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...

One More Time, One More Chance

About Me. Whatever
About You. Whatever

About Uni. I went today
Yes, been to school today, and most probably I'll be going for the next few days...eerhh I mean the next few remaining months of the season too. There's a limit in how much you can ditch school.
Seriously...I don't think anyone can imagine how much I've skipped.
But hey, it's never too late and besides I won't be the first one to have arrears.


About Sports. Good
LEONARDO!! Do I need to say more? Last Thursday we all knew that at one time Leonardo shall be brought in the game. Everyone just knew it. It was 0-1, and something had to be done. When there was a call for a substitute I just knew it was time for the 'secret weapon'. Most probably Sulejmani would be the one to go out I thought, since he hasn't been doing anything great since he came to Ajax. But to my suprise, Lindgren was the one to go. I guess Van Basten wanted to take risks, and put everything on the attack.
The first moment Leonardo got the ball the whole, and I mean the WHOLE crowd was screaming. Look Leonardo is not Ronaldinho, he's not a star. He got speed and movements. But that's about it. Still, everyone had hope in him to do something. Since he was the one who brought some action to the last few games of Ajax.
The excitement of the crowd didn't last long, cause when the game was about to end, they saw that there was a big chance that they weren't going home for another 30 minutes.
Untill...
the ball was on the foot of Leonardo on the left side, 4x Scisscor moves, passing 3 Italians, trying to pass the ball with the outside of his left foot (Or was he using the player to bounce back the ball?) passing through the other italian on his right, came free for the goal, swing his 'chocolate leg' (as he call it) and Boom! 1-1 at 88'minutes. I was screaming in my living room!!

Leonardo, I don't think he can play a whole match, he is the sort that should be sub in the last 20 minutes. I think we will see this a few more times in the Eufa Cup matches this season untill he leave Ajax next year for Panathinaikos.

Next match: Olympique Marseille.
History: Ajax never losed from them before...


About Music. 6 Strings to 4 Strings
Well I guess Bass is cool too huh? Dumm Dumm, Dummm Dum Dum Duuum. =P
By the way,
Listening to One more time, One more chance by Yamazaki Masayoshi

About Film. Makoto Shinkai
Makoto Shinkai, called the new Miyazak!? Well saw one of his works last Saturday, and the animation and art was just beautifull man. The scenerary was supremely wonderfull.
I watched Byousoko 5 Centimeters (5 Centimeters per second). They used the song I posted up here as ending. It was free to watch on Crunchyroll on the Global Shinkai day on 28 Feb along with 2 of his other animation films. Didn't had the time to watch them all though.

it's About the end of this post. Bye.

Nothing Ever Gets Done, Not Even If You're Twenty One

As much as I wanted to write this on my 21st birthday on 29 January, I'm writing it right now.
Reason: My PC is acting crazy again. Sometimes it needs to restart a few times to actually work.

Nothing Ever Gets Done, Not Even If You're Twenty One

Having lived for more then 2 decades on this earth, you do expect one to have learned enough to be what they would call a "grown-up". Or that's what they say, 21 means 'official grown-up'. What about 18? That's just a big lie to ease the teenagerkids. No, 21 is the real deal.

So a big celebration for this 'birthday of birthdays' wouldn't be misplaced eh?
Well I guess it would be cool, but as of now I'm not feeling to celebrate it. Birthdays were always a special day for me, for anyone I guess. I remembered when I was little I always got excited and all hyped up for this day at the end of January. Excited for the next day to treat all your classmates at primary school on chips and to 'make the round' in school to the different classes to treat the teachers with delicious' chocolats.
And then, after school, it was party time! Invite all your friends to your house, eat birthday cake, play games, watch TV, eat some more chips, drink soda, kick balloons, sing Happy Birthday, take pictures, go to McDonalds, recieve gifts. Yeah, those were some fun times when you're young. Although ofcourse, people are still doing this no matter what age. But for me as time passed on, I did less and less with my birthday. I still had given parties in high school, but that stopped when I was 15. A birthday cake with candles on it is still a must, but inviting people and all that, no, didn't did that anymore. It's not a bad thing though as you may think. It's just the way it is. Didn't had the need.

So times goes on, and last thursday my 21st birthday: It was as if it was just like any other day!
Just did the usual. Went to Japanese Course like every thursday, but(!!) I did bring along sushi my aunt made to treat everyone. So yeah, I think I did do something with it though. Oh and ofcourse, I had the birthday cake with candle earlier that day. And some photos ofcourse!! That's a must too, for memories-purposes.

---

To Be Or Not To Be

"So 21 huh? I guess I should act like a grown-up now?

But wouldn't it be better to just act like myself...?"

-"Act? Why not 'be' yourself?"

"It's hard to 'be'..."

-"Well you are or you are not. It's that simple."

"I guess I am...No I know I am."

-"Then just be it!!"

"But even if I am, not anybody will know"

-"If you just are who you are and 'let it be' then it will be."

---

So many new years resolutions and I haven't even accomplished them yet! And already one month has passed. Oh well, I guess we start tomorrow again. Cause I'm going back to school again (again! and again!)
How many times have I gone "back to school" again.

