Unthinkable, you think?

I just did the almost unthinkable last night. Yups, I signed on for 1 month of WoW, albeit for 3 days playtime, and then I'm not even sure I'll log in those 3 days. Yes, paying one month - 13 Euros - for one day's worth of playtime.

Why, you ask? Why on earth would I go back to WoW? The answer in itself was quite simple. I'm off to London for 1 year to do my film school and I won't be able to log into WoW for 1 year due to school commitments.

I wanted to say bye to friends that I made in that game. Sure, the game is raiding, questing, levelling up, grinding, blablablablabla.....in other words, a huge time sink. But after all those things are said and done, one realizes that one is empty in that huge virtual world without friends. Like the real world, sometimes, those of us who step into the huge gates of Azeroth are lonely people, without friends in the real world. Maybe some of us want to escape our reality. Maybe some just like to cause pain to others which they couldn't do in the real world - corpse campers, this means YOU!!!! >< - but all have one thing in common, we need friends, if only to brighten up our day that little bit more. To give cause to playing and to give a reason for living.

One hard truth about friends is that they argue. They fight. No illusions or lies there. True friends are often borne through adversity and a shitload of arguing sometimes. They know all about you, they know where to hit you where it hurts, and they won't be afraid to mince words with you. Sometimes blunt truth hurts the most, yet makes us reflect and change for the better when properly applied. Ass-kissers and yes-men just can't do that. They can't change or mould you for the better. They just want you to like them, to give them favours. With which they'll discard you for something better if it comes along. Sure there's pain both ways but with friends, the pain is only temporary on the road to a better friendship.

I didn't think what I'd do last night - just sitting up on vent talking to people I missed for 5 months when I last logged out of WoW. Talking over the past, about the time I wasn't around, about the future. Realizing that in the end, the game was nothing but about friends. Loot and drops are just 1s and 0s on magnetic tape. Virtual commodity that's worth nothing in the real world. Of course we work hard for them on our raids, but in the end, it's the friends we make that keep us in the game.
New content, yes. New skill sets, yes, but only till their novelty has worn out then it's back to the same boring grinding all over again. But friends, they'll be there when you're up and you're down, they'll cheer you up and keep you going.

So here's big kudos to - if I forget any names I'm sorry, there's just so many of you to remember - Malekhit, Turbomage, Kara, Medusa, Beast, Blair, Zeus, Shader, Puddin, Seny, Galdre, Vanda, Green, Gotrek, Kim, Mora, Minara, Kathura, Igorn, Okti, Samu, Valoryn, Oomkin, Gnomie, Maqisu, Jitters, Day, Mimi and all the ex-BA guys from EU-Balnazzar. You made my time in WoW great and I'll miss you all.

I hope you all have a great new year 2007 and don't get *too* drunk!

Maybe some will never read this post, but it's ok because it's something I had to say .

Christmas 2006

Christmas in Europe is different from Christmas in asia. In asia, it's probably just a holiday away from work, and the occasional "christmas" sale in the shops. Given that christmas in Singapore is about as cold as an eskimo wearing his full fur coat in an oven heated to 200 deg celsius. No, Christmas in Europe is equal to the Chinese New Year of asia. People go home early, they get their presents, they take the chance to meet up with their family. In other words, companies make a killing during christmas time hawking all their wares at overpriced rates. After all, people have to buy because it's Christmas, and Christmas often demands that you give your loved ones a gift.

Of course to celebrate Christmas properly, you need a christmas tree! No, those plastic ones at home won't work here. Selecting the tree wasn't so hard as we had a friend who sold them nearby and she kept a nice one for us at a decent price too. It was a good thing the car just managed to fit it in, otherwise it would have meant driving around zero deg for 20 minutes.

"Der Kleine Blauer" as we call our car

Afterwards, the tree would require trimming, and decorating, and finally, the gifts are placed below to create the scene here. Dimmed lights and candles are a must, along with some nice Christmassy music from a tape deck that's repeated once it runs out.

