. and I'm going to focus on my birthday plans for next week!

Details coming soon.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Only a November Song

2006-11-06T20:45:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

ALright.. I'm guessing some of you do not enjoy the song that I recently uploaded. Many a remark included:

1. 'Not as good as "Healing of Time"'

Aiyoooh. Not trying to hao lian or anything but most of the people who have heard "Healing of Time" have said it is the best song I have ever written. I'll admit it's the only song I have ever written with wide-eyed girls in mind.

2. 'Just sounds so weird'

Aye indeed. "Growing on You" is kind of like a mish mash of acoustic rock with a samba feel. Must be a santana influence. In all honesty I'm not too happy with that song myself.

3. 'The shaker is distracting'

Yeah I know. I cannot afford a bloody metronome so I have to rely on this shaker to help me keep in time. So far rather unsuccessful (in terms of perfect timing).

Anyways, this song which has already been uploaded is titled "Only A November Song".. but it was actually recorded one day before I recorded 'Growing on You', which was recorded towards the end on October.

So why "Only A November Song"? I actually gave it a name which might be too obvious especially since this song was written about a friend of mine, who experienced a heart-break. Why are so many of my songs about love?

Only A November Song

jaded miss lonely, broken-hearted on a one-way street
tried her best but she just can't seem to make ends meet
lost in her little world of lovers who she can't see
little lady come on get up wake up and follow me

you can't drag it around like a ball and a chain
why don't you just dig in and release the pain?

it's hot as a mid-day swelter
it's a cook and bake and a shake
standing in the sunshine dont you ever give
yourself a break?

come on darling now, you gotta lie low and breathe in deep
he's been your sunshine for too long
and it's time for a graceful slip.

he's taking you too far
and you're feeling like you can't hold back
what it is you cannot feel
but you can feel it trickling down your back

someone you've been waiting for
has long passed you by
the feeling has long gone, but you
found yourself asking "why?"

Hope you guys enjoy this one despite the under-average vocal performance.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

RARR

2006-11-05T17:44:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

The past week has been alright. Work for attachment was a stop-and-start process of sketching and critique, with some good progress.

Asianbeats has been thrown out of the window. I guess we were pretty tired from the whole thing and we didn't perform up to par and I wasn't surprised when we didn't get to go through to the second round.

The rest of the guys feel pretty beat up about it, but I would look upon it from an objective level, and that is:

1. we weren't good enough (but still pretty good lah)
2. we weren't that fantastically prepared
3. there were other bands which impressed me immensely
4. maybe the choice of song wasn't the best.

Work at the YMCA this morning was equally dispiriting. Had to run about clearing all the tables while "stepmother" chao-keng, and the new guy struggled to help out.

I'm just chilling out now.. not sure what to feel. Maybe I'm just comfortably numb? I don't feel anything even though I could be feeling anything from sad to angry or even downright depressed.

Maybe I just need a long cool beer.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Gig was goood... well kinda

2006-10-29T16:52:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well last night was The Exxit's first gig although we did not get paid. Everyone did their part very well, and despite certain glitches here and there, simply due to nerves and because we were slightly worn out from the jam in the afternoon and the journey to East Coast Parkway.

I was pretty happy for most of the night because Gerry and Mags came along... I also spotted Drea *big smile* and a schoolmate of mine.

The set list consisted of 4 cover songs and 4 original songs:

1. Vertigo
2. Midnight Rock Show (original)
3. Wonderful Tonight
4. Go Down Slow (original)
5. Space Trucking
6. Healing of Time (original)
7. Six Shooter (original)
8. All Right Now

We had a nice time onstage, but all of us were drenched in sweat by the time the set was over because it was incredibly hot and stuffy onstage. I myself had my glasses slipping off my nose at least twice.

However the euphoria resulting from the fun we had onstage didn't last long for me because someone stole my bag which was left backstage. I won't blame anyone because I've learnt before that blaming doesn't solve the issue, and only causes rifts instead. I guess it's another lesson I learnt.

To top off the bad luck, my phone's LCD screen has cracked and now I have no handphone. So that's so much for a first gig eh?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Growing on You

2006-10-23T16:21:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well today has been pretty productive. I managed to realise a new song into recorded form, and it's playing on this blog now!

Titled, "Growing On You", I basically recycled certain elements of my older songs which have never really seen the light of day and threw in newer elements so as to create a slightly different atmosphere.

And for those who're wondering what I'm singing about, here are the lyrics:

Verse 1
Honestly, it's a waste; going about just losing you mind
and it's true, it's a shame; looking for what you just can't find

like a needle in a haystack of nails
like a pair of tumbling dice
like a blade of steel in your back
like a girl betraying you twice

Chorus
I want to tell you
that I am growing on you
I want to say the truth
that you are driving me crazy

Verse 2

Where's a will, there's a way
so go on chasing your pallid dreams
where's a song, it'll take long
producing nothing but saliva and steam

like a coin that won't be tossed
like a rolling stone that gathers no moss
like a flame that burns out to soon
like the poet who can't touch the moon

Verse 3
Eventually, one fine day
when selecting your victims won't be a chore
I'll be here to hear you say
come on people, let's dance somemore

like a picture with a broken frame
like a friend who keeps forgetting your name
like a tune that won't keep in time
like your reason which has no rhyme

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

7th Week update

2006-10-19T20:05:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So it's the 7th week of attachment now... work was crazy for the past few days (had to OT until 9pm on average), and what's more I had to work dual 7am shifts at the YMCA for the weekend.

We welcomed a new member of staff, her name is Debbie and since she'll be my boss by next week (Chris is moving to the Front Desk). She's ok.. I guess? I suppose she knows what she wants and she's pretty decisive so that's a good thing. Trouble is, now there are too many domineering female staff members, and already "white rabbit" dislikes Debbie.

And just an update for all, the activities my band will be participating in:

28th October (Saturday): Marina Cove at East Coast 6pm onwards

4th November (Saturday): Tampines Mall for Asianbeats competition

19th November (Sunday): GasHaus (timing TBA)

That's all for now.. talk to y'all next time yeah?

Cheers,

Crawdaddy

Over-Time Blues

2006-10-10T23:34:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Yesterday and today was really tiring at work. I had to rush out so many tracing-sketches and photoshop renderings for my project leader. I left work at about 8pm yesterday and 10pm today. I hope this does not continue for the remainder of my attachment period!

However, despite the hard work being put in and the seemingly-endless pile of work awaiting me, the dinner today was pretty cool. Teck, Chad, ML and myself ordered 2 japanese pizzas and a bunch of barbequed chicken wings. All I can say now is that I have officially fallen in love with Japanese Pizza... mmmmmm.

Another ray of encouragement involves the successful interview of N and her friend at the YMCA. N had talked to me before the movie on Saturday evening about wanting to find a part-time job. Since the Y Cafe was experiencing a shortage of manpower, I decided to get a green light from my boss before letting N into the know. I guess it was a good idea to let N know the basics of getting through an interview unscathed, involving:

1. Being polite (like duh)
2. Being enthusiatic about the job prospects
3. Showing a character of willingness to learn new things and to adapt
4. Not wearing inappropriate dressing.

Well I'm glad for N. Now she can earn money and need not depend so much on her folks back in Indonesia, and also gain some hands-on work experience (meaning tasting the kind of rubbish I endure week after week after week). And my boss can breathe a sigh of relief that there will be new blood entering the system, instead of the old farts (including myself, unfortunately) having to stretch themselves to the point of exasperation.

