Hey guys... As the title of this posts suggest, this is a goodbye from me. Even though I have watched Randts from the stages of its infancy, still some circumstances compel me to take my leave from this growing blog and blogosphere itself.
Being dragged into the idea of blogging by the two other founders of this blog, I cannot thank them enough for this opportunity to express my thoughts online and sharing them with the world; yet at the same time i cannot express my apologies appropriately to them for not fulfilling my duty towards this creation of ours.
To Albert and Jaspreet, I thank you both for constantly being an encouragement to me to blog (nonetheless, I have failed repeatedly to act on your kindness). Albert, you deleted the songs I gave you!!! I'll kill you!! (just joking lah...) Actually it is through this blog that I got to know many wonderful people of diverse interests and characters, thanks for all the gatherings you organized. Jaspreet... You are the best bhai I know man.. Keep on having that wonderful sense of humour, and I still remember what we did in Ikea (tongue in cheek).
Huiwen, it's been fun knowing you and chatting with you (online or through sms). I'm glad you found your role in Randts. I love the pictures you take though... and your purplish hippo..!!
Wen Li, I enjoy talking to you... be it about music, life, love... you are a fun person. Haven't seen you lately though. By the way, Mark Portnoy rocks! Love his "Siamese Monster" (Huge drumset manned by two people). Guess I'll catch you online sometime.
It has been an honour sharing the same blog as so many brilliant people. This shall go down in my mind as an interesting experience. Thanks Albert, for doing me this little favour.
My reason for quitting? Let's just say I was never a natural blogger to begin with. I wanted to blog about music and discuss little bits and pieces of guitaring techniques, but then I don't really know if it is the right platform, or whether I have really any solid material to write about. Anyways.. to everyone on this wonderful community, farewell I bid to all and a pat on the back for a good job done so far. Keep bringing Randts to greater heights.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;
I figured I have been absent from this blog for quite a while, finding something to write about. Since I have been very much into jazz drumming nowadays, I guess I would write a little bit on a few of the world's greatest drummers. Starting with my favorite of all time, Buddy Rich.
Buddy Rich a.k.a Bernard Rich is arguably the best jazz drummer of all time. With a remarkable career which spanned seven decades, beginning from the time when he was 18 months old, you can say that he was a child prodigy even in his early days.
Name: Bernard Rich
Born: 30th September 1917
Died: 2nd April 1987
Honors: The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame, Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame, Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award
Being a kid with a natural sense of rhythm, Buddy Rich became a regular act on Broadway even at the age four. He was known as "Traps The Drum Wonder" and was the 2nd most highest paid child entertainer in the early days of his career. Rich was well known for his immense speed and dexterity in play despite never receiving any formal training. It is said that he never and refuses to practice outside of his performances.
Buddy Rich began his jazz career in 1937 when he started playing with Joe Marsala at New York's Hickory House. Two years later he was invited to join Tom Dorsey's band and he soon played alongside the jazz legends like Gene Krupa, Charlie Ventura and Louis Armstrong. His fame brought him to feature in several Hollywood movies, namely Symphony of Swing, Ships Ahoy and How's About It. Being a legend in his own right, he even had the honor of performing in front of the king of Thailand, the queen of England, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and King Hussein of Jordan.
Rich continued to remain active in drumming even towards the end of his career and he was known for having a rather eccentric nature. Word has it that he once got mad over the issue of one of his band members wearing a fake beard and gave him a tongue-lashing for it. But I guess that eccentricity of his makes him a brilliant musician in a certain sense.
Buddy Rich died of heart failure in 1987 and it was none other than a good friend of his, Frank Sinatra who read out his eulogy at his funeral. A legend truly, Rich can only be described as the greatest drummer to have ever lived.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;I hate my current life. It is...
- Way too hectic.
- Way too stressful.
- Intolerably cruel.
- Messed up.
- Screwed up.
- Bad.
- Sucky to the max.
