All about Love

"You would risk the fate of the entire universe for the sake of a fleeting emotion?"

Just to put things in context, the emotion in question here is, of course, love. Why do I love this quote? I think it's mostly because of how well it places love in the grand scheme of things: it's nothing but a fleeting emotion that lasts for a passion of a second, and generally brings a lot of pain and suffering. 

I also think that this quote was placed very poignantly, too. It was used to taunt the protagonist in the anime that it came from, and suddenly I realised something: it might not apply to most shows/movies/books/manga, but it certainly does apply to a lot of them - there are many antagonists who do the things they do because of love. Mr. Freeze (Frieze) for example, became the bad guy because he wanted to revive his wife.

So, from a completely different point of view, Simon really is a bad guy - he's jeopardising the fate of the entire universe just for a girl that he will eventually spend a grand total of 7 days with. Of course, from the other point of view, that's the power of love - between 7 days with a person you love and the entire bloody universe, you'd pick those 7 days.

"The person I love needs me..."

But one of the times that you enjoy the experience of being loved is when you feel that the person you love needs you. It's a feeling that I can't really explain, but I find that it's very, very true. I have not been in love before (proper love, anyway), and so I can't really comment on this, but heck, I figure that if you feel good helping that old lady cross the street, then you'd love helping the person who love with whatever they need help with.

It's a very special feeling to know that you're needed by someone. Not like in a sports game, when you're being pressured to win. No, this feeling is completely different, when someone special to you is relying on you to help him or her do something important...heh, it's kinda weird. I've never experienced it before, but I can imagine what it must feel like! 

"I'm sorry...I just wanted to see my family again..."

This quote actually links back to the first one. This quote came from the antagonist of a manga that I read, and I must confess that I completely broke down when it came to this part of the manga. Heh, this kind of quote is why there are no true good and bad guys in the world. There are very few purely evil people - I won't say that there aren't, but there are definitely fewer than we give the world credit for.

In any case, most people do crazy, terrible, or downright foolhardy things in the name of love. And it doesn't have to be romantic kind of love. Platonic love does the same thing (perhaps to a lesser degree) and the love for a family provokes the exact same reaction. So love can usually bring out the worst in people, guiding them to do terrible things, such as blowing up entire cities and contracting themselves to all manner of dark gods.

Ending Scene of 5cm/s

Admittedly, this isn't a quote. But I couldn't really put "..." there, could I? In any case, for those of you who've watched this show, please continue reading. If not...well, you could always move on to the final quote. 

Anyway, this ending scene of 5cm/s reminds us that love doesn't always work the way we imagine it to. It's a stark reminder of how the world isn't fair, how things don't go as planned, and how life doesn't end happily ever after. Ahh, life is sad, isn't it? I too, have had my first taste of defeat when it comes to life, and am right now picking up the pieces of my world. But well, you get used to it - I guess it's a test of your mental strength when it comes to things like this. Do you just sit on the ground and whine, or do you pick yourself up and keep going?

In the end though, you'll never be the same again...

"Perhaps we'll meet again in another 12,000 years."

When I first heard these words, I was shocked - not because of the physical impossibility of this task, but because of the fact that you're willing to wait 12,000 years just for someone to return. I can't even imagine the pain that you'd have to go through, waiting and waiting on the belief that you'll finally meet again in another 12 millienia. How can you even take such pain and suffering? 

You have no idea if he'll return. You'll have no idea what he'll be like if he returns. You'll have no idea if he'll exist by then. But still you keep waiting. Why?

"I don't want to die alone..."

Because you never want to die alone. This is possibly the greatest truth of mankind. No matter where you are, no matter where you're from, the last thing you want to do is to die alone. In the manga where this quote came from, I can't help but tear up everytime I read the story. It's hard to explain the context, because the quote comes at the very end of the story...but I don't think you guys need the context to understand the truth behind this quote.

It's terrible to die alone. It's even more terrible to live life alone. I can't imagine living a life without someone by my side - it's just not possible. Sure, for some of you, getting married and having a family is something to be avoided at all costs. But I don't know if I can survive without getting married. It's probably just me, but I think the greatest joy in the world is being surrounded by people who love you. 

