Translation please

在我开始写新的文章之前，我要感谢所有回我前一篇文章，关心我的网友们。我会试用你们提供的妙法，努力修补我的华语。希望有朝一日能够全全掌握华文，挥洒自如地用华语表达和表演。

为了英文读者和习惯读我用英文写篇的网友们，我将会取个平衡，尽量取五十五十的比例用华语英语写我之后的文章。换句话说，每个英文文章后将会是篇华语文章。

If you haven't 'realized' that I've been writing in Chinese for my previous update and the paragraphs above (you should see your optician soon. kidding), okay here I am telling you about it and the rational behind it.

Just a short summary of the previous update and the paragraphs above: I recently attended a workshop that 'woke me up' from my comfort zone, I realized that I've been busy with school and work that I've forgotten the 'time-bomb' attached to me all along. And the 'time-bomb' is nothing but the proficiency of my Chinese language. Days after the workshop, I chatted with a friend who analyzed the consequences if I remain oblivious about the 'time-bomb' and not denote the it, and my friend of course also pointed out the fruits of taking control of the 'bomb'. Thereafter, I brain-stormed and produced couples of solutions that would help me conquer this barrier once and for all.

And blogging in Chinese is one of the solutions. This is why I've blogged in Chinese and will continue blogging in Chinese. However, not to lose you, the English-inclined netizens, I will also continue to update in English, but with equal shares for both languages. In other words, I will update by alternating between Chinese and English in future. Or maybe translate my updates, during looser schedules.

Well, I'm done with my brief plans for this blog..
It's time to crack my brain for another upcoming big day on the calender.. Fathers' Day! What should I get for dad?

身上的定时炸弹

“定时炸弹”一直绑在我的身上。我也知道它的存在。
这个“定时炸弹”从起程就开始倒数。面对这个“定时炸弹”有两个选择：
一）努力尽快把它解开，然后就可以不受干扰地前进。
二）对它的存在置之不理。知道它是个阻挡前进的绊脚石，但得过且过。

说到这里，你或许还在猜文中的“定时炸弹”是什么。其实这个“定时炸弹”指的是我的华文。

从开始，或更准确的说是入行开始，华文就成了我身上的“定时炸弹”。因为身上带着这个负担，我的表达，表演，伸缩性等都受了巨大的影响。因为无法自如的用华语，我就无法的呈献我的100％。也因为这样，华语就变成了我演艺表现的“定时炸弹”。如果不尽快把它解掉，它将随时爆炸。

但是知道是一回事，能不能采取行动解炸弹又是另一回事。
就如有明人说过，“不要因为需要用华语的时候才临时抱佛脚，那是没用的”。华文或任何语文是需要长年累月的进修才能掌握。我的问题就是没时间。

我因为学校功课量重而无法修我的华文，所以一直‘卡’在现在的程度。在兼顾学业和工作的当儿，我也有在进修华语。比如翻阅i周刊（我常称为我的华文课本），读一些剧本等 。但是进步的速度太慢了。

前几天我上了个讲习会，而这个讲习会大大的提醒我了身上的“定时炸弹”。之后也跟一名朋友深谈了这个问题。我才又发现这个“定时炸弹”依然缠着我。昨天跟朋友谈了后，我不断的想着它，不断地深思。之前可能是不够时间或努力，也或许是方法不好而倒置进步速度慢－我也不清楚。但现在是学校假期，所以我没任何‘理由’了。我将在这假期全全的修我的华语！我会找老师，希望跟拍摄队或探班学习，还有执行“5多” － 多读，多看，多听，多讲，多写。你应该也知道我为什么会忽然用华语写这张文章了吧。哈哈！

我希望我能在这短短几个星期能有更大的进步，也会是我掌握华语的好的开始。我会努力把“定时炸弹”解开 的。加油！

On hunt for...!

I'm on hunt for electric guitars!

I've been playing acoustic guitar for a while and always wanted to try out electric guitar for a change. It's not very big change like learning a whole new instrument but still there's still a lot to learn. Techniques of playing are different, new equipment and specifications are involved, more variation of effects to be manipulated such as reverb and distortion, accustoming to different genre of music etc.

I've been doing some research and also been for guitar recces over the weekends with friends, honestly I was quite lost at the start. It reminds me of the time when I bought my first acoustic guitar.

I've narrowed down to certain specifications that I want for my electric guitar, and currently I'm looking at the Les Paul range that meet most of what I want and also fit my budget.
And now is just about finding THE ONE.

"Effortless" in Passion

Few months ago I did a photo shoot themed "Effortless" for David Gan.
I was surprised to see my full blown picture in David's salon, Passion, today when I went for my haircut for a photo shoot on Saturday. I love the collection of pictures. I'll try to get more of the pictures from David to share with you guys alright.
For now I only have a picture of me posing with 'me'.
p.s. Thanks David and all who were involved in the shoot.