Ever felt so suppressed to the point of being half-dead? Ever felt what is like to be living a suspended life? I have no idea what in the world is going on now in my life. I just hate it so much that I wish someone would just end it right now.
Sorry for this sudden outburst. I really need some place to release the tension. Exam stress, piled together with everything screwed up, can cause the death of a person. For the record, I don't even sleep no more, even though I want to sleep. God have mercy on me!!!
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Recently I have been really stressed out and going mad with all the things going around me. Things seem to be moving so fast that I'm starting to act very weirdly. Must be the influence of all the crazy things going around. *pauses to think*
So weird is my mood nowadays that I have began to develop new obsessions. Besides my crazy stint with jazz lately. Despite the busy weeks and killer deadlines I have to meet weekly, I was happy that I got to play drums for an annual event lately. *grins* and for the first time in my life, I tried my hand at jazz drumming... It was such a cooooool experience!!! *grinning to the point of insanity* Anyways, I'd better get to the point soon before you guys start yelling "Enough about the damn jazz already!" that is, if you are not interested in jazz.
Alright, about my weird obsession. Believe it or not, I have been going online daily to download something weird, and I have a pretty huge collection of it now. I guess this revelation would probably draw some form of persecution from certain parties who think they know me well. Honestly, I don't know since when I turned to this "obsession" or why. Perhaps it is because it provides me some form of... erm... satisfaction (in want of a better word). But I guess it's not wrong to have such interests, even older people still do. Well, do tell me what you think about my new obsession...
Well, actually I go online everyday just to download...
Oldies (yeah, those really old songs)... and I seem to really love listening to them that it seems freaky to me. Maybe I'm just going crazy or I'm just missing someone way too much *sobs*
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;I was looking through some job advertisements inthe newspapers and I realized there isn't much for fresh graduates to apply for sometimes. It's more about experience nowadays. That is making the task for my assignment a much harder one. Anyways, here's a little something I found online. I wonder if such a company exists.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Company Policy:
Effective March 2 1, 2007
Dress Code
It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we
see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are
doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise. If you dress
poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy
nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress just
right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a
raise .
Sick Days
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you
are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.
Personal Days
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.
Bereavement Leave
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead
friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have
non-employees attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee
involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late
afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and
subsequently leave one hour early.
Toilet Use
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict
three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an
alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will
open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture
will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders
category". Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sanctioned under
the company's mental health policy.
Lunch Break
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that
they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a
balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Chubby people get 5 minutes
for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a
positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments,
concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations,
insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and
input should be directed elsewhere .
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;*steps up to laptop* [...] we should learn not to have expectations in any situation, but rather to have preferences [...]
*takes a quick gulp of water*
It's been a while people. Hmmm... everyone here seems to be "in the mood for love". Since every has posted something up about love, I'm going to continue the chain now. As an answer to Esther's post, I am one of those who is in love right now. It has been nothing short of an interesting ride so far. I have been missing that feeling for a very long time until recently (okay, not so recent). It's just that feeling of being loved, being cared for, to love someone, care for someone, do things for someone that you will otherwise never do for anyone. People who have been in love before but are no longer at the moment, no matter how much we resist it or no matter how happy we are with our current life, you just can't help but miss those times and those memories. At times you wish they would come back.
No matter how many experiences one has had, still when you are in love once again, it's a whole new experience. A new person, a new character, a new style and new problems. On a more positive note, new sweet memories which one will definitely remember. Okay, so now say that you are in love with someone (mutually), here's the new question. What's next? What are the both of you going to do?
In most cases, that's when you get together (you know, the boyfriend/girlfriend thingy). In some other cases, couples would wait a while before making a decision of what to do with their relationship. Perhaps testing to see if it would last, perhaps to see if everything that is happening is not just a crush and that it is all real. The latter decision would be more popular amongst couples who are less sure or more cautious, wanting to be sure the relationship lasts for a long long time.