FYI for the past months I have been starting my shift at the Y Cafe at 7am on weekend mornings, and on top of my normal working schedule, it's starting to take a toll on me. Apparently I have become slightly skinnier (which is good), but somehow I cannot see it myself (which is not that bad, but hopefully the change can be slightly more noticable).

Anyways... work beckons over the morning sunrise... and I have to head on down to the fibreglass prototype builder tomorrow evening after work *long groan* before heading home. Essentially I will be travelling around the whole of Singapore on MRT tomorrow. Till the next time, then.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Here and Now

2006-10-06T21:16:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I know that I have been relatively inactive on my blog especially since my attachment started. I suppose it's more than the fact that I am not at liberties to disclose the goings-on in the office. But I am pleased to sat that the lunch-time jokes can be really outrageous most of the time. Our Design Manager, Tim is particularly wicked when it comes to corrrption of DX's latest intern. Adding fuel to the fire is the fiendish flirt ML.

My latest gastronomic indulgence is Pear Cider. Man, that stuff sure goes down sweet. It's not sour like Apple Cider, but rather it is sweet and has a nice taste of pear but with the cast-iron underbelly of a 4.5% alcohol content.

I've recently bought some dried plant thingie from Ikea which is meant to freshen up the smell of my bedroom. I have no idea what the real term for it is called. All I know is that I just pour a bunch of the dried stuff into a wooden bowl I procured from New Zealand way back in 2004 and it has a lovely fragrance which I have a hard time pinning down the sensation which I'm feeling when I give it a good whiff.

I managed to bump into Sabby at Ikea on Tuesday and it was such a surprise, although I was kind of expecting to meet her somehow or another when an ex-colleague of mine (who was in the same course as Sabby) told me she had bumped into her at Holland Village. Not that Ikea and Holland V are close by, but on two occasions I have visited HV for lunch and it is such a nice place.

Practising my guitar late last night I realised how rusty I am at the guitar, especially since I started being a vocalist rather than a guitar player. What's worse is that somehow I have very little motivation now to practise. Am I slowly moving away from the objects which I had devoted so much towards? Perhaps it's the linger presence of the prospect of entering NS which would drastically limit my personal time.

Work tomorrow starts at 7am so I'll see how it goes. I may or may not attend the band recording session at 2pm especially since my vocals are not required for the recording tomorrow.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

5th week now

2006-10-04T22:15:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well, I'm already past the half-way mark for the 5th week of my attachment at DX. Things seem to be picking up after the first few weeks:

1st week: Adobe Illustrator & Alias ImageStudio training
2nd week: Sketching concepts
3rd Week: sketching concepts
4th Week: tracing out finalised concepts in AI and ergonomic research
Now: working out the graphical icons for a basic guiding label.

It's kind of interesting for me to look back and suddenly realise how long its been since I last saw the people whom I used to see everyday and hang out with. So far the people I've been seeing the most often are (duh) my colleagues at work, and my bandmates and their friends.

Most recently I helped my guitarist's ex-girlfriend with her N level English. Now, despite my C6 in O level English, I daresay that I have more than enough substance to engage in a verbal debate involving subtle nuances and lay low anyone who chooses to bloviate and rant. Tyrants beware.

Anyway. The situation with which that ex-gf (I shall call her N) is that she recently broke up with my guitarist (who I shall call FP). N was kind of devastated when FP dumped her because she was very much emotionally attached to him, and whever I used to see them together I felt it was such a pity that a girl like N would shower him with affection while he would just sit there and ignore her unless she spoke or was right in his face.

Whether FP deserved N is something I would keep to myself, but I have to say that N was wasting her time when she cried so much over a guy who had lost all feelings for her. Since it was a period during her N levels, I advised her to stay on course and focus on her exams; advice which she took gladly.

During the band's participation at the Asianbeats competition some weeks back, N turned up with my bassist's ex and she literally followed FP around like his shadow. It was a sure sign that N was still unwilling to give up on her old flame and the fact that she still carried his bag for him, shared fries with him etc still make me even more disappointed in the fact that someone who has had her wings folded for so long still chose to remain grounded.

The 'tutoring' session last week with N also allowed me to have a bigger peek into her life and her person as a whole. N was still missing FP, and from the conversations that I have had with FP on msn indicate that he was irritated by her smsing him regarding "completely irrelevant things", to quote my guitarist.

I soon began to wonder. A guy like FP was so fortunate to have someone who loved him with all their heart. How often does someone like this come along in our lives? Will we be able to see that love when it sails along on a lonely breeze, only to be whisked away by the draught of our coldness and unwillignness to open up and share our lives with those who truly feel concern for us?

More importantly... would I/YOU be able to see it?

I have now taken upon a small role of an encouraging party, to push her to open her eyes wider and see a world beyond a guy who no longer loves her... and to see her through her exam period which is proving to be tricky in certain areas.

Tomorrow promises to bring new challenges. I hope I'll be strong enough to handle it.

3rd week gone

2006-09-23T11:12:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

So I'm officially done with the first quarter of my attachment period. The first couple of weeks have been incredibly productive... I have produced around 100-odd pages of sketches on A4 paper. However, I feel myself drying up like a lime that you squeeze onto a plate of hokkien mee.

Well.. a bit of good news. The band has successfully gone through to the semi-finals for the 2006 Asianbeats competition, held at Far East Square near Raffles Place. We waited for our turn from 2:30pm until we got onstage at 4:40pm.

I feel pretty sore in the head. I'll catch up next time.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

You gotta get yourself a girl

2006-09-17T20:41:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

you gotta go and get yourself a girl
be prepared to be sucked into her world
where nothing seems to be understood
and what you see is the way things should

you gotta go and get yourself a gal
someone who stays around like a pal
she could be straight but it don't matter
all that does is you suck it up and flatter

you gotta go and get yourself that girlie
just don't come across as uptight or flirty
when you learn to pull out enough to win
then I guess you're pretty much in for a spin

you gotta go and get yourself that little miss
do it or regret that you never listened to this
she's not going to wait for you it isn't a lie
hooking with another would be as easy as pie

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Here's to you

2006-09-12T20:43:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I want to thank you for always having that smile
it's too bad we only knew each other for a short while
what might have been would never have been
because all my flaws were all that you have seen

the couple of hours I saw you a week back ago or so
made me reflect somewhat on the times that I would know
how hopeless any attempt would be in your eyes
no matter how sincere it would seem like a pack of lies

So here's to you and I hope you remain well as good
carrying on with what you do best and the way you should
I'll be that bump in the road you thought was a stone
and your smile keeps chilling me to the core of my bones

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

What a week!

2006-09-10T21:42:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

This week starts off my 3-months stint as an Industrail Design Intern at Design Exchange. So far things have been pretty... intense. Due to my somewhat lack of proficiency in Adobe Illustrator (aka AI), they kind people over at DX have given me a couple of AI exercises, and upon the completion of those tasks... it had allowed me to become somewhat professional in the area of AI.

I used to have such a phobia regarding that computer programme... so much so that I almost entirely shunned its usage unless absolutely necessary. I would rely entirely on Photoshop or even rhino to do line-work (before exporting the linework to AI).

But work today at the YMCA was pretty rough: only me and Linda were working and as expected... I did the lion's share of the work. Let me put it this way: compared to my usual working speed, today I was literally performing at a mind-numbing 300%. While I was clearing paltes, Linda would be counting cash. While I top up the cutlery she would push a trolley around trying to make herself seem busy. WTF.

