FYI

F Y I

La Visa Loca indeed.

I'm in a state of terrible distress at the moment and not in the mood to write a decent blog entry, so let me just say the two words I've been wanting to say for the longest time, but found no worthy recipient until now.

FUCK YOU
Italy Embassy!

That's FYI for short.

Now I'm not really into expletives and vulgarities and I'd hate for my blog to be tinged by them, but FYI!!

God knows I've been saving (and starving) up for the trip, and bam, because of some outrageous requirements NOT IN THE LISTING IN THE ITALY EMBASSY WEBSITE, the tramps at the Italian embassy (who banged the phone on me yesterday too) have successfully found ways to strip me of my dream vacation.

The credit account statement honored by the Czech embassy was rejected by the Italian one. As I'm a full-time student and a minor, they require that I also produce my parents' bank accounts. The letter of authorization I produced, which had Ma and Dad's signature and was scanned and emailed to me, was similarly not honored. How do we know these are really your parents, the big boss lady in green said. I can easily make this one myself, she continued. So I offered to have proof that my parents can fax them the documents showing that I'm their son and all, and their bank accounts. But no, Lady Bitch demands that my parents sign the documents at a European embassy in the Philippines so some person they trust can actually see that Reynaldo and Paulita are my folks and make some sort of stamp as guarantee. UGH. Isn't that just mad?! The Euro embassies in the Philippines are in Manila, thousands of miles away from my home city Davao, and do they seriously want my folks to fly all the way there just for that? Can't I just show them some proof that I was born to Paulita and Reynaldo, and present to them my parents' bank accounts, and cross check the signatures on the authorization letter I showed? But the Italian ladies at the counter were heartless bitches, not realizing that here was a kid who was practically begging them to accept the application, stubbornly staying there long after he was sent away, coming up with new proposals just so the papers could be processed momentarily while he attempts to rush the other documents in the hope of making it in time for the June 7 flight.

And this lousy travel agent was to blame too, since we got our tickets so late! Only this week when we had two Visas to settle, and when the flight departure is on the June 7th already.

Sigh. The Singaporeans and Malaysians are lucky they don't have to apply for the Schengen Visa, unlike me and my fellow applicants from China and Indonesia. Haizz. I distinctly remember wanting to act on the Visa looooong before we did, but the travel agent took bloody long to come up with the tickets, an essential for the application.

OK, so this is what my travel itinerary looks like now.

June
* 7 - 2255 - leave SG
* 8 - 0550 - arrive at Amsterdam
- 0855/1025 - Amsterdam-Prague
* 9,10,11 - Choir competition at Olomouc, 33rd Festival of Songs
- lodge at Hotel Flora
* 12 - by 1200 - leave Olomouc for Prague
- PM - sight-see Prague
- evening - overnight coach to Frankfurt
* 13 - arrive at Frankfurt
-2230/2340 - Frankfurt-Milan (Ryanair)
- check-in at Hotel Durante (Milan)
* 14 - AM, PM - sight-see Milan
* 15 - 0805/1106 - take rail to Venice (Venizia Mestre Station)
- check-in at Camping Fusina (Venice)
- PM - sight-see Venice
* 16 - AM, PM - sight-see Venice
* 17 - AM - take rail to Florence
- 1400 - check-in at Porta Prato Hostel (Florence)
* 18 - AM,PM - sight-see Florence
* 19 - AM - take rail to Rome
- check-in at Hotel Montestella (Rome)
- PM, evening - sight-see Rome
* 20,21 - sight-see Rome and the Vatican
* 22 - AM - a bit more sight-seeing
- 1620/1900 - Rome-Amsterdam
- 2045 - leave Amsterdam
* 23 - 1450 - back in SG

There. All down the drain. My confirmed hostel reservations in Milan Venice Florence Italy, the booked coach and air tickets. I can't even get into Frankfurt because the Italy embassy was supposed to grant me the Schengen Visa, the pass for the 15 Schengen states. I thought I could apply in other embassies, but I cannot, since the rule says I should apply in the embassy of the country where I'm supposed to stay longest. Unfortunately, that meant the ambasciata l'Italia (embassy of Italy).

It's Sunday, May 29th, now as I'm editing this draft I started making on the 27th, and I'm getting better. I am slowly learning to accept painful truths (for one, that embassies supposedly nice and accommodating are hellholes) , and that well, life goes on.

Most probably I'll just extend my stay in Prague by hooking up with some group in choir who's staying at some lovely guesthouse. I'm mulling over joining another group going to Vienna and returning on the 17th, but I'm not sure if I can get the Visa in time since I have only a week left and no rescheduled tickets yet (but a friend of mine says that the French embassy, which handles Austrian visits, is a kinder and more humane embassy. Besides, a minor there is 18 y/o and below, while in the blasted Italian embassy it's below 21. So at 19, I'll have less troubles with the French fellas).

Nothing much I can do over the weekend, since the travel agent and the airlines open only on weekdays. So no tickets, no application for another Visa. Well.

Oh yeah, here's a new word: Vaffunculo.
In a sentence, Vaffunculo ambasciata d'Italia!

That's FYI in Italian.



P.S. Pardon the vulgarities and bitterness. I needed to let these out here lest I self-implode. I feel better now, thanks to all who showed their concern. I totally appreciate it.

Credo Translation

Credo Translation

Posted by moonstruck on the NUS Choir Forum
24 May 2005
02:03


Hello everyone. I hope this won't be long-winded, but bear with me anyway since I feel this is important for our interpretation of the songs, esp Credo.

Like I said during the open choir discussion earlier tonight, I feel it is important that we thoroughly understand what we're singing in order for us to give justice to the songs. More specifically, I feel that it is not enough to know that we have a rough idea of the song's meaning, and thus churn out a performance that roughly depicts what we think the song says. It's a competition and we're aiming to win; and thus we must step up the interpretation, and thoroughly understand and feel every line of the songs we sing, as this will ultimately be reflected in how we express the music.