Nothing Ever Gets Done, Not Even If You're Twenty One

Many many things to do in the upcoming time: University (getting used to it again will take some time.)
Reading books, JPN classes, work, basketball, guitar again, music, film, writing on here, planning for Japan'09, more reading, college, college, more college, almost forgot chinese school, eating, drinking, sleeping, waking up early, sleeping early, gaming!, talking, walking, running, striving.
and anything else I forgot to say.

There's definitaly a spirit of "Whatever" on here.

Nothing Ever Gets Done, Not Even If You're Twenty One...
Whatever, As long as you have fun, and you're not on the run, then everything will be done, my son.

Or whatever you want to believe.

Be True A Heart.

Peace.

StartAgain [revival of striveagain.blogspot.com]

I haven't posted for more than 3 months...
From this day on, striveagain.blogspot will be back again.
If you're interested be sure to visit the site often and perhaps leave some comments too.

"Yes We Can" A Bettter World Starts With You

A few lines of Obama's speech at his inauguration.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

" ...the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

"But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again ..."

"... what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."

"... We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; ... -we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself..."

"... just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all."

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- ... , firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. ..."

The full transcript of the speech can be found at the link above or here
I've taken out some lines inbetween the quoted text to let it sound more universal to everyone. Not just for the american people. But the main idea remains the same.


One might not be interested in world matters, it doesn't concern them, it doesn't affect their personal lifes, so why bother. But it's only natural to believe that you are part of the world. You don't have to change the world, but you could change yourself for the better. And if everyone does...the world as a whole would be a better place to live in, eh?

Late For The Sky

The words had all been spoken
And somehow the feeling still wasnt right
And still we continued on through the night
Tracing our steps from the beginning
Until they vanished into the air
Trying to understand how our lives has led us there

(...)

How long have I been sleeping
How long have I been drifting alone through the night
How long have I been dreaming I could make it right

(...)

How long have I been sleeping
How long have I been drifting alone through the night
(...)
Through the whispered promises and the changing light

(...)

(Lines taken from "Late For The Sky" by Jackson Browne)

Although the lyrics might be about love, It can also be interpreted in an other way (like many songs, the different lines can apply to everyones own situation) And so it is with this song for me at the moment.

It's funny sometimes how things can be really ironic in life. Is there such thing as fate? If I had done some things differently, maybe the turnout would be different. You know they say that everything you do in life would affect the other.
It's like every moment in life you got to choose which path to take, there's many many paths.
And if you have taken one path , it means you haven't choose all those other paths. But I don't want to repeat the same old story again about to learn from your mistakes and all that other "so-called-life-lessons-said-many-times-by-everyone" chit-chat.

You can talk a lot, but in the end, it's yourself who have done the things you did.
And all that matters is now.

The Start Of Fall / The Beginning Of Autumn

Today is the first day of Autumn. Autumn, also called "Fall" in North American English, is the season of rain, falling of leaves and more rain. It's dull, grey, gloomy, sad, dreary, drab. (These words I basically searched up in the dictionary.) But you get the point. It isn't exactly a cheerfull season. And for most people autumn also marks the beginning of a new season. Be it school;work;sport; in September everyone starts with something somehow. We've got the happy and warm summer behind us, where we all played,chilled and relaxed, and now it's time to start up again. Although the weather isn't exactly encouraging to say the least.

So why is it called "Fall" in Nothern American English? The fall of leaves? Or is it because of:"Fall, the sudden arrival of birds due to drift migration" (wikipedia). That wouldn't make sense though, since the birds would fly to the south, for a warmer climate, so birds are actually departing from North America rather than arriving.So why is it called "Fall" then? I don't know. But it sure fits to the depressive weather of Autumn. To fall...

So for everyone, Fall starts today, but I don't hope we all starts to fall from now on. It's a new season, a new begin and a new start, so let's all work hard for school, work, sport, music, hobby or whatever you want to do. Don't let the weather graps you. Everything has it's beauty. When all the yellow brown and old leaves falls from the trees, it only means that the old is making a place for the new. And so it is for the things we do, the hard-work we do today, is also a stepping stone for the succes of tomorrow.

Are You Righteous At Heart?

Are you righteous at heart? Sincere? Honest?
Are you kind?

A good person?

Who is it that you really are?
Your Strives?

What is it that you really want to gain?

Do you care for others?
Do you feel it?

Why is it that you do the things you do?

Can you smile without worries?
Can you sleep at night with a clear mind?

Are you proud of yourself?
Do you wish to be someone else?

Can you choose?
Would you go back to undo your mistakes?

Why is it that you walk the path you choose?

What is right? What is Wrong?
Who is right? Who is Wrong?
What's moral?

Who decides what's right or wrong?

Can one be righteous?

I want to be righteous.
Sincere.
Honest.

Everyone should be.

Should.

They could.