Even my boss who arrived on the scene after the breakfast was over, sort of sympathised with me so much so that he allowed me to go home 2 hours earlier than scheduled. Kinda due to the fact that I was extremely worn out by the time 2pm rolled along.

Yesterday, I encountered yet again another instance of customer ignorance.

Since the Y cafe provides orange juice and ice water on a ever-present basis in the form of two huge liquid dispensers (the type where the liquid is constantly pumped up a tube and splashed over the sides of the transparent container), many of our breakfast customers would just push the tab and receive an instant dosage of orange juice or ice water.

Apart from the obvious visual provided due to the orange juice's well.. orange colour and ice water's clear transparency, there are two smalle acrylic stands which indicate the nature of the liquids within the water dispensers.

So imagine my disbelief when one customer pulled out a cup, hesitated at the ice water dispenser and asked me:

"excuse me, what is this?"

I could almost picture myself saying:

"uhh, it's white wine sir, we're pretty liberal with our liquor here in this country"

or

"hmm, this is our brand new local drink. we call it zui " (fyi, 'zui' is water in hokkien)

or

"I have absolutely no idea sir. Maybe you could try it and give us some feedback so that we can tell whether or not it is actually safe for commercial consumption?"

I mean... it's a clear liquid, it says "drinking ice water" on the tag on top of the dispenser, and without it you'd just be a shrivelled piece of bak kwa. Sheesh.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

what the shack?

2006-09-03T17:53:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Yesterday was one heck of a busy day:

Morning: Work. Busy. Tired. Did not have enough coffee. Was shacked by the time 8am rolled along and I had only started work at 7am. Lunch after that was ok. Lots of Japanese girls but none of them interest me.

Afternoon: Left work. Met up with band at GasHaus for auditions. Band aced auditions. Hung out at GasHaus for a while. Went to Cineleisure with band before heading to Eunos to meet up with John, YMCA Joanne, Teja.

Evening: went with John, YMCA Joanne, Teja to Ayu's place. Hung around for a while. Helped to serve food/clear dishes/serve drinks/joke around during the wedding dinner. First time I participated in a malay void deck wedding. Was fun but tiring. Went home shacked and rather smelly.

Sigh. Work today was soo tiring! Breakfast was crazy as usual for a weekend morning, but I could barely stop to think. I was literally thinking on my feet. From 7am to 11am it was a non-stop workworkworkworkwork hard-core cleaning/clearing/replenishing/wiping/washing/drinking-coffee-ing routine.

Work ended on a slow note and I immediately went to buy myself a new harmonica in the key of C. This little baby set me back like $35 bucks (original price is $46) but it's such a beauty!!! Along with that I got myself a new set of guitar strings and a pair of claviers (sticks which you click together to get a "TICK" sound).

I dunno. I want to forget about her. I really do. She just seems to be playing hard-to-get but I don't know what to think anymore. It's too bad. She's older than me too.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Take it as you please

2006-09-01T22:28:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

The past couple of days have been pretty cool and eventful. I helped Purple Cow and Drea's group with some critique of their IM project and I also lent them two of my songs for them to use for their interface as background music.

I had also just written a new song and I also recorded it in record time and passed it to them. As usual I tweaked it twice after I had given them the 'finished product' and I'm still not happy with what I'm hearing. Sigh. Thankfully Purple Cow and Drea didn't use it hurhurhur.

As of next monday, I will be working at Design Exchange as an intern. The news that I would no longer be working on school projects but rather aiming for a spot at Design Exchange came on Wednesday and it was abit of a nervy experience when I had to add more things to my portfolio and email it out on Thursday morning, before literally spending most of my afternoon slacking in school. I eventually went out to hang out with my band mates at Gas Haus.

The interview this morning was pretty nervy too.. I sat down with two of the people at DE and showed them some of my development stuff done over various projects. They seemed pretty happy with what I showed them and they seemed like nice people. After I had shown them what I was capable of (not everything.. so as to retain a certain aura of mysticism) they showed me some of the works done by the team and took about 10 minutes just showing me the stuff before telling me that I was accepted.

The thing about this whole attachment thing has just been so troublesome.. from Hong Kong to Germany to now local attachment. However despite all this trouble, it's taught me that we can never expect too much from others, and that alot of things are for us to determine through our very own actions and initiative.

Apart from learning that vital lesson, I'm not unhappy but rather pretty happy too because:

1. I have no need to do P6 this semester
2. I have no need to participate in the Scanteak competition
3. I have no need to participate in the Osaka competition
4. I have this incredible advantage to learn more about design in the real world
5. pretty much only the best students go to Design Exchange and I guess I'm pretty honoured to be viewed as one such student in the eyes of my lecturers.

Anyway... apart from the interview this morning, I also had a jam with my band and had a great time. However the studio was a little cramped but I guess that could be ignored due to the fact that I can easily plug my laptop into a power point and wing out lyrics on the spot (I came up with lyrics to two originals within that 2 hour jamming period).

I just hope that things go as they are right now... I can't help but feel that things are going right for once.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back to School

2006-08-28T13:03:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Well, school's started once again. So far it's alright... had a nice chat with Purple Cow and Lime-green Bunny. You guys just need to face the fact that I'm more evil than y'all.

Anyways.

I'll update maybe later because now there's nothing much on.

And actually.. I was wondering exactly how many people frequent my blog. I have absolutely no idea.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

aka Crimson Lobster

Singapore Idol woes

2006-08-24T22:26:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I can't believe that until now the bloody cross-eyed monkey is still in SIngapore Idol. Lemme explain the obvious reasons as to why he (and hair-faced Paul Twohill) are still in the competition.

1. He cannot sing.
2. He cannot entertain a crowd.
3. His voice has zilch character whatsoever.
4. He has the charisma of an innocent virgin donkey.
5. His dance routine of hopping and prancing about is just painful to watch.
6.The multitude of teenage girls and bored-to-shitless aunties do not care about the above and hence keep voting for him every week.

Rahima has gone. So has Mathilda and now Nurul. In my honest opinion the only surviving person who can sing is Hardy. Why is this competition going down the drain? I think I know why: only the twits keep voting for Joakim.

I can't care less about Paul.. and I am somewhat disappointed in Jonathan. So please... vote for HARDY!!!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back to basics?

2006-08-23T13:30:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

The past couple of days have been pretty eventful:

1. I'm now officially the lead singer for a new local band. Apparently I am the 9th and final guy they auditioned. I suppose that on top of singing the fact that I could play guitar, mandolin, blues harp and concoct lyrics on the fly didn't hurt.

2. New chef came to work. He's the eventual replacement for my current boss who will be shifted to a different department in the YMCA. That guy has some weird "fitting-in-with-the-crew" problems. He's just trying waaay too hard to make us feel comfortable with him. As such, plenty of rolling eyeballs and fake laughter.

3. Colleagues at work having PR problems. One colleague has a severe attitude problem. Her best friend has PMS issues, main full-timer isn't happy with either of the former two. Crikes. General Manager seriously dissed main full-timer.

4. Gerry gave me his old Vox Pathfinder 15-watt amplifier. When set right, the sound is just soo sweet! When plugged in conjuction with my old Marshall 15-watter, the combined sounds of the two can literally tear the whole neightbourhood apart!

