This whole weekend has yet again been another insanely busy weekend! hah come to think of it, last week was also similar, whereby friday night, the whole of saturday and sunday is being used for the glory of God! :D for this weekend, as usual i had cell group on friday night. that was enjoyable! plus i actually received chocolates from someone!! :D its actually royce chocolates!! ho ho those are really really nice chocolates man. and it was so unexpecting to receive such a gift! :P


its been so long since i actually received chocolates from a girl!

Saturday was different from what was initially planned. you see at first, i thought we were all gonna play block catching at bedok reservoir! :D and can you imagine like me being 20 years old playing block catching? hahaha those were the good old memories okayyyy. but ope due to the lack of people joining us for it, we decided to do saturation instead! saturation is like us outreaching to the random public and inviting them over for the event that i just had, BondFire! i find it a really really crazy idea, as in seriously us inviting people over to join us for the event? i mean who in the world would agree to that?! like accepting a stranger's request to go for an event that is happening the next day. In my opinion, there is an extremely high probability that the stranger will decline luh! you know even after talking to them and such, on the day itself, i do think that they may still reject also what! but nevertheless, its still a good thing to try out new stuffs, really stepping out of our comfort zone. I have done similar stuffs before but those are collecting donations and they are done in big groups! like flag day....or scouts job week and donation draw stuffs. but this was really really different! zero experience, zero confidence. but im glad that it was fruitful! none of the strangers whom we reached out came for our event today, but at least i know that i have learnt something new this weekend. :) oh yes, it was just two of us doing saturation! which was kinda insane. seriously insane in my opinion. you got to try it to know how its like. I am really glad that i met with a bunch of students from various JCs who were gathering to celebrate their friend's birthday, managed to get one of their numbers and i am so glad that even though they genuinely couldnt come for the event, she was really encouraging by being so friendly and stuffs that we managed to click so well! :D hah such people really give me the encouragement to actually bother trying to do saturation next time in the future, if the opportunity arises. Its really really different from serving the congregation in church, really different from marketing or collecting donations. :) but i am still glad that i managed to actually meet such friendly people, fellow students from JCs who actually go the extra mle to chat and encourage us to continue! to that student who is from VJC, thank you for being such an encouragement and being so open to us! :D THANK YOU!!

For sunday, we actually went for the event, BondFire!!!! haahah plus it was the first time for this year that i actually visited east coast park. D: OH MAN. i REALLY REALLY miss the times when i could freely run along east coast park in the mornings and just simply enjoy the radiating sunshine! (as well as the pretty vjc girls in pe attire) :P the feeling is just soooooo good! hah frankly speaking i was already extremely tired out when i started serving in church today as an usher. its like i could just doze off any time, any where! really that dead tired. but im glad that i somehow didnt feel tired at all during the event, and managed to attend the event all the way till it finished! i really thought that i might have to leave earlier just so as to book in. :( i didnt want to book in that late, but now that its already late, HECK IT.

JUST A FAST ONE.


we found those ice pops! :D these are pretty rare items in SG these days... they used to be just 10 cents each :)


HAH for those who used to be with me in the cell group since a long time ago would totally remember this "im with stupid" shirt!! i used to wear this shirt really really often and it was my favourite shirt in the past! now, i dont know whether i can still fit in it, but hey i just gave it to Jolli today! :D hope she frequently wears it just like what i did in the past ;)


MEDIC!! pure randomness.


we decided to try doing saturation again today at east coast park...it was HARDDDD


CHEH.



these are some shots that i took from the drama, if you want to watch the video of the drama, i decided to share the video here!



THENNN we had a bit of confessions sharing session whereby some of us shared about the dark past that they once had :)


Seriously jolli....


Jerome's 24km route march along the east coast stretch. sure does bring back memories for him! i skipped the 24km route march cuz of my knee injury man.

have a good week ahead guys! mine is gonna be really busy! :S everyone repeat after me, Good day! (for those army guys who remember BCCT) GOT TO RUSH TO BOOK IN.

