Songs: Top Emotional/Sad Final Fantasy OSTs

For every Final Fantasy (or Square games), there is at least one sad Original Sound Track. I don't play so much frankly. But here's a short list of what I like. Sometimes I think listening to OSTs is better than listening to sad emo songs. They're a tad short though.

1) Always On My Mind (Kingdom Hearts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp_X-Im1On4

2) On That Day 5 Years Ago (Final Fantasy 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALEwLnq1ZrI

3) To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy 10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VFQKpO1unk

4) Bittersweet Romance (Final Fantasy 9)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZOdp9Ma7Zc

5) Aerith's Theme (Final Fantasy 7 Advert Children)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxRIxovS7nQ

6) Missing You (Kingdom Hearts II)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC6Ornb-Kd4

7) The Oath (Final Fantasy 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCGo5ztB-g8

8) Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9DDGibV9yU

9) Someday The Dream Will End (Final Fantasy 10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRCjjiTR7I

Song: 100种生活

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgId62LQEbY

This song is about how there are 100 different ways of living. It's about asking ourselves how we seek out the way we want to live. No one can be strong all the time. There are definitely moments of weakness, moments of doubts. It will take time for us to search our soul and search for the life we want. The lyrics are actually quite sad. But it's sang in a relatively happy way. While I personally feel that nothing is smiling while crying (笑着哭), but I guess this song is trying to tell us to be positive as well. It'll be okay, one day. I heard this song during NUS Resonance concert 2011 The Inside Edition and I really liked it. It's a song which didn't impose that there will be a happy ending. But it's possible and we should all try.

卢广仲 - 100种生活

整个世界停止不转动很寂寞
走在海边数着萤火虫好困惑
想要的生活怎么有一百种
不想掉进这深深漩涡
整个海洋摆动柔软地举起我
孤单给我自由犹豫得好感动
想要的生活怎么有一百种
该怎么走谁来告诉我 wow
每当我背对星空
抱着地球
发现自己其实脆弱不敢说
当我背对星空
孤独摸索
爱情渐渐萎缩我猜不透
无边的宇宙哪里有我想要的生活
整个海洋摆动柔软地举起我
孤单给我自由犹豫得好感动
想要的生活怎么有一百种
该怎么走谁来告诉我 wow
每当我背对星空
抱着地球
发现自己其实脆弱不敢说
当我背对星空
孤独摸索
爱情渐渐萎缩我猜不透
无边的宇宙哪里有我想要的生活
每当我背对星空
抱着地球
发现自己其实脆弱不敢说
当我背对星空
孤独摸索
爱情渐渐萎缩我猜不透
无边的宇宙哪里有我想要的生活
我那一百种要在很久很久以后才会懂
我一百种生活

Ramblings: GSS For Annual Restock

The Great Singapore Sale is the time of the year when I do my annual restock of clothes. Though I'm a shopper, I rather buy clothes at the other times of the year as I'm always too broke and cheapo. Here's a list of what I need to replenish.

1) Jeans

2) Socks

3) Polo shirts (many of them, in order to upkeep my professional image in school next semester)

4) Graphic tees

5) Casual/semi-formal shoes (dark tone or pure white for more formal occasions)

6) Metal watch

7) Underwear

8) Shoe bag

There's many other things I want but money doesn't come easy these days. Oh well. Hopefully the sale will be full force

Interest(ing): The Truth Behind Sunscreen + Ranking of Best Sunscreens

With numerous university camps coming up, it's a good time to invest in a good tube of sunscreen. Here's an article from Lifehacker which states that high SPF doesn't mean anything. The short article is basically based off another website which ranked 1400 different sunscreens. There are also explanations on why Vitamin A is bad etc.

http://lifehacker.com/5805270/find-the-best-sunscreens-with-the-fewest-hazardous-ingredients

Find the ranking of the sunscreens here http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/ .

Apparently Banana Boat - a common brand in Singapore, is quite lousy. Looks like I have to source for others.

Brain Storm: My Role Model - Helen Keller

I mentioned that when I was in secondary school, I did a personality test. The test was pretty comprehensive. It showed me my strengths and weaknesses in each area and how to enhance or curb them. They also categorise us according to personality types and each type has a sort of role model attached to it.

