Interesting stuff i'm reading:

Forer Effect

Nocebo Effect

Milgram Experiment

Conscientious Objector

Did i tell you i love wiki?

I've just finished reading the entire series of Slam Dunk. The feeling was immense. Thanks for the wonderful gift. You made me rediscover my passion again. The passion tt was once lost. Like Mitsui.

I feel like training with my NJ friends again. I'm so looking forward to next week. Even though we might not be a great team, but the times we trained were amazing. At least, they believed in me back then.

I just got my teeth checked this morning. So i'm finally gonna get my braces done. Tt's after i go thru the teeth cleaning procedure first. I havent went for teeth cleaning for abt.. 10 yrs? But oh well, the doc said i had no cavities (ie strong teeth). It's just dirty and laden with grime. Which can be cleaned away. It's fascinating how the dental industry works. I'm like the walking proof tt u dun need to visit the dentist every half a year man. It's just a scam to keep them in business!

Anyways, i feel discomfort in my teeth, so it's high time i act on this braces thingy. I think nobody knows my teeth are pretty messed up. I guess it's because of the way i smile or shld i say i seldom smile, so no one notices it. Not tt i hide it intentionally, but probably subconsciously. And it's a bitch to brush, floss or whatever u wanna do with it. It's just too cramped up right now. I'm looking forward to the extractions, cos from what i hear from Shirui, u do feel the loosening up of the teeth after the extraction. I need to get some relief asap.

So in abt 1-2 months, we'll be braces boy & girl. It will be funny to imagine how we can kiss. Metal on metal. Hmm, sounds like a good title for a heavy metal song gone wrong. Probably wun be able to dish out any recordings with singing for a while, so u guys are safe for a while.

But not for long!! Roar

I find it immensely irritating when a PRC talks to me in English. It clearly implies 2 things: he thinks that his English is really good enough to hold a conversation, and that he thinks i cannot converse well enough in Mandarin. Which clearly isnt the case at all.

I believe my Mandarin speaking ability far exceeds his ability to speak English, so isnt it better for 2 pple to communicate in Mandarin where both are able to understand each other, rather than English which the PRC is often struggling to find the correct words.

I think Daniel speaking Mandarin > PRC speaking English.

Just when i tot i've experienced it all, i saw the horror of all horrors today: 2 PRCs speaking shitty English to each other. It's totally retarded.

I applaud them for trying so hard. Really. But it's funny to listen.

Air-foo.

This sem is extremely trying. Taking 1 module tt's so far the 2nd hardest one i've ever took, Statistical Modelling for Actuarial Science. The concepts used in the module are all derived from the hardest module i ever took, Mathematical Statistics. Conditionals, generating functions, distributions derived from other distributions, stuff tt i tot i will never see again all come flooding back in this module. Fuck.

It's gonna be a shit ride.

I'm currently arranging my own acoustic version of Eternal Flame by the Bangles. So far, it sounds very promising, just i need alot more practice to be able to record it. I scoured the net for an acoustic version for this song, but apparently there isn't any, so i guess my arrangement is the first in the world?

Anyways this is the first song tt i played to Shirui while we just started dating. Yea, kinda chessy, but oh well. Anything to get the girl man.

Back to the fretboard! Though my fingers are v tired now.

After getting all my tutorials, my timetable is still shitty. It's gonna be like tt for this sem. I'd just have to endure it.

Many thoughts after attending the OMS welcome tea, and one of which was: why do i feel like strangers with everyone?

In fact i feel like strangers with alot of people. We only connect when the topic is on guitar or tutorials.

It's makes you question yourself sometimes.

Yday i was surfing thru the wiki for the Slam Dunk comic. It was the most motivating thing i've ever read in my entire life.

I wonder if i can get hold of it again. Just to relive the moments.

Hmm.

So in the end, I'm still a small fry in your eyes.

I wrote a song for a friend recently, cos he broke up with his gf of 2 mths, and was extremely pissed abt it for reasons tt i am uncertain of. So i was handed some lyrics, and i basically wove a complete song around it.

Throughout the entire working process, i was wondering: who gets the credits? The one who wrote the lyrics? Or the one who wrote the tune? Which one has more "value" in a tune? And the interesting thing is tt i believe tt whichever came later has higher value. The lyrics may be good, but with good music, the song will be killer. And vice versa.

I dun know what i'm driving at, but i just felt i should be given more credit for my efforts, though i've already decided to stop participating in this project. The reason being tt the song sounds too much alike Daughtry's Home, with a few keys down. So it's pointless to continue, cos firstly i'm not too comfortable with pple claiming my tune as if it's theirs, and secondly i'm not too comfortable with my tunes sounding extremely similar to something i've heard before.

The power of transposition. Most musicians i know dun realise tt u dun have to play a song exactly. By shifting the key down, it makes the song a million times much easier to sing. By playing inversions, guitarists and bassist would nv have to over double the notes. By improvising the solos, guitarists can work around their weaknesses and play to their strengths. Downtuning makes u sound 10 times heavier btw. It's useful sometimes if u need to headbang-ize ur music.

Han Yuan asked me to form a band again. The issue arises again. I'm supposed to find the other band members? I find tt request ridiculous, but it clearly shows how shitty the band leader job is. Finding members is one thing, keeping ur members interested is another. The job just complicates when u have all strangers in ur band. Everyone has their own agenda.

