Memories in the Snow

Kinda dead

2008-09-03T15:09:00.004+08:00

This blog is officially suspended and won't be revived until further notice. I got tired posting at 2 places and the lack of a message board system that Multiply offers.

The message board function really makes my life easier, keeping track of the posts of my contacts and replies to my posts.

However, blogspot does has it's good points. Somehow, Google results favour Blogspot posts more compared to my Multiply posts. So, I will be keeping this site alive, in case some people tries to Google "Lim Han Wei".

Therefore, for more updates in my life. Please visit my multiply site. The site that I started to use for blogging, and always will be.

http://limhanwei89.multiply.com

Thanks for the support!

Ichigo 100%

2008-03-16T20:56:00.002+08:00

Ichigo 100%

Yeah, I know my Nagasarete Airantou review is still pending. Will work on that soon enough. Life's been busy nowadays, with my trials looming just around the corner, as well as the barrage of interviews I had this week (thank god its all over), there's just so little time to blog, as watching anime remains a primary past time. Of course, add in the occasional DotA game on GGClient, or the manga reading, and also Stepmania songs. By the way, I find myself improving alot in Stepmania after seeing a pro play. Hero manages songs in Oni Mode easily while I'm still stuck at Heavy mode.

More Ichigo 100%

12 Episodes of Ichigo 100% done and I find it a little too short. Where did the other 2 years go? Ichigo 100% manga spanned all 3 years of the casts' High School life. The anime only covered the first year of their High School life. Where did all the drama, romance and comedy go? Guess the anime didn't fare as well as the manga, and a season 2 wasn't worth making. Ichigo 100% had been on my to-watch list for a long time. Its a 2005 Anime after all and I've heard of it ages ago. The manga was always a favourite and I sticked through all 17 Volumes of it. Through online reading though, cos I didn't buy the manga.

Junpei is a lucky bastard

The manga focuses more on the romantic development between characters, inner conflicts experienced by them and also the occasional ecchi. The anime is a little generous when it comes to fan service, but overall, it didn't capture much of the series. If only more episodes were made, then it would be very good. For those who want a good romance manga, read Ichigo 100%. I enjoyed the manga alot and still read back once in a while to refresh my memories.

The Anime didn't went far enough to introduce the front 2 girls

Time to finish up the last 4 OVAs of Ichigo 100% and then get it archived in my Hard Disc. To be honest, I'm quite a disappointed fan in this case. Why didn't Studio Madhouse produce another season? Sigh, at least the manga is still there if you can't get enough of the girls surrounding that lucky bastard Junpei.

On a side note, stumbled upon this gem a while ago. And it happens to be the reason I clicked on the "Post" button in Multiply. Death Note + Spongebob = ? Watch to find out more! I totally laughed my ass off after watching this.

= ?

GACC 2008

2008-03-07T20:27:00.001+08:00

GACC 2008 Event Poster

Even though its just a little bit, I am regretting the fact that I missed out on GACC. I tried talking Hero into driving down to Melaka for the event but it didn't work out I guess. I missed out on the live performances, cosplays (Lol), and Guilty Gear tournament! I'm also interested in seeing the star of the event, the seiyuu of Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach. And MMU is like an hour and a half by car only. Hopefully I can make it to GACC 2009?

For those interested in reading up about GACC, visit here for an introduction on what it is.
Kurogane wrote very detailed reports on the event itself, worth checking out for the photos and videos!

Day 1 Ends
A Photo and an Autograph
Motteke Sailor Fuku performance by Hard Gay and Commander Chaos (MUST Watch!)
Day 2 Event Report

Btw, Nagasarete Airantou rocks! Just finished all 26 Episodes of it. I want moar! Gonna review it if I have the time.

Ikuto makes pitiful guys so jealous of him. Lol.

Australian Access

2008-03-07T19:40:00.001+08:00

Sydney Opera House?

Phew. I'm damn tired after being in a confined space for nearly 4 hours, and the large amount of CO2 released by hundreds of people isn't helping much. In fact, its helping me develop claustrophobia.

Studying for University?

Actually, I was attending an Australian Education Fair at IDP Subang Jaya during that time period. You know the drill in these Education Fairs. Its always, queue up > wait for turn (boring...) > talk to university representative (interesting) > fill in forms (sien...) > photocopy documents > pay application/processing fee.

And a mere 5 universities took me nearly 4 hours just to settle the application. Now I appreciate the convenience of tertiary education in UK. UCAS makes things so simple where everything is centralized. However, the limit of 4 Universities for Medicine is a let down. Irish Education Consortium adopts a same system as UCAS, but there's only 4 Universities to choose from anyway in the first place, unlike the 30+ in UCAS. Competition in Medicine is really tough nowadays, I foresee Medicine being a post-graduate-only degree in the near future. And University of Melbourne will start this post-graduate only degree for Medicine in 2009. Why not 2010? Like that I can enroll for Melbourne already... In fact, 2010 is a nicer number right?

To be honest, I'm quite pissed off after filling in so many forms. Now the part I hate most about University Application is filling in forms. And the worst part today is getting bank drafts for processing fees. I ran all the way to Maybank and tried buying bank drafts in AUD. But then, today just had to be my lucky day. With only 1 last International Bank Draft remaining in the bank, I had to choose between sending in my Adelaide application or UWA application first. Sigh, another trip to the bank on Monday again. Hopefully the conversion rate from RM to AUD remains the same or drops instead of rising up. At 3.0, the currency exchange rate can really make a hole in my pocket. Still, this is nothing compared to the 6.3 of Pound Sterling or 4.7 of Euros.

This is how I feel when I fill up Forms...

All that's left is dropping my application to UWA at IDP on Monday and I'm almost done with Australian Universities. I would had preferred settling everything today but then, the bank just had to hate me so much. Ugh... Tough luck today. UNSW is a little fussy, requiring some additional forms to be filled in (again?) and JCU wasn't present today. Will get to that soon but I will be quite busy in the following week. With another 2 more interviews coming up, I have much to prepare for. At least I'm more experienced with Medical Interviews now, since its like my 4th Interview this time around. I'm a Lvl 4 Hero already! Compared to my noobish stats in the first few interviews. Hopefully its a double kill this time around. (Excuse the DotA talk)

Time to sit back and relax as there won't be any education fairs I need to attend anytime soon. All that's left is to fill up a few more forms by June and I'm all done with my university applications. By then, its already time for my A2 Finals,. Speaking of that, my trials is coming soon and I'm so unprepared. Looks like I'm gonna flung my trials (again? same goes to AS Trials).

Yawns. LHW Out.

University Application

2008-03-01T19:45:00.003+08:00

On a side note, rejection normally equals to depression. In this case, its rejection to university access. Bah, I went for 3 interviews and I more or less had a rough idea about my application state. Getting called up for interview means I'm good enough on paper, but in person? That's another story though. All applications were for access to A100 5 Years Medicine course.

Despair?

Application to University of Nottingham didn't made it through the first stage. Guess my B3 in Biology during SPM was the cause. They put a lot of focus on Biology at Nottingham.

Queen Mary London's interview didn't went that well compared to the other 2, its my first interview after all and I'm not THAT prepared to answer these sort of questions. In fact, I wasn't sure what to expect in the interview that time. I wasn't dressed properly too before that, lacking a cotton pants and leather shoes. Thankfully my cousin lent me his. But then, the "Unsuccessful" message was still a let down. Sigh...

Up next was University of Southampton's interview. Being more well prepared was of course 1 thing, but my "whatever" attitude led me to my downfall. Everything went smoothly until I was asked about the Placebo Effect. Reading a passage on this before in a Thinking Skills paper, I had a rough idea what it was. And I had to go ahead and say stupid things that made them think I don't handle ethical situations that well. What a bummer... And I was putting in high hopes for Southampton.

Last one was University of Liverpool. Looks like 3rd time's the charm. Indeed it is. Interview was held at Taylors College Subang Jaya. So, no worries about transportation! Dressed up formal for class that day and attended the interview after class. The people from Merseyside were friendly and I was even more prepared this time, since I was aware of my lack-of-ethical-awareness problem. As usual, the greeting, the answering, the questioning and the interview is over.

Come March 1st. The 3rd and last time I'm gonna see this e-mail has arrived.

On previous occasions, this e-mail led from anticipation to dejection. Hopefully this time around, things will be different.

Tsukasa's feeling anxious too

OMG! Yeah!!

Conditional Offer from University of Liverpool. Yeah baby, now that's what I'm talking about. Looks like I need to push harder for Biology and then maintain grades for other subjects, and then I'm all settled to go watch Steven Gerrard in action. But then, London isn't too far away too, I could still go watch Van Persie in action too.

Thank god all those efforts weren't wasted. I might have a few more interviews coming up soon. So all those preparations will not be put to waste. But then, at least a place in UK is secured. 3rd time's the charm!

Happy~

1 2 Step

2008-03-01T19:43:00.003+08:00

Stepmania

Recently, I am hooked to Stepmania, a DDR like game or in other words, a rhythm video game. Here's a brief history of Stepmania taken from wiki.

StepMania is a rhythm video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux created by Chris Danford. It was originally developed as a simulator of Konami's popular arcade game series Dance Dance Revolution, and has since evolved into an extensible rhythm game engine capable of supporting a wide variety of rhythm-based game types. Released under the MIT License, StepMania is free software.

Video games In The Groove and Pump It Up Pro use StepMania as its game engine. StepMania was included in a video game exhibition at New York's Museum of the Moving Image in 2005.^[1]

StepMania 4.0 is currently in development and in beta version and certain functionalities might not be working properly, including themes that were built on StepMania 3.9.

What sort of songs do I play on Stepmania? So far, my library is 100% Anime songs! Lol. About 300 songs in total. I started out with Lost my Music by Hirano Aya, and downloaded a few mega anime songs pack. So far, the song choice in Otaku's Dream Anime Mix 1-4 had been very satisfying. From classics like Tori No Uta to recent ones like Motteke! Sailor Fuku, the songs are all very nice to play with in Stepmania. Of course, if I'm familiar with the song, it will be easier to get high scores in Stepmania. I scored an AA in Anata Ga Ita Mori on my first try because I'm so familiar with the song.

