A Cookie's Life

Warning: This is mostly a crappy blog. Crappers and crap-accepting folks alike: Welcome! To all others: Warning. Danger! Keep Out! Read On At Your Own Risk! The author shall by no means be liable for any damage caused directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly as a result of the reading of the contents of this blog.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Tagging At Vivo City

As usual, I was tagging yet again at Vivo City, and somehow, as usual, as always, I discovered some quirky discoveries (erm, this sounds 'duh'... How else could a discovery be called a discovery other than the fact that it was being discovered? Then again, a discovery could well be made by someone else already, and technically speaking, I did not discover it. Yet again, it was a discovery made by me and this is my blog. So who cares, it's a still a discovery in my definition. Oh, before I deviate into yet another topic altogether...).

The Chocolate Battery
Well, no matter how I see it, it still looked more like a battery to me rather than chocolate. Since a factory manufactures stuff in general, I guess this is merely one of the products that they manufactured. Hmmm, although it's a chocolate factory, I guess some electrical engineer or mechanical engineer took over, and as such, he was probably inspired by his past experiences with such items (power sources, ac/dc... etc.) such that they produced a battery? Or was it a chocolate after all? Or was it a battery run on chocolate? Goodness knows...

Hmmm... if it were a chocolate that was shaped like a battery - that sounds plausible. Afterall, we have chocolates taking the shapes of every possible item that you can find on planet Earth. On the other hand, if it was a battery run on chocolate, this must be one of the greatest discoveries on, yup, our good ole' (well, it's ole' depending on how you view it in terms of its age. Even then, its age is dependent on whether you support the stand taken by evoloutionlists, or creationists) planet Earth again (erm, this sounds 'duh' again. I mean, where else could he [alright, 'he' seems to imply that the person who made this discovery is a male. But hey, I'm definitely not stereotyping any occupation with any gender like how some people do. My reason for using 'he' was to cut down on my typing, considering that 'he/she' is six characters long when 'he' is only two. On second thoughts, this wasn't a wise decision, considering {yet again} that I have already typed 404 characters before the digits in this sentence. OK, I have deviated once again...] have possibly discovered it? On the moon?).

The Shop Named Nuisance
Come to think about it, it’s pretty rare that the word ‘nuisance’ is seen as part of a shop name. I suppose they do not mean that they are a nuisance (that is if the salesperson doesn’t bug all the shoppers [erm, and taggers included in my case]) though. Neither do I think they are calling their customers a 'nuisance' (unless, well, the shop owner is super rich/boliao/insane and his/her main goal is to lose money). Hmmm, perhaps the title is trying to suggest that the shop sells gifts and nuisances just that for some reason or another, the word ‘nuisance’ is pretty out of place. Come to think about it, it might be possible that they ran out of space such that the word ‘nuisance’ couldn’t fit in without being covered by the huge shelf. Perhaps that’s why they chucked it to a corner? Well, whatever the reason may be, the word ‘nuisance’ sure stands out because of its meaning and the way the word is positioned. As such, one cannot help but wonder what this ‘nuisance’ could be.

Then again, there might just be a clue as to what that nuisance may be. The thing is, why are some flowers shelved up with glass that looked blurry? To hide its view? And why hide its view? Could there be something on the flowers (eg. pests) or about the flowers (eg. an offensive smell [ahhah! Perhaps that’s why they are kept in the glass shelf. For all we know, the glass shelf could be there to prevent smell from escaping]) that makes the flowers a nuisance? Or could the ultimate nuisance be some trickery that would tempt one to slide the glass door to have a better view, only to fall into a nasty trap of some sort? Only the one who named the shop knows…

The Tagger
Although seeing the word ‘nuisance’ being used as part of a shop name is rare enough, nothing beats spotting a shop name that actually describes my shopping style. Oh, did I mention shopping style? Erm, I don’t shop. So, technically speaking/typing, nothing beats spotting a shop name that actually describes my tagging style =) Come to think about it (yup, this is beginning to be one of the most commonly used phrases in this post. In fact, this is the third time I am using this), a "Tagger shop" seems to be oxymoron because a tagger doesn’t buy things while a shop is supposed to sell things. Oh, or perhaps in the midst of all the tagging, this shop would give ideas to taggers, who would in turn suggest what bags to purchase (considering that this shop sells bags) to their shopper friends when they have finally exhausted all their mobile storage space (ie. bag space). In this case, there is no issue with the shop name because yup, the tagger is still tagging while one who does the buying is still the shopper friend(s).

