MTE just had a performance at Ngee Ann Poly. and i admit i kinda screwed up the performance. i was so confident too.. cuz the week before, my drumming kinda improved.. but a whole week of abstinence followed.. and it was like cold drumming.. i was totally out of the groove.. i only redeemed myself with "its not that" the last song.. kinda pissed with myself... though....

got the guys to go jamming at Ann Studio.. to see if i really lost it.. i think i did.. somehow i couldnt hear the music.. like it wont go into my head.. it was tough and a little freaky.. cuz i cant seem to be able to grasp the guitar riffs and bass lines and drum around them like i used to.. maybe it wasnt my day... however, during the jamming, kc and ros kinda messed around with guitar effects, feedback, whammy and i could come up with pretty cool off beat drumming.. so the thing is.. i havent lost my ability to drum.. its just that i've lost the groove for certain songs maybe.. or maybe im getting too saturated.. weird weird.. its like losing my mojo.. haha.. or maybe i've been thinking of off beat drummings too much that i kinda wrecked my basic foundation. oh wateva..

going back to camp tmr morn at 6am. duty. have i mentioned i cant book out at night anymore? privileges of the coy have been withdrawn. so that kinda explains why i havent got any practise before the gig. anyway thanks to everyone who came down.. real cool though i wish it was a better performance.. anyway, give us two-three months.. and watch us then.. it'll be a different experience..

Saturday, September 27, 2003 09:32 p.m.

photos of the palembang trip can be seen here.. afirdaus.fotopages.com

Sunday, September 21, 2003 06:22 p.m.

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.

How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla
surprisingly accurate but minus the angst. no angst but somethings gotta change and its gonna.

got back to camp last tuesday and found the superiors kinda pissed off with me.. it seems getting permission to go for leave from my OC alone is not enough.. i have to get permission from my CSM too. luckily they let me off.. also.. there was this discipline problem while i was away and now all the privileges have been pulled out. like now cant book out in the evening.. and theres alot of physical training.. like crazy physical training. somehow im taking it all in stride.. cuz my fitness has improved alot and being one of the fittest in the company really adds to the self-esteem.

been listening to an Indonesian band called Padi. good music composition and dynamics.. the drummer is really good. managed to glean some stuff from the drummings while in camp.. and pulled tru some of those rolls and tricks during jamming last night at carudi. kinda "supplemented" the drummings of mte's songs with a little fancy schmancy.. i think i overdid some parts.. haha... dyfectra was jamming in the next room. crazy drumming man.. :)

so the gig's on the 27th.. hope the new song goes well.. this will be the gig with the least amount of preparation ever. heh.

Sunday, September 21, 2003 04:32 p.m.

the land of four-wheel drives and flowers by the road-side

i left singapore soil and set foot on the land of my ancestors last thursday. My first glimpse of palembang from a merpati airlines window had me in outrage cuz some parts of the beautiful green landscape were on fire.. but it was impossible to tell from such a height whether it was controlled or not. we landed at the airport.. which was nothing much to brag about though the only thing worth noticing about it was it was named after an ancestor of mine, Sultan Mahmud Sabarrudin. so that was pretty cool..

its a four-wheel drive road network. cars are known as "mobiles or kijangs" everyone goes at a speed of about 30-40 kmh and yet that speed feels Right. a lot of things felt right there though its wholly different from singapore. i was just absorbing all i could of this magical place of my heritage. i tried to pick up the language.. Bahasa Indonesia.. which strangely, felt easier on the tongue than bahasa melayu. though i stopped trying hard to pick the language up after i got a headache over explaining about singapore's local music scene to a cousin.. oh and speaking of which... i could never track all my relatives there i knew their names but not know how to address them.. "om, mang, kak, ayok.. replaces uncle, auntie, brother, sister.. or something like that"

one thing about palembang though.. there are so many beautiful girls.. and they appear out of the blue.. like the whitest skin with sharp features.. i think a lot of them can give the MTV VJs a run for their money.. did i mention the language was beautiful? it sounds quite rough but it really is eloquent and subtle, and its very fun to speak... its like hokkien.. u know.. theres a lot of emotion in the intonations.. i mentioned to a cousin..
"palembang ni aneh ya, kak. warung di depan hotel ni pun ada dewi nya.." "ya, itu namanya Bunga di tepi jalan.."
ok translation : "Palembang is a little weird, brother. Even the makeshift stall in front of this hotel has an angel" "yes, that is what is meant by flowers by the road side"

overall, its been a mind-blowing experience. too many things to talk about.. maybe i'll come up with more details when i post the pics up...

