Saturday, July 14, 2007

Kampung Sinai Baru

Rurally rural

I followed a medical mission team today to a village, Sinai Baru, in Raub, Pahang. At 800m above sea-level, it was a refreshing environment. However, the way up the mountain was a real off-road terrain and a first true experience for me (I think) =) Every turn and corner was jolting and skids and getting thrown like a rag doll around the cabin of the 4WD was the norm for almost 45 minutes. We were greeted by the sight of wooden and bamboo structures when we entered the village. We then set up the clinic in their community hall, which is also just another house-like structure but more opened. 3 doctors screened the people, a pharmacist dispensed and the rest help out around or prepared lunch. I took the body weights for some people, and managed to successfully read the blood pressure for 2! Haha.. Communication was a challenge due to the lack of vocabulary on both sides. My BM deteriorated quite badly and I had to translate everything in my mind before saying something. It was a good event to try to practice communication with patients. But I spent more time observing than actually talking. Next time, I'd have to talk more to practice =) The usual ailments were presented; cough, fever, hypertension, phlegm and undernourishment. For a lunch snack, we had hotdogs and cincau.

After visiting the village, we headed back to the small village at the foot of the hill. There, we had kon lo meen loh kalee chap with wild boar meat at only RM2.30 for a size that is considered big in KL! MMMMMMMmmmmmm.... =) After that, we went to the halfway house where most of the children of Sinai Baru live. We opened the clinic again to screen the children. At this house, they rear rabbits for meat! Not bad, rabbit meat has one of the lowest fat content and the rabbits breed extremely fast. They won't run out of meat, I think.

All in all, a priceless day. Anymore of these? I'm coming!

The home for the children at Kampung Sang Lee.


Singing with the children.

Children participating in song.

2 baby wild boars kept at the home.

On the way up the mountain to Kampung Sinai Baru.

Off-road trail.

Kampung Sinai Baru

A view of the village.

Reception at full bar in the middle of the jungle?

2 doctors sorting through the drugs.

Pharmacist sorting through drugs too.

The orang asli who came to the clinic.

Consultation.

Mother and child.

Small talk.

A view of the village.

Another view.

Making hotdogs for snack.


Another view.

Tok Batin.

Child behind a pillar.

Coffee shop in Kampung Sang Lee.

The coffee shop which sells noodles with wild boar meat .

The curry noodles with wild boar meat! mmmm...

2 orang asli girls. Back at the home to screen the children.

Screening.

2 orang asli boys.

Dressing a wound.

Lining up to get medicine.


Friday, July 13, 2007

Fit?

Back

Finally, I'm back to my basic form in the very beginning. 30 push-ups and 30 sit-ups, 3km jog and my fingers can go 3cm beyond my toes, stretched. I know it's nothing compared to what you guys can do haha... =p but imagine, I was almost unable to reach this count a month ago. And my fingers were reaching -4cm from my toes!!! Talk about being unfit. I'm the perfect specimen for that. Hope I'll be able to increase my stamina even more now!!! Good luck to me =)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Studio

Makeshift

Welcome to my studio, the very place I worked in to put the music together for the trailer I was working on =) Haha.. was this what you expected to see?



Trailer's done! Waiting for clearance from my boss to put it up on my site. Well, I'm pretty pleased that I managed to do this, because it is really my first time full-fledged attempt at scoring. Now, I've learned the many techniques that will hopefully improve my performance next time. See the speaker on the floor? It is from my dad's old Hitachi radio, supposedly about 20 years old =) Haha.. I had to monitor the sounds in mono, and it's the left side. Luckily for the existence of my trusty iPod earphones. Need a serious upgrade! =) Ambition to achieve: Use Reason.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Testing 123

^^

Test, test.. Posting via e-mail =) but I was wondering, why would I e-mail my post when I'm online and I am able to access my blog account and post? Hmmm... is it for e-mailing through a cell phone or Blackberry? =)

Monday, July 09, 2007

By Grace

@_~

I'm still shaking from the rush of adrenaline. I passed my first year of medic school! Only by His grace, did I manage to. It was a bare pass and was dangerously close to sending me to the autumn repeat examinations. Thank you, God! I promise to be more diligent and hardworking. Never again will I subject my exams to luck. Second year will be a year of change. Wait and see. Wait and see.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Cue-ing

Sync-ing Slowly

Aiks, first full-fledge synchronisation test! I guess that impromptu playing works best now =) Still haven't studied the technique of building of a click track for irregular tempos found in the video clip. So, I have to rely on my not-very-accurate brain and instincts and production is slower than I expected haha.. It's Sunday! Another excuse for moving slowly (mo yi si, boss!). However, cues should be done by today =) Hope to start and finish recording tomorrow!


