Traffic Jam gig with Chris Daughtry and working over the weekend!

I can't believe its been a week since I last posted something here! I guess my life is pretty boring n have nothing interesting to blog about. haha..

aside from the balloting of the new flats where we so coincidentally bumped into kenneth n his wife, as well as zhiqian n alicia (hahaha imagine all of us as neighbours! that'll be so weird lah.. seriously weird. anyway i'm ok with zhiqian n alicia hanging out with us cos they're quite fun, but to have your CGL stay next door is like, er, hahaha, no way am i gonna let that happen!) and from the Chris Daughtry Traffic Jam gig (which Ivan proposed to Sharlyn after like, 9 years of being together n it was awww so sweet - pukez) where we played Dhoom agian, 4 min, Larger than Life and of cos to wrap things up FHW!

i dunno man, i'm doing so many things i kind of feel like my weekend isn't meant for resting anymore, but rather to run errands n get my personal things done since the rest of the week i'm spending the bulk of my time slogging it out in office! hahaha.. in fact i feel quite exhausted, no doubt from working through the weekend n exerting soooooo much energy in the performance last night, swinging the tom around n hitting my knees. its still painful n my back hurts a little from all the sudden exercise!

actually i think Ivan is not really the right guy for sharlyn, she's so pretty n nice n spiritual n mature, but oh well as long as she loves him n vice versa, that's their relationship. but i think he's really changing n trying his best to provide for her so yeah, he's alright i guess.

well another thing really made my day last night, but well, i guess i shall not mention it here where various parties may jump to wrong conclusions n the repurcussions that would follow the wrong conclusions would be nothing short of catastrophic. haha! i'll end this post with the song from Hellboy 2 which Ivan so aptly used for the proposal last night..

"you know i can't smile without you
I can't laugh without you
I can't smile
I can't sing
I'm finding it hard to do anything and I
Feel glad when you're glad
Feel sad when you're sad
If you only knew what i feel for you
I just can't smile without you" =)

technically i won't classify this as a love song, it can be like family song, friendship song, or whatever else suitable occasion it can be used.

Cheap thrill but still..!

Today I set a record for fastest "trip to funan to rent a new book and return with lunch" routine!

Took me just a little over half an hour, left my seat from my office at 12.39 pm to take a MRT to city hall, walk to funan second floor, browse through the book titles n choose an interesting one, rent the book at the cashier n return the old book (cost $4.50 as usual), went to macdonalds to buy a fillet meal, then take MRT back, n i sat down in my chair at about 1.12 pm.

Borrowed "Duty Calls" about Caiphas Cain, the super funny comissioner of the Imperial Guard, always running away from fights, hiding from responsibility, acting cool n humble, when he is actually recognised as a hero in the empire! its a damn entertaining series, he fights tau, orks, tyranide n rebel troops so far, seems to have zero skill but amazing amount of luck and intelligence to get him out of any battle. its really comical, I'd recommend "For The Emperor" to any DOW players who are looking for something interesting to read, with the same bloody battles n action n adventure, BUT with sarcasm, humour, romance and comedy.

Primary School Gathering

Last night was our Second Primary School Gathering in 2008!

The earlier one was around April where we had dinner at HK cafe at hougang followed by a drink at a pub at Punggol area. Attendence was about 17-18.

Comparatively, last night's outing only had about 10 pple (including my girlfriend Joan was isn't my primary sch friend, hahaha) so it wasn't one of those big outings, but to me I felt it was one of the best.

Who came:

Stephanie Sim - flying to china on friday n then back to australia to continue her studies, she was the main reason why we had the gathering in the first place. i couldn't contact her on tues night so was a bit annoyed, but haha, i should've trusted her that she will turn up. she's still the same, chirpy n talkative n bubbly, but less tomboy. haha! but can't get used to her accent no matter how she speaks it just feels weird.

Weiyi aka Winnie aka Rion - this guy used to be one of the quiet ones back in pri sch, very low profile and a bit on the plump side. now he's this hunky GP teacher in MI, with a low voice n a charming smile. oh man, how pple change! i don't even remember him being good in english class in primary sch, i don't think i talked to him much.

