Update 118-01
Update 118-01
2006: It Could Be Worse!
1st January 2007
12:00 AM

This is going to be a long entry not for the faint-hearted light reader so please bear with me.

It has just turned 2007 here in the United States and I'm high on too many peanuts, chips, and champagne.

Moreover, I have shamelessly copied the idea of doing a photolog of the entire year in a month-by-month breakdown so here goes my cynical, pseudo-emo, and bittersweet visual recollection of the now-past year of 2006. This is in commemoration of all the people, places, and events that have shaped, molded and inspired me to be the person that I am today. Thank you everyone back in Singapore for being the best friends, companions, and comrades that I could ever ask for! Even though it has been a lonely four months away from ya'll, I still miss each and every one of you. This long and angsty entry is dedicated to all who have made 2006 easily the very best year of my life. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some travel back in time.

January:

January was terrible. It was fun doing Orientation and its accompanying videos but I got screwed over by the Senior Admin for announcing an Interest Group called FAG during a CCA briefing. Truth to be told, it was a rather foolish move on my part and I deeply regret being so naïve and brash. Nonetheless, I still maintain to this very day that it was a mistake inevitably waiting to happen because of the way things were being run on the supervisory side of things.


At least the OC and I had fun making random vids while it lasted.

Anyway, I was threatened with suspension, my parents called up, and I also lost my seat on the interim Council... A whole bunch of other bad shit happened to me which I shouldn't blog about. With the destruction of my vaunted FAG-CCA aspirations, this was essentially a pivotal turning point in life for me and I decided that I was to never again trust the school. I will always remember January 06 as a time of hardship, sorrow, and regret. Not only did this single event spell the end of the school's trust in me, this one incident had such a profound effect on me that I grew increasingly sardonic and cynical as the year progressed. The only thing that kept me going was 5.14 and the support of my friends.







I have no idea who is guy is or how he ended up like that but I thought it was a funny picture anyway since it was the first week of school. I'm pretty sure Yao Wen was the culprit.

February:

With the loss of my CCA ambitions, I decided to lie-low and contemplate my purpose (Or lack there of) in life. I was offered a place at CSU Northridge and was strongly toying with the idea of going to the United States but went against it. I would ultimately regret that decision as they banned students under 18 from attending foreign universities later that month. Faced with that stumbling block, I basically forced myself to make the most of my life in Singapore and try out my hand at drama theater as a fresh change from film – Sowing the seeds to the beginning of our production for Centerstage, The Vault. If not for the drive and purpose The Vault gave, I would've easily slipped into chronic depression, or worse, *gasp* sobriety.










March:

The Vault. What can I say? The entire month basically revolved around putting up this production. I gave it my best and my all. I was thoroughly and unequivocally caught by surprised when I found out that we had won all three awards up for grabs. I didn't realize it at the time but I reckon on hindsight that producing The Vault was easily the best and greatest time of my life. I would pay a million bucks if I could re-live the special night of 31st March 2006. It might not seem like much to a lot of you considering its just some small-ass one night competition but doing Centerstage was truly memorable; I cherish this night immensely and it will always have a small niche in my heart for the rest of my days.












April:

Beijing, China.



This field trip was awesome. Hanging out with Michelle, Jeff, Slow, Orion, Bloke, Lui, Darren, Yao Wen, Dickson, and Ham was really really really fun. This was probably one of the best holidays I've ever had. It was so entertaining shooting each other amongst ancient Chinese ruins and taking 'angsty' photos with Mich. I even managed to secretly met up with a local arms dealer at an underground tunnel in some random corner of Beijing and brought back some really cool weapons to Singapore. We had so much fun playing 'CS' in the hotel, running around in costume (I still remember Slow as a ninja) and scaring the shit out of Kia Hua. Hehe. Shopping was great too - Buying back a whole lot of pirated goods with Jeff's money after spending all of my own on guns. Gosh that was fun. Will do anything to go back to Beijing with the same bunch of people! Pity about the food though. I hate Chinese food. It was apt that Mel remarked that the only thing I ate the entire trip was literally only fried Omlette and fries. And yes, I still remember Ethan shooting an unamused Chinese waitress with one of our guns.



Note the following similarities:












May:

Elections! Not that I liked the results or anything, but I sorta knew before hand that our dear opposition was not going to make any substantial gains this year. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from attending countless rally after rally - Sometimes even ponning school to attend some. Having met SDA chairman Chiam See Tong before in an interview in Sec 3, I was heartened that he managed to preserve his hold on Potong Pasir.