I led 2 bands before, one in my neighbourhood with my friends, and another one in hall. Friends take u for granted, hallmates just couldn't be bothered to get too involved cos there's alot of other more interesting things to do in hall. It's tt simple. So i only join bands now. If i dun like it i leave. I wun form another band, unless i feel special chemistry. Probably all it takes is an extremely hot babe keyboardist in mini skirt and tube top.

Anyways, for the uninitiated, i dun give my blog address away for free. I used to publish it in my MSN nick, until i found the idea too ridiculous. It's like telling any tom dick and harry to come and read what you have to say, then at the end of it u self-censor what u want to say. So instead of tt, if pple ask if i blog, i'll tell them i do, but they'll have to guess the url themselves. Which actually isnt hard after all, right?

It's better this way, i get to filter the people somehow, so tt pple i "approve" will get to read, and some unknown readers too. Since the unknown readers are bothered enough to blogsearch for my page, i guess it's no harm letting pple who are interested in me to read abt stuff on me.

Ok Miko you are smart too! See it isnt tt hard.

So it goes to show how many pple are really interested in knowing me. There's only such a handful la. I know it myself. I know i dun tend to project the "I'm a friendly social butterfly guy, come be my friend!" image. And my headphones pretty much shut out anything tt my appearance filters through. Oh well, this kind of a way to dispel any form of misunderstandings tt might happen with my interaction with girls.

Ok i'm too busy reading a new blog now. Good night.

My timetable is super shit.

I dun understand why my friend keeps asking stuff abt the past, when it's the present tt he really needs to focus on.

I dun understand why people like to borrow my notes, when they can just print off the web themselves. It's not like i have some secret formulas for success.

I feel extreme stress whenever i have to travel to arts. I love the comfort staying in science. AYE is just outside, ready to go home.

I dun understand why i like to hide at home so much. Maybe to conceal the fact tt i dun have schmates to hang out with after class.

Tt's what u get for planning modules alone. But it's the only way to ensure that i am able to get a perfect timetable.

But my timetable is fucked up this sem.

I'm taking a module this sem on interpersonal effectiveness. I wonder how that will turn out.

I've finally got Civ4 out of my system. I wun touch it for a while already. Time to catch up on guitaring or something else.

I wonder why i cannot focus on guitaring as much as i can focus on basketball.

Shooting threes for 2 hrs is no problem. Practising technique for 2 hrs is a big problem.

I made abt 100 threes on Tuesday night. It felt amazing.

But no one knows. No one bothers. No one understands the implications.

Good Night

It's probably one of the meanest phrase i ever said to someone close. But it has to be said to wake up one's idea. It's for the better-ment of someone.

"You're just a data entry clerk. Live with it man."

Killer.

I've always wonder what's the point of debating with a bunch unqualified people, when none of us are even somewhat equipped with the knowledge regarding the debating topic. Whoever has more information, makes the most sense, will prevail for the moment. Until someone else is able to produce better information to form the still somewhat vague picture. It's pointless. But it sure makes good coffee talk.

I fucking need a new chair cushion. I have no bloody idea y the fluffy looking cushion from Giant just feels so fucking weird when u sit down on it. It's retarded beyond expectations. So far i've placed the cushions in all possible orientations, but still it's freaking uncomfortable! I paid 8 bucks for it though, i've no idea how much a comfy cushion shld cost.

Like Adelin (future sis-in-law) said: You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Probably true in this case. Pfft.

I've fixed my Blue Mat-Rock(tm) Kapok Guitar, with a new nut and fresh D'addario strings which my brother bought abt 7 yrs ago (yes the vacuum pack works). After fiddling ard with this guitar, i can fully understand y it's just priced at a cheap 40 bucks. The reason is v v simple.

The guitar can't hold it's tuning well. It's probably due to the tuners + the fact tt the neck bends alittle. The intonation might be off as well, but it's somewhat expected too. There u have it, problems from a 40 dollar guitar. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. My bro picked it up from the void deck. I get orangutans.

The way i got around the various tuning and intonation issues, is via... playing slide! Right now the guitar is tuned to Open E (E B E G# B e), to facilitate playing the killer slide blues licks. The only issue now is tt the guitar has only 12 playable frets, it's a classical with acoustic strings. It's just made tt way dun ask me why. So yea, killer slide licks can only go up to the 12th fret. Everything else has to be transposed 12 frets down. Bummer.

Tt's pretty much what occupied me for the past week. Which is why i din blog much. Busy playing the blue slide blues guitar.

Bought a new phone too. Nokia 6300. It satisfies all the characteristics i want in a phone: Slick design, cheap, candy bar, Nokia, mp3 enabled. Yea. The only gripe is tt the volume is somewhat soft. So i can't really hear if anyone msg me. Otherwise, it's the perfect phone for me. And i've used my favourite solo as the ringtone. The benefits of a mp3 phone. No one crappy self-created midi ringtones. So off.

I really cannot understand what goes in the minds of the elite students. Like going for student leader summits, discussing world issues. It's amazing how the future brains for the country work man. I mean i'm grateful for these guys to take up the boring subjects such as political science, so tt i can worry more abt stuff tt i'm actually interested in like statistics and guitaring GT1101. I can never get so involved in world news, unless it affects my money. But then again it's more on business news already. World news is like, i dunno, it really doesnt seem to concern me sometimes. Or so i wish to believe. Even though we know abt the globalisation BS going on.

Bottomline: I'm thankful for these people around. So i dun have to be one of them.

Ok my lady is telling me to call her. Bye.