A Decade of Life

It's been a decade of life.

For those who were born in the Eighties.
We grew up in the Nineties. Our childhood years.
From 2000 - 2009, our younger years. The era which will be known as 'Our Time'.
The period which will be told as "when we were young" to our children.

"Those were the days..."

Millenium bug, 9/11, tsunami, natural disasters, iPod, internet, mobile phones, war on terror, global warming, terrorism, global epidemic, financial crisis...

I went to highschool from the beginning of this century, graduated in '06. It was sure a time to be remembered. It had it's ups & downs, like life has.
Do you remember your teenage years? 12, 13 years old kid. So young and pure. When I look at kids these days they look so different huh? Then again, I'm still just 21, not like I'm already an old grandpa looking back at things. But still, it's good to watch back once and a while.

Soon turning 22, I guess getting older, for once, does feel okay. It really feels like an end of an Era. We've come from a long way, we've gotten this far... Been trough alot or so it seems. Then again, nothing really happened...It's all within you minds.

A Decade of our Generation.
See the world at 13.
Mindless at 15.
Our Heydays at 17.
And who are we at 19?
You acknowledge life at 21, cause you can't go back.

"All is well with the world" / "It was the best of time, it was the worst of time" *

If you had the chance to go back, would you?
I would not...I'm glad for everything life had offered.

"Downwards looking at the reflections of the skies" (As said somewhere in the middle of the decade/2005)

Tomorrow last post of 2009! Part 2 continues...'An End of An Era'
(Preview of what's about to come: Into the new world of 2010)

*('All is well with the world' as inspired by "Neon Genesis Evangelion" / 'It was the best of time, it was the worst of time' as used as the tagline for the HK film "Infernal Affairs II")

A Gain Generation

"It's not who we are that matters,
It's what we do that defines us."
-from Christopher Nolans' Batman Begins-

"When you get what you want, but not what you need"
-from 'Fix you' by Coldplay-

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Sometimes you get a second chance. Sometimes you even get a third chance.
I'm a lucky person. I've been giving four, five, six, seven chances.
Each time I tell myself, this is the last chance.
But still, I waste it anyways.
Recently I've been giving another chance again.

Should I thank God or Life for this? I guess I should huh?
Cherish everything you have.

Don't focus too much on the result, but live the process of life.
(As much as a cliche it is...still got to be said: Whole life is a chiche not?)

But yeah, Life's been good to me =) It definately is.

-------------------
How's everyone been doing? Going to school, making homework/projects, exams, working, training, doing sports, making music, going out, attending events, cinema's, shopping, having fun? It's getting chilly again, be sure to pack up warm! This new influenza H1N1 is supposedly spreading out to alot of people. So get your scarves, hats & gloves out and keep it warm. =) And don't you think the Winter fasion is much more fashionable than Summers'? You get to wear jackets & coats! Hoodies, long sleeves & cardigans! (haven't seen anyone with a cardigan yet though).
Speaking of clothes, found out the colorrange of my clothes is consisted of all variations of blue, grey & white. I also got some brown & dark green. But mostly it's blue/grey/black. Some say that's boring, but bright red or yellow just doesn't suit me. =P

You know fashion...Fashion is about wearing something you like and be creative about that. Create your own style. Take different things and make it your own. Most people misunderstood fashion by "following it". Blindly following everything what's supposed to be "hot or cool" is like the complete opposite of what fashion is about. Not saying you shouldn't wear certain style, but more so, wear it because you like it. And it should suit you. Something that expresses "YOU". What you stand for. Something that adds to your personality.
(okay someone hire me as an editor for a fashion magazine =P)

Been talking with a friend about the weather (yeah this is Holland! most common standard topic in this country). Appearantly the skies got some suprises for us next week. According to that one site, from next week on the temperature is going down and snow is expected! I want inches of thick pack of snow!

Last month before we go in to the first year of double digits in this new millenium.
Let's make the December of 2009 a pleasant one!

Peace!
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Music: John Mayer - Room For Squares & Heavier Things (Bought his 3CD Box) It's definately some nice music for the winter days!

Guitar Outing Ep.2 [23.10.09]

[Guitar Outing Ep.2 is a pun/in-side joke of the name of the Korean variety show 'Family Outing' ;) ][If you don't get it...then nevermind, it's inside-joke]

What happened previously in episode 1 of Guitar Outing? (Months ago)
The first ever outing includes Kin and KS with no guests.
The location for the first ever guitar outing was Dijkman!

~To do list: Buy Plectrums & a Tambourine!~
The tambourine can be seen in this post! And was bought at a Percussion Shop (don't know the name of it)

Along the way we discovered this funny little cute mouse right on the pavement on the street, next to AH @ Dam. Everyone was taking pictures at it. It was pretty odd seeing this. A mouse right in the middle of the streets, not running away or anything, just chewing on his piece of food.

Guitar Outing Ep.2 [23.10.09]
Members: Kin & KS

Guests: No guests...yet.
Location: Dirk Witte
To Do List: Boss OD3 (OverDrive Pedal)
(and PES2010 for KS)

Each episode is always full of fun, with special encounters. The 1st episodes we got the Mouse, this time we encountered a street musician.

