Closing of SAC

It's gonna be gone. The Singapore Art Cafe in the Esplanade Library, I mean. It's been a while since I started hanging out there. It serves good food, the boss' great, and there's a stage for music. Like tonight, where there's a chinese open mic. Supposed to meet Kace here tonight, but he pulled out at the last minute as he has something urgent to attend to. Music's not bad so far, but I may not stay on till closing time, as I want to have dinner elsewhere.

Did consider performing here before, in the past, with Serris or with Yong'an, but guess that's out of the question now. The official closing day is tomorrow, but there's still a last open mic on Friday, but won't be able to make it then as there's Reachlight.

Penned something down on Sunday to reflect some thoughts about the closing. Was deciding which title to head the words, but chose "Gone" as the one. The other one in mind was "Closing Time", which I actually contemplated writing as well, but in the end, I couldn't find any more inspiration in me to write it.

Can't believe it'll be gone
Fond memories the years through
Tears of sadness I once shed
Staring out the bay
While comfort you shared
And the joys
Fireworks through the windows
Long past closing hour
The music you love
A little corner
Music of dreams
A journey's start for many
Now gone
But as memories last
It'll forever be
The journey in our hearts

I'll continue with the diary I kept in Japan in the next round. Library's gonna close soon. Ciao for now.

EDIT: Managed to take a couple of shots with Jon when I went down on Thursday to meet Ben for lunch and to chill out before cell started.

Me with Jonathan How at the Art Cafe

So Jon, here's to you. If you are reading this, just want to say thanks for everything. For your kindness, your hospitality, your sharing, and most importantly, the friendship you freely give. Will miss you and the cafe. All the best in whatever you do, and God bless you always!

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

In Stores Now/Japan Tour Day 3

EDIT: Ok, the date reads Wednesday the 23rd. But that's the thing with Blogger, it doesn't seem to take into account the date the post is published, only when it started. Got lazy in the last few days while sorting out stuff and only managed to finish it now, Sunday morning 1.10am.

Went on a mini shopping spree on Monday. Visited SKS for the first time to help Liyen get a Veggie Tales vcd (and walking in the rain). Kinda inconvenient place to get to, but at least my bag got dried during the time I spent there (dry contents throughout while walking in the rain. Timbuk2 rocks!). Bought one of Paul Baloche's dvds on music theory as well. Can't say it's cheap, but from what I read from reviews and comments, it's worth it. Want to get the acoustic guitar dvd and an intermediate guitar course dvd as well to help improve my guitar playing; felt this is one area I'm stagnant in as I don't really have anyone to guide me (or at least someone willing to impact to me for free) and I kinda have a mental block when it comes to music theory. But hopefully that will change soon once I've digested the dvd. Also bought Jack & Rai's long long long delayed cd, which was just released a few days back, and which I've been waiting for since I heard their free lunch time concert at the Esplanade with Kace on July 26th last year. After listening to the cd on my lappy (it's back, finally), frankly, I prefer the live acoustic sessions. It IS a different listening experience, which I guess should be the avenue to walk down in an album, but felt some of the songs got too "mixed", especially Pixelated. Comparing the live performance last year that I recorded on my mp3 player (oops) and this, well, my ear goes after the former. Don't get me wrong. There are some nice acoustic stuff on the album as well, the sort I really really love. So overall, it's still an ok cd to get. Maybe I should listen more to it and reserve comments till later.

Moving on to day 3, tour of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Oh yeah, before I head there, here's the link to my Picasa album containing the shots I took in Japan. http://picasaweb.google.com/jon.journey/JapanTour2008. Those on Facebook can also view most of the photos under my profile.