Lishan - class monitress, n a personal good friend during my sec sch n JC days, we were in the same JC, AJC. my pri sch best friend weixiong used to like her last time n he often went over to her house to visit n play with her. haha! she's still quite pretty n kudos to her for always taking time n effort to organise the gatherings over the years!

Junhao - the NTU IT personnel n part time investor, this guy is a subtle joker! he's still a bit shy in talking to crowds n tends to be quiet when we're engaging in group chats, but personally he's a good friend who still bothers to chat with me on msn n sms me once in awhile to ask whats going on in my life. he's damn funny when he's in the joker mood though. haha

Liangfeng aka Jerald - this large guy used to be sarcastic n aloof, always acting cool in pri sch, but now he's much nicer to everyone n he actually took initiative to organise the first outing this year. think he's helping his dad with his business now, n looking to take over in a couple of years.

Yvonne - the fair n short hair Christian girl who's a sunday sch teacher n works at the supreme court (i found out last night!) who was always with Fungus in pri sch. (Fungus apparently is now a really handsome butch with blond hair. I really can't picture that, gives me the creeps!) she has that nice bubbly personality that somehow didn't quite show in pri sch.

Yingyan - the birthday girl last night! we got a delicious chocolate brownie with sugar coated words on it. i loved the brownie, it was so sweet. she's this petite nice hardworking girl if i remember correctly, always very "on" about class outings. i think she was quite good in english also.

Deborah - the tall dark n pretty one in the class, now working in OCBC doing mortgages n charges over property. didn't really talk much to her in pri sch cos she was very "dao" n hung out with net ball girls from other classes, n Kelly n I made fun of her calling her "the bra". haha! but she's quite friendly now, more of those classy sophisticated girls, so i guess a remnant of her "dao"ness remains, manifested in another aspect.

Shujun - another quiet girl whom i didn't really talk much to in pri sch cos she was sitting at the other end of the class. she's now quite pretty compared to last time, n is now the official photographer of our class outings. still don't know her well, despite her being lishan's closer friend.

Jacob "biscuit" aka Dr Chee Soon Juan lookalike - this guy sat in front of me in class next to yong weiwei (whom i used to like in pri 6, yes yes i know, so childish right? hahaha) so i was pretty envious of him since the girl treated him quite well but treated me like i was some lowlife scum, despite of how nice i was being to her. haha! he's quite a weird guy, who makes comments that somehow doesn't quite flow with other pple, but i suppose he's alright n can take a joke (its usually on him! haha)

Basically these were the pple who turned up last night. We had a nice dinner at Cafe Cartel (although the hawaiian pork chop was sold out, much to the annoyance of some of them) followed by a walk to esplandade to celebrate yingyan's birthday n take lots of photos with Stephanie before she leaves again. it was really good, or surreal as Winnie puts it, that we can still click n be such good friends despite having not seen each other for long periods of up to 10 over years! I mean, we were all what, 11 and 12 years old (pri 5 and 6A1 class) when we first met n now we're all 26 this year! oh my gosh, its 14 years ago since we graduated from Xinmin pri sch! it really goes to show that old friendships formed are somehow firmer n really stand the test of time n even distance. mukesh, AK, stephanie, Jiayong all went to USA, australia, etc but we still keep in touch ever so often, i think its amazing. Mrs Ng would've been proud of us!

And look at us, all achievers n contributors to society. Teachers, IT specialist, investor, businessman, supreme court accountant, lawyers, doctor (she couldn't make it as she was on duty) and other professions. Thank God for such a great primary school environment and even better friends. You know it may sound silly, but Kelly n a few of us had a pact that we would be friends no matter what happens way back in primary school. And this sunday we're going to his housewarming party. We'll also probably be there to see his first child. This is so exciting isn't it?