The world, after all, is all about love.

Three Worlds

Okay, before anyone continues, there are two things I must say:

1. THIS IS HERRICK'S FAULT

2. THIS IS GOING TO BE SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE A STORY IDEA, I.E. IT'S TOO LONG, DON'T READ IT

Of course, I might decide to do the point form thing that Cherilyn proposed...or maybe I'll just go with the flow and see what happens. Ah well...

So...okay, this is where the story starts (I think). 

The story begins with a boy named Claude, and his mother has disappeared after a failed physics experiment. Soon after the report of his mother's disappearance reaches his ears, he begins hearing these voices...like whisperings in a crowded room. After a few weeks of this unusual whisperings, he realises that they are becoming comprehensible, and soon realises that someone is trying to talk to him through these strange whisperings.

Listening in to the whisperings for a while, Claude finally understands that they are instructions to open a portal of some kind, and that this portal will eventually lead to his mother. Without any further hesitation, Claude starts following the instructions, which eventually lead him back to the physics laboratory where his mother worked, which has since been closed down. 

The laboratory is deserted save for a couple of beggars here and there, who warn him that strange things have been going on around the laboratory in the weeks that it has been closed, including mysterious disappearances and strange creatures moving around at night. Despite this, Claude doesn't hesitate and quickly gets into the laboratory itself, where he finds dozens of dead bodies, all of them seemingly mauled by a vicious animal...or animals.

However, at the very heart of the building Claude finds a strange glowing device - almost immediately, the whisperings grow louder, and almost without meaning to, Claude finds himself setting up the device, even though he has no idea how to do so. Nevertheless, Claude manages to ready the device, and activate it, hurtling him into another world.

When Claude wakes up, he is greeted by a man...or at least, what looks like a man. The man introduces himself as a Atlantean named Jekill, and after giving Claude food and lodgings, then tells Claude where he is.

There are three worlds, and the fate of these worlds have been weaved together for centuries. Each of these three worlds is inhabitated by a different species, which are remarkably different: the Atlanteans, a high-class technocracy, occupy one world; the Moloch, a species of which little is known, occupy another and the final world is occupied by humans.

Claude's mother was working on experiment that allowed the connection of these three worlds, and her exploits caused a great shift universe, the full effects of which are yet to be determined. One of the more direct consequences was the opening of portals to each of these three worlds. However, the system of travel is unstable, and has only recently stabilized into a one-way system. Basically, the system looks like this: Earth ---> Atlanta ---> Moloch ---> Earth. It basically means that humans can't travel to the Moloch world without first passing through the Atlantean world, and the same thing for the other species.

Due to this one way system of getting from one planet to another, Claude finds that it is impossible to return to Earth via Earth-Atlanta Worldway - the only way he can return to Earth is by first going through the Moloch homeworld. Nevertheless, Claude has to first find out what happened to his mother during her stay at Atlanta, and Jekill and his close friend, Hide, decide to help the boy find out what happened to his mother.

After following a trail of clues, the trio eventually find out that Claude's mother was working with several elite Atlantean scientists to restore the Atlanta-Earth Worldway. However, all their efforts ended without any results - all they managed to do was create a Worldway between Atlanta and Moloch. Apparently, in an effort to return to Earth, Claude's mother volunteered as part of expeditionary force to the Moloch homeworld. Hearing this, there is not much choice for Claude except to venture into the Moloch homeworld in attempt to find his mother and return to Earth. 

The Council of Scientists, however, refuse to let Claude continue on this journey - the expeditionary team was sent out nearly a week ago, and even though they were supposed to have returned two days ago, there has been no report from any member of the team to date. Despite Claude's protestations, the Council stands firm. They even put up heavy security around the Worldway, preventing Claude from even seeing the device. There's nothing that Claude can do about it, and so he stays with Jekill and Hide for a few days, which soon drag into weeks.

This changes abruptly one day, when the Council decides that enough time has passed - there can be no more waiting. Immediately, an armed special operations team is formed and prepped for any dangers that might arise while venturing into the Moloch homeworld. Claude, despite the fact that he has no training, joins them - after all, the special ops team needs someone to lead them back to the Earth-Atlanta Worldway if they want to return home. 