You even get a complimentary foot in the picture

Me looking like a "typical" Asian courtesy of the bread basket

I got some pretty nice gifts that day, but I think the two that stood out most were a calendar wifey made for me for the time I would be in London - she made pictures of herself and pasted them on a calendar so I would always see her there, and her sis gave me this cow I called Kuhgel - pronounced Kuh-girl. In german kügel means a round ball, and since this cow was a ball, it wasn't hard. The pun that all cows are female didn't give me any chance but to name her that.

Is she round or what?

I don't really know what to write to spice this narrative up but that's christmas for me in Europe almost every year. In retrospect, I should have taken more pictures of the food but oh well, there's always next year. I hope everyone had a good christmas and a great new year 2007!!!

Almost to 2007!

I'm back from Christmas at the in-laws. It was a nice time, relaxing, sleeping, and chain-watching dvds like there was no tomorrow. In fact, it gave me the chance to check out some nice dvds I never really had the inclination or urge to watch. As far as presents went, I got some cool stuff too, which I'll put up on the blog tomorrow. Today's a day for rest and relaxation, seeing as I drove up and down 6 hours one way I think I'm entitled to it.

I hope everyone else had a nice Christmas time as well.

Christmas Shopping = Pain

Christmas shopping a week before Christmas. Throngs of people desperately trying to get a gift. What probably started as "I'll get this Nintendo Wii for Mike or Barbie doll for Cheryl" has probably turned into desperation shopping as items are being sold out. When shops decide to add into the desperation factor by offering sales on already discounted products, it just adds to the mix to form a heady, chaotic mess that I was invariably stuck in. Someone with absolutely almost no clue on what to get wifey.

In the end, I decided to think it over some food. One can't shop on an empty tummy, it's not good for health, and it's not good for morale. Everyone should shop on at least a half-filled tummy.

Starting at 10am till 4pm, I finally found some things I wanted to get her. Some things that I "might" get her and some things I definitely wouldn't get her. So for those things that I was unsure about to get her, I'll go back tomorrow. Into the massing throngs of people, to check one last time before buying the items. Sigh, christmas shopping. I really have to follow on my own advice. If I have an idea on what to get wifey, just keep some for Christmas, otherwise I end up out of gift ideas if I buy them on the spot.

As a little gift to myself, I got some DVDs, a DVD burner and some DVD-R discs to bring my music collection with me to the UK.

Oops says it all

I made a mess of my music library today when I clicked on "compile" in my iTunes Folder. Of course I tried to undo the mess but it seemed irreversible, so I had to recompile all my music again which takes some time, but on the other hand, looking on the bright side of things, maybe now I can actually get some order in my iTunes music folders.

This comes with the fact that I don't know how to shift my music from my iPod to my laptop iTunes folder. And since I can't seem to get my laptop connected to the internet, this means more pain as the iPod can only be sync'ed to one iTunes program. Hair wringer anyone? It's becoming a mite more problematic than what it should be doing - ie. simplifying our lives!!!

I've suddenly realized that time is ticking down really quickly. Come Thursday, I've got to be driving 600 km plus to my in-laws' place, so this leaves me just today till Wednesday to sort out all the other details before London. What actually is there to do....... hmmmm...... sort the laptop, get my haircut - in Europe the prices are exorbitant nonetheless, and sort out bank details, etc. Run of the mill stuff, shouldn't be too hard, but the fact that it *is* run of the mill makes it a chore to do sometimes.

James Bond - Everything or Nothing

I took a little trip down memory lane today via popping in James Bond - "Everything or Nothing" into the Xbox and playing through it again. And I have to say --> THIS is how Bond should be. How could they leave out Q/R in Casino Royale? Wifey even noticed that Moneypenny was left out as well. Reorganization of the franchise is one thing, but messing about with the poor sods who should be going through mishaps in the lab for the audience's pleasure is another.

27 - count them - 27 stages excluding multiplayer - and they aren't even easy stages make this a game worth getting. You might be asking, why on earth talk about a game that's been released 3 years ago. Simple. It's one of the best games I ever bought for the Xbox, and it's a good lift after the movie that *was* Casino Royale. Maybe I just needed a little Bond therapy from the good 'ol days.

Bond with empty glass bottle vs Terrorist with big gun. Guess who wins?

