Saturday, June 30, 2007

Bookout Day

And…I’m back!

The last you heard from me, I was just packing and getting ready to enlist into the next two years of my life, more or less ignorant of what laid ahead of me. And now, after the first two weeks of confinement and adjustment, here I am back in front of my computer, aching, slightly tanner and slightly less ignorant than before.

While I won’t say that the last two weeks have been totally life-changing (it was, after all, only two weeks), it certainly has been quite a different experience from anything I’ve ever had to go through. The rigorously enforced routines (from the early wake up times to the many-times-a-day water parades) as well as the generous servings of physical training took me a back for at least the first few days.

I remember that the first few days felt really long. Perhaps it was due to the long waking hours (5.30am to 10.30pm!) or the fact that we always had some thing or other to do at any one point of time (sometimes multiple things simultaneously) but after only the first three days, it felt like I had been there for weeks already and my first bookout day seemed impossibly far away.

Thankfully, as I got more settled into the routine and life there, the days seemed to pass at a more normal rate. I began eating more (I barely ate anything in the first few days) of the huge servings of food (did I mention that we ate many, many times a day?), got used to the idea of running to the shower so as to secure a cubicle to bathe in and even got used to the physical training (which I heard would get way more intense after our first two weeks).

Surprisingly, I even found that I enjoyed certain parts of the day, especially after some of the physical training (because, as a commander told us, “pain is good, it means we’re alive”). Of course, it might have helped that my bunkmates have been nothing but friendly and nice and really helped create a comfortable setting to start my NS with.

That said, though, I still feel quite stressed out by certain non-physical-training aspects of life in Tekong. The bunk area inspections always make me break out in sweat (well, more than usual, since the heat on that island ensures you never stop perspiring ever) and the little rules concerning the proper ways to wear uniforms or handling weapons always get me quite nervous, especially since I’ve never been the fastest, smartest person around nor am I very good with my hands.

So far, NS has proven slightly better than my expectations, although that might just be because the first two weeks are meant for us to settle in to life in NS. From what everyone has been telling me, it’s going to get really tough from now on. Nonetheless, I’ll still bring some good faith when I book back in tomorrow, that it’ll be an enriching experience. After all, it’s always better to look on the bright side of life ay?

Friday, June 15, 2007

Enlistment

Finally, the day has arrived.

When I was in primary school, the concept of enlistment sounded so distant, something totally unfathomable that I didn’t even bother thinking about because it was so far away. In secondary school, it was a slightly more real notion but still a while away and thus classified as “no-need-to-bother”. Even in polytechnic, the general trend of thought of thought that I had towards entering NS was “ah, I still have a little time”.

It was only after I graduated (unofficially) a few months back when I was less occupied with schoolwork that it finally occurred to me that I would be enlisting soon.

And now, a day after my graduation, I’ll be heading down to Pulau Tekong with my parents to enlist myself to what is going to be my life for the next two years.

Like any guy, I guess, I’ve spent the last few days going through the cycle of emotions that include trepidation, fear, curiosity, and, at times, the excitement that such a radical change in lifestyle will most certainly involve.

While I won’t say that I’m totally looking forward to entering NS (especially because I’m a guy who’s very adverse to change), I’m thinking it’s going to be an interesting experience, much different from what I’ve had to handle in my life so far and much different from what would be to come after that, I’m sure.

So, while I’m confined to the island for the next few weeks for my PTP, I won’t be able to update regularly here, but do tune back in in a few weeks for my feelings towards my experience so far NS after the first few weeks.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Graduation Blues

In a few days’ time, I’ll be donning my graduation robe (the first year that polytechnic grads get to wear robes!), stepping on stage, collecting the little slip of paper that certifies me as a diploma-level specialist and officially ending my life as a struggling mass communication student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Although I unofficially graduated when my industrial attachment ended in March, the looming ceremony feels like a final closure on my polytechnic student life, a bittersweet end to my three years of smiles, sweat, tears and, at many times, blood shed. Like is the case for most people, the graduation ceremony and all that it entails and symbolizes evokes a maelstrom of different emotions in me.

On one hand, this marks the end of one chapter of my life and the start of a brand new one (I apologise but clichés are totally necessary in sentimental pieces like these). Although the past many years of schooling has been fun (for the most part), the next step (going into NS) would provide a very different type of life experience for me, one that is probably a vast change from the type of lifestyle that I’ve been accustomed to.

On the other hand, I’m quite sad to take my hiatus from schooling, especially since the last three years have been a blast. Other than making a whole new set of friends and having exciting escapades (well, not that exciting but still fun), being a student in polytechnic has also changed me as a person.