Then a new question arises. In either cases, call yourselves whatever you want, "boyfriend/girlfriend", "still just friends" or any weird thing that you can come up with, it is a fact that you are no longer just normal friends. Things are not the same anymore. So how do you maintain this new relationship? That is a separate issue from getting together with the person. Now you have to deal with trust issues, the person's character or attitude, his or her likes and dislikes, how you show love to each other, how you communicate with each other, outbursts from the other party, disappointments, jealousy and insecurity just to name a few. There are too many things to consider before you can actually make your relationship work and last for a long time. Since there are SO many things to consider, why bother to do such a troublesome thing in the first place?
I guess that's the weird thing about love. You just love the other person so so so much that all these troublesome things just seem small enough to ignore for the moments you are with him or her. I guess if there was a sure-fire way to overcome problems in a relationship, the simplest way I can put it for you here is that we should learn not to have expectations in any situation, but rather to have preferences. If we expect our "other half" to do certain things or react in certain ways to us, more often than not we are going to end up disappointed. If we learn to just have preferences, we wouldn't really be disappointed that often. Well, I'm saying this because I know it works. I'm sure some can testify to that *grins*. I'm still learning to do that now, unfortunately I fail most of the time. But I'm trying hard, for the sake of working things out. Must remember that.
*yawns*
*tucks myself into bed*
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Hey guys. It's been a long time since I put up anything decent here. Thank you all for being more than patient with me
So yeah, if I come to think of it now, it's all back to basics again as I make an renewed attempt at taking baby steps in my blogging life. Currently I am trying to load my Gmail in order to send some important documents to my group member so that she can complete the final bits of our Geology Langkawi trip report, but the connection is too damn slow that I find myself constantly refreshing the page. I have a nasty feeling that I may need to run all the way to Village 4 (which is a 10 minute walk away from my room) just to deliver it to her. *sighs* Where is the internet connection when you need it?
Finally I am back in the mood to write, but I know not of what to write about. Often I feared that my long absence would in a way spoil the flow of the blog. Thanks to Comrade General Cripple a.k.a Berdie a.k.a Albert for the numerous dedications of posts and pictures. I particularly was fascinated with the "Stolen By A Bullet" picture. In a way I felt like my spirit to blog was taken away by an imaginary bullet of some sorts. I nearly wanted to quit, but thankfully a special someone managed to urge me not to quit (or rather threatened me =P).
So now, all I need to do is get my groove back, pick up the pieces and start anew. I know this may be a little too late but, I would like to say that finally meeting some of the RANDTSters in Albert's house was a great experience, and totally enjoyable. Thanks to Maverick, Comrade and Kwatra for keeping the blog alive in our absence. My tonnes of apologies. *grins*
*Pauses to think*
*Blinks*
*Grins again*
Alright, I know it's getting awkward at the moment. I shall not type anymore for now.
have.to.try.to.get.into.my.gmail.or.else.i'm.dead.
~'til next time~
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Apologies for the long absence. The Bohemian returns just to write a post about how pissed off and how occupied he has been lately. Well, I just haven't been able to find anything to write about lately; neither do I want to be posting up anything that is second-rate.
Assignments, tests, quizzes and lengthy reports to hand up in the space a of a week of 5 days. Week in, week out you find yourself getting up at 7.00 a.m. just to get ready for a lecture so far away from your room. There is no time to be feeling stressed out. For the moment you groan about the massive workload piled up on you, another fresh load comes in. Ladies and germs gentlemen, this is the life of an undergraduate.
I have been so stressed lately that I have been doing things that seem nonsensical to me. For example, I had an entire conversation in Malay with Henry just to "kutuk" him for fun. I have been running around (and I mean running, literally) just to see if I can tire myself out. I skipped all the classes today just because I didn't feel like it. Things that I would normally never do. For your information, I have been grinning the whole day just for the fun of it. How weird can a day get?