For the first time, Pierce Brosnan lends his voice to the character, along with a star studded cast including Willem Dafoe as the villain Diavolo. Eye candy is included, Bond being Bond - there's Heidi Klum, Shannon Elizabeth, Mya and Misaki Ito.... mmmm she's cute. Check out her pic below along with a sample. Mya sings the title track aptly named "Everything or Nothing" - and it's done pretty well.

Shannon Elizabeth and Heidi Klum

Mya

Mya again just hanging around the fireplace. Does that dress make her butt look fat?

Misaki Ito...mmmmm ^^

I'm freeeeefallliiiiiinnnnnnnnnn.........*SPLAT*

Stealth stage where you use nothing vs guys with guns. Yeah, it's hard. But then the baddies often are both blind and deaf. It's a prerequisite attribute for baddies.

Dammit, they left R out of Casino Royale......the Evil Sods!

Just some of the vehicular carnage you can cause

So it might be old, but for those hankering for the old Bond experience or just want to play your favourite secret service agent, this is a very good game to get. They've refined many of the niggling problems that plagued the last 2 Bond games so you should get almost seamless gameplay here. Now to try and better my last score. Good memories indeed.

Winter Market

Last night I had to take some colleagues out to see the town, so we ended up driving to Koln just to do something. Anything's almost better than sitting down in a silent hotel room doing nothing, from past experience unless one is so totally knackered out by work. I believe everyone should put everything into their work, only if it was their passion, and not by coercion of work pressures. But that's probably life as it is nowadays in the work environment. Here are some pics - the lack of a camera stand really hurts night exposures - yet again.

Santa is overweight. Too many years of eating/stealing christmas goodies from all the kids he visits.

Christmas Tree on top of a stage next to the Cathedral

I wonder why David wanted to expose himself in this cold weather...... think of his nuts >< Koln by night across the river

I guess the cold trip taught me something important - how to finally switch off my ipod. I always let the album finish up because I didn't know that I just needed to press pause a little longer than normal to stop the player. Duh... Anyhow, being a typical asian, I found myself comparing prices. I saved 60 Euros on my ipod when buying it from asia. Whoo hoo!!! I managed to get myself a nifty case too, just that it was a little sad to think something like that cost me 30 Euros. Stupid european prices. Everything should be cheap for consumers like us. The worst thing was, there was nothing really better to buy to protect the ipod. :(

It doesn't even look good or balanced but as long as it keeps the ipod from damage I guess it's ok.

Give Money to Feed the Goat. Baaaaaa......

I'm tired today. Like most other days, except that today it's exceptionally so. Now there are various degrees of tiredness. There's the "Oh, I'm tired but I think I can hang on for an hour or so"...... eventually dragging to maybe 4 hours, or half the night. Then there's the "Damn, I'm beat" tiredness after a bout of rigourous exercise. And then there's the "Damn I can't hear another word she's saying about how good these shoes are compared to the other pair. Shoes *are* shoes". Compound that with an aching droning in your brain due to vivid nightmares of strange hooded figures trying to have their wicked way with you and you've got a whopper of a headache and tiredness rolled into one. Of course if strange hooded figures don't work for you, then feel free to replace that with dogs, siamese twins, preserved mutton chops......whatever tickles your fancy.

I wished I brought my camera today as I was showing some business associates around Bonn, but those are the breaks. What was supposed to be a normal sightseeing trip turned out to be a mite interesting. For one, I knew busking and asking for money on the streets were normal here in Europe, but I think I've seen the cutest one ever - just no camera! Darn.

"Donate to feed the Goat". Yups. Someone was soliciting money to feed his goat, which conveniently was baaaing away - do goats baaa? I thought only sheeps baaaaa'ed. Anyhow it was a goat baaaaa....unless my ears deceived me. And a loud baaaa it was too, since I could hear it from a few hundred meters away despite the throngs of passing shoppers. That was one loud goat. For such a needy sign, the goat sure was looking very VERY well fed but who am I to complain? It just was interesting seeing something different. I guess I could buy a cow and ask people to feed her too. Hmmmm now there's a thought.