Otaku's Dream Mix - Only the best anime songs around

I chose Stepmania over the locally popular Online Rhythm Game known as O2 Jam cos I have a wide choice of songs for Stepmania. Stepmania doesn't have some stupid avatar crap that tries to suck consumer money through cash items (clothings) unlike O2 Jam. Main reason is I choose what song to play with Stepmania. Bemanistyle has a wide range of simfiles (the file used by Stepmania to read songs) available for download. Most are of high quality and made by ethuastic fans of Stepmania.I can manage Standard Difficulty on most songs, quite an improvement within a week. Hopefully I can attemp Heavy and Insane Difficulty level songs soon. (And I can finally get an A rating on Senno Yoru Wo Koete by Aqua Timez)

Time to Step!

Sola

2008-02-16T16:24:00.003+08:00

Watching Sola was definitely an amazing journey for me. The storyline is superb, the emotions and also conflicts conceived within the series was just engaging. A short 13 episodes brought out the depth of the characters and portrayed the plot very well. The pace was also fine, not too fast nor slow, making Sola an enjoyable watch. Sola definitely deserved to be named as the top anime in 2007 by Japanese anime fans.

Perhaps I will write a review for Sola since I'm in the mood for it right now. I will try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. I'll begin the review with a general introduction.

Sola is a Japanese work originally conceived by Naoki Hisaya (main writer of Kanon) with original character design by Naru Nanao (designer of D.C. ～Da Capo～).^[1] Sola is a mixed media project, first unveiled through the prologue of the manga featured in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on December 21, 2006, published by MediaWorks. The manga, which is illustrated by Chako Abeno, will end serialization on February 21, 2008. A short drama CD which also served as a prologue to the series was later released at Comiket 71 on December 31, 2006, and another longer drama CD was later released in August 2007. An anime version aired in Japan between April 7, 2007 and June 30, 2007; the anime contained thirteen episodes, and two additional DVD-exclusive episodes followed. The title, Sola, comes from the feminine form of the Italian/Spanish word solo (lit. alone). The title is also homophonic to the Japanese word Sora (空lit. sky). At the end of 2007, Japanese anime fans voted Sola as the best anime of the year.

Taken from Wikipedia. (Please refrain from reading the plot written in Wikipedia. Watch the anime to truly enjoy it)

Sola

Sola is a powerful anime, and when I say powerful, I don't mean powerful ninjas or powerful shinigamis. Its just powerful in the sense that the plot is very character driven. If I were to classify it, I would put it into the fantasy, romance and drama category.

Sola = solo

This truly defines the feelings of Matsuri in the series. To be isolated and seperated, without any true friends, let alone relatives remaining is definitely awful. Watch as the fate of our characters link together, to bring upon a turn of events from their tragic pasts.

Sola = Sora?

Yorito's interest (or perhaps obsession) with the sky has a deep meaning behind the anime. Taking tons of pictures with his camera (all of them are sky pictures) seems to be his hobby. This ranges from the morning sky to night sky, sunrises to sunsets. A nature photographer? Or maybe he remembers a promise made a long time ago...

What is the purpose of your existence?

Sola discusses about this among the characters, not directly but indirectly. As we appreciate the stunning graphics and drawing while watching, the plot slowly flows. The ending was more or less predictable but acceptable by my standards. Its a true ending, leaving little to no space for a second season. But I always welcome OVAs to explain some unanswered questions about Sola.

The Sky ...

Graphics in Sola are just beautiful. Studio Nomad produced yet another incredible work of art this time around. The skies drew with CGI are so stunning yet realistic. Drawing is also clean and colours are very vibrant. Animation is also smooth and I appreciate the well drawn battle scenes.

The song of the sky ...

Music in Sola is another amazing part of the series. The OP "Colorless Wind" by Aira Yuki is above average and same goes to the ED "Mellow Melody" by Ceui. The song that truly shine in the series is "Sensitive Scenery" (敏感な風景)" by Ceui. Too bad it was only used as an insert song in certain episodes as well as the prologue.

The best part for the music is still the instrumental tracks played throughout the series. These background music are very pleasant to hear and suits the atmosphere very well. And there are many music sheets around for these tracks, that's definitely a good thing for me.

Will I see the Sky again?

Upon finishing Sola, I was reminded of AIR TV. There are little similarities with the plot, as in how destiny and fate can be cruel at times. With great audio and animation, as well as a well presented, interesting plot, I totally recommend Sola to anyone who enjoys anime from the fantasy, romance and drama categories.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-13T15:42:00.007+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

February 14th is just around the corner again. Means tomorrow is gonna be Valentine's Day.

And my reply is, " So...? "

Haha, I wonder if there are any more people with similar answers. At least I know I'm not alone. To me at least, Feb 14 means the next day will be my Bio test, which sadly, I'm still totally unprepared for... and also the application date line for university admission to RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons In Ireland) and PMC (Penang Medical Centre).

Valentine's Day had been of minor significance to me ever since the beginning of time.
Maybe I did attempted something during Valentine's Day in the past. My memory is vague and blur ...

Well, I don't deny the fact that Valentine's is possibly the most-commercialized and dangerous day for all males around the globe. While some may be staying at home doing their usual stuff (like me), some may be splashing cash for a memorable romantic dinner or outing with their special ones. Talk about super expensive Couple Dinner Sets and gifts that are overpriced.

But then, Valentine's Day in Japan seems like a day for males to look forward to. Who doesn't want free chocolate? You know you read too much manga or watch too much anime when you expect girls to give you chocolate on Valentine's Day. Lol.

Still, its tradition in Japan for the females to give males chocolate on this day. And there are many types of chocolates too. Giri-Choko means obligation chocolate, generally given to bosses, colleagues or friends. Honmei-Choko on the other hand is the 'true love' chocolate, of course given to their special ones or romantic interest. Males will then return the chocolates on White Day (March 14th).

Manga/Anime generally depict Valentine's day as the girl's opportunity to express their feelings towards their romantic interest. I wonder if this really happens in Japan? I know this won't be happening anytime soon among the people around me.

For more info on Valentine's Day in Japan, visit here.

A Gundam Seed Destiny Valentines?

Bah, time to study on Genetic Engineering, Photosynthesis, Respiration ... Blah Blah Blah. And yeah, Happy Birthday Henna. (Feb 15th right?)

Song for the day: Linkin Park - Valentine's Day

On a Valentine's Day, On a Valentine's Day
(I used to be my own protection but not now)
On a Valentine's Day, On a Valentine's Day
(Cuz my mind has lost direction somehow)

Heart Station

2008-02-05T20:56:00.000+08:00

Utada Hikaru - Heart Station

" Saying goodbye is meaningless
If we're able to meet again someday
Don't you think it'll be a beautiful thing? "

High time Hikki released another single after such a long hiatus. I'm starting to get tired of "Beautiful World" anyway since I'm like listening it in Mp3 form, practicing it on the piano and then listening to it again as my alarm tune every morning.

The PV is quite normal to be honest. Not flashy like Sakura Drops or Passion but still, it delivers the message. Click the link below to watch it on Youtube.

Youtube Link

Comments: The video is rather simple, but makes good use of cinematography. The viewer’s perspective sees everyone on the train bathed in black, except for Utada. Her perspective however sees all individuals in full flesh and color. Rather nicely done for what the theme is going for — the viewer being able to see only what they want to see… The new album with the same name will feature a total of 13 tracks, including “Flavor of Life,” “Beautiful World,” “Kiss & Cry,” “Stay Gold,” “Boku wa Kuma,” and more. Available March 19th. [Stolen from moetron]

CNY is coming soon. Red packets? Yay!

But my New Year resolution (Based on Chinese Calendar) is to work harder and push for 3As in A2. Let's hope things are gonna work out...

Magical Memories

2008-01-31T14:32:00.000+08:00

Fireworks!

I know its a few more days before the actual Chinese New Year but I'm wishing everyone an early "Gong Xi Fa Cai". Well, my flight back to Alor Setar is on Saturday and I believe I will be busy soon enough.

Wasn't planning on going back to Kangar during CNY but Taylors gave us a week's off so might as well go back for a few days, then follow my family travel by car back to KL. Of course, stopping by at Batu Gajah, Perak on the way. Yeah, I told people I won't be coming back till I finish my A Levels in June, but things took a change. What fortunate turn of events ...

I remember CNY in 2007. We were traveling upwards the North-South Highway to Batu Gajah from Subang Jaya. A 2 hour journey ended up being 5 hours + due to traffic jam. Imagine that, traffic jam occurring on the high way. Proves how efficient Malaysia's transport system is during the festive season. Thankfully traveling down south on the high way isn't so frustrating as there is less to no traffic jam.

Back to the topic today which is "Art". Yeah, I made another wallpaper again for Animepaper. This time its happened randomly as I was browsing the scans section. Stumbled upon these beautiful scans for MagusTale 〜世界樹と恋する魔法使い〜.

A little introduction for the series. (Took me awhile to find out details about the series)

The series is known as Magus Tale ~Sekaiju to Koisuru Mahoutsukai~ or MagusTale 〜世界樹と恋する魔法使い〜. Its an eroge developed by Whirlpool (Who also developed another eroge, Inakoi)

Although the scans here on AnimePaper are categorized under Tenmaso, I think this should be categorized as "Magus Tale" instead. I already requested for this new category and hopefully the mods will approve it.

Tenmaso happens to be the Artist/Studio that drew the art. So, technically, the scans are in the right category. Its just that I think this series deserves its own category and I'm proud to be the first one to submit a wall for it!

(Taken from my description of "Magical Memories")

Unfortunately, the admin rejected my request for this new category cos its an eroge. Oh well, hopefully things will change in the future. For now, its categorized under "Tenmaso" at Animepaper, the artist who drew the artwork.

Anyways, here's my latest creation. A wallpaper for MagusTale 〜世界樹と恋する魔法使い〜 titled "Magical Memories".

Magical Memories

Click on the image to download it from my Animepaper submission, "Magical Memories". If you have an Animepaper account, don't forget to +fav it if you liked it and do drop some comments there.

Well, making this wallpaper was totally unintentional. Started with only photos from 1 character but soon, I used scans from other characters as well since it looks better with the whole cast.

In fact, here's how my wallpaper progressed from start.