Anyways, all I can say for now is that all this is due to this "obstacle" which is in the way of my life. Worst thing of all, I can't seem to identify what it is. I guess this post would have to end here, as I really have no idea what else to write. Should I be deRANDTisized?
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;I'm finally back from a 1 week holiday in which many things have happened. Went to "the island" (Langkawi) and spent a night in the "headquarters" a.k.a the home of Comrade General Cripple. Thanks for your hospitality, I couldn't have asked for more. *grins*
Everybody, I apologize for the lack of contribution to the blog lately. Have been hit with issues of excessive enjoyment and laziness of the highest order. The traveling has taken its toll on me and I have not been able to do anything productive lately (e.g. posting on this blog). Nevertheless the meeting with several of the RANDTSters proved to be fruitful and an enlightening experience of some sorts. Shoutout to Kwatra (you crack me up, dude!) and Hui Wen too (thanks for joining us in our "tour" of KL).
First things first, Langkawi was great, but tiring. I wish to post up a few pictures of my trip to Langkawi, but then I don't really know how to hide them in this span thingy. I seem to be confused at the moment. I guess my writer's block developed into something more serious. The question now, am I losing it? Have I lost the passion or ability to write?
~Confused and err... confused~
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;...felt like I am feeling now?
As many of us are studying in university and are already past the seemingly distant hurdle of SPM, we face many new obstacles and new challenges as we experience a new environment. With new environments come new problems. Adjustments, making new friends, getting the grades, getting our study gears started after SPM, etc. All these issues would be the standard set of problems faced by nearly every university student.
The latter two problems in the set above cause me a lot of problems. Still, I am very much a laid-back person, so burdens like this can be lightened with a little "chilling out" once in a while. I can say safely that there are not many types of problems that can get my head spinning. For the very reason I stated earlier, I seem to never have any problems. This has been rather irritating to some people who get stressed out easily and those who are pessimistic. They don't seem to be able to find me looking all stressed out ever.
All this has resulted in people having misconceptions about me, thinking they know me without even really understanding what makes me tick. Perhaps I have been a victim of stereotyping.
I told you all about how I never seemed to be stressed. But there is only one thing in this world that can give me stress, and I don't mean stress on a normal and mild scale. It's like, either I don't get stressed, or I just feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. That particular issue, coupled together with the shocking revelation of the degree of which it has affected the people around me, just totally weighed me down. To the extent that I even feel my back weighing a tonne as I write this post (I mean that literarily).
I have no idea what is going on with me these days. I am losing my once monstrous appetite, feeling moody these days, even to the point of feeling study tension. Let's just say I've got the blues, and it is affecting my concentration power. Speaking of which, I find myself spacing out every now and then looking out for aliens that may abduct me.
Actually I love doing that "one thing". It brings me much joy and it gives me an avenue to get away from all the mountain of assignments and tests that have been growing by the day. But at times, I just feel like that thing is affecting many in a negative way. I look at their reactions around me and I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I have nearly lost things dear to me too in the process, even though there were some things I just had to give up for the sake of moving onward. But that is not the main issue. Lately I feel that the joy I so often seek has been discounted. I get frustrated easily when things don't go right and it makes me feel like I may have made the wrong choice. In a way I feel like I may have limited myself into a confined space, a corner which I was getting so cosy in. A part of me wants to break free, a part of me longs to move on with whatever comes.
Have you ever felt that way? I feel I am making a wrong move with every step I take. Anyone have any advice?
Mood: Paradoxical
Pulse Rate: Wait a minute, I hear and feel nothing...
Next Action: Get some sleep
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;*Sigh* ... And I never thought I'd be here long enough to write this post. *grins*
Hi everyone! *waves* Perhaps I haven't been really active lately on the blog. Internet connection sucks, but then that's still not a valid reason. I feel ashamed in comparison to Comrade Cripple there. Wish I had half of his dedication and his ideas.