Life span of a human is about 70-80 years. If we can maintain this friendship until our last breath, we would've been friends for at least 60 years, longer than we've known our partners, husbands, wives or church friends or colleagues or whatever. Its something special, the bond that was formed way back then that lasted till today. =)

Part 2 of the Blazing Angels

Private Silverthorn screamed in rage and pain as a tyranid pierced his right calf, and brought down the small knife he held in both hands with his full strength, plunging it into the head of the alien repeatedly until it was dead. Without missing a beat, he reloaded his rifle and let loose a few more shoots at the approaching tyranid, each bullet blowing apart a creature's head or torso. But still they came.

"Silverthorne! We've got to keep moving!" yelled another scout, Private Eduardo, as he grabbed the collar of Silverthorne's combat fatigues with one hand and fired his pistol in the other. The other two scouts were covering the flanks, one on each side, firing shot after shot at the pack of vicious tyranids.

Despite the terrible pain in his calf, Silverthorne struggled to his feet and supported by Eduardo, ran back to the assault bikes which were parked less than 20 feet from where they were. Somehow, the short distance of 20 feet seemed ridiculously far away to him and he wondered if his injury if he would be able to ride the bike out of harm's way. But it was too late for doubts even as he clambered onto the bike, the other 2 scouts had already gunned the throttle and let loose a final spray of bullets before riding off. Silverthorne wondered how long were they able to hold the swarm off before they were finally overrun, even as his bike sped faster and caught up with the other scouts, the tyranids soon left behind in the dust.

Singapore Band Challenge Semi-finals and 3 Strikeforce Gigs! What a weekend!

What an awesome weekend! Simply one my best weekends so far in 2008!

First up, the enjoyable performances of the local bands at the Singapore Band Challenge! Though we only caught the last 5-6 bands, almost all the bands which I liked got in! Yeah! Well, there was one band which wasn't really that good but got in anyway, but still the other 6 were totally rocking awesome! Here's the bands that I support that got into semis:

Shoe Size Nine (though I missed their prelim performance, I caught their auditions n thought they were simply great! good old rock music!)

Street Sights (when the announcer said their name, I thought it was street sex! hahaha! these 3 guys sound really good and they have excellent audience engagement, although they didn't have any personal friends or supporters, they really wowed the crowd and the judges. the only reason why they won't win is becos they lack a lead guitarist and some parts sound a bit empty. sure, they sound full for a 3 piece band, but a lead guitar with a bit of rifts would be good.)

Just A Pose (I thought their name was Just a toe, and by the way they're Julia's choice for winning the competition. they did a jason mraz song, and to me, any vocalist who dares to do Jason mraz must either be looking for a deathwish or is a really good singer. it was the later n it really surprised me. they were really tight n crowd engaging as well, although it was not really a song which shows off their music skills, it was very professional.)

Sonafa (this 7 piece band is out of this world, they're really in a league of their own. no other band comes close to this awesome group, with 2 laptops, a weird big flute, a keyoard, a percussionist, a bass n a drmmer. a mixture of rave, dance, new age n funk, they totally blew away the competition. the only minus point, they have no singer. they can realy have their own show, like nigel said. this band alone made the trip down to *scape worth it!)

One more band, i can't remeber the name, had this awesome electric guitar soloist, i think he must be one of the best guitarists in singapore! he looked a little big size for his guitar, but the sound was awesome, his playing superb, no fancy play-with-the-tongue gimmicks, but plenty of soul n attitude in the shredding n playing! I'm not sure of the band's name, maybe Damage Control or something.

ANyway all of these bands made it to the semi finals, and I'm definitely going to catch them perform! I was really inspired to take part in the competition next year! Now all I need to do is form a band, hahahah.. my brother eletric lead, me on keyboard or rythm guitar. I need a bass n a drummer n a good singer. Anyone care to join? ?? Hahaha...

But seriously what nigel said is true, there are lots of good musicians at the competition, but very few good vocalists. i think cos all the vocalists are mando-pop super band kind, n thats quite sad for the music scene. so much good music n no singer to sing the lyrics to tell the story of the song!

