The Youth Olympics

I don't understand why some people are so negative towards the VERY FIRST EVER Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore. I mean, it's not about being patriotic or whatever. It's about the world coming together to celebrate the unbridled potential of the next generation.

I'm very much interested in these Youth Olympics. I've never taken much interest in sports, and I never followed the actual Olympics, but I'm very drawn to the ones being held here. Maybe it's because I know what it's like at competitions, when your goal is not just to win, but to meet with people and make new friends.

I strongly believe in tabula rasa. That's the idea that people are born as a blank slate, which mean that the possibilities are endless. I have worked with children for three years, and believe me when I say that children have so much more to offer the world then adults do. I have seen how parental influences can change a child's creativity and innocence, for better or for worse.

I see this first YOG not as another event in a list of a country's economic injections for the fiscal year, nor as an excuse to make a name for itself on the world stage, nor as a pride and propaganda for its people. I see it as an opportunity for youths all over the world to meet with one another, to open their eyes and see the world, an experience that will hopefully shape them into the awesome people we all hope to be in the future. And heck, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, happening right on your doorstep.

"I used to think that people from all over the world will be very different, but now I've learnt that we are all pretty much the same. We just live in different places." --Jasmine Alkhaldi, Philippines

The Edna Man

Light Up the Nation

Hello, fellow Singaporeans!

In commemoration of our nation's 100th birthday, let us come together to perform a feat never before attempted by any other country in the world. It is a very simple idea, and requires very little effort on your part, but we need your fullest cooperation from each and every one of you, if we are going to make this work.

On the 9th of August, 2065, the Google Maps™ satellite will pass over Singapore at night, for the first time. We took this opportunity to plan the largest national endevour since the Great Wall of China. And all you need to do is to either turn on, or turn off, the lights in your building, depending on where you are, for about five mintes. As the satellite passes over our island, we are hoping that it will capture the word SINGAPORE glowing on an otherwise dark island.

So we ask for your support, from each and every one of the seventeen million of you, to step up and Light Up our Nation.

-----

Okay, so I had another idea.
The Edna Man

NDP Ideas

I don't know why, but this year's NDP doesn't seem to have much kick in it. I think in the near future, when our nation becomes more receptive to new and unconventional ideas, I'll go volunteer design some of the performances.

So the first idea I had was of a Singapore Song mashup. And I mean a mashup, not just one of those community song medleys, a real honest-to-goodness electronic-audio-manipulation kind of mashup. Someone go check if Norwegian Recycling or DJ Earworm do comissions. (Or better yet, find someone in Singapore who can do it.)

My second idea was to have some kind of ImprovEverywhere influenced flashmob in the audience. So we plant some performers in the audience (or better yet, get the audience to flashmob it themselves) and get some kind of larger and more meaningful audience participation. As to exactly what that performance would be, I still have no idea.

And my last idea (for now) is to have a song performed by many different instruments from across the performances and across cultures. Someone needs to find a way to perform a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Western instruments together in a Nat Day song. Then, you use one or two of those instruments in each performance before this one (which, incidentally, would be good as a finale or penultimate song). Then you fake a "technical difficulties" and get a portion of each performance (a number of performers, a float, etc.) to "accidentally" come on stage, looking bewildered, each trying to play their own instrument. Then they sync and come together in a impromptu song performance.

Yeah well. We'll see where this goes in the future.
The Edna Man

I Love My Country

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

-----

Happy Birthday, Singapore
The Edna Man

Inception

Inception was one of those awesome movies that makes you think and think about it even when it's over. I understand why people can watch it multiple times (though wait for the DVD, it's cheaper) to try to understand the multiple layers. It's awesome awesome awesome, and you should really go watch it if you haven't. To commemorate this special occasion, here's a song:

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

Dream Within A Dream (Ode to Inception), parody of Dream A Little Dream of Me as performed by Mama Cass
Guy washes up onto a beach
Stealing secrets from the mind, out of reach
But water wakes him and he's forced to flee
Dream within a dream for me

