Fresh Off The Shelf

So, It’s 1:31am, Monday, 5th of May 2008. I’m sitting on my chair, ranting.
This post is going to stretch quite a fair bit, as i have quite the load of things to talk about.
Well then, where shall i start. Let’s begin things with the things that happened in school.
Lessons were as tiring as usual though there are modules which were pretty interesting.
Electronic Design Automation is shit. Seriously.  As interesting as it may seem. The work involved is
just pure insanity. It is practically impossible to finish within a session. Well, unless if one is a really quick and focused, the job would be done at the moment lesson ends.
Coming to kendo. The juniors have arrived. As expected of any CCA, the turnout for the first session was pretty big. Subsequently, the numbers dropped as the weeks go by. Club crawl was really fun by the way. Although, it really SUCKED to miss lessons. I guess that is all i would talk about for school. Don’t really feel like ranting on and on about school anyways. Come to think of it there is actually one thing that i should talk about. It’s the rubbish bin !! Well, i know you all might be thinking now, why the heck would you talk about the rubbish bin!? Pretty absurd right? Just the opposite. My kendo trainings are Mondays and Fridays. So, it was this particular Friday, I noticed the rubbish bin. It was so full to the point that trash had to be put on top of it and even around it. The trash were all drink packets/cans that the good sportsmen/women of NYP have left.
The Trash:

Beautiful ain’t it. Ha.

Next up, guitar maintenance!!
For the past 3 years now, i have been re-stringing my guitar on my own. Learned it all via the good old internet, with its ever so reliable source of information on all things good and bad. =]
So, at some point, one would really feel the glory and sense of achievement of being able to re-string his/her instrument. And so I’ve done a re-stringing job on my Mustang recently.
Perfection was the only word used to describe this round of maintenance.
The Bound Of Perfection =]

Something that could have almost ended in tragedy for my Mustang happened a few days ago.
I guess I’ll have to change my gigbag. I’ve ordered one RDM Duo anyways. Heh.
And so to the matter at hand. My old rockbag, i washed it about 2 weeks back and still has yet to dry.
I wouldn’t have realized this until i took out my Mustang about 4 days back. It had condensation on the body, the neck pickup was “popped”, screws were rusted, strings were rusted, it was just a horrific sight to see.
Immediately, i took a cloth and wiped it dry. I dissembled the guitar, cleaning the guitar thoroughly. I was almost at a complete lost of what to do. After a moment, with thoughts collected, first things first. I went to care for the neck first, checking if it is warped in anyway then applying a quick coat of lemon oil.
After the neck was done, i went on to the main body. Wiped the screws with WD-40 and oiled any parts that needed it. It was a fortunate thing, that i paid attention to Beez when I brought my guitar for maintenance that I wasn’t really confident to do it myself. I had to change one of the guitar’s pickup. So, carefully i de-soldered the damaged pickup, and slowly put in the spare one. At first, i was worried about the configuration as the spare pickup was meant for the bridge. By putting it in, it would mean a bridge-bridge configuration, the sound and tone would then be questionable. But i really didn’t have a choice so i carried out the “operation”. When everything was done, i assembled the guitar back together and re-stringed it with a fresh set of D’Addarios .10s
I looked at my Mustang, and heaved a big sigh of relieve. I had successfully “saved” the guitar from what could have ended in a disaster. The output jack needs replacement though.
I could be a guitar repair/maintenance guy in the future o0 ha.
Right, moving on. I’ve actually placed an order for a Fender Japan Telecaster about 2 weeks back. She arrived on Friday, 2nd May, 2008, 10am. I couldn’t be there to see it and I didn’t expect it as i was already school at 8am. So, when i returned home, tired and totally worn out from kendo, i dragged my bogu bag to my maid’s room and asked her to wash the gi and hakama as always and asked her if my package arrived. She nodded sleepily. My eyes opened immediately. For the record, I’ve been asking my maid every single day whenever i returned from school whether my package has arrived. And so, i quickly went upstairs and saw the big box lying on my bed. I was extremely excited.
The Box:

And there it was lying inside, my new Fender Japan Telecaster 62′Reissue with Texas Special Pickups.
The reason why i bought this, the tone of the telecaster is something that really appealed to me and proves to be excellent in the application of post rock. Adding to the already big plus, it features a very very very sexy double bond on the body which will be shown in the later pictures. Moreover, it also features an alder body and compliments to the telecaster’s already excellent tone. This guitar would be the guitar i would keep stock for quite a while. I was thoroughly impressed and proved that it was a really worthwhile buy.

