Roller Coaster

It's the last day of September and whew, looking back, 2016 has been a crazy year so far. I wouldn't say crazy in a negative way, but it's just quite an exciting and bustling year for me. Sometimes I feel like "Wow I survived 2016 this far" heh. So many things happened this year. Trials and tribulations. A year of patience, perseverance and hopefully triumph will catch up with us at the end of this year.

It truly feels like a crazy roller coaster ride. And I just truly hope that at the end of this year, I get to feel that same wonderful feeling of satisfaction that you get after riding a roller coaster. That feeling of adrenaline, excitement, pride, relief and euphoria all mixed into one. Just that in this case, you won't be able to ride the roller coaster again. Well, no two experiences of riding roller coasters are the same anyway. So yes let us just all enjoy this ride once and for all.

I seriously can't believe that it's the end of September now. 2016 has been moving at a crazy pace. I did many things and got involved in many things too. Feels like every month seems to go faster and faster. There are days and nights where I just wish I could slow time down. This is growing up I suppose?

I think the older we go, the less time we have for ourselves. The time I have after dinner and before I sleep is actually the only free time that I have and that I can only enjoy. But sometimes (or quite a few times already), I used this time to do work heh. It's alright I'm not complaining. I get to finish my work anyway.

Bu it's just funny how sometimes I stop and ponder to myself about how much times have changed. 

Oh well, we have three more months to the new year now. I hope 2016 has been treating you well. And here's wishing a wonderful last three months of 2016 for all of us. We have around 90 days to finish out resolutions, and to give this year a wonderful epilogue! See you soon people :)

Meteorite

Currently hooked with this new song from Years and Years, which is also an OST for Bridget Jone's Baby. The video is awesome too! It makes me feel like I want to wear Olly's outfit and dance around with it hah. Anyway time to share with you the great music of September! :)

Great Music of September:

- Who's Got You Singing Again by PREP

- Bonfires by The Diogenes Club

- Firework by The Diogenes Club

- Meteorite by Years and Years

- The Greatest by Sia

There were quite a few "surprise" releases in this month! First was two new singles by The Diogenes Club! After a 5 year hiatus, he finally releases new materials. Although I discovered him in 2013 heh. I really love his synths and I am looking forward to more music in the future. I hope he'll release a physical copy of his albums though. I love Bonfires, his signature touch is in this song.

PREP did announce that they will be releasing a new song and also news about their upcoming EP. I thought they will be releasing new materials together with the EP but they released another song before the EP! I think this is my 2nd favourite song from them after Cheapest Flight <3 I have pre-ordered their EP and I can't wait for it to arrive! PREP songs are definitely my drive home anthem.

Sia released "The Greatest" as a tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting. I love this song, although I feel a tinge of sadness watching the video. But her words are kind of affirming and it's also another reason why I love this song. Perhaps she's releasing another album soon.

Alright that's all for the music of September. October is here really soon and... The number of new music that are going to be released in October is making me excited haha. Like I said last month, One Republic, Lady Gaga, Empire of The Sun, PREP, and hopefully more! Tycho's new album will be released tomorrow too. I'm going to give it a proper listen in the next upcoming days.

Okay, here's to more music in the remaining 3 months of 2016! :)

Satisfaction

 SPSB at Insadong

I was scrolling through the photos I took during my trip to Korea with SPSB (thanks Facebook!) and whew, it's been 5 years! Well I kinda miss those days. Days filled with kimchi and laughter and traveling on the bus. Making music in a foreign country, and a foreign city. But the photo above stood out the most. This photo was taken during our performance in Insadong street.

One of the fondest memories I have with SPSB is this particular performance. We performed in Insadong which is quite a bustling shopping street. At first I thought that it was an "awkward" location and there was nobody watching us perform. Except for a few uncles who were carrying goods. But as we play along, and also after our guide introduced us, a couple of locals and tourists stopped by.

I remember when we played John Barnes Chance's Variations on A Korean Folk Song (which is essentially variations on Arirang), I saw two Korean ladies serenading and smiling as we were playing. A few locals stopped and just watched us in awe. It was truly a sight I will never forget.

I think one of the greatest feelings in life is to make others happy through the music you play. So seeing the locals smile as we play that song, in Korea, was definitely something I will never forget. And boy, I really miss this feeling. I miss feeling that satisfaction of playing music. I miss band so much.

