Arise...My Precious

Day 15...and it goes on..and on...and on...and on....

2007-11-26T17:01:00.000+08:00

No..i'm not dead..yet..but if this carries on..i will be..

its the 15th straight day at work without a single day off...i've been practiacally working from 9am till midnight almost every day...

its been so long since i've worked a full festival like this..and the news is that the festival is only half way thru...i wonder how much longer i can survive on minimal sleep and maximum caffine..

they say that coffee and cigarettes keeps a techie alive...the temptation is always there to pick up that stick and light up once more..but so far i've been clean..

2007-10-26T09:19:00.000+08:00

Life's been busy..and work isn't exactly helping..but here's some pics for now...
its just stuff that i've been doing at work..

see my very powerful and very illegal 30mW green laser pointer...u can see the beam if u look carefully

rows n rows of lights..which took about 1 day to sort, clean and hung on racks

more of the same...all u gotta do is to drop in some gels..put them on a chase and u'll get huge-ass fairy lights

stuff i've been doing in my free time at work..firing up the hazer and creating lightshows..
thats a combination of 6 x VL 2500 spots with a night sky gobo n a green gel

can't really see this one but its still 6 x VL 2500 spots but with a cyan gel and a diff gobo

For Jesslyn

2007-10-25T14:53:00.000+08:00

Jess..
attached a pic on how the cables should be coiled..make sure its all coiled seperately and use a cable twist to hold the loops together..

Let me know if u need more help..i work with cables on a daily basis..hehe

I wanna watch the game...

2007-09-23T23:24:00.000+08:00

arghh...sopcast is a bitch...

i so wanna watch the game between the all blacks and scotland..but there doesn't seem to be any server streaming the game...and i'm too freaking broke to watch it at a pub..arghhhh

2007-09-20T09:28:00.000+08:00

its been awhile..work has been hectic the past few days..

the canberra musical went pretty smooth and well..everyone was happy and they said they'll be back next year..i certainly hope so too..the kids were just delightful to work with..

monday and tuesday was the Avolites Pearl 2008 Course..and i'm now a certified Pearl 2008 Programmer..wheeee...Avolites Diamond 4 Elite programmer course is up next..

as promised..here are the pics from the Canberra Primary musical..just take a look at the set..apparently..they spent $15K on it..

Construction of the set

Blocking plus LX Plot

Light sticks during the show..this is the view from the top..

And my weapon of choice - Robert Juliat Cyrano 2500 watt HMI followspot..this beast is blindingly powerful..packs a mean punch..heavy as hell..and generates enough heat to make u sweat just by standing next to it..

Hell Week..Canberra Primary School...

2007-09-10T14:07:00.000+08:00

Start of a new week...start of hell week..

this week we have canberra primary school...doing their musical..and surprisingly..they could afford Najip Ali as their director..great news for them..bad news for the crew..najip is known to be extremely demanding..which just means we'll be working out butts off..

their set is just HUGE..infact..its beyond HUGE..i've haven't seen a local production with such a large set in a long long time..will try to get some pics..

meanwhile..the world cup hasn't provided any real surprises..almost all the matches were textbook results..altho i have to say that england's performance is crap..despite their win over USA..and i was surprised the south africa rolled over samoa with relative ease..

Rugby World Cup kicks off...

2007-09-08T14:11:00.001+08:00

woke up at 3am to catch the opening game between France n Argentina..

boy was i disappointed...my beloved french team weren't playing like they should..i've never seen them so disorganised...forwards all over the place..backline standing extremely flat..leaving gaps for the argentinians to run through..it was just sad...and its no wonder that they lost 17-12

the all blacks play italy tonight at 7.30..hopefully we'll see better quality rugby..

on another note..i've once again been left out of the squad for today's game against Bedok Kings..looks like the season is pretty much over for me at this point..to think of it..if the boys lose today's game..its the end of the season for all of us..

oh well..there's always post season friendlies to look forward to...and maybe a tour later in the year..