Initial Design

Thanks to those at Session Zero for giving advices. But this time around, I received less help compared to my "Lucky Tales" wallpaper.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Times Square again. This time around, to submit my T-shirt design to Bizandry Enterprise. After this, I can finally relax and forget about the T-shirt thing. The project that started during last December can finally come to an end. Designs are finalized and if you spot someone wearing a shirt with these designs on the streets, he/she is from PM8! (0701APM08)

0701APM08 Shirt Design

Hopefully collection of money will go through smoothly tomorrow. And the question of the day is, "Does Han Wei deserve a free shirt for all his efforts in the process of making this shirt?"

Bah, no one answered "Yes". Ouch, my heart hurts. Lol. At least I get a discounted price for my efforts. I can't increase the price any higher cos we are already paying for 5 lecturers as well. Sigh, if not, our class rep, Faiz and me should deserve a free shirt for our efforts throughout the year.

1 more thing, I didn't know Maki from High and Mighty Color is so hot! She's cute and hot in a girl-next-door way, not the sexy and slutty way. Thats what I think at least. Check out PVs of High and Mighty Color singles on Youtube if you wanna listen to how they sound like. I will upload a few of their songs onto my Radio.Blog if I have the time.

Here are some pictures of Hand-MC (High and Mighty Color)! Yeah, they rock!

High and Mighty Color

Great Krait

2008-01-27T06:56:00.000+08:00

Gaming is good for the soul

Yeah, the title sounds weird. But its catchy when read out loud. It sorta rhymes too ...

Anyways, time to introduce my new revolutionary super weapon for my gaming needs. Introducing the one and only, Razer Krait High Precision Gaming Mouse which is optimized for Real Time Strategy / MMOG Games.

Just by holding the box, I can feel its power

Back of the box, where the description and specs are explained

Even the packing is so cool. Just like flipping open a book.

Time to pwn people

The mouse cost me almost RM100. Wasn't really planning on buying it in the first place. But traveling all the way to Imbi Road but not buying a single thing? That's such a waste. Cheng was kind enough to drop me and Josh at Central KL where we took a monorail to Times Square.

First stop in Times Square is Bizandry Enterprise at Level 7. Reason? To enquire the price for our class shirt printing. Apparently, its the KL branch for the shop where Dermarian.com's Shirt was printed. So, I already have a sample T-Shirt at home since I bought the Dermarian.com T-Shirt back in 2006.

Front

The back is still sort of undecided because our class slogan is undecided too. I will confirm it by this Friday as I want things settled before Chinese New Year. And yeah, I ditched my Anime style designs and made this. Luckily my class mates are fine with it. I still prefer my Bleach design though.

After that, we walked over to Lowyat Plaza since we are in the area. Josh helped his friend get back her laptop and we walked around doing price checks. Joshua wanted to get a new 2.1 Speaker System but went home empty handed. I didn't had anything in mind but ended up buying a new Razer Krait. Well, the sensation when using a gaming mouse is just different. The higher DPI and smooth base really makes my mouse 'fly' on the pad.

The sensitivity of the mouse was too freaking high. On a scale from 1 to 10, it defaulted at 10 for sensitivity. I barely need to move my hand and the pointer moved from 1 end to the other end of the screen. Lowered it to about 8 and tried a DotA game. I played even worse than usual because the mouse was too sensitive. Now I'm using 5 for sensitivity and things are going smoothly, be it Photoshop, CS or DotA.

R.I.P. My unknown brand Mouse which is labeled DELL

For those who want to read more on this mouse. Here's a review from IGN.

Time to sign out and kill people with my new weapon.

AS Aftermath

2008-01-23T19:27:00.000+08:00

Wish I spent more time studying ...

Its been over 60 hours since my AS Finals results were announced. Provisional results to be exact. Even though I have no idea about the break down of grades for my papers yet, I more or less expected results like this.

The amount of effort = The results achieved

This equation is proven and true. But there are exceptions, for those who happen to be geniuses then this equation does not apply. But I believe the above equation applies to the majority of our population.

The night before the announcement of results was unusually uncomfortable. I tossed and turned on my bed while trying to sleep. Ended up waking up and surfed the internet till 3 AM before falling asleep. With only 4 hours + of sleep, I went to college with sleepy eyes. Couldn't concentrate for most classes, not only because of insomnia the night before, as everyone's mind is focused on the results instead of what our lecturers are teaching.

As results were announced in our last period, (Took you long enough, Mrs Hew!), everyone felt nervous and excited at the same time. What was that idiom again? Oh yeah, I was having "Butterflies in my Stomache". I still remember my idioms!

Anyways, happy and sad faces can be seen as the moment of truth occurred. Am I in the former or latter category? I will leave that for you to guess...

As a tribute to Lucky Star, I will be using screen caps from various episodes as the example of expressions. Credits to Google Image for the images.

So, what was my (LHW) expression upon receiving my examination results? Choose the most suitable one from the following images and try supporting your choice with a reasonable explanation. This also shows your level of understanding regarding my personality!

Happiness!: Smile with Joy

Sadness Level 1: The Melancholy of LHW

Sadness Level 2: Cry me a River

OMGWTFBBQ: A shadow appeared and covered my eyes ...

/swt: Sweat ~ Is this my result slip?

Shocked!: Lost my Music, Lost of Words

Bored: I don't care about my results

Crossed the brink of sanity: I'm gonna commit suicide!

So, have you made your choice? A true friend will definitely know which is the right answer. By the way, if any PM8-ers happened to read this, no cheating! Keep the answer to yourselves then.

Choices available are stated under the pictures. Let me list them out again for those who missed them.

a) Happiness!: Smile with Joy
b) Sadness Level 1: The Melancholy of LHW
c) Sadness Level 2: Cry me a River
d) OMGWTFBBQ: A shadow appeared and covered my eyes ...
e) /swt: Sweat ~ Is this my result slip?
f) Shocked!: Lost my Music, Lost of Words
g) Bored: I don't care about my results
h) Crossed the brink of sanity: I'm gonna commit suicide!

Azure Moon

2008-01-18T13:55:00.000+08:00

やさしさにふれると、
When I’m touched by kindness

にじむような弱さを知る
I discover a weakness that obscures everything

弱いと認めると
I hope that if I do turn out to be weak

甘えるコトをおぼえるように人は誰しも
I’ll learn to ask for help For the very reason

そんな強くはないものだからこそ今
That nobody is that strong Now

となりあわせた人を想い遺る　たましいよ
I’ll extend a spirit of kindness To the person beside me

Shuffled my playlist and this mp3 was the track chosen. I first heard of Every Little Thing on music station where they performed Koibumi (恋文). I was immediately attracted to the song and the vocals of Kaori Mochida. Azure Moon is a very nice ballad that features acoustic guitar and string instruments in the background. Highly recommended to all ballad lovers. I added it to my radio.blog too for those who are interested in the song.

Every Little Thing

I have a feeling this post is gonna be very random. Since I don't really plan what I'm gonna write, I will just write what comes to mind and perhaps some happenings in life that are worth noting. Enough crap, onto the first thing on the menu.

Starting with Anime discussions. Recently, I finished Zero No Tsukaima and Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi. Normally, I would write a review for an Anime series I finished watching. But then, ever since college resumed, it seems like I lack the urge to do detailed reviews like what I did for Lucky Star and Happiness!. So, this time around, I will settle with some reflections after watching.

Zero No Tsukaima

Zero No Tsukaima was the first season of the series and spanned 13 Episodes. Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi was the second season and a continuation of the series which spanned 12 Episodes. Did I enjoy 0nT (Zero No Tsukaima)? Hell yeah I did. The humour, action, and romance was interesting and fun. Watching Louise and Saito's love story unfold and mysteries behind magic had me glued to the screen from start to end. 0nT isn't a simple romance comedy as there are other elements included inside. Action (Little though), Magic, Fantasy blends very well to create an epic adventure for our main characters. I also liked the art and animation a lot. Character development was also good and the design of each character is definitely 'cute'. Louise is the typical bossy tsundere and her antics are just so cute! Haha. Saito is a little pitiful but when the situation arises, he can be quite the man.

The ending for each season was a little disappointing though, cos the story is still incomplete! The producers really know how to tease the viewers, making us wanting for more. Thankfully Season 3 is in production as we speak. I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope this one turns out as well or better than the first 2 seasons.

Happy Ending for Louise and Saito?

Anime-Source provides a lot of User Reviews regarding Zero No Tsukaima. For those interested, here are the links.

Zero No Tsukaima and Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi

Recently, there's been a new gaming console at home. It starts with 'W' and ends with an 'I'. What is it? Its made by Nintendo! Still dunno?

What is this?

*Drums Roll*

Its a brand new Nintendo Wii! The Wii is definitely a lot of fun. With so many crazy games as well as motion sensing technology, I'm sure people of all ages will enjoy this gaming console. Swinging the remote like a tennis racquet in Wii Sports, Slashing enemies in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Aiming at zombies in Resident Evil 4, you name it. Motion sensing really adds an extra edge to gaming. You will get so absorbed that you forget that you are just playing a game. Heck, my arms got sore after playing too much Wii Sports.

Nunchuks and Wii Remote with Motion Sensing Technology

Wacky mini-games in Mario Party 8 and Rayman: Raving Rabbids are simply great mindless fun. Definitely a must at parties. People will be jumping around and laughing so much when playing these games. In fact, if you don't know a Wii is there, you did think that these people are crazy cos they are swing a stick, or maybe shaking a stick vigorously like an idiot.

Trauma Center on the other hand tries to simulate real life medicine. You conduct operations with very realistic settings and surgical equipment. Its not only a test of skill and reflexes, but also aiming and steadiness during operations. You don't wanna burn that tumour in the patient's body right? Or maybe reconstruct the bone wrongly. Note: Its only a game, not real surgery. Never mimic the actions in-game real life!

The game collection

Unfortunately, the Wii will be leaving me on January 29th. Cos that's when my cousin (the owner) goes back to Melbourne. Ugh... Good things don't last for long. Start saving up RM1900 for brand new Wii? Or get a PS3 instead? We will see...

On the other hand, my Lucky Tales wallpaper for Lucky Star is complete and submission to Animepaper was successful. I'm glad many people there liked its simplicity. Hopefully more works will come from 'sumbody' soon. If you want it, make a free account at Animepaper and download it from there. At the same time, drop me a comment and +fav it please?

Lucky Tales

Random stuff adds up to make a long post. Last but not least, another 3 more days before my AS Finals results are announced. Of course, nervousness is unavoidable but what's done cannot be undone. Hopefully, desirable results will turn out for me.