Leading them through into the Moloch homeworld, the Atlanteans emerge into a jungle world, filled with humid rainforests. There is no sign of the original expeditionary team that was sent out a couple of weeks ago, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of life. The Atlanteans quickly move out further into the jungle, but they can find no trace of the expeditionary team, nor of any reason why they should not have reported back. 

Suddenly, the team hears a terrible roar in the distance, which is answered by another roar, this one is much closer to home. Even with their training, the Special Ops team is greatly unnerved, and some of them even begin to turn and flee. Luckily, the Sergeant manages to get them under control, and the Special Ops team beats a hasty retreat. 

But soon the jungle around them bursts into life, and the Special Ops team find themselves being attacked by savage, vicious-looking dog-like creatures. Immediately, the Special Ops team employ a fighting retreat, but even then several members of the team are ripped to shreds by the dog-like animals. The Sergeant realises that there's no where for them to run, and orders to the team to split, hopefully splitting their attackers into more manageable portions.

The move works - the Sergeant and Claude manage to escape briefly, which gives the Sergeant enough time to give Claude a Fleet Beacon, which allows Claude to contact the remaining squad members. The Sergeant and his remaining band of soldiers make their last stand, letting Claude escape with the Fleet Beacon. 

Alone and with nowhere to go, Claude stumbles around for a few hours, trying to find a way out of this jungle. Suddenly, he remembers the Fleet Beacon, but he fears switching it on, just in case the dog-like animals are drawn to the sounds that it emits. Claude continues for a few moments, when he finally reaches something that looks like a road. Following the road, he comes to a strange hovel. As he searches the hovel for food, he realises that the hovel is something that has been constructed by the dog-like creatures (no doubt because of bits of human flesh strewn around), and quickly stumbles out, only to be surrounded by six of the dog-like animals. 

Claude attempts to make a run for it, but he is swiftly chased down and mobbed by the animals. He is nearly killed by the animals, but manages to survive due to another group of the dog-like animals (we'll call them Moloch for ease of use) arriving. Claude uses this opportunity to escape from his attacks, bleeding profusely from his wounds. 

Suddenly, yet another Moloch appears in front of him. This one, however, doesn't make any threatening movements - instead, it guides Claude to a stream where he can wash his wounds, and then leads him to another small hovel, where Claude is overjoyed to see the remnants of the Atlantean squad, all of them injured. 

From there, Claude learns that the Atlanteans can actually talk to the Moloch, due to some technological devices as well as some genetic advantages. From their primitive communications, the remaining team understand that the group of Moloch surrounding them are renegades, and were part of the small team that managed to lead a group other humans and Atlanteans (presumably the expeditionary force and Claude's mother) to safety. 

Repeating such a feat, however, is not easily achieved. Already, most of the Moloch are preparing to enter the Moloch-Earth Worldway in an attempt to take over Earth, and those against the act of invasion have not the political will to stop them. So, these six renegade Moloch have made it their duty to ferry these survivors to the other side of the Worldway, where they can shut down the gate.

Since most of the soldiers are injured, and Claude isn't in good shape either, the renegade Moloch carry them on their backs into the jungle. However, not even a half an hour into their journey, the Renegades realise that they are being chased by another band of Moloch, and so despite their heavy loads, increase their speeds, hurtling down through the jungles. After a frenetic chase through the jungles, they finally come upon the Worldway. 

After battling and dodging through the Moloch defenses, only Claude manages to escape into the Worldway - the remaining soldiers and Renegades attempt to stall for time so that Claude and his mother (wherever she is) can destroy the Worldway. 

Returning to Earth and the laboratory, Claude looks at the mauled bodies and realises that some Moloch have already gotten through the Worldway - probably an expedition party. In any case, he doesn't have much time left - the Moloch could be entering into Earth by the hundreds at any time. As he tries to find a way to shut down the Worldway, he is startled by a huge Moloch running at him, its eyes red with...madness? Hunger? Claude will never know.

So. The story stops here, unfortunately. Why? Because this is when I woke up, that's why.

Why the hell do I have such whacko dreams.

