SM Entertainment

2014 has been a very bad year for SM Entertainment. It started off with Kris filing for a lawsuit to leave SM Entertainment. Next comes Baekhyun and his scandal with Taeyeon from SNSD. Then comes Sulli leaving fx. Followed by Jessica's denial of joining Girl's Generation and their promotions. Lastly, Luhan filed for a lawsuit to nullify his contract with SM Entertainment. All of this happen within a year and I have difficulty thinking of who to side with.

Initially when Kris left EXO and SM, I wasn't surprised by the news. After all, from various variety shows, I could tell he wasn't really mingling well with the members. So at that time, when he left SM and didn't leave much explanation, I sort of stood on the grey area. Siding with none. I had thought it takes both hands to clap. So both have things they did wrong.

Afterwards came Sulli which was an abrupt and shocking news cause no concrete reason was given to reassure fans of why she left. And since it was a news that was quickly hushed over, I didn't really pay attention and fought hard to seek the truth.

Recently, Jessica was asked/told/forced to leave Girl's Generation. Initially I heard she was to leave Girl's Generation but would still be within SM Entertainment. When I heard this, I thought it sound reasonable cause she was probably being arranged to go solo. However, Jessica herself revealed that she was forced out of Girl's Generation just because of her own career out of SM. yet, SM revealed news to attack Jessica and sort of accused her for not contributing much to Girl's Generation cause of her own career. Wow! So much drama there! So who is speaking the truth. So much news came tumbling out about SM, Jessica as well as her boyfriend. Before this news was given a conclusion, Luhan dropped another bomb and the stock prices of SM dropped.

Of the remaining Chinese members in EXO (Lay, Luhan and Tao) I thought that Lay would most likely be the next one to leave cause he also doesn't seem to mingle well with the rest of the members. Also, Luhan is really close to XiuMin and he seems to be able to blend in really well with Kyungsoo and Sehun. Tao on the other hand has leader, Suho, and Sehun who are close to him. Yet there are news where the last 2 Chinese members may leave EXO and return to China to form a boy group with Kris and Luhan. With their popularity in China, I won't be surprised if such rumours turn out to be true. After all, when there's smoke there's bound to be fire somewhere.

When Kris left EXO and he used the same lawyer as Hangeng, my Mum already suspected that there may be bigger players who are pulling the strings from China. Hence the Chinese members would have the audacity to file for lawsuit. After all where does the money for the lawsuit come from? And where did they get the courage to go against SM, such a huge empire? It sounds pretty logical for me.

As for SM, I believe there's lots more reasons from within cause it seems they always have troubles with members. I see none from the other companies. SM never seem to learn their lessons from past mistakes. TVXQ and Super Junior were a huge loss for them. They should have learned to treat artistes with respect and more from them.

The rate at how EXO is working is seen by all. After each concert, without resting, they move on to the next place to meet their fans. I understood their pain and felt really bad for them cause they seem to spend more time on the plane then on their beds. I always read news of them appearing here and there to meet fans or hold concert. Because of their hardships and the immense work they put in to appear happy, I became their fan.

Among all this fiasco, I think Red Velvet debut at the wrong timing, there are too many scandals and bad news that override them. It's really a bad timing.


With all this fiasco that's going on, I wish Luhan all the best with his departure. I wish the remaining EXO members all the best as well. As for SM, I hope they can learn their lessons.

YG's new idol group-WINNER

So Winner just debut recently and they sure took a long time to debut. I don't blame them nor YG, cause after all, the delays just meant YG wants the best for Winner.

Their release of the MVs "Empty" and "Color Ring" are up to my expectations whereas some eager fans aren't liking the songs as much. It's true. Both songs sound similar. And it's true. Most of us were expecting a more upbeat song. But then again, the ballads are equally fantastic.

Winner came a long way before they make their debut. I believe Yang Hyun Suk delayed their debut cause he felt they weren't up to standards. But the delays were worth it. Within a day, Winner top charts around the world and it's just their debut album. It's not like they're already mega stars like Big Bang or EXO. I'm pretty sure the members of Winner themselves were worried if they'll even debut at all cause one year of delay is really long. Lots of changes must have been made for their songs. Otherwise, why the wait?

