Science/Faith

Never expected to have bought 2 of The Script's albums, but I just copped the second one.

Science & Faith. Do both of them go together? They can co-exist, but I don't think they go together quite well. In fact they contradict most of the time.

Had the first 6-hour lab session yesterday. Though it went on quite smoothly, my IR spectrum is a gone-case. Time to scratch my head for the report.

By Ear

My ability to play music on the keyboard by ear is improving.

Playing music by ear is basically just hitting the notes according to the song you hear without referring to any sheet music. And making your own arrangements and accompaniments. I can tell you that the feeling and the satisfaction you get when you're able to play a song you just heard on the radio impromptu is AWESOME.

Who hates reading sheet music? *Puts my hand up*

Starting out will be a little tough, but as time goes by, you gain experience. For me, when I wanna play a new song I just come across on the Net, I start out by only playing the basic melody on my right hand. Once the melody and the gist of the song is clearer, I add my left-hand chords, changing and improvising the style and arrangement as I go along. Tried Shontelle's "No Gravity" which wasn't too tough. Today, I played a song that I heard for the first time. And it's relatively easy because the chords are pretty standard. It's The Wanted's new single, "Heart Vacancy", which is a lovely song. Peep the music video below!

There's Just Something 'Bout DA's Music

And of course DA = David Archuleta.

First things first, I'm not a 10-year-old pre-teen fan-girl gushing over DA.

But I gotta commend his music because:

1. It's sincere and heartfelt;

2. I can relate to most of his songs;

3. The songs are filled with catchy hooks and melodies.

I wasn't a fan of DA initially when he was on Idol but I bought his debut album and I have to say I'm gonna get his next one when it's out on October 4th. While his debut was more about love and whatnot, the upcoming one focuses more on being positive, optimistic and embracing your struggles, and these messages are embedded in tracks like "The Other Side Of Down", "Elevator" and "Things Are Gonna Get Better". I guess right now I really need those songs to pull me through in this trying time, to help lift me up before I can crumble down.

DA's music actually means a lot to me. And I'm so grateful that these songs are written and recorded, that I have the chance to listen to them. :)

Ok. Enough stanning for DA. Back to reality.

No more 3-day weeks for me!! :(

Lab and tutorials start this coming week and I'm gonna be frigging busy. Still on the fence on buying that Astronomy textbook. Such a waste to use it only for one semester. And it's not as if it's necessary, but it's recommended. WTH.

I wanna catch Resident Evil 4 but haven't got the time and the company. Not to mention playing my keyboard.

Talking about the keyboard... I feel like I can and enjoy creating melodies and hooks better than writing lyrics. Honestly, my song-writing skills suck and most of my songs all deal with the same subject that it's getting boring and tough. I think I prefer creating melodies on the keyboard instead (i.e. producing songs). We'll have to see about that.

Breaking Point

I finally got my PERFECT timetable!!! :D

Suddenly thought of trying my luck in STARS to see if anyone left my desired tutorial slot. And alas! There was a vacancy. And I switched. Thanks to whoever that person was.

If you're wondering why I'm blogging now, you can refer to my previous post.

Anyway, school started out pretty fine, but I'm already lost in 212. Time to start catching up!

Plus I now have company for all my modules. Awesome!!! :)

Don't We All.

I'm pretty sure everyone of us had an experience of the above.

So the YOG has come to an end. Surprisingly, I found myself glued to the TV all day long watching the games. Especially Table Tennis. A massive congratulations to Isabelle And Rainer for obtaining the Silver medal. And kudos to all athletes for putting in their best. I really hope you guys can improve further and represent Singapore in the future Olympic Games.

So Singapore received 2 Silvers and 5 Bronzes. Which is better than nothing. And as usual, China topped the list.

Anyway, I look forward to watching the London 2012 Games.

On another note, the GERPE/UE allocation results are out and I'm REALLY REALLY happy to get all of my desired electives -- CBC931, HP802 and Astronomy. Thank God, my almost perfect timetable is now finalised.