It's been a month already, so many things have happened. I have gone through quite a lot on this blog in such a short timespan. For the sake of being determined to see through the success of our new project... R.A.N.D.T.S., I ought to fulfill my duties here. *grins again*
Let's just say that I'm not a really experienced blogger. So I'm still learning from all of you. Perhaps I'm still observing and gathering new techniques that I can integrate into my style of blogging. In other words, I have the utmost admiration for all of my beloved RANDTSters, namely Jared and Henry *grins from ear-to-ear* ... because if not for them, I wouldn't be part of this... Perhaps not even blogging.
102 posts in a month??!! That's like, crazy. It took Random Rantings ages to reach the 100 mark. I don't know much about 1 month anniversaries, but I'm just finding an excuse to blog about something on here. *grins all over the face* Congratulations to all for a good effort and contribution to these crazily insane encouraging statistics and a pat on the back for a job well done *pats everyone on the back* (wonder how many hands I have, you thought I was going to grin again, huh? *grins* =P)
Hmmm... So since I have nothing better to write about such a glowing admiration of you guys, I present to you a little dedication:There was a lean man named Maverick,
Whose command of English was terrific;
Little kittens he throws,
And he has corny toes;
That perculiar lean man named Maverick.
A man who calls himself Comrade,
Posted 24 posts but he's not mad!!!??
We all love his posts,
Let's all give him a toast;
A salute to the man called Comrade.
This girl from JB is called Melanie,
She'd give you a run for your money;
With her 30 comments!!!
For their attractive contents;
Not reading her posts would be felony.
There once was a girl named Huiwen,
Who's favorite number is "seven"; (i tink)
She takes interesting pictures,
Of hippos and dishes;
Go check out her posts if you haven't.
A good friend of mine named Yew,
He wanted to try something new;
He spiked up a fin,
And shaved himself clean;
And those just to mention a few.
Our Anime reviewer is Brian,
He studies about "Carbocations";
Once flew out of his car,
Once appeared in "The Star";
He's our Anime reviewer- Brian.
A girl I know who's called Wen Li,
She's the ultimate fan of S.H.E.,
Her real name is Lily,
She totally loves Hebe;
Hence the nickname "Helibely".
Member "One-Four" is called Kwatra,
That sounded like he's from "Sumatra"
He's Albert's best buddy,
He's loyal and funny;
God bless this good man called Kwatra.
There was a "nomadic" girl named Esther,
Who wondered, "What if the world spun faster?";
"Would this dangerous pace,"
"Fling us all out to space?"
That imaginative girl named Esther.
My university mate called Khael,
He drove through my heart a na-il (nail);
I said "How do you do?",
But he replied, "Who are you?";
"Same uni also tak kenal ar, Khael?" =P
Here is a girl named Jasmine,
Who happens to be number "fifteen";
She's cool and rambunctious,
What more, her blog's famous;
500 hits a day, just imagine!!!
Being our foreign connection, Tim,
The time zone is different for him;
He lives in America,
He blogs about Malaysia;
Though, I wish I knew more about him.
"Master Chief" is the name,
"Dark Crusade" is his game;
He's Jared's little brother,
He's none like any other;
Being the youngest, his claim to fame.
I may have left out some of you, and I apologize for that... Plus, did I ever mention this is my first attempt at a limerick? *grins*
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Perhaps some of you might have noticed we have a reader by the name of "Hann" who often tags our chatbox. For starters, he is my roommate. He also happens to have a talent of fitting himself into the weirdest places. Here is a picture of him in his successful attempt of a stunt to fit himself into the...

... Gym locker. Hehe. Which measure at 1.5ft x 3.5 ft.
Go figure!
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;As a gesture of continuing the chain of the "weather patterns", I present to you my poetic sucky pantun entitled "Matahari".
Langit telahpun cerah semula,
Simpanlah payung, sidaikan baju;
Pasang radio, bukalah komputer,
"Connection" internet semakin laju.