Jap guy raises the stakes up
Falling and dying both make you wake up
But pain is felt psychologically
Dream within a dream for me

The new team continues deception
Not stealing ideas
They're longing to trigger inception
Despite the fears

But there's a problem that will chill you
His dead wife's around and trying to kill you
Don't sleep deeper than level three
Dream within a dream for me

(Instrumental Break)

The rules are making everyone confused
Inconsistency
They think that the gravity's misused
To certain degrees

They plant the thought and get free
Synchronous kicks wake everyone before the
Abrupt endings making everyone disagree
Dream within a dream for me

Yes, dream within a dream within a dream within a dream... for me

-----

Hoping for a train, that will take me far away,
The Edna Man

The God Secret

Terry stepped into the Barnes & Noble bookstore, hair splattered with rain. The lady behind the counter pursed her lips as his jacket dripped water a little too close to her precious books for comfort, but Terry didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the rows and rows of books: fairytales, novels, anthologies and autobiographies, tomes, grimoires and manuals. He was more at home here that at his own house, which had a bookshelf against every wall and was situated next to a public library.

As he meandered through the aisles, glancing at covers and spines, he was suddenly reminded of something a friend had told him last week. She had said that bookstores were - what was it, exactly? - "graveyards of trees, their bodies mutilated and defiled with archaic runes". Looking at the leatherbound pages before him, he could not have disagreed with her more. These were sacred halls of knowledge, where most of humanity's collective information were sealed within paper and ink, silently waiting for its readers to unlock its secrets. There could never be any macabre feeling with bookstores.

Something caught his eye as he strode past the theology section. The aisle was dimmed, its overhanging lightbulb dead. Terry could just make up a pile of fallen books, toppled over in a jumble by the large glass window. Outside, the rain was hammering on the pane, winds rushing as though trying to force entry.

Terry could never stand the mistreatment of books, and stepped forward immediately to shelve the fallen bibles. As his foot entered the pool of darkness however, lightning suddenly flashed in the window, giving him a fright. But the sudden flash of light had also illuminated a small object lying on top of the pile of books.

Reaching down, Terry picked it up. Instantly, he felt something ripple across his skin, though there was no wind in this airconditioned bookstroe. It felt like a rush of power or knowledge, which emanated from the small pouch which fit in the palm of his hand. It was oddly shaped: pentagonal, made of old leather, with a gold lining around its edges. Each corner was connected with each other corner with another thin gold line, forming a star; and in the centre of the smaller pentagon was inscribed a circle.

Terry was confused by the strange feeling he had upon picking up the pouch. Giving in to temptation, he pulled on the drawstring and flipped it open. He was instantly struck by a feeling so powerful that he could only describe as divine illumination, and slammed the leathers shut again. The pentagonal pouch was no pouch, but a book, its pages yellowing with age. And the voice which spoke in Terry's head and heart told him that this was no ordinary book.

He clutched it to his chest protectively, and whispered to nobody in particular: "It's the secret. It's the God's Secret."

-----
Inspired by a dream I had a couple of weeks back, which I unfortunately had no time to put down in words since then. I distinctly remember having a small book-like thing, and the words "god secret" were quite obvious in my head. I have been having more dreams which I can remember lately (which I blame the army and its screwing up of my normal sleep pattern for), and I guess it's an indication of how awesomely my subconscious is influencing (or being influenced by) my imagination.

Not meant for mortal eyes,
The Edna Man

Silence Will Keep Us Alive

So I wanted to write something today about something that happened on Saturday but unfortunately events which transpired today makes it impossible (or at least, highly dangerous) for me to attempt to do so. I also had a number of highly creative ideas which will now never see the light of day due to the reinforcement of certain legislations which I ambiguously refer to. Perhaps if I lived in a different society, things might be better. Then again, I can't be arrested for having ideas.