He was playing on his acoustic amplified. (The amp is just on the left, outside of the photo). He played some covers including Jason Mraz's, always covered popular song, "I'm Yours". He also performed Snow Patrols' "Chasing Cars". And his last song before he took a break was one of my favourite songs of this moment: "Fix You" by Coldplay.

Apparently he was doing this for promotional purposes, you could buy his CD and he can be booked for parties and events.

So I took a namecard of him, and it seems he is not just a random someone. Meaning, he is already featured on some radioshows and stuff.

Anyway he will now be featured on my blog, which means after my recommendation his fame will skyrocket up 10 times, since we all know my blog reaches out to thousands of netizens......Not. "-__-.

But his name is Rupert Blackman. So just so you knows.

You know I admire him for perfoming on the streets. It's really a oldskool and good way to spread out music! It's not something you still see alot these days. So kudos for that.

After the street music gig, it was time for some food. We went to this famous! Fries/Chips/Potato ->PATAT place! Having lived in Amsterdam for whole my life I never knew about this place. I knew Manneke Pis at Damrak, but didn't knew about this one.

A long line with people queing up shows that this place must have something special to offer!

After we got our fries we found ourselves a good spot in the alley to stand and eat. Cause the whole alley/street was crowded with fries-eating-people. It really was a odd-looking sight.

It was another nice episode on Guitar Outing. See you next time on the next episode, maybe together with some guests!

---
Goodies bought on this outing!

BOSS OD-3

OverDrive Effect Pedal.

Ibanez AC Adapter AC109

Extra guitar wire, since mine was broken.

And...

FAIRTRADE 4-taste Tea!!
Bought at FairTrade Shop.

Should I write a review about the BOSS OD3 Pedal? Well I think I would if I could. But I can't. Not pro enough. But to share my noobish thoughts: It's way better than the build-in effect of my amp...duuh "-___-. I still need to figure out the best settings to get which sound and so on.

That was it for today, see ya next time!!
~ShiftySeven~

1 point for trying

~1 point for trying~
Gave up trying
So I'll just let it be
But no, they won't let you
So I'll try again
Try again
I'll get 1 point for trying
But...
Give up your dreams
They're called 'dreams' for a reason
Dreams don't come true, now do they?
And...
Maybe this wasn't meant to be in the first place
I'll go back to 'normal'
I'll go back to normal...
The alternative is an option
The current...is a question

Disciplined

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[Music] [Jpn// HY - Confidence Album (recommended by K) / ZARD - Request Best 'Beautiful Memory' Best of Album (recommended by Uko) / Asian Kung Fu Generation - first 3 albums ] [Eng// The Kooks - Konk / KT Tunstall - Eyes to the Telescope / ] [Krn// Also listening to some Korean stuff lately =P But I'm not gonna name it =P]

[Series][Krn Drama: You Are My Destiny]

[Films][Jpn - Shonen Merikensack (ft. Aoi Miyazaki)] [Eng - UP (Pixars 10th animation film)]

[Books] Paul Arden -"Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite"& "It's Not How Good You Are. It's How Good You Want To Be"

These are the media stuff I've been listening/watching/reading lately/at the moment.
If it looks like I'm a busy man, no I'm not. I'm the most lazy kid ever I think. I might write about some of the stuff above later on.

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Signs: I've been noticing that there might be people reading this!! Thanks for dropping by! I really appreciate it ;) Guess through the Japan Blog, striveagain.blogspot has gain some publicity. But whatever, my humble life is not that much interesting anyways, but I really want to write things that matters to people. You see, it's not about me really, it's about you. I think by reading blogs you will gain something for yourself. Whatever that is, you decide for yourself. But blogging and blogreading is definately more than just writing a 'personal diary'. Everything is connected in way. Readers are not just merely bystanders who just read and do nothing, they'll react and think for themselves, how things affect them in their personal life.

Apologies for the vagueness, although i've said this many times on my blog, if you don't get it than nevermind it. I've added some communication theories in it (Yay, I've been studying lately! I'm studying communications if you didn't already know.)

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Let's start this off with a memorable photo from my summer trip to Japan!

This was roughly 1.5 months ago @ TOKYO Narita Airport. My lunch before departing back to Holland. HMT wasn't here cause he already ate something. When I orderd this, I thought I would get some potatoes, turns out, it was just chips."-__-

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~New Start 2009/2010~

I've switched school since the start of this schoolyear. After 3 years of VU [Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam] I've decided it was time for something New & Refreshing! 3 Years VU, 2 studies, nothing achieved! So yeah, yell at me or look down on me, whatever.

My new school is the UvA [Universiteit van Amsterdam]! It's closer, saves me alot of travel-time. But that doesn't stop me from being late at school "-__-.