Another not-quite-so-pleasant election was being held at our school concurrently. Despite having a severe blowup in a certain boardroom in our school with a few key individuals that shall not be mentioned, I decided to run for office nonetheless with a fervent and relentless advertising campaign in the hopes that I would somehow get selected despite their obvious disposition against me. However, it didn't quite work out as planned and I never got in anyway.

Although it occurred to me after the whole fiasco that I should not even have bothered trying to get elected, it was pretty heartening nonetheless to work around the clock with Campaign Manager Mich and minions volunteers Kai Lun, Nick Chee, Jeff, Lui, and DML coming up with unique and creative advertising gimmicks for the school.




June:

I discovered that I actually somehow got into the University of California. Something which I had previously thought of as impossible. Thoughts of ditching this country permanently and disrupting NS entered my mind. I also attended a Birthday party at Fish & Co. organized by dear Timothy Seow. Coming from an extremely small family with no relatives in Singapore, this was the very very first (And probably last) Birthday party of my entire life. I was so touched by the gesture that I nearly wanted to stay on. Ironically enough, I just noticed that I wore this exact same outfit (Seen in picture) to leave Singapore EXACTLY 3 months later on August the 30th.





Having tried out drama and stage production, I decided to move on to film and set out to create what would eventually become Countdown months down the road. Having went back to LA towards the end of the month, Jeff took over from me in running all operations in my absence. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with his leadership skills until this very day.



July:

Did the Haven Trailer and Student Council productions. Also filmed Malcolm's debut production, A Film About Lvoe. Which, looking back, I realize is a screwed up production. Nonetheless, shooting these movies was rather fun and enjoyable.












Exam's weren't quite the same though. I had the worst results of my entire school career. Then again, I was deliberately slacking of. Towards the end of this month, I decided to leave Singapore... For good. After the exams, the production of Countdown went into overdrive and I immersed myself in making this 60-70 people film somehow happen.

August:

This was probably the most stressful and tumultuous month of my life. There was just so much going on simultaneously. Every day was a whirlwind adrenaline rush of activities as I had to balance the production of Countdown with packing up to go to the States. To top it all of, Jeff left too. My emotions were a roller coaster wreck and there were days in which I felt I just could not go on. I was often seconds away from throwing in the towel and giving up BOTH endeavors. Every waking moment was a pursuit to either accomplish something or to reassure myself that I was making the right decisions. Doing Countdown and coordinating over 60-70 people was so damn tough that I had to fight to keep myself motivated and driven to succeed by forcing myself to stay level-headed at all times.






However, the last week of August was truly sweet. Every day was a gathering for me either in class or after school. Many thanks to 5.14 and all my friends for planning farewell party after farewell party 24/7. It was really tough leaving at the airport. I must say that leaving Singapore for good was one of the toughest calls I've never had to make. I was honestly extremely close to just giving up and staying on in Sunny Isle over those last few days.









September:

Month of overwhelming emo-ness and extreme angst. To counter such sentiments, I devoted my all to editing Countdown as a final tribute to all of you who have made it possible. There were moments of incredible frustration (I hate computers!) but that dedication kept me going. I also became a part-time carpenter and electrician fixing and building stuff around our rather spartan home.





October to December:

To be honest, not much stuff happened in these few months. I started university and finished editing. Traded expensive video cameras between various sellers. 'Borrowed' a record 6-7 PCs from various stores for editing purposes. Made a handful of friends. Started an event videography business. Developed an obsession with reminiscing the past. Became more angsty about not being able to return to Singapore. Contemplated joining the Democrat Party. Got horribly sick over Thanksgiving. Received several packages of guns and teh. Fai Fai came to visit and I got a 3.9 GPA. Hmmph...

What else? Not much, really.

Sighs.

What an anti-climatic end to a really fast-paced and exciting year!

Ah well. I always comfort myself in such situations by saying it 'could be worse'. It's the case in most situations so why not apply it to the year itself?

And that, my friends, my motto for the year 2006.

It Could Be Worse.

So that's all for 2006, folks. Hope you've enjoyed this long-winded and detailed account of my life in 2006. Now, I have hereby decided to be decadent and fill out a random quiz. It can't get any worse than this >.< NEW YEARS QUIZ:

1) Was 2006 a good year for you?
Bittersweet really. I quote my motto: It could be better but it could've been a hell lot worse too.