Monday, September 15, 2003 10:54 p.m.

i've realized again the importance of EQ.. and how it affects everything from other people's opinion of you (word gets around far) and even how you feel about yourself.. good to say that i've found this out the positive way.. helping friends out help build bonds which makes for very happy working conditions.. i guess there are two rules in terms of relationships with other people.. one) relationships are always in a state of change due to what we do... whatever you do always changes the relationship to people around you.. even the smallest smallest things.. and this could go positive and negative.. two)the more happy stuff you pour into others, the more they pour into you. vice versa.. it really all is logic.. really no such thing as "cant understand his/her behaviour" unless theres a psychological problem involved.. i dont think i sound really clear at all about what im trying to say but theres no time and no space..and i've lost what i wanted to say anyway so.. watevar..

oh and i went too far with a practical joke last night, filled a bucket up with cold water from the water cooler and threw it into a friend's shower cubicle.. haha.. he was pissed.. he grabbed a bucket of water and threw it all into my bunk.. hahaha.. daniel sim the gargantuan was still snoring away in the corner.. so i had a spot of midnight mopping.. haha

oh and i had a dream.. it was an interview for the local law faculty so i went it the room and went all "Oh Professor Lim.. How do you do? and you sir, Mr Lee, sir, I look forward to your lectures.. the origin of my british accent? dont worry sir.. its fake, i've been picking up since last week from various television shows.. hohoho.." "why'd i want to do law? oh sir, i find it absolutely fascinating! its like studying magic! haha.. reading up tomes of text with all sorts of Latin words like actus reus and mens rea.. its like casting spells.. haha.. and reading up on those Lords with those funny British names.. i can just imagine them hundreds of years ago, huddling together with quills in robes and pointy hats or wigs..." hey.. =) it was a dream.. everything seems to be harry potter-tainted recently.. i think i've been converted. haha. i've even a Student Name registered at Harry Potter.com hahaha.. oh and by the way the two books i was reading before i slept were "criminal law" and "harry potter - goblet of fire" read them both and see what kinda dream You get :)

Saturday, September 6, 2003 02:15 p.m.

TOSHIRO: talented; intelligent People of your personality type should visit: www.life-blood.cjb.net

What would your Japanese name be? (male)
brought to you by Quizilla

fever of 39.4 deg is not cool. geddit.. not cool? im okay now but the good Doctor Chee from Horizon Med Cent gave me two days MC.

been watching chris rock videos.. extremely funny stuff.. go download some~ its hard to be stressed up and tense when u're laughing ur head off.. hahaha..

Wednesday, September 3, 2003 03:12 p.m.

i proudly proclaim tmr to be "Boxing Teachers Day".. innovative no? it'll be an instant hit among the schooling populace.. i can see it now.. "boxing teachers day" t-shirts, mugs, radio and tv airplay.. the idea will spread tru the ranks of the under-trodden masses of "stu-dents" like wild fire..

my mind's always in a state of flux these daes.. with bursts of creative supernovas..

i know my favourite type of music now.. seven collared t-shirt, radiohead... i finally realize the difference between emo and emotion-driven..

if u dont realize, the link to the guestbook is at the bottom :) adjust ur contrast if u see nothing..

Monday, September 1, 2003 09:00 p.m.

i wanted to talk about this dream i had but it was too fantastic to describe. involved the standard me saving the world from utter devastation... yada yada yada. though there was this one point in the dream - post salvation from mayhem - where i met the band (MTE) on a train and we went to eat KFC. but this KFC had an offer.. they were all playing an ongoing game of Quidditch and who ever gets the Golden Snitch gets to order what ever they like and get it free. Merf somehow caught the Snitch and ordered four trays worth of food. when it came to me to order, i too somehow snatched the snitch from the air (i was "the hero" u know.. quick reflexes and all that). there was a lot of food that day.

Saturday, August 30, 2003 12:16 p.m.

Post jamming lameness = "all these people must be equally rich~" "why?" "cuz they're all living in Commonwealth"
"merf, you shud quit whatever you're doing now and become a day time comedian" "why?" "cuz u just suck at night time"

supernovas gig this sundae. i've got two choices, try to drum things i cant and appear amateurish or do the simple drum beats that i can and appear amateurish. aahh.. theres a simpler solution. just accept the fact that i am amateurish and f**k it :) F**K IT! (the only reason why i censor this is that maybe, just maybe my younger sister might be reading this.. but i already know the language she uses anyway still i have to be a good big brother)

Saturday, August 30, 2003 01:29 a.m.

i've negotiated with the guy. quite a stroke of luck actually. there are a lot of details but basicly, i handed over 300 bucks (my salary.. damn lucky i had an advance of pay) and that the stuff in the house will go under my name in a month's time. at least i still i have the computer!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2003 07:47 p.m.

they came, they bid.. one bought. but we're trying to buy back. if negotiations fail, this will be the last entry for a pretty long time, unless i can get my hands on another computer. cant imagine life without a fridge and a computer.. they can take anything else.. but dammit.. i need music and a place to keep frozen food...

just kinda need to write it all for memory's sake and to get it off my chest. actualli its nothing compared to the stuff that happens to me in camp, imagine stocktaking and finding out u have a missing piece of equipment worth $4000+.. everything inside shrivels up. luckily that was settled.

tmr's the performance. im not particularly confident about the new songs.. but its okay. we're still gonna kick ass. hmm.. i feel like going out to get my mind off things.. play games or something..