Been into it for a month now, ofcourse you got the usuall colleges and classes. New year, new school also mean new classmates. But I'm not excited, cause it's the same every year. The compilation of people are fairly the same each year. Nothing special. =P

~Disciplined Me?~

One day at school, in a conversation about making homework, my classmate said this:" Well he (meaning me) is Chinese, and you know Chinese are always disciplined." I literally laughed out. Chinese are disciplined? Well not me! This chinese here is far from disciplined (when it comes to waking up in the morning =P)

So are Chinese disciplined? I guess each ethinicity do have some unique traits. Like they say Dutch people are greedy, Surinamese are lazy, Germans are 'punktlich', Americans arrogant, Italians romantic etc. Some might be true in general, but let's talk about the Chinese case.

~Made in China~

Chinese are disciplined? Well I think, Chinese CAN be disciplined. As you can see in this whole economic growth they're going trough, China is slowly getting in the right direction to become one of the big economic blocks in the world. Also another recent example, the Olympics 2008, look at how 'well' they organized it.

This very own 'well organized' Olympic also brings along the other side of China. The bad political organisation. All those people that got their houses brought down, in order to build new olympic facilities. Some got new houses or a amount of money, but still, from what've understand it didn't went that smooth. I'm not against China or anything, but in this same period you also had the 'Baby-milk-powder' -incident. But China didn't reported that cause they didn't wanted to cause bad publicity for China during the olympic games. How wrong is that?

The Baby-milk-powder...it's not an incident. Those Chinese people did that to save money. Thinking it won't harm the babies...How is that disciplined? Same with the case of toxic chemicals in Chinese toys, that occured some time ago. How is that disciplined?

As a summer part-time job, I've work in a 1Euro shop that sells only Chinese stuff some years ago. Most of the stuff you could buy there were quite of good quality for 1 Euro. I don't deny that. But I've seen some stuff...I was really speechless. I'm not gonna write more, since I don't think I'm allowed to say these stuff as a former-employer. But you get the point.

~If people were disciplined, the following stuff won't happen~

Previous week, my adapter, electric plug or whatever you call that thing of my modem was broken. So I called up my internet/tv/radio/telephone provider (which name starts with a U and ends with a C and is 3-letters). To ask them to solve this problem. They promised to send me a new one.

After 2 days it arrived...
Within 5 minutes it was already broken!!!
Reason: Bad design (made in China) The heavy block of like 1 kilo is too heavy for the small plastic plug to hang on. Now I know I won't be able to put in against the wall cause of the weight, so I plugged it in a multi plug case, when I wanted to plug it out...this happened!! (look photo beneath)

They sended me a new one again.
When it arrived, the surrounding case of the block was simply letting loose! It wasn't even hold together, I used a elastic to kept together.

!! 2 times of manufacturing failure !! 1. How can they make these bad products? 2. How can U*C even give these to the customers??!!

~While I'm at it...more bashing!~

Most of the days I'm alone at home, so making my diner is a everyday-hassle. It's not like I can't do it, more like, I don't wanna do it. Too lazy. So once in a while I order food.

You got good food places, you got bad food places...
Watch below...

Ordered at this Chicken food place, it came 2 hours!!! after I ordered it! I have no idea what they were doing. From my house to that place is like 5 min with the car. On top of that they messed up my order! I asked for the normal menu, they gave me the large menu?! This aint the first time, they messed up my order, the previous time too! And look at the hotwings, they are more like Blackwings!!

jeesh, I'm never gonna order here again.


Another day, another food order, another place. This time I went there to pick it up (there are quite some foodplaces around in my neighbourhood, alot!)

Got the Tagliatelly Carbonara...
Taste is okay.
Price: 7 Euro...
I know it's the way it is, but for the same price I can make this same diner for 4 people!
I think I'm gonna save some money, and spend some more time playing chef-cook at home.
Okay last thing, they gave me some bread along with the pasta. But what are these? Only the outer crispy edges of the bread? What about the whole bread? Is this supposed to be like this?

Such a multi-topic post. Communications-theories, School, sociology, politics, economics, culinair talk, bashing.

Well I hope you are satisfied, and if not, the next post I'm gonna show you my room and my clothes and gear!

Anyhow, I love writing for myself (Just it takes so damn long..."-___- I've been writing for quite some time now...)

An nyoung!

Reunion

"It should have been a day full of nostalgic memories..."

Once upon a time there was a class.
A class that 'graduated' in 1999/2000 from primary school.

10 years later...

One student decided it was time for a reunion.

So she tried all her best to contact all the old-classmates from the class.
This wasn't an easy task, since a lot of them had now moved to another place.
But luckily the year is 2009: The 21st century has brought a lot of convenient technology to mankind: Like Hyves, E-mail, Mobile Phones etc.

In the end she did kind of managed to contact all of them.
The initial reunion date was supposed to be in may 2009. But that didn't turned out well.
So it has been postponed to 18 September 2009.

---

Well so today was the day. I was already excited to be able to see all of my old-classmates again. Chatting about the good old days. The fun days we had, playing football outside. The PE-classes, all the teachers, the camp-excursion to Texel, the lessons we had etc etc, hearing all the stories of what everyone is doing now...but...reality turns out to be a lit-tle different...

Let me start by saying that it was already a bit of a difficult task to gather everyone at the same time on the same day in 1 spot. So I really was wondering whether everyone would really show up.