Or maybe I can.
The Edna Man

Now That's What I Call CHANCE!

What do you know of chance? I've often wondered why, even though I know so many people, that I rarely (almost never) meet anyone in public coincidentally. True the chances are mathematically improbable, and there's also the time factor involved, not to mention the social justifications and demographics, but somehow don't you feel that you should be bumping into more people you know?

And of course, Lady Luck has that knack of dumping a whole lot on you at one time.

So yesterday I went out to Plaza Singapura to catch A-List with a bunch of friends (it was an okay movie; not spectacularly awesome, but entertaining nonetheless). So as I'm walking around I notice Nadia singing on the stage for some Great Eastern Kids' Performance competition thing. Cool. I went over to talk to her mom and wish Nadia good luck, then went to buy snacks (for the movie, obviously). And in the supermarket I met Kathy's mom. So we chat for a while, and I rush off to catch my movie. I'm walking past the stage again, and the previous team had just finished performing The Emperor's New Clothes and are being interviewed by the host. And who do I spot at the front of the group but Elena. I didn't get the chance to talk to her, but I did wave at her, and she kinda waved back, so I guess it's cool.

So ladies and gentlemen, that's not one, not two, but THREE OM-related people I met in one day.

Seriously, what are the chances?
The Edna Man

Break Into Song

Okay, so I've been watching Improv Everywhere's musicals again, and I had this idea, see. This really awesome idea, which borders on the "how-the-hell-are-we-supposed-to-pull-this-off". But it's still really awesome.

Improv Everywhere has done quite a few spontaneous musicals, which, if you want to argue about it not being actually "spontaneous" when the performers rehearse beforehand, are technically spontaneous to the people who are watching. And it's a really great idea, both playing on the fact that in musicals (Broadway, movies, whatever) people can suddenly just break into song and dance, just like that. It's a very magical thing to observe.

The only problem is that the songs are mostly one-offs, that don't connect to a broader picture. It sure is entertaining, but it isn't part of a bigger story. But maybe we can change that.

So what my idea was is that we can have a whole musical, performed in public places all over a city or town. The ultimate combination of public art and Improv Everywhere-ness. I was thinking of having a story which requires people to travel all over the city looking for something, maybe within a day, and so at different times in that one day, the next song of the musical would be performed, according to a story. The people at each spot would be entertained by that single number, but only get a fragment of the story.

Maybe that's good, maybe not. So I'm thinking again, what if the producers had hidden cameras at each of the locations, and at the end of the whole thing, tied everything together into a single movie musical? A whole story of spontaneous musicals erupting across the concrete jungle.

That my friends, would be epic.
The Edna Man

AUTO TECH(TRAINEE)

You know why it's so inefficient? Let's look at it from the economic perspective. You've got a constant influx of surplus labour who are guaranteed job security and a minimum wage for at least a year and a half with no drawbacks unless you get caught, and how often do they police? Add this to the cultural mentality of "it's not my problem anymore" and "don't give me trouble" and you get an inefficient workforace which gets the job half done and cannot respond to quick changes within the system.

Sigh. Why doesn't MDC want me?
The Edna Man

Survivor

I've finally been voted off the island. (Which, contrary to reality television, is a good thing.)

Yes it's almost been a week since, but I haven't gotten round to updating this blog since I've been reacquainting myself with some fascimille of civilian life before I get posted to my new unit, which I sincerely hope is MDC.

I've got a lot of stuff to say about the army, but since there's that whole information blackout regarding what I say in public to people who may or may not be listing, I have a convenient excuse not to publish any of my opinions on this blog. Which saves me the trouble of writing it down.

I do have something to say though. It's about the people. You meet a lot of different people in the army, and it's a whole new life lesson, learning how to communicate and interact with them without getting beaten up or arrowed into doing IC stuff. It's a delicate art, beign friendly enough to get friends who are willing to help you, yet un-famous enough to not have your name called whenever sergeants ask for volunteers. Inconspiciously under the radar, that was my life in BMT. I can count the number of commanders who knew my name on one hand.