***

Besides the band challenge, there were 3 gigs we played this weekend, MTV gigs for sat n sun, and one for LTA this morning at about 9.30 am. why was it memorable?

for the sat gig, it was playing UDM in the day time, when i can actually see the audience appreciate the UDM n enjoying the performance. it was exactly one of the best performances, esp the crazy army, which my cowbell REALLY sucks n screwed the ending up a bit, but overall it was good, it attracted attention of the crowd, n we have a lot of fun. Joan was playing, so I'm really happy she can master crazy army, and she played for sunday as well, so proud of her.

sunday gig was flightphesy which there were a few mistakes here n there which were quite funny, but at least the sequence was tighter than saturday, perhaps cos it was easier to play. i was cow bell all the way, and although i didn't play UDM, it felt just as good to be part of the support role, and for ONCE i can see how FHW looks like in a daytime performance! i never realised it but i've never seen FHW being played in day time cos i'm always playing UDM! i don't say this in haughtiness, but a revelation of how long i've been playing for the strikeforce and man oh man, how much i enjoy every single performance (that doesn't suck of cos!) and gig!

this morning's LTA gig was something of a challenge for me. i've never played cymbals for the Mediacorp sequence before, n for me it was stepping out of my comfort zone, n trying something new which to be honest i think i suck at.

the last time i played cymbals, i fell down after jumping off a bin n injured my knee, and worse of all, i almost crushed a girl who was standing in front of me, i leaned to my right so that she won't feel the full impact. Up till this day, I still don't know the name of the girl i fell on, because i was so embarrassed i didn't dare to speak to her.

yeah, so now you know why i fear the cymbals. i hurt someone n i fell down looking stupid. oh, n another reason is that the standard of cymbal players is pegged at arthur. who does push ups on the road after marching for 3 km, who kicks the cymbals in the air with splits, and who is good looking to boot. how do i match up to a standard like that? i simply can't.

but today i tried. i wasn't exactly happy with my performance, but i want to see it on video too, to see how i look playing the cymbals. honestly, playing cymbals is a lot of fun n strenous on the muscles, n a lot of dancing n body movement is involved. i admit, i do like of like it! really.. but after the fall, i never did have the courage to play cymbals for more than a year.. until today.

thank God for giving me the strength n courage to do it. nobody knows of cos, my fear of the cymbals, nobody except God. but i got through the gig with no injuries, n i hope i did well. haha.

Excellent time with the Strikeforce members!

Dear God,

Just want to thank You for the past few days, all the fun times I've spent with the SF members, and the opportunity to play for gigs again. Its been too long since I last played the drums for a SF performance!

I just pray that the Big Plans of our leader Boon will bear fruit even as he gathers his faithful members to sow seeds into the Plans together with him, and a couple of investors. Its an amazing principle that works no matter if you're a Christian or not. If you sow, you will reap. It just depends on how much harvest you will reap, and as Christians who walk by revelation and with the strenght n wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we ought to be getting a larger harvest than the non-believers, even with sowing of the same seed. But very often, especially in the working world, pple don't see that happening. Even if it does happen, pple will always have something nasty to say about it.

"Wah Christian lawyer ah. I thought Christians cannot lie?"

"How come you all play drums n consider it a ministry?" (Yes up till today pple still ask me this question, I no longer get annoyed but rather amused.)

God, how do I explain it to pple like my parents n relatives why I'm spending time drumming, while my fellow lawyer friends are spending much more time on their career? How do I state that I want to follow my music passion rather than work in an office until 11 pm every night? They'll think I'm still not thinking maturely or I'm lazy or I'm still a thrill seeker, and once I start work I should be "settling down".

God I'm sorry but I just don't get why pple work their life away n sacrifice their relationships n God-given dreams n talents. Certain pple I know have music talents, but once work comes into their lives, its business and work and work everyday, even saturdays and sundays. Whatever happened to the Sabbath? Whatever happened to a balanced lifestyle?

I guess I could give them the benefit of the doubt, that they're really shining for God in the marketplace, and they're living out their dreams passionately. For example, pple like Yujie, and Shawn. Born to work and be a leader in the business world.

Unlike me. God, i actually want to start the school with Joan and become a full time teacher. I do love to teach, to speak, but at the same time, I do like to address legal issues, challenge legislation, represent those who do not have a voice in the legal world and all those. So what do I want to do exactly?