Eventually, 8 people in total showed up including me & WL.
I just knew this was gonna happen..."-____-

Some were busy, some had school, some had work to do, and other had some other obligations.
It was a rather odd time though, 16.00 on a friday is a bit early for most people.
But it had to be done this early, hence the school (our old school) won't be open in the evening.

We still had a good time though, even we this few people. Seeing my old school sure brings back memories~~~
Everything seems so small right now, our changing room in the gym seemed so big back then, now it's just a small room =P

You can't help but to realize that you've grown, and that really 10 years has passed since you last walked out that door. A place with all those memories of childhood. Those really were some days. No worries, no obligations, no problems, no complicated thoughts.
You were young, free and careless.

10 years seems very long, and it is. But it felt like yesterday when we were still sitting in our classroom listening to our teacher talks.

Time really flies by.
If you think about it...

But let's not think too much about it. It's here and now we're living in. Although it is a good thing to look back once in a while...(eeh sounds like some repeated cliche speech =P )

We need a 2nd reunion! So we decided that in the 2nd reunion we should really gather everyone around!

I hope the 2nd reunion would be soon, cause if it would be around another 10 years later, then I really don't know what would have become of us.
Right now we do have grown up, but we are basically still sort of the same 'kids' like we were back then. Just a larger version =P
In another 10 years later...woow I really can't imagine how that would be...=P

Crossroads

There's always this one point in life where you're ought to make a decision...

I'm sure everyone has been there before. Or actually, quite frankly saying, I think everone will encounter this many many times in his or her life. It's part of our life: Making decisions.
Some are big, some are small. Some have some have tremendous consequences, some are less impactfull. But one way or the another, you'll never know the outcome of it in advance. I think that's maybe the reason why it's so hard to make a decision.

A crossroad of decisions. If you choose to go right, you can't go back to go left. If you go left, you can't go right.
Sometimes you will be able to return, and choose again, but that'll cost your time. Precious time of life. So in a way, you can't go back, since time has already passed.

What to do? You ask yourself. Nobody knows.
I guess what's important is to make a decision you won't regret. Cause that's all you can do.
I don't know whether it's the right or wrong one. I won't know it untill I will know it. Or maybe I'll never know it. Nobody knows. It's life.

Make a decision, and stand behind it. It's all you can do.

Life.

Who knows what will happen next.

We can only guess.

Only Hope will bring us further.

I hope for the best.

Back from Japan

Finally back again.
Back to the normal world.

I do miss Japan, but for now it's okay. 3 weeks of hectic living holidays, it's fine to be back in your old little hometown. Back to a place you've been living for whole your life.
It's a pretty nostalgic feeling, you wouldn't have felt it if you haven't gone away for some time. Now 3 weeks aint so long, but if you go to Japan, it is.
Japan really is a world apart. Like as if we went to a dream-world like those stories in a Hayao Miyazaki film. Everything was 'magical' in a way.

What we've done, seen, eat, met, went to, it's really a expenrience that we will remember for our lifes.

[Current Music: 3 CD's from Japan: 'Tone' , 'Dreams' & 'Cherry Blossoms' . Nice Japanese instruments, feel, sceneric feel]

Aah, back to the normal world. Back to a place where everything is just the way it is. Everyone just act like they act, so standard. Like it's soulless...

You know, The Netherlands is a nice place to live in, it really is. It's just that if you've been to different world like Japan, it does take some time to revert back to a ordinary life in a ordinary world.


After Japan, nothing will be the same...

Let's Start From Here

[Current Music: Joanne Wang, The Kooks, The Killers, ELT, DAI,Stereopony]

1 week left untill I go to Japan!
I will be opening a new blog, still thinking about the name of it.
Currently doing the last preparations.

Bought a new Eastpak! It's my 7th Eastpak Item =P
But It was necessary to buy a new medium sized backpack, since I didn't got a proper one.
I think I will do a Eastpak collection photoshoot later on, and post it.
Ofcourse, this Eastpak Backpack "Getter" is going to Japan with me, I actually bought it for that reason too.

---
On July 2 I went to the grand opening of MediaMarkt Amsterdam Noord and got myself a Sony Headphone.


It got both a normal audiojack plus a stereo plug-in for amps and the like.


I also cleaned up my room. And the process of that would look something like this.

And suddenly I know why my room is so messed up, I keep all these trash...
Why are there so many empty chewing gum packages??
And last week I got myself something I always wanted to play: The Tambourine!!
Been looking for a good one for a time now. And finally got this one. Nice wood color and nice size.
Let the music begins =P


The Tambourine really fits Oasis' "Don't Believe The Truth" Album.
Exspecially "Turn Up The Sun" is a good song to play with the Tambourine, haha.


When I'm in Japan I'll be switching over to my Japanblog, so be sure to check that one out, if anyone is reading this anyways.

=)

Peace!