My role model was Helen Keller. The test said that I was like her because I believed in one thing. It was the famous quote which she said.

I am only one. But still I am one. I can only do something. But still there is something I can do. I will not refuse to do that something which I can do - Helen Keller.

Apparently my perfectionist and high-and-mighty personality makes me compelled to do something which I feel strongly about or something which I think my contribution will make a difference. I've always wanted to be a commander in the army because I feel that I will be able to make better of the soldiers' lives, though that dream never happened. I wanted to be a policeman because of how self righteous I am (but too bad I was underweight). I guess a nice way of phrasing it is that I am helpful. But it really is in me to want to do something if I feel that I can contribute in my own way.

Strangely enough, this personality and quote which I believe in has gotten me into trouble enough times in my lifetime. Yet I still keep going. I mentioned how jaded I was, leading the my club on my Facebook. I said I wanted to step down. I'm not sure how many people agrees with what a friend said, but he commented that "You will not (step down)". Somehow, I think that will be exactly it. Should I be happy about this? I'm not sure. But I still strongly believe in Helen Keller's spirit. If you can do something, don't refuse to do it, even if you are but one. Because you can affect lives positively. Because you can make the difference.

Item: I May Be Left-Handed

Nard says when he saw this in USA, he immediately thought of me, even though Ed is also a left hander. He said it was because of how self righteous I was and mainly because that sounds like something I would say. I think I have always been very cocky to my friends, in a cheeky manner. Kind of like the qian bian (欠扁) kind. They have learnt to laugh it off I think. But don't you think sometimes it is amusing? I am always the laughing stock of my friends. Yet somehow I don't mind and I got so used to it already. If my presence creates laughter among my friends, much unlike how it used to be in the past, isn't that a good thing? Have I changed? Am I right?

Thanks Nard!

Brain Storm: How I Respect My Teachers

My Higher Chinese teacher in secondary school said before that she was upset when her ex student came back to visit her and called her by her name. It feels terribly wrong to call someone older than you and the person who imparted precious knowledge to you without any salutations. I remember how she said it to this day. That's why I have never called a teacher who taught me before by his or her name.

However just now when I met my JC tutor for a drink, he told me that I should call him by his name though I have not been doing that for the 3 years since I graduated. I guess it's because he's a young teacher and feels that we should be friends instead of just teacher and student. I guess I'll comply, but I still think that calling my teachers by their salutation is the simplest respect I can give.

Ramblings: Rational and Running Away

I've been flattered a few times in my life. My friends know how arrogant I am, so they usually refrain from complimenting me. Arrogant as I am, I do agree with what they say. Though I also really appreciate it.

Last year, a close pal said that I was one of the most rational person he knows. He commented that despite having no relationship experiences, I was able to advise many people regarding their relationships. However, those relationships are usually souring ones and therefore they need my rational thinking to analyze the situation for them. Well so you can say that my advice always results in breaking up in my secondary school days. Another close friend hinted before that I was quite a mature person as well.

Just now I was having a chat with a long-time-no-see friend and he commented on how I was one of the most rational and mature person he knows. He then mentioned that if even I cannot be rational in certain situations, how can others possibly be? I guess that's true. It's a perspective I've never looked at before.

I guess sometimes it's okay to run away. Sometimes it's okay to hide. I think I sort of understand why my predecessor ran away now. It's sort of the same thing.

Still, I am flattered. =)

Ramblings: What's The Reason?

Sometimes when something goes wrong, you want to find out the reason. You want to know what went wrong. But when you can't find out why, you get frustrated. Very frustrated. And it makes it so hard to move on.

Rushing things is never a good thing. I guess sometimes it takes time before you realise what went wrong. Maybe it wasn't as what you thought. Maybe you thought of a thousand reasons. But there was a 1001th reason. Or maybe it was the most simple thing which you thought of but tried to brush it off because you didn't want to think of that as the reason. Maybe you were not suitable. Maybe you whined too much. Maybe you scared off the other party. Maybe you pissed everyone off.

Maybe it was just not meant to be.

Brain Storm: Optimism Not

Life is never simple. There are always tons of struggle. Sometimes struggling works. Sometimes it doesn't.