5. School is starting soon! I have not yet starting on anything school-work related, but things at work and at home are just so mind-consuming. *Promises to self to start doing something on Thursday*

Well I have to say that I am pretty excited by the fact that I'm now in a some-what established band. Let's just put it this way, everyone in the band seems to be pretty comfortable with each other. I do not see the dreaded practise of people taking advantage of each other, people complaining about someone else behind others' backs etc. In my previous band, my bassist kept drilling me for CDs, and he was never punctual for jam sessions. Guitarist kept bitching about some thing or another -_-

Speaking of which.. I'm thankful that I'm not the guy who goes around bringing people together anymore. Right now I'm just the guy who has to make sure his voice is functioning at tip-top condition all the time, and someone who remembers the lyrics perfectly. Apart from that, I'm also focussing on being an effective frontman... and I've been watching my Led Zeppelin and AC/DC DVDs in the search for some inspiration.

Till then, stay safe and wish me luck in my new band!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Crawldaddy+Gerry @ Molly's Last night

2006-08-18T13:53:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Last night, I quipped over to Molly Malone's Irish Pub where I used to work, to play guitar and sing with Gerry Cox, the resident singer-guitarist.

The evening was pretty much alright, and one of the funniest things to happen was that Gerry broke his string on the 2nd song... and I played another song while he fixed up his guitar with a new string. Then as we joined in to play another song, I broke a string on my guitar!!! Argg.. I had to continue to song without lead fills until I winged out a final solo to end to song.

We managed to cover out enough songs for 2 sets, with me singing for several songs, and for a couple of songs, Gerry lead me through songs I had never played before, and I sat there playing along with uttermost concentration, focussing on his chord changes. I did the occasional lead fill and solo break, but overall, it was an incredibly enducating experience.

It taught me:

1. To always bring an extra set of strings, particularly treble strings.
2. It is always better to perform without the influence of alcohol (I didn't drink a drop of beer lest night.. it was iced water all the way).
3. Fender telecasters work better with grounded amplifiers compared to non-grounded ones.

But my intention of playing last night was because I wanted to try and fill the void left wide open by Robert. Despite the fact that my guitar skills might have only been 20% of Robert's, I feel that maybe a small effort might make a difference. Oh well, school's starting soon, and I'd have absolutely no chance of doing that possibly until the end of December... and maybe I'll get back there again when it's New Years' Day.

Work's at 4, so I'll see y'all around, yeah?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Home alone (practically)

2006-08-15T20:30:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I was kind of blog-surfing when I came across a blog and I was wondering to myself: do the good guys eventually get the girl?

I'm not sure if I'm a good guy or bad guy.. I guess I'm both depending on who you speak to. More bad than good I'd assume, because I seldom get compliments and more often than not, I'd have someone whom I am speaking with quipping up with the now cliched 'You're sooo bad!'.

Must be my incessant ribbing of a certain few people. Maybe I should label that sort of behaviour as 'ribery'.

But you'd always hear stuff like 'The good guys never get the girls, and girls tend to gravitate towards bad guys in the vain hope of changing them'. Would that be true? I need your opinion, guys.

Anyway, for the first time since my 'holiday' started I spent the whole day at home doing what I liked, when I liked and however way in which I enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the day, and although it wasn't productive, I sure as pancakes felt very much at ease.

Seems that Superdel has eye trouble, and I took a quick prayer for her. I can't imagine having an infection in both eyes and having an impaired sense of vision for an extended period of time. Must be hell for her, but at least she has MC to take some time off and recover.

And I meant to go to school today but I sort of felt that I had no good reason to spend the day outside so I chose to stay at home. I had intended to call Steph to cancel the lunch but I forgot and I eventually called her up to clarify things. Thank goodness that when she had KP-ed to Alvin earlier she was just joking.

There is going to be a briefing on the Osaka competition tomorrow and possibly a design seminar as well. I hope it doesn't drag on too long. I wanna do some sketching for Scanteak, and do a colour-tweaking for one of my outside projects.. hopefully I can get it done ASAP.

Wish me luck, folks!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Whao!

2006-08-14T22:44:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Today was a really good day. What started out as a normal talk-about-rhino-and-schoolwork-during-lunch meal turned into a full-scale conversation between Andrea, Steph & her friend and Alvin and myself. I can hardly remember an impromptu conversation stemming from a simple 'how was your day?' question from me to Drea branching out into so many topics involving:

1. Gays in all-boys schools and lesbians in all-girls schools.
2. Punishment in all-boy or all-girl schools
3. Idiosyncrasies of people who have attended all-boy or all-girl schools
4. Boobs / the striking/violation of men's private areas by females.
5. Menstruation.
6. Farting, burping, soiling of pants and other anti-social activities.
7. Cooking and other domestic activities.

Most of the time it was Stephanie who held the fort down, but of course Alvin and I had our fair share of... the spotlight. I frankly have never had such an enjoyable lunch conversation in a long time. Let's do it again sometime!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

New "Clutch that Matey!" IV

2006-08-13T23:08:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Things at work have seemed to have stabalised somewhat. I'm currently working 4 days a week, helping out when I can and earning as much as I can in the hope that by the time my next paycheck rolls in, I can get some things I wanna get.

I dunno. I've been thinking about her for a while now, and as before I know I'm thinking too much. Oh, don't worry guys, you don't know who this person is. Anyway, she's a nice girl who I must say is kind of monosyllabilistic. It's kind of weird whenever I speak to her on msn, which is a rarity.

I guess my thoughts have ranged over her way too often. Even my supervisor caught a certain 'distance' in my eyes, and asked me if I was thinking about her. I evaded it rather skilfully I suppose... because I never mention her in anyway unless my supervisor brings her up.

It was just a few bits of the dinner we shared between ourselves during the farewell session of Chef Foo and John, the feeling of her shoulder leaning into mine as they told us to sqeeuze together to take a picture. The bus ride back and her unmistakable smile.

She's a nice person, but I will never be with her. I know and understand why: she probably feels I'm below her or something because I'm still in poly struggling with my dead-beat job and groaning under the pile of projects just beckoning to me. Now she has her sights set on Uni, all the better for me to just fade into her past and be forever forgotten. Where I belong.

I might be seeing her soon. Will I be just the guy who used to be her colleague, or will I just be the guy waiting in line? Cruel as it may be, but I have not intention of letting myself become disappointed. I'm going to let the Lord take cae of this one.

Sometimes I wonder if my limited contributions at work will be noticed. As it is, most of my colleagues hold me in a certain level of esteem, as much as I see them as individuals who are trying their best to make ends meet. I'm not better, you know? I've got so much to learn and I really like most of my colleagues at work.

When every little smile I give is reciprocated, I just feel glad that for once I have made a difference. I go about sometimes wondering if I have ever made a mark in anything. The people whom I have brought together to play music have been split up because I told them I wanted to focus on my academic pursuits.

Once in a while I help people out with their 3D modelling problems, and most of the time I walk away with a hollow feeling because I have no idea if what I have done justifies the need to ask for reciprocation. I don't think I deserve many things in my life, but all I ask for is some space, someone to love and be loved in return.

Is love something which is so hard to just give to people? I wonder if I've given enough to ask for any in return.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

You:bad

2006-08-09T20:01:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

For those who have seen my Msn nick over the past week may have n0ticed that I was pretty pissed off. Let me explain.

In the middle of my last semester (right now I'm in the midst of a 'holiday'), one of the lecturers (GT) told us that the door to Germany for our attachment programme was open. Then he proceeded to tell us that only students who were in the last two batches of attachment were eligible.

At that point in time, my portfolio to Hong Kong had not yet been rejected by the IDC Programme Manager, and I was under the impression that Jool and I would still be going to Hong Kong.