Good news - I'll have my passport processed before the year ends which is great since we had no idea it would take 4 weeks compared to 1 day in Munich. Yay! I'm cheering away. Now all I need to figure out is still the accom. But since everything has been pretty smooth, I'm not going to fret about this. Yippee!!! :D

Musik

Usually I don't listen to german music much but now and then comes a couple of nice songs that I bump into. One such song is Ohne dich (schlaf ich heut nacht nicht ein) - AKA Without You ( I can't sleep tonight) - is Münchner Freiheit - or Munich Freedom - based on my loose translating skills. I had some of their songs mainly because I was helping my sis-in-law compile some music on CDs and had to get the mp3 versions. Anyhow, it was on random play in my ipod and it started playing in the middle of the night and it started getting my feeling kinda soppy and sentimental. I never expected a german song to do that to me.

I mean, germans are supposed to be these hard headed, choleric, unfeeling, brutal, evil teutonic people - for the most parts, you'll never meet a more stubborn sort (sic!) who won't budge from their point of view once they decide to put their fences down and sit on it. If you should choose to move them from that, then I predict massive amounts of pain on your part. Anyhow, it made me wonder how they could come up with such a great track. Maybe it had to do with the translation - without any knowledge of german it could be anything and I'd have no idea but maybe it was the melody, the mood, the words.

German have a strange way of creating doublets in their songs, poetry, rhyme and verse akin to certain english writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare, although Shakespeare was technically more advanced with his language, Chaucer probably comes closest. I had to learn the Canterbury Tales and believe you me, it wasn't easy. I can only guess that was a modernization - then in the 1300s - of the angle-saxon dialect infused with norman influences ala William the Conqueror. I'm a fond lover of medieval history and what I can get my hands in material, I'll happily devour.

Bla bla bla....either that or shoot yourself from the boredom of travelling by horse from London to Canterbury

I remember growing up with the Encyclopedia Britanica - now a relic of bygone days, thanks to the DVD haha - and spending hours just opening it up and reading it. Reading is a lost art now in most cases because as kids nowadays, you've got the internet, and no cozy fire and a warm book. Although I tended to think that if the book was useless as reading material, it would do better as firewood. I guess that's what happens to all those useless business reports and articles that are "supposed" to disappear from people's offices during the cold winter months. ^^

Still figuring out what to give wifey for Christmas. *twiddles thumbs* Actually I've got an idea but I won't be able to do it until next year. >_<

Inverse Polarity

I'm awake at 6am. This comes as a huge shock to me, and for those who know me, I don't know what happeneed, but now my eyes start falling sleepy at around 10 am and then I just knock out a little later. Wierd actually, since I'm usually a night owl sorta person. Not that I'm complaining mind you. I've been actually trying to get to bed in a proper sort of time and rhythm, and this pops in just nicely before film school starts - what with the hectic schedule, I just wanted to get this part of my life sorted out. I guess it boils down to, what God fixes, just don't ask how it happened, just be thankful that it did happen. :D

Now I'm still wracking my brains over what to get wifey for Christmas. I'm really stumped because I've gone through the lists and still haven't come up with anything suitable. Maybe I don't want repetition. Maybe I just give her way too many things. I'm the sort of person that figures if she'll like something I'll just buy and give it to her now and not later. Of course that this exhausts my gift giving options later on is self-explanatory. Hmmm hmmm hmm hmm. I saw this DVD in the local shop and maybe I'll get this.

Warning - contains disturbing scenes that might offend viewers. Indeed.

Film school wise, plans keep on changing on the accommodation, but everything seems to be shifting in the right direction. Slowly but surely I think it'll be okay, although there's always the nagging worry sometimes that getting to London without any accommodation isn't really the best thing to do. But I'm happy that's solved now - kudos to LondonChinese on the Overseas s'pore website. Will share more later on once I ironed out the details.

Not Standing Insitu

The search for accommodation goes on. Most of London is really priced horribly expensive it's hard to believe. Of course London being London isn't really an excuse, but still, it *is* overpriced for a badly planned, badly arranged city. It could have been better than it was before the great fire, but they chose to continue building on top of existing plans - if one could even call those plans.

Anyhow, we've come across several potential sites and hope they turn out successful. I'm just going to cross my fingers and pray for the best. Let you know soon whether it all works out. Big kudos to those helping me and my flatmates look for a flat in London.