Time Goes By . Life Goes On

[Current Music: Every Little Thing, Ai Otsuka, Eason Chan H3M Album, Kay Tse 3/8 Album, MJ's Thriller]

[Current Series: Family Outing! (Korean Variety Show, although I've got nothing with Kpop and stuff, it's really funny haha)]

University Year '08/'09 has ended. Next year, new chances, new start.
Time Goes By . Life Goes On

Had a pretty busy weekend, one of the notable things was a BBQ under the rain.
Also went to watch Transformers 2, it was just as I expected...
(Need to get a Pathe Unlimited Pass, cause 9.10 for one film is just too much...)

Tomorrow will be the grand opening of the MediaMarkt in Amsterdam-Noord! Yeah I'm really happy that now the biggest electronic store is within reach of my house. Now I don't have to travel far (Bijlmer Arena) to hunt for electronic gadgets.

Summer time is coming, already feeling the hotness/heat...it's bothersome.
I hope the weather in Japan won't be like in HongKong, Humid & Hot...
Still 1 month to go untill I go to Japan. Guess I'm gonna open a new blog for this trip. StrivingInJapan2009.blogspot or something =P

I noticed I'm not writing everything I experienced on here, hmm....
Oh well...

Anyway, Tomorrow last lesson of Japanese Class 3. I will continue to follow Japanese Class 4 after the summer. Don't know of we would be still with this amount of people, a lot of people of our original class had already left since we started in September with Japanese Class 1.

Also, this Sunday will be the last time for bandpratice before we go on a hiatus =P Or...actually most of us are going on Holidays, so we have this break. After the summer we'll try to make some progress as in finishing/making some songs.

Need to clean up my room!!

Random post =P

Adieu!!

I'm Bad

This is a Tribute to The King Of Pop
Michael Jackson

May you Rest in Peace.
Your music will always be remembered.
Your music changed the Pop music.


---

Heard about the news when I was on MSN.
Shocked kind off, but at least he's resting now.
First song of him I remembered as a kids was "Bad"
"I'm Bad, I'm Bad..."

---

Still waiting for my CD's too arrive.
All over the world, everyone tried to buy or rebuy his albums again.
Sony needed to repress it.

---

It really is some story.
Legendary King Of Pop.
But also a tragic lifestory.

That's Life.

Again

YUI - again CD's have arrived!! after 2.5 weeks after shipping. And after I'd pre-ordered it 2 months ago.
It's kinda coincidental that this blog is called Strive Again too =P
Anyway will be updated daily from now on, even though I've said that like a thousand times.

---

I stopped blogging on Hyves, since noone was reading it anyway, or not a lot that is. So instead I will continue my boring writings on here. About me and my interests. Who would wants to read it? Well I want to. It's for myself, and the main reason is, got to improve my writings. Grammar, vocabulary and all that. I'm serious, if you want to improve your english (or dutch, I will write in dutch occasionaly), blogging or writing a lot is a good way to practice it.

By the way I opened a facebook account hahaha. It's really good for putting up photos. It will come in handy when I want to upload all those photos I'm gonna make when I'm in Japan this summer!!
Speaking of which, I will try to keep a blog (on here or some new url) while I'm in Japan. So if you're interested, be sure to bookmark the site. I will try to write and post photos everyday.

---

Life>>> It's going pretty good, but let's not talk about school, next year will be a new year again...a new start again for Uni...sigh.
Guitar>>> Got to learn Daybreak's Bell bass+guitar "-__-. With no time left...till sunday
But in general, got a lot of time now, guess I better use it well and go pratice guitar. YUI songs, Oasis Songs, Beyond songs, yeah.

---

Ever heard about C7? It's a song yeah, and also a guitar chord, but I made up my own 7 C's =P

My C7 Philosophy
C1.Condition
C2.Conscience
C3.Concentration
C4.Communication
C5.Connection
C6.Cooperation
C7. ?

I forgot about the last C =P
Anyway these words can be applied on daily life...
Yeah I know it looks kind of random "-__-
Explaination:
Condition - A physical good condition is needed. If your body feels good, so does your mind. Both got to be in balance.
Conscience - Don't be ignorant for the things that happen around you. Try to understand whats right and wrong, What things mean. Have a clear mind. This in combination with point 1.
Concentration - Try to focus on the things you do. If you focus, if you put your heart in it, it will succeed. Or at least it will work way better than if you do it just loosely.
Communication - Communicate, it will lead to better understandings of each other and how a progress works. Be it sport, job, school, hobby, friends, family. A good communication will lead to better cooperation. See point 6.
Connection - Connect with each other. It's kind of a second step of communication. Even if someone is not like you, or different. Connection takes away the fear of the unknown.
Cooperation - The human being is a social kind. You can't make it own your own, that's why we live in societies. Work together to achieve something.

Sorry I forgot about the last C, haha.

Anyway I know it's kind of random, but hey, it's just something I came up with.
But it's not just something, I mean it does mean something.

See ya next time!

TwentyOne'sSomeOne

NothingEverGetsDone.NotEvenIfYou'reTwentyOne.
OrSoISaid...
But...
EvenIfYou'reTwentyOne.ThingsWillGetDone.
TwentyOne.Don'tBeOnTheRun.
GoAndChaseTheSun.
GoFeelMorningGlory.
LiveTheStory.
TwentyOne.
SomeOne.

Goodbye Guitar Pick ~My Broken Plectrum~

In memory of my favourite guitar pick.