Nothing much for today. After checking out of the hotel, we visited some garden as well as some place that sold unique pottery and another that made confectionary and sweets (heaven for those with a sweet tooth!). After lunch, we visited another heritage site, one that has houses with traditional thatched roofs. Long journey to get here, but the landscape is simply beautiful , within the surrounding mountains. Pity the rain that spoiled it all. (Remind me NOT to visit Japan during the rainy season ever again!). Had some nice coffee and curry rice in a small cafe/eatery while waiting for the coach boarding time. Then a journey that took an hour and a half through winding mountain roads and tunnels. Passed some really nice landscapes, including water catchment areas and hydro dams. Too bad my cam sucks (read: old, lack of manual controls especially shutter speed, and only had a 64mb XD card). This was the cam we got in 2002 and which I brought with me twice to Taiwan and once to Vietnam. Wish for a better cam, but still, there's that McPherson I'm dreaming of, heh. And that backpacking trip through Europe that I'm thinking about as well. Ah well.. Will need to shove aside these thoughts until I can find a job that will allow me to afford these.

Hotel for the night is kinda different from last night's. Proper beds this time around. Too bad the hot spring on the top floor was closed, leaving only the one in the basement . It's smaller than the one in yesterday's hotel, but it's open round the clock. Guess it's gonna be another long day tomorrow. Really long for Tokyo with the shops. I wana get my Hirano Aya cd... Guess I can only be content with the live version of 'God knows...' I ripped from the concert Gary passed to me (read: inferior quality...) Ciao for now.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Laptop's down/Japan tour day 2

Can't believe that my laptop is in for FIVE working days just to replace a cracked cover... So I'm laptop-less till next wednesday and will have to add oil to my 5 year old desktop sitting at the corner of my (very cluttered) table and fire it up. Thank God it still works, other than dust all over the keyboard and monitor. What I'm kinda miffed about was that Surlbo managed to get his laptop back after TWO days... Grr... Should have told the engineer about this case and negotiated for a faster turnaround time. Shucks.

Anyway, been busy, as some of you would know. Have not blogged for nearly 2 weeks considering I'm kinda on vacation. Being a freelancer is kinda tough, but fun with the right company present. Just finished a small project with DSA, which took almost every bit of time since last Friday to complete.
Well, it's a good learning experience for me. Like what Gary always says, the most happy times are when I get a project and when I get paid, and I echo his sentiments. No joke when you have to stare at a drawing day and night and trying to figure out what the guy who drew it in the first place was trying to convey. In Gary's case, tree in the middle of a road/building???!!! What the $%#%$Q%$#$#@$... Excuse the language. Anyway, hope we can get more projects. In case you are wondering what DSA stands for, it's taken from an anime. But in our case, it's 'Drafting Services Associates'. Onegaishimasu.

Back to the tour..

It's Saturday, and it's really been a while since I've not attended MS, a few years I think, or maybe just 2 years ago. Anyway, it's been another long day. Breakfast was good: buffet style with a mix of Japanese and Western dishes on the menu. First time having Japanese rice for breakfast, and it's filling, to say the least. Visited Koyomizu temple in the morning (tourist trap area). Lots of people though, with school kids running around. It's a world heritage site or something. But it also has a very good view of Kyoto. Oh yeah, took a bullet train to reach Kyoto from Osaka, which lasted some 15 minutes. Kinda fast. Really should come back to Japan again, this time on "free and easy" though. I want more shopping time in MY kind of shops, heh. After testing cherry blossom flavour ice-cream in the area, we went to some place facing the Sea of Japan. Called Tojimbo or something, it's supposedly a popular place for suicides -_-" Here, the sea water have eroded the cliffs which became rather jagged and rocky. Had fun climbing down to take photos, though someone wasn't too thrilled.. Remind me NOT to travel with ___ in future... can't stand the complaining... Awara was the next stop. Here, we checked into a hotel offering onsen baths. Tried that, and it's kinda refreshing. Definitely want to try it again soon. And there's 2 more nights at hotels with onsen baths. Hmm.. Room was covered in tatami mats, which meant sleeping on the floor on futons, which were prepared for us by the hotel staff while we were having dinner. Realy nice. Don't mind having this concept for my bedroom in future. Came across an Eva mag at the 24 hour convenience store across the road, which I bought for Gary and myself. Hope he likes it. Also bought home some food stuff for cell and the sound guys. Hope they'll like it. There's still my anime stuff to get, as well as other stuff for some friends. Ah well. Time to rest. Oyasumi!