Stuff for the techies

2007-09-07T12:40:00.000+08:00

recieved this in the mail today..its smth that i can deffinately relate to..and i'm sure alot of other techies will too

The Plan
In the beginning there was the Plan
And then came the Assumptions
And the Assumptions were without form
And the Plan was without substance
And darkness was upon the face of the TECHIES.
And they spoke amongst themselves saying, 'It is a crock of crap and it stinketh.'
And the TECHIES went to the Stage Manager and said, 'It is a pile of dung, and none may abide by the odor thereof.'
And the Stage Manager went unto the Production Manager saying, 'It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it.'
And the Production Manager spoke amongst the Directors saying, 'It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.'
And the Directors went unto the Producers saying one to the other, 'It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong.'
And the Producers then went to the Backers saying unto them, 'It promotes growth and is very powerful.'
And the Backers sent forth the publicity saying unto the Public, 'This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the production, with powerful effects to be felt all the way to the audience!!!'
And the Public looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.
And the Plan became Policy.
And the TECHIES looked upon the Policy and saw that it was nothing but the same old shit with a new name.
And thus, shit happens.

Words To The Techies
Remember always that thou art a techie, born to walk the dark places of the stage, and know the secret ways of thy equipment.
To your hands it is given to mold the dreams and thoughts of they that watch, and to make the Stage a separate place and time.
Seek not, as do the actors, to go forth in light upon the stage, for though they strut and talk and put on airs, their craft does truly depend on you, to shape the dreams that they would show.

Remember also that although they depend on you, you exist only to aid them.
Remember that thou art a team, for thou shalt party together.
My friends be not deceived by deluded actors masquerading as techies.
Remember always the signs by which thou shalt recognize a true techie: they move softly during scene changes, not stumbling or falling; they are silent backstage and are aware of what is happening; they can speak with knowledge of Tools; they respect another's job and aid where they can; they do not just stand and watch.

Back again...

2007-09-06T09:27:00.000+08:00

2 years on...i'm back again to reclaim this blog...i don't know for how long more i'll be blogging..the writing bug keeps coming and going..its not something that i can really control..

in the past 2 years..i've completed my service to the nation...gave up a lucrative freelance career for a full time job (still in the same industry)..put my education on hold..

giving up my freelance career was probably one of the hardest decisions i had to make...i had to make a choice in earning more money..or having a stable monthly income...i guess the stability that a full time job offers won at the end of the day...

i've been here for almost 6 months..and the thing that i really miss..is doing professional theatre...i'm sick of doing community stuff..working with people who want everything yet don't know what they want..its tough as well..trying to teach them about proper stage/theatre ettiquete..some people think that just cos they attended a 3 day course in basic stage lighting..they automatically become "lighting experts" capable of ordering a technician around to do things that the technician knows will not work..

i miss my days at the esplanade..and i would give anything to go back..if only the internal politics weren't so bad...

Nostalgia

2005-09-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

Growing up, I was never really the popular kid..i never got along well with most of my classmates, or with my cousins for that matter...i was a loner..

then..i discovered the internet..and my life did take a change after that..till today..i don't know if that change was for good or for worse...but one thing i know is that it shaped me into what i am today..

i never had much friends..so i turned to the internet for comfort..for companionship..and i spent most of my days in chat rooms crapping with people i hardly knew...people so far away...people that i doubt would talk to me if it was on the streets...i talked..joked..flirted..and..they responded..i can't quite describe the feeling...but it was something that i never felt before...the ability to have a good time with friends..even tho it was virtual...as time went on..i became more and more dependent on the net for friendship...all i could think of in school everyday was to just hurry home..turn on the computer..get online..and just fade into my own world..into a world where i was popular..where i was accepted..

and this lasted for a good few years..and i guess we all found something better to do with our time...and we just drifted apart...people started comming online lesser..and in a way..i guess we all kinda matured...

till today..i still maintain contact with a few of those original posse but i've got no idea where the rest of them are..or if they are doing well...and honestly...i secretly wish that i could re-live those days again...those carefree days where anything and everything goes...

its been almost 8 years now...while i'm still in contact with a few of them..convos have changed drastically...it rarely gets beyond the "hi" stage...its like we no longer got stuff to talk about...stuff to joke and crap about...in the words of my girlfriend "sometimes it seems that they've became too matured"

over the next few days/week..i'll be doing short write-up on these people...people who have deffinately made my life better...i can't quite recall everyone..but i certainly can recall those who have made an impact...

Hyperglide(Alex)
Summer(Nicole)
Brenda
_SARAH_
_RACHEL_
BaByStAcE(Kelly)
Aza
Braveheart
ManKind
DNA(Alvin)
triton
redbean
EmperorGhost(Dave)
DLG(Cynthia)
EteL(Elaine)
icecube(Celine)
east(ah dong)
hdbanger(Lawrence)
notsniw(Winston)
Victor
gOOfy(ah boon)
PlayfulGirl(jojo)
baba
Baron
WickedDevil(AJ)
Rhea

and lots more that i can't remember.....