Here's a translation of Credo which I got from Lingwei's post months ago. I edited and corrected some parts, though, with the help of this and my weekly Church visits. I've divided the real (spoken) creed into the phases as we sing it.


CREDO


Credo in Deum
I believe in God
Patrem omnipotentem
the Father Almighty
creatorem caeli et terra
creator of heaven and earth
et in Jesum Christum, Filium eius, unicum, Dominum nostrum
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord

qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto
who was conceived [by the power] of the Holy Spirit
natus ex Maria Virgine
born of the Virgin Mary
passus sub Pontio Pilato
suffered under Pontius Pilate
crucifixus, mortuus, sepultus
crucified, died, and buried
descendit ad inferos
descended into hell

Ascendit ad caelos
[He] ascended into Heaven
sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris Omnipotentis
and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty Father
venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos
[He will] come again to judge the living and the dead

Credo in Spiritum Sanctum
I believe in the Holy Spirit
sanctam ecclesiam catholicam
the holy and apostolic Catholic church
sanctorum communionem
the communion of saints
remissionem peccatorum
the forgiveness of sins
carnis resurrectionem
the resurrection of the body
vitam, vitam aeternam
and life everlasting

Amen
Amen ("So be it" or "Let it be done")


I'd like to emphasize that Credo is not just a song about Jesus and his death and resurrection and glory in heaven, or just some ordinary "church song". It is much more than that.

If you pay attention to the lines carefully, the Creed (Credo, or The Apostles' Creed) encapsulates the entire Catholic doctrine. It is the declaration (or proclamation even) of what the Catholic faith is all about. These are sacred stuff, that form the very foundation of the Catholic faith, and must be treated with utmost reverence. (BTW, the "ascendit" part is of course representative of the Jesus' resurrection, which is a core belief in the faith, since it was through it that ancient prophecy of the Messiah was fulfilled. Thus it requires a deeper, grander outburst of joy and faith)

Let me make clear again though, that I am not trying to convert anyone (God knows I've been a not-too-good Catholic too anyway) nor am I attempting to persuade you to pretend to believe the Catholic faith just so we can sing well.

What I'm saying is that we can treat Credo as a work of art, separate from its religious and spiritual implications, and realize that this artwork requires of us a certain set of strong emotions. It is our duty as choristers to churn these out, regardless of whether or not we believe what we're singing in real life. Like what Yan Ting said last practice, we have to attach the song to something we strongly feel for, like some experience or some pet or person or item, in order to produce the necessary emotion and expression.

_______


Whew, this was a heavy post (and probably the heaviest I've ever made)! I hope everyone will go through the translation and feel the song better next time. ;) Good luck to us all!

And oh yeah, for Ashita, please refer to page 29 of the yellow book for the English translation! =P


Joseph

Stranger things have happened

Stranger things have happened

I guess it's that time of the year. I don't know, once in a while, I feel.. for lack of better words, strange. Maybe it's this whirl of emotions that's taken me for a spin, although I don't particularly feel sad or depressed or lonely or anything of that sort. Yeah I'm still broke and jobless, but that's not even bothering me too much. (And oh yeah! I finally remembered! No wonder I lost my money too quickly! I pitched in almost S$800 to purchase almost half of Kai's Mac IBook grad gift! Phew, it's a relief knowing money didn't just go pffft because of my personal spending.)

Anyway, it's just really strange. Maybe I'm just being contemplative? Maybe I've been staring too long at random objects? Maybe idleness had finally gotten the better of me and has finally decided to shake my brain up a bit to see if it's still functional? Or maybe too many things have happened in one day, and now I have to scramble to keep up with the mental and emotional pace.

Well, maybe it's just that I've been reading The Alchemist for way too long already (I'm one of the slowest readers I know--but I'm quite thorough, so that's okay), and maybe it has tinkered with my system and now I unconsciously attempt to find ways to defamiliarize the everyday things, finding ways to penetrate into the ahem, Soul of the Universe, and speak its language. Now I realize that that sounds a bit off.

Anyway, Czech and Schengen VISA applications should be keeping me busy next week, on top of the increasingly intensive choirwork. But right now, I just want to lie down and think a good deal more about stuff. Dunno what about exactly. Yeah I get weird sometimes.


P.S. The Pinoy seniors and I went to watch Star Wars Ep 3 at Jurong Point last night. I thought it was superb. Well, the dialogue could be less trite and more witty, but the fight scenes were good, the costumes were cool, the story was engaging. A fitting final installment to the SW saga.

I couldn't help but remember, too, that the last Star Wars flick, Ep 2, I watched during my AJSS (Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar) days in 2002. Yeah, it was May too, and the juniors bunch had almost (or already) graduated from the seminar, and my good buddies RJ and Archie and I went to watch Star Wars in some SM mall in Manila. Supposedly, RJ and Archie and I were the "Whattamen", patterned after some now-defunct comedy show on TV. Haha. Anyway, I hope everyone in the 35th AJSS is doing fine now, after three years. I miss you all!


Music of the Moment: Lenny Kravitz's Lady
Currently feeling weird.

Overdue

Overdue

Okay, so this update is overdue because really, I'm not starving myself! Well, not anymore.. or at least, not as much. Hehe. I'm okay! And I'm not desperate! They were just "moments".

Apparently that last post sent my parents worrying about me, so thanks Ma and Dad. But I'm all right. I eat okay now, although I'm still figuring out how to get a good lump of money without getting arrested. But point is, I'm perfectly fine.

And cool, I'm actually enjoying the choir practices now. We've been stepping up the practices and cool, I feel I can hit the notes quite decently and have managed to conceal the fact that I may very well be the weakest link. The person I was talking about in the last post had a talk with our Student Conductor Yan Ting and so everything will be hopefully better now. And he caught me on MSN and asked me of my opinion. It was well, very diplomatic, and I manage to strike a balance between being a friend and one of the aggrieved bassos. But everything's okay now.