Today started off as a pretty usual kind of wednesday. however, now, i find myself typing out this blog post in front of my computer at home! how awesome is that :P all seemed really normal about today. dragging myself out of bed in a hurrying manner after my usual daily alarm fails to wake me up.. i set my alarm at 7am, but i usually come out of bed at like 7.40am and i need to fall in for first parade by 7.50am. i am, personally amazed at how fast i can change up and wash up and yet be on time for first parade.

typed out this blog post whilst listening to this video.


you know how every weekend actually has the same time duration as any other weekends?! Damn this weekend felt really short :( its like so fasttt and i am already gonna have to start packing my book-in bag. SIGH. Going through this week was weird and hard! like this week i had A LOT of internal battles within myself. i have always been reading psychology books and i guess those probably raised my awareness over how i actually handle problems, the possible short comings of an analysis of situations and hence fought hard against myself, to strive for the answers. it seems pretty hard and demoralising sometimes when there is a load of uncertainty and it aggravates when you find yourself staring at a blank answer sheet - no answer.

i want a xperia Z!! okay just a random thought. come to think of it, it looks really sleek and professional CHEY CHEY.

This week, i found myself, as a Christian, struggling on not finding God or what, but rather believing in His words. and it took me some time to realise how privileged i was, to be able to feel His presence, even amidst such situations. sometimes when people go through hard times, they are unable to feel even a single tinch of His presence. its like they got totally forsaken. but in my case, i finally realised that hey, He is actually there for me. which does give me a greater sense of security. :) especially when i really really feel alone! you know when everyone grow up, many of our friends begin to take different routes and everyone walks different paths. tsk that's whats so awesome about school! because you get  to have lotsa friends who can be there for you when the time of need comes. zzzz NS doesnt quite work out -.- as in, its hard to talk about such stuffs too uh when you are in camp. but i am glad that i am now opening up to more people, rather than just bottling everything within me. it becomes reeeeeally hard when everything suddenly bursts out! tsk the funny thing is that i am aware of it, but i still continue on such a path of destruction. at least i think now, its getting better. now, i feel like there are people there supporting me uh, just simply talking, already helps soooo much.

and this whole ordeal really teaches me how to appreciate my friends around me better, especially those who have stayed with me for the past few years! ahh as i slowly begin to understand more stuffs, i guess i will slowly improve? funny thing is that i didnt know that actually some leaders are also very lonely too! well at least now we have each other to talk to and confide in. :) argh i have no idea why my knee seems to be getting worse! :( sigh and i am doing whatever i can do make it better. hope my left knee can still hold on man. feels as though its gonna crumble too. oh great!

wow come to think on how my weekends were spent:
friday night: cell group till like uber late.
saturday: 8am-12pm, driving. 12pm-11pm: The Mask (SHUKS i forgot to blog about it!)
sunday: 10am-4pm: church.
WOAH thats one holy weekend!

The Mask is the first event for 2013!! and it was coooool! :D hah little did i expect it to have such a taste of school to it! the drama was really really good too, like its the best one so far! like as time goes by, things are getting more and more professional :P woah i am really shocked by all the hard work that all the dramatists put in just for that one hour drama? it felt like an hour~ all those bruises on their knees, all those cuts and plasters. WOW you guys (and girls!) really have my respect man! i had no idea they actually put in such hard work into making the drama such a success!! this weekend passed really fast, but at least i know that it was well spent. its amazing how i have not even touched gaming at all and i need to book in, in 30mins time! O.o

really admire when the Japanese, seek for perfection, in music. just feel the amount of feelings in the song!