To Jasmine:
Hehe, no pun intended. Feeling a little lame at the moment
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Pulse Rate : 72 pulses/minute
Mental state: in deep thought
Emotional : edgy and irritable
Activity : contemplate on whether to turn up for an 11 a.m. lecture
Check complete. I'm still trying to shake off the "drugging" of an all-night tennis class (I'm still a novice) and self-inflicted all-day mental distress. Seems like I'm doing fine so far, just my usual morning mood. There's only half-an-hour more to my first lecture. It has been a while since I put up a decent post here, so I'm taking a little time here... Still have loadsa assignments to deal with (due tomorrow)and my alarm clock just fell under my bed.
Anyways, here's a little something to think about. Remember how the older generation always talks about us not having any regard for authority anymore? Remember how they always say that young people have no more respect for their elders? Being a member of the younger generation, I always thought they were trying to compare us to people of their time. They like to say things like, "During my time, we were all good kids. We never disregarded the words of our elders... But the young people nowadays [fill in the blanks] "
I always thought those accusations were mere comparisons unfairly drawn, using their standards to measure against ours. We are from entirely different generations. In our generation, the society is more liberal. The society encourages freedom of speech, hence the birth of mavericks (no pun intended) and bohemians as people begin to express their opinions in a more direct and honest way. People now begin to learn how to pursue their own dreams rather than going with the flow of the "you-must-be-a-doctor-or-lawyer" mentality.
Still, we all know that freedom comes with boundaries. We can never have freedom without responsibilities. If we want to have the freedom of speech and expressing our opinions, we need to be responsible for what entails, agreed?
Assuming the answer is yes, most of us do recognize the importance of respecting authority and our elders (it's for our own good, right?). Yet they always say that a few rotten apples spoils the whole basket. If you know me, I do what I want as I please, and I hate to be told what to do... But the very least, I recognize that if I am in submission to a higher authority, I ought to be respecting every executive decision whether I like it or not. Still, some people out there refuse to be mature enough to tell the difference between guidance and constriction of personal rights.
I was attending a briefing by the Education Sponsorship Unit of Petronas yesterday. They basically wanted to review our results thus far and remind us of our obligations to the company. Being a Petronas scholar, I do not mind being bonded by them, I do not mind working for them for the first 10 years of my career. All this I have considered carefully before signing the contract. So even though I am not yet an employee of the company, in a way I carry the name of the company.
I don't mind sitting through a 3-5 p.m. talk. They pay for my tuition fees every semester, give me RM500 to spend a month. Listening to them speak for 2 hours, no problem. *grins* But towards the ending of the briefing, they permitted people to leave the hall. Those who want to leave the hall must collect a pamphlet from a box in the front. Soon after, seeing that too many people were leaving, they withdrew the offer and pulled the box back near to where the VIPs were sitting. But this jack**s, had the temerity to walk all the way to the front (in a "selamba" manner) and take a pamphlet before straddling along slowly to the exit. The majority of the crowd applauding this action. *gasp*
I don't know what you might think about this. To me, I think this is the most stupid act of defiance in the highest order. Is he going to do that to his employer too in the future? Maybe he just thought it would make him look cool doing some stupid things like that, but by doing that he really tarnished the reputation of Petronas-sponsored students. I'll bet he would've been bragging to people about his "daring" (read: definition below) feat in defying authority.
Forgive me if my reaction sounds too strong. Can't blame me for being one who has spent his whole life trying to prove the older generation wrong.
Definition(s)- In context of this post:
-"daring": "daring" is the quality or condition of being stupid, or lacking intelligence. This quality can be attributed to both an individual himself (that boy was "daring") or his actions, words or beliefs (John Smith's policies are "daring"). The determination of who is "daring" is difficult, despite attempts to measure intelligence (and thus "daring"-ness) such as IQ tests.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;
Hey people! Just in case any of you noticed, I haven't been posting for quite a while. But now it's official, I'm back to posting. Shoutout to StMaverick... Sorry for the short abscence dude. To everyone else, Happy Chinese New Year! :)
Anyways, this is one of the few times when I'm actually free or either have nothing to do. Got back to JB about 2 days ago by an 8-hour bus trip. It's rare I have any holidays nowadays. My gosh, it's still the beginning of the semester and I'm thinking about the end of it already.