That being said, I did everything I was asked to, to the best of my ability. Enough such that in the dying weeks, my section (what remained of it) started noticing (and mocking). Still, when I look at all the people who chao keng through the seven weeks of modified, less physically strenuous, freaking slack BMT, I wonder how these people survived life this long. Obviously, whatever social system we have in place is failing horrendously.

In the army, I saw both extremes of the human condition. There were sergeants and commanders whom I could really respect, and I don't respect people easily. They were fair, just, and did the best they could in whatever they did (as far as I could tell). Then there were those, mostly recruits, who make me ashamed to be part of the human race. Selfishness is the only word. Nothing could inspire these people to give something of themselves for someone else. Not the best characteristic for a fighting fit army. Probably why this was a PES C company.

But enough about the painful past. I will probably never see many of these people ever again, and in some cases, hopefully I never will. (I also now have a deep hatred for toilets in general, and dread the day I next have to clean one.) Let us, instead, turn to more delightful news.

Three MGS Primary OM teams went to the US last week. They will return over the next fortnight with a 4th, 11th, and 32nd placing. I'm really proud of them all, doing their best at such an international competition. I can't wait to see them when they get back to this island!

CONGRATS MGS OM TEAMS!
The Edna Man

Fighting a Losing Battle

It must be Fate. Either that, or whatever heavenly power up there doesn't like me.

My last OM finals was way back when I was just fourteen. It was such a blast. As the years went by, it seems like it was going to be my first and last OM World Finals. Then I started coaching. Maybe I could have gone again. But for the past three years I haven't gone. I missed the first one because I had to go to the FPS World Conference. Not too bad, that was a nice trip too. Then I missed one last year because of H1N1. Sigh. And now, my request has been denied by the military, so I'm stuck in Singapore for this year again. Three strikes: I'm out.

I have a lot of suppressed emotions which I know shouldn't go on a public blog like this. So let's just say that if I have to recourse because of my Attend C, I'm suing god. For irony.

They say you learn a lot of things in the army. I have to agree. I learn a lot about the society that is confined on this island. The more I see, the more I wonder how the island manages to stay afloat, when the pillars supporting it are cracked and rotten.

Fighting a losing war,
The Edna Man

Sweet Sweet Victory, Bye Bye Freedom, and other Famous Last Words

OM was great today. Even though not all the teams won something, I really hope they had lots of fun and enjoyed the whole experience. It was quite evenly spaced-out this year, meaning I got to watch all four teams, and hype them up beforehand and everything. Of course I'm biased, so I thought they all were good, but I didn't see many other teams so I can't really compare. But they're all really really cute and I'm so going to miss them all when I enlist in 36 hours. I was actually really really happy for all the winning teams when the results came out, so if I don't sound as enthusiastic here, it's because I've had six hours to think about 36 hours from now, so.

Something one of the parents said today kind of stuck with me. A few of the girls all made small little cards for me with little messages in them, and I was really touched by all their words. One of the mums said that I should really treasure these cards, because what a kid says is really from the heart. So it made me think about innocence, like a child's innocence. Why do we lose it as we get older? When we see how the world really works, both good and evil, why do we stop seeing like a child? I mean, interacting with people in society today is based on manipulation and concealment. But a little kid will tell you what they're thinking straight out. And the excuse parents give for them telling the truth is that "they didn't know better". Why is that? How does that work out? Why are people's feelings so important in this society that we try to keep everyone on good terms? Why can't adults be as innocent as children?

I realized that I'll never be a kid again. Not even a teenager. My next two years will be spent in the army. When I'm out I'll be twenty-one. I've got to become another "respectable" member of this contemptible society. There are so many things you can do as a kid that you can't do as an adult. I don't think I can see myself coaching OM when I'm like, thirty. For one, I'll be out of touch with their pop culture, which is changing at an incredibly fast pace. For another, I don't think parents will be very happy letting a thirty-year-old guy alone with their eight-year-old daughters. It's going to be very different. I miss my youth already, and I'm not even middle-age yet.