-Counting down the days to doom ...

Imageworks

2008-01-12T22:16:00.000+08:00

Sketchbook (AIR)

Talk about designing stuff. I wouldn't consider myself an awesome artist, due to the lack of creativity and talent but I'm always willing to learn. I'm not into fractal art like Yeng or drawing like CY. And the art I used to dwell into were school art homework that was compulsory for marks, or else I wouldn't bother with it.

Recently, CY sort of got me interested into this T-Shirt designing thingy. What started as a simple copy and paste developed into more than 10 T-Shirt designs. Quality isn't amazing though and I am only truly satisfied with a few that turned out. And being the otaku I am, 70% of the designs were anime inspired. Maybe I should had joined Taylor's Anime Society after all. Oh well, too late to regret right now. Thanks to Yeng for offering the oversized pixelated text panels.

Ideal Combination for me (Turns out to be a Bleach shirt! Haha)

Voting for the designs showed that anime wasn't really a hit among classmates (Particularly the girls). Although there are a few that supported me. That's the spirit! CY's graffiti designs were also a hit among classmates and turns out this gained the most votes I think.

I wouldn't mind wearing this. Its a good design overall. Nice use of brushes in Photoshop. Graffiti ain't my style though. The back design is still under development though from what I heard.

On the other hand, I scoured the Internet and image boards, searching for the perfect Lucky Star wallpaper to replace my aging Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu wallpaper. My search was a long and tedious one, but alas, the image that I hoped for wasn't created YET. The wallpapers available at reputable Anime Wallpaper sites weren't good enough and just don't suit my taste. Therefore, I started up Photoshop CS 2 after searching for a few good Lucky Star scans. Let the designing begin!

My previous Wallpaper that served me well

Designing the T-Shirt gave me an adequate amount of practice with Photoshop CS 2 and I'm quite familiar with the layout now. Still, I wouldn't consider myself an original artist, more like an image editor if you'd ask me. Its still art right?

After a few hours of editing, trial and error. I present to you, an untitled Lucky Star wallpaper.

Lucky Star!

The wallpaper is up on Session Zero @ Animepaper. Received a few constructive comments and this isn't the final product yet. I will let it stay at Session Zero for another 24 hours before attempting to submit it. Hopefully it gets accepted at Animepaper!

A little comments on the wallpaper. I tend to like wallpapers that focus stuff on the right and leave the left blank, so that I have space for Icons and stuff. Therefore, this Lucky Star wallpaper was created with that kind of idea in mind. My idea was to show the various characters in Lucky Star, through a pile of photos. So far, I haven't seen any type of Lucky Star wallpaper with this sort of idea. If there is one, please direct me to it as I wish to learn and use it for reference.

Ah, I still need a title for this wallpaper. Still thinking of one. If not, I'm gonna settle with "Lucky Star Fairytales" or something similar since all the photos have fairy tales as the theme.

By the way, while googling for images with "Lucky Star Anime Logo" as keywords, I stumbled upon this!

Taylor's Anime Society!

And the image linked me to none other than the ...

President of Taylor's Anime Society's Blog! What a surprise. And from there, I managed to find links to a few more interesting stuff. Such as reports on Taylor's Anime Fest 2007 which I missed due to being back in Kangar for holidays. (I think) Looks like the Anime society isn't about gathering and watching Anime alone, its also about exchange of ideas and also socializing with fellow otakus. Too bad I didn't join last year, I wonder if application for A2 students are allowed?

Most shocking discovery of the day was this! The members of Taylor's Anime Society actually did a Motteke! Sailor Fuku dance! OMG, this is like so shocking. I thought things like this only happened in Japan. Hell, I'm didn't even know something like this happened right in the college I'm studying at. Damn, I missed this once in a life time opportunity. And surprisingly, there are female members in the Anime Society. Which is a good thing of course. Hehe...

Lucky Star Dance by Taylor's Anime Society Members

The video behind shows the real anime Opening. Well, it was a nice try from the girls but they could had done better. The best dancers for Motteke! Sailor Fuku though is still this, performed by non other than the Zombies.

Ah, I still owe Henna some "10 years down the road" thing. Some other time la as I'm getting tired and 2 more episodes to go before I finish Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi.

Back to College

2008-01-09T12:32:00.000+08:00

School Days

School days? College days would be more appropriate but then, you get the picture. Its been 2 days since college started. As usual, classes were boring, and meeting friends is always fun. So far, no holiday homework was mentioned by any lecturers and hopefully they have totally forgotten about it. Cos, I didn't touch them at all through out my whole Semester break.

The new timetable is alright for me. Except for Wednesday, where classes end at 4 PM. On other days, its either 2 PM or 1 PM (Friday). Classes start on 8 AM everyday except Wednesday which is 10 PM. Honestly, I prefer classes to be brought forward to 8 AM on Wednesday and make the day end at 2 PM. Another good thing is all my classes except lab are held in classrooms on B floor and mostly are next to each other. Cheng just had a knee operation and its troublesome for him to move up and down stairs, therefore Taylors arranged for our classes to be close to each other and only 1 floor above. Means less time carrying bags and walking around, saves more energy too.

Siong Por came up to KL from MMU Melaka on Monday. He stayed over at my place for 2 nights. Its great to meet him again after 1 year (almost). Seems like he didn't change much, so did I anyways. He must be having it easy in his Accountings foundation, unlike A Levels students like me. Took him for Steamboat on Monday night before watching "Code Name: The Cleaner" at Sunway Pyramid. Henna, Serene and Joshua tagged along as well. And boy, could Siong Por eat. He took like so much prawns for our table. I'm sure the RM 18 we paid was well worth it. Too bad Henna forgotten her camera, so no pictures were taken lor.

The movie was fairly enjoyable. Well, its funny, action was funny and the humour was funny. Its an action comedy after all, what can you expect? Those who enjoyed "Rush Hour 3" should give "Code Name: The Cleaner" a go. I don't want to spoil the plot but its lame anyway, don't expect some epic story though.

Codename: The Cleaner

Tuesday was fairly normal. Siong Por stayed at home and slept till I came back from college. Then it was my turn to take a nap as I was reaching my limits. We just chatted after dinner and had supper at 2 AM. He left for Kangar by bus this morning. Its good to catch up with old pals and reminisce the old times.

Tomorrow's a public holiday which I still don't know what it is. Who cares? There are no classes for the day. Time to get my much needed rest as I have been lacking sleep lately. Panda eyes starting to form and sore throat symptoms are appearing. Don't wanna get sick so soon. Hopefully I can start with "Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Shiki" tomorrow and finish it my the weekend. Then its time for me to take an Anime break. Gotta catch up on my studies and start putting more effort.

Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi
is on my watching-soon-list

(rant)

Now that I have my Invincible 320 GB Hard Disc, I was thinking of transferring the 2 DVDs worth of Anime into it. First DVD was Ichigo 100% and I tried to copy the files into my HD. The progress bar just won't move after about 50%. Then a cyclic redundancy error appeared. Seems like my DVD burner is failing me, or the DVD-R Media I used was plain shit. Thankfully, only 2 Episodes of the OAV can't be transferred. The 12 Episode Series was transferred smoothly. So, I only need to download back about 400 Mb worth of data.

Ichigo 100%
survived the DVD mishap

The other DVD on the other hand was worse. I had very bad luck with this one. Seems like every episode of my Fate Stay Night can't be transferred. Argh! 5 GB worth of Anime gone just like that. Everytime I try to access the videos, my laptop either hangs or takes very long to respond. Looks like I need to spend time downloading again. Fate Stay Night is a good Anime and its worth keeping in my collection.

Fate Stay Night
wasn't so fortunate...

Ugh, now I totally hate DVD Data Burning. First off, some Data DVDs I burn out can't be read. It just shows up as an empty DVD-R even after the burning process is completed. Out of the 5 DVD-Rs I bought, only 2 worked. And yet, the 2 still had problems with transferring. Thankfully my trusty Hard Disc is always there for backup purposes. Screw DVD-Rs! I'm not gonna burn another Data DVD unless I'm forced to.

Or maybe my DVD-Writer is starting to die... And I never used it much to begin with.

(/rant)

Interview for my application to Medicine at Queenmary, University of London went off smoothly enough, I think. Didn't really screw up in the interview and I answered most questions honestly enough. Hopefully I will get the place and my upcoming interview with University of Southampton will go smoothly as well. Wish me luck!

On a brighter note, I got band 8.0 (out of 9) for my IELTS test! Yeah baby, now almost all the Universities will have no complaints about my English. Only Queenmary were choosy enough to have a minimum requirement of 7.5 while Southampton only needed 6.5 for their Medicine course. No more tests for me this year as I settled all of them last year. Ah, now I can relax as I look at others worry about University Application.

Time to sit back, relax, and wait for my AS Results before I apply for Ireland and Australia. Speaking of my AS Results, 20th of January (Date of results announced) seems very near. If my results turn out fine, that's good. If its bad, I'm gonna have a very bad Chinese New Year...

Numbered Days

2008-01-02T21:31:00.000+08:00

Sadness?

My days left in Kangar are numbered. 8.35 AM Flight to LCCT from Alor Setar on the 5th of January. Means I have less than 2 days left here. That sucks ... but also feels great in a way. Talk about duality of things.

This suck cos I'm gonna be back in college, facing the stress of A2 classes. And also the pile of homework left undone. I'm starting to miss the days of AS. At least I don't need to study that hard during AS. Most of the stuff taught are already learned in SPM. (Don't ask why I didn't get straight As in my Exams then...) It can be entirely different, but also very similar. All this depends on your understanding power and grasp of English. A2 on the other hand, is more reliant on application. Less studying? Yeah. Easier to score? No. Questions get tougher and the curriculum is much tougher even though its little. Means I should spend more time studying if I intend to get into that Medicine course I applied. Less time for fun ... Sigh ...

On the other hand, things look bright as I will be meeting friends again. Looking forward to shooting headshots and pwning heroes the next time we head to cyber cafes. But then, now that we are in A2, shouldn't we decrease our time spent there? Well, that was what we said to ourselves before the holidays. Promises are meant to be broken right? Haha. And I didn't improve at all in pool/billiards/snooker. I'm gonna get pwned the next time I visit Asia Club. Oh wait, don't I get pwned all the time?