All I know is, what I'm doing now is being mediocre. Working in a small firm with average salary (for lawyers that is) and doing a mess of things, which honestly is like admin work with few legal issues. I'm like an expensive clerk. I'm staying becos I want to work on an IPO from start to finish in 2009, but after that anything's possible. I might change firm, I might not. Depends on how I am able to progress actually. My aim is currently partner in 3-5 years, but from my progress, it isn't happening. So by 2011 June, I should be a partner of the firm, able to handle my own cases n clients. Yet at the same time, I want to help Joan achieve her dream of opening a school. A private tuition center for secondary to JC level. I mean with a lawyer as a lecturer, I think many pple would want to register their child there right? And I would be doing something I like to do, teach n share my ideas. But the one thing holding me back - money.

Here's a breakdown on my salary for the next 3 years if I'm a lawyer minus the 20% CPF:

2008 - 3.7 k x 6 months + 2 months bonus (estimated) = 29.6k
2009 - 3.85 x 12 + 3 months bonus (estimated) = 57.75k
2010 - 4 x 12 + 3 months bonus = 60k

Quite pathetic, not even enough to buy a 5 room flat after 2.5 years, n this is without deducting tithe n daily expenses.

The alter ego of Lawyer Loh - crazy player of the Strikeforce!

Was chatting with my office colleague about what I did over the weekend and she was pretty amazed, n when i told her about the gigs we're playing for MTV and Traffic Jam featuring Chris Daughtry, she was like "oh my gosh!" n couldn't believe me. she wants to come for the event with her boyfriend to check it out n see if i'm making it up! hahaha... hopefully i can bring her n her boyfriend to Christ in the next 4 months.

yeah i know i'm not a super evangelist who brings 20 friends for a big day. but reaching out to adults is quite different from reaching out to youths or teenagers. the younger ones are more easily influenced n willing to do new things. adults have more responsibilities n work on their mind, n more resistent to new things. but as long as i'm reaching out n trying my best, i know God will be happy with me n thats all that matters isn't it?

But anyway I was really blown away by the Big Plans that boss has for singapore drumfest and the Strikeforce! I know i'm not supposed to blog any details, so I'm just going to refer to it as the Big Plan. Its so big, when Boon was telling us about it everyone was absolutely quiet, even Ian and Chowkiat were deep in thought. Since i can't say any details, all i will say is that the Big Plan requires all SF members to be fully committed to it, if they so choose to support the Big Plan. for myself, I was quite amazed by the big thinking and visions of Boon. Once again, when I thought he had achieved his vision with drumfest 07, he throws us a bigger vision to catch on to! This man of God is simply amazing, a never say die attitude that puts most of us to shame! honestly i can say i've never followed a bolder leader in my personal life, who's not afraid to take steps that will shock pple, provoke some, step on a few toes but achieve his dreams for the glory of God. Cultural mandate doesn't get any better than this! and most of the SF pple there don't know about this, but the Big Plans have actually been in my dreams as well for some time already. part of the Big Plans have also been one of the dreams of my girlfriend Joan.

So I've been inspired, I've been challenged, I've been motivated. Not by any wealthy lawyer or businessman, mind you, I get to see plenty of those in my line of work but they don't really strike me as the kind of leader I want to learn from. I've met some businessmen who are really rich n talented at making money thru deals n business ventures, n some lawyers who think they know it all n have this arrogant aura about them. No way will I allow myself to turn out to be like these pple, even if some of them may be Christians. to do things solely for the sake of getting lots of money is not my cup of tea.

Why did I want to be a lawyer? So i can help people in need. Pple who are in debt or signed contracts unknowingly, or small companies who want to break into the big market. Helping local companies compete with MNCs in singapore. So that despite globalisation n influx of foreign talent, singaporeans can compete with them in a level playing field, for the benefit of the country.

Yeah also of cos for the money, but not mainly for the money. its for a sense of satisfaction that my client will be able to do his business legally and efficiently. the money is important, but not the crucial factor.