If I had to list all the ways in which being in poly has affected my life, we’d still be here by the time Christmas comes along so I’d spare you all the visual torture and just say that, thanks to the tight rush of deadlines, the various forced chances for teamwork and interactions as well as the more independent, no spoon-feeding modus operandi of the polytechnic system, I’ve had to mature pretty quickly.

I learnt the importance of teamwork (and I don’t mean in the usual cheesy, there’s-no-I-in-team, sort of way but in the much more realistic, if-you-don’t-cooperate-you-all-fail manner), the importance of being able to handle different people and situations as well as how to be more independent. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to take on the mantle of an adult as yet, but at least I’m much less naïve and blur than I was when I first graduated from secondary school.

Of course, other than the character building, the other main reason for my fondness for my polytechnic life was the friends I made and the memories I made with them. I still remember the first time I met my classmates before the start of the first year. I was afraid, shy and terribly self-conscious, not daring to say much to anybody except the occasional hi. Since then, some of these people have gone on to become really good friends of mine, as have other classmates and course-mates I met in later years. It’s sad to think that I’ll never be attending a lecture with all of them again, never be doing a project with them again, and sharing the laughter and the occasional mental breakdowns that are inevitable in the course.

Still, life has to go on and I guess I’ll just take what I’ve learnt these past years and make the upcoming years as enjoyable and fulfilling as I can. Goodbye, NP, I’ll miss you.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Legend of the Sea

I’ve always been a big fan of animated movies. From the classic oldies like The Lion King and Aladdin to the newer hits like Finding Nemo and the Shrek series, I’ve watched them all and (probably) loved them all too. Ok, so some *ahermSpiritStallionoftheCimarronaherm* weren’t that great but, as a whole, I’ve been a pretty big fan of animations.

The same could be said of local movies. While I’m not that big on indie or those terribly artsy movies as a whole (international or local), as a film and media student, I’ve been exposed to quite a few local films and I’ve found them to be of pretty good quality, comparable to some of the highly rated movies from overseas. And, like most Singaporeans, I was a huge fan of I Not Stupid when it first appeared on our silver screens back in 2002.

So, when I got a chance to watch Legend of the Sea, the new local animation, I was pretty exciting to see what our local animation industry (a burgeoning market, or so I’ve heard) can do. Of course, being as new a market in Singapore as it is, I wasn’t expecting something of the grand Dreamworks and Disney calibers but I was hoping for a decently entertaining watch. Alas, it was not to be.

Featuring the voices of local singer JJ Lin Jun Jie as well as Taiwanese singers Lin Yu Zhong and Jin Sha, Legend of the Sea is about a dragon prince (aptly named Xiao Long, or Little Dragon), voiced by Lin, who, one day, gets bored with his lessons and sneaks off with his father’s all powerful pearl to play with his friends, voiced by Jin Sha and Lin. They unwittingly stumble into the lair of a three-armed octopus (at least I think she’s supposed to be an octopus) villain (who looks an awful lot like Ursula from The Little Mermaid), who’s plotting to overthrow the dragon king and rule the underwater kingdom.

As his two friends head back to the dragon king to report this development, Xiao Long stays behind to try to find out more, only to be captured and use as a hostage. Of course in the end, he manages to escape and, with his friends’ help, manages to save the day.

The plot of the movie is formulaic and predictable, with nary a twist or plot change at all. The entire story, which I’m guessing even young children can guess totally correctly, is uninteresting and the dialogue, which mostly features longwinded talks and ridiculously slow deliveries from the voice actors (every sentence seems to go excruciatingly on forever) make the show terribly draggy despite being only 73 minutes in length.

The characters are one-dimensional and don’t show any depth. Xiao Long is the typical male hero, rash and impulsive but heroic till the end; his two friends are unremarkable and the dragon king, supposedly a creature of majesty and glory, seems more wimpy and old than anything else. Even the villain (whose name I’ve forgotten) is a total rip off of several old cartoon villains (like the aforementioned Ursula). The only character of note is Li Xiao Xing, a starfish who’s an obvious homage to martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Cool and quirky, with a very hilarious voice, Xiao Xing is the only character that managed to garner any form of response from the audience of the cinema I was in.

The animation, while decent, is not terribly groundbreaking or exciting. With that said, though, it still remains one of the better points of the show. The music of the show, despite the fact that all three of the lead voice actors are singers, is terrible. While JJ Lin’s main theme for the show is a decent end to the movie, he only gets to sing that one song and the other two don’t even get any singing opportunities. The other songs in the show are left to the other supporting characters to sing, the result of which is so painful and so hilariously bad that I wonder whether it’s intentionally spoofing something or other.

Overall, the movie was very disappointing, failing in most aspects quite spectacularly. The only things that saved it somewhat were the character of Xiao Xing as well as the main theme song. Still, one of the worst (if not, THE worst) animations I’ve ever seen.

Rating: 1 star out of 5