Zero No Tsukaima

Just finished Zero No Tsukaima. It lived up to my expectations but the ending was really a let off. Its like, the story still has so much space to expand. Seems like the producers were smart and planned a Season 2 for the series. Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi just finished airing in 2007 and its already in my HD waiting to be watched. Season 3 of Zero No Tsukaima is even in production now as we speak. My sis who finished both says that the story is still hanging at the end of Season 2. I might review both once I finish the Futatsuki No Kishi. You just gotta love Louise and Saito!

Zero No Tsukaima: Futatsuki No Kishi

Looking forward to more action plus romance from Louise and Saito!

Days left in Kangar: Technically its 1+. Do the Math. Its January 3rd 3.20 AM now. Leaving on January 5th 8.35 AM.

Lucky ☆ Star

2008-01-02T00:41:00.000+08:00

Lucky ☆ Star

Talk about insanity and madness. Lucky ☆ Star fits the description perfectly. Its mindless, stupid and yet logical at times. Definitely one of the best shows I have watched during my holidays. Previous Animes that I have watched are all romance comedies but this time its a comedy in the slice of life genre. Lucky ☆ Star is about the every day lives of 4 high school girls attending a Japanese High School. Sounds boring? Wait till you watch the show.

Lucky ☆ Star

Lucky ☆ Star is about parodies and jokes with reference to Anime or Games. Therefore, you need to have a certain degree of knowledge on Anime and Games before you can truly enjoy the humour of Lucky ☆ Star. Or else, you will be puzzled like my sis and gave up on the series after Episode 1. Well, she's just spoiled for choices for Anime, that's why she prefers watching other series. Thanks to my 320 GB HDD that's loaded with Anime.

Tsukasa, Konata, Kagami, Miyuki

Let's start with the lovable characters. You just gotta admire Konata for her otaku-ness, love Kagami for her tsundere-ness, like Tsukasa for her stupidity and get *turned-on* by Miyuki's moe-ness. Unique cast? Well, I gotta admit there's a lack of male characters. The ones existing play only minor roles unlike the girls. Who cares? Its Lucky ☆ Star!

Konata Suzumiya?

Konata is your everyday Otaku. And a hardcore one at it. She watches Anime, stays up late to play MMORPGs, collects figurine, reads manga, cosplays and whatever an Otaku does. (Wait, that sounds very much like me, minus the cosplay and figurine part) And she uses a lot of reference to other Anime and games in her jokes. Did I mention she's athletic but hates sports? And she pwns people in fighting games at the arcade, and is unbeatable on PS2 games. She also plays dating simulations and eroge even though she's underage.

Kagami

Kagami and Tsukasa are twins. And Kagami is the elder one. Being the elder sister, she has this sense of responsibility, finishes her homework most of the time and is also quite pragmatic. She's also a tsundere. Who doesn't like tsunderes? Acting all hard outside but actually, they are quite soft deep inside. Kagami has many weaknesses despite looking all strong on the outside and Konata always uses this to her advantage, making Kagami blush most of the time. Aww, how cute. Kagami reads light novels while Konata reads manga. She's always trying to force Konata to read light novels but fails.

Tsukasa

Tsukasa is the younger twin. Both Tsukasa and Kagami share similarities but are also different in certain aspects. Tsukasa is the cute and stupid type of character. Kagami tends to group her together with Konata since they both get bad grades and never do homework. Even though lacking in the academic part, Tsukasa makes a good wife as she excels in cooking and housekeeping since she does this all the time at home. Kagami on the other hand sucks at these stuff since she studies most of the time. You just gotta love how Tsukasa acts when she gets puzzled and confused at the stupidest things in life.

Miyuki

Miyuki is the most matured among the group. Physically I mean. I'm talking about breast size as well as height. And she is also the smartest among the group, often acting like the living encyclopedia. Konata always asks her stuff and she will explain it in detail, answering even stupid questions seriously. She also never gets angry and has a soft personality. Konata also notes that she has the moe-ness to trigger flags in dating simulations. (Think Star Ocean where you trigger an event scene, or FMVs in Final Fantasy) Her clumsiness makes her even more lovable!

Animation wise, quality is top notch as expected from Kyoto Animation, the creators of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Colours are bright and vibrant, drawing style is also good. Again, don't expect much CGI. Wait? There's CGI in Lucky Star? Watch and you will know. I'll give a clue, CGI appears when they parody certain Anime or Games. And its damn funny! The Opening featured dance routines again, just like "Hare Hare Yukai" from Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu. Just like "Hare Hare Yukai" where people danced it in real life, same thing goes to Motteke! Sailor Fuku! Seeing is believing!

Motteke! Sailor Fuku dance!

Plot wise, there's nothing much to say here. Lucky Star is portrays the everyday lives of unique high school girls. There is no main plot and each episode has no reference to each other. Therefore, you can watch the Anime in any order you like. There's no linearity in the story but good subject matters and discussions happen, making the conversations very enjoyable and humorous at times.

Motteke! Sailor Fuku

Music! The Opening song is definitely one of the best I have heard. I'm not talking about powerful vocals all high range of pitches. The song is just phenomenal and plain fun! "Motteke! Sailor Fuku" means "Take it! Sailor Uniform". Yeah, the title is stupid, but wait till you read the lyrics, they make even less sense. But who cares? The song rocks! Its performed by the seiyuus of the girls. Aya Hirano voices Konata, Emiri Kato voices Kagami, Aya Endo voices Miyuki and Kaori Fukuhara voices Tsukasa. If you haven heard it, go listen to it on my radio.blog now!

The Ending song on the other hand are just plain random. There are 23 Ending Songs for Lucky Star! And almost all of them are songs from other Anime or popular Jpop songs. Even I don't recognize some of the songs sang, but when you hear a familiar tune, you will surely reminisce the time watching that Anime series. Just like me, I remembered Sousuke and Chidori when Kagami sang "Sore Ga Ai Deshou" as the ending for Episode 3. There are many more popular anime themes that were sang so, watch Lucky Star to find out more!

Lucky ☆ Star

Overall? Watch Lucky ☆ Star only if you appreciate Otaku culture. I'm not saying you can't watch it if you are new to Otaku culture, but for most part of the anime, you won't understand the jokes and humor. Anyways, for me? Lucky ☆ Star is one of the best I've seen so far. Lucky ☆ Star lived up to my expectations and definitely deserves the award as one of the Top 10 Anime in 2007 as voted by Japanese anime fans. Lucky ☆ Star came in second, behind Sola which I plan to watch some time in the future. Now I'm gonna have very high expectations for Sola, hope it doesn't disappoint me.

Darling! Darling! Freeze!

Konata looks weird ...

Guess what series was parodied?

Good Lucky! For more information and a professional review, visit Anime-Source.

Time to continue with "Zero No Tsukaima" before my holiday ends ...

ALONES

2008-01-01T01:23:00.000+08:00

Aqua Timez - ALONES

折れた淡い翼君は少し
Your fragile, folded wings
　
青すぎる空に疲れただけさ
are tired from the pure blue sky

もう誰かのためじゃなくて　
You don't have to force your smile for anyone

自分のために笑っていいよ
It's okay to smile for yourself

Those who watch Bleach will definitely be familiar with this song. ALONES is the 6th Opening song for Bleach the Anime and one of my favourite OP for an Anime. Of course, D-Technolife still rocks but its tough to choose between these 2. I will let the results be a tie for now until a better OP song comes across me. ALONES features some classical guitar strumming and plucking together with electric guitar chords to support the vocals of Futoshi (Lead Singer). Heck, I even tried to play this song by ear and it didn't turn out too bad in my opinion. But then, pianos cannot replicate the guitar parts so the song didn't really turn out very well. Maybe it did be best if I play a "ALONES -Ballad Version"- on the piano for best results.

Aqua Timez

1 Firework lasting approximately 1.5 seconds. That's all I heard during New Year celebration in Kangar. What a happening town ... And here I am, staring at the PC screen as the calendar on my PC shows 2008. Alones indeed. *Sings along to Aqua Timez - Alones*

Its finally 2008. What does this signify? For me, it would mean:

1. Less time for Anime
2. Less time for DotA
3. No time for MMORPG
4. More time on studying
5. More exams!

Hah, nothing sounds encouraging. AS results are gonna come out soon and I'm feeling very nervous about it. A2 Finals are just months away. And college's gonna resume in a week's time. Sigh, my sweet holiday is finally coming to an end. And throughout 2007, I had great fun and experienced many new things. 2007 marks the beginning of my college life, and semi-independence. Even though I'm away from my family in Kangar, I still live with my 2 cousins in Subang. So, technically, I'm not totally independent. I still rely on them for transport and sometimes food. But nowadays, my trusty bicycle fetches me around to college and also food. On the financial side, I'm still relying on parents for money. My ATM card is loaded with cash. Lol.

Only thing different in my life is there are no more tuitions, nagging parents, parental restriction and of course a lot of freedom. Maybe too much ... But then, I am a responsible boy and of course know the limits of having fun. Its fine to play, as long as I study as well. Right? Since all work and no play makes LHW a dull boy!

After a year of living in KL, I find that I have undergone changes, both mentally and physically. For starters, I actually regained interest in piano after being separated from the piano back at home. That lead to my purchase of a Yamaha DGX-220 for my practicing purposes. And now, I'm happily playing the songs I like while trying to compose occasionally. (But a composition is never completed all the time. Only chord progressions were thought up) And it was mavennium's "Utada Hikaru - First Love" video that inspired me to touch the keys on a piano/keyboard again. Do check out his amazing rendition of First Love. Mine totally pales in comparison to his. But still worth checking out if you have the free time.

Yamaha DGX-220

Besides gaining better education, I also learned many new stuff in life. There are too many to list out but overall, I believe I'm a more matured person and more refined. But I know there's still space for more improvement. I will always be learning throughout life as I gain new experiences. So, I leveled up from a Level 17 (17 years old) Novice to a Level 18 Mage (That's my favourite job in MMORPGs). Hopefully I will turn into a higher level Wizard soon. (Maybe that's when I leave for University) Ignore the MMORPG talk if you don't play online games.