I went jamming yesterday with the band, and it was one memorable day.
First of all, it was from 1800 to 2100, which was not the usual time we normally go. Also we got this new room we never played in before. Anyway...we started tuning our stuff and all that.
Then my guitar strap let loose and ...my guitar fell on the ground...
First time my guitar actually falls on the ground, in the past when something like this happens I always managed to grab/save it from falling. But this time it was inevitable.
Lucky it felt on his 'stomach' (front side of the guitar). So nothing was really smashed.
But it did mess up the 'G' snare, I spent like half an hour trying to tune that snare again. It was like totally messed up or something.

Okay so that was already something bad, but after like 45 minutes we finally started...and it was 'bad'! I don't know what it was, but I totally felt it wasn't going anywhere. Ofcourse I can only talk about myself so, but I wasn't into it really. Spend the whole session trying to get the right sound to match the actuall guitar riff, cause I wasn't feeling it. It sounded so off. And plus, ofcourse my playing was bad. Is bad. Will always be bad?
You know I can blame it to the new room, the amplifers, or anything else. But the really problem is me I guess. Don't really wanna go into 'depressive mode' but I can't sing, I can't play the guitar, I can't play sports, I can't do anything. Yeah basically useless for that matter...hahaha.
But yeah you know what they say, don't give up and try. "I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying" ~ Michael Jordan. I was watching MJ's vids on youtube the other day haha =P

Anyway, I don't think I got anything to lose now. When one got nothing to lose, he can go all out.

My guitar pick also broke! I was playing real hard and all of a sudden it broke. I was like...."what?" On one hand it is a bad thing, cause it was my favourite plectrum. On the other hand it means you've played a lot? (But then again the plectrum was second hand I guess, when I bought it, is was already a bit 'used'.) But still, had a lot of memories with this plectrum. It is a special one really. It was the only Gibson pick on the whole stash with all those other brands. Don't know, maybe it was destined to be.

So I'm gonna frame this guitar pick and hang it on my wall. To remind me to keeps on playing. To never give up. and more of this sentimental talks.

Goodbye to my favourite guitar pick. I will never forgive. You will always be here. I will remember you. I will work harder. I will live out my passion.

Thanks for all these years.

Goodbye.

Education In This Generation

Bring back education in this generation.
Don't seek for redemption, but for liberation.

---------------------

I've got a Laptop a.k.a. Notebook!!
The Sony Vaio SR 31M/S or it's full name SONY VAIO VGN-SR31M/S.
Already got it last week actually, but I needed some time to get used to it. Like with all the new things, you got to take the time to get to know them. And well, I think I'm used to my laptop now, but I haven't fully 'discovered' it (yet).

I'm not really into facts and specs and all that but for your information:
Intel Dual Core 2 2.4 Ghz
4GB RAM
320 GB HD
ATI 3470
13.3 Inch 1.99 Kg

etc etc bla bla bla =P
Lets go to the photos!!

The Packaging--------------------------------The ModelType

This was a hard decision for me... --------------The Laptop still 'covered'

I present...The Laptop!! Sony Vaio SR!! -------------Left side with HDMI, VGA & FireWire ports


Right side with the 'eye catching' on/off button --------Front view

Opening... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------Open.

Enjoy the photo -------------------------------------------------------Another point of view

The keyboard, which is really nice to type on --------------------Close-Up of the keyboard...=P


Some stickers, Vista, ATI Radeon, Intel Centrino2 ---------------It also promises 4,5 hours batterylife?!

More stickers ----------------------------------The booklet, AC adapter, powerchord, batterypack

The Batterypack -----------------------------------------------The AC-adapter and powerchord

Me in the reflection of the screen...trying to be...cool ------------------------The start-up screen.


Ofcourse you got to test the screen! ---------------YUI on a absolutely stunning sharp LED-screen!

YUI perfoming on the streets on my laptop! -------------The screen is of top quality! And so is YUI!

So that was a lot of work, blogspot isn't really blog-friendly if I may put it like this. Uploading this photos was really a hassle. Anyway this were the photos.

About the batterylife, although it promises 4,5 hours, when I switch to 'energy saving' and low screen brightness it got 2 hours and 40 mins. Maybe with more tweaking it can last longer?

Also still need to uninstall all those software from sony I don't need. It's slowing the laptop down. It should be faster!!

Anyway, I'm happy with my Laptop!! Wireless Online everywhere in the house!!

Bye!

The Guitarist On The 17.55

I went to work as usual.
Already late as always.
Took the 17.55 to Schagen.
Sat down in the 3row flip-out seats next to the door.
On the opposite sat a young fellow.
Strumming the Guitar.
An Ibanez semi-acoustic.

He asked me if it was bothering me.
If it was, he could stop playing.
I said, no, it's cool man, continue.
I have 2 of these at home too.
He: oh yeah?, Relax!

Continues playing on his semi-acoustic.
It sounded cool. Both the guitar and his playing.
There he sat, in the train, right in front of a little train-window, Strumming his guitar.
This sceneric set-up could come straight from a music-video, or a Black and White photo in a music-magazine.
The guitarist in the train, a melodramatic scene. With a meloncholic mood.

