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Monday, March 31, 2008
+ morose +
hang on folks, this is gonna get random im not one to get mood swings. i alternate between having introvert and extrovert tendencies. i can hole myself up in my room the whole day, then burst out at night in a fit of crazy public antics. im stressed out, juggling school work and hall stuff. I'm preparing for Command 2008. The final hall event where graduating seniors put up a good-bye show. the funny part is: im under no obligation to do anything other than the minimum... but i went ahead to sign up for 3 performances. heh. i just haaad to end things with a bang. at the same time im sad to leave. so many mixed feelings preparing for my departure. all the while... im pouring whatever remaining juice i have left into GEK2020: Intro to Film Art. I sooo want an "A" for this module. when actually i can S/U this module. well what did u expect? i wanna be a director! I got "A" for Intro to Theatre Studies... and that was while i was still under the stress of doing hall production! do i kill myself or what? right about now i'm not the easiest person to love, aren't i? God gave me this great dream of becoming a director or screen writer. i really appreciate it. it gives me something to focus my wild energies around. sometimes i wonder what took Him so long. i feel i've been wandering in circles for years. had it been a waste of time? im gg to graduate soon. with a degree in history. this is highly unorthodox. are there directors with degrees in history? i'm even considering another degree from Tisch now. my time in NUS has been great, but will it be enough to carry the dream? in my impatience i sometimes feel disappointed with God. but it becomes more apparent to that the process of preparing me was going to be painfully slow. i had to be heartbroken... to translate loss i had to take history... to witness the irrational things people do, even as nations i had to hear stories of pain... to understand drama doesn't happen to "other ppl" we don't see i had to learn acting "just for fun"... because if it weren't fun, i wldn't have done that much so am i ready for the media industry now? i sure hope so... only time will tell cheers? i need a re-fill *gestures to empty glass*
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
+ Traveller +
Hey people, This is a very touching story, go read it! Hope it blesses you as well! :) As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car. Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.' Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the co rner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitati! on to pa rk. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor. 'Looking for the pastor?' I asked. 'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.' 'Have you eaten today?' 'Oh, I ate something early this morning.' ' Would you like to have lunch with me?' 'Do you have some work I could do for you?' 'No work,' I replied. 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.' 'Sure,' he replied with a smile. As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?' ' St. Louis .' 'Where you from?' &nbs p; 'Oh, all over; mostly Florida .' 'How long you been walking?' 'Fourteen years,' came the reply. I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.' Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment A concert, he thought. &nbs p; He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in t! hose ser vices he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God 'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.' ' Ever think of stopping?' I asked. 'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.' I sat amazed My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?' 'What?' 'To walk into a town carrying all y our things on your back and to show your sign?' 'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.' My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.' I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked. He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was als o his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said. 'I'm not sure we've got one of th! ose, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful. 'Where are you headed from here?' I asked. 'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.' 'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?' 'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.' He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things . 'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.' I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.' 'T hanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.' 'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!' 'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked. 'A long tim e,' he replied And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in ! the New Jerusalem.' 'I'll be there!' was my reply. He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?' 'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.' 'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him. Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brak e, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them. Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?' Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will... If this story touched you, forward it to a friend! 'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.' Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day! "'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen .' GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
+ post production blooooze +
Feels good to be free again. Command filming is almost over. Just finished another assignment. Then it strikes me again, the feeling i'm doing nothing. Yep, missing the fun, sweat, tears of rehearsals. The fight to create wonders on stage. Now the fight is over, and i await my next challenge. I take a drive and roll down the windows. Feelin the wind in my face. This carefree world will end soon. I'll have to work soon. (and.... find a job first ya) But for now, i'm free to savour the simple pleasures of post-production cam-whoring. I felt sooo proud taking that blow in front of the crowd of over 1400. those kinda cheezy moments you wish could last forever. but yep, i had done my best, and God gave me such a prize in happiness i could never had imagined. Pics from the aftermath of my big directorial debut.  Annabelle (asst director), Esther (actress), Alice (asst. director)  vivien, shi min, xiao hui, fong chi... A-block CG peeps forever  Li Chin. almost as big a joker as i am.  Joseph. resident big man who's a warm fuzzy emo bear at heart  view from the control room end during rehearsals  Yi Shyan. Soon-to-be SIA girl! Congrads all around! Buy me a drink ya?  Aileen and Du Yao. Untiring wardrobe specialists. Hall prod fashionistas.  Suffian. Not even in hall anyone but still helped us in a big way. truly a lover of the arts, loyal alumini of the hall.  Final shot of my flowers before they die. Yes its a tiny haul, but seriously, i'm a guy. Flowers are wasted on me. buy me something that lasts longer, like booze. hahaah!  finally getting my social life back. Got to meet up with Heidi last saturday and watched 10,000bc. Wasn't the best of movies, but with company like this, i've got all the entertainment i need. hahha!  One day i'll jam with a band again... and we'll spend all our break time eating ice cream. life is good and i feel like dancing! Take my hand baby! *raises wine glass*