Well I really don't know when I will perform in a band again. Or even, when I will perform again. It's been four years since I last touched the clarinet. And since I performed on stage. There are nights where I just think about all the good days, and how bad I want to return to them.

Music will always be a part of my life. Right now I only have the ability to enjoy it. But well, we'll make things happen. I can't wait to go back to playing the piano again.

Failure?

I think that failures are kind of inevitable in life. I mean everything has a chance of failing. We're all just playing with probabilities and how we do our shit. Like Paramore said, it's not the way we plan it, it's how we make it happen (Cold Cold World by Paramore). And at the same time, if we are so afraid of failing, we might as well stay in our rooms and do nothing in life. Get What I mean.

Well yes, there is always a chance of failing. But to me, I have a different kind of mindset. I'm not sure if this is a bad or good thing but I always have this mindset that whatever I do, will not fail hahaha. And if we do fail then err, we'll think of ways to rectify things heh. One of my bad habits in life is to not have a backup plan. I'm a very spontaneous guy. I fix problems instead of avoiding them.

Which can be something bad. Meh.

Or more like this. Like when I carry out a project, or do something new, I don't really like to think of failures. In the back of my head, yes I may fail and things may not work out. But I think it's more important to just focus and carry out this project. Basically do what you're supposed to do. Without thinking and fearing failures. Most of the time, magically, it always works fine.

I think Buddhism has taught me a lot regarding this. Like I just want to make full good use of this life. This month and this day. It is kind of difficult and "vague" to define "make full good use". But basically I have this belief that instead of spending and wasting your energy, time and thoughts on how things may fail, let us focus on making things work and achieve our goals. Ayyy.

Anyway the almost-one-year project that has been on-going is coming to a close real soon. Or in fact next week. I'm so excited for this new chapter ahead, and to continue writing this new chapter! I was just looking back on the times we were worried about things not working. Yet inside me I was just holding on to the hope and to the thought that everything will work fine. Just do it! *Shia LeBeouf style* 

Alrighty that's all for now! See you real soon. I have a couple of blog posts to write mmhmm.

Happy (belated) Mid Autumn!

I miss autumn

Whew I forgot to blog last night. Not sure why. But yes yesterday was Mid-Autumn Festival! It's not autumn here obviously. I do miss autumn a lot though. Especially those wonderful autumn days we spent in Inner Mongolia with my GTs! Which reminds me, it's been 5 years since our trip. September is kind of a sentimental month for me because it always reminds me of the good days in Duolun.

Anyway as usual, my family gathered for Mid Autumn. This year wasn't as... Festive I suppose haha. Not sure why, but maybe we've all grown up now. We no longer play games, play chase and talk about random things. But my cousins and I were talking about taxes hahaha. Just a sign that we're all adults now. Nevertheless, I always enjoy my time together with my cousins and family members. 

It was rather cloudy last night in the evening but thankfully the sky cleared up, and the moon was shining brightly. I love mid-autumn. It reminds me of home (well I'm here now) and it reminds me of gatherings and just awesome fun. I had great memories celebrating mid autumn so yeah. Unlike back in those days in Singapore where I would celebrate it alone in my room haha.

I often wonder how long more we can uphold this tradition. And once we all grow up, how will things be? Perhaps my nephews and nieces will be the one playing around while we, the "adults", talk about life inside the house. Kind of eager to know how future mid-autumns will be like.

Going back to being sentimental... Yes, it's been five years! Can you believe it. I was digging for my Inner Mongolia trip journal again and just couldn't stop smiling while reading the journal. It truly feels like yesterday when I was writing it in Duolun. Be it in the hotel, outside the supermarket and so on. I'm really thankful that I wrote a journal. I can always go back to those days, it's like a time machine.

So I went to dig the photos again and boy I feel so sentimental. I wish I could go back to those days. Where life literally forgets itself. All I know is that I was enjoying my time a lot in those days. Blue skies, endless grasslands. It's amazing. Also the wonderful weather. I always long to return to Duolun!

Well like Dr Seuss said, don't cry because it's over but smile because it happened. I can only remind myself of this quote. Alright that's all for now. I hope September is treating you well :)

Wasted Happiness

I came across with a thought last night which goes like...

"I think at the end of our lives, on our deathbeds, we'll all be laughing at the amount of time that we wasted being unhappy."

I've always believed that no unhappiness is ever necessary. And that we really waste a lot of time being unhappy. Or more like, we waste a lot of time on things that we shouldn't feel unhappy about. After much interactions that I have with other people, I realise the same goes with others. When there's a problem, instead of spending time to fix it, we love to make it worst first.