Cue planning

Saturday, July 07, 2007

My Studio

**Dreaming**

I see these in my dreams... =)

Keystation Pro 88

Oxygen 49


ProjectMix I/O

Trigger Finger


Studiophile BX8a


Pro Tools M-Powered 7


**still dreaming**... zzzzzzzz.....*smile*

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Dry

Desert

What an unproductive day. After sitting for 2 hours in front of my keyboard, all that I could come up with is a sequence of a guitar part that didn't even fit the scene I was supposed to score. My brain suddenly shut down as I stared blankly at my computer screen and the script. Hmm.. is it the hot weather? Or is it the haze?

That's right, the haze is back. Seems that Sumatera is on it's burning routine again. What is with that island? We have complained many many times about their burning activities, Indonesian government pledged to stop the burning and we even wanted to help put out the fires for them. They just can't stop. Is it because they think that the problem only affects them? Sigh.. smoke doesn't know how to read maps. They will go anywhere they like, and the winds have brought them to our lovely Malaysia.

Ah.. just hope I can continue writing tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Scribble..

Notes?

Yikes.. I have learned that it is better to notate to a certain extent. I had never been a fan of reading notes, what more writing notes. But as it turned out, I can't remember my sketches well, even if it was done a few hours before. Is there another way to notate without using notes? Maybe I should invent my own language? I'm still getting a hang of recording without the luxury of many controls like limiters, nice reverb machines, MIDI pans, and superb samples from Reason. And my timing is somehow screwed up today haha.. Hope my boss likes the latest track.

Whatever happens, ultimately, the art has to be mastered. We control the machines, not the other way round. Go Yamaha... yea! =)

Track 4 recording/mixing session


Tuesday, July 03, 2007

@_@

Rant..

Arrr... what could be worse than a writer's block when in the midst of sketching out tunes! Everything seems to sound the same, the keyboard began to sound out of tune, my ears hurt, my head throbs, and recorded scores are irritating me. Maybe I haven't got the hang of scoring just yet. Well, it's worth the experience and hopefully I would improve =) At least I managed to churn out 2 tracks in 5 hours hehe...

M-audio, I need your gear now!! Need the tech boost!! Heeeeelllllppppp!!!!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Ape

oo oo a a aak..

These creatures have an amazing likeness to humans. They pick up cups and eat out of them, just like we eat popcorn out of the boxes. They collect cups and drink out of them, just like we drink teh tarik. One of them sees a person dropping bread, he calls and the whole pack swarms the area, just like we swarm the buffet table. How different are we? Hmm.. let's see..less fur, a missing tail, bipedalism, and we rarely climb trees daily. Wait, is that all..?!?!?!

I'd rather be a plant. Self-sufficient and no worries about transport. We just stay rooted to your ground and live life. Some will appreciate your looks, but will this cause vanity to take over? We will attract many organisms which help sustain our family line. See how smart plants are? We have others do our difficult work unquestioningly.

So, what are you? Hmm...

Sale!

-$

Nice, when there is a sale, there are some truly good offers =) This is my favourite shirt of the season! A Dri-Fit at half price! Now, is it going to be a motivation for my running regiment? Haha.. it is! Every time I feel lazy, a sign goes on telling me to put that shirt to good use. Don't waste money. So, here I am running running running.. cycling cycling cycling..

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Scoring

Lalala...

Ah, now embarking on the first scoring job =) hope I can finish the project within this week. All I have is my humble Yamaha keyboard, and am using it's on-board sounds haha.. Hopefully, I can upgrade to a MIDI+live sound studio so that I will have a reason to use Reason (seriously need more $$$!!!).

Good luck to me!!

Friday, June 29, 2007

Death is Beautiful

Yes, it has been 6 months since my last post hehe.. Exams had caused this extremely long hiatus. And no, this blog is not dead yet.

The elder of my church passed early this morning. Is death always associated with grief and sadness? In our eyes, we have lost someone close and will never see them again. But this person has done countless righteous things, living a purposeful life. Loving his family and loving the church, leaving a legacy for all of us and a vision for us to pursue. Now he is back home with the Lord and is relieved of all suffering.


Death is a beautiful thing when life was purposeful.

(from hyms)
When my life work is ended,
and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning
I shall see;
I shall know my Redeemer when
I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first
to welcome me.

It is well with my soul.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Howth!

A wonderful day in Howth.


The Howth DART station.


In Howth Harbour =)


The Harbour.


Howth village.


A memorial for those lost at sea.


The Olympic Council of Ireland.


A church on the way to Howth Summit.


Going up the hill.


Bailey Lighthouse in the south.


The road to Bailey =)


The cliff to the left of Bailey.

A cliff.


Me =)


Going down the cliff to the beach!







The beach in sight!






Reached!





Howth Castle. A private property.





The National Transport Museum nearby the castle. It was closed ='(


An old bus.



An armoured car.


Inside the armoured car.


Back to the castle on the way back =)



St. Mary's church nearby.



The pier at Howth fishing village.


A view from the pier.




Ireland's Eye.



A lighthouse.


Another lighthouse at the end of the pier.



The door to the stairs of the lighthouse.