We've been doing funny tricks in our choir practices, like singing with the lights off, mixing the basses with altos or with the sops, or totally mixing every one with everyone else, or singing while lying down on the floor. For the Kucinta song we have to sound like cats, for the Japanese song Ashita, we must sing the same lines from the perspective of a young and old man, and for Credo, we have to attach some spiritual emotion into it. For the Credo bit it was easy for me since I'm Catholic and just have to make sense of the Latin words, but it'll be interesting for the Buddhists and even non-Catholic Christians (there's this bit about the Virgin Mary and the Holy Catholic Church in the Creed) in the choir. Thus, Yan Ting invited us to find some emotional attachment to the song, like I don't know, some experience, some cherished person or item. Interesting.

And yeah, I finally get some money now. The subsidy list is out, and I get some S$110 bucks for the external performances last semester! And there's this small group external choir performance at Victoria School next week, so that's cool. Well, the fact that I had been selected to sing with the small group of 14 is fascinating enough (although I seriously think the better basses were just busy and unavailable haha).

I've been reading The Alchemist lately as well, and it's very pleasantly quaint. It's the type of book I'd like to read slowly and digest the words, but hmm.. somewhere in the middle when Coelho introduced the notion of love at first sight, I was like.. come on. But still, I'd continue reading of course.

Watched Sin City and some teen flick in Mike's room last night with Mike, Nestor and Arthur. Sin City was, well, gory. In the (Guest Director) Quentin Tarantino way. The cast is stellar, but the story wasn't engaging. Seemed like a series of almost invincible (they don't seem to be human, really) celebs taking violent bloodbaths. And well, the teen flick was British. It had its funny moments, but nah, I mostly remember it for being a British Teen Flick.

BTW, the comments in my previous posts are all gone! Sigh. Maybe because I didn't quite acknowledge BackBlog? Haha.. but still, I hope it's just a server problem and the previous comments and the commenting service will be back soon!

Time for brunch!



Music of the Moment: Los Lonely Boys' Heaven
Currently feeling strangely fine.

Moments of Desperation

Moments of Desperation

"We all have our moments of desperation. It's when we face them head-on, that we find out how strong we really are." - Mary Alice Young (Desperate Housewives)

Don't ever try to starve (or semi-starve) yourself when you're saving money. It's not healthy, although yes, it may do your tummy wonders (check out the abs of the Survivor fellas). And it's just not right.

Leave it to the professionals. And those in moments of desperation.

(I'm hungry.)

Okay, choir practice again later at Siglap, one hour away. I'm hoping someone won't be there, because he has virtually killed the Basses' self-esteem (and at a very vulnerable time for me too), and made us look like hopeless little frogs. I don't know, sometimes, it's not the message really, but it's the approach, dude. We do our best.


P.S. Ma, you should really watch this new TV show Desperate Housewives. It's not that I think I can see you in one of those characters, but I think the humor will greatly appeal to you. :D I'm fascinated by it, and am currently hooked. It premieres there tomorrow, Thursday, I think. It's one of the stuff keeping me sane here.. that is if laughing loud alone in the room is still considered sane.

The Fifth Wheel

The Fifth Wheel

What?! I actually missed The Apprentice. Ugh. Yes it's still last season's finale (part 1), but as I've managed to totally screen myself from information as to who between Kelly and Blondie won, no spoilers please!

Who knew planning can be so exhausting? After a gruelling 7 hours of discussion (from 11:30am to about 7:30pm, at Harbourfront Centre and later at ComCen) regarding the extension trip with my travelmates in our small group of 5, we finally worked out an itinerary, hammered out its details, booked the necessary student hostel accommodations online, and scared ourselves with the crazy lumps of moolah we'd have to dig up for the trip.

I began to feel a bit of tension when Winnie was discussing the accommodation plans for us. It was a group of 5, with 4 girls and me, the lone guy. Haizz, it would've been a tad more convenient if some other guys came with us to facilitate the hostel bookings, but apparently the other boys are either going with their girlfriends, or going to different places with higher budgets. Besides, my buddy buddy friends aren't even going for the Czech trip at all, and this was the group I felt most comfy with, as 4 of us are Year 1s, and I particularly struck up a friendship with Hui Yin, Janice and Xiu Yin in our Choir Chalet in December.

So anyway, accommodation was kind of tricky, as there were five of us, and we had to stay in a dorm that was co-ed, and which, preferrably, housed all of us in one room. So a two double-rooms option was out of the picture, and all-girl places were out as well. I hope I didn't inconvenience them too much, although there was a tension moment when Winnie brought up the subject of the girls having an easier time booking the rooms in Florence and Rome because there was some YWCA (Young Women's Christians Association of sorts.. YMCA counterpart?) place and all-girls dorm they could book, should I decide to head for SG on June 17, instead of June 22. The decision as to when I'm coming back is unfortunately at the hands of the very slow agent, who everyone wants to strangle right now. Anyway, I made it clear that they can book ahead and I'll pay the surcharge if I decide to cancel, that it was totally fine with me sleeping at the airport and meeting up with them at the dorm the next morning, that I could go sleep at another room with a bunch of strangers just so they can easily book the rooms.

Anyway, we already have a rough sketch of the places we'll visit. On June 7-12 we'll be at Olomouc, Czech Republic for the competition proper (including a day-tour of Prague), and at noon of the 12th, we'll be off to Prague. On June 13 we'll take a coach to Frankfurt, before we take off for Milan late at night. We spend a day or so in Milan, before proceeding to Venice on the 15th.

If I go home on the 17th, I'll be flying solo to Rome on the 16th and do a quick-quick tour by my lonesome and catch up with the June 17 group at the Airport. Being in Rome on the 17th is not a bad idea too, as it is a Wednesday, and according to Winnie, the Pope addresses an audience every Wednesday at the Vatican.