Adding oil to the fire, adding curry powder to an already strong curry. If you get what I mean.

So yeah I think at the end of our lives, on our deathbeds, we'll realise how short life actually is. And we'll laugh at the amount of time we wasted being unhappy. And we will all wish we could turn back time to change but hey, we know we can't do that. So we'll just laugh it off.

Don't spend too much time being unhappy my friends. Yes, unhappiness is part and parcel of life. But just let them go. Life is truly too short to have so many unhappy moments. Be happy! :)

Tying Up The Knot

 Congratulations Febi and Livia! :)

So today another cousin of mine is tying the knot with his girlfriend! Congratulations Febi and Livia for tying the knot together! I wish you a happy and blissful marriage ahead :D Man can't believe this cousin of mine is now a married man. Just a few years back, and by a few years I mean 17 years ago, we were two kids playing Playstation together (Final Fantasy for the win!). And today I attended his holy matrimony ceremony. It's so weird to think about it. But well, we're all grown ups now.

Anyway the past weekend has been very bustling for me. On Saturday we welcomed Livia's family and had dinner together with them at the farm. It was a great time with them I suppose, first time meeting them for me. Then I sent my cousins back to their hotel, and the night was spent calculating as usual.

For Sunday, we went to the temple at noon for the ceremony. It was so touching as usual. I thought I'm not gonna cry but I did shed some tears. Man tears! Haha. Just feeling really touched I suppose, seeing my cousin getting married. Febi is really a cousin that I'm quite close with when we were young. Game unites us haha. Although nowadays we talk more about travel, music and food. 

 Family gathering means time for a we-fie!

After the ceremony we went to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant. Thanks to this lunch session I discovered awesome vegetarian dishes that I can buy! The salted egg tofu and bo-cai soup is really good. More food to be included in my menu haha. After that we said goodbyes and that's all for Sunday! I didn't really have a good sleep the night before, so I got knocked out right away.

Felt kinda guilty that my dad and brother-in-law went to the farm without me. Thankfully there's no delivery today as tomorrow is a major Islamic public holiday here so it was pushed yesterday.

Weddings always make me feel both happy and sad. Happy because my family got to reunite together once again, and happy for the married couple. And I feel sad because they always remind me of how fast time is flying. It's kind of like... Being sad in a good way? Not sure if you get what I mean. It's just one of those events that make you ravel in the mystery of time. 

Alright, that's all for today. Once again, happy wedding to my cousin and his wife! :)

Grown Ups

Back when my sister got married last year, I used to joke with her, telling her that I can't wait for her to move out so that I can have her room. Today she moved to her new house since it's finished. And I was like noooo don't move heh. Oh well, today made me realise how quickly time is flying. We're all grown ups now! Well although I don't have to feel so sad cause her house is a 3-minute walk away.

But yeah, today made me kinda sad. Not exactly sad, I'm not sure how to put it but just the feeling of utter shock about time. Back then my siblings and I still live in my current house. Then my brother got married and he's now living opposite my house with his wife. Then my sister, who lived kinda far from my house, but still in my hometown thankfully. Last but not least, is my second sister today.

Now the house feels kinda empty. My sister used to sleep beside my room (it's another separate room) with my brother in law and the house just feels so different without her presence. Although I'm a night owl, and I spend my night alone (after having dinner with my mum and dad that is), it still feels different knowing that my sister is not here. I'm pretty sure you know what I mean.

Oh well but time is time and life is life. All of us move along with them and we grow up. We know one day we will all have our own respective lives and we just can't stay together any longer. Unless in special circumstances. So here's to growing up! Because life is a wonderful gift.

Giving Up Dairy

I've been considering this strongly in the past week now cause really, I'm sick of getting acnes T_T. I drank too many milk tea 2 weeks ago I guess, and some chocolate milk. I have pimples on my ears, near my nose and on my cheek WTF right. Thankfully the one on my cheek is disappearing.

You see I don't really drink milk actually. Or in fact, I never drink milk. The only thing that stops me from not consuming dairy is food/drink that contains dairy. Like milk tea, yoghourt, ice cream, cakes and so on haha. Although to be honest I think I can give up dairy... Shouldn't be a problem. But I don't think I can give up eggs yet hah. Oh well I have been avoiding dairy completely for the past few days now.