Three weeks later or so (after the 'informing of the opening of the Germany programme') my dreams to Hong Kong were dashed in one day. However, the following day they were lifted once more when I was informed that I was slated for the Germany Programme due to a selection of Students by the Director of IDC.

After working my butt off for my Final Presentation for my P5 Programme (which some of you might have seen in the form of my p-boards and miniature models on Level 6), I was still having the impression that Jool would be going off to Hong Kong whilst I would be whisked away to Germany in September.

Then the Holidays came, and I continued work on submitting the full-scale dimensions and mini-model to the vendor who would hand-make the full-scale model out of Fibreglass and stainless steel. For two weeks I worked on it.

Then all of the sudden I had to stay back in school for a briefing for a furniture competition. Apparently, this furniture competition was meant for all year2 and 3 students and it would carry commence the moment the briefing was over until the end of November.

I was confused because that would mean that my participation would be cut short due to my supposed involvement in my attachment programme which was meant to start in September. I was under the impression that when I go to Germany, I would have to stop everything and move on with work that was meant for me to commence upon starting of my attachment term.

Then after meeting with my supervisor (Limky) for the furniture competition, Limky told me that it would be best if I finished what was needed to be done before my attachment started. That meant 4 month's worth of work squeezed into 4 weeks. Unfair? I suppose not, in the eyes of IDC.

One week later, Alvin informs me of this Osaka competition, and the same lecturer who spoke to us in the middle of the Term (GT) had singled out a bunch of students designated to participate in this Osaka competition. I was furious. As it was, my holidays were already being chocked with furniture design, work and my musical and external projects. Now another competition???

Calling up GT, he then told me that Jool's chances of going to Hong Kong were slim due to a technicality (pfft), and that the chances of the both of us going to Germany (since Jool couldn't go to Hong Kong, he is now slated for Germany alongside your truly) in September were slim and we were to both report for the start of term on the 28th of August.

That got me fuming mad. That meant that by the time term starts, I'd be involved with 3 main projects (P6, Osaka and Scanteak aka furniture competition)... not to mention the hell-hole-to-come which is Vertical Integration. I almost punched my laptop screen in after that phone call. I was determined to raise hell and demolish everything in my path. Top that off with a 2-week cut in my holiday period.

Then I cooled off.

Realising that being angry would not change matters for the better, I decided to play with the cards dealt out to me, and I'm determined my friends. The determination is here and now and will be here forever more. A challenge has been thrown into my face, and I will NOT glance away or grimace.

As some of you may know... I charge into certain matters with a single-minded sense of determination, finality and the desire to flatten everything in my path. That mindset has not departed. So help me, God; if the lecturers want to play hardball, I'm going to play rugby, soccer, basketball and baseball all thrown in one. Let the best player win, and we'll see if they can catch up with me.

The ego has landed, and who's going to be boss?

Me.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

2006-08-09T17:51:00.000+08:00

LOL my pedalboard

Corny poem warning

2006-08-07T13:44:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

what makes two strangers hold their hands together,
or make the hopeless people weep uncontrollably?

what makes children dream of embarking on endeavours
and make the hopeful people wander aimlessly?

what made the stranded call their loved ones frantically
on that doomed, ill-fated flight of desperation?

what makes someone who seemed to get it somehow, like me
but has never been the point of desired attention?

what makes the strangers feel like they're in someplace above?
the answer to all these question is simple: it is pure, unsullied love.

who gave me the answers; no one did, but I can see it in people's eyes.
the message just came to me amidst the complications in our lives.

trust in yourself it's the best you can do, for who can decide but you alone?
forget why they cannot see for beauty is skin-deep and love goes right to the bone.

If you read this and felt a stirring within you, never let that feeling go
lend this feeling unto someone else because that's how love flows.
sometimes we all just need some patience, a little more in good measure
it will show in time because locked inside all of us is that little chest of treasure.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

New "Clutch that Matey!" III

2006-08-06T20:35:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Man. Wrok today was probably the most exhaustive experience EVER. I came to work, expecting to have a small bite before commencing work. To my surprise, I had to immediately jump into clearing tables, topping up food items, entertaining customers who needed change for internet usage etc. To my even bigger surprise, my full-time colleague who normally works mornings informed me that another colleague of mine who is supposed to be working is absent. Hmm.

Ok, to make matters clearer... colleague present is L. Let me give you guys a low-down on what L is like. L is an early 50's spinster who is a point of controversy and politics at work. Her shoddy work ethics and tendency to get on one's nerves are due to the following:

1. She would tell you to do a task or job which she is most capable of doing, but she is just too lazy/self-assuming in her own superior position as 'senior waitress'.
2. She would do a task halfway and leave it do attend to other business. When attempting to complete it for her, she would chastise the person for 'looking down on her'. She will eventually abandon it and someone would complete it for her anyway.
3. When an urgent task needs doing, in the event that she is free, she would do something else of a lesser urgency, leaving someone to rush and do it. When task is complete, she would 'add-on'. Like replenishing of butter. After adding the butter, she will 'add some more'.
4. She is completely unable to get along with alot of people. This adds to political tension within the working environment and therefore alot of working difficulties. Troublesome lah.

Right.

So I worked alongside L, waiting for my other colleague S to arrive and lend us a hand, and hopefully get that small bite I needed to function properly because the work was pretty tough. So there I was clearing tables as usual when S came, and she proceeded to help us. However, I felt as though my workload did not decrease. In addition to clearing tables, topping up food and entertaining customers, I had to go and chase the cooks for more food (due to L's inability to get along with one of the cooks, resulting in the cook ignoring her request for more food), top up the food myself.

Amidst all that bustle, I saw L sitting there peacefully counting cash from the cash counter while I was swaeting it out clearing the cafeteria tables for the 3rd time in 1 hour. It's no small feat I tell you... imagine 17 tables with at least 1/3 of the tables requiring clearing at any one time. Then when you have the big families coming in, you get to clear tables which are picturesque of London during the blitz.

Food everywhere, chairs askew, cutlery hanging off the edge of the tables. You name it, I had to be there to clear it in a heartbeat. Naturally I had a cup of coffee to keep my senses working.

However, despite my ability to clear and wipe a normal table clean within 1 min, I soon realised the magnitude of the various tasks requirin my attention. I had to add more milk to the jug for the cereal. I had to add more milk for the coffee station. I had to do hot milk for the pesky mainland china woman whose cereal was groaning under a heavy dosage of sugar. Milk this, milk that, milk every-fucking-where!

Not to mention L's voice ringing out every now and then: 'Errik can you go and get (something she would have to chase the cook in the kitchen for)? Thanks'

This whole menagerie went on until 10am, when the breakfast crowd slowly thinned down. By then I was having mixed feelings of fatigue, annoyance, gratefulness and resignation to the fact that I had experienced the penultimate effects of working with L and S during breakfast time. Let me talk abit more about S.

S is a girl of my age who has finished her 'N' Levels and is currently waiting for her nursing semester to start. In the meantime, she is a full-time waitress at the YMCA, and also a part-time cashier at some Cheers outlet. A very admirable person who is currently the sole bread-winner of her home, S is this cheerful, easy-to-get-along person who:

1. mainly speaks in mandarin, but she sometimes cracks jokes which completely go over my head. Cue my canned laughter and the obligatory half-grin.
2. has somewhat poor oral hygiene. Speaking to her from a safe distance of half-a-metre is best to avoid the ever-present morning breathe.
3. chews very loudly when eating. It's disturbing somewhat, especially when seated next to her during meal-times.
4. is currently involved in a cold war with a supervisor at work. Since I'm very friendly with both parties, I have tried to make peace, but as is the case between extremely stubborn women, the situation needs a good trashing out in girly fashion (in my opinion), whatever that requires.
5. has difficulty focussing on the task at hand. She will procrastinate or just stare at a table waiting to be cleared.. with the excuse of 'wondering what to do first'. Bah.