But i don't see many of such pple around. I needed so badly an example of a man who pursues his dreams from God relentlessly, and money comes pouring in as a result of him pursuing his dreams, and NOT the other way round. Thanks Boon, for providing me with a living example whom I can relate to.

The army of Strikeforce will rise with you to the challenge, to achieve the Big Plans that God has put into you!

My first weekend at work

I've always considered myself very blessed to be working in this firm where I leave around 7.30 pm every night. My friends and other lawyers I know work kind of crazy hours, like until 9 or 10 pm or even occasionally until 2 or 3 am. So I thought, wow I'm in a good firm which almost has working hours of a 9-5 job, which isn't too bad. I mean, during pupilage, I could even leave office at about 6 pm on some days. Which still left a night life for me to enjoy.

But I guess expectations are higher when I am a real hired lawyer. I'm expected to do all sorts of work, in short amount of time, and if I have to work weekends, I've got no choice. And whats worse is that I know even if I come to a point where I can't take it, I can't quit because no other place has similar or better working hours than here, from what I know. So I guess this is a lawyer's life right? I choose this path so there must be some reason why I'm doing what I'm doing.

True, when my boss is on leave or at meetings is when I get to slack a bit, go home on time n even go clubbing on weeknights if I have the energy and the mood. And when my boss is in a good mood, she brings us to lunch and is generally quite a nice person, outside of work.

But today I dunno why I really have no motivation or mood to do any work since after lunch. I've got contracts to review, documents to prepare, phone calls to make, but I really just feel like stoning n wasting away the next 1.5 hours or so until 6 pm, then leave promptly and send a message to the bosses - don't touch my weekend. But of cos I know I can't, I'm already preparing which files I need to bring home to work on, n emailed myself a couple of documents.

Oh well, one thing I can look forward to is tomorrow's SF gig and the 14th July gig and the 27th July gig too. Oh, and choir practice on next tuesday night, for range test. Life would be so meaningless without these ministries. I was about to say life would be meaningless without God, but then again, I am living my life without much regard to God in my daily work. I just can't see how God fits into the "real world" where I see politics, backstabbing, unethical behaviour, gossiping, etc. And on a larger scale, I see why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. There's just too many factors that enable the rich to get richer. Of cos it comes at a price too, probably the price of a healthy family life, or a social life.

I haven't met my friends for weeks, everyday its just work work, go home eat dinner, rest awhile, catch Friends on TV, then go to bed. I'm too tired to even go for a jog with clarence nowadays. Think I'll go cycling tonight, maybe ask BK if he's keen.

Time's now 5.55 pm. I think I will leave around 6.30 pm and take mrt.

Much ado about blogging..

Seriously i've got nothing much to blog, becos usually when i want to blog about some interesting stuff n experiences or even dreams (yes i had an awesome dream last night probably due to the fact that i finished reading the Grey Knights book before i fell asleep) i seem to be flooded with work n by the time i get home at night, i have a quick dinner n catch Friends to relax a bit, n then its already like 10 pm, and i'm too exhausted to stare at the PC for much longer, my eyes hurt from reading too much text on the screen. after a short call to Joan, i'm usually on my bed either reading a book or preparing to sleep soon.

Aside from the occasional strikeforce practice, i don't really have anything to look forward to everyday n thats probably why i dread working life. it takes the fun out of the things i like to do. in fact, i don't really have time to do what i like to do! maybe being a corporate lawyer isn't the job i was meant to have? i don't know. or maybe cos i'm going thru the learning process, n getting hell from my boss almost on a daily basis, sometimes more than 3 times a day. imagine, getting scolded 3 times a day, at least 4 out of 5 days in aweek. how depressing is that?

God, i really need Him now, just to survive everyday of the week. Pray for clearer and quicker understanding of legal issues, pray against carelessness and pray that i become more meticulous and detailed in whatever i'm doing. this is as much character moulding as it is doing a job. I should be thankful for my boss's guidance, compared to some other firms where the boss leaves you alone to figure out things on your own.

Yup, my 2 days worth of work has just been thrown away and my boss just gave me a hell of a scolding. again.