Ho ho ho i am actually catching up to my lego project! in terms of blogging. hah well this week has been an absolutely busy week, so...NOPE no chance at all to do any lego! now im just so tired (and hungry) i just wanna catch a nap. but taking a nap is like equivalent to wasting my weekends away. UGH no thanks then! i think results should be coming out within the first week of march.. judging from experience from last year and  all the buzz around the confessions pages? so my time really is running out! :( i really really hope i can finish this thing in time. Also, i thought of maybe building another aircraft or something to go together with this. you know, like make it "land" inside the runway. due to time limitation, i think i am gonna leave out any form of gears, motors and lights :( SIGH SIGH i really really wanted to introduce some lightings and make it more cool! i guess maybe i might rip them off from my previous projects... hehe desperate times calls for desperate measures!


i have no idea why the photo came out so blur, but yeah this is what i started with for my third update on the project. i should need another 2 more perhaps? for all the touchups for this project and a +1 for the aircraft that i intend to build. tsk tsk just a thought!

you see, now is the time whereby i introduce lots of modules into the whole framework. flood it out, take up loads of space. i dont really have time to go into all the nitty gritty details of say making really really perfect floorings and vehicles that can roam about in the inside. i am really really short of time. but once the admission thing is over, i am REALLY SURE i am definitely gonna rebuild some areas and add in LOADS more features. well that is when i have the time to really calm down and think about it. now, im just trying my best to finish this project and submit it together with my admission and hopefully it means something :)


HEHE in order to take up loads of space, i have resorted to using such sneaky tactics. because the surface area is really big, it can help me in saving up more parts that can be better utilised elsewhere on the structure instead! hmmmm come to think of it, maybe building a building is better instead of some sci fi ship.. ACK but this seems cooler! :P


one of the techniques that i employed here is to use these pieces with holes in them and make them rotate about. you see because they are able to freely rotate, it gives me the ability to shape the roof of the structure in a lot more unique ways and bring out more angles than there usually is. one problem that i found out later on is that the front looked really FLAT. like how is that even aerodynamic?! ahhh oh great. i overlooked that part, but i think its probably a little too late about doing anything about it now.


for this part, the middle part, you can see a black stud inserted into the hole. i find it gives it a more "machine" look, rather than just simply leaving it just blank. nahhh just some small details that probably no one is gonna notice anyway!


See the two plates that i have done up as the "floor" area of the structure? they are modules too that can be easily inserted and taken out if needed to. i decided to do one side first, and document the other side :)


here you go! these are the two parts that can be easily detached, i used the studs as a form of linking them to the main body. this allows it to be easily detachable just by pulling apart 2 plugs? learnt this locking technique from the previous lego models that i have been building!


i decided to start work on the sides too, as i cant be possibly doing just the top and the bottom, whilst leaving the sides empty. its like being able to see inside a waffle. wow that analogy totally didnt make any sense.


this is what i did for the sides. you see because the sides of the structure is built at an angle, i had to have something that could follow along the lines, something convenient that could be easily lifted up to see the insides, as well as allowing me to change the direction of the studs. as seen in the picture above. :) this combination was the perfect choice for me! and i decided to go a step further and introduced more 'variables'. if you look at the previous photo above, you can see that the dark greyish piece attached is allows me to open up like doors :) which also means that the sides can better hug against the structure's angles!


NEXT was to fill up the sides of the structure with like 'energy' modules. you know like generators stuff. where the heart of a huge machinery is :) like massive "tubes" to hold all the massive stuffs! like some nuclear reactor perhaps? :)


one side has the glass panel so that the insides can be seen, while the other side is just the plain opaque sort. beats the usual boring thing when everything is all covered up! i mean like pumps, shafts, all these needs to be slightly visible! :) that makes the structure more "lively" too bad these parts cant move :( next time perhaps?? i do have sufficient space to throw in a motor unit.


this is a close-up shot of what i mean! hah it was fun playing around with those pieces :P trying to make it look as realistic as possible. that was harder than what i initially thought!