Midyear Spring Cleaning

I'll be having a reporter guest from I-weekly to my crib tomorrow morning, therefore I thought I should neaten my room a little so that my room will show no trace of the "phenomena of post-exam-books-and-notes-everywhere" in the pictures for the article.

I started cleaning my room after my lunch, and expecting the job to be done in 1-2 hours. BUT as I packed I realized the amount of stuff I've not cleared for the past few months when I was busy with school and work. In the end, I had to dedicate my entire day doing a elaborated 'midyear spring cleaning'. I almost spent the entire day in my room; only leaving the room for meals and drinks.

People will usually grumble about such cleaning up or some would not even bother doing it. Well I kinda have to do it so our dear photographer will not have a tough time tomorrow. I did not grumble about the long cleaning up hours instead I kinda enjoyed it. As I cleaned up the room, I came across old things which I would subconsciously pause and recollect fond memories tagged to them. There were also things that I once deemed so precious now seems insignificant anymore. Therefore, there was a lot of throwing to do and a lot of struggle whether to keep or throw some stuff which I've kept for years. Final verdict for most items are still to stay. I realized I'm quite a 'garang guni' dude who loves to keep things which marked different phases of my life.

Though I'm feeling a little tired now after a long day of cleaning, I definitely think it's worth it when I look around me. The room is now all sparkling clean and neat. And the cleaning process was self-reflective for me, and also a nostalgic experience.

By the way, below is an article of my role in Ultimatum from last week's I-weekly:

(Dion, thanks for the write-up.
Joyce Stella, thanks for sending the article to me)

Return to JJC

Last week I was invited back to JJC's Talentime, not as a contestant or student like the past, but as a judge and guest performer for the event.

First of all, I would like to thank the school for remembering this notorious student. This is the first time I return to JJC after graduating from there since 2004. Back then; I was definitely a regular 'guest' in the school's performance 'scene'. My friend and I would usually perform in the school cafe and in school events such as Teachers' Days etc.

Returning to school as a non-student always gives me a pleasant feeling. The absence of the hierarchical barrier with the teachers liberates the rigid connection between students and teachers enables open conversation to better understand the teachers. And the best thing about returning to school is that it acts as a yardstick to measure how much I have grown and achieved from the time I graduated from the school.

Only 5 years since I graduated from JC, it feels like I've been through so much yet so little. Despite the numerous occurrences and some major hallmarks, there are still many things I've yet to do or achieved in the 5 years. Some items are struck out and leave a mark in life, some missed their chances and will remained un-struck, and the list will continue to be incredibly long, and longer.

Back to the topic of Talentime. I feel honored to be the guest performers for the event, but also it was pressurizing because the last time I sang on stage was the Talentime 5 years ago. After all these donkey years, this performance reunited the duet, Zhao Xian and myself, back on stage together again. We both sung and played guitars, and performed 2 acoustic numbers "Always be My Baby" by David Cook and "找自己" by David Tao. Thank God all went well and we managed to bring an awesome performance. This performance makes me want to do more of such performances!

Here are some pictures of the performance...

I'm BACK!

Long time since I last updated my blog. Thanks for being patient and returning to the blog for the past weeks. Yes dears, updates updates! No worries, I've a lot to update for the past few weeks of my life; there were more than just examinations.

I've been busy catching up with friends after my examinations. And also lots of catching up on my physical fitness because I was so busy mugging during the examination period that I kinda stop exercising. Gearing up to the regular regime after the 'long break' was tough, and this is a learning point for me: to be consistent with physical fitness training.

Recently, I'm hooked on an American sit-com "How I Met Your Mother". I was introduced to my friend during towards the end of the examination period when we were studying together. It was our entertainment during meal time. We usually watch 1 or 2 episodes during our meal, and by the end of it we would all be so cracked by the show. The story of HIMYM is exactly expressed by the title; the episode will begin with the lead character "Ted" (or the narrator of the story) telling his kids how he met their mother, and it will then flash back to the time when Ted is young. The plot is similar to Friends, where all the stories revolve around the bunch of good friends. Something interesting about this sit-com is that the characters in the show have actual blog in reality, i.e. the 'life' of the character is reflected on blogs that you could read. I thought it is an interesting idea to increase the realism of the show. I'm also kinda influence by the numerous taglines in HIMYM, like "This is gonna be Legen.... Wait.. wait for it.. dary", "Hey... Have......you met Ted" etc. You will understand only understand all this jokes when you watch it. I was as lost when my friends were saying these random taglines before I watched it.
I will continue to back track on my updates alright... Stay 'tuned'!