YG is not your typical music company where they release music frequently. They only released your music if it's up to their standards. And I quite like that. I'm never ever disappointed by the albums they release. Be it G Dragon, Taeyang or AKMU. Every songs in each artistes albums are fantastic. Each melody is unique and the voices are fabulous. Songs like Taeyang's 1AM, This isn't it, Love you to Death and G Dragon's Black, Window, Crooked and AKMU's Give Love and It's Cold are really worth listening. The songs fit the artistes. Just as the artistes fit the song. I wouldn't expect Taeyang nor AKMU to be singing along to G Dragon's Crooked. The image and singing styles doesn't fit.

That's why, for Winner, the ballads suit them to a core. From Win, the TV series, I could tell they were not your typical dancing kind of idols like Got 7 or EXO. They are more emotional and could pull off ballads easily. I'll have to give credits to Mino and Nam Taehyun in "Empty". Their voices are way too good in the song. I wouldn't expect Winner to be following the routes of Got 7 nor EXO. They should follow their own styles. Mixing each and everyone's unique vocals into their songs. Winner is Winner. They aren't the next Big Bang. They aren't the next Epik High. They are Winner. I hope fans and non fans would stop saying they're disappointed by the ballads Winner picked to be released as MVs.

Having made their debut, I hope Winner would continue to produce music in their own flavours and not to be influenced by others. Unique is YG's style. So Winner should be different too.

There'll be haters

So I came to this comment randomly in CL's Instagram calling her names that are not sassy nor nice. After that comment came thousands of rebuttals from Blackjacks and then some more crude comments and I stopped reading.

I've always admire CL's style and her attitude on stage. The aura she displayed on stage beats many others including that of SNSD. (No offence to the Sones out there, this is just my personal view). CL has the characteristic of a badass female leader who will never ever display any sort of aegyo or any signs of being weak. Cause she is "The Leader" and a GZB. Her cool and aloofness is what makes her who she is. I can never imagine her being all cute and sweet. Nah. Never.

Which brings me to my next point. Why the haters? Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and even One Direction have haters that can add up to millions. With every good comes bad, with love comes hate. I've read articles where many idols and artistes have talked about their reactions to the comments spammed on their websites or any site portals and I feel really bad about them. People err, we are all not perfect. Just so he or she can't act well in this show doesn't mean he or she can't act. It's just perhaps he or she couldn't grasp the character well or may have thought of another version for the character. Sometimes, I feel that antis shouldn't harass these idols too much with hateful comments.  Just look at Tablo and his case. It's just a certificate!

Haters be them hating, but they should reserve what they say online. Sometimes, their comments are way out of hand and unnecessary. In a sense, it came of as childish and spiteful. I'd wonder what has cause them to be against these idols/artistes. Did these idols/artistes create havoc in your lives? Did they caused you to lose your job or family members? Well, then what would cause all this resentment? If your reason is that they can't sing, they can't dance or they can't act or be funny, I think these reasons are a little absurd. Could you sing? Could you dance? Could you act?

I also watched Hong Kong variety shows where famous actors and actresses would talk about how they were criticised severely by anti fans. And I feel really bad. Look at the amount of suicides and druggies in the entertainment business. Countless. And most of them are hidden from us. Being in the entertainment business comes great sacrifices. Everything about these idols and artistes are criticised to the minute details. Their fashion, their pimple and so on and so forth. Not a day could they really have a good rest.

My point is that people shouldn't pinpoint nor criticise absurdly. Idols and artistes are humans after all. I know this is an open world and we can say whatever comes to our mind as we like but would it kill to at least hold it back a little? Nope I don't think it will. It's just a matter of how well haters can control their tempers and emotions and thoughts.

Last but not least, idols and artistes themselves shouldn't let these hateful comments result in their demise. Embrace the criticisms and acknowledge them. Don't ever get hurt due to such comments. I don't think it's worth it to commit suicide or take drugs to numb yourself for such comments. This is your life. Live it.