There's a lot of times we wish struggling will. There's also sometimes when you feel that struggling won't work so you don't even try.

I was told optimism is a good thing. But everytime I am hopeful about something, it will end badly. No matter how much I struggle. No matter how much effort I make. No matter how much I plead.

So I went to the dark side. I was always known as a perfectionist and one who thinks pessimism all the time. But I am also human. I also hope. Hope keeps me alive. So what does living entails now that I have no hopes, nothing to struggle about and no one to plead to?

How can one still think optimism is a good thing? Optimism doesn't prepare me for this.

Brain Storm: The Irony Of Life

Have you been in a situation where life seemed to have played you out? You were just minding your own business and an attractive opportunity popped out. You fought, you got it. Then soon, you realised that it's gone. It might be because it was not meant to be in the first place, it might be because you thought too lightly of it. It might have been that you were not yet ready. But no matter the reason, no matter the struggle, it might just slip out of your hand.

It may come back. It may not. Just when you were composing yourself, pacing your steps, getting ready to move on with life, another opportunity comes again. But this time, you are skeptical. You have been through it once. Something precious just got torn from you. Or perhaps other reasons are stopping you from taking it up. You tell yourself you cannot make the same mistake again. But the opportunity won't stay there and wait. You know it may be taken away, you know it may just go away before you can grab hold of it.

Life is ironic, no?

You only live life once. I'd have faith, I'd steady my footing, I'd grab hold of it. Because it won't come again. And you'll never know if you'll regret it unless you try.

Sights and Sounds: Punggol Waterfront Park (Incomplete)

[update: Punggol Waterway is completed and I took some photos there. http://infinite.acperience.net/2011/11/sights-and-sounds-my-punggol-waterway/ ]

A few days back my dad told me that the Punggol PCN is done already, so I went to check it out. It was pretty awesome so today I brought my phone along to snap a few (low quality) photos. Although really this is just a jogging route, I believe it's part of the Punggol Waterfront Park or whatever they're calling it. The park connector joins Hougang park to Punggol via Sengkang West Ave I think. The route goes all the way to Punggol East where a relatively huge activity centre is. It has many eateries, seafood centre, billards, bicycle and rollerblades rental shop etc. The atmosphere there is lovely and it's a great place to hang out. Though I must note that the sports rental shop and the billards centre is not opened yet. The place is relatively secluded but you can get there from Punggol LRT. Just take the north east line to Punggol MRT and change to Punggol LRT. Alight at Riveria station when you see the activity centre which is right next to a temple. You can also take bus 3 (Pasir Ris) , 83 (from Sengkang) and 85 (from Yishun).

I'll say it's worth checking out. I haven't gone all the way down the jogging route though. I'll do that when I get enough stamina. I should go there with my friends soon because I stay right opposite the activity centre and for once I will reach home before they do!

The board walk starts from here. It's a nice place to chill.

Here's the activity centre with restaurants, fast food etc.

This is right next to the eateries. The billards rooms and sports rental shop have not opened yet though.

This is the sort of entrance. And guess what, the closest building to this place is my home. =)

Interest(ing): Sweetest Marriage Proposal Ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnVAE91E7kM

Brain Storm: Dealing With Deadbeats

http://lifehacker.com/5802148/how-to-deal-with-deadbeats-by-using-clever-tricks-and-blackmail

Here's an interesting article from lifehacker on how to deal with deadbeats, basically people who promise something but don't care anymore thereafter. Er, not on relationships though...

Brain Storm: Personality Change

It's surprising how some people's personality can change 180 degrees depending on the mood. I wouldn't say it depends on the situation because we are always reacting according to our environment. It might be because one was experiencing problems of the affairs of the heart or it might be because you are talking to a lover instead of a friend. Your expectations, views, stance might all change, drastically.

When I did my personality test in Sec 4, I found out that my personality is, as everyone guess it, a self righteous, arrogant, hardcore, perfectionist kind of person. I get angry easily but I hide most of my emotions inside. An exploding introvert, you might call it. This remains my personality now, though there has been positive growth to my maturity and outlook in general. However there was a time in my life when my personality drastically changed. It just so happened that I was sitting for another personality test. Okay they might not be that accurate, fair enough. But the results of the personality test was jaw dropping. I was totally another person. I was facing some personal problems then. And the test results showed that I was a person who is crushed by outsider comments easily, extremely sensitive, no self motivation, gets upset easily. Basically the opposite of what I was.