I haven't really been doing anything really "Chinese New Year-ish" though. Besides eating reunion dinner and receiving financial stimulus from my relatives and trying to make full use of it while I'm still not married. What do you guys do during Chinese New Year anyways? Mind sharing a little about your holidays? or how fat your wallets have been getting?
'Til next time, I'm gonna go eat some snacks now... I am getting really hungry and really irritable.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Bullet For My Valentine (Who Needs The Chocos And The Roses)
4 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: joe at 1:15:00 AMForgive my rather
Today, the first thing I did was to stain my hands with blood
- Location: V1B- Room 013
- Victim: Random Rantings, affectionately known as UTP Rantings.
- Accomplice(s): Yew Guo Zheng, Jared Ee Han Seong
With the passing of this old friend of mine, also means the passing of many memories, notably my initial blogging experiences and that irritatingly long joint post. I shall miss that blog, but I guess it served its purpose well while it lasted.
Happy Valentine's,
Random Randt: "Blogger = Sexually explicit??!! Go Figure!"
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Some random irrelevant and useless facts about me:
- Music is my passion.
- I love playing on my guitar (okay, not exactly "my" guitar), do a little bass and drums.
- I'm totally mad about watching videos featuring insanely gifted guitarists (bassists and drummers too) with extremely high-level technical prowess doing what they do best.
I kinda noticed that quite a few of the RANDTSters (still sounds like "Friendster" to me) do play musical instruments, or at least have a keen interest in music. I've always wanted to be able to discuss about guitaring techniques and stuff like that and perhaps feature a video or two on this blog.
But, unfortunately for me... I'm located in a university where the IT Media Services Department is numero uno (or at least "dos"<--- dunno if i'm spelling it right) on the students' hate-list. They have blocked Windows Live Messenger, Youtube, all kinds of peer to peer websites and they limited our download bandwidth to less than 2 MB (how to update my anitvirus??)... Yeah, so that's why I can't show any videos here *sigh* Anyways, I shall quit whining and ranting about my
For those who are interested in guitaring, allow me to recommend that you watch this guy called Andy McKee, that is, if you haven't watched his videos already. What's so special about this guy? The way he plays is just so cool. He utillizes a unique finger playing style to add character in his compositions. Personally, I think he's great. Before you watch him, throw out all your impressions about the common guitar-playing methods. Somehow or rather, he's sorta like a one-man-band. Enough said, check out this link, then you'll get what I mean.
If there was "For Dummies" help book about me, I think the first page would state that I like rock music. No, not the mindless shredding and senseless screaming. More like crisp driving guitar licks and groovy riffs. En d'autres termes, I'm all for musicians with good music sense. Examples of those with good musical sense, Joe Satriani (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), Mike Mangini (drums), Buddy Rich (mad drummer!) and
But for neutrals who aren't particularly interested in rock music, you just HAVE TO check out this guy called Victor Wooten. A fantastic bass player who has tremendous skill and a great musical sense. Not to mention, his beats are groovy and really catchy. If I'm not wrong, you can check out this link to view a video of his performance.
I suppose that's all I have to write for this post. I have to find a way to get the videos uploaded while I'm in UTP. Or else this post will be looking very plain and boring. *sigh* Anyways, here is a picture to make this post more interesting... hehe.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;... but as they say, the more the merrier right? This blog's growing pretty fast, faster than I expected though. Not bad for a blog only a few days' old. Every time I refresh the page, a new post pops up, don't you just love a blog with heavy traffic? or is it that this idea is still new?