Small acts of kindness

Recently, there was a heavy downpour at where I was staying and due to the heavy rain, I took a bus to the MRT station. When the bus reach the destination that I wanted to alight, I alighted after a Mother and her little daughter. After they got into the shelter of the bus stop, they stopped to clean off the rainwater on themselves. I overtook them and was suddenly tapped by the little girl. She looked at me and asked me to be careful in Mandarin. I was taken aback by her thoughtfulness. As I was wearing heels and there were aplenty of puddles of water. The way she said it was sweet and innocent. I'm no pedophile but she really made my day. I was slightly flabbergasted by her words and merely smiled at her and her mother. Her mother was a little embarrassed too. But the small acts of kindness does put a smile on others. Thank you little girl.

Remake of dramas in Taiwan, Japan and Korea

So recently, I read an article that Korea is remaking their version of 'Fated to love you' after the successful hit from the original drama in Taiwan.

Rumors said that Choi Jin Hyuk will be starring in this drama! YEAH!

That said, I have high hopes for this remake in Korea because the Taiwanese version was just too good. It's one of the best Taiwanese drama I've ever watched. It was emotional and humorous as well. A really good drama with a nice setting although towards the end, it was getting a lil' draggy. But overall, the drama was really nice!

After the success of Boys Over Flowers in Korea, it seems like they'd like to remake this drama as well.

Taiwan, Japan and Korea are three countries that are very close to one another. They share similar cultures with infusion from one another; especially Taiwan which has Japanese history (as you can see from some of their ancient houses and that they love Japanese manga) and has now gotten influenced by the Hallyu wave. Other than Boys Over Flowers, the three countries have remake 'It Started With a Kiss' (originally from Japan), 'Hanazakarino Kimitachihe' (originally from Japanese manga but started filming by Taiwan) and 'You're Beautiful' (originally from Korea). Such dramas are hits from their original country. Interestingly, the Japanese drama 'Absolute Boyfriend' was remake in Taiwan with a Korean female lead (Goo Hye Sun). However, there's also rumors that Korea is planning to do an adaptation on this drama.

I wouldn't mind if the countries do a remake of hit dramas from other countries but I believe such challenge would either be a huge success or a huge failure. It's demanding and challenging. To the producers, such a move to do a remake/adaptation is not easy because the success and failure could be seen almost immediately when they compare with the original. (Although such comparison is unfair cause of there could be other influences for the tv ratings in each country.) In a sense, it sorts of make it seems like the producers and scriptwriters are running out of ideas to produce another drama. I wouldn't be surprise looking at the number of dramas produced annually. Even movies have started to run out of ideas and they're all looking back into Disney/Cartoon characters and making them come out alive. (Think Smurf and Garfield)

An adaptation of dramas is quite common in these countries and I wouldn't be surprise if they continue to do so down the road. Whenever a country announced that they want to do a remake, I'd have my doubts cause I'll fear for them that it won't be as good as the original. The remake of It Started with a Kiss in Korea was a little disappointing to me. The remake of Absolute Boyfriend in Taiwan was also a little disappointing too. So you see, remake/adaptation of a drama is tough. It sort of creates hope in people that it'll be better than the original and if it didn't, it became disappointing.

Remake/adaptation of drama isn't as easy as it seems, lots of things need to be planned out fully to make them even better than the original cause after-all, isn't the goal of a remake is to do better than the original?

Technology advancement

Recently, I came home and missed the lift but I caught a glimpse of the people standing inside. A male and a female, both engrossed in their own smart phones oblivious to the surroundings.

Smart phone is the latest must-have in Singapore. Without one, you wouldn't be able to Whatsapp nor accessed information online swiftly. With a click and a swipe, you've already retrieved information you need for sale items or bank information. Personal details are also accessible online with just passwords and perhaps some Q&A to determine that you're the right person. Smart phone is a life-saver, you'd say. However, does it really help us?

With phones, we can access any sort of information as fast as the optical fiber can. We can gain knowledge that far extends from the books we have. We can get first hand news from the other end of the globe. When you're bored, you can even watch videos on YouTube or play games. That's smart phones. A mini computer right in your palm. (Yep, with Samsung, it can almost replace that laptop you have at home).

However, with smart phone, you start to get isolated from the people around you. Have you ever seen a group of people without any single person burying themselves in their phones? Nope, I haven't. Even if there is, it's very rare. There's bound to be this lone person who wants to use their smart phone to check out anything but be engaged in the topic the people around are saying. Perhaps, he/she finds the topic boring or unrelated. Perhaps. However, from the lift scenario, I think people now tend to be too engaged in their smart phones, such that they neglect the most basic communication such as talking.