---

True story, really happened, a few days ago.
His Ibanez was a semi-acoustic, like one of these, although his one got a different finish that the ones on the page. Maybe it was some limited edition? Or maybe an older discontinued model.

---

About other things:
I'm going for a Notebook/Laptop!!
Have been doing research for some while now. So expect a brand new laptop this week or next week! It is necessary though, the PC I'm using now is still having this 'problem'. Malfunction is the word. Will try to continue to fix it.
Yesh, then most probably this striveagain.blogspot will be updated more frequently. (If anyone care that is...) Well I care, cause I want to write stuff to improve my writing skills =P
And also then I don't have to write these things at midnight no more. The reason I'm writing it now instead of tomorrow is that maybe tomorrow my PC won't even start up...

About 'CreativeReview':
Withing a short time 'CreativeReview' will be launched.
Sounds cool huh? Well it's nothing more than my so-called reviews of films, music, gadgets, events or anything that I interest in. Don't expect a true 'review', cause it's not. Why do a review about a film if you can find the same review on the net too. No no no, this will not be a plain review like you see in other blogs, it will be a 'creative review' hahaha........ No it won't...

About right now:
It's somewhere in the midnight, I got school tomorrow at 11.00
I remember me saying this on this blog, but I will be definately going tomorrow.
The subject of the class/college will be "Usage of Games".
Sounds interesting huh?

About the title:
Cool title, not? So cool that I will repeat it again.

The Guitarist On The 17.55


Have a nice day.
Peace.

Laughing 哥 / Laughing Sir

Mwuhahahaa =P
Just finished watching TVB's Emergency Unit a.k.a 學警狙擊.
That also includes the "special extended ending" with Laughing 哥!! Or should I say Laughing Sir!! =P
That 1 min extra was just perfect. It wouldn't have work out if he would 'come back' to life, so this kind of 'special ending' to please the fans is good enough. And believe me, he really got a lot of fans.

I don't think anyone expected that this would turn out to be this big, Laughing 哥's character is like the most important character everyone cares about. It is understandable though, a character like this does creates a lot of sympathy. It's also something I haven't seen before actually to be honest.
We've seen the mole/undercover story like a thousand times, but never in this perspective. To actually 'find out' that he's mole instead of already knowing it from the beginning...Nice find!

Another thing that adds up to this sympathy for this character is his background story, I mean, his former girlfriend Wendy never get to know his true goals! How sad is that.
And ofcourse we all know what he did, the ultimate sacrifice for Justice.

I was hoping, and with me a lot of others too, that includes my mom and all those other tvb-watchers, that Laughing 哥 will get at least some kind of 'Tribute' in the last chapter. Where it would be revealed to everyone what he did. To get a memorial sort of thing you know, with all the policemen saluting him. To get the recognition of what he did for 9 years long...but nothing...
I was dissapointed. Come on!! Most probably the scriptwriters didn't thought he would become this popular.

But like Michael Tse as Laughing said in the ending:
"It doesn't matter whether Laughing is dead or alive, as long as everyone is remembering him!
LAUGHING SIR!"



The special extended ending of Laughing
The Opening Song (which actually kind of reminds of the older Young'NDangerous Songs =P)
Interview with '孝哥' & 'Laughing哥' Funny check it out too =P


Next post will be a 'review' of this HK Series, as well as another review of a JPN Film!!
So stay tuned!! If anyone is reading...Mwuhahahaa (laughing hahaha)

What it's already 5AM? ...This DayLightSavingTime is tricking me...it's supposed to be 4AM!!

The Midday Waker In The Dusty Room

Waking up at Midday
In a Dusty Room
But not Today

Livin' we should
Not like we can do anything else

Outside raining
On a Monday Noon in March

Writin' I want
Not like I can do anything else

Inside thinking
What this day means in a Life

Making the Earth turns
In a Dusty World
But not for You

So much Going On
You say Bring It On
Before it all Goes Wrong


Clean up the mess before we go
Unleash the stress before we blow...
...Out of our Minds

Dreaming goes on and on and on

So much Going On
You say Bring It On
Before it all Goes Wrong

Waking up Again
And I don't know where I am
It's 12 AM...


-ShiftySeven/K.Lam-

Moku-Yobi no Post Desu

The Thursday Post...a.k.a lost creativity to come up with a catchy title...

Note:Due to this situation with my PC, I can't write as much as I want to...

About Life.
Spring time!! 2 days left untill it's officially Spring (21 March).
Winter is my favourite season, but Spring is cool too! Smell the smell, breathe the wind, feel the sun.
For all the depressive people, spring should make you feel good!

About Uni.
Next 2 weeks will be exams-weeks. It's a long long time since I've did any exams...
I guess it's time to continue school again. To actually get some points.
It's not like I can still save this schoolyear but if I can at least get 30 points I'll be content. 30 points is still not enough to do 2nd years courses next year but it's the most I can do for now...

Sigh...It's really troublesome actually...

About Travel.
Bought Tickets already!!