Wednesday, August 27, 2003 06:30 p.m.

one day i'll drum to Box Car Racer's Elevator. just when i thought "hey.. travis is making the drumming really simple on this one..." he goes and breaks the beat..

its going to be a hectic week. with things going on that two years ago i would probably be freaking out and all but it's all in the stride now. burnt out? denial? just plain sian? dont know..

i think i need a holidae.. we're gonna be having one actualli.. after God knows how long.. (years..) its not so much a holiday though.. all i know is in about a fortnight, my family's going down to Palembang, Jakarta to attend my father's close cousin being made the Governor.. should be pretty cool. thinking about it.. its pretty sad though.. direct lineage of a royal heritage and nothing to show for it.. no artifacts, no documentations.. almost like its taboo.. tried to strike up the topic with my dad and he was like "let it go, its over, forget it" but.. i really dont want to lose my heritage just like that.. i must at least find out Palembang's history and all that.. anyway, the trip should be fun.. wanna borrow someone's digicam... *hint hint* :)

going to get something to munch... been gorging on chocolate the whole dae..

Monday, August 25, 2003 08:27 p.m.

you guys just HAVE to check out this group. you might recognize them if you know the local scene. they'll totally blow your mind away to the next galaxy..

Asian Heartbreakers

Sunday, August 24, 2003 02:22 p.m.

Pale Pretense is done with Tapestry. Today's performance was better than yesterdae's.. Its all good. I'm feeling pretty confident about my drumming. Quite relaxed about it, though i definitely know the areas where there's room for improvement.. was totally cool about performing.. i was like.. adjusting the drums, checking the key of the toms.. stuff like that.. then when the song started the drumming came up pretty smoothly. its all good.

watched MTV duets - blink 182 just now. they had a guest drummer come in and drum together with Travis Barker on the song Stay Together For The Kids.. i was blown away.. you give a genius like Travis the chance to do magic on a wonderful song like that without really having to carry the basic beat and he does! blistering blistering.. not overly done yet blistering. amazing. i was blown away.

I'd like to thank the wonderful pple behind Tapestry for the chance to perform. You guys are really nice and friendly pple.. Though i wish the crowds donated more. and i'd like to thank Cherie of the Gallbladders for lending us her orange electric guitar when Viv's guitar port collapsed. i could see the look of apprehension on her face though but she put her baby in Viv's hands all the same.. :)

anyway if u want to download two MTE songs.. look below for details..

Sunday, August 24, 2003 01:23 a.m.

Moren Tea Estate - At The Edge
Moren Tea Estate - Unnamed Live Library@Orchard

Right click and Save Target As.

Saturday, August 23, 2003 12:59 a.m.

i found this picture while rummaging in my computer..



really miss those days... havent sailed in over a year. dont think im competition standard anymore. gave up one love to pick up another.. im refering to drumming :) though i think i need to balance both of them abit else i get bored with just one. any how click on the thumbnail for a bigger view..

Thursday, August 21, 2003 05:33 p.m.

check out more pics at www.baybeats.net

anyway, went jamming with both bands just now.. first pale pretense at alvron studios. was pretty good. came up with a new song.. with a fancy bit of dynamics in it. then rushed on down to serangoon to jam with MTE.. the drumset sucked.. it irritated me more and more with each passing minute.. but its okay.. we secured "its not that".. good stuff.. i think im a pretty good indicator for music.. when i hear something wrong, ill frown abit.. and if i hear everything going well and smoothly, ill be grinning from ear to ear. heh. so my fellow band-mates, if u see me frowning at the drumset.. its either ive made a mistake (which is pretty often, i admit) or theres something wrong with the sound.. yes.. i guess musicians must be able to tell music from rubbish after a while..

i've got off tmr and i honestly have no idea what to do..

Thursday, August 21, 2003 01:47 a.m.

my sister installed this search bar thing just below my address bar on the explorer. it always shows five subjects that are related to the contents of any page that i was viewing. accurate or not? you tell me..