Trickster Online (One of the MMORPG I played this year)
R.I.P my Level 8x Sheep

Physically, I believe my upper body muscles deteriorated. Well, I play much less badminton since I came to KL. And I don't really exercise or do strenuous work. But I believe my lower body muscles strengthened. (Don't get the wrong idea, I'm referring to my legs) Since June, I have been cycling to college on a daily basis. I also go out for food often with my bike. Therefore, I can feel that my legs are stronger in a sense. And maybe my stamina has improved a little bit, due to the occasional sprint to college when I overslept. This year is gonna be stressful, so I will have less time for badminton outings already. Looks like my only source of exercise will be cycling since I don't like jogging.

Oh well, hopefully 2008 will me a amazing year for me. Looking forward to resuming life in KL and then gain access to a good University for Medicine. And I have 2 Interviews coming up soon. Queenmary London and Southampton wants to interview me. Wish me luck in those 2 interviews!

-Trying to refresh memories of A2 ...

Flavor of Life

2007-12-30T20:53:00.000+08:00

Utada Hikaru - Flavor of Life

「ありがとう」と君に言われるとなんだか切ない
When you say thank you to me, for some reason it hurts
　
「さようなら」の　後も溶けぬ魔法
Like a magic spell that doesn't get undone even after the good bye

淡くほろ苦い
a hint of bitterness

The flavor of life

Flavor of Life ranks among my favourite singles from Utada Hikaru. Besides "First Love" and "Final Distance" being the best ballads around from her, "Flavor of Life" is also on par with these songs. This single also marked Utada Hikaru's return to the Jpop scene as it achieved amazing results as shown by the sales record. For more info, check out this wikipedia entry.

The "Flavor of Life" available on my Radio.blog is the ballad version, which in my opinion sounds the best among all the versions available. The original one has this techno feel and has a faster beat. The Ballad version though, is slower and features orchestra backgrounds. And the song seems to be full of emotion in this version. The ballad version of "Flavor of Life" was also used as an insert song in the Japanese drama "Hana Yori Dango 2". The lyrics are also very emotional and melancholic, expressing the wavering feelings of a person. Check out the song on my Radio.blog now!

Hikki seems very sad and lacks sleep

And here's the Promotional Video to "Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-" by Utada Hikaru. Youtube Link. Its just Utada Hikaru singing together with an Orchestra backup. Not a PV with a romance story but that did be a good idea.

Plus an amazing piano rendition of the song done by YUI. Youtube Link. Wish I had hearing skills like that. I need more training ...

*****

Tomorrow's gonna be the last day of 2007. Let's see what I have achieve over the year... Oh wait, let that be the post content next time. I will try to recall what I have achieved and accomplished in the mean time.

2008 approaches steadily ... Slowly but surely ...

You Are The Music In Me

2007-12-30T03:06:00.000+08:00

Its 3 AM and I just returned from a DotA session with friends. I should be heading straight to bed anyway. I will make this post short and continue with whatever's left later. (Hopefully)

You are the music in me
It's like I knew you before we met (Before we met)
Can't explain it (Ohh ohh)
There's no name for it (No name for it)
I'm saying words I never said
And it was easy (So easy)
Because you see the real me (I see)

These words can be heard echoing Queensbay Mall during afternoon. By the way, those are the lyrics to "You are the music in me" featured in High School Musical 2. Guess what? I met some unexpected people today while shopping.

Today was really rush. Woke up in the morning and ate my breakfast. After my dad's car was taken away to be repaired, we headed to Queensbay Mall in Penang. Its actually my first time there. If I remember correctly, I only stepped into 3 shopping malls in Penang. Sunshine Square, Praingin Mall and Gurney Plaza.

Stepped into Queensbay and did the usual stuff - shopping. After walking through the Ground Floor, we proceeded to the First Floor. Suddenly, the MC of some event shouted and got everyone excited. We walked to the middle to look down at the Ground Floor and noticed it was Jaclyn Victor and Vince Chong on stage!

Jac and Vince

Unexpected turn of events huh? Never expected to see them here. We were at the right place, and also the right time! Lol. Why are they here? They are here to promote High School Musical 2. I guess its another marketing scheme by Disney-Channel and it worked. Many fans bought the merchandise sold there cos you need to buy something to have it autographed by the stars. My sis was another brainwashed fan. Anyways, I was cameraman and took a few videos and pictures. Unfortunately, all was done with a 1.3 Megapixel camera, so images were blurry and lacked focus. And I was taking pictures from the floor above, so there's quite some distance between me and the stars. Oh well, better than nothing. Anyways, let the pictures speak!

The stars up close (Zoomed)

Natalie from Hitz.fm was the MC

Some audience were pulled up the stage to sing along

Autograph session

The queue is getting long...

A view of the crowd

Then my sis wanted their autographs too. So, she went down and bought a notebook to let them sign it. I followed down to get a better angle for pictures.

Autograph session

Jaclyn up close

Vince up close

After that, I went up the stage to help me sister take photos. Haha, Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol winners are right in front of me! We are like a few meters away only. I wasn't keen on taking pictures with them though. Anyways, I took a few more shots up close.

It's my sis's turn!

Jac taking a photo with a fan

Jac signing my sis's book

Well, at this moment... My phone ran out of battery. Argh! Should had charged it the night before. Thankfully there's still my sis's VGA camera. I took her pic with Jac but its not with me now. Maybe I will show it some other time.

After that, time for lunch. And then we rushed home to Kangar cos there's a Christmas concert later at 7 PM. Reached Kangar at 7 PM and we (Me and Sis) bathed quickly before heading off to Dewan Budaya for the concert. I was feeling very nervous already by now. Its been awhile since I last performed... Well, turns out I was supposed to be first performance. Wah! This is too much, I haven't even settle down yet. Thankfully someone else went first instead of me. After the MC (Raymond and Henna) called out my name... I stepped out and sit down to play the keyboard displayed in front of me. Mistakes appeared one by one but not too noticeable ones. Then at one part, I forgotten and my mind went blank so I sort of repeated the bridge. That one's obvious. Argh! I should had brought the score sheet along. Overconfidence caused my failure ... Overall, I'm not satisfied with my own performance. I practiced a lot and had to let overconfidence and silly mistakes destroy the performance. Oh well, if there's another chance I will definitely do better. Next time its gonna be Houki Boshi if the opportunity ever arises.

Never took any pictures. Yeng and his dad were the photographers so I will rely on them for photographs this time. Other performances were all good and the concert was a great success. And I realized that its easy to impress people with the electone. Maybe I should had went for electone courses after JMC ...

After the concert, time for dinner. Food was good but sort of low on supply and demand was high. So after that, another outing at Bamboo with friends. Chia Hao and Jia Phan were back so we chatted. After the meal, time for DotA. Fact is, we didn't win at all the whole night. Lol. Never really completed a game also. But then its great fun to play with friends.

Phew, its getting really late and I'm damn tired. Better head to bed soon or else I'm gonna get a sore throat due to lack of sleep. Hopefully you all enjoyed the pictures. There's a video recording of their (Jac and Vince) live performance too but then the quality is very low. Will upload it later to share with you all.

Lesson learnt: Always bring score sheet for piano piece even if it's memorized cause nervousness can screw you up!

God Knows

2007-12-29T01:24:00.000+08:00

ENOZ featuring Suzumiya Haruhi

私ついていくよ
I will follow you

どんな辛い世界の闇の中でさえ
No matter how agonizing the world is

きっとあなたは輝いて
You will shine even in its darkest corners

超える未来の果て
Cross over the end of the future

弱さ故に魂こわされぬように
My weakness will not shatter my spirit

my　way　重なるよ
my way is overlapping with yours

いまふたりに　God bless...
For the two of us, God bless...

Credits: darkmirage

Another insert song from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Besides "Lost my Music", "God Knows" was also featured in the anime. Again, Aya Hirano (seiyuu of Haruhi) is the vocalist. If you liked "Lost my Music", "God Knows" should be suitable for you as well. Its upbeat, rocking and features heavy electric guitar riffs plus solos. Its really an advance song for guitarists to attempt as the bpm is very fast and nimble fingers are required to play this song well. Not forgetting tons of practice as well. "God Knows" is one of my favourite anime songs. I wouldn't say the vocals of Aya Hirano is very powerful in this song, but it suits the rhythm and music. Especially the guitar intro in the beginning, that part is way cool ...

Aya Hirano performing "God Knows" Live!

And check out this video by Kurikinton Fox. If you saw his performance of "Lost my Music", be prepared to be amazed by his performance of "God Knows". Only 1 word can describe his talent, WOW! For those interested in practicing the song, he also transcribed guitar tabs for it. Too bad I don't really know how to play the guitar besides plucking single notes. And I pluck with my left hand on a Right-Handed guitar. I know that's wrong but its a habit more or less. I might go for guitar lessons, in the near future ...

Aya-chan!

Anyway, I'm in Penang now. Yeah, 200+ km away from my house in Kangar. Why? Cos my dad wants to do some minor repairing to his 240E Mercedes Benz. Why not in Kangar? Cos there's no decent car service center that can do a good job due to lack of experience. And there's also no authorized Mercedes Benz service center in Perlis. Same goes to BMW as well. That's why my dad hesitated when trying to choose a new car to replace his 18 years old 230E Mercedes.

Talking about the car. The 2 hour journey to Penang was quite tiring. Usually I don't feel that tired for a 2 hour car journey but this time, I tried to utilize the 14" LCD Monitor in my dad's car. Me and my sis tried to watch Scary Movie 4 throughout the journey. Well, about LCD monitors, you know at certain angles, the display isn't that clear and colours will go off. Therefore, I had to sit up straight without back support just to watch the film properly since we were sitting at the backseat. Halfway through the movie, I can't stand the dizziness and had to lie back and take a short nap. I wonder how my sis managed to watch finish the whole film. And the DVD player in the car is better than my home one! Its DivX compatible unlike the one at home.

So now I'm in Penang, and there's the Yamaha Christmas concert later at 7 PM. I gotta rush back to Kangar as soon as my dad's car is fixed. Hopefully I can make it back in time and pull off a good performance for "Final Distance". I already practiced this song and memorized the part I'm supposed to play. But then, tension always causes mistakes. And I'm still confused about the "No repetition" thing that Yeng keeps saying. Is it no repeating when I do mistakes? Or do I finish up the song after the first chorus ends so that the verse doesn't repeat?

Yawns. I'm getting tired and sleepy. Better log off and head to bed. Hopefully the concert later turns out well. Did I mention that "God Knows" by Aya Hirano is on my Radio.blog playlist? Those interested can preview the song first.