Now to more European affairs -

The weather here is getting really asian. I never thought I'd see huge torrential rainpour in Germany, but I guess I was mistaken. And in the middle of cold weather. Back home, warm weather and rain was often welcomed, and then the resulting humidity arising afterwards was tolerated with some slight disdain, at least I did that. But pop into the air-conditioned malls and you're alright again! :D Here, there's no such thing. It's just cold winds making your already numb fingers even number, and in buildings, it's not toasty warm but - you guessed it - chillingly cold sans air-conditioning.

Brrrrr........... and they all say I dress like an eskimo. Better to be warm I say, than being macho but freezing all over. No, that's *not* a good feeling, if you get my drift.

Comtemplations and Faith

When in doubt, praise
Lift up your hands
Raise your voices, your spirit
And praise

See not the situation
See not the obstacles
Just
Praise
Just praise
Just praise

Speak and pray
Ask and it shall be given
Unto you,
Unto you
Just pray

The deepest desire of your heart
The darkest depths
Within
Your soul
Within
Your innermost being

Praise

I'm fearful, I'm scared
So I go to the word
I go to the source
Of my peace
Of my solutions,
Of my salvation

From sin
From fear
From doubt
From frustration
From anger
From deceit
From lust
From all

My refuge is in the Lord
My refuge is in the Lord
MY refuge is in the Lord
And in His name which is a Strong Tower
I take my refuge in


Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Counting Down the Days

So it's less than one month before I fly into London. I've sent over the first half of my course fee and I have to say, it's grace that got me the exchange rate I needed. I remember one month ago talking to my dad about exchange rates, and he told me that it would never get to the rate I required - but I just prayed and hoped and it's exceeded what I asked for. And no, I'm no George Soros, I'm not rich enough - not yet anyway! - to influence markets and currency rates. I needed a Euro - US rate of 1 : 1.30 and I got a 1 : 1.32. At that point of our discussion it was 1 : 1.25 or something like that. What's the worth of 7 cents you ask? Not in a small amount maybe, but once you magnify it, it's huge. The savings I get from that will fund my stay for 2 more months or buy 250 mins worth of film. It all depends how one manages it.

To tell the truth, I was never really good at managing money, and I'm probably not the best now, but this experience is teaching me the value of simple currency and where even the simplest choices of vendor matter. It's not being a cheapskate, it's knowing where to allocate your money to maximize your return.

We did the extension on my passport today for the German staying and working permission - arbeitserlaubnis or arbeitsbescheinigung or whatever long word they call it. It used to take one day in Munich, but apparently over here up north, the sytem takes 4 weeks. And most germans don't like it when bavarians boast about how good and efficient their state is - Munich is the capital of Bavaria by the way - which makes me wonder if they've got their head screwed on right. No doubt the lady this morning at 7.45 am was nice, but she couldn't promise anything. But she still didn't believe or didn't want to believe down south it's much more efficient or well, the inverse holds true. Maybe they up north are just a tad inefficient.

The only problem that's bugging me right now is the flat - or rather, lack of a flat so far. But I still hold onto the belief that it will come at the right time. I'm supposed to be sharing a flat with a fellow course attendee from Sweden but he hasn't replied yet. I guess I'm getting nervy because it's less than one month - ergo the first sentence. But wifey and I just simply tell ourselves that if everything has fallen into place so far, then it will continue to fall into place by the grace of God. I don't see the sun for the clouds but the sun still shines above the clouds, so I shouldn't worry and just be happy.

Oh, and I just finished up Fable on the Xbox. I know it's a game, but I've been doing so many things at once I've got to focus and finish up what I start. Beginning from the smallest things to the larger things. Fable was ok, but seemed unfinished somehow. Maybe those marketing people put the finished aka polished version up as "The Lost Chapters" and the beta as Fable to make a quick buck. Never trust the marketing department - bunch of lies if you don't look carefully enough.

Chrismassy Times

I woke up at 12pm today. An amazing feat considering the circumstances. Don't know why. Head was groggy. I had some wierd R.E.M dream which I can't recall anymore. I woke up, the door opened, and wifey walked in. Perfect timing since she said she was going to wake me up to sign some document. Of course I could have signed anything at that point, blur and confused as I was. Tip - if you want to get your significant sign divorce papers giving you all the assets and whatnot - do it in the morning when he's totally blur and make sure the letter is in a foreign language. That always works, since our brains don't really like to function after only a few hours of sleep. I never knew sleep was so important until I tried doing my maths homework with barely minimal sleep. As you'd expect, the result was not good.