THIS is what i meant when the modules can be easily dislodged from the main frame. :) this makes building a lot more systematic. just like all the other modules that i have been building, they can be detached when needed to, if i find a need to change out the parts. :) allows greater flexibility in terms of designing!


as you can see here, it is the roof of the structure, with all those mechanical angles, trying to simulate the vents on the top! it would be best if i could actually install some orange lightings and a dark covering over the lights. this would allow the cents to REALLY stand out :P the piece that i am pointing out seems small, but crucial. the photo below is what happens if i remove that piece!

see if you can see the link :P


a clearer view of the back part of the roof that i am done with :)

OH i just realised thats the last photo?! oh what the crap i forgot to take an overview shot of the current progress of the whole structure! okay so yep this i where i stopped for this weekend. or rather few days back. will get back to it on the next weekend!

HMMMMM so this is what i started with for this weekend! well for now, i am just done with even more additions to the craft that i am trying to make! as in....so previous weekend, i started on the project, last weekend i did nothing, and now this weekend, i managed to build up quite a fair bit of framework so that the modules that i intend to create can hopefully hopefully fit in snugly into the framework! so far...its been going real smoothly. i guess im updating a tad too slowly.. hmm....


the first part that i started to work on, was the expansion of the bridge. i felt that it looked really incomplete and that i needed to do some touch ups. so, i added a slanted extension plate beneath, see the difference between the left and right side of the structure? one has 3 of those poles thingy while the other side has 4. the reason why 4 is better, is that because of the cylindrical shape, diagonally, it will have this black gap there. Hence, 4 is needed :) tsk and i am still having a lack of parts.. oh great!

AHHH you see what i mean? it looks kinda weird and incomplete huh? okok the reason why the entire structure is filled with those long bars that have holes along them, is so that i can continue my upgrades next time when i get more parts! like adding in lights, etc etc. i would really need the "potential".


SAME HEIGHT. yep yeps


OH this is just plain lame, all i did was flip it the other way round so that i have a 'v' shape instead. this came in sorta handy today!

well the main aim of this piece is to be the centre beam nonono not like boats. the centre rod?! bleah! i dont know. something along those lines..it just acts a piece to extend out the plates that i intend to flush the top with. tsk tsk even up till now, it still looks pretty....BLEAH. i am still working on the roof. it isnt looking too good now either. will get some photos up later on. but anyway, the top now looks kinda....too colourful? of course it doesnt look like a rainbow! but all the different shades are killing me! its like literally going fifty shades of grey on me man.

so....after i was done implementing this section into the structure, more or less, the main frame is up, with all the strengthening being done! which means.....that if i carry this ship up now, the frame will be totally in one piece, nothing will fall off or nothing will suddenly pry apart. this can get REALLY bad in terms of LEGO. that is, if they begin to fall apart.and it sucks! when say it falls apart and drops on the floor. see those lego bits shatter all over, creating a minefield around you. ho ho not fun man...especially when you really racked your brains for this creation. due to the lack of parts, this project is looking really different from what i have initially imagined! how it looks a whole lot more complicated. not that its a good thing, but at least it represents my innovation :)

so this is how i work, usually.
1. have a 'blueprint' on what i want to make.
2. brainstorm about playability features that i can possible install to make it not-so-boring.
3. create a prototype with whatever i have.
4. get the parts that i THINK i will need. ie buy actual lego products and use them as parts.
5. build the main frame.
6. begin constructing and inserting modules into the main frame
7. touch-up work. like cover up work and beautifying.
8. voila!
9. i love my counting.


THIS is one of the modules that i built. this is actually for the engines! pretty huge huh? well they are that size because my ship is hugeeeee and its the easiest thing to do to take up space so that it seems as though you did lots of work! the middle part is actually where its going to go over the "runway" portion. for those who have no idea, im building a "flying aircraft carrier"

 initially, i wanted to dump in one more in the middle! but that is where the runway is. oh its okay! then stack it higher right! then...i thinked again realised it wasnt realistic (not that my whole project is unrealistic) but like seriously, if they have one jet right smack there, how is any aircraft gonna land right?! so...ditched that idea!


size comparison.


some of the main frames and borders that i use to demarcate the respective areas.


wow, its so heavy that it bends!! oh God.