I wanna be with you know, believe in us together through the distance ...
-Utada Hikaru - Final Distance

Radio.blog.club

2007-12-27T20:42:00.000+08:00

Radio.Blog is a web-based flash application which dynamically creates a playlist of audio files to be heard by a website's visitors. It is a standalone application, requiring the visitor only to have flash installed on their computer.

And I didn't know about this amazing thing until Yeng told me about it. Apparently, Radio.blog is very popular among bloggers and Myspace users but so far, I never really stumbled upon a sample Radio.blog playlist in any of the blogs I read. Maybe I just missed them due to my blurry eyes ...

For those ignorant, I added a Radio.blog player in both my blogs. Yeah, 2 Radio.blog players but sharing the same playlist for the sake of my convenience when it comes to uploading songs. The Radio.blog players are situated in the Welcome box of my Multiply and the side bar on the right of my Blogger. For the player in my Multiply, you definitely can't miss it if you visit the Main Page. The blogger version though might be missed if you scroll too fast. Just scroll down a little when you visit my Blogger. Its in the Extras section of the side bar.

Radio.blog at my Blogger

Radio.blog at my Multiply

About the song choices. I generally pick songs I like and put them into the playlist. And I guess its currently 100% Jpop. Maybe I will upload more English songs in the near future, if I ever stumble upon one that grabs my attention. If I recommend a song in my posts, I will definitely feature it on my Radio.blog playlist. So, check out the player every now and then. Music recommended in my previous posts are featured on the list now, as well as a few personal favourites.

Most songs are compressed to 64kbps in RBS (Special Radio.blog audio file). So, loading times should be fast for broadband users. 56k users can attempt to load the songs, but each song is about 1mb - 2mb, so expect to wait about 10 minutes for it to load finish. If somehow, you click on the song and it gets stuck on preloading, just keep trying. Some times I get this error too. Click on another song then return to the song you wanted to listen. Do tell me if there are broken links and I will try to see what I can do about it.

(rant)

Radio.blog.club seems good and all but its not perfect. Well, it took me 1 whole day to actually figure out how to optimize it on my sites. Radio.blog.club works like this, you create an account on their site, and then you add songs into your playlists. Whose songs? Those are songs uploaded by other Radio.blog.club users. I bet you will be asking, "I want to upload my own songs! Make my own personal playlist!" Yeah, its possible, and it took a while to figure out the best way to do so. You see, uploading is not really simple. Not many hosts accept the RBS file format. I tried out at least 4 web hosts before realizing I should read their Terms of Agreement about unaccepted file types. And when you found a host that accepts RBS files, you noticed that the storage space and monthly bandwidth for a free account is so damn small.

Another thing to note when finding web hosts is the support for PHP. The playlist for Radio.blog is in PHP form, so the host needs to support PHP for your playlist to load properly. For those interested in using Radio.blog and uploading your own music, do visit their dedicated forum. If you aren't bothered to find a new host for your media files, and want to settle with some simple copy and pasting of Javascript instead, just search Radio.Blog.Club's fantastic library for songs. Their library is vast and many genres can be found. But personally, I like to do things myself. So, I opted to host my own music instead of relying on other people.

Note that the songs found at Radio.Blog.Club are songs uploaded by other people like me. If they happen to delete or change the link to some of the songs, then your playlist won't be able to play the song.

(/rant)

Anyways, just some Christmas pictures to share about first. Yeah, I know Christmas is over but then I just find these pictures too good to miss out. First up, a Lucky☆Star Christmas greeting!

Konata, Kagami, Miyuki, Tsukasa
wishes you Merry Christmas!

Hmm... Unknown anime to me

Ugh, I can't seem to identify the above picture. The character drawing style looks familiar but I just can't recall what Anime it is. Hopefully some random otaku will enlighten me on this. The picture captures the spirit of Christmas as well.

About the Lucky☆Star opening I mentioned in a previous post, its on my Radio.Blog! Go listen to Motteke! Sailor Fuku now!

Someone mentioned I write long posts like Harry as well. And the only difference is I put pictures. Well, isn't that marketing strategy? Pictures grab attention and keeps the post interesting! I still acknowledge Harry as the King of Long Posts. Lol!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T02:53:00.000+08:00

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

" I always, always
Want to go on journies in search of the same dreams with you
Snowflakes, from the sky, on the corner
Our breath is white, look, it's snow

The white white snow's coming tonight,
Make a wish upon your kiss. "

Fine, its Christmas and I'm at home sitting in front of the PC. Well, my family don't celebrate Christmas since we are not Christians. But then, festivities are always welcomed. So, we turn up for Christmas parties or invitations annually. Seems like most of my dad's friends who celebrate Christmas happened to be out of town at the moment. Therefore, there was only 1 invitation for supper this year. Everyone went, except me. I was expecting KJ to turn up for some football (Pro Evolution Soccer) but then, he failed to turn up. Maybe his Christmas celebrations got overtimed. Dude, at least send me a message to notify me la if you are not coming.

Anyways, KJ had a Christmas party yesterday (December 24) at his place. Its been awhile since I last saw him. Our holidays never really overlapped and I'm glad this opportunity arrived. Food was good, and we had a lot of fun. Well, the fun didn't really begin until the arrival of Yeng. Yeng brought his PS2 along. Before that, there was only 1 computer available and its occupied by kids playing O2 Jam. 1 group played cards while the rest just sat there and watch TV. After the PS2 was fixed, time for some Tekken 5. Personally, I'm not a big fan of 3D fighters. 2D fighters (Guilty Gear, KOF, Street Fighter) are more of a favourite for me. Anyways, I knew Chew was gonna bully us cos he played that game so many times and all of us are just newbies. God, he even forbid me from seeing the move list! Talk about sportsmanship or gamesmanship in this case. So what if I know how to use that special move? Its not like I know how to do some uber 10 hit combo right away. Perhaps I should study a little bit of Tekken at Gamefaqs just to show him who's the boss in fighting games.

Asuka from Tekken 5

Later, it was DotA time. Sheng Wei brought 5 of us (Me, Sheng Wei, Yi You, Er Win, Peng Yit) to E-Touch Cyber Cafe. It's my first time there anyway. The price is of course much cheaper here compared to CCs in Subang. RM2.30 for 2 hours. Can't find that in Subang right? We played 2 games.

Match 1: Me (Stealth Assassin) and Yi You (Broodmother) VS SW (Oblivion), EW (Viper) , PY (Drow)

Well, our team dominated in the end. I'm not that pro anyway, but they gave me the chance to farm up my items and that's the price they pay. SA with a SnY and Butterfly is unstoppable. YY still managed to play Broodmother quite well even for a first-timer. Thanks to my guidance of course.

Match 2: Viper, Obsidian, Phantom Lancer, Bone Fletcher VS Syllabear, Bloodseeker, Vengeful Spirit, Bounty Hunter

Well, this match was... horrible. Our team lost badly. Reasons, lack of teamwork. Well, experience was another factor but we mainly lacked cooperation. Hopefully, we gained much from this match and will be ready for revenge in the near future. I gotta try more early game ganks instead of sitting back and farming.

Went back to KJ's house after that. And continued with the PS2 session. This time it was Marvel VS Capcom 2. Time for me to show my skills. Too bad Chew was going home by then, if not I'm gonna show him who's the boss. Lol. I had a winning streak in this game. Even without using any combos, I managed to spam my Special Moves to victory. Next game was Narutimate Hero. This time around, I'm still the better player but I remember losing to Yi You once. Other than that, it was victory most of the time. Next was Mortal Kombat: Deception. We tried out the MK Chess and had a lot of fun. Of course, my strategic placings of pieces and uber fighting skills carried me to victory. (Even though they cheated by interrupting me when I'm trying to do an infinite combo. Not once, but many times! You will pay for this, Harry!) Final game was some Gundam game. Can't recall the name even though Yeng mentioned the name to me. I think it was Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II Plus. I still managed to own in this game, with Yeng's tips of course. But then, when the master himself stepped into the fray, its a losing streak for me. If only this game was more Gundam Battle Assault orientated, then I might be able to win.

Freedom VS Impulse

Besides playing PS2, we also browsed Friendster pages looking for hot chicks on our accounts. Lol. And each time a hot chick is found, we would gather around the PC to look at the babes. Haha. We had nothing better to do huh. By the time we stopped, it was already 7 AM. Woah, we just pulled an all-nighter. Its not my first time, I remember doing the same during the France VS Italy match during World Cup 2006. Guess what, its the same place again. Slept over at KJ's house. Before this I was really reluctant to consume alcohol since I'm driving. But after deciding to sleep over, I drank some Carlsberg and had a taste of Johnny Walker. That whisky reminds me the Chemistry lab. The smell, taste and colour reminds me of ethanol.

No pictures taken this time around. Except for some taken by Yeng when I'm playing MK Chess. Like what Yi You said, we tend to rely on Henna for pictures but this time around she's absent. Gatherings like this don't occur often. I will cherish the memories always and hopefully, we can get together like this after all of us graduate.

*****

(rant)

Yeng mentioned that my previous Multiply theme was resource hogging. Due to the animated GIF used as the background. Therefore, after some considerations, I decided to change my theme. This time, I plan to alter a theme into one that's unique and personal. Time to browse through Customized Multiply Themes again. This time around, I don't really have any target in mind since I'm gonna edit the images of the theme anyway. So, I found a few nice themes and planned to use them. Applied the base theme "Avlack" and proceed to input the CSS code. Weird pictures turned out on my blog. The side bar on the right appears to be out of position all the time. It happens with almost every theme I apply. Then I realized, the base theme "Avlack" doesn't work on my site. Even the base them turns out weird with the side bar out of position.

Why did it had to be "Avlack"? Most Multiply themes are based on this theme. Ugh, there goes my time wasted on searching. Then I tried other themes like "Melon"and "Sandskrit" that happened to be popular among theme makers. Turns out, same results like "Avlack". I'm starting to get really pissed already. Finally, I found a few working base themes on my Multiply, that includes "Andros", default one, "Blue Slate" and "Mykonos". "Andros" and "Blue Slate" themes are very rare so I settled with "Mykonos". Spent another few hours searching before finally stumbling upon this theme. OK, it looks very good and I can easily edit the images. I asked permission from the maker and still haven gotten a reply yet.