I have friends who reply to me on whatsapp when I'm just sitting right next to them. It's like. 'OMG. Why do you have to reply on the phone when I'm next to you??? Just talk to me. I'm not a ghost.' Yep, this is quite common. And no, I'm not a ghost.

It's not that I'm not addicted to my smart phone as well, but perhaps we should take a notch down. Slow down this technological advancement. My young cousins are all hooked on their iPhone, iPad or tablet and without them, they'll start crying non-stop. And I can't help but notice that their eyes are batting at a speed faster than normal. 1 of my blink is around 2-3 of theirs. It's not benefiting the eyes at all. No good.

With an advancement in technology, we become lazy (to even step into the library and browse for hard copies of information.) With advancement of technology, we've spoken less with one another. With advancement of technology, we become more oblivious to our surroundings and the people around us. With technological advancement, we will probably face a change in human nature. Where people won't communicate verbally. Perhaps, you'd say I over-imagined the scenario and took things a bit too far. Okay, perhaps I may be a bit too imaginative, but we should probably start putting our phones down and face the people around us and talk to them. No matter how you dislike the person and would rather spend your time on the phone, at least make small talk and just talk. Don't reply on the phone.

My parents kept complaining about the youngsters these days, saying that we are too engrossed in our smart phones. They also nagged about me too. And I kind of admit it. I'm really one of those youths who are so engaged in their phone that some of us actually neglect that we're crossing the road. (I'm not one of them, I do watch out for my own safety when I cross the road. But I did fell down the stairs before cause I was typing messages on the phone and fractured my leg. Once bitten twice shy. But there are people who cross the road, engaged in their phones, oblivious to the cars that are coming straight at them. Nope, not joking. Some don't even bother when the cars honked at them. They just walked across the road with their heads buried in their phones.)

Smart phones have pros and cons. It's just a matter of how we use them and how we set ourselves straight. Think twice before you use your phone and cross the road. Your smart phone can't save you if any accident happen to you.

Slippers in Singapore

I have a love-hate relationship with slippers and I'm sure many has the same relationship as me.

Sippers is very common in Singapore such that it has become a part of our culture. Almost everyone I know owns at least a pair of slippers. There'll be people who owns a pair of Havaianas or iPanema or Cotton On or even Billabong. It's really common. Prices of such slippers range from as cheap as $5 to $30++ and counting. 

So why a love hate relationship?

I like slippers cause it's very simple and whenever you feel lazy, you can just slip on a pair of slippers and be on your way to school or to the shopping malls. When you feel like buying something from the shop downstairs or across the street from your house, you'll just slip on a pair of slippers and be on your way. You wouldn't wear a pair of Nike running shoes or those with fanciful laces cause it consumes time (and we all know time is money in Singapore). You'll like slippers cause, compared to other shoe designs like flats or platforms or heels, it's relatively cheaper (On the basis that you don't get an iPanema or a Havaianas but just a cheap pair from Cotton On) and when it rains, you don't have to worry about the slippers being ruined. It's something like water-proof. You don't have to worry about walking across the flooded walkway outdoors. Also, it's meant for beach wear cause you can remove them easily and walk along the beach. You don't have to worry about getting sand in your shoes and having that irritating and painful sensory feeling of sand in your shoes. Slippers are brilliant in their own way. You can buy different colours and mix and match them according to the feeling you are on that particular day. Say pink mix with blue. Or red mix with white on Singapore National Day.

However, just as what it's called, it's very slippery when it rains and you get a wet floor. It'll be worse if the floor tiling is those glossy type where friction is almost zero. When you're wearing a pair of slippers, most likely you'll slow to a crawl like an elderly while walking along the wet floor or you'll be having multiple heart attacks along the way as you almost slip and fall. If you ever did slip and fall, I can't even... Just take care.

Singapore has rainy season and being a tropical country, there's bound to be rain most of the time. When it rains, I'll have a hard time between choosing a normal shoe with a pair of slipper because on one hand, I don't have to get that heart attack and worry about me slipping, on the other hand, I don't wanna ruin my shoe cause of the rain water splashing and flooding on the road out of my house.