On the other hand, could it be possible that this also happened to be a shop that sells equipment for people who usually plays a game of tag, to give one the advantage over others? Hmmm… but how could bags be regarded as equipment for a game as such? Well, never underestimate the functions/usages of the humble sling bag. You see, as the game of tag varies over groups of players, for all you know, the usage of bags could well be introduced. In fact, this shop could well be tailored for tag specialists. So now, exactly what roles do the bags have in the game of tag? Well, firstly, for the less skilled or elementary players, the bags could be used as slings for catchers to ‘hook’ the other players. On the other hand, as the players get more skilled, trickery/cheap tricks/dirty tricks/stinking tricks/whatever-else-one-with-disdain-for-such-tricks-would-call-it tricks could be employed to make certain bags way heavier than the others, hence causing/resulting/saboing certain bag carriers to be at a disadvantage. Also, it must be noted that only an extremely skilled person would be able to manage such a heavy bag. This is because, in addition to running around with that extra load, the bag carrier would also need to ‘hook’ another player without injuring him. This is no easy task. Then again, I wonder who would spend good money at such a shop merely for a game of tag. Oh well, only taggers (puns intended, with the exclusion of myself) would know…

Conclusion: Finally, I've found a shop that suits my tagging style, but hmmm... I doubt I'll be persuading anyone to buy bags lest people stop asking me out (ie. with regards to shopping), marking the end of my tagging sprees.



1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually tagger is slang for what is more commonly known as a graffiti writer, or the common vandal - the "tag" being the mural itself, usually the artist's name, written in colourful fonts. Now of course this begs a question - why would a tagger who can't even afford spraypaint go shopping in a designer store? I wonder who this store decided to cater to when they set up shop, probabily rich kids who think tagging is "cool", and go "oh, I'm so frustrated with the social norms, let me go to a cool designer store and buy a cool hip hop handbag to show i'm a rebel". Who knows. I'm sure this shop will close down in no time

2:33 AM  

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List Of My All-Time Big Stunts In M&D

30 Jul 2006 - When Silence Is Golden 2
It's funny how history repeats itself in a different form. This time, I minimised the volume of the keyboard to zero to try out a new song "I believe in miracles". And for yet (again, miraculously, ironically) another bizarre reason that I know not of, I actually turned the volume up WITHOUT knowing - and CONTINUED practising. Somehow the amplifiers were turned off by the sound guys (probably a safety measure against stuntmen like me?) until they could finally silence it no more and suddenly, out of the nowhere (oh, sorry, that would be the keyboard) came a loud note that penetrated the silence. I jerked in shock (very obviously). And yes, once again it's during the announcement time when silence is definitely golden.



04 Jun 2006 - Time and Congregation Waits For No Man
It was another faithful day in church, playing the keyboard for morning service, 9 and 11 a.m. After the 2nd service praise & worship session, it so happened that no one else could make it for the closing song. Well, since I was pretty free, I was asked to play it. So, I went down, charted out the chords, practised the piece in the tabernacle. On my way up the stairs, the first thought in my mind was: "Hey, it's so crowded. I need to get up the stairs. Now, how do I queeeeeze my way through?". The second thought in my mind was: "Hey, why is there a crowd coming down at this time? ... ... ... NOOOOOO!!!!!!" Man, time passes fast when you're practising the piano in church, and painstakingly slowly when it comes to exam pieces.



[No date] When Silence Is Golden
It was during the announcement, when pastor was giving out announcements before the offering song. Silence was observed as the pastor spoke. I retracted my hand from the score folder beyond the keyboard. For some amazing reason, my hand retraction path headed for the keys of the keyboard. And since the word 'fast' to describe the retraction rate was an understatement (for yet another reason I know not of)... you know the rest of the story.



[No Date] When Silence Is... Anything But Golden
Hmmm... once the amplifier on my side was switched off for some reason during praise & worship. And for some other reason that I know not of, I thought that the keyboard sound couldn't be heard. So, I tried pressing some keys. Didn't hear anything - drums were too loud. I proceeded to bang some keys repeatedly until... hmmm... I thought I heard something. Oh oh... ONLY my amplifier was turned off. (Note: Instrument: Brass sect 1, volume - max.)




List Of Other Small Stunts/Experiences In M&D

Fastest Fingers First
As a keyboardist, one usually comes into contact with different instruments within the same piece. It usually varies from strings, brass, violin to organ sounds. The funny thing is that sometimes, it is possible that your mind suddenly goes blank, and when the next instrument is required, I go "Oh no, what's the number combination for brass???!!! Wait wait wait wait...". And as usual, time and tide waits for no man. No. More accurately, a drummer waits for no number-fumbling keyboardist. Yea, that's the description man. Solution (ok, this is not a solution but an undesired consequence): Play a brass part with strings, or an organ part with brass, or none at all.



Cold Fingers
Usually, the atmosphere in the sanctuary is very cold to me. Sometimes, the atmosphere in the sanctuary is deep-freeze cold. Under cold or colder conditions, the fingers may or will harden and lose its dexterity. Then again, stuff could still be played, however stiff the fingers may be (with diminishing quality). Solution? Rub them while resting, or else, take off one playing hand and rub it vigorously without catching too much attention. I mean, what else can i do? I remove both hands when I need them ON they keyboard!!! Oh, I missed out that hand-clapping would be a sure kill to whatever heat you may have desperately tried to generate.