Math Port Is Not The Only Thing Ruining My Mind

Actually, the problem here isn't the fact that the math portfolio is hard, it's just that it's too damn difficult to cut down on the page count. I mean, I had to stoop to making my equations smaller. OMG FAIL.

Anyway, ignoring the math portfolio and the 7 different people who are asking me for help, there is an even greater problem.

SHITTT HERRICK DON"T BUY A FRENCH MAID DRESS PLS.

In the event that any of you need a context for this comment (and I doubt any of you do), it basically started out as a bet between me and a fellow classmate (whom you should all know). And the stakes pretty much escalated to the point where I have to wear a French Maid's Dress if she doesn't get a 7.

Now, to be honest, I'm quite sure she'll get a 7. The thing is, I am also quite assured that she'd sacrifice a 45 just to see me in a French Maid's Dress. OH THE HORROR.

It doesn't help that most of the people around (INCLUDING SOME PEOPLE'S SISTERS) are also plotting to reduce me to a sad, miserable, cos-playing state. What the hell man, I don't think I'll look good in a French Maid's Dress. Which part of me looks like it'd look good in a French Maid's Dress, HUH!?

To Friends: I AM 100% NOT A GIRL DAMMIT.

To Others: Heheheheh, you can't tell if I'm a girl or not.

Getting back to the topic, things took a turn for the worse yesterday when someone actually decided to sponsor the bloody dress. OH SHI-. And then the conversation started to deteriorating into questions like, "Are there going to be THIGH-HIGH stockings?!"

WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS.

Oh yeah, and you know how dreams often reflect your state of mind? Well, yesterday night, I dreamt that I was in an airplane crash. (For your info, I was NOT in a French Maid's Dress, kthx). So I guess you can tell that I'm a bit SUICIDAL here.

Ah well...all I gotta do is make sure she gets a 7, right?

...

...

...

Right?

Nubbynub Club Recruitment Drive

Hello there! This particular post is a special one, as it concerns a matter that is very close to my heart! This is a recruitment drive for the Nubbynub Club, a special-interest group specially created for nubbynubs who find that they're bored of being nubs, and have decides to become kewl nubs.

So, without much further ado, let's learn more about the club!

Founder: Junyi

It is not especially certain when the Nubbynub Club was formed, but it is generally agreed upon that it was formed this year by a particularly "win" individual known as Junyi. Having a achieved a score of "FUCKWIN" on his DYWAL Tests*, Junyi was particularly driven to create the Nubbynub Club due to his passion to create a large community for people to troll, rather than having to waste time trolling every single nub one at a time. So next time you have the privilege of meeting this eminent man, please shake his hand and thank him for helping the community.

President: Jonny Voo

A failed ninja who still retains some semblance of his ninja prowess (seeing as he managed to get elected as President without even running for the Exco), Jonny is the president of the Nubbynub Club, and even though he has no idea why, still persists in his duty even though he is not sure what it entails. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Jonny was elected to the position of President: he still works hard at his task despite having no idea what his task is! A truly exemplary model of a Nubbynub.

Vice-President: DNeo

To be honest, it was a close run between DNeo and Jonny for the role of President - it was only because DNeo failed to turn up on the election date that Jonny was eventually elected President. This, of course, has generated much controversy within the ranks of the club, as some say that the fact that DNeo didn't turn up for the election should have automatically granted him the Presidency, but the protests didn't last long (since no one was protesting), and DNeo was unanimously elected as Vice President. As with all Vice-Presidents, DNeo's total contribution to the club has been zero.

Honourary Member: Winnie

Winnie was officially inducted into the club not very long ago. It is uncertain as to what exactly separates an Honourary Member from a normal Member, but I have a feeling that Members actually know that the club exists. Since Winnie was drafted in without his consent, it is unlikely that he knows of his prestigious position in our club, but we are sure that he will be delighted to know that all three members of the club respect him.

Secretary: Yanting

Yanting was the first member of the club that was recruited into the club who was not present at the founders meeting. Specially requested by the President of the club to join, she is the only girl in the club (although that fact would be disputed by founder Junyi) and has served diligently as the secretary for the past 2 days. She is also to be honoured for coming up with a short, succinct vision for the club: Blur. 