KC's Page = Rock Music, Music Lyrics, Nice People, Gay Guys, Funny Jokes
Ros's Page = Guitar Music, New Music, Fun Games, Work from home, Free Stuff
Merf's Page = Make Love, Girl on Girl, Long Term Care, Life Insurance, Life Coach
Mai's Page = Mother Day Cards, Home School, Driving School, Driving Test, Back Pain
Lokman's Page = Guitar Music, Find People, Nice People, New Music, Guitar Tab
Faz's Page = Find People, Find a Person, Bed and Breakfast, New Found Glory, Pay Day Loans
and finally mine = Funny Stuff, Funny Pictures, Back Seat bangers, Fun Games, Work from Home..

what d'ya reckon?

i came back home from duty this morning, around 10am. slept till like 3pm. woke up.. and saw that my living room ceiling fan was dusty so i got the ladder and cleaned it up. my thoughts were obviously elsewhere.. i just needed a monotonous thing to do. i had a dream.. i was in charge of a company of men. and i mean grown-up men.. stationed in some camp which had a lot of HDB flats instead of barracks.. and since there were no other commanders in the company.. i was their OC/CSM/CQ/PS/Sect Com all rolled into one.. i remember one bit.. this 30plus year old ang-moh guy (one of my men) came to me with his family.. (his daughter was HOT!) and complained bitterly that he was forced to sign on cuz of debts and stuff.. they were all speaking with heavy London accents so i followed suit. i tried pulling off some of what i spoke in the dream now and i cant seem to do it. absolutely impossible, i tell you!

oh yes.. i've finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix since i "borrowed" it from my sister two days ago.. that would explain the british accent dream i think. what d'ya reckon? honestly, i can be such a git sometimes. heh. anyway, harry potter is really for children.. its made for easy reading.. without all the politics and innuendos in some of the more advanced fiction books i've read.. but still.. its fun stuff impendimenta!

going jamming with pale p then mte later. you know.. i've been dying for a swim and i'd hate to go alone. and i cant seem to be able to spare the time. i think i'm going to organize a chalet or something.. maybe in chevrons.. with the pool.. invite everyone.. have a solid day of fun from morning till night. should be a welcome respite for everyone who's having a horrid schedule. dont disappoint me then.. details in a month's time :) and if i seem to have forgotten, stamp on my foot and remind me, yah?

Wednesday, August 20, 2003 03:29 p.m.

its been a week of ups and downs. a lot of ups were unexpected. a lot of downs that cant be helped. theres a major headahce of a problem to deal with in camp... my CSM gave me some very valuable lessons.. 1. When it comes down to accountability, i have to be Bastard about it. No compromise. Sounds mean? its not.. 2. No "i trust them" in my line of work.. i got myself in trouble. basic thing about it is.. everyone will automatically and unavoidably think of themselves first before others. even subconsciously. 3. when theres a problem, consult the superiors.. even when i think i can settle it by myself. cuz usually problems get bigger and then where would i be? in deep shit.

so those are lessons ive learnt. so far the problem has not gone away.. but i've kinda got it all under control. yesterday.. the men of the battalion had their ORD parade. it was good. one thing about my appointment in the company is that its solitary.. im not like in a platoon or a section.. the responsibilites are my own and i bear them on my shoulders.. though ive learnt i shud seek help whenever.. but basicly its just me.. watching the men going off on their last day.. envy welled up.. partly cuz they're going off already.. but partly cuz they've got the best part of the NS deal.. they've built bonds with men they have been tru thick and thin with tru two years.. me? when i ORD.. it'll be a quiet affair.. cuz ill be ORD-ing on my own and not in a group.. ill just pack my stuff and leave.. just like how i came in. guess thats the thing..

went to Illusion bar last night.. with Ros, Lokman and a whole bunch of fun people from Ros's manpower office. really had fun. and cuz we made it fun. today, been up since morning though.. jamming with pale pretense and celebrating my youngest sister's bdae.. im totally shag.. its kicked in.. i've gone tru 48 hours of parade organisation/ chionging/ jamming with minimal sleep. and theres still so much work to do tmr..

oh and did anyone catch the mars beside the moon spectacle? it so sparked back the astronomy geek in me..

Sunday, August 17, 2003 06:07 p.m.

just watched a show on Suria.. can you imagine that Indonesians and Malaysians dont really know about "soup tulang"? they were like "eeww.." when they ate the soup tulang.. hahaha.. real funny.. especially when i see my fellow chinese singaporeans eat soup tulang with such vigour and veracity.. haha..

so many things in my head but theres really no point in saying them all out here. i think i have too many expectations in life. im dissappointed pretty often. i have to start phasing out all the expectations i have of other people and other stuff and just focus on my own goals.. problem lies when my own goals are intwined with the goals of others.. and i have never been content with the back-seat..

Tuesday, August 12, 2003 09:55 p.m.

this will be the layout for awhile. take a good look. its subconciously influenced. perky.

Sunday, August 10, 2003 01:53 a.m.