End of the world..

2005-09-07T11:59:00.000+08:00

Hello World,

Earthquake & Tsunami in Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India...

Hurricane in US...

Typhoon in Japan...

Floods in China...

Plane Crashes after Plane Crashes...

Fuel prices soaring...

Don't you agree that we are destroying ourselves with our pollution ? With our deforestation ? With our massive industrialization ? With our greed for all things new ?

Its no wonder that the demise of our lovely planet seems so very possible.....

Back...

2005-08-11T13:39:00.000+08:00

I'm back..no i didn't disappear..laziness just got the better or me..things are still pretty okay i guess..forgot about the webcast for the national day parade the other day and we're waiting for HQ in singapore to send us the video...

things with the gf aren't too smooth at the moment also..i won't elaborate further cos i don't think its fair to her if i spoke about it here...

between the time of the last update and this update..i went on a joint training excersice with the foreign troops based here...think of it as FIBUA meets JCC...but in a bloody desert, here's what happened.

Day one - Mission Brief/Planning

We were told that a foreign VIP was kidnapped and held by militants in a safe house in Country X. a group of 6 of us were to be dropped off a distance away from the main target..and continue the rest of the journey on foot, rescue the VIP and then proceed for extraction to a safe location.

sounds simply ?? yeah..i thought as well...

The group basically consisted of...1 navigator..4 special ops guys..and myself..

Day 2 - Mission Commence

We were dropped off about 50KM from the main target..spent the day navigating through the desert to get to the location.

Day 3 - Observation

We spent the day observing the target, checking out all the possible entry points and waited for nightfall.

at around 2am..we stormed the building broke into firefight..lost the navigator and a SOF guy and got the VIP out..and proceeded to the extraction point..upon reaching..we phoned in to CP to request extraction. we got a reply that the heli was shot down en route and we were to trek to another EP which would be abt a 3-4 day hike...

imagine our surprise..we lost our navigation expert...and we only had enough rations for one more day...great..

we had a secondary objective as well..to avoid capture at all cost..nicely done..

Day 4-5-6

we were literally starting to go in circles in the desert..landmarks were often missed..heat exhaustion was becomming a real threat..we had to really ration our water and food..with most of it going to the VIP..after all the work..we managed to reach checkpoint tango..the final point..mission completed..

this exercise really opened my eyes..made me see and learn alot of new things..turning pee into drinkable water was one of them (don't ask)...and i really take my hats off to the foreign military guys..these guys are tough..really tough..and for those OCTs who complain that JCC was tough..after going through this..trust me..JCC is peanuts..

Yet another SAF screwup

2005-07-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

Overworked..Overstressed..Underpaid...the life of an NSF has been easily summed up with these 3 words...so what if i'm an officer ?? i still get screwed around by the majors..and the LTCs..

apparently...there's been some sort of shit happening in SG..and cos of that..CDF has decided to halt all ops...yes..ALL ops..so great...i wake at 5+ in the morning...drive all the way to work..and then there' no OPs for today..and just as i thought i could relax for the day...nooooo...someone obviously has other plans..i found a whole stack of shit on my desk...and guess what..i'll be spending the entire day doing admin again...while those big-assed senior officers go drink coffee at the mess...fuck them...

The Phantom Awakes

2005-07-13T11:09:00.000+08:00

Its been so long...so very long...photoshop never felt so foreign, neither did Dreamweaver...but after struggling for 2 days, i managed to get this layout up...never did i imagine i would return after i left the blogging community in aug 2004...but things change, nothing remains the same forever and with that..i'm back...

although i had previously left..i still continued reading...and one day..i came across a familiar blog...a friend who had also..for awhile..disappeared from the blogging world...and felt the itch..the itch to write..the itch to start all over once again..

however..this time..things will be different..i have decided to keep my identity a secret for now..i might reveal it some day...or maybe someone will be sharp enough to recognise my typing style..or maybe..maybe..just lets make this into a game...

the image/pic on the left..is an edited photo of myself...i'm 20..male..singaporean...and i'm one of the few lucky people that have been given the chance to serve my NS in an overseas base...i won't say which base i am in..cos that would be all too obvious...but as a clue..SAF has a total of about 10 overseas detachments in brunei..australia..USA..france..taiwan..and sweden..so happy guessing.. =)

as time passes..i'll probably give away more and more about my private life..and i guess..ultimately..someone should figure out who i am..till then..

The Phantom has awaken..