If I go home on the 22nd, we leave for Florence on the 17th, sight-see for a good two days, then leave for Rome on the 19th. Then sight-see again, then leave for SG on the 22nd.

Return trips to SG aren't final yet, thanks to our lousy travel agent, so we can't finalize everything yet.

Oh, and based on our calculations, the entire extension trip, meaning that after the Olomouc stay, will cost a whopping S$1300.

Sometimes I wish money would just rain from the sky. Sometimes I wish I had good sideline jobs to accommodate my busy choir schedule, as I happen to agree with Wayne on his latest post, saying (to paraphrase) that it sucks to be staying in Singapore not earning any money, and spending for food and accommodation at a price way higher than if I were at home.

And when I come back from the trip, I'd have to ask my folks to buy me the air ticket home too, as I would die of starvation if I stayed here. Thing is, I also intend to pass by Manila and Los Baños, to visit old friends and cousins, and to see how my sister Kai is doing in LB (and okay, to bunk at Jasper's place too haha), and all that isn't free of course.

Had a good chat with Jasper on YM. Yes, Jay, someday we'll be so filthy rich I wouldn't have to starve myself in my attempts to "produce" money by saving, since earning money is unfortunately denied to me (partly because of me too).

OK, I didn't mean this to be another addition to my series of sympathy-evoking (read: pathetic) entries, but woohooo I'm going to Europe (prerequisite: semi-starvation).



Music of the Moment: All Saints' Pure Shores
Currently feeling contemplative.

Finally

Finally

Thanks Ma and Dad. :D

I'm still broke and jobless, but that's okay. I realize, with my schedule, I don't really have to work after all. Okay, thanks to Dad's VISA too. :D

Latest failed job attempts:
* Waiter job at Kingfisher at Kent Ridge Guild House. The place is just a stone's throw away from KR Hall, but too many waiters already! Haha, and mostly my fellow MFA scholars too! Good luck to you everyone! 6 bucks/hour! Biggest pay, considering free meals, and it's just a 3 minute walk from here!

* Service crew job at KFC, Seiyu Mall, Bugis. My "interview" lasted 20 seconds. Ferron was asked in first, and when he went out after a few minutes, he frowned and muttered "$3/hour only" before I entered. The burly Indian guy who was the manager asked me quickly, "Your friend tells me he cannot work after July, can you?" I hesitated a bit, and duh, of course I can't work after July, because August is when school resumes! And Bugis is a bus and an MRT ride (about 40 minutes) away from NUS. "No Sir, I cannot," I said. "Then I'm sorry I'm afraid I can't accept.. " I smiled, thanked him and walked away, aware of the sound of my application form being crumpled and thrown into the rubbish bin. Strangely, I didn't feel so bad. Not for me, given the overwhelming con's.

I felt a bit deflated as the realization that I would not have work for the holidays and thus not earn any money sank in, but really, my schedule was just crazy anyway. If I accept any job, I'd have to make sure it's only for two weeks, it doesn't clash with my 6-10PM 3x/week choir practices or the voice class or the surprise EXCO meetings or my tasks as Records Sec or my VISA application.

I'm gonna have to be a bit thrifty though, but that's all right.

Bought a new polo chirt at Bugis! Haha, it was a nice brown striped shirt, for clubbing! Woohoo. Ferron says it's for the Czech trip.. and why not? Hehe. $19 only too! That's already cheap!

Ferron, Nestor and I went window shopping for a while, then off we went to Harbourfront to meet Wayne and Mike for dinner at Pastamania (ooh Italian food!). I went back to KR to get some stuff, called Ma and Dad, before proceeding to PGP to watch Survivor (Go Ian! Although I liked Karyn too) and Cold Case.

Ma and Dad! Woooo thanks again. Thanks for understanding my financial woes. And surprise surprise, Ma even was (I don't know if she was joking or not) suggesting that she may even want to give me $3000 so I could go backpacking with two of my fellow basses across several cities in Europe. Haha, I don't think she meant it REALLY, haha but thanks Ma. My conscience can't handle it too anyway. :D And yep, thanks Dad on guiding me on how to use your VISA.

And coooool, I just received an SMS from Hui Yin, our choir secretary and whose group I'm sticking with for the Euro-trip, saying that we may stop over at Berlin! Coolness. So that's Czech-Berlin-Rome and wherever else!

Winnie also just SMSed me and emailed me the possible routes, and in her plan, she's listing France! Wooohooo. So it's Czech-Paris-Rome here, but probably we'll skip Milan and go to Venice straight away, she says. Ahhh.

So I've figured out a masterplan. I'm gonna starve myself A BIT over the holidays, do some "self-enrichment" activities over the break in place of work, practise the choir songs dutifully (since KK says we should aim for gold, and walau, we will be asked to sing as a quartet in one of our practices.. that means a group of 4 [or so due to number restraints] composed of only one from each section should be able to sing the songs! Terrifying!) and have a blast in Europe.

And finally, after the Choir's participation in the Centennial Opening Ceremony on June 25th, I may possibly be going home. "Go home" in the context of Survivor and The Apprentice and American Idol may be a bad thing, but in my case, it's hitting the jackpot. :)

Off to bed to go for Choir EXCO meeting at the Esplanade Library later at noon! Thank God I'm still busy and not idle!



Music of the Moment: Snoop Dogg, Charlie Wilson & Justin T's Signs
Currently feeling giddy.

Broke and Jobless

Broke and Jobless

Yeah, I've been blabbering non-stop about my financial and "occupational" woes, but let me just whine about it a bit more so I can have one less pesky voice screaming in my head.

