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.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

On Strike

Warning: Unless you've got nothing better to do, read on...

Today, I refuse to study. But because I refuse to study, there's nothing else better to do other than to wait for dinner to come. And because dinner is at least 1 hr 20 mins away from now, I can't think of anything else better to do. That's because...

1. Gaming is out of the question... for now. Arrrgh =\

2. Playing the piano right now would have wasted my booting of the computer and the running of electricity. Suspending the lappy is not an option.

3. Chatting with the other cookie is not possible as a cookie's gotta do what a cookie's gotta do: To teach.

And so, here are some options I could think about:

1. Blog about anything though nothing comes through my mind right now other than my thought processes

2. Think of ways to game although I can't game. That would include covert operations like:
- Gaming in tactical places like under the bed, in the cupboard
- I can't think of anything now. Because my brain's on strike, I can't think. Then again, if I'm not thinking, I can't possibly be typing all these. But since... whatever...

3...

[Interruption]

Hey, there's tau suan in the fridge! Hehe... that's something to do (or rather, to be clearer, there's something to do now)...

[End of interruption]

Okie, now that there's something to do, I'm off...

posted by Glass Cookie @ 5:45 PM  0 comments



Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Thank You, Lord =)

Today was a sunny day. OK, maybe this is a strange start for a blog post, but well, it is a sunny day after all, so this sentence does make sense and is appropriate however weird I think it is. And as I was making my way to school through the back gate, with the sun glaring at me, somehow I was pondering over how messy my walk with God was.

This led me to think of the times I chose to game over doing my quiet time, thinking of how if I were the Lord I would have been so disappointed with a creature like me, thinking of how the Lord would think of me. Would he be shaking his head?

Oh well... just as I finished my chain of thoughts, a nice huge cloud came over my head.

Glass Cookie's (GC) thought: Hey, nice cloud... thank you, Lord =)

[GC walks for about 50m]

GC's thoughts: Hmmm, is this cloud going to stay?

[GC walks for about 50m]

GC's thoughts: Hey, this cloud is going to stay after all! Hmmm, could it be coincidental? Hmmm, but what if it is coincidental. But who cares? I'm already sheltered halfway. Alright, if this cloud shelters me for the next 100m until I reach the train station, I'm going to blog about it.

[GC walks for about 50m]

GC's thoughts: Ooo... the cloud's still here. Nice... =)

[GC walks for about 50m and reaches a sheltered path to the train station]

GC's thoughts: Hmmm, looks like I'm going to blog about this anyway.

[The cloud moves on after a min when GC is in the compounds of the train station, and it is as sunny again]

GC's thoughts: Wa, so zun (ie. accurate) ah? Okie, the Lord is still as forgiving and loving in spite of the crappy stuff I do.


So, as agreed (mentally), here's this blog post =)

Conclusion: Better buck up my walk with God =) Yup, yup.

Conclusion 2: For the Lord is good, and his mercy endures forever =) =)

posted by Glass Cookie @ 8:25 PM  3 comments



Thursday, September 11, 2008

Weirdo @ The Pool

A weirdo has been spotted at the an*hor*ge while my sis and her friend was at the pool. According to her, the weirdo does the following a few times such that she couldn't help noticing it:

Firstly, he would come to the pool in his his white briefs, then proceed to the steps of the pool, squat down such that his body is submerged in water, then start jogging on the spot in his half squat position. This continues for about an hour.

After that, we would get up and start jogging one round along the perimeter of the pool. Upon finishing the jog, he would go to the bench where his items are and change into his (secondary) school uniform.

Just as you thought he's about to go off, he walks to another part of the pool where the steps are and stares at the pool. After some time, he leaves the pool.

It wasn't long before one realises that he apparently left the pool to change into his P.E. shorts and still wearing the same white briefs (well, as to how my sis knew it's the same white briefs, it was through that weirdo zhao geng-ing). He then proceeds to the pool, travels a distance further off from the pool to prepare a distance for sprinting.

He then sprints and jumps into the pool. He positioned his dive in such a way that his chest would slap against the water to create a really huge and loud splash. He then wades to the middle of the pool where it is deepest (1.2m) and continues his semi-squat jog. This continues for about 15 minutes.

After that, he gets up and continues the mega-splash a few more times.

...
...
...

Well, I would have continued describing more if not for my sis leaving the pool at the urging of her friend because she was probably freaked out by this weirdo (yup, she was with a friend at that time). Hmmm... strange stuff (and possibly gross) do happen from time to time I guess...

posted by Glass Cookie @ 4:10 PM  6 comments



Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Arrrgh! =\

Arrrgh, arrrgh, arrrrrrrrrrgh! I can't take it anymore. Lecture notes are driving me nuts...

In just one module out of the 6 that I have to endure (yup, endure is the word, especially when I have totally no interest in a*rosp*ce to begin with [as opposed to friends of mine who have lost their interest in a*rosp*ce {No thanks to you know what, from anti-younivarsity}]), I have:

3 lecturers teaching in the course. And in the course, just one of the lecturers has:

14 lecture sets. And in each lecture set, there are approximately 9 x 4 = 36 slides.

So, how on earth do they expect us to learn anything sensible from the way this nonsensical course is conducted? In any case, here are some reasons why I feel/do/think/whatever the things I I feel/do/think/whatever...

10 reasons why I hate my course
1. I have totally no interest in this course

2. They teach crap in this course (e.g. learning vibration of civil structures because an aircr*ft has vibration)

3. It has courses with lecturers who
- Returned all CA scripts to students because she wanted the reasons why we choose assumptions on a new sheet of paper instead of writing it in after returning the scripts back once or twice already
- Strongly believes that grades are not everything in the world and has no qualms in giving bad grades
- Goes to lectures teaching "This formula will give you this formula. From this formula, it gives that formula. Then from that formula it will give you this formula. From this formula... etc" when the slides has tonnes of formulas one after the other with hardly any words.
- Likes to talk lots during project discussions and totally disregards what we have to say anyway. So, what's the point of having a discussion with him?

4. The course is really badly structured.

5. The workload is crap (probably 1.5 times or more of that of m*chanical engin**ring students) all in the name of a*rospace engin**ring.

6. It is quite irrelevant to the industry since any m*chanical engin**ring student who comes out could do the same stuff

7. I'm sick of studying. Continuous lagging seems to be a standard lifestyle and the feeling s*cks.

8. They teach crappy stuff without giving a good foundation.
- Sudden announcements of projects to be in unknown programming languages never taught. And somehow, a terribly basic tutorial (to be read on our own) is all that is given.

9. The core details of lecture materials are dryer than the gobi desert even should a huge ozone hole be punched out above it and rain, withheld from it for over a millennium.

10. (Maybe this is not counted as a reason, but...) I hate a*rosp*ce engin**ring... and with a passion =)

And all these leads to...

10 reasons why I should try to get back to mugging now
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

posted by Glass Cookie @ 8:29 PM  7 comments



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....



Lame Invention List + Misc

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)