ROLES TO BE FILLED

Treasurer: This role is one that requires a lot of resposibility and good accounting (ie, you need a calculator). However, as the Nubbynub Club is one of the few clubs that do not collect money from its members, the Treasurer's only task is to handle the accounts whenever the Club is sued by random companies for illegally downloading music, anime, movies, and other stuff.

Welfare: The role of Welfare is to be able to create a comfortable, safe and inviting environment for the nubs to lounge around in. In other words, the role of Welfare is to live in a nice house, located in a nice place so that others can come and crash whenever they want to. They should preferably also have access to canned drinks and cookies.

Teacher-In-Charge: A very important position in the hierarchy, as without a teacher-in-charge, the Club will not be able to hold activities in the school. This will not only prevent us from holding camps in school, but there will be no serious repercussions if we are caught breaking the rules, which is a truly unacceptable position - you are not a nub if you can avoid breaking the rules. Preferably, the teacher should not know the club exists.

Members: There are not entry requirements for the Nubbynub Club. In fact, it is more likely that you wil be entered into the Nubbynub Club if you have no achievements, as that already boosts your Nubbynub status sky high. However, to see if you are ready to join the Nubbynub Club, my suggestion would be to take the DYWAL Test to see how much you win/fail at life. After getting some advice for our founder, Mr Junyi, your application will be considered. On the other hand, if you are personally invited by our President, please do not hesitate to join.

So, if you seek to join the Nubbynub Club, please drop me an email at ongzph@gmail.com, and we will be glad to process your information, and will get back to you as soon as possible! If you have problems contacting us, remember our motto: If you can't mail it, fail it. 

Thank you!

*For more information on the DYWAL (Do you win at Life?) Tests, please contact the test administrator, Mr Junyi, and he will arrange a interview for you.

High School Never Ends

4 Years you think for sure
That's all you've got to endure
All the total dicks
All the Stuck-up Chicks
So superficial, so immature

Then When you graduate,
Ya take a look around and you say "Hey Wait!"
This is the same as where I just came from,
I thought it was over, Aw that's just great.

The Whole Damn World is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who's havin' sex
Who‘s got the money. Who gets the honeys
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess

And you still don't have the right look
And you don't have the right friends
Nothing changes but the faces, the names, and the trends

High School Never Ends

Check out the popular kids
You'll never guess what Jessica did!
And how did Mary Kate lose all that weight?
And Katie had a baby so I guess Tom's straight!

And the only thing that matters,
Is climbing up that social ladder
Still care about your hair and the car you drive
Doesn't matter if you're 16 or 35

Reese Witherspoon, she's the Prom Queen
Bill Gates, Captain of the chess team
Jack Black, the clown
Brad Pitt, the quarterback

Seen it all before
I want my money back!

The Whole damn World is just as obsessed
With who's the best dressed and who's havin' sex
Who's in the club and who's on the drugs
And who's throwin up before they digest

And you still don't have the right look
And you don't have the right friends
And you still listen to the same shit you did back then

High School Never Ends
High School Never Ends

The Whole Damn World is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who's havin sex
Who‘s got the money. Who gets the hunnys
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess

And I still don't have the right look
And I still have the same 3 friends
And I'm pretty much the same as I was back then

High School Never Ends
High School Never Ends
High School Never Ends
Here We Go Again

This pretty sums up my opinion of Hollywood. That said, school is awesome, no matter what anyone else says!

Lessons in Life

I was once told by a very wise man that there are a lot of lessons to be learnt in life - there isn't a day that goes by without learning something or other. And so here are some of the lessons I've learnt today.

1. I've learnt that Geography is utterly boring
2. I've learnt that I am going to fail my Math's test
3. I've learnt that I'm not going to able to finish funding a project I've been working on for the past 3 months,
4. I've learnt that my LangArts is going to be the death of me
5. I've learnt that my Geography IA is going to bite the dust. Same for EE.

Such is life. There is a lot of crap right now in IB, and I doubt that I'm the only one with this sentiment.

Nevertheless, another wise friend told me that as you wander or struggle through life, you must remember always too look at the beautiful scenery around you. So here is what I've learnt by just sitting down and thinking.