After waking up late and grabbing some Quaker oats and milk for breakfast, I went to Centre for the Arts office, temporarily situated at the UCC, to get the key to the costume room so I can dig up the original scores for Credo and Ashita. I didn't have the key to the barricade (the real CFA building is under intensive renovation see), so I had to wait until 2PM for this guy Kevin, another undergrad from some other culture group, who happened to hold the key. So I decided to grab some lunch to kill some time, although that meant I'd have to eat ahead of scheduled lunchmate Karen.

And since the ATM was along the way to the Arts Canteen, I decided to quantify how broke I really am. And to withdraw too, since I had barely enough cash to last me two meals.

S$31 dollars, the ATM dutifully flashed on the screen.

I had to withdraw lest I starve by Friday, and so I did. The minimum withdrawal was 20 bucks, and now, ka-ching! S$11 dollars in my bank account.

And trivia: I haven't called Mama to greet her Happy Mother's Day yet! And the phonecard I usually buy is 20 bucks! Wooooooooooo. (But if it's any consolation Ma, I greeted Lola Doding with my remaining $1 Worldcard credit. I don't think I can contact you at lunchtime, see.. but really, I promise to call tomorrow)

After a cheap lunch, I finally met Kevin at the barricade of the CFA. The Costume Room apparently is a mess of a room, and the NUS Choir shelves were stacked with boxes and plastic bags and miscellaneous junk. I dug into the boxes for a good 45 minutes, before finally unearthing the scores. Carried the bulk to hall, rushing in time for American Idol's direct off satellite broadcast at 3PM.

As I was watching AI through NUScast back in my room, late by two performances, my phone rang and it's from the lady at CFA, asking about the barricade key, because someone had to urgently access the rooms. Great. So I reluctantly turned off my laptop after seeing only Vonzell and Anthony's first performances, and headed back to CFA.

I headed back to KR and had to ready myself to go to Siglap South Community Centre for the scheduled combined choir practice with our conductor Nelson. For those who don't know, Siglap South CC is this place that's virtually at the opposite end of Singapore. It's at the East end, and NUS is at the west. It takes only one bus to get there from KR, Bus 10, but walau, the bus ride takes a little more than an hour! So for practice at 6, I had to leave at 5. I went there yesterday too, for the Choir Exco meeting with Nelson, and yeah, bus ride was so long I was beginning to get bored.

Practice was until 10pm. It was quite productive actually, as we've managed to sing all 3 songs that we are to sing in the competition. Kucinta is a crazy song. It's Malay, and the translation as written in the score is "Singapore's Love Cat". Right. My Malaysian friends in the basses say the translation's incorrect, as Kucinta isn't even a valid Malay word. Kucinta directly means "I love" according to Wei Zheng, and it's not a full sentence even. Keng Khoon clarified that it's a corruption/combination of Malay words, kucing (love) + cinta (cat). Umm.. all right. "Singapore's Love Cat" is still quite an off translation for me. In any case, it was a funny song with a jacked-up level of difficulty. The lyrics are 90% just one word: Miao. And we sing it over and over again in various ways, painting a story of well, cats and carfights and purring and whatever else. Ugh, digression.

Anyway, I finally distributed the scores I brought, and there, another job partially done. Went back home aboard another Bust 10 bus, but thanks to TV mobile, return trip wasn't too disappointing, as they showed Eye for a Guy (featuring Denise Keller!) at 10 and American Idol at 10:30. It was strange because I was expecting to watch The Amazing Race Finale at 10:30, according to Channel 5's schedule, but it was okay, since I got to watch Carrie and Bo.

I arrived KR at 10:45 and dashed to the laptop to watch The Amazing Race. Wheeeeew, exciting finale! This is definitely much better than last season's. And yey, congrats to Uchenna & Joyce. You deserved it. Bleah to you Rob & Amber. If it's any consolation, you're very rich now anyway. At the very least, hopefully the experience will somehow humble you a bit. Just a bit.

* * *

WOW. The digressions I make fascinate me. I haven't even got to talk about the Jobless part yet.

Okay, I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. I may not have to find a job after all. Maybe because I'm tired and exhausted from all the job-hunting and I need to nurse a battered self-esteem, but maybe it's because I'm already busy with choir. Really, yesterday was Exco meeting at Siglap at noon, today I had to settle some tasks as Records Sec and had practice at 6-10, tomorrow I have to produce 50 photocopies of the NUS Centennial Song and attend a tour of UCC with Choir people + practices 6-10PM again. Four weeks of intensive practices for the competition has begun, consisting of thrice a week practices (6-10PM M-W-Th), and in the final week, maybe every day practices in the final week before we take off.

In any case, what job will I get anyway? It's part-time of course, but walau, I cannot impose on them the several restrictions my schedule entails!

I'm glad Ferron has found several job offers now.. the fruits of his long and exhausting jobhunt. He's recommending Kingfisher at NUS Guild House for me.. wait tables during weekends. Tempting really, but sigh. Choir Exco meeting on Saturday at City Hall. Clash clash.

Anyway, we'll see what happens. I'm not dying of hunger yet and I'm not desperate to find a job and get the dough. I still have a few US bucks hidden, and I might unearth them in the very near future (like tomorrow) so I can survive. Catch is, I'm gonna be slowly eating away my money for the overseas trip.

Maybe I should call Dad and Ma and ask for help. Hmm.. there's Dad's VISA, actually, but due to my still-existent conscience, I can't quite spend too lavishly (been using it lately to pay debts or to convert "credit money" to cash).

Whew. Another incredibly long post. Again, I hope all those who just read my blog for fun or just to kill the time will be bored in the middle and flee and never come back. I didn't mean that exactly, but you know what I mean. Just to clarify though, this also isn't a desperate attempt to make visitors read. In fact, I've been wanting a bit of privacy lately. Umm.. yeah.

Incoherence, again and again. Gibberish now, time to shut this PC off and begin to move out my stuff to my new room at A205.

Goodnight.



Music of the Moment: P.Diddy, Mase, & Notorious BIG's Mo' Money Mo' Problems
Currently feeling umm.. broke.