The first 2 weeks are gonna be relatively short for me as Labs and Tutorials only start from Week 3. So I only have to go to school for 3 days (thanks to my fantastic timetable planning skills). Awesome!!! :D

This semester's gonna be a little lonely for me because right now I have no company for 931 and Astronomy. You're a lone ranger now, Gary.

I guess I'll see my Sis around in school from now on then.

Different Summers

Taken from thedoghousediaries.com

Met up with the guys from my JC class yesterday. Felt just like old times. And we went shopping together for like the first time ever. Haha. I enjoyed myself though. It was great to see all of them again.

So YOG officially opened last night and the opening ceremony wasn't all that creative and "Wow", but it was generally quite commendable. The coolest part was the spinning torch. And why was Sean Kingston absent??

The new semester is starting real soon. Like a couple days after the Games end. Not entirely looking forward, really. But I know I gotta embrace it. Somehow. Let's just pray and hope that it will be an awesome one, okay? :)

Been playing my keyboard very often, printing new sheet music every now and then. Still trying to figure out how to compose and arrange my own songs. And I haven't been writing any new songs because of the lack of inspiration. Bummer.

Shhh... It's A Secret.

I'm so frigging excited that I'm gonna pee in my pants right now. If you bother to play that video, it's definitely Britney's new song played backwards I think. And that's a fierce picture right there! So when I tried to find the up-loader of that video, the name comes up as "Secretney" and this person only has just one video. At the moment. And he/she just joined YouTube 2 days ago.

Honestly, despite Britney's manager denying that Brit has a new album coming up, I guess it's all a mystery promo campaign to build up hype. That YouTube up-loader is probably her marketing team at it. Apparently, her new single premieres this September. Remember that there's gonna be a Britney tribute episode on Glee in September too? How coincidental.

Anyway, I have my hopes up that I can listen to new Britney this year.

Salt?

Caught one of my most anticipated films of the year with a fellow Angie fan, Pravin today.

Despite poor reviews from critics, I still thought that "Salt" has many interesting and surprising twists, not to mention the awesome stunts and action from the leading lady herself. Not many actresses can pull off a whole action movie by herself. Angelina Jolie is one of the few. Yet, there are some unanswered questions to the story and yes, loopholes. But I guess if you like to watch films like "Bourne" about spies and whatnot, "Salt" may probably be just for you too.

Rating: 4/5

Ok, so I've been holding this back for a few days now until this major blog post, but I finally got myself a keyboard!!! :D It's the latest model from Yamaha and it looks like this:

Nice? It arrives tomorrow and I'm so stoked.

Been watching YouTube clips of people playing Pop Piano/Keyboard and searching sheet music of my favourite songs on the Internet these few days. I'm a happy guy!!! Haha. Music is my passion and nothing beats having your own instrument to play your favourite songs on. Plus I can record my own songs now! I hope I can get some of my written songs recorded into midis so you guys can hear them (if you want to).

Can't wait! :)

Decision Made

A keyboard it is. Can't wait to play it.

J Day

We got a GREAT GREAT bargain when we went shopping for Jason's birthday gift. I guess we were lucky that the sales lady was kinda new.

Had a hard time locating the venue but we got there eventually. Been ages since I last saw Jason, Eugene and Fiz. So catching up with them was pretty enjoyable. And as usual, laughed hard at some of the stuff Chuwa shared. Such a joker.

Anyway, I had an awesome night.

It's August already!!! Sigh. I don't feel like starting school. It's gonna be a mad rush this coming semester, I can feel it.

Right now, I'm kinda seriously considering getting a keyboard. And giving up the guitar. I think I'm still better with keys instead. Since I have background knowledge. And I feel that it's easier to play a keyboard/piano. I just can't seem to master the guitar. It's so much harder.

Keyboardist > Guitarist.