The Singer & His Food.

New SITE UP! Check www.Fred-Lin.com

2007-01-22T14:20:00.000+08:00

Winterealm is gone, say hello to the new site: http://www.Fred-Lin.com .

MOVED TO NEW SITE

2006-06-21T12:19:00.000+08:00

Hello! Winterealm 5.0 is officially launched, and as such, this blog will no longer be updated. The new Winterealm incorporates my blogging and music together, so its best of both worlds, combing the old Winterealm.com and thewinterealm.blogspot.com content.
So, please continue to show your support to me at Http://www.Winterealm.com ! See ya there!

A Dream come true... (woot)

2006-06-13T14:46:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, there was a talented young boy who had a passion for music and playing the piano. He only had a humble outdated plastic Yamaha keyboard at home, left behind by his brother, but he learnt and made quite a few songs with it.
However, he was severely restricted by the instrument's limitations. Because of that, he always kept a lookout for articles about keyboards and synthesizers, and often made secret wishlists of keyboards/synths he'd dream to own some day.

On a trip to Hong Kong in 2003, he came upon the Yamaha S08 keyboard/synthesizer at a well-known music store known as Tom Lee Music. The keyboard caught his attention because it felt good to play on, and although it was pricey, it didn't seem impossible to buy. It costed approx $1700 and later the price was confirmed by Yamaha Singapore.
So, our little young musician saved what spare money he could, and made a little goal that he will earn money with his own hands and music to buy his desired instrument. The day finally came, after a Chinese New Year in 2004, with personal savings and CNY money, he finally had the $1700 needed to buy the keyboard! (even though he didn't actually earn any money from music as originally intended). So, the happy little bugger hopped down to Yamaha Music Plaza, only to his horror, to find the price risen to $2400!

His dreams were instantly shattered, hopes dashed. It was already costing him a limb and leg to fork out $1700, lest to say $2400. So reluctantly, he gave up his dream for the Yamaha S08.
After some research, he managed to find another keyboard, although not half as good, but it was reasonable for it's price, and a good value for money. So our budding musician bought that instrument, and made alot of progress in his music and growth for over a year using it.

2006. Frederick Lin was a name that rang throughout the halls of Musical Theatre Society as a talented composer and singer. He achieved much success and acclaim for a musical he wrote and staged in March 2006, and subsequently received a generous offer to compose a birthday song for the renowned Goei family.

The young man did some research again on the Yamaha S08, still the instrument of his dreams after 3 years... although the price at Yahama remained at $2400 (and unaffordable), he found another shop who has it for $1990 ! With enough money this time, having received some recognition for his music, he finally bought the Yamaha S08, with his own money from music.
Finally, 1 of his dreams had come true. The 2 month wait for the shipment from Japan to arrive was over, and it was an emotional moment when he opened the huge box finally, unveiling the beauty laid within. The wait was over.

为什么我没早点认识你

2006-05-26T02:27:00.000+08:00

看见你那苗条的背影
千言万语数不清

我没能力表达我的心意
因为你已经属于别人的唯一

你只在我面前，却那么遥远
如果有一天再有个机会，我一定会从新追求你

Another new song up

2006-04-22T13:40:00.000+08:00

Another post to redirect you to my Winterealm site, to check out my latest Original Chinese Vocal Song.... titled 17 Sui Na Nian, i sing about a girl i met when i was 17, and a girl i met when i was 24 ... Check it out. :p
As you can see, i'm working pretty actively on releasing new songs and making more of my own music now.
I'm making plans to go study Audio Engineering in Canada next year, if i don't get a contract as a Singer. Honestly, i want to go, coz its exciting, its something i've always dreamt of learning, and i want to have a change of environment, mainly get away from my Dad ...

2 New Songs Available for Download

2006-04-14T21:14:00.000+08:00

Hi guys,
2 New songs released on my music site, basically what i was busy for the past 2 weeks. Go get em' at http://www.Winterealm.com !

Majestic Beauty

2006-04-13T00:12:00.000+08:00

Look at this majestic beauty that bloomed earlier this week....
It was wierd, coz i never remembered seeing a single flower, and all of a sudden we had petals snowing on the pavement... This is a tree right outside my work place.
It's freaky, coz it's the only tree with flowers, and all of a sudden it seemed like it bloomed overnight.. Every single moment, that's a petal falling... its really a very very unique sight... in Singapore that is...
Almost has this Japanese Sakura feel....