2) What was your favorite moment of the year? Centerstage. On hindsight, I had the most fun and laughter on that one night than the entire year combined. Doing The Vault was truly amazing, entertaining, and magical.

3) What was your least favorite moment of the year? That retarded blowup with the Senior Admin at the start of the year. That was horrible. Oh, and the airport on 30th August 2006. The gamut of emotions I went through in the span of two to three hours at Changhi was one of the most intense experiences I've ever undergone.

4) Where were you when 2006 began? I honestly have no idea. I looked through the production log for a December entry but the last one I found was sometime at the end of November.
It was the infamous entry about me shooting my laptop LCD screen. Hmmph. Maybe I was dead at the end of 2005.

5) Who were you with?
With my dead computer.

6) Where will you be when 2006 ends?
Well, at home for one. Stoning and doing nothing spectacular (And resigned to it). Not out clubbing or partying like *some people*

8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2006?
Largely. Met a few ambitions but failed miserably in others. Nothing's perfect I guess.

9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2007?
Definitely – See below.

10) Did you fall in love in 2006?
Yes. With a beautiful Canon XL2 – She is officially my girlfriend as of a month ago (:

11) Did you break up with anyone in 2006?
Unfortunately, I broke up with
ACS(I) and
The Motherland. T'was a painful and somewhat reluctant separation.

12) Did you make any new friends in 2006?
Hell yeah. A whole lot of new friends who I dare say will probably end up being my friends for life. Its been great meeting new people this year and equally sad being torn away from them by circumstance.

13) Who are your favorite new friends?
No one Everyone. Really! All my new friends have been great.

14) What was your favorite month of 2006?
March and April! (Centerstage & Beijing) and possibly August when I was screwing around and doing a whole bunch of random/illegal things the week before I left.

15) Where did you travel to in 2006?
Beijing, Toronto, Los Angeles (Obviously), and not to forget my monthly forays into Malaysia to restock on illegal merchandise.

16) How many different countries did you travel to in 2006?
Five.

17) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2006?
No shit. About... Let's see... EVERYONE... Sighs. I've physically lost everyone close to me in Singapore and have gone from hero to zero here in the United States. I miss every last one of you! Thank God for MSN Messenger.

18) Did you miss anybody in 2006?
This questionnaire sure has to rub it in...

19) What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2006?
Lucky Number Slevin, The Spanish Prisoner, Daisy, 24, Lord of War, The Usual Suspects, and of course, Countdown (:

20) What was your favorite song you heard in 2006?
Probably Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers

21) What was your favorite record from 2006?
I shall be politically correct and say Haven ^_^ No seriously, it was good though =P

22) How many concerts did you see in 2006?
A few. Can't remember. I do recall the last one I attended was Lynette's concert, which frankly sucked. Okay fine, it was just... Mildly boring. I fell asleep halfway and woke up to find himself being targeted by some Ah Bengs from HC sitting at the row across for some reason or another. It nearly broke out into fisticuffs if not for the fact that it was a Sunday after church. Umm. Yeah.

23) Did you have a favorite concert in 2006?
The Vault! Haha no. Erm... Haven was nice... So was that one indie rock concert at Esplanade I went with Tim Seow and Slow to.

24) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2006?
Not really. I got SEMI-drunk (Yes, partially only!) at the end of last year for some stupid 48 hour film shoot. Ali, Ben, and Bloke will remember that incident particularly fondly. Anyway, I didn't like the experience so I vowed never to get that wasted again. Note to all your drinkers, or people who think drinking is cool: Don't drink too much! Getting drunk is NOT fun.

25) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2006?
Not that I know of if you don't count caffeine addiction.

26) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Too many to remember. For one, I greatly regret not taking proper care and allowing someone to break Han Sheng's Uzi Sub Machine Gun. I am still deeply haunted by that untill this very day. Also, there's that regrettable FAG incident which I keep harping about, and also, shooting my laptop. No wait that was the year before. Damn!

27) What was the worst lie you told someone in 2006?
Well, I told nearly everyone that I wasn't going to America when I really was until the last minute. I also blatantly lied to several teachers about it – Namely Dharma. I felt *somewhat* bad about that but I suppose favors have to be returned, don't they?