Once again we welcome the arrival of a new RANDTSter, that makes the blog have 14 members. I don't know if there are many blogs out there with more than 10 members. According to my friend, it sounds quite a cool idea... but she said, "sounds confusing with so many bloggers,". Looks like the number just grew today. Hehe, but no complaints yeah?! I'm still enjoying every moment of it, hope this idea never gets old though.
Anyways, I really have to go off for dinner soon and later on I have even more stressful things to do. *sigh* Makes it hard to follow Comrade Cripple's optimistic way of life. Better stop writing before my disposition gets worst. But before I go, here's a little something I did... A little tribute to R.A.N.D.T.S. and... Jared's corny toes. =P
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;With this post, I mark my arrival in R.A.N.D.T.S. and a new beginning in my blogging experience. Some of you may know, I do not have a blog of my own (that explains why my name doesn't link to any blog), so to be honest I knew relatively nothing about blogging or whatsoever that has to do with it... In fact, the first I heard about the word "blog" was from one of our own... Miss Melanie Ng. I didn't even know what it meant at that time But after coming to UTP, Jared had this idea of having a group blog amongst our uni mates, that was what got me into this thing I guess.
*pauses and thinks while my roommate asks me to play DotA*
*long pause*
Anyways, I'm sorta trying to find my "groove" back (I kinda contracted this sickness called "writers' block", which is as common as flu these days), since I met with a few disappointments over the past few months... crippling my ability to write and dulling my passion for blogging even though it is very addictive. Hopefully, this new beginning will help me to be able to complete a freakin' post under 2 hours once again find that enthusiasm for blogging again.
Enough about my background and about me. I think it's really cool that we actually get to be in some form of a larger-scale collaboration with different people, beyond the boundaries of UTP and those whom I know. Ironically enough, we are all loosely linked together at the moment by 1 thing- we all know Jared a.k.a. Maverick. Come to think of it, personally I never thought that "crazy suggestion" I gave was going to become something I'm doing at the moment.
*turns on some music in an attempt to break the now silent atmosphere in the room*
I'm really looking forward to watching this new project develop. Who knows, we might even have "R.A.N.D.T.S." in lights in the near future... Even though it sounds a little crazy to suggest at the moment.. hehe.
Oh yeah, after all this I forgot... Where are my manners? A big "Hello!" to everyone I will be working with on this new project. The name is Josiah Tay... If it's too hard to pronounce, "Joe" will do just fine =)
*waves*
Yoroshiku, onegai-ishimasu.
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Labels: Introductions, Joe
The story behind RANDTS is, well, unlike any other. Here it is, as told from the perspectives of its three first members: Jared, Joe and Henry.
When we originally started this blog, we had no real idea about the direction it would take at all. What were we going to be blogging about, primarily? Torn between putting up a common theme and not setting one, the RANDTSters tossed ideas among themselves about what out common theme would be.
As the debate went on (and off, at times) the RANDTSters kept posting. We talked about things like politics and current issues:
At other times we talked about things that affect us as youths: exams, varsity life, relationships, and the things we love to do:
Sometimes we'd find something really interesting and post about cool things:
Photos are put up every so often:
Occasionally, we do showcase our creative sides:
And we even have our own in-house anime reviewer, GunGrave1988 aka Brian:
While other posts are just plain random:
That's when we realized the common theme for RANDTS would end up becoming something totally uncommon. Our randomness in posting had become a defining characteristic of our blog and its bloggers. United from different backgrounds and cultures, we'd come to have different interests and lifestyles; all of which are reflected in our posts.
Which brings us to the question: what does RANDTS really stand for?
Random Articulations: Nothing Different, Told Simply
... and that's the story of our blog. For the story of our bloggers, check this out: Introductions.
Hope you enjoy the posts here!
~verus rara avis~
[ Read more! ]
[ Hide post ]
;;Labels: Henry Yew's, Joe, Maverick's, RANDTS