X

X

I've learned in my Literature classes that although the substance of a piece of work is meaningful, what is also significant (sometimes even more significant) is the absence of details, as evidenced by those pregnant pauses, those untagged quotes, or those deliberate omissions of critical events. And thus, while having an eventful and happening life can indeed lead to several blogworthy situations, sometimes the absence of an update from poor little blogger may reflect the same eventfulness, to the point that he or she is unable to blog the experiences.

(Come to think of it, that last paragraph was maybe just a lousy excuse for being a bad blogger, or.. could my blog addiction possibly be waning already? Hmm.)

I'm gonna be brief (don't trust me) since I have to get my ass off to Siglap South Community Centre at 11:30AM later for the NUS Choir's meeting with Nelson, our conductor.

Friday was eventful, finally. My perpetual clean-up and pack-up was still ongoing and, well, perpetual, and that consumed most of my day. At night though, I was in two very different places that required a different set of emotions. My blockmates Felicia, Ivan, Carol and I rode while Yishu drove us to our fellow D-blocker and my next-door neighbor Kevin's place at Bukit Timah. Her sister passed away last week, and it was the wake. It's very sad really, because her sister was very young, and she died of cancer. I thought her sister was in her late twenties, but when I looked at the casket, I learned she was only 18 (her 18th birthday in fact was the first day of the wake, the day before we came). I also just learned that her name is Kristin.

Creepy really, since my sister Kai is turning 17 at the end of the year, and her real name is Kristine. I was a bit freaked out and suddenly worried, especially that Kai has just flown to Manila to go to college in Los Baños, detaching herself from our parents and home. You take care, little sister. Kevin was sullen and visibly affected, so I'm sending him all my good vibes.

After the Christian ceremony and eulogy (Kevin is a Christian Chinese, so the ceremony wasn't too foreign to me as I'm Catholic), we headed back to hall. It was 11PM, and it was.. well, time for clubbing! I felt a bit guilty at first, making sudden emotional transitions, but even Grace and Yishu said it's okay and I should have fun. And I did! Ferron, Korinna and clubbing queen Karen and I went to Cocco Latte, this funky place at Robertson Quay, in the Gallery Hotel. And we being photo-loving, we took photos at this colorful bridge painted by a Filipina artist just outside, and of course, inside where all the clubbing action was! Price wasn't bad, 12 bucks entry and one free drink. The place was great. There was a posh and tastefully designed lounge downstairs with an big TV screen showing MTV, and upstairs was the clubbing area, whose walls were screaming hiphop and funk. I got a Stella Artois, Ferron got white wine, Korinna some fruit juice, and surprise of the century, Karen got Green Tea! Well, what can I say about the clubbing. Nothing really.. except that I was totally looking forward to it the entire sem?! Nothing like good ol' disco dancin' to relieve me of stress. My legs hurt from too much dancing at around 3AM, but Karen considers this clubbing her most innocent session yet. Haha. Will post photos soon.

(I realize this is getting long.. yes don't trust me when I attempt brevity.. so I'm gonna give give skimpy details on the next ones)

Saturday. Korinna, Ferron and I made up the send-off party for Ivy. She was to fly at 2:30, but she had to be at Changi Airport at 11:30. Discovered the delicious and affordable Popeye's fastfood. Went off afterwards for intensive job-hunting. I'm gonna break here since job-hunting deserves a paragraph for itself.

IT WAS FREAKIN' EXHAUSTING. It's frustrating to find that the job opportunities are limited by two simple reasons: I'm not a Singaporean or PR (Permanent Resident) and I do not speak Mandarin (many jobs in the classifieds require applicants to speak both English and Chinese). We went to the mall strip in City Hall (that's Suntec-Raffles City-Citylink-Esplanade Mall area) to check for jobs, but mostly to no avail. The guys at Delifrance, KFC, and Sizzlers at Suntec seemed pretty nice and we gave our contacts and application forms, but no confirmation yet. We went to Holland Village at night, and no part-time jobs still. Oh well.

Went back to hall and packed up again, watched a bit of OC, and slept a while. Robs' direct flight to Davao was at 8-something Sunday morning, and he planned to leave around 6AM. I was still up by 6AM, and could've gone with Robs, but I figured I might pass out in Changi due to lack of sleep, and decided to stay. It rained cats and dogs too, so all the more I was nestled in my bed.

It was Sunday already, and aha, Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I'm very sorry not to have contacted you. I tried, though, but Dad's phone was unreachable. I called Lola Neneng (Dad's mom), though, and nice, she just arrived from a visit to her hometown in Iloilo. I tried to call Lola Doding (Ma's mom), but nobody was picking up.. hopefully she was out with my uncle and aunt.:) In any case, I love you Ma. And my Lolas too, of course. I'd call my Lola Nene too (Lola Neneng's sister who fetched me from school through my kiddie years), but she's up there already (God bless her soul), and besides, she was hard of hearing anyway. :D Will call you Ma and Lola Doding tomorrow.

Today, Monday. First day of Choir practices. Did room clean-up and pack-up during the day (yes it really is perpetual), but I couldn't move into the other room in the other block since the occupant hasn't left yet. Settled the original scores for the Olomouc competition (part of my job as Records Sec) and at 6:30PM, we were in the midst of an intensive choir session. It's been a while since I exercised my vocal chords, so it needed some tuning. Great to see choir friends too.

At 10PM, Choir went into an intensive discussion of the extension trip after the competition in Czech. Sigh, I suddenly felt more broke. Apparently, our travel agent is really lousy and slow and may possibly be overpricing, and so we broke off into groups and decided that we'll plan the trip on our own. They planned it actually, since I'm not exactly the planner type of guy, and travel agencies give me a headache every time, even in my simple trip headed for home.