"This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:' Seek me and live...' " Amos 5:4

Japan Tour Day 1

Ok, as promised, I'm gonna blog bout my trip to the Land of the Rising Sun aka Japan. Will be dividing the blog posts according to the days, as I spent some time at the end of each day writing down the day's activities into a notebook I brought along with me. Photos are still being uploaded onto Picasa as I'm writing this (3% of 78 photos... slow library connection...). I did take more than 78, just that I don't want to upload some as I feel they are kinda boring. One thing I need is more memory space on my camera, though I'm not that willing to spend on that as 1. this camera is like 6 years old already 2. I'm thinking of upgrading to a camera which allows interchanging of lenses and uses a memory card that's non-proprietary (definitely something that does not use XD or MS cards...). Was thinking of the N brand and the 300 model. Of course I'm dreaming at the moment as I definitely can't afford this now. Maybe once the campaigns start flowing and I have some cash at the end of the year. Need to wait for a price drop as well. Anyway, enough rambling.

Finally landed in Japan. And just when the rainy season begun. Didn't really believe the tour guide when he said that it's irritating, but after getting drenched several times in the same afternoon, I'm inclined to change camp. But before I go into the day, it's what happened before the flight that made me go "wow". Heard a McPherson being played for the first time at Guitar Gallery. Terry helped a lady ship in an Englemann/EIR 3.5XP (I believe). The sound emitted when strummed was the most beautiful I've heard. Crystal clear, as if the purest bell was being chimed. Talk about major GAS! Guess a Mc will be my next guitar, most probably a few years down the road. There are still other things to be concerned about, like my career path. Really have to seek God on this, and let Him guide me and reveal His plan for me. Anyway, back to the trip.

First stop after some delay waiting for the tour group to clear customs was Osaka Castle. Really beautiful and semi-crowded with all the tours with school kids around. It's like this really old castle in a park surrounded by urban buildings. Lunch in the area, then it's 4 hours of shopping. Went on my own to explore Shinsaibashi. Was told by the tour guide that Den Den Town was somewhere nearby, and wanted to explore that (Den Den Town is like Tokyo's Akihabara district). In the end, I guess I got lost. And the sky let drop the rain several times then. Ah well.. Managed to locate the book Kemin asked me to get, and the cd Dexter wanted. No sign of my Suzumiya Haruhi cd or merchandise, or other anime stuff on my shopping list. But I managed to get Phoenix Wright: Justice For All (DS game where you play an attorney) at roughly half the price back home, which is a steal. Total damage: close to 5000 yen, which paled in comparison to what my parents blew on Burberry's Blue Label bags (about 80000 yen?/1000+ SGD). Women and their expensive totes. Then again, there's also me and my expensive guitars and other tastes, heh. Been a really long day, and I'm kinda beat. Didn't catch much sleep on the overnight flight; my mistake to leave the window shades up when the sun rises at bout 5am at 30000 feet. Oh well, Kyoto will be next tomorrow, with a hotel that has a hot spring facility. Hope it'll be relaxing.

To change or not to change, that is the question...

Now milling whether or not to change the current template. Can't say it's perfect at the moment, though I do love the splashes of green all over :) Just like my room, heh. Anyway, Blogger's templates don't really excite me much, so might get one of those custom blog skins or templates out in the wild wild web. Gonna play around with AdSense and AdWord (very very soon) as well. Time to move on in life.

Yes, am back from the Land of the Rising Sun. Or rather the Land of Vending Machines. Seriously, there's like a cluster of these on almost every block. Drinks are kinda expensive though, a 300ml Coke pet bottle going for like 120 yen. With conversion rates going for like 100 yen = 1.30 SGD... well, you do the math. Anyway, will blog about the trip later, and link up the shots on Picasa. It's 2.50am, I still wanna go run later in the morning and send Ben and Terrence off at the airport later in the day. Reachlight in the evening as well. And one CB account with my name on it. Time to dabble in the world of online advertising.

"And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:14