But whatever happened today, I know that it was not easy to do so much work by myself. I was literally flying in and out of the kitchen area clearing trolley-loads of dirty plates, replenishing food items and cutlery and plates, doing miscellaneous things which were meant to keep the place afloat.

I'm just very tired and rant-happy. If you have read everything this far.. well congratultions on your patience... you're just like what I had to be this morning.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Back after a long day

2006-08-03T21:14:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Today was kind of tiring for me. I had to kip to school early in the morning, finish up the items which I needed to pass to the vendor before actually making the trip down to the vendor himself.

I had made a phone call to him (Mr Ching) and I soon found myself on the way to Choa Chu Kang MRT from NYP. I dunno why my headphones started screwing up on me once again so along the way I retired them back into my bag. The MRT trip was followed by a bus ride all the way into the depths of Lim Chu Kang... even beyond the cemeteries and into Singaporean agricultural area.

The place was located just next to Murai Camp.. and in the distance I could hear the roar of fighter jets from Tengah Air base and all around me was the smell of tilled earth and fertiliser. At long last I reached the place... only to find a cluster of huts and a vast cluttered workshop which clearly reflected the owner's taste for organised chaos.

Everything was everywhere. LOL. But we did sit down, and I showed him the chair model for which he would be making the full-scale model. We discussed various issues regarding measurements, tolerances ("torrerences" in Phuats-speak), material selection and of course the duration of manufacture. It seems that it could take longer than expected.

I was there for about an hour-and-a-half before I made my way back to Choa Chu Kang MRT for a ride down to Dhoby Ghaut for work. I arrived somewhat exhausted.. but was revived by the staff lunch: chicken chop (chopped up) with beancurd, vegs and... pumpkin & carrot soup!

OMG that soup is just savoury heaven! But it is somewhat thick and will kill you if you consume too much. Naturally just like anything else, consumption must be augmented with a realisation of neccessitation. Whatever.

It seems that the holidays would not be as free as I had imagined they would be. Scanteak and IDs have just organised another furniture competition (last one was when I was in first year and therefore could not participate) which involves the entire year 2 and 3 cohort. After being furious due to a foresee-able lack of rest time.. I cooled down and resigned to the fact that I was kind of dying to participate in a furniture design competition and hopefully throttle everyone else into the dust and mire.

That's just me. I love a good challenge. *whines* but I want my rest!!! They should have told us about this at least just as the holiday had started if not I would not have rashly agreed to work more days at the YMCA. But no complaints I suppose... work seems to be becoming more fun if not less stressful. We'll see how it goes I guess :)

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

New "Clutch that Matey!" II

2006-07-29T20:01:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Disclaimer: Ok this is a weird post warning. Yes, I am a guy, and yes I would be attracted to women. However, I am very selective about my choices. Anyway, this post is not about ME being attracted to someone else... but.... oh well read below and find out.

Okay.

Work. Woke up at 6:30, got ready, went to work, started on time. Typical saturday morning: PSLE classes going on, caucasians come for breakfast first, followed by chinese, then indonesians/malays and then the bahyees. But this post is not about the bahyees. Well, maybe later.

Anyway. The thing about saturdays is that there will always be a bunch of PSLE students who attend this 'enrichment' class, which IMO (in my opinion) is full of bullshit. The class involves all sorts of gimmicks like videos, games etc etc.. anything but honest hard work on the part of both students and the teacher alike. WTF kind of programme is it? It is specifically designed for full-of-concern parents to send their spoiled kids to fatten the cannot-care-less teacher to waste money and also in the process give the YMCA business. Weekly business at that.

For one, the kids love to eat cookies. We dish them out. $1.50 per cookie. How's that for a eatable that's roughly worth 3 bites? But it's yummy, so wth anyway.

So the kids come for 'class', and sometimes their parents send them and wait for them. In the process, sometimes the parents drink coffee, eat cookies themselves, read newspapers and mother of things.. one woman (I think she is a grandmother) chooses to stare at me.

Yes. You read that right. She stares at me. For 3 weeks now ever since I spoke to the mother and grandmother, that granny keeps staring at me. I dunno what the heck she stares at me for, but I sure as heck don't enjoy being looked upon like a Big Mac patty. Maybe she's just distracted by my hair. Maybe I'm the only staff member who is below the age of 20. But whatever reason she holds for staring at me... I don't-like-it.

No. Non. Nah. Niet. Mai. I don't like it at all. Because it's creepy.

Girls, ever had that uncle stare at you up and down in the MRT or bus or whatever? I'll admit I'll glance at women, girls etc etc. But I don't stare. Because I know it's creepy. But you all know that it's not an enjoyable experience. I know skinny pole had that experience once. And as I mentioned before.. no one likes being looked upon as a piece of meat. I might have a certain amount of flesh on my body, yes. But frankly, no thank yew.

Ok. Now I'm ok.

You know it's funny how some people can look at things and be completely oblivious to the difference amongst obviously different objects:

Woman: "Excuse me, where are you spoons?"

CDD: "uhh, it's all over there *points in the direction of cutlery spot*"

Woman: "But there's no spoons"

CDD: "I just refilled the spoons, ma'am"

Colleague: "just give her a spoon"

CDD: *gives Spoon*

Colleague: "I thought I saw you refilling the cutlery?"

CDD: "yah.."

Colleague: "Then it's either finished or she's blind"

So I went back to the cutlery spot, true enough, there lay the spoons in the basket. I walked back and loudly proclaimed:

"Dui, ta shi Paht Jiao"

translation: yah, she is blind

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

All Apologies

2006-07-27T10:20:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Here's my formal apology to those who felt insulted by my post 'Reflections'. It was a point where I was somewhat agitated, and I apologised for taking my criticism too far. I hope for you to forgive me for my insensitivity. The post has been removed, and I'll take note of this mistake.

Till then, God bless and enjoy your break.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Guitar and the damage done

2006-07-26T21:47:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

A long while back, when I was still working back at Molly Malone's Irish Pub I managed to get to know a certain Robert Bartlett. He was this tall, friendly, ageing but fantastically talented guitarist and singer. Add that to the fact that he was so generous and full of life and was willing to give a helping had when neccessary. He was the one uncle-figure whom I looked up to in terms of being a musician. What an inspiration he was to me and Alvin when he played on three of our songs on our up-coming 2nd album.

Last week Friday, I had gone out for an evening of pure freedom and reunion with my friends at the pub. I had asked Gerry whether he had seen Rob, but apparently Robert had disappeared from his friends and his wife 3 months ago, without a trace. I was shellshocked because not more than 4 weeks back I saw an advertisement in a local classifieds website with him trying to sell off one of his lap-stell guitars.

I had a wonderful evening after that.. I even went up and did a 5 song set which brought back so many good memories when I was moonlighting after my shift ended on friday evenings. A pint of cider in my hand, and jokes with my friends and Gerry's girlfriend, Mags somehow made things seem so much better.