WAITTTTTTTT
LEGO LESSON 101.
hehehe


you see this pic? the piece that i decided to put in, has its slanted side facing inwards instead, to give it more of a difference in the usual contours of the ship, giving it a more sophisticated look later!

i could have easily gone with this piece instead, but it looks so....MEH. so normal!


yeahhhh this is the part when i installed the whole module into the craft! YES apparently it does fit in pretty nice and snugly!


ugh i guess it doesnt look that obvious just yet, but the piece that is slanting in the opposite direction really gives the back part a fiercer look!


this is the overview of it :)


hmmm i was like what is gonna happen if i actually mounted a third engine on it? like i wondered how its gonna turn out, even though i already decided that it doesnt quite make sense. but still, no harm trying.


after that, i threw in more plates and a turret on each side, so that at least it looks more filled up. also, these help to hold the module into place :) you know like primary and secondary connections. this is secondary. added precaution.


THERE YOU GO. so this was what i stopped with for the second update. well....now the ship really looks different as it just went through one more building stage. hmmmm i will post the photos on the coming weekend i guess. :) time IS running out and i am scared. but i dont have much of a choice, just gotta do whatever i can. i am definitely so gonna edit this project as time goes by, even after the admissions end. i seldom do that actually, because once a work is done, its done. but this feels that it can go a whole lot further in the future. also, i hope i would remember to post about the modules that i intended to add in, but due to the lack of parts, decided against them.



cheers people! :)

man oh man, so fast and it is the chinese new year again! its like whenever it arrives, i always go "oh its here already? so fast!" even though every year has the same number of days, it just feels as though these festive seasons seem to be coming earlier and earlier. same thing for christmas too! i was also going HUH christmas already?! and now, here i am, finding myself typing out this blog post whilst taking a rest from all the house visitations. I just came back from a house visit, and low and behold i have two more to go for today! TSK and dad still wants to watch a movie. doesnt he ever get sick of going to the movies....plus its getting quite expensive! last week, we watched Ah boys to Men part 2. That was good, but i wasnt quite in the mood for watching any movies. Thennnnn last night, we watched Journey to the West, directed by that cheeky Stephen Chow. oh wait. its Steven Chow. ACK anywayyyy it was not-too-bad. its a good laugh! really! but i think the movie would have been a whole lot better if he was inside the movie acting too, rather than just directing! well i always love his acting skills, and with his facial expressions? ho ho its epicccc!! once such movie is Kung Fu hustle. i think its been about 4 years since the movie came out, but its a good watch. why does it seem as though this blog post is gonna continue about movies...? i have no idea why like about 10minutes into the movie, my butt really started to ache. X.x

Life these days seem to be moving so fast, people just need to chill man! what is the point of going through life so harshly and in a total rush, everything going through clockwork and by the time those strands of white hair start to appear, everything else seems too late! well IN FACT, when i was in JC (junior college), SO SO SO many students are already having tons of white hair! man oh man i wondered how did Abraham in the bible looked like when he was a hundred years old, whether his head was filled with white hair. HEY i just realised i didnt take any photo for this chinese new year yet! achievement unlocked (y) luckily, i have battalion stand down for wednesday...hence, i have one more extra day to enjoy!! too bad for the rest of the world who needs to go back to work and school on wednesday! :D well to those people who are enlisting into the army for NS this coming wednesday, all the best! your army life just started. mine is already half gone even though this time is really a good time for me to just sleep and recuperate, i just dont feel like doing so! somehow, i just feel as though its 'wasting time' whenever i actually sleep away my holidays. i mean i can probably try doing that in camp! or in school.. :P last week was a reeeeeeally shitty week for me. like nothing seemed to be going well. i fell really really ill and got really sick of everything. like just plain worn out, feeling so weary and feverish all over. stomach was happily rejecting any food intake, of which i decided to starve. funny thing is that i still decided to donate blood aaaand..didnt eat after that. then i downed cans of beer. BLEAH felt really really sick after that uh! somehow, i managed to do whatever work that i needed to do and also went for the heli training exercise. and my knee in fact seemed to have gotten worse! despite me wearing my beloved knee guard. i even wore it to sleep. tsk ridiculous it may seem but yeah! i am desperate for it to heal. i really really want to be able to run without all these knee guard stuff! to be able to walk without feeling pain. Oh God and all those crazy hikes that i did in scouts last time...those that had us walking in the wee hours, setting up camp to rest and continue the next day. oh those were the days! and i so wish this leg of mine can recover. its kinda amazing how the docs say "oh it will just heal" "oh its fine" when bloody hell when i look at my knees, they are not even symmetrical to begin with!