About Sport.
Ajax got eliminated...
I'm not in the mood to write about it...

My Basketball Diaries: After not having played for a long long time, I started again this year (January). Still need time to get back in the flow again. Defense is okay, haven't put any attention on offense yet. Gotta sleep early and wake early...

About Music.
Ongaku wa watashi no life desu!!
Definately feeling it.

JPNMusic: It just keeps amaze me how Japanese people always can come up with some Catchy songs that you'll keep on listening again and again. Stereopony's Hitohira no Hanabira is the song I've listened the most these few days. It's C.A.T.C.H.Y. I knew about this new band because YUI wrote a song for them. Many people may probably know them through anime's, but I haven't watched anime series for a while now. They did the Bleach ending and Gundam 00 opening, but I don't watch Bleach and I stopped with 00 since it was so bad.

About the song itself: The guitar-riffs are so AKFG-style!! Check out AKFG's Kimi to Iu Hana, the opening riff sounds abit the same.
I think Stereopony (which name kinda reminds me of Stereophonics =P) did listen to a lot of other bands...
Well that sounds obvious actually...I mean which musician don't? But yeah, Hitohira no Hanabira does feel like a song which is a mix of a lot of other songs.
About the PV: Ah the PV is cool.

ENGMusic: Hmm not much lately I guess. Haven't bought Albums for a long time, I think I should buy new ones again. Time for some new music, I've been listening to my old albums too much.
Thinking of buying:
-The Killers (Their first 2 albums, their new album is cool, but a bit over the top...)
-The Strokes (Listened to them long time ago)
-Five O'Clock Heroes (1st Album...although their new album got that track with Agynnes Deynes...)
-Starsailor (Actually only know 2 songs,But did listened to their whole album once in MediaMarkt =P)
-Kaiser Chiefs (They got freaking good singles, but other tracks on their albums often don't appeal me that much...)
-The Kooks (maybe for the spring time...=P)

Oh maybe some classic albums too! You know those you have to have.

I actually just name a few randomly, I mean there is so much good music out there, but you can't buy them all. I notice I always buy albums when my PC is broken, since I can't listen to the songs online.

By the way: OASIS's video of The Shock Of The Lightning is "copied" by U2's Get On Your Boots!!
I'm sure U2 themselves are not responsible, but rather the makers of the video. But how can they do it. I mean it's just literally copied off Oasis' Video. Ofcourse U2 is a great band, although I don't listen to them, but how can they do this? I mean the makers should have know Oasis'video...

About News.
Another shooting at school?! This time in Germany.
Busdrivers being treatened?

Will write about it later.


Bye!!

I Think, Therefore I Am

"I think, therfore I am"

-René Descartes-





---------------------

Well, who doesn't like personality tests? I know I do, I mean they're good for a laugh.
Cause I was laughing out loud when I did these the other day.

You Are Emotional

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Agreed to a certain extent... =P
Although I have my doubts about the "charming part"...

----------------------------------------------------

Next one...ooh I like this one: Are you boring...?

You Are 44% Interesting

Truth be told, you're not the most interesting person in the world. You don't put much effort into expanding your horizons. You're content to stay in your little comfort zone. You tend to get stuck in a rut, and you often bore people who spend time with you. You are predictable and somewhat narcissistic. You're too focused on yourself to see how boring you can be. You have the potential to be an incredibly fascinating person. You just have to be a little more proactive. Shake things up. Try something new. Take a risk. The worst that can happen is that you'll have an amazing story to tell!

Are You Boring or Interesting?

"...you often bore people who spend time with you"
So...hmm...well nice to know that...I mean...I guess it's true, wuhahahaaha.

----------------------------

Next:

The True You Values Harmony

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be more relaxed, calm, and composed. With respect to money, you spend as little as possible. You think good luck doesn't exist - reality is built on practicalities. The hidden side of your personality tends to be methodical in your ways - with trouble adapting to the rules of society. You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked. When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you don't have any particular type in mind, but you are inclined to look for someone who will say yes when you ask him / her out.

Who's The True You?

Hmmm, I don't know about this one. This one is kinda off...
I guess these 2 are kinda right:
"The hidden side of your personality tends to be methodical in your ways - with trouble adapting to the rules of society.
You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked"
While the others just aren't right.
Hmm...bad test this one.

------------------------------------------------

I did some "Age Test" too =P.

You've Experienced 24% of Life

You have the life experience of someone in their early 20s. You've seen some of what life has to offer - but you have a long way to go. Over time, you'll do enough and see enough to gain some wisdom. But for now, try to learn from people who've lived a little more than you have!

How Much Life Experience Do You Have?

Hey, nice. =D I am 21 so...

-----------------------------------------------------

Last one... this is troublesome to post with html and all that...=S

You Act Like You Are 28 Years Old

You are a twenty-something at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

I act like a 28-year old...
I don't know if that's a good thing or not...


Well, Funny isn't it?
=P

By the way, In case you're wondering what the title has to do with the tests, well not much. The famous line by Descartes "I Think, Therefore I Am" is not about the question who you are, but more so, IF you are. If you exist.
Kinda philosophical...read about it if you are interested...