Anyway, I was sure I was going for the extension trip, as the four days in Czech seemed a bit too short, and since I was shelling out S$1500 anyway, I might as well maximize the Eurotrip. Original plan acceptable to me was the Czech-Vienna package, but apparently, the girls and the couples have clumped up for it, and sigh, my dear Basses are nowhere in sight! WeiZheng is on this amazing backpacking trip with Yi Yong, that's gonna be for three freaking weeks and gonna span a good chunk of Europe including Austria and Italy and France and Germany! Sigh, but it's for 3000 bucks. Jeremy is going to UK, but on his own. Anyway, the Czech-Vienna group expressed the reasonable sentiment that going out in big groups may be a problem for travellers (due to varied itineraries) and so I didn't feel quite comfortable there as I had no specific buddy-buddy friends. And then bam, the Czech-Italy group. Kevin from the tenors is passionate about the trip because of soccer reasons, and now a group is going with him. Two of my friendly fellow first-years in Sops are here too, so I can somehow feel more comfy here. Huai Zhi is also the friendly joker type, so that's gonna be nice. Plus, it's Italy. Sigh, suddenly I realize I've always wanted to go to Italy. The Italian food, the Colosseum (tricky spelling here), the Leaning Tower.. actually just take me on a gondola ride and I'd be good to go!

1000 bucks though. That's the ceiling money that my fellow travelmates are forking out. And that doesn't include gifts and stuff to buy. God I am so broke.

So I'm broke and jobless and exhausted and lonely and sad. Quite a combo there.

Hmm. actually there's a bit more than what gibberish I've been saying here, but I don't know, I'll just keep it to myself. Let's just mark this significant moment, this period actually, with an 'X'. So marked.

Okay, this has been one of my longest entries I guess. In a way that's good, really, since I know length of post is inversely proportional to readership. I hope the length of this post has sorted out, by means of the attention span length, the readers who read blogs for fun or because they have nothing to do, and those who read my blog because they probably treat me as a friend they care for, or at least care enough to be willing to read an uberly-long entry.

If you've braved the entire post and are now reading this, congratulations. I appreciate.



Music of the Moment: Oasis' Champagne Supernova
Currently feeling jaded.

Bum

Bum

"Bum" is such an off word. The very sound of it speaks of unreasonable lethargy, or something that doesn't fit, or something that just doesn't seem right. It reminds me of those error messages I get from my PC, when I don't know, something's wrong, or there's something that requires a critical response from me.

But that's what I've been doing lately, really, just bumming around. Ho hum. Not that I'm complaining really really, it's just that... it doesn't feel right!

Korinna has been off job-hunting the day after her exams (I have too, but in a less proactive way -- meaning waiting for email mostly.. haha I should be disgusted with myself), which was yesterday, and her crazy adventures have been eventful! Check out her newly-designed blog (nice new template btw!) for the blow-by-blow account of it all. She came to my room yesterday afternoon all of a sudden and invited me, but then I was busy (let's get to that later) and totally unprepared and didn't have any specific place to go to anyway. Besides, I thought she was off to find, umm, well, girly jobs that I would not qualify for, like waitress or cosmetics saleslady or tour guide or secretary, which, well, require one to be well, a girl with aesthetic appeal. And walau, wonder of wonders, she was spotted by a modeling agent! And she was asked whether she was already from some agency! Woohooo way to go Korinna! She'll call you, that's for sure. Haha I still seriously think it's fate, you know. Like what I excitedly told you over MSN, if you hadn't stopped by my room and I didn't delay you by X minutes, and if I chose to decide to go with you and delay you by Y minutes, and if you didn't miss the right bus and alighted at the right place at the right time, then it would've been so wrong you know. Wrong place at the wrong time. But see, everything's going nice and dandy for you. Woohooo happiness.

But what really has been keeping me busy? Well, major room clean-up and pack-up. I still do not understand, for the life of me, why there is only one vacation block for KR residents. Okay, so having all "vacationists" in one block may be more organized, but really, is it really inconvenient for hall admin to let us stay in our original blocks at least? At least clump all the residents on one floor or two but in the same block? Ugh. So now I have to pack my bags as if I were leaving for home, only to transfer to a block that's a couple of hundred meters away. And then I'd be moving back to my room in July. ANYWAY.

What else have I been doing? Oh yesss, glorious sleep. Funny, the exams totally screwed up my biological clock, and now I'm afraid it's beyond repair. I feel lethargic during the day, and so I end up sleeping (lately even right before dinner) and at night, I suddenly am so awake and active! Thus, I sleep around 4-5:30AM, and wake up past lunchtime. It's a vicious cycle, really.

But hooray, finally I was able to catch breakfast today! Wow, I've suddenly missed breakfast for almost a week now. Glorious breakfast. Maybe I can still fix my bio clock after all.

And of course, the bulk of what I've been doing is feasting on visual delights -- meaning TV shows and movies! Woohooo I'm catching up on the OC! I've finally managed to clear up enough disk space in my PC to download a grand total of one episode at a time, and I've managed to watch 3 episodes so far. Whoooooooo OC is terrific. Yeah it may be bimbotic and soap-operatic at times, but the soundtrack still kicks ass! And the story is just.. I don't know. I just like it a lot. Hmm.. now I think what Karen said about me tending to get easily swallowed by pop culture may possibly be true indeed.

And of course, American Idol! Woohooo terrific show yesterday with the Top 5. Scott sounded very good, to my pleasant surprise, but hmm.. I don't want Anthony to go yet, really, since I dunno, he seems very pleasant and not pouty and cocky like Scott. I don't want Vonzell or Bo or Carrie to go either. Karen's predicting a Bo-Carrie final two, and it is very likely, but hmm.. I think I like Vonzell better than Carrie.

And what else? Oh yeah Amazing Race! And Eye for a Guy starring Denise Keller! And I chanced upon the Season 4 premiere of Alias the other day! (I never got hooked on Alias, but this one was pretty kick-ass persuasive) And oh yeah, Desperate Housewives! (It's about time I check out DH too!) I went to watch Baz Luhrmann's Romeo+Juliet too in the library. I didn't like the thuggish parts very well, but the love story is, well, you know, let's just say I'm a sucker for stories involving witty people violently in love in the context of the unconventional. And well, it's Shakespeare, what wrong could he possibly do?