Christmas Market in Bonn. Lots of lights, lots of people, lots of the same old things on display. I think the only things that really interest me at Christmas markets are the food. I got myself a HUGE fish sandwich and a dvd of Akira Kurosawa's RAN (luan - 4th tone in chinese) to look at in the interests of different film styles for my studies next month/year. Not too bad a buy at 8 euros. Then after wards, a mint flavoured mocha latte from Starbucks as a little treat to myself - and to help me stay awake. And now, back home to the computer, and to my room warm room. ^^

I've been listening heavily to Matt Redman's track "Call to Worship" - more good stuff.

Artist: Matt Redman
Song: Call to worship
Album: Where Angels Fear To Tread

We come to your mountain
The hill of the Lord we would ascend
And journey into your holy place
To feast in your presence
And bring our devotions to you, God
We come as a kingdom of your priests

We're climbing up the mountain of the Lord
Towards your holy place
And every step is praise
Encountering the glory of your name
Your throne of holiness
The wonders of your grace

Come, come let us worship
Come let us recognize what a sacred thing we do
Come, let us bow down
God, as we bring our hearts
Let them please the heart of you

We enter your sanctuary
To minister at your holy throne
Where thousands of angels joyfully sing

Lyrics gotten from here.

Sleepless

I'm sleepless. I can't sleep. I'm trying to stay away from my bed as long as possible even though I know sooner or later, I'll have to meet it. I don't want to sleep. I've been watching "Lost in Translation" again. It's amazing, that film. I've been wondering how do moviemakers piece together 90 minutes of film, to tell a story. I'm scared that I can't do it myself in mine for 10 minutes, let alone 90. That film is so surreal it's so good. Everybody identifies with it, I'm sure, at some point of time in their lives.

I guess mine has been for the last decade. I've been stuck on statis wondering what I'm supposed to be doing while time, people, and events have passed me by. I've aged, I've experienced some things. Some for the better, and those for the worse, I hope I learn from them. I still don't understand what and why I'm doing in Germany for the most part. I understand the language, but I do know I don't want to work there. I want a place that speaks english, and a level of comfort. Maybe I'm happy I'm going to move to the UK next year. At least there's some semblence of familiarity there if not just for the language. I've been lost for 5 years here and I am desperate to find myself, whereever the disparate parts of me are.

Waiting

I'm impatient. I think I've always been that sort. I can't wait for the good things to happen, I can't wait for the right time. Most things, I guess I would like to have now, irrespective of whether it's the right thing or the right time. Some people will say that there's the right time to do something and the wrong time to do something. Others will say that timing is all a state of mind, that one should do all that one can do and if luck falls and smiles in your corner, then it's yours. I really don't know which one to prescribe to. But all that's happened so far, works best when I decide not to care or bother about it

Life has a strange way of working. When you lose focus on certain aspects just out of sheer frustration, then somehow it all falls in place. Sometimes. Life has a strange way of throwing curveballs at you without you really realizing it. Outside looking in, I'm part of a generation of people who don't really know what they want, or maybe we do know, but we don't know how to get there. Most of us are strugging because the road seems so far, and so hard. People say we're trying to fight for the dream. Frankly, I don't even know where I'm headed in the long term, just for the next step.

Some see life as a long term investment, others see it as just a temporary flux. I mean, after all, we're all going to die in the end. Where do we go after that? I guess for those who do know the answer, they can't tell us since they're there already. Sort of a catch-22. Maybe if we did know, we'd be less cruel, more humane. Less bitchy, less harsh and a little more understanding. Just because this world is slowly becoming harder doesn't mean that we have to make it so for ourselves and those around us.

Oh, and as a last note. I have absolutely no idea what I'm really typing about. Some stuff just wanted to come out. And this is a great place to get release in the temporal sense. I'm just waiting. Waiting for the next step of my life to start and the anticipation is getting to me. Will it be good? I hope so with all my heart.

Romans 8:28 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.