Then just as I was playing my guitar earlier in the evening, I received an sms from Gerry. It seems that Robert had sold off all of his guitars and had eloped to the UK with another woman, leaving his wife Jill behind to nurse her emotional wounds. Initially, I was wondering to myself.. why did he go and do something so reckless and insensitive?

I mean... if he had departed to a life of peace and quiet due to his medical condition, anyone would have sympathised with him due to his busy working schedule and his dependency on painkillers in order for his body to function. But leaving his wife who had toiled with him through so much, to depart away from her for another woman? Even as a guy, I know it's absolutely wrong. Which led me to think back about the things which made me admire Robert. I have to say that I still respect him for his musical talents, but his behaviour has caused his stock to go down in my point of view.

All I have to say now is that... one of the things which Robert did for me was to partially sponsor the purchase of a mixer for me and Alvin to use to record our music. He had lent me $100, which I feel should go back to Jill (Robert's wife), just so that she could have that extra bit of cash to help her in any little way possible. I also want to offer her my time and help since I am having my break now.. and what better than to aid the wife of a friend who has deserted us all?

My heart tells me that my help is needed now more than ever, and tough times lie ahead for Jill. I need to do something to help her. I know, because I prayed, and it seems that the big guy upstairs wants me to tread this path.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Ending of the Week

2006-07-20T19:52:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Life for now allows me to undertake a huge task, finish it off in the nick of time and then I can look back in satisfaction. Today I officially closed my P5 project, which consisted of a bicycle stand and a dining chair. I managed to polish off my design journals, but admittedly I left out some stuff regarding my design process of the two projects, but that's really due to a lack of documentation, so I guess I'll leave that as that.

But what's cool is.... I'M FREE!!!! YAY!!!!

Yesterday after my presentation, I had some makan, went home and played my guitar. Iplay so much until even a string broke on my Fender -_- but what to do...? I've been missing my guitars for so long.

But the war's not won.. I still have my industrial projects and a guitar decal design or two to finish off. I guess I'll still be busy in the upcoming days... and of course I have to clear up my desk by tomorrow argh. I love my desk, yet I dislike it because the damn computer screen faces the bloody corridor.

But anyway, you guys are welcome to view my presentation boards and my scaled-down models along the Block M level 6 corridor! Go! See! Now!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Look at yourself

2006-07-16T21:53:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

look at yourself sitting in front of your laptop
pushing yourself to be nothing but the top
fulfilling dreams which others wove for you
but still a someone who can never be true

look at yourself playing your fancy guitars
imagining yourself performing under the stars
praying for a windfall to cushion your fall
you think you got it but you've got nothing at all

look at yourself working for a servant's pay
hanging around wasting your time all day
getting the girl but never getting the heart
and always blaming others for being too hard

look at yourself writing and playing your songs
trying to blend into the ever unwilling throngs
things are hard for none and no one but yourself
and it's time to put your heart back up on the shelf

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Storm in a fishbowl

2006-07-16T18:10:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

Friday night I went to see Alvin's COGS musical 'Storm in a Fishbowl'. Let me give you a first-hand account of how the musical went:

Went to the new underground sanctuary at St. Andrew's Cathedral. Found Alvin's folks and sat down next to complete bimbo on the left and the nice Uncle Paul on the right. Emcee went onstage. Kinda geeky guy but nevermind. Had to refer to a few cards in his hand to refresh his memory of what he needed to say. Prayer was said, lights dimmed.

Show starts. Stage involves 5 elevated platforms which somehow make you wonder what they are for. Until flashing lights and music from the live band starts playing when you see the characters appear in their respective platforms and sing along to the intro song which eventually stops along with a cut in the irritating flashing lights.

Alvin's character, Kiat seems to be the typical money-faced yuppie whose drive in life is well... money. Veronica, his wife is typical naggy "tai tai" affair, played by a certain 13-year old Lydia Cheam whose demeanour suggests she could be a natural actress/nag? Note: way too much stage makeup on their faces. Look like dolls. Does Lydia look older or is it because she's of an age which is one year younger than what Alvin appears to be? Mic for Lydia also fails, so audience is left wondering why "Kiat" is whimpering loudly and uncontrollably.

Joshua Cheam plays your hopeless NS man, Andrew, who is tired and sick of life in the army. He shaves his head for the role. Clearly the SAJC crowd which shrieks in appreciation of his wooden acting and inadequate singing are there to see their fellow SAJCian work his lack of charisma. Isn't remotely moved by his performance.

Then comes along a good watch in the form of Deasiree who plays Debra the clueless schoolgirl. She is late for school for the first time and is at her wit's end as to how to go about her life due to lack of parental guidance. Definitely one of the best renditions of a typical singaporean schoolgirl I have seen. Too bad she doesn't act cute like her real-life peers.

Rachel Ang portrays the retired Betty, whose only (and most beloved) son seldoms visits her possibly due to her (apparently) evil daughter-in-law who insists in Betty being dressed in a chiongsam. Her character flits between the natural chor-lor auntie and the sophisicated british-accented prude. Performance-wise, she adds the dynamics required of her character, but thank goodness only a titch as wooden as the NS man.

Last of all to be introduced is Lawrence the fishbowl keeper, whose main focus of his life are his three fishes, Peter, James and John who are mercilessly under the intense spotlights of the stage light rig. He definitely give you that good-boy impression, and his performance isn't that bad either. Lack of experience is forgiven.

The story goes on to portray the 6 neighbours converging at the lift in the morning. Alvin's attempt at a straight face fails utterly. He looks like he might be retraining gas instead? Anyway...

The six neighbours exit the lift, and a conversation ensues between Lawrence and The Cleaner, which is punctuated by a song sung by "Lawrence". His singing is horrendous, despite help given to the audience in the form of lyrics projected unto screens on either side of the stage. Pitch issues aside, there is the terrible visual distraction taken in the form of The Cleaner, whose cringe-worthy rendition of the duck walk with his broom leaves something to be desired ("Infidel! How dare thee taketh away the trademark of the highly esteemed Angus Young?!").

Now the main focus of the play centres around Andrew the NS man. Apparently he chooses to sing whilst "playing" his guitar (insert music by live band here) and lying down somemore. In the background you hear his mother's naggy voice, followed by his father's boomy vocal telling him of future prospects and your whatnots. Bad singing does not do much to ease the pain with which I'm sure his SAJCians must be experiencing due to the garbled audio mess which combines the live band, the parents' voices and the singing.

"7:30 AM again" shows the neighbours once again at their usual morning rituals... Kiat and Veronica fighting, Debra the schoolgirl being late once more, Andrew sleeping, Betty waking up, Lawrence tending to his fish.

Converging at the lift once more, they enter and soon reach the ground floor (lift scene aided by lift video projected onto screens), only for a resounding boom to resonate across the hall and a red light flashes unto the characters who scream on cue to hammer in the effect of being scared and shocked. It works, and I'm delighted to be shaken out of the monotony... only to realise it's the intermission.

Intermission over, we return to the scene of distruction, where we find a waking Kiat rising from the rubble which is the basement/1st floor. He yells in vain for his missing wife, Veronica who is nowhere to be seen. Next to wake is Andrew the NS man, who is yelled at by an exasperated Kiat to "do something! anything!". What thing? the audience wonders.

Next to be awaken is Lawrence and the Cleaner. Betty is found, and after a while Debra, who appears to be unconscious. The classic "does anyone know CPR?" question is fired out, only for the obvious "Ok, I shall do it" to be met with squeals from the audience. Debra screams and jumps awake just as Lawrence's lips are an inch away from hers. Cliched, but effective I guess... as seen in the form of the delirious audience who roar with laughter.