HOPE THIS WEEK IS A BETTER WEEK.

so.... this chinese new year seems to be a little different from last year, and it seems as though its heading toward a certain trend perhaps? people seem to be doing less visitations. as in not going around to so many houses. for my family, its the same too! hah the number of ang pows that i receive seemed to have fallen by 30-40% hah! but at least i really appreciate this time, whereby people all just simply gather around as a family and have a good reunion. many a time, we get so busy, that we forget our own families and loved ones! so...in the increasingly busy world that we live in, chinese new year is.....good.

thats why... i love this video! not to mention, the music is REALLY REALLY GOOD.

the piano version. hah apparently im not talented in the area of playing out pieces by ear. i kinda suck at that. :P


so... lets see what i am left with... i will be doing another blog post real soon, for my lego project. i am really hoping that this extra mile that i am going can give me an edge into entering SUTD... i REALLY REALLY want a place in that uni! D: still hoping, still praying. its giving me quite a fair bit of headache due to the lack of parts, but hey, i got to make do with what i have and make the most out of it! when you have a lack of parts, that when your creative juices get working and innovation happens. making the most out of every part. trying to mix and match to find the best combination that paints out the creation that you have in your mind.

hmm apparently for this week, my LEGO project havent been smooth sailing. its like i actually got a new idea on what to do, and i think it would be a really awesome system to implement, but i just dont have the resources!! ARGH. its so damn bloody irritating, especially when you already have a prototype, not to mention a working one! T.T sigh no choice no choice! im really broke now, and i feel it might be better to just make do with what i have! thats when my brain really gets to expand and think more, create more. but this weekend, i am just too tired to do anything i guess. like just slack. slack slack. but then again, it doesnt change the gross fact that i have a looming deadline to meet! :( if only i could get the resources that i need all at once at the flick of my fingers aye.

so....other than LEGO, this weekend has been a really shocking weekend for me. not in a good sense. but then again, i think i learnt some valuable lessons and whatever happened, it allowed me to stand back and see what has happened and continue on. its like raising my "situational awareness" you might say. whatever happened to me was totally off the charts uh. and it came really fast. over the years, i find myself going through quite a fair amount of shit and have helped tons of people with various problems. whether is it fitting into social circles.. or curbing laziness. but then again, at the end of every help i have done, its like i was disappointed. so me being like a lone wolf, tanking all of these stuffs, and now suddenly this thing comes crashing unto me, it was just too hard.not to mention, i was really really not expecting it. i guess now i finally realise the importance of talking it out with others. hear their perspective, as well as allow others to comfort you. after caring for people, its necessary to care for yourself too. but i think i really suck at the latter. im really really worn out, but i am glad that we can sort of come to an agreement. sometimes, i really really wish that life would be a whole lot simpler..its like some have really loads of problems and stuffs to worry about and its like living in a glass jail. tsk the only thing is that this glass is like bulletproof glass. bloody hell. i really really hope that things can get better over time, as some say, time is the best medicine. but i still feel unsure. there is always that area of uncertainty that boggles you down. what if, what if. Thankfully, i really love and appreciate my walk with God. just today, its like i once again feel reassured that He is real, that He is there for me. but i still feel kinda uncertain of the future. -.- its like what He says and whats happening, it doesnt quite tally and i dont know if such stuffs really got to happen. It really hurts me badly? but it probably is just something that i have to go through. i know, no point lamenting on the fact that it already happened, but i really hope nothing changes man. i really really value some stuffs A LOT.