Some might say, why don't you just send in a notice to the local MPs about the flooding along the road. Yep, I believe many people did but such flooding won't be solved properly. When they amended this stretch of road to make rainwater flow better, somehow it'll cause the next stretch to flood. And in the end, they just keep amending the different stretch and the flooding didn't end. (Just admit it, there's much to improve on the draining system in Singapore. It's not the increasing amount of rainwater. It's the draining system.)

Well some might also suggest that I get a pair of Havaianas or iPanema cause somehow the friction is better and they last longer. I would if they could really last that long. So far, from the comments that I got from the friends around me, iPanema is the most highly suggested. Havaianas lose out because the strap comes off easily. There's many complains that the strap comes off countless times despite the slippers being a new pair. And for iPanema, not many of my friends own a pair but for those who does, the slippers lasted for more than a year. However, the cost of one is just too over-rated. I wouldn't spend $30++ for a pair of slippers. It's just too expensive. I rather invest more and get myself a Wellington Boot. Or some sort of boot meant for rainy season. 

YG Entertainment

I've always been an avid supporter of YG under the management of Mr Yang Hyun Suk. He has the best marketing strategies among the Big 3 Companies (SM, YG and JYP). The artistes under YG are talented and most of their songs are hits. The recent move to share the stocks with their YG artistes came as a surprise and it's, I believe, the first of its kind. I have never heard of any Entertainment company who is willing to share their stocks with the label artistes. Except YG. The unique strategies and mind Mr Yang Hyun Suk has is really good.

My friend told me it's a very smart move cause it will motivate the artistes to work harder to earn more so that the stocks won't drop; and that the rest of the artistes who are not holding on to the stocks to work harder to get that share of money. My vision of YG is almost like an exclusive family who is very very bonded within their company. Who accepts each other through music. They have talented artistes like G Dragon, CL, Epik High and Akdong Musician.

The reason why I support YG is because they support talent more than looks. SM mostly recruit their artistes based on looks. So all the SM artistes who make it big are pretty or handsome. JYP mostly judges the dance and singing abilities that suit Mr JYP himself. For YG, Mr Yang Hyun Suk allows his artistes to do music on their own. Akdong Musician recently released 200% and Melted and I was blown away by their songs. The lyrics of melted bears a hidden meaning and I was really touched by the MV. The icy cold world we're living in. Void, dismay and unhappiness. All portrayed in the MV and in the voices. That is YG.

YG selects artistes by their talents and grooms them further to become big stars. They don't accept plastic surgery but they do wonderful makeup and styling to fit their artistes and make them shine on stage. Their stylists are really good. Not forgetting the fact that the artistes are also very close to the background dancers. It's such a close-knitted family that you'll be really happy to join in.

SM and JYP have their fair share of talents but none beats YG. Sure, you have Super Junior, SNSD, EXO, SHINee under SM and 2PM, Miss A and GOT7 under JYP. However, the image they give me are quite mainstream. I didn't like the management under SM, ever since the chaos that came after Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun planned to leave the company. All the hoo-ha the company was making was really terrible and it reflected badly on the company. Especially in the eyes of the DBSK fans. Even now, many fans around me still despised the way SM dealt with the situation then.

Perhaps, I'm just showing favoritism towards YG but if given a chance, I'd really like to have an experience of working under the company with them. Be it in the smallest sector in the company or even in the well-known cafeteria, I wish there's a chance for me to experience being part of YG. Add on the fact that I can meet Big Bang, 2NE1 and Winner or perhaps Tablo's daughter Haru too.

The Music Videos made by YG aren't all those fanciful sweet settings you always see in other artistes' Music Videos. I really love Akdong Musician's Melted, LeeHi's Rose, 2NE1's Lonely, all of Big Bang's MV and Tablo's Bad. YG Family love. Daebak.

Perceptions

The human mind can be very interesting.

What we perceive in this world may not be agreeable with others. 

I just heard this story of a boy from a rich family. His parents, wanting him to learn the differences between the rich and the poor, sent him off to a remote village so that he could learn to appreciate what he had in the rich life he led. After a few days, the parents came to fetch him and were anticipating for their child to complain about his days spent at the village and describing how poor the villagers are. 