Further Unpacking:

Almost there…

Beautiful.

Now, i have 2 beauties as my workhorses for my music making, who knows probably my money making tools as well (laughs in a sarcastic way)
The money spent and the waiting I’ve been through was really worthwhile.
I’m aiming for the Telecaster Thinline next. But, that would be a pretty long time before I place the order.
Well, till next time. If you do have some free time guys visit -> http://www.myspace.com/weareavis
My band’s originals are up!! Check them out when you can!!
Cheers!

Arigatou

A really really really big thank you to all my kendo pals who came down for the gig @ the arts house on april 19th!! You guys just rock lar hahah. Also Happy Birthday and thank you to Alina for being a PR xD youzor rocks Alina, i buy you a drink one day xD
To Jiaying as well, for the photos and videos thank you!! The video served as very important reference for us =]
Till next time, Cheers !!

Chinese New Year

Yay! Chinese New Year(CNY) is here!!
Bust them angbaos out married people.. and people who are suppose to give… err HARHAR i am here to collect them!
Anyways i think i’ve told everyone on a previous post that i bought the Master Grade 1/100 Scale Destiny Gundam sometime back. Well, i’m happy to say that i have completed it yesterday. It looks fantastic if i should say so myself. This would make my 2nd Master Grade kit. My next kit would be the Nu-Gundam. Fin funnels are teh rocks! But that would be like 3/4 down this year before i fork out the cash to buy the kit.
A lot of pictures coming your way after the ranting is done. Gundam cam-whoring hmm.. is that even a term? =3
Next up would be an update from my band. We have our myspace done out erm, quite nicely. We even have one of our originals uploaded there. So, if you guys have to time to check it out, do visit –> http://www.myspace.com/weareavis
Well, i guess that’s about all i want to say in this little rant. Coming up are all the pictures taken of Destiny and Freedom too.
Picture count = 20 printf(“Enjoy LOLZ”);
(P.S. I think the many weeks of programming just got to me =3)
Destiny Gundam

Freedom & Destiny (With Outdoor Shots)

Cheers!

Got Radio?

Got radio? Hell Yeah!!
Very very big thanks to joel for helping me/giving me tutorial on how to setup online broadcasting.
Now, ive got my very own radio station!! Well, online that is.
I think i have sorta came up with a schedule, my broadcasting starts every Wednesday all the way up to Sunday.
The station is called ALTRadio!! Joel is broadcasting as well so check em all out
Wednesday: Indie Night – 8pm to 2am

Thursday: Your Japanese Fill – 8pm to 2am

Friday: Reverbia – 8pm to 11pm
OnJazz – 1110pm to 2am

Sats&Suns: The ALTernative List – 3pm to 2am(May have some live commentary, watch out for it xD)

So people, if you have the time, winamp, windows media player, itunes, real player, try tuning in.
http://58.182.253.12:2401/listen.pls —>My station
http://218.212.168.171:8000/listen.pls —> Joel’s Station
The ip for these links changes overtime due to unforseen reasons =x thus do check for updates

My schedule will start proper on the next week. The station still broadcasts music right now, so check it out!!

Thanks and Cheers!!