I'm really going to miss all the girls I've coached this year. I guess this is the first time that I can feel a bit like they're all little sisters to me, and I'm their big brother. But the bittersweet thing is, I'm never going to have that kind of real brother-sister relationship with them. I'm just a funny guy that can make them laugh and is an easy target for their teasing. And in a couple of years, they'll grow up, and they'll all be different. It's really quite amazing how people can change in just a few years, especially at their age. Today, I met a couple of girls I coached two years ago, and they've both changed quite a bit. Will I even recognize them five years from now? Ten? Twenty? Will they remember me?

I also realized this year that I can't remember a lot of names of the girls I've coached before. So this year to make sure, I'm writing them all down here. So Time Travellers: Sophie, Andrea, Elena, Stephanie, Kathleen (Kate), Roxanne, and Keianna; Lightning Bolts: Beatrice, Caitlyn (Cheese), Caitline, Sophie, Claire, Cara, and Charmaine; Lollipoppers: Mikaela, Sophie and Megan, Ely and Sonia, Ashley, and Renaeta; and Yummilicious: Elsa, Hannah, Jessica, Nadya, Jan, Amanda, and Natalie: if you're reading this, Hi! Now I only hope I can remember the faces attached to these names. And of course all the parents, who I only know by "Auntie" and "Uncle" and by who your daughter is; and the coaches, Tess and Danielle.

Now all I'm afraid of is the culture shock when I'm thrown into camp. After two weeks of nothing but OM, I'm scared that all the regimentation will just destroy my personality, mind and spirit. I guess I've just go to tahan through the seven weeks, and try not to die.

Speaking of which, death is another worry of mine. It's not the unintentional death that scares me; I know everybody has got to die, and it just depends on when. But I'm sure the chances increase exponentially just a few hundred metres offshore. I'm not saying that it's likely, or that it's likely to happen to me, but that it's possible. And if I do die, these might be my final words. It's not easy to think of what you want to say to the world in the event of your death, but in the wake (haha) of recent events, I'm going to try.

I love the world. For all its imperfections, it is still a wonderful place, and the only one we've got. I love my friends. For we have shared many a laugh together. Most recently, I love the girls I've taught in OM, both past and present, and this year's especially, because you made me happy right before my darkest hour. And my only regret is that I didn't manage to find a special someone before my time was up. But life's (and death's) like that.

Oh I almost forgot. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I'll say it anyway. If I die, I would really like to have the words "He Died Laughing" carved onto my tombstone. (If no tombstone, then any other prominent place will be fine.)

See you all in two weeks! I hope.
The Edna Man

Echoes of Stories Never Told

So in two days I'm thrown into the national offshore prison for a two-year sentence.

I guess it's not the most opportune time for that, since tomorrow I finish my third year of Odyssey of the Mind coaching. So after the most incredible high, I'll be chucked into this incredible low of which there is no escape.

I am so going to miss Odyssey of the Mind. I wasn't even originally supposed to do it this year, since I was going in in Feburary. But then I got postponed, and I got to do OM again, which was a blast, as usual. I'm going to miss them all. It's the whole feeling of the 5cm/s thing, since I know I probably won't be seeing them again. I mean, I see a couple of girls I taught in the past two years and I can barely recognize them, let alone remember their names. We're going to drift apart; people in this reality always do. I guess OM is the only thing that links us together, and after that there's nothing left. They have their school thing and I'm going to have my army thing so there's nothing similar anymore.

I am also going to miss the freedom that I've enjoyed for the past four months. Getting up whenever I want, doing what I want, sleeping when I want. Doing whatever I want, especially. After Monday there's no turning back. You're stuck with people planning out your day and your life from dawn to dusk, and after that, (probably) a nine-to-five job. Then university, and I don't even want to think beyond that. I can't even imagine doing something like teaching OM for a living in Singapore. I guess I'll just have to take it a step at a time, and try to keep an open mind. Doesn't help this huge feeling of depression in my chest though.