Kiat still cannot find his wife. Lawrence soons teaches everyone how to straighten out their life by comparing then with species of fishes (insert "fishcake" joke here... Alvin you do not want to know what the fishcake joke is) and to 'trust the owner of the fishbowl because blah blah blah. Everyone except Kiat is touched by his words, who remains cynical and scorns Lawrence's zen-like peacefulness.

Another song is sung, along with a hokkien/cantonese rap breakdown section which goes compeltely over my head. I find it was absolutely uncalled for, and definitely reduced the entertainment factor of an already excessively drawn-out song. Why have so many choruses? What about the lyrics which can never seem to rhyme properly? Ello???

Eventually, Veronica is found. Another earthquake ensues in a climax which involves Lawrence pushing Kiat aside as a "concrete block" falls, crushing Lawrence in the process. Everyone is stock still. The Hall is silent as Kiat picks up the fishbowl and starts a mournful tune. It is arguably the best vocal performance which almost brought me to tears. Thank Alvin for being 95% pitch-perfect, and bringing out the melancholiness of the tune. The plays ends abruptly. How come liddat one?

Overall, I give it 4 stars... the above remarks are due to my vindicative nature in nit-picking out irritating details in a play which is not meant to be a professional performance. But come on lah. If you want people to sing, make sure they CAN sing. If you want people to act, make sure they CAN act. If not, I'm sure the COGS youth congregation can reveal a few more diamonds in the rough to be polished up for future endeavours. That's my take.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Interesting...

2006-07-15T12:01:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

The past few days have been incredibly hard for me. I've been working incredibly hard on my chair model, and using a brand new material which I have never worked with before. Let me explain more.

Since my chair design in real life is made of plywood, the appearance of the chair is like a shell sitting atop a set of legs. Due to certain complications in the production of the real full scale model, I have to create a 1/4 scale model, which still has to retain that shell-like structure. That was the challenge: to create a shell structure with the existing methods given to us.

One way was to make it out of balsa wood. I would have to make a mould of the chair and wetting the balsa before pressing it into the mould and hopefully it would not break. It would be very high risk.

Another way was the using of a vacuum-forming method. Once again, a mould would be required but a sheet of plastic would be heated and then vacuum-formed over the mould so that the shape could come out. It would not produce the desired effect, but it would be better than nothing.

The third way would be using the vacuum-formed shape (once the plastic cools and hardens into a shape which is very close to the real shape of the chair) and coat the interior with a layer of substance which would harden and eventually form the shell-like shape which I desired so badly.

Trouble was, the third method required a material which I had no idea how to procure.. until my lecturer literally delivered it under my nose.

The new material which he introduced to me was originally meant to be used in place of the 'traditional' wall putty, which cracked very easily and was a bitch to maintain. However with the arrival of this new material, I managed to completely (and I'm not trying to boast here) revolutionise the way models are being made in IDC. The material I used was a polyester putty with hardener, which would eventually harden into a solid that could be sanded down and painted with ease. With this new material, I easily created the effect which I so desired.

According to that same lecturer who provided me the material, I was the first student utilise that material in such a manner. I had taken a huge gamble with this material because I had no idea whether it would stick to the mould or it would come out easily. I had applied the putty and allowed it to cure overnight in school, and the next morning, my wildest dreams were realised.. and I went on to create IDS modelling history XD.

So now my model is receiving it's first coat of base paint, which should dry within the hour in the saturday afternoon sun. I still have to bend the legs and produce the p-boards. What a life. Until next thursday then :)

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

That feeling once again?

2006-07-11T20:02:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

I have always enjoyed going for a jam session with new people, even though for the past few months I have been trying out new people. It's the experience of meeting new people and encountering different and difficult situations which I feel has moulded me into someone whom I could not have forseen before all of this had happened.

I guess, sometimes it's not just about the feeling of trying new people out for future bandmates, but also that adrenaline rush when all you feel is the music you're producing along with 4 other people. That's one heck of a powerful thing when your music just locks into the moment, all that matters is you and that instrument you're carrying on your shoulders and the mental connection between the strings and your brain.

Sweat doesn't matter, pain doesn't matter, all that matters is that you're getting that feeling of being high that you can never get from any drug or substance. One of the reasons why I absolutely refuse to do smoking or whatever is that I have the knowledge that such things are so temporary. I find the best way to find 'enlightenment' per se is to be myself in the best way possible: be utterly honest with myself and understand my limitations before moving on to accomplish a task the best that I can.

Many a time I have failed in certain things, and I have avoided such circumstances from then onwards because I know it is not my time for me to accomplish such tasks. I could not get angry, but only sift it out of my system and move on. Sometimes pain can be so useful for learning things... unfortunate but ultimately neccessary I guess?

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Status: Unsure

2006-07-09T19:57:00.000+08:00

Hmm.

A while back, my bassist and I were chatting on msn, and he asked me:

K: "Errik, do you have a gf?"

CDD: "No. Why?"

K: "Do you feel lonely?"

CDD: "Umm.. sometimes lah, wassup? LOL u got someone to introduce?"

K: "Well I was thinking... people like Clapton, Hendrix, Page... they all started out lonely, but when people got to know them, the world was laid out at their feet"

CDD: "Truth to tell man, I dare not think so much about it. What will be will be I guess."

What is my purpose on this earth? There has to be a certain reason why the big dude upstairs has allowed me to continue on this path of musical exploration and development for so long. Sometimes I pray for a clear answer... something that allows me to work towards, but I don't think I have seen it yet. I have the passion, I have some sense of vision, but somehow I need to work harder to realise my hopes of being well.. a true rock musician?

Over the past month, my contacts in the local musician scene has expanded somewhat, more often than not due to my continued involvement in musicians' forums. I try and keep my head down, work hard in getting the stuff together, and yesterday was a real triumph for me because the fellows I have been trying so hard to bring together have finally congregated in one space, jammed together and after that, sat down and had a good long chat. It really brings great joy to my heart to see some of the hard work pay off after slogging so hard to find a group of people who share a common time, a common vision, a common effort.

I also feel a stonger sense of community at work, where my colleagues and I are so much more at ease with one another. Contrast that with the situation at school, where my classmates chose to not fill me in on a class gathering outside of school. Imagine how I felt when I found out. I had put in the effort to try and gel with my classmates, but still they just throw my goodwill out of the window. Is it so hard to just change a mindset and forgive and forget? I know that I have done my part, and if they refuse to do so, well I guess it's their choice. I cannot force people to accept who I am, for what I am and how I am as a person.

This is the reason why I chose to not invite anyone from my class to my birthday, and which was the subject of one too many quarrels with my folks. They kept insisting on me to invite a least a few people, but I resisted because it would be a move of political correctness and an effort of futility. Their mindset is that I'm this unforgiving, uncompromising, ang-moh-ish fellow who cannot care less about their interests. Irony is that I feel the same way in return, albeit not in such a childish and shallow manner. I now feel indifferent towards their falseness when it comes to being around them in school. Their behaviour has been so fake that I cannot help but just play along so that everyone looks happy on the outside.

Call me an arsehole, but why should I make anymore effort? Must I devote so much energy and time so that I can fit into a crowd that I do not belong in? Many a time I find my style of a one-man band such a powerful thing: it's just me, my guitar and my voice. Take it or leave it. You have a choice.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy