Of Closing Ceremony and Assignments

The Beijing Olympic ended with a huge pesta on the 24th August 2008 at the Bird's Nest. It was remarkably done and i congratulate the Director, Zhang YiMou and all of those,who were involved with both the Opening and Closing.

Beijing did us ,Chinese, throughout the world, proud!

There is only one bad thing about the Closing which was of the Broadcaster that kept on zooming out and show us the stadium, instead of what is happening inside the stadium. A very bad angle and bad arrangement of broadcasting.

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On the other hand coming back to reality. Am now currently loaded with assignments from various classes.

Hardest of all was the umbrella design set by T. No complains there except that it took me a whole day to hunt for umbrellas that of right color and size, along with the purchasing of black uniPaint markers, which is a rare find in any stationary shop, if you exclude those of the Art shops that cost a fortune.

Next up,would be of A Canvas painting and Scrapbooking for Color.
S Visual Diary and Children Book ranked third in the row of assignments...


Life can never be "better"

Of Beijing's Olympics Opening.

A ball of flame ran across the Bird’s Nest before the count down even begun and half-way through the stadium a hurling ball of fire came shooting down into the ground of the stadium floor. Beneath the audiences a sea of white light glowed in the dark to form two screens for the count down. Drummers hit the drums in unison and the classical sound of warring state drums echoed throughout the stadium. Then the count down begun.

Counting down…
60…
50…
40…
30…
20…
10…
9…
8…
7…
6…
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…

At ‘1’, fireworks went off throughout China and the Beijing 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony is officially launched. The drummers continued the drumming, along with the chant of an old saying by Confucious, “ Friends come from afar, how happy we are.”

Just then, lights went out and the drumsticks held by the drummers emitted glowing red lights that looked like firecrackers in their hands. The sea of white turned into a myriad of glowing red lights. The lights came back and was lighting up the drummers excited expressions as they finished their queue in the Opening Ceremony.

The audiences were, then, brought through the Imperial Axis of Beijing on a screen. Fireworks blasted through the night sky in 1 minute separation. Being operated to represent the shape of a Foot. 29 great footsteps walked along the axis, from the Forbidden City to Tiananmen Square then into the Bird’s Nest, Beijing’s National Stadium.

Back inside the stadium, the 5 rings of Olympics glowed brightly in the black surrounding. From above 20 Apsaras came floating down around the rings that was slowly being lifted off the ground into an upright position. At the far end of the stadium came a sweet and melodious voice that came from a little girl in a vivid red dress. Singing ‘Hymn to my Country’, she smiled and stood upright. 56 children representing China’s ethnic groups held the flag of China to the flagpoles in the other end, where soldiers in green stood attentively. Upon receiving the flag from the children, they marched to the flagpole and raised it while China’s national anthem was being played. Reaching the top of the flagpole, the flag moved freely in the breeze that circulates the stadium and more fireworks went off on the roof of the Bird’s Nest.

Into the Artistic section for the Opening, a short film was being played on the screen describing the methods of paper making and drawings from only water and ink. As the film ended, out came a giant scroll in the middle of the stadium. Dancers, dressed in black, waved their arms on the blank canvas while a musician, dressed in Hans costume, played the gu qing behind them. A stroke from here and there, they danced to the ancient melody of the gu qing. A mountain soon appeared on the canvas along with a river. All the while, the scroll around them shone with images of ancient artifacts unearthed throughout the years. The finished product of the canvas was hoisted into the air for all to see and the lights around the stadium and on the scroll dimmed.

Their entrances were marked with loud footsteps and the folding of bamboo scrolls. Men in tall feathered-headdress and long grayish white robe marched into the stadium, each holding a bamboo scroll in their hands. The 3000 disciplines of Confucius bowed in unison as though paying homage and respect to their teacher and started chanting a famous Chinese proverb that sounded, “All those within the Four Seas can be considered as His brothers.”, all the time rolling and unrolling the bamboo scrolls to form tapping sounds. Behind them the scroll now opened to show the printing blocks of Chinese characters in square formation. As the chant of the proverb grew louder, the blocks moved up and down like the waves. Slowly forming the word “He” in both ancient and simplified versions. The end of the chant came when the blocks stop moving and displayed the image of Great Wall of China. Not long after, cherry blossoms bloomed across the printing blocks, showing the audiences a sea of pink. When everyone thought that the blocks were generated by machine, out came performers from beneath the blocks waving at the crowd, smiling.

Next, an entourage of musicians on a squared-platform performing the traditional music of the Peking Opera whilst four puppeteers danced around with their miniature puppets. The platform, was carried by performers dressed in warm-brown, entered a enclosure of lemon yellow. The performers forming that enclosure wore the costumes of a Xiao Er character in Peking Operas. They stood there and out of the blue laughed their hearts out when the music went off. The lights dimmed once again.

Out came a dancer on top of the canvas, suspending in the air by those that supported them underneath it. She was draped in yellow and green silk with a majestic yellow ornament, in the shape of a mini-vase, on her hands were the extensions of green and yellow silk. She waved them in the air in a way that acrobats do, both majestic and artistic. As she dances, images of the Silk Road of China was screened across the scroll, depicting camels, porcelain vases and tradable items.

Men in blue came running out from the far end of the stadium holding big planks of yellow boards. Upon connecting the boards, images of old ship appeared on the boards. The moved the planks up and down, imitating the waves on the sea. A dancer dressed in gold, orange and yellow walked onto the canvas and started using the ancient compass, created by the Chinese. This was the Maritime Silk Road. The Chinese character of ‘Cha’, Tea, was shown on the scroll, notifying the audiences that one of the well-known tradable items of the olden China was tea aside from silk. The final formation for the men, holding the planks, was of a ship-shaped image on the floor of the stadium. Again, the lights that danced on the ground went off.

When it came up again, it showed the interior of a Dynasty’s courtroom, with rows and rows of imperial women dressed in blue, yellow, orange and red and guards guarding the exterior of it. At the top of the pillars sat musicians, in vibrant colors, playing the pipa. Court music was played and the women walked in gracefully as they would have done in the olden days. Meanwhile images on the scroll showcased Tang dynasty imperial women. The lighting effects were extravagant. As the entourage came to a halt in the middle of the court, the pillars rose into the air as the lights around them were switched off. Dragons’ images came soaring up to the sky, as the pillar continues to go upwards, emitting golden lights of their own.

The group of performers walked away as the lights came up again to show a little girl and the famous pianist, LangLang, with a piano. The little girl played a small note as LangLang corrected her. Soon he was playing a masterpiece while she sits there looking on. Men in green suit came rushing out and surrounded themselves around the piano. They wore lights around them and switched it on as they ran about forming a Dove. Those that were involve in the wings section moved up and down showing that the Dove is taking flight. Not long after they came crowding themselves, once again, near the piano and formed a miniature Bird’s Nest. Standing in position for about 5 minutes, as a little girl floated across them with a kite in her hand, then, they began to slowly glide away into the darkness as the lights on them went off upon them reaching the sides of the stadium.

A white light shone the centre stage of the canvas, showing a Taichi master practicing TaiChi Quan. Around him glass walls were held up and a few other Taichi practitioners went with the rhythm. The glass walls showed colors of green, white and rich yellow behind the practitioners. At the blink of the eye, the glass walls were removed and thousand came running into the stage and formed a humongous circle around the canvas. School children now occupied the canvas, they sat, in a way as they would during lessons in school and listened attentively to the ‘teacher’ before them. The circle formation around them shifted and the performers ran around the canvas forming a different kind of formation, which represents the Heaven is circle whilst the Earth is square. On the canvas, the children colored the previously drawn artwork with colors of blue and green.

Few minutes later, the taichi performers left the stage as they eyed three astronaut that came floating down from above. The children, packed and ready to go home, looked at them happily and cheered on. The canvas was moved aside and a globe came protruding from beneath the stage’s surface in the color of blue. Performers were hung around the globe as the globe changes to the color of Earth, they ran across it in unison. The globe changed from blue-green to yellow then to red as the walls of the Bird’s Nest showed images of the solar system and more. At the tip of the globe, came two figures. Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan emerged on the globe and sang the Olympics theme song, “You and I” to the cheers of the crowd. Half way through thousands of smile faces shone around the stage as performers held up high images of the smiles of children all over the world on umbrellas.

The fireworks went off again as the end of the Artistic section of the Opening Ceremony. It was now the time for the athletes to march into the stadium. A total of 204 countries entered this year’s Olympics, starting with Greece and ending with China. The sequence of the athletes entering the stadium was according to the Chinese number of strokes for the first Chinese character of that nation. As they walk into the centre stage, the athletes walked across a multi-colored inkpad and onto the canvas, leaving multi-colored footprints on it. After an hour or so, speeches were made and oaths taken by judges and athletes and the President of China announced the official launching of the Beijing Olympics to the World with a booming voice.

Lastly came the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron. After about 6 or more torch bearers, the one who have the honor to light the Cauldron was of Li Ning, a famous gymnast and a National’s Sport Icon. He was lifted above the ground and into the skies. There he ran along the stadium wall, with it unrolling pictures after pictures of sportsmanship and the torch relay. The much anticipated Cauldron took the shape of a Chinese Scroll, stood majestically at the intersection of the stadium. With a single touch from the fire of his, the Cauldron was lit, thus, marking the starting of the Olympics in China.

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I actually cried as I was watching the whole event LIVE. The beauty of the ceremony and the effort and hard work behind it, of how the people of China or the Chinese population around the World dreamt of hosting the auspicious Olympic Games.

It is truly China at Her BEST! Zhang YiMou did a marvelous job and I urged those who never heard of this great man, go watch some of his directed movies, such as ‘House of Flying Daggers’, ‘Hero’, ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’ and much more.

The next host will have a hard time catching up to China’s Opening Ceremony.

Lastly,

GOOD LUCK BEIJING 2008!!

‘BEIJING HUAN YING NI’

Of #$@%&X's

...XXXxxxxxx........xxxxxxXXX.....XXXxxxx.....xxxxXXXX........XXXxxxxx.......xxxxxXXX.....

I HATE PEOPLE,WHO ACTS LIKE A WANNABE...

I HATE PEOPLE THAT RUNS TO SOMEONE ONLY WHEN THEY NEEDED HELP...

I HATE PEOPLE DITCHING FRIENDS FOR PERSONAL GAIN...

I HATE PEOPLE,WHICH PUTS ON A MASK AND NEVER LET YOU KNOW THE TRUTH...

I HATE PEOPLE MAKING OTHER PEOPLE FEEL BAD IN FRONT OF EVERYONE...

...XXXxxxxxx........xxxxxxXXX.....XXXxxxx.....xxxxXXXX........XXXxxxxx.......xxxxxXXX......

just decided to freakin' express my unhappiness for the past forthnight...
bear with me please...

Chapter 1: Eve

It is the Eve before He departs for the dreaded place.
It will be the Eve when His life changes forever.
It is, also, the Eve that He will leave home for a period of time.

Silently,
He packs his luggage.
Three pile of clothing,
A bagful of toiletries,
A dozen of hangers,
A pack of medicine,
A metal cup,
An alarm clock,
And a few pack of nutrition drinks.

In a corner, inside the bluish bag with graffiti smudges across it.
A pencil case,
An exercise book,
Two mini notebooks,
And two storybooks.


On the glass table,
A computer stood in the right-hand corner of it.
Pieces of paper go astray on the gleaming surface.
Beneath the pile of papers hid a blue pen, which He used earlier on.

Just few minutes ago,
He inked a few documents with that pen.
He filled each section with disgust and hatred.
Questioning Himself what had he done to deserve this.

Half an hour later,
Luggage done
Documents done

The stroke of midnight came unexpected
He lay in the queen-size bed and stared at the ceiling
Readily and willingly
He slumbered.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

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NOTE: Still alive and breathing.Sorry for not updating often nowadays because assignments are taking up most of my daily life. Well, as promised this would be my first chapter for my mini-novel of my National Service days. Enjoy :)

Funny Feeling...

Recently,my assignments are piling up on my table and each time it gets hard still to manage and to get my lecturer's approval on my work.Aikz..life's been tough..

Also, recently i went into a deep state of health concern.It all started with my unusual sorethroat and ulcers.The usual sorethroat i have would be of those situated near my thonsers,please excuse my wrong spelling of that word,do not have much knowledge on that,but this time the sore happens at night and in the middle of my throat.

For the past few days that freaking pain is roaming around my throat,from the middle section to the right then to the left and finally my whole throat.However pain only occurs when i'm swallowing my saliva,which is funny because the usual sorethroat would prevent me from even taking in food and water.

I went to the nearby clinic to have a check-up and to my astonishment,the doctor mentioned that my thonsers are quite red and he said that my sorethroat might be due to virus infection.I took the medicine home and started taking it on regular basis,just like what the doctor told me to.It never really helped with the sorethroat.

I panicked.My ulcers are less painful as days go by,however the sign of recovery seems unclear.I used all kinds of medicine on it but only the pain subsided and not the scaring.Only a week or so later,which is this few days,my ulcers begun to subside.Thank God!!

Aside from that,I was kinda in a very depressing mood for the past few days.It kinda lifted alittle when my throat begun to feel better.I don't know what is making me feel this way but it really bugs me.Because with that hanging over me,I can't seem to concerntrate on anything.What's more I am losing appetite for food!I hate this feeling but the more I fight against it the more resistence it seems to have on me.

It was then i started to get hallucinations that I might be having some really serious illness and might fall dead anytime.I told my mum and a few friends about it and their answers were identical.'You are stressed out with assignments and you are thinking too much!'That really did help me change my feeling towards my feelings.

However today my feelings is once again tested when i weight-ed my side on the scales earlier this morning.I lost 1 kg overnight,how is that possible?Then a perfect morning i thought it would be was spoilt by this really unpleasant feeling.DAMN!!I really want to straighten up myself and face the world ASAP and not being pulled down by this desprate feeling.There are chores to be done and assignments to rush.Around 11am i can't stand the feeling and i weight-ed myself on scales again and this time the results are unclear.73kg at first but then i weight-ed again 74kg.I am thinking is my mind playing a game on me or is the scales going haywire?

So i decided to take a chinese med. pill to calm myself down.That would be the terrible effect of depression on one's life and i am not going to let it do that again.Never Ever!

A Step closer to Adulthood..

16th May.
Today is the day when my skills are being put into a test that will affect my life..*abit too dramatic don't u think?* Because today i will be taking my Driving Test!!!

Yes,DRIVING test!!haha..i was so anxious to get a license that i have been spending sleepless night just thinking of what might happen if i really flunk that test,well the logical way would be to re-sit it but then i really don't have the time to do so cause most of my time now is devoted to my course and also housework.

So i slept at 9pm on 15th,abit too early for me,i would say,and i spent a dreamless night which is really nice cause i usually be awakened by my dreams easily.However,i woke up at 4am.Why?Because i felt that my handphone vibrated during the night but i was just too tired to be even bother to check what or who messaged me.It turns out that my instincts were right!My Moral lecturer texted me informing me that 16th, which is today,there will be a replacement class for Moral as she will not be around from the start of next week.I drafted a text to be send to her later on in the morning then went back to sleep.It wasn't about 7am in the morning i was woke up by the knock on my door.

My driving instructor came around 7.30am to pick me up along with 2 other pupils of his to the circuit where we will be taking our test.We queued up to get our numbers.i was given the number 64.We later proceeded to the waiting area to wait for our numbers to be announced to go for the circuit test.About 30 minutes later,63,64 and 68 were called,we followed a few more others to the pondok,where the cars are being parked.We were actually debating on which car would bring us luck but in the end we each settled for a car that was parked just in front of us.i was the second up the hill after the boy and the girl was behind me.In my mind, i was thinking,"please let me pass,PLEASE let me PASS!!" along with chants of prayer to
God.i was actually shivering when i reached the top where the front tyres should meet with the yellow lines.I braked when i saw the pole and raised my hand.The officer at the stand was smiling away and asked me carried on with my reverse-parking and tri-point turn.The parking was fine but at the tri-point turn section, i was panicking.I turned into the junction and just when i was suppose to be out from that place,my car would not budge.i was thinking, "Please!God help me!!i don't want to fail!!" and miraculousy when i tried to re-enter the gear to reverse,it worked!i came out from the tri-point section smoothly after that and parked next to the pondok where the next candidate took the car for another round.

The boy before me did really good,unfortunately,the girl that was behind me did not pass the hill test and was therefore asked to leave the circuit along with her documents for the stamping part at the waiting area.We later waited for about 3 hours or so for the on-road test.By the time our numbers were called,only the boy managed to drive around the road before lunch break whereas the girl and me will take the test straight after the lunch break.So we waited for another 1 hour for the lunch break to end.i was called first and broaded the number 14 car.It was a Chinese officer unlike the other cars which mostly consist of Malay officers.He was stern and was silent throughout the journey but he kinda lectured me when i ran past the traffic lights.But nevertheless it was smooth all the way.He awarded me 17/20 which means i PASSED!!!Yipe!!He deducted marks for not putting on the signals early and other 2 more reasons which i forgotten.Later my instructor told me that the officer that examined me was really strict and is always the one that will never give you a chance to go throught the shortcuts.In my mind,i was thinking i should be grateful for being able to pass under the supervision of this officer.

I waited for the girl to complete the test and then we headed home.My instructor informed me that i will be receiving my "P" license in Thursday,can't wait to get on the road already.Hahaha.

For me,getting a license or even a "P" is another step closer to Adulthood already and i am satisfy with myself.



PS:i have been really busy and did not update my blog often.Not to mention the story that i promised about my NS life.Sorry but i will do it as soon as possible..

New Life!!

nothing much have changed since my last post, excpet that i am currently attending college at Raffles Design Insitute and that the assignments are really killing me..i am kind of confused on what is my current mood actually. i rarely feel happy now,no idea why though. Maybe it is because of my new sedechule or..maybe i still can't get over the fact that i am already free from National Service and that i seriously miss my buddies there..

but my new Life is starting and the Past are either meant to be cherished or forgotten,i presume i will cherish the good times and forget the bad times...

so my shoutout for now is:

"NEW LIFE AHEAD!"

.EMBRACE IT AND FACE ITS CHALLENGES.

kinda retarded lar but that should do the trick. :D

PS: if i have the time, which i really hope i do, i will be posting stories of my life in National Service. It will be in Chapter form so it is kinda like a novel lar..i do really hope i be able to get the first chapter up latest by the end of next week...