Record Breaker
Well, each week CD-RWs and envelopes used to contain the scores passed to musicians would be recycled. They are returned back to the musician's basket in the metal cabinet so that they can be used again. Of course, each time a person would return his/her envelope and CD used the previous week. Well, just somewhere in the 3rd week of June 2006 I returned a record holding of (prehaps of all-time in Lighthouse Evangelism's 16 years of establishment) of 9 envelopes with 3 missing somewhere at home. Oh well, you can't really blame me cause for the first time in my life, I saw the word "envelope" in the sms reminder about recycling. Or at least I would like to think so, about my first time noticing that word (fingers crossed).



Stubborn Pedal
Do you have any idea what it is like to have a pedal refusing to budge when moved with your feet, only to exceed its ideal position when you decide to set your adjusting strength to "brutal level". At that kind of rate, it just never gets to the position that you want it to be. Last resort: Bend down and move it with your hand just before the drummer starts his 4-beat intro to the next song.



Moving Pedal
Amazingly, although the pedal refuses to budge when you want it to, somehow it also refuses to stay in the spot when you want it to. And the more you pedal, the further it gets away from you no matter how you position your foot. And in extreme cases you may find yourself almost starting to slouch or slip from your seat, not that the keyboardist seat is any immobile than the pedal to begin with. Solution: Try to kick it back (this is the time when the above experience suddenly comes in again). Just what's with the pedal, I wonder?



Confession...
Take a look at the following score:

=)

Well, since strings sound somewhat soft, and somewhat muffled such that demisemiquavers are not to distinct, and considering it does take up time and there are 5 other pieces to go, and considering this is but 2 bars in a 100 bar piece, and considering blah blah blah... sometimes I play just a note. (OK, most of the time, happy?) Hey, I'm not the only keyboardist around guilty right? Someone tell me I'm not the only one... pleeeese....



Inventions
- Metal-coated tea bag to help with the sinking (Edmund Lum)

- Sound-powered telephone (Edmund Lum)

- Sound-powered telephone (Edmund Lum)

- Plug-in phones for plugging into a payphone to call - unable to recieve call. However, 10 cents will still be needed and you pay your monthly phone bills as usual (Edmund Lum)

- A clean dirt-free rubbish chute (Edmund Lum)

- A touchpad keyboard similar to the touchpad on a laptop, with letters on it (Edmund Lum)

- USB-portable touchpad (Edmund Lum)

- A square CD for better storage (Edmund Lum)

- Battery-powered book (Edmund Lum)

- Disposable dustbins (Edmund Lum)

- A "short circuit" switch that help save electricity when there is nobody at home (Edmund Lum)

- A white/black highlighter (Edmund Lum)

- Safety deposit box made of pure diamond for hardness. It is transparent to allow better visual of objects within it (Edmund Lum)

- An optic mouse combined with a decorated ball placed inside like an old-school mouse to allow any surface usage (Edmund Lum)

- DIY handphone to cut cost (Edmund Lum)

- A plastic knife - no rusting and it is lighter (Edmund Lum)

- Quick dry glue, only 0.2 sec of dry time (Edmund Lum)

- Doorless toliet for faster access (Edmund Lum)

- A pen with wider pen hole to prevent that all-time infamous ink jam (Edmund Lum)

- A 5-mm thick paper to prevent paper cut (Edmund Lum)

- Water-proof toilet paper to prevent wetting the entire roll when dropped on a wet floor, or easy breakage (Edmund Lum)

- A thermal panel powered heater (Edmund Lum)

- A faq list for patients who do not want to reply to any visitors (Edmund Lum & Glass Cookie)

- A deodorant that puts people off (Mustard seed)

- An umbrella with a wire connection (to attract lightning) that's earthed (Edmund Lum)

- An earthquake detector that sounds when there's an earthquake (Edmund Lum)

- A water sensor at the shoreline to detect an approaching tsunami (Edmund Lum)

- A energy-saving fridge that switches itself on via a smell senser specially for detecting certain rotting smells (Edmund Lum)

- A fire extinguishing bomb that creates a huge area of vacuum (sounds familiar?) so as to deprive the fire of oxygen (Edmund Lum)

- A solar powered torchlight

- A power-saving exit sign that lights up only when someone is around (Gabriel Goh)

- A self-locking door that locks itself when no one's around and unlocks itself when someone's near (Edmund Lum)

- Pencil lead harder than steel to improve on its fragility (Edmund Lum)

- A water-proof teabag to prevent breakage over long periods of soaking (Edmund Lum)

- A manual powered air conditioner (Glass Cookie)

- A water-sensitive sprinkler (Edmund Lum)

- A auto retractable roof via light and water sensors, hidden in the wall for protection (Edmund Lum)

- An anti-burglary system with the switch and sensor in the same room (Edmund Lum)

- A wooden barbecue pit (Glass Cookie and Edmund Chen)

- An acrylic oil rig and drill bit to save $$$ (Glass Cookie and Edmund Chen)

- A windows based DOS command prompt program (Glass Cookie)

- A wired handphone (Jackson Lum)


Misc
- A birthday breakfast celebration (Glass Cookie and Jackson Lum)

- A domesticated grizzily bear (Glass Cookie, inspired by Amanda Low)