1. I've learnt that I have some of the best friends in the world.
2. I've learnt that there are people willing to spend time to look in random stores for a poster of an age-old game that I love.
3. I've learnt that there are beautiful flowers around the HDB Hub area
4. I've learnt that when some people insult you, they don't really mean it
5. I've learnt that friends, once made, are friends forever

And perhaps the most valuable thing that I learnt today was that if you wear a pair of old, worn out iPOD earphones, complete with cheap wiring and a faulty mp3 player, and you lean your ears against the metal poles near the doors of every MRT train, the sound of the MRT going over the tracks complements the beat of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni beautifully.

Such is Life. It is good.

Thanks for the Happy Birthday!

Oh my...I've never had so much cake in my life! Really guys, thanks so very much for all the presents and cake and celebrations...Haha, this is probably the most awesome birthday I've ever had in my life!

Here's thanks to all the people who gave me cake - Pam, Kwong, Celestyn, Cheryl, Edward, Herrick, Jarrel, Junyi, Dneo, Ping, Sera and Yam, and my entire class (sorry, can't name all of you =p...but thanks to Jia Long for the actual cake!)

Really...once again, thanks for making this a really awesome birthday that I'll remember from many years to come!

Dream Machine

Fret not! This isn't one of those long, long, LONG posts about my story ideas. Nope, this post is about creating them, and how I manage to think up my own ideas easily. Of course, this doesn't mean that the ideas are good, and there has been many a time when I've thrown away ideas 'cos they were pretty crappy. But heck, at least making them quickly is fun and relatively painless. =)

Let's see here...it's actually pretty hard to explain how I can create these ideas, just as it's hard for Jarrel to explain to us how he can do those stupid integration problems by intuition. Nevertheless, I shall try my best to figure out how I do it!

1. Dreams

Well, this is something that everyone can do, because it's pretty easy. I mean, everyone has dreams, right? (Shaddup Dneo, I know you don't sleep) Well, make use of them! Here are several kinds of dreams that you can get:

a. Crazy Dreams - dreams that make no sense, no matter how you look at it. In actual fact, all dreams come under this category, but for classification's sake, these are the crazier dreams. Crazy Dream Alpha, that kinda thing.

Example: The one with the aliens turning into flowers when you pour water on their toes. That dream also included a Wookiee, Manta Rays and Skyscrapers with manholes in them.

b. Chasing Dreams - dreams that often involving someone (or something) chasing someone else (generally yourself), around and around. These dreams often involve some crazily imbalanced beast of destruction and cement on the floor wherever you're standing. Of course, these conditions might change occasionally. Personally, whenever I'm chased, it feels like I'm running in water.

Example: The one where I was being chased by 23 Octupii with throwing knives.

c. Epic Dreams - dreams that are so damned epic, they make for ridiculously epic stories. And when I say ridiculously epic, I mean RIDICULOUSLY EPIC. These dreams are often so epic, mind-boggling, and reason-kicking-to-the-curbing, that they make for good short stories, but are bad for long ones.

Example: The one where I was a fighting game character and...well, you'll have to come to me for details, it's too epic to explain here.

d. Action Dreams - dreams that involve a scene that is incredibly realistic, and not too over the top. These dreams are rare, but when they do come across, they're pretty valuable, and the great thing is that they don't even need to be a series of events, just a scene will do sometimes! Having a series of events is okay, of course, but having a longing viewing time also increases the chances of something becoming damn screwed up.

Example: The one where there were giant starships hovering about the Egyptian Pyramids and strange constructions/zombies running all over the place. Okay, so it's not very realistic, but still, it's more realistic than some of the other dreams I've had (see above) and well...sounds like it'll be fun!

So, yup, dreams are a pretty good way of helping you come up with random ideas like stories or scenes. And it's also very entertaining to remember your dreams and all the people in them. Just this morning, I had a really wacky dream involving several strange personages, including some random guy called Julian, a powerboat chase, worm farms and chainsaws.

And...okay, I realise I have to stop writing for now, or else this post will get too long! Tune in another time for information on the source of my randomness! =P