The child started talking about his stay.

"Daddy. Mummy. You know, we have a huge swimming pool in our backyard? These villagers have a gigantic lake in their backyard. While we have gas and cooking stove, they have to use the wood that they picked in the forest which makes their food really delicious. While we have food readily from the supermarket, they have theirs fresh from the forest and fields of vegetables. While we have walls around our house, they open their doors to all their relatives and visiting friends. Thank you Daddy and Mummy for making me realize just how poor we are."

Isn't that interesting? A view that doesn't conform to the society. So if you ever feel depressed or anything, perhaps you should start viewing things in a different light.

GOT7-newbie from JYP

JYP recently revealed this new boy group which took the Kpop world by storm. Well, according to the number of raves I've been reading, YES, they are very popular now. These boys in GOT7 have the looks, the built and of course their overflowing talents.

When I first heard of GOT7, I totally scraped them aside partly because I wasn't interested in them and also because I was busy with school work. Until, the point where my youtube feed came out 'reactions to GOT7' multiple times. So I went to take a look at their MV. And here I go. Giving a try to describe what I think and feel when I first watch the video.

The starting came off smooth with the boys all decked out in school uniform and cool hairstyle. Then came in the (I believe) highlight of the Music Video. THE LAZY SKATEBOARD! Sorry, I called it lazy because it looks like a skateboard and yet, you don't have to keep kicking off the ground for it to move. The lazy skateboard (pardon me, I don't know what's it called) is bulky and it sorts of steal the limelight off the boys at the start. Thereafter, they appeared in their GOT7 attire in the underground bar/basketball court/dance floor. It was sort of weird to me. But this is afterall, a rookie Music Video so the settings can't be compared to Big Bang's nor EXO's.

The english subbed was on, so as I listened to the song, I was awed by JB's vocals but quite disgusted by the lyrics. The lyrics came off as very vain to me. I mean granted, you boys are really good looking, but to sing praised of yourselves out loud? JYP style it is. So to the start, it was JB and JR from JJ Project (actually I don't know them at all until after the research I did after watching this Music Video) and their vocals are good. Sounds kind of like JunK and JunHo from 2PM to me.

Then I saw Jackson. 'He doesn't look Korean at all but kind of reminds me of Hong Kong'. Yes that's my reaction and I was right! Jackson is not from Korea but from Hong Kong and his parents are both fencers for Hong Kong. Jackson even represented Hong Kong for the Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore a few years back. His talents as a fencer is superb if he can join their national team. As to why he decided to become a Kpop idol, I have no inkling at all.

Next up, Bam Bam caught my eye since he look so young as though he just turned into a teenager, like 13 years old. His hair made him stood out from the rest, hence I could recognized him.

Throughout the whole video, there were lots of acrobatics and dance. I can recognize some of their roles in GOT7, like JB is mostly for vocals and Mark is for rapping.Their dance skills are superb and the acrobatics they did look so swift and smooth they can almost join Shao Lin in China.

Other than the lyrics, the song is really catchy and the female voice 'Omani Omani Omani...' at the back is also very addictive. The vocals of JB is good, but I'll be waiting for a bigger breakthrough in terms of vocals. I mean JunK can really sing well, so I believe one of the members from GOT7 should be able to sing well too.

Enough said, GOT7 is a group of boys (they are all younger than me) that can really attract all the Nunas out there. They come from different country like Hong Kong, American born Taiwanese, Thailand and of course, from Korea itself. Though JB and JR are from JJ Project, their experience with the music industry will help GOT7 as well.

GOT7 is a new rising star in 2014 and I look forward to greater hits from them and from JYP.

Expectations

Have you ever had that time when you have high expectations for something and in the end, disappointments took over? I did. Well, what can I do?

Nothing. That's my point. It's perfectly reasonable for us to have high expectations out of something and that's because we have grown up living in this perception that everything is going to turn out to be the best. Look at your Disney stories. However, when our expectations are not met, we despair and end up grudging about it.

Expectations is part and parcel of our lives. I don't mean that we shouldn't expect good things to happen. What I mean is that we should let go when our expectations are not met. We are all humans after all and there's a limit as to what each of us can do. Not everyone would be able to do mental sums quickly. Not everyone would be able to have good sense of direction. Everyone has their shortcomings. Hence, when you expect something from others and your expectations are not met, you shouldn't blame it on them.