Or at least if I can't give up dairy, let me reduce the amount that I'm consuming them.

Anyway something annoying happened yesterday. So we finally bought a composting machine! Okay not really a composting machine but a machine that chops grasses into fine pieces so that we can mix them with fertilisers to make compost. I was helping my workers to put the dried grasses into the machine when I suddenly felt like 10 needles poking into my hands. I knew they are splinters.

So I retracted my hands but things got worst because some of the splinters decided to rub against my skin and thus I was filled with scratches heh. I probably had 10 splinters on my hands so I plucked most of them by hand on the spot. Now I have two splinters embedded onto my skin. I'm just going to let my wonderful body do its job of getting rid of them naturally. Trust me it works.

Reminds me of the other time I had a splinter on my hand in Inner Mongolia, and I went to Korea after that, and returned home, and it's still on my skin. But the skin surrounding the splinter naturally peels itself and the splinter was peeled off together with a fallen skin! Isn't it amazing.

Alright just a pretty random update. I gotta blog more! Looks like my post numbers are getting on track. But I'll have to keep up with the 10 posts per month game. And I feel like a failure because I haven't been doing my monthly blog ideas. Like vegetarian recipes and poems. I'll keep you posted in the remaining of this year! I haven't been cooking either... Wait I did! Okay vegan burg recipe soon.

Eighth

Today is the first of September which means I've been blogging for 8 years now! Can't freaking believe that it's been eight years since I blog hah. When I look at "eight", it doesn't seem like a long time. But when I remind myself that I started blogging since secondary three, I feel really old. I went through a lot, and it's always an enjoyable affair re-reading my old blog posts. 

Although I feel like vomiting blood sometimes, when reading some posts heh.

I remember the reason behind starting to blog was to improve my English but clearly I wasn't using proper English while blogging back eight years ago. Well come to think of it blogging was the in thing when we were still in secondary school. Many people have blogs and people like to "hey link me on your blog!". We have a chatbox on our blog and that's how we comment on our posts.

To be honest I didn't really expect myself to go this far with my blog. Yes, my goal was to blog forever. I'm serious, in 2050-ish, when I'm in my 60s, I want to hold the "world's oldest and longest blogger" record haha. Not even sure if Blogspot will last till then. I was reading rumours that one day Google might just get rid of blogger, since the fall of bloggers back in 2010-ish thanks to social media.

It's quite obvious with the decreasing number of friends who once used to blog even in their poly days. I don't blame them. Blogging can be quite taxing. Why bother write a long post when you can write in 160 characters right? Or share photos of your lunch with the world instantly.

As you can see on the right, I actually almost gave up blogging in 2013. What made me change my mind was spending the last few days of that year re-reading my posts all the way from 2010 heh. I realise how much powerful blogging can be in terms of documenting your memories. Although ever since I returned home, I rarely blog about my day here. More of my thoughts. But still interesting!

I'm not sure until when I can keep up with this. But I promise to myself that I will continue blogging until I can't blog anymore - that's if Blogspot decided to close down, or I die before this happens haha. And even if blogspot shuts down, I will find an alternative place to blog. And yes, even if it means that I will blog once a week, then once a month, then once every three months hah. Okay just kidding, I'll blog as often as I can, until I get so busy that I decided to give up blogging.

I can't really explain and put into words about why I enjoy blogging - apart from re-reading my posts in the near (or far) future. I've enjoyed writing for quite some time. Have to send my regards to Mrs Lee, my English teacher from secondary 3 onwards for sparking this interest in me. I used to hate writing, I don't find joy in it. But Mrs Lee's lessons made me enjoy writing. So thank you very much Mrs Lee!

And I know this sounds cliche but I think one more reason to why I enjoy blogging is... Not gonna lie, the Singapore school system. Come to think of it we always have a "reflection" section after every activity. When I was in primary school we keep a journal that we have to write an entry for every week. And I had done a lot of reflections across my school life in Singapore. Particularly during primary and secondary school days. And this really made me enjoy contemplating a lot. Reflecting on life basically.

Well nevertheless, I'm proud about my progress in this blog. I've never expected myself to go this far with clouds of Sunday (previously life-symphony). Eight years down, many many more years to go!

So yes, happy anniversary to my dearest blog. Glad to have you as a friend the past 8 years. It feels like having a place I can go to and have a conversation with myself every night. But most importantly:  

Thank you for being a place where I can talk to myself without anyone judging that I am insane.