28) Did you treat somebody badly in 2006?
Again, too many incidents to remember but Michelle gets the award for most badly treated minion in 2006 (A position formerly occupied by Bloke). Some other situations also stand out in my mind: I sent Kentay to Beach Road at 11 to buy dogtags or some random reason or another. Made Mel get her dad to build us a 20 foot vault door. Spray painted guns all over 5.14. Made 6 large, gaping holes in the classroom ceiling as a result of trigger happiness and leftover explosives after Countdown. Forced Elsa to stuff a tape down her blouse. Got Tina to lie in a pool of 'blood' for 3 hours. Convinced David to quit his company to film Countdown. Coerced Kai Lun into doing a lot of minion dirty work. Forced Kiat to act in some retarded 'Oh shit' history video. Humiliated Ben Chia for life in that said movie
. Got Bloke to do more retarded videos. Got Darren to do the same.

Okay I'm tired of putting links up. Anyway... *Takes Breath*

Borrowed $500 from Jeff for 8 months. Koped Mel's phone for a year until she caught me at the airport. Got JJ to postpone some Council game or other for Countdown. Stole library books from the school for Mich. Asked David Cheong to beat up Ben Lei with a retractable riot baton 4 times for Countdown. Ruined Ali's dad's warehouse. Got my Chinese tuition teacher in trouble at the airport after convincing her to bring back some pistols from Taiwan for me. Pissed off Ivan's parents by shooting up their house. Convinced Sher Sern to invest $50 in my carbine selling business which I never returned him. Persuaded Shawn to pour Talcum powder down Yi Yang's pants (For the sake of film, naturally). Stole boots, uniforms, and rifles from NCC – As well as Mr Ferd Quek's Mum's cart. And umm, made Tim Seow to act in some totally bizarre film for Maclolm. Oh, and not to forget, brainwashed Chief Minion Ben Soh into becoming a crazy, frog-killing, diabolical maniac in order to make him turn to the dark side.

Man, I'm so evil.

29) Did somebody treat you badly in 2006?
Yes. The government of a certain island and the administration of some school that we all know. Both are synonymous in my mind now as enemies of freedom, peace, and prosperity for all mankind.

30) How much money did you spend in 2006?
Too much. Let's see, I wasted $900 on The Vault. $1000 for my shot-up laptop. Bought new guns for a few grand. Paid $600 for Countdown on top of everyone's donations. Deliberately put my video camera into water and paid $200 for repairs. Wasted two air tickets getting here.... And... A whole lot of other crap that I've deliberately erased from my mind in order to avoid feeling inexorable pangs of guilt.

31) What were your proudest moments of 2006?
Winning Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Play awards for Centerstage. Successfully smuggling back illegal weapons from Beijing. Attending the first birthday party of my life. Having the guts to leave the Motherland. Getting accepted into the University of California at 16. Finishing Countdown after an intense 14 hour shoot.

32) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2006 and change something, what would it be?
That stupid FAG incident in January. Yes, that one moment screwed up my life for the rest of the year. I still can't get over it!!! Oh, and on recollection, I should not have shot my laptop either. Or spend so much money on illegal firearms for that matter.

33) What are your plans for 2007?
BLT's 2007 New Year's Resolution:
1.Study hard & make honors roll and own everyone else on campus in terms of grades.
2.Make it into a better university by 2008 or get scholarship.
3.Start my own company.
4.Get into a film festival and subsequently break into Hollywood (Yeah right).
5.Scheme a way to steal back into Singapore without ending up in an ISD prison cell.
6.Get a job. (Legally)
7.Learn how to drive. (Legally)
8.Pick up photography for reals and own Kentay.
9.Find good church and somehow draw closer to God.
10.Get a life.

Time will tell how well I accomplish (or not accomplish) the above list. I'll check back in a year (If I'm still around by then, that is). Till then, my very best wishes to all who are going back to school and embarking upon a new phase and milestone in their lives. My sincerest and deepest gratitudes goes out to everyone who made 2006 truly spectacular, touching, and unforgettable for me. For what its worth, while 2006 could've been worse, it couldn't have been any better either. Thank you for making my life so much more enriching, enjoyable, and meaningful. So here's to a fantastic near year ahead full of exams hope and joy. All the best and good luck (Those of you in IB will probably need it), for 2007. And yes, I still miss ya'll badly! With a brand new school year start, I know the temptation will be there to just forget about me and continue on with life blissfully, but I still remember you guys fondly and vividly. So continue to keep in contact and come visit me before you die from NS and IB!!!

Good hunting.

Cheers,

BLT


- posted by BLT @ 8:00 AM (0) comments