I have a few episodes of such disappointments. Initially, I turned grumpy when what I expect didn't turn out my way. However, I sort of grown out of that grumpy mood and now could understand better. I myself will also let down the expectations of others. When they really hope that things will go with what they planned and I fail them, the feeling is really terrible. That's why when others fail to meet your expectations. I'm pretty sure they felt bad as well.

No matter what happens, move on with life. Don't hold a grudge against those who fail to meet your expectations. Unless they really did terrible things. Then that would be really disappointing.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day~
This is THE day to celebrate eating chocolate fondue with your love ones/ special one and your friends without having to feel guilty! And this year, I'll be celebrating THE Special Day not alone, but with my friends!

Entering University, I couldn't help but notice more and more of my friends getting into relationships. Initially, I thought I could live alone with myself and all, however, I'm getting more void in my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous of the relationships that are happening around me. No way will I be jealous even though I sound like I'm ranting now. I'm happy for my friends to be able to find the special ones in their lives. The void feeling is something unexplainable and it just comes popping into me, reminding me that I'm still single.

Well, I enjoy my life as a single person; doing anything I want without having to think twice for any other person. Being single has it's perks and with all good things comes bad. In a few years time, I'll start to get grilled with questions from various relatives about my relationship status.Getting into a relationship isn't simple. When people described how they met and started off as friends etc etc, I wondered if it was really that easy. But I do feel that for them to come together, there has to be fate. Perhaps, my fate hasn't arrived yet.

Many of my friends told me that it shouldn't be hard for me to find a Special someone as long as I lower my criteria. But how do I go about that? I do feel that I've very high expectations of how my Special Someone should be. But I just couldn't change my perception. Perhaps, I've watched too much Korean Idols and dramas and has been dazzled by the good looks of the guys like Kang Ha Neul or Kim Soo Hyun. That's why I have such high expectations of guys. Perhaps, I have a unique perception and is just too high and mighty. Perhaps, I'm too greedy. I don't know. Love is a hard thing to explain. It just comes and goes.

Being an independent person, I tend to rely myself more than another person. I'll just carry whatever workload comes and refuses to share. At times, I view myself more as a guy, trying to do things that only guys are capable of doing. Independent or not, cute or not, pretty or not, I hope that whoever comes my way and be my Special Someone will accept me for who I am. I am me; independent and hardly the cute type.

Hong Kong during Lunar New Year Day 1

This year, unlike the normal house visiting I've been going for the past 20 years for the Lunar New Year, my family decided to go on a holiday to HONG KONG! It was a decision made hastily without much thinking by my parents. I remembered booking the resort room straight from the first website that I Googled, without even bothering to check with the other websites for better rates. Well, I was in a rush to go USS on that day with my family as well, so my Mum just said go ahead and book the resort room when it was priced at $500+ per night. What I booked was actually Disneyland resort hotel with a sea view. (I'll get to that later.) Then the air tickets from Cathay Pacific and the total amounted to $3500++ for 4 adult tickets. That was expensive.

Well, cutting short, my flight to Hong Kong was delayed for 2 hours and I was stuck in the airport with nothing to do. I didn't bring my book along to read cause frankly speaking, the trip is just 3D2N and there won't be much time to read. So, I played with the games in my phone and just stone there. However, I managed to treat myself to a new pair of platform brogues from Charles & Keith! Hahaha! GST free!

The food on board the plane to HK was cold and terrible. The sandwich tasted weird and I couldn't finish everything within the supper/breakfast pack Cathay provided. When we landed, we took our time buying microSD card for the camera, eating at McDonalds, buying some souvenirs, phone SIM card and our Octopus card. The lady at the counter suggested to me to take a cab to Disneyland rather than taking the Express Train, so we did and we landed at Disneyland itself. I was expecting the resort to be right next to Disneyland itself but well, it wasn't. Fortunately, a friendly staff came to our rescue and directed us to the shuttle bus which leads to the hotel.