I guess this is one of those moments in life where you get all existential and wonder what you are doing with your life. The two-year army wall makes you feel so helpless and unable to control your own destiny. Everything seems out of your grasp.

Oh well. Tomorrow will be the last happy day for the next two years. Smile!

Why do all good things have to come to an end?
The Edna Man

April. First!

Today is a very special day. It is a day that only comes around once a year. A day of laughter and enjoyment; a special day. So I thought I'd do something special today. I'm going to write down some of the romantic ideas which have been bouncing around in my head for a while.

I think I shouldn't be watching all these romance anime and reading all these romance manga. IT IS NOT HELPING MATTERS AT ALL. Eh, but whatever. Ideas are ideas.

So I've got this idea of getting a large number of ping-pong balls and chucking them down a staircase. I considered those bouncy fun balls at first but I figured they'd be too hard and destructive if they were bouncing around a house (because what other accessible staircase would there be?). So I figured if you get around 500 plain ping-pong balls (rough estimate) and painstakingly write "I Love You" on each one, then get your significant other to stand at the foot of a staircase (preferably lured there on some false pretense or mysterious note) and then you release the tidal wave of bouncing love notes. IN THEORY, it should be magical. Results may vary. And obviously, I haven't had the opportunity to test this in real life. Sigh.

I had another idea but at the time of writing this I can't remember what it is. Maybe I will update as it comes back to me.

The last thing I was thinking about was weddings. I had this idea that (just to be different) the bride can wear this black lace dress and the groom can be in this pure white suit. You know, just to be unconventional. And I think it would look really nice. I checked it up, and there's no superstitous or symbolic meaning of the white dress anyway; it's supposed to represent virginity, but that wasn't its intented/orignal meaning, so it's technically not that important. The only hard part (I think) is getting the family to accept it. HAVE FUN GOING AGAINST A CENTURY OF DEEPLY-ENTRENCHED TRADITION.

Happy April Fools' Day!
The Edna Man

Umbrella: The Social Experiment

So it's been raining a lot the past few days and I have had this idea for a while now so I'm going to write it down here.

Have you been out and about when it starts to rain heavily, you know, the kind of category 1 storm that grounds planes and makes it easier for cars to inconsiderately splash you as they drive past? And have you gotten even more disgruntled when you search your bag and realize that, for the love of god, you've forgotten your umbrella again, and now you have to stay there stuck until the rain actually gets light enough to use your bag or until it actually stops before you can trudge out into the puddles?

So what I thought was, let's have a social experiment. Let's put a stash of umbrellas at major public places like MRT stations and shopping malls, that people can use if they forget their umbrellas. The only thing is that it's not for them to keep; at the next possible opportunity, they should put it back at the nearest Umbrella-Share station (what the stash of umbrellas is called). So it's like a public service, which is completely free, with initial investment but depends on the social conscience of the people who use it. We'll see how long it is before all the umbrellas are gone in sticky-fingers Singapore.

Actually, I've already thought about sharing umbrellas with complete strangers. It just seems to be such a nice thing to do, especially for people who are already halfway across the street with a newspaper over their head. The catch is that people obviously thing it's a violation of their personal space, no matter how dry they've become, and they'd rather stay wet and catch colds that stand within two feet of a guy with an umbrella. Yet I've done it once, albiet for a schoolmate. It was exam time and I figured it would be criminal to let him stand in the rain while waiting for the traffic light to cross to school, before freezing in the stupidly subzero exam hall. I've never talked to him before, and he never talked to me again. But, it's a start, I guess.

Under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey.
The Edna Man

How to Tame your Dragon

...if you know what I mean.

But seriously, it was a nice movie. I have to agree with the reviews that the art in this movie is also very spectacular, more than Dreamworks' usual, in fact. If they're aiming for Pixar's artistic quality, that's a step in the right direction for them.