Time to start up Photoshop and edit. Added a few layers over the original image and the final results looked like this. I'm very satisfied and decided to stick with this theme. And to commemorate the switch of themes again, I decided to change my blog title. From "Eternal Darkness", to "Darkness Eternal"... Now its a brand new "Shades of Melancholy". Why "Shades of Melancholy"? It goes well with "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" and also describes most people out there. Who doesn't experience melancholy?

The old idea was to have a light theme in my Blogger and a dark theme in my Multiply. Now, it seems like both are light. Oh well, loading time should be decreased alot on my Multiply now since the images used are less. The site should also be less resource hogging since there's no more Animated GIF background. For those who read my blogs, tell me... Which on is better? My Blogger or my Multiply? Personally, I like both. Multiply has a useful message board that shows updates for your contacts. Blogger on the other hand has a nice interface and a lot of freedom to apply HTML/Javascript. Multiply is still more of a favourite because I've been using it since 2004. A lot of old posts and memories are contained over here...

Shades of Melancholy

(/rant)

- Merry Christmas to all ... 2008 approaches

ほうき星 Comet

2007-12-24T03:17:00.000+08:00

Younha - Houki Boshi (ほうき星)

もしあたしがほうき星になれたならば
If only I could be like a comet

空駆け抜け飛んでいくきっと
I’d certainly run through the sky and fly away

必ず届くこの一瞬の光で
I know I could surely capture that dash of light

あなたのイマ照らし空を巡ろう
Look for me in the sky as I illuminate you

あたしがほうき星になれたならば
If only I could be like a comet

きっと傍にいてあげるどんな時も
Because then I know that I’d could be by your side

Bleach fans will definitely be familiar with this song. Houki Boshi (ほうき星) which translates to "Comet" in English is the 3rd Ending Song for Bleach the Anime. Being a fast paced and upbeat song, it runs at a speed of at least 120 bpm if I'm not mistaken. The song gives the rocking feeling, due to the presence of fast drum beats and electric guitar. However, the piano part is still evident when listened carefully. Younha is a pianist after all, can't sing a song without her piano accompanying right?

I actually stumbled upon this song in the midi form first. The opening tune captured my attention and I listened to the mp3 next. Of course, I did found the piano sheet to Houki Boshi and it's not an easy song to play. I can cope with the key being in D major throughout the song. The problem is the tempo, it requires great amount of practice to actually play at the speed Younha is playing in the Promotional Video. Oh well, there goes my hope of playing this song for the Christmas Concert. I think it has that 'wow' factor and will definitely capture attention of first-time listeners. Haiz, I should had practiced this song early in the year. By now, I would had almost perfected it if I constantly practice.

And all this time I have been playing sentimental tunes on my keyboard. I noticed there isn't any fast paced song that I can actually play well, besides my Grade 8 Exam piece, Mozart - Sonata in B-flat major, K.570. But then, I can't play it as well as last time. The LHW in 2003 was in prime condition to play this song, because he practiced this song non stop for 1 whole year. And even did intensive practicing during the month before exam.

Anyways, some updates on what I'm doing recently. After 10 designs for the front and 10 designs for the back of my class shirt, I'm starting to run out of ideas. So, I think I will settle with this amount and let the class vote when the semester resumes. Hopefully, at least 1 will be selected as their choice. If not all the time and effort I put in will be a waste. Oh well, at least I learned more things in Photoshop throughout the process of designing. I know Anime isn't exactly the thing for everyone, and 70% of my desings are Anime inspired. Its my passion anyway, so I design whatever I want. Support me! Lol.

Front Design No. 10 (Credits to Yeng!)

Front Design No.8 (Bleach Inspired!)

Still, a Fate Stay Night inspired design isn't made yet. I have a few stock photos that might look good on the shirt. Maybe I will start designing again soon. As soon as I get bored of other stuff. Wait for me, Saber! You will appear on a shirt soon enough.

Saber from Fate Stay Night

If I'm not designing, then what the heck am I doing all this time? Besides to occasional DotA match with friends on GGClient at night, I also play the piano (Final Distance memorized, hope I don't mess up at the Concert), a lot of time was also spent studying Blogger Layouts and searching for interesting Blogger hacks. Lastly, I watch Anime! Currently, I'm watching Lucky ☆ Star.

Lucky ☆ Star features Aya Hirano as one of the Seiyuus again. Aya Hirano also voiced Suzumiya Haruhi in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. This time around, she isn't a bossy girl looking for weird stuff around school. It came as a surprise to me that she's an Otaku this time around. Well, when you talk about Otaku, the general image that comes to mind is a guy wearing thick spectacles and has a big collection of manga, anime and figurines. (I don't think I fit this category yet, but I'm almost there. Lol) Lucky ☆ Star parodies a lot of animes, therefore, I don't recommend this to newcomers to the anime scene. In fact, I don't get some of the jokes within the episodes and have to resort to google for help. But once you see them parody an anime you recognize, you will surely laugh or have a big grin as you reminisce old Animes you have watched. And the Opening Song rawks! Crazy japanese rap by the seiyuus... The topic? Sailor Fuku (Uniform)! Lol, listen to it and you will understand what I mean. If rap/fast songs ain't your type, then don't listen. By the way, the song's also crazy! Seeing and hearing is believing.

Lucky ☆ Star !!!

Now for updates to this blog. Meddled with the template and added some Javascript. This time around, its the 'random rotating banner hack'. Credit go Freeyasoul for coming up with such an ingenious idea. Now I have 5 rotating banners, all custom made by myself. Don't believe? Hit the 'F5' button on your keyboard or refresh this page in your browser. If the banner doesn't change, maybe you are just unlucky, try again. Lol. Its 20% chance for the same banner to occur again, so don't flame me if the banner still stays the same. I will add in more banners hopefully, as time goes by. And I'm still searching for 'Snow' themed Anime pictures to suit my blog title - "Memories in the Snow".

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles Inspired Banner

Lost My Music

2007-12-23T02:32:00.000+08:00

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi - Geki Chuu Kashuu Single

星空見上げ　私だけのヒカリ教えて
あなたはいまどこで　誰といるのでしょう？

Point out the light that belongs to me up in the starry sky.
Where are you now, who are you with?

楽しくしてるコト思うと　さみしくなって
一緒に観たシネマひとりきりで流す

I feel lonely when I think of the fun we have,
I weep alone in the cinema we used to go to together.

大好きなひとが遠い
遠すぎて泣きたくなるの
あした目が覚めたら
ほら希望が生まれるかも　Good night!

The person I love is far away,
So far that I'm almost crying.
When I open my eyes and wake up tomorrow,
A new hope will perhaps be born, Good night!

I still I still I love you!
I'm waiting waiting forever
I still I still I love you!
とまらないのよ　Hi!!

I just can't stop! Hi!!

Credits: darkmirage

Losing my music is indeed something very terrible to occur. Imagine a world without music, everything will be dull, monotonous, rhythms and melodies don't exist... Wow, that's scary. I guess that's what happens when I become deaf, someday...

Time for my introduction of Jpop/Jrock. This time around, its Hirano Aya's Lost my Music. This song was used as an insert for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu during the School Festival episode. About the song itself, its upbeat, rocking and makes you jump around! For those who want a preview, watch this video on Youtube. Lost my Music features very good guitar riffs and amazing solo parts that will definitely take your breath away if you see someone perform live.

Kurikinton Fox did an amazing job transcribing the song into guitar tabs, and also made an outstanding solo video. Even if you don't play guitar, you will definitely be amazed with his skills as a musician. Seeing is believing!

Hirano Aya - Love★Gun

Personally, I'm not a fan of Love★Gun. Its a really upbeat and rocking song, and I mean REALLY. Once in a while it makes nice listen but if you liked Lost my Music, God Knows will definitely suit you. God Knows is another single from Hirano Aya, popularized by the anime Haruhi Suzumiya no Yuutsu. Will introduce the song some other time, if I remember...

OK, now on to my daily rants. Grrr, Blogger has been really getting on my nerves lately. I slept at 5 AM yesterday, studying the new blogger codes all night long. Just when I gotten used to blogger codes for Classic Template, my template got messed up and I'm at wit's end after trying to paste my backup code. Well, its actually only messed up in IE, and works fine in FireFox. Screw Internet Explorer! Ugh, and then I took the trouble to upgrade to the new Blogger Layout. Upon upgrading, POOF! My nice "Snow" skin is gone. Expected that... but I still feel a little down because I can't use this skin anymore. Technically, it is possible to convert this skin to the XHTML form that Blogger Layout uses but then, at my current skill level, this is indeed close to impossible.

Oh well, I thought I could stumble upon some nice Anime themed skin using XML for my new Blogger Layout. But then, 99% of the skins I find are for Classic Template, not the new Blogger Layout. Damn, time wasted again. Finally, I settled with a skin I stumbled upon. Too bad it isn't Anime themed. Upon studying the code, I noticed that I can modify the skin to make it anime themed, by changing the top banner image. A little photoshoping to edit my anime image, and voila, it has replaced the old boring top banner. Yay, now I'm satisfied with my blog again. Hopefully, this new layout doesn't screw up in Internet Explorer again. I know majority people use IE as their main browser so I have to cater to their needs right?

I will try out some Javascript tomorrow. Hopefully the "random rotating top banner" script works and doesn't screw up my layout. I'm gonna make a few more banners first before that. This blog's titled is "Memories in the Snow" (Based on my previous skin, and I think its good so I'm gonna stick with it), so the banner needs snow or winter right? I have a few images ready to be edited and resized but I'm always glad to hear some recommendations.

Ah... The sense of accomplishment when you insert working HTML tags and XML tags into the template is just so satisfying. Not to mentioned the custom images edited by myself give me this sense of accomplishment. Credits to the wallpaper makers though, cause I extracted the image out from their wallies. Thanks to those at Minitokyo and Anime-Paper! And also the maker of this blogger template!

Kingdom Hearts Featuring Sora, Donald and Goofy!

Sorry to those who failed to comprehend my ramblings. I know there are some technical stuff inside but I'm just expressing myself. I'm still learning too, but then I wouldn't go any further into HTML unless needed. HTML is useless in Medicine anyway. I'm referring to Hyper Text Markup Language, not "How To Make Love" ... Lol, this quote reminds me of past times in SMKD...