Saturday, March 15, 2008
+ one spot of grime +
Dear blog... 14th mar 2008 marks a strange day where much interesting shit happened. Caught up a rare lunch with 5hyan and helped her with some history essay stuff. i watched one of the most awesome movies of all time, Juno, which scores a M-M-MONSTER KILL based on screenplay alone. I watched the NUS Dramafest. Its an event close to my heart because I helped produce the first inaugural Dramafest last year, and its waaay cool to see how my baby is maturing. They even got UCC theatre this year. We only had pissin LY13 last year. Oh well, everybody has to start somewhere. Topped things off with sheares supper with some other graduatin peeps. But none of the above makes it strange. Those merely contributed to the illusion that my day would be perfect. Marcus accompanied me for the movie and dramafest, and we discussed our plans for the future. This type of serious conversation inevitably goes back to our past. I was just sayin how i was happy with my KR life (with graduation looming 'round, its kinda like before u die, how u sum up your life). Thats my verdict. I had done all i wished to do. Helped orientation, played guitar, wrote songs, wrote news, acted, produced and directed. Made a big name for myself. Kept all disagreements professional. Wasn't bogged down by politics or vendettas. Marcus points out that i owe him a meal for helpin me get into KR. No problem. I do owe him. Lets get down to the beef. Mar 14 also marks the night one of my friends is revealed to be a psycho-bitch. I am shocked mainly because i had never before really really got tangled up with a psycho-bitch. Thus I never expected to. How naive. I'd at least expect myself to spot a psycho-bitch early on. Naive me again. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Thats not naive, thats just being realistically sociable. Whateva the case, it ruined a perfectly good evening. Kudos u psycho-bitch, you've hidden that part of yourself from everyone (just a guess) except me. My final offering of reconciliation was thrown back. Fine then, i shall leave on this note. Many who leave hall life talk of its slimy under-belly. So now i've got a spot of grime too. Its not Hall's fault. Every human institution has its own share of shit. ok i've tried to keep my language civil yet ambiguous. So i shall convey the rest of my feelings thru the medium of JPEG visual art.  *raises wine glass*
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
+ My life in song part 1. +
you know how some phases in your life are instantly remembered because they are so accurately summed up in a certain song? yup, here i'll attempt to put my whole life in a musical nutshell age 1-6: grew up in an English-educated Christian family. So much so that both my grandfathers spoke to me in English. Paternal grand-daddy was an Anglophile. Maternal grand-daddy was a player. Parents scolded me for picking up Singlish in primary 1. So i learnt to alternate between Singlish in school and Queen's English at home. No brain capacity left for Chinese. So apparently... I grew up in weird circumstances? Grew up thinking that Chinese speakers were weird. Now i know they are the actually the majority of Singaporean society.... But i still think they're weird. heh. So i'm weird? I've only recently reconciled with myself that normalcy is overrated. song: "Boy in a Rock and Roll Band" - The Pierces
+ ...and the curtains closed +
So... its finally over. It was... how would you put it? A resounding success? Seeing happy faces. Seeing old familiar faces. Knowing i have entertained. Hearing the applause, the reviews, and the criticism... God, how i love productions. As a director, getting feedback from the audience rocks my socks. there were so many different responses from people, all moved by our performance, all taking back something personal to think about. Only one thing beats audience responses. The great friendships forged in the production process. Some of us, joined for the love of the arts. Some for the "production experience" you've heard so much about. Whatever the reason we started with, in the end, we group of merry men and women earned not a cent from this, but forged on because we would not let down our fellow friends. Its so touching to see how we've all progressed both as frens and artists. I was an ensemble member before, and i know how exhilerating the whole experience is. In my first big foray as a stage director, it seemed like an insurmountable task at first. I thank God for providing a great team who could pull off a show, more wonderful than my own year's experience as a hall prod actor. I knew i had to rely on people to dazzle, when last year we could rely on our 2-storey set, this year, it had to be the performers. There were frens who've seen me perpetually deep in thought about production... complaining about production... making up for lack of sleep due to production. Despite all this they offered support, prayers and understanding. All my peeps inside and out of hall made my directing experience something beautiful. BIG THANKS one and all! cheers! *raises wine glass*
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
+ There's no business like show business +
http://ridgeonline.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/i-left-my-heart-at-outram-park/ The Ridge, NUSSU magazine we've hit the headlines before the show hit the road! Normally, NUS performances are only reviewed after the show... wheee! more publicity! Bring on the reviews! cheers! *raises wine glass*
Monday, March 03, 2008
+ Fern and Bamboo +
plucked this post off 5hyan's blog. wholesale plagiarism. so sue me. ------------------------------------------------- One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I asked, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said. "Yes", I replied. "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water." "The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." "In the second year, the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said. "In year three there was STILL nothing from the bamboo seed. BUT I would not quit. In year four, AGAIN, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth." Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He asked me, "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?". "I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you." "Don't compare yourself to others,"He said. "The bamboo had a different PURPOSE than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful." "Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high" "How high should I rise?" I asked. "How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can?" I questioned. "Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can." I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never, Never, Never Give up. For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity. Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is, tell the problem how Great the Lord is! ----------------------------------------------------- |