I was appalled. And I think it may just happen frequently in my life. Pardon me.

Tech Speak: Google I/O 2011 Summary

http://phandroid.com/2011/05/12/google-io-2011-wrap-up-what-was-your-favorite-announcement-or-moment/

Here's a good post on what happened during Google I/O 2011 (I/O stands for Input Output in computing language btw).

Here are some highlights which I feel are significant (to me anyway).

1) Android Honeycomb 3.1 update released.

2) Android Ice Cream Sandwich coming out in Q4 2011 and will integrate both tablet and phone form factors for Android

3) Google Music Beta launched (but only in US)

4) Google together with some carriers and phone manufacturers promise 18 months of updates for each phone

5) Chromebook, a netbook which is fully web based, that is, the operating system is the chrome browser will be launched in mid June.

Google I/O  2010 gave all its attendees a Nexus One (I think). This year they gave everyone a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Both were new products which have not even been launched. If you think about it, though Google I/O's ticket cost like really expensive (more than a few hundred bucks I think), the free gift makes up for it. Really hope I can go there too. Too bad I'm not a developer. I think next year they will probably give the Google TV.

Brain Storm: A Thousand Birthday Wishes

My birthday this year had passed long ago. As usual, I can count the number of people who wished me happy birthday with my fingers. And no, my Facebok wasn't flooded with messages. The reason is because you won't find my birthday anywhere on the internet. Since secondary school times, I refrained from telling people my birthday because I find it pointless. More than the fact that it is just "another day", those who wanted to make you feel special on that day would have remembered your birthday.

Granted, some people need reminders and most people these days count it on Facebook rather than good old calendar. However you must admit that 90% of the people who wished you on Facebook "happened to see it" and maybe half of them can't remember when was the last time you interacted with them. The sincerity is not there. On the day when I was supposed to be king of the world, I can't find it more empty than having a thousand birthday wishes from people whom you know probably don't give half shit about you on any other day. Let's face it, how many friends from your hundreds of Facebook friends are truly your friends?

Unfortunately, I do agree that new friends need an avenue for birthday date. It will seem odd for people to go up to a new friend and ask for his/her birthday for recording purposes. These days Facebook is really the way to go. Then again there are also those people who get minimal well wishes despite showcasing their birth dates to the world (which is really sad). I guess I should try that next year to see whether I'm one of those people.

Tech Speak: Backup Your Office Documents with Google Cloud Connect

Google Cloud Connect is an add on for Microsoft Office. It simply enables auto/manual synchronisation with your Google Docs account. Cloud Connect appears as an additional toolbar for Office. Should you put it to auto, it syncs with your Google Docs each time you save. Naturally you can set it to manual as well. If you do not know already, Google Docs allows the uploading of Office formats (serving as backups) and it also has its own format (you can convert Office formats to Google Docs format if you want to edit it online). Cloud Connect backups your files rather than converting it into Google Docs format, thus preserving the formatting of your documents.

Google Cloud Connect can be downloaded here and it works for Office 2003, 2007 and 2010. It is not available for Mac yet.

 

Brain Storm: How To Achieve A Perfect Flight

http://lifehacker.com/#!5797541/how-to-lie-cheat-and-steal-your-way-to-a-perfect-flight

Here's an interesting read from Lifehacker about how to be cunning about flights to get the best out of it. While I wouldn't say it will work perhaps for us Singaporeans, but it's still worth a read. Especially that last point.

Youtube: Google Chrome : Dear Sophie

I've always liked the advertisements which Google come up with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vkVHijdQk

Tech Speak: How Google Hires

http://gigaom.com/2011/05/02/eric-schmidt-former-google-ceo-how-google-hires/

Here's an article which Eric Schmidt explains what are the things Google looks out for when they interview people. One nice thing here, they do not mind getting people who lack team work. Hmm but shucks, they did mention that it applies to people who are exceptionally smart.

The article also mentioned that Google received 75000 resumes when it stated that it is hiring 6000 people. Dang, such slim chances for me eh...