In Disneyland, there's actually 2 different hotels. 1 is Disneyland Hotel. The other is Hollywood Hotel (if I'm not wrong) But Disneyland Hotel was much classier and much spacious (it better be worth my $500++).

The concierge confirmed my booking from Expedia and told us that check in was at 3pm and that we could leave our luggage behind at the counter for safekeeping while we go ahead with our day plans. As it was just slightly after 10am in Hong Kong (same time as Singapore) we decided to head straight to Disneyland and play!

We bought the tickets at $1800 HKD which is equivalent to $300~ SGD. It's around the price of our Universal Studios Singapore anyway and it's DISNEYLAND, so the price is actually acceptable. (If you want cheaper and thriller rides, go to Hong Kong's Ocean Park, it's around SGD $40 and the rides are freaking awesome. Remember to check out the cute penguins exhibition as well).

Disneyland, unlike what I thought it would be, was huge. It's larger than USS and it has more shows and rides than USS. Although the rides are more suitable for kids, it doesn't mean there aren't any thrilling rides in Disneyland. I took a few rides in the different themes in Disneyland but what I like most was the Lion King show I watched, where they sing and dance live. The visuals and fires and lasers were awesome and for such a small and confined performing area, they really maximized the spaces well. The singing was fabulous and the dancers were gracious and superb. I really enjoyed this show a lot. After that, we took a roller coaster ride which was unlike any I rode before; cause it'll go backwards. Yes, I know the Mummy ride in USS has a backward drop but the ride I took in Disneyland, goes backward for around half of the route and it's not as rocky as I perceived. The ride was smooth and comfortable although there was a lot of twist and turns and the air was cool and chilling. After this, we went to some mystical mansion and took an electromagnetic ride. This electromagnetic ride is something like bumper cars? Although it was for kids, the ride was enjoyable still. After this, we took a thrilling ride which is something like the Viking ship. It goes up forward and backwards. I screamed. Yes I did. Cause the dropping feeling was scary and exciting at the same time. Sadly, I forgot the names of all the rides I took, so I can't say which ride was which. But I'll definitely recommend the Lion King show.

After HK Disneyland, we went to City Gate for dinner and shop around. City Gate is near Disneyland and the airport and houses many outlets of many popular brands like Adidas, Esprit, Puma, Timberland etc. I didn't shop for any stuff cause frankly speaking, the designs are quite outdated and the prices for those I like aren't cheap as well.

In the end, we took a taxi back to our hotel and slept till the morning.

Life is tough, especially that of students

Considering the recent comments from Stephanie about Singaporeans in general, I sort of agree with her about her thoughts on Singaporeans. Most of the locals found her comments offensive and made several angry feedback against her. It's not that she's totally correct, but what she said are partly true. Don't deny it.

However, I believe we should take pride in our red dot. Singapore is considered one the best country in the world. With potable water readily available from the taps and lots of shopping and food choices, what is there to complain? We have food, shelter and education. Granted, we may be rigid with our governing system but what will become of Singapore if we do not have these laws?

Singapore has been through a lot and took the leap to a developing/developed country in just 49 years and counting. We have the top education system in the world. We have developed and clean buildings and streets. We have all the amenities one can imagine including a gigantic Singapore Flyer which frankly speaking, sells tickets at expensive prices.

Well, at one point, she mentioned that the students in Taiwan are given freedom of thoughts etc to express themselves in their studies. However, did anyone notice that she mentioned her sister was in an International school? I have a friend from Taiwan and she commented that it wasn't what Stephanie had said. Not at all. Taiwan, Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore basically have the same or similar education system. We are brought up with the thought that being in the best schools and working as Doctors, Lawyers or Politicians are the best. No more arguments for thoughts of being an idol or artiste. A mere mention of expanding career option in the media world is a big NO NO from our parents. I understand the rationale behind our parents' concerns. They only wanted the best in us. Hence, the 'brainwash' we received from young.

Yeah, we studied like mad since Primary School. I remembered when 'I Not Stupid' aired, many students like me were having the same sentiments. A student life is not easy at all. We are always compared with the other students in class, with our friends and even with our cousins. I'm not left behind. I'm always compared and at times, I detested such competency. It sort of turns us into beast, fighting for the top.

It's not studying that made students' life hard. It's the way students are always compared to that make their life hard.