Kendo Camp

Returned from what i would say the most physically demanding camps. Comparing it to NCC camps, NCC camps are really really very slack. It was also a really fun camp. A camp that i have learnt alot from, a camp that was a refreshing experience to me.
Checked in on Tuesday, also known as day zero where everyone settles in to the rooms and gets ready for the next day. Everyone headed off to Ang Mo Kio Hub, NTUC, to get drinks, snacks and various items. After everyone got back, we awaited for Suresh’s mom’s dinner.
Ai say, good job auntie. Love the rice!! It was delicious, really does go well with the chicken.
After dinner, everyone retreated back into their rooms or just sitting around outside, chatting or PSPing. The rooms are relatively big as compared to the classrooms of my secondary school days. It has air-conditioning, so no complains there though it switches off at about 11pm, that’s where the industrial fan comes in. All hail the mighty industrial fan.
The room is pretty comfortable in my opinion, one can really sleep well in there.
Everyone watched a “documentary” on a particular practitioner of kendo, named Naoki Eiga of the Japan national team. It was about how he has been as a kendoka. I shan’t go into details as it be frightening. It’s really inspiring to see how he has picked up from defeats and just decides to go back to the very beginning of his training. He finally realized he was too obsessed with victory and decides to put all his focus to putting that one hit on his opponent no matter be it victory or defeat. It really reminds me of how a natural flow of mind can be a powerful factor.
Day 1, the beginning of training. PT was horribly tiring. The jogging was still manageable but when it came to the exercises, it was TEH killer. After morning PT and breakfast, we began learning katas. In my opinion, it was like the footdrill of kendo. All that seriousness and focus together with precision of movement. Katas are really fun, interesting too. Then it was on to the bogu training. Training would be spilt into about 3 to 4 sessions a day. This carried on till Thursday. The after-trainings were just basically free time/rest time. Everyone would be out at AMK, chit chatting, some already deep in their sleep, PSPing, and even PS2ing thanks to kian chew for his contribution =x
If i recall correctly, the seniors had an evening training at Clementi on one of the nights. Respect to them for their hardwork(bows). By Friday, everyone was bushed out, at their limits, and thank goodness everyone had a half day break before our final night training.
Other kendokas from NUS, SMU and the AKT, gathered at our humble NYP hall/dojo to train. Damian sensei was also present at the training. It was a really heart warming, encouraging and fun training. As the numbers were great, everyone’s morale was boosted and all trained their hearts out on this final training of the camp. Though we were training our very most basics, i feel that it was also good as it is important for one not to forget their very basic foundations that are important for performing wazas correctly and as accurately as possible. After training ended, Damian sensei ended it with a traditional banzai cheer. Everyone though exhuasted both mentally and physically, all still had high spirits.
Dragging our burned out, muscle aching bodies back to the SA forum, everyone retreated back into the chilled rooms and just laid still to rest. Cold showers rock by the way. Washing up and all done, everyone decided to order in MacDonald’s for dinner. I turned in at about 4am.
The camp was a really tiring camp, but still a lot of valuable lessons have been learnt from it and i can never forget them. I personally feel that i have brushed up on my basics and took note of the many mistakes that i have committed and will definitely do something about. Sorry Nabil, still working on that left foot! I will make it parrallel if it’s the last thing i do! Also, everyone bonded even more in the camp, got to interact more and played games together, it was great. Wearing the hakama with a t-shirt is cool !!
Special mention for the muslims in the camp. Totally salute them as it was their fasting period but still went through the entire camp. Thank you to all seniors that have put this camp together, it was great. Though honestly i would dread the next camp, solely because of the trainings that i would expect but still i would endure with all my strength.
So, i shall end my post about camp here, till next time.
Cheers.

Granado Espada

Yeah, im sure you guys have seen the advertising for this game, Granado Espada.
This game is produced by the legendary korean game maker, Hakkyu Kim. Visually stunning surroundings, user friendly combat interface,expertly crafted character models, this game is designed to perfection. I have not played such an amazing game in a very long time. Its a great game that will get you hooked pretty darn quickly, taking me as the best example =P Another plus point about this or actually 2, you can actually bot, if your a pretty hardcore gamer, you’d know what it is and you’ll get banned in any MMORPG if it is actually done but not in Granado Espada as they have an assault mode option which actually allows you to “camp” and train there while your doing other stuff, very cool stuff! Also, the amazing soundtrack. I agree with animedeshodesho, there is absolutely no need for one to turn off the bgm in this game. Overall Granado Espada is one game that i’d really pretty much do anything to continue playing the game. The quests, joining up with factions, partying in squads, having wars,doing missions, the fun in the game is pretty much endless. Love the poses xD

Recently an event was organized at Zouk to celebrate the release of the game. Good thing i pre-registered for this event. Joel, Laurent and I went for this event Aloysius then joined us later. The queue already started, not even the rain dampened the spirits of these hardcore fans/gamers to get into the complex. After a brief wait, the queue started moving really quickly and before we knew it, we were in Zouk. Door gifts were handed out. Inside there was an issue of Playworks and FHM. A door hanger, vouchers and various other items. The place was really packed with people and those that had formed “squads” were in the process of filling up their quest cards. Joel and i headed up to the “marketplace” to purchase the limited signature edition of Granado Espada. After shopping, we went on to mingle with the crowd, watch performances, and view the PvP tournament that was going on throughout the event. As expected the place was decorated with the baroque theme just like the game. There were cosplayers walking around as well as the staff that were dressed up for the event. It was a very cool event, honestly, this is the first game event that i have participated in. Well i’ve got plenty of pictures to show around 19 i think xD, some from the event and plenty in-game enjoy! Welcome to the world of Granado Espada!

Im in bright yellow, joel’s beside me on the right lol

FHM Gamer Girl! Hey there babe =]

Mobs and Fights

The nice features of an elementalist =]