Strive or Strife

Something That Matters
It matters if it matters to you
--------------------
Anything Is Not Everything
Everything Is Something
--------------------
Just think about it, just think again
Strive Again
--------------------
Who's to blame?
Blame God?
--------------------
Do you care at all?
Do you even know?
--------------------
Mainstream
What is your way? path? road? style?!
--------------------
Talk about "YOU"
The same and the same
--------------------
Difference.canbemade
Should it?
--------------------

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

--------------------
Ignorance Is Not A Bliss
It would if it was
But it ain't
--------------------
I Would If I Could
But I Can't
I Will if I Want
But I Won't
--------------------
You Should If You Could But You Can't
You Will If You Do But You Don't
--------------------
The Grander scheme of things
The World as a Whole
The General Idea
The Principle
The Underneath
The "What's beyond this?"
--------------------
Don'tBelieveTheTruth
Don'tBelieveTheHype
Don'tBelieveTheTV
Don'tBelieveThePapers
Don'tBelieveTheInternet
BelieveYourself
--------------------
"You can't be noone else"
Not like you could
--------------------
Your own Interest
Your own Advantage
Your own Profit
Your own Gain
--------------------
What is selfish?
Can one be not?
--------------------
Humans Afterall
Good,Bad,Right,Wrong
Ethical
--------------------
Only You
And everything around You
That Matters Afterall
Cause we don't know what's after this.
So might as well, live it well.

Dutch Holidays / Koninginnedag 2008

Koninginnedag 2008

So today was Koninginnedag aka in english Queensday. It's a yearly event on 30 April in which the birthday of her majesty, our queen,is celeberated.

It's a big national event where a lot of people wearing orange go on the streets to celeberate. Why orange? Because that's the color of The Netherlands as you might or might not know.
But celeberating isn't the only thing, there's also the "Free Market": Everyone is allowed to sell things on the streets. So if you have some old stuff at home you wanna get rid of, you can put a blancket on the ground, stash your stuff on it, get a little chair to sit comfortable on, and you can start selling! A lot of kids will sell their old toys, and some will give a little performance just to earn some money, be it playing the guitar, the violin, some magic tricks, anything is possible. You don't have to sell old stuff only, some people buy new stuff, just to sell it at queensday. Ofcourse trying to earn some on it. But the most important is to have fun on queensday.

This Years weather wasn't too good. Rain was predicted, but despite that, it stayed sunny, with some clouds from time to time. Temperature around 15C. With that, it wasn't that crowded on the streets compared to other years. As usual I went out too. Most people come to Amsterdam, cause that's the "place to be" at queensday.
So if you ever thought of visiting Amsterdam, it might be fun to visit it around this yearly event. =P

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Hong Kong Visions @ Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ

Hong Kong Visions

04.04.08 - 17.04.08

Photo Exhibition

http://www.hongkongvisions.com/

Okay, it's not really relevent to post this information, since this exhibition is already over. But nevertheless, just some little talk on it.

I went to this Hong Kong Visions Photo Exhibition on 17 April. It showed photos of Hong Kong ranging from photos of recent years to photos dating from the 60's. So I went and watched it, didn't expect a lot of it. The photo's were taken by famous? photographers, including Dutch ones. Most of the photos were "nothing special", like I could have taken them too...Ofcourse I wouldn't have taken them in a proffesional way like they do, the right lighting and stuff like that, but the content of it wasn't that spectacular. However, something else was spectacular, the price. 950 Euros for one photo. Honestly I don't think anyone would buy it. I think the exhibition is nice to check out (it's free). To see Hong Kong if you haven't been there, but noone would actually buy these "artworks". Ofcourse there were some photos which I liked, with beautiful composition and angle, but still kinda too expensive. Some big ones were even over 1100 Euros.Anyway, maybe there are some people who will buy it, who knows.

Asia sure is booming these days...

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ behind Amsterdam Central Station

Snow in March'

Snow in March, it has became a common thing over here.
Or at least, for me it has.
2 March 2005, it snowed. If I remembered correctly, on some places there was even 50cm of snow. Now that's not something usual for The Netherlands.
When I decided to talk a walk around my street to make some footage of the beautifull scenery with my camera, I found my feets disolving into the thick pack of snow.
2 March 2006, exactly one year later, it snowed again. Can you believe that? But this time not as much as in '05. I decided to record this strange yet beautifull phenomenon with my camera again.
March 2007, I can't really remember if it snowed. I don't think it has though. To be honest, 2007 was kind of a blurry year for me. But looking back at my camera tapes, I didn't filmed any snow in March'07.
March 2008, yesterday and the day before yesterday and the day before the day of yesterday it snowed. A white Easter.

So snow in March has became a common thing for me.
Why is it snowing in March? Or, why has it been snowing frequently in March these past few years? Some say climate change.
And why is the climate changing? Some say it's us, the people whose causing it. Some say it's just the nature. Some say it's both.

During highschool, I wrote a 20-page paper about Climate Change. And from the information I gathered, I think that it is both. But one way or the another, I don't think you can deny the fact that the world is being polluted

So in the end it doesn't really matter what the cause is. Fact is, the world is being polluted by humans. So it doesn't hurt to "pollute less".
I'm glad this whole 'climate change - save the world'-thing has become a hype. Most of the time you shouldn't believe the hype. But this time the hype is true.