I don't really have many witty things to say about this movie. I mean, they're the most Scottish vikings I've ever seen (Craig Ferguson voiced one of them, apparently), and Toothless looked a hell lot like Stitich, and Boey and Darrell said that Astrid is a tsundere, but that's about it. Oh and a dragon that huge should be physically impossible to fly. Just saying.

But you just gestured to all of me,
The Edna Man

Eccentricity

So I've talked a lot about being different from the vast majority of the normal people of society. It's one of those issues that is constantly on my mind, because I am constantly being reminded of it. Take today for instance.

I got this small job doing voice acting for some Health Promotion Board podcast thing, so I went down to this home recording studio in the realm of Yio Chu Kang. It was an interesting experience, doing voice-acting (for the first time!) and I wouldn't mind doing it again. I had to play this adopted son who was dragged to the beach by his adopted parents to reveal to him that he was adopted. Quite fun, so I had to act stunned and hesitant and completely "WTF" most of the time.

The people there are very... interesting. As in, if I had to describe them, they would be what Ally would be in about twenty years' time, but with like ten times more sophistication. They're really open and don't mind sharing stories and everything, even of the misdemeanours and evasions they did in army, of their repressed sexual fantasies and their overseas escapades. Perhaps that's quite new for someone like me, who is used to dealing with guarded and conservative Singaporeans. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that they were educated overseas, probably in the US because of their personality and command of the English language, and also the references to western pop culture about three decades old. It's a whole different type of body language. They don't even ask the normal questions that I've come to expect from adults. Anyway I think I'm making $200 from an hour's work. Not bad, huh?

So I was going home after the thing, and I was walking with the lady who was there to play the adoptive mother of my character. The sound guy/composer (who is quite a cool guy) brought us out to the main road and gave us directions. When we walked to the bus stop, I pulled out my street directory (I had to get there somehow, didn't I?) and told her that I think I'd walk to the MRT station since my card was out of money. I noticed that she stared at my street directory for a full two seconds before snapping out it. It was as if she had never seen a street directory before, or at least never seen a person carrying around a street directory before. I got the feeling that she was quite happy to get shot of me as I walked off. Oh well. At least I probably gave her an interesting story she would be quite happy to share with all of her friends.

I think that the people in this society is too focused on tiny details. I don't mean that tiny details are bad all the time; I keep telling the girls at OM to remember small tiny details in body language and movement when they're doing acting and performing. But as in the small tiny details in life, like if the colour of your shirt matches your pants, or if you need to walk a few bus stops to the MRT station, or if you... eh I can't think of any more on the fly right now. But my parents do it a lot, especially my mom.

Perhaps I've been influenced by Hermen Hesse's Siddhartha. I know it's cheesy to be influenced by a literature book about religion, of all things, but I now believe that I need to experience things instead of just reading or watching about them. That's why I've started walking from places normal people deem too far to walk to (or from). I'll never know if I can do it until I do it, right? That said, I don't have the courage to do a lot of things yet. A lot of things involving people, especially complete strangers, that's still quite a bit out of my reach. I guess it's the paranoia that my parents inculcated in me.

DifFrent,
The Edna Man

Shiny New Computer

So here I am, typing at my brand new computer. It's sleek and shiny and missing all the stuff I had from my old one. Ah well. At least I can play games on it now! Not that I couldn't before; I mean I can play more games on it now. I finally cracked open two-year-old birthday presents (to offset this year's lack of them) and I find Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars to be quite difficult, seeing as I haven't played any RTS in a long long time, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance to be a spiritual successor with few of the good qualities of X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. But I have to say: Spider-Woman is HOT DAMN.