Ugh. The patheticity of my current state of living, almost as if thriving on viewing pleasures! (I'm gonna read lots of books this summer too, don't worry.. starting with The Da Vinci Code) And of course, good old surfing and chatting online and bugging my fellow Pinoys when I see them. Don't worry, I'm gonna be productive very soon. I've decided to settle my VISA application soonest, so I've posted on the choir forum my queries on some requirements. I'm gonna look for a job with Ferron and Korinna tomorrow or Saturday, and I'm gonna be done packing my stuff very soon.

I don't know how to insert this piece of information here, but I feel a bit sad that many people are leaving (or have left already). My hallmates, specifically, some of them not even coming back next semester. Sigh. And some of the Pinoy group are about to go home! I almost forgot how quiet it is during the holidays, really. Hmm.. in any case, a good bunch of friends are staying over for the holidays, so that should be okay.

All right, time to leave the room before I spend more hours in front of the PC! I hope clubbing on Friday is still on! :D



Music of the moment: Semisonic's Closing Time
Currently feeling hungry for lunch!

Think BIG!

Think BIG!

Calvin & Hobbes is my new favorite comic strip. And possibly, new blog mascot? (I love you Peanuts gang no less, though)



Calvin & Hobbes is just adorable. Calvin is the mischievous little boy, and Hobbes is the advice-dispensing stuffed toy tiger who comes to life only to Calvin. And if you don't think the comic strip is brilliant and a notch above the rest after reading this (from which I ripped the strip too), I don't know what else will convince you.

I used to like C&H because of the cool and crazy designs, which I use as my avatar and display pic in forums, but recently I've learned that this Bill Waterson creation is more than just artwork. It sends brain food too, although it doesn't feel the need to be didactic in the pristinely righteous sort of way. Unlike other naughty kids of cartoons, like Dennis the Menace, Calvin is established as a smart boy who just wantonly acts like an asshole sometimes. Haha, kinda like me.



I've been thinking of a new blog layout and template with C&H, but it's quite complicated. Let's see what happens. Click the link above and enjoy 25 great C&H strips!



Music of the Moment: Arkarna's Life is Free
Currently feeling nocturnal.

Long days

Long days

1:56AM. Still up with a headache. Sunday wasn't technically a long day, since I woke up almost 2PM already, but it sure feels like it.

Saturday was a longer day actually, and it was the fun kind. Late lunch with Pinoy seniors, Romeo+Juliet at the Central Library (no more exams what), and later, dinner (of sorts) at Fong Seng with Korinna, Karen and Arthur, and later wooohoooo bowling session at Great World (or something like that) at Tiong Bahru with Castle, Zoe with Malaysian boyfriend whose name starts with J, Val, Rex, Edsel, Daniel, Mike, Nestor, Ferron, Karen, Arthur and me of course.

It was good fun, great to be bowling again after a looong time. For a while we were tempted to go to the clubbing place Zouk (or at least Ferron and I were) since we were on waitlist for the longest time, but of course we waited it out. The others had exams still, so it was a bad time to get disoriented and to be in party mode? Haha just my opinion. We played arcade. Arthur apparently is arcade master, playing incredibly well at the Marvel fighting game (ugh you know what I mean), and Virtua Cop. I played Virtua Cop too, but I guess I should learn to reload faster and stop shooting civilians!

Bowling time finally came, and haha it was great. Castle was effortlessly good at it, and so was Ferron, who did Bowling in their PE classes in High School. Karen kicked ass, and walau, first-time bowler Arthur did grrreat, even making a strike. Haha not bad for a first timer.;) I had initial trouble fitting my fingers into the holes and being comfortable that way, as I don't particularly remember ever using the holes in bowling before. I did decently I think, not too bad, nothing amazing. Need to learn how to target those few isolated pins! Edsel kept rolling the ball into the gutter, and when he finally made a spare, everyone cheered. Overall, he had more gutter balls, but that's consistency, he smilingly says. Zoe's BF Jijaith (I think that's the spelling) was top scorer though. Woohooo.

Half of us (come to think of it, the undergrads) stayed on to play another game, while the super seniors (except Daniel) left ahead. According to the list that flashed on screen, "Karen Gorgeous" was tops at 101, narrowly beating Ferron at 100. "Miguel A Plus" was third I think, with his series of strikes and series of Faults (something to do with crossing the line) too. "Josh Stats Major" got seventysomething (I'm not sure now). In any case, I know Josh Stats Major is me, Miguel A Plus is Mike, but I couldn't figure out who on earth is Karen Gorgeous. Didn't show up, or at least, I didn't recognize her. =P

Kidding Karen. All the best for your final exam! :) And to bowlingmates Arthur and Ferron and Nestor and Mike too!

Hmm.. another long entry. Anyway, story on Sunday is gonna be so short. Woke up almost 2PM. Ate Japanese food at PGP (yahooo). Went back to hall to do some surfing. Went to Church at 5:30. Shopped for some essentials at Fairprice. Back to hall. Dinner with Robs and Brice around 8. Called Kai, checked up on her. Called Lola's place, and surprise my mom answered the phone! Went back, chatted with Kai mostly, a bit with Jay, a bit with Jack.

Now a headache. I sincerely hope Kai will feel more at home in Manila. It's depressing to not be able to help her adjust, really. I mean, I who has lived away from home for months for some two years now should be more persuasive in teaching little sister how to go about it, right? Oh well. Anyway, I'm glad Lola and Ma are fine.

My head's still abuzz. Lots to do really, just have to figure out where to start. Cheerio.



Music of the Moment: Rivermaya's Shiver
Currently feeling messed up.