Windows 7 is really weird, but I guess I'll get used to it. I'm not used to the fact that there isn't a Quick Launch toolbar anymore, and it's really awkward to have to keep shuffling your windows around on the toolbar. The monitor's also 16:9, so it's great if I had movies to watch, but I don't, so I'll have to get used to my head swivelling a lot. Then there's also the thing about the apostrophes, which I think is being used as a hotkey for something, because whenever I press it, it signals the keyboard to come up with funky characters like é and ç and I don't know how to turn it off yet. So I can't type the word 'ços' because it comes out like that. Sigh.

On the plus side though, it's now super-fast and super sleek and super shiny, so it's distracting me from all these other unpleasantries. Ah well.

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The Edna Man

5 Centimetres per Second

Today I watched 5 Centimetres per Second, my first anime feature film/movie. It’s also the first non-happy anime I’ve watched in my currently very insignificant repertoire of Japanese animation. I guess I didn’t feel as sad as I expected to, maybe because Jonas kept making guesses at what was going to the characters, but I think that was better, because I’m quite sure I would have cried if I watched it myself.

There is a story about this particular anime. I think back in 2008 Jonny sent me the link to the ending theme song, and said that it was one of the saddest things he had ever seen. So I watched it, and I found I had to agree with him. (I’m sorry I’m a hopeless romantic.)

So two years later, I’ve started watching anime, and Boey is trying to introduce me to anime that he likes. He says that he doesn’t like sad anime, and at that point I remember that ending theme that Jonny sent me so long ago. I sent the link to him, and said that it’s from a freaking sad anime that Jonny watched. By sheer coincidence, Boey was watching THAT EXACT SAME SHOW AT THAT EXACT POINT IN TIME. Apparently Zhang had told him that it wasn’t a sad anime, so Boey decided to watch it. Of course, after that, a hilarious conversation ensued with both me and Boey discussing whether to watch it or not because of the emo factor and if his parents were home and would he cry and stuff. MEMORY OF THE NIGHT: He asked me if it was sad because the guy/girl died (he had been watching too much Clannad) and I said no, it was worse than that. Then he said, “OMG IT’S A FATE WORSE THAT DEATH I’M NOT WATCHING IT”. That made me crack up.

So anyway. I had read the plot summary on Wikipedia before watching the show. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it’s nothing like watching it unfold in front of your eyes. I guess this is the one type of story that you can’t spoiler, because the plot isn’t a mystery, but it’s more of the emotional rollercoaster ride which it pulls you through. It was really sad.

5 Centimetres per Second is a collection of “three short stories about distance”, as the subtitle says. It tells the story about a boy and a girl, who grew so close together when they were young, but due to circumstances, had to move apart. Of course, they had to fall in love, which made it worse. Another girl fell in love with the guy, but of course didn’t have to courage to tell him, because she realized he was always looking into the distance for something else, and she felt that she could never give him what he wanted. So in the end the first girl got married and the guy was still searching for her in his heart. Apparently 5cm/s is the speed at which cherry blossoms fall.

In a way, this anime is the most realistic one I’ve seen so far (not that I have much to compare it with). It deals with life, a very real and tangible problem in our life today. It’s painful and depressing at the end, and I found myself wanting the circumstances to work out, even though I knew the story was going to end otherwise. I think the saddest scene comes at the end, where the guy thinks he spots his original love at a train crossing, but when he turns around to look, A FREAKING TRAIN PASSES BY and when that train has almost finished passing, ANOTHER FREAKING TRAIN PASSES BY IN THE OTHER DIRECTION and by the time both trains are done blocking his view, the girl has disappeared. DAMMIT LIFE HAVE YOU NO COMPASSION AT ALL?

The story aside, the other awesome thing about this anime was the exceptional artistic quality of the execution. The background art was amazing, highly realistic, and with such detail it was astounding. No surprises that it won some award for best art or something. But it’s not just that, the sound as well; the trains had a Doppler effect as they passed by, which I thought was very impressive.

All in all, it was a fantastic, depressing experience, and I advise all of you to go watch it.

Drifting through life at five centimetres per second,
The Edna Man