This is what the ground looks like below the tree..

A new song for ya'll

2006-04-09T17:04:00.000+08:00

Took a big load off my back today. Completed and delivered 1 project. It was a success.
Today was a pretty significant day in my life. I sang a song, and moved an 82 year old man to tears. Anyway, i'll be working on some of my own stuff for awhile from now on, expect alot of songs to come.. i have like 4 songs that i'm about to release out...
Here's 1.. but it's not an original song... a very -very- nice christian song by Hillsongs .. So You Would Come.. enjoy it.

Download

The file is named mpx, but save it as an mp3. Reason for naming it mpx is so that if you click on it, it won't autoplay in quicktime, rather open up the save as dialogue.

PS: anyone knows anyone working at Yamaha ? I'd really really really really be grateful if i could get a keyboard from Yamaha with the staff 25% discount...

A Long overdue update

2006-04-06T22:38:00.000+08:00

Wow.. i realize i havn't really blogged for ages...
I've been caught up with certain.... projects .....
Because of my National Service liabilities, i can't reveal alot here...
but i have one thing to say, Showbiz is good money. :)
Well my musical went really well and i've been approached for ... stuff.
and, for once, i'm really being acknowledged and recognized for my efforts and talent.
I say talent because, sometimes i feel that talent is over emphasized.
I think that hardwork plays a more important role in success. Although having a natural ability to excel in a certain area, does accelerate the process.

Anyway, i've learnt alot over the past month. Learnt how to manage my time, juggling work, play and .. more work.
Also, success management, which my brother brought up to me. To manage my success, involves managing what people expect out of me, and what i produce.
Because when someone has seen/heard you do something impressive, that will set a standard in their minds. So naturally, the next thing you do, if it is lesser than what was previously done, you will disappoint, and eventually go back to square one. Key thing is, don't "Over Promote" yourself too much. So people expect less, and when you give more, they're impressed once again.
I gotta go for now... I had lessons with Celebrity vocal instructor, Dave Stroud the past 2 days. It was an extremely enlightening experience, and honour at the same time. Looking forward to his masterclass over the weekend.

Do YOU want to SING in a Musical???

2006-03-29T23:34:00.000+08:00

THE NEXT WAVE III of Original Singapore Musicals

CASTING CALL
TAKE PART IN NEW MUSICALS!

Can you sing and act? If so, you may be the one we're looking for.

You are invited to audition for SIX Exciting Original READINGS to be
staged on 23-25 JUNE 2006 as part of the Singapore Festival of Arts
fringe at The Drama Centre Black Box, National Library.

Performers for the readings will be given a small honorarium.

Interested parties may walk in for an audition. If you would like to
confirm your schedule, please contact Tamara   at 81134292 or email
tns@uanworld.com

       DATE  : Saturday 1 April 2006
                    Sunday 2 April  2006
       TIME   : 3:00 to 6:00 pm
       PLACE :  The Next Stage Academy,   420 Clemenceau Avenue
North, adjacent to the carpark at Newton Food Centre. It's opposite
Cairnhill CC , 5 mins walk from Newton MRT.

Please prepare TWO BROADWAY SONGS (One slow/ One Fast) that will show
your RANGE and EXPRESSION. These songs are to be sung acapella or
accompanied by your own minus one. Bring along a photograph (any photo
will do) and your bio-data/resume if possible.

1. BLUE WILLOW HOUSE
A tender love story set in a Singapore brothel around the turn of the
19-20th century.

a) Lim Boon Keng: m 36 : A prominent community leader and Member of
the Legislative Council
b) Ah Lin: f 16 : Young novice prostitute
c) Mama: f 40  : Brothel Keeper,
d) Kong: m 55 : A crippled soup-hawker, a dirty old man.
e) May Lee: f 32  : A prostitute.
f) Marakusa: f 28 : A Japanese courtesan.
g) The Boss: m 40 : Gangster
h) Hong Chai: m 21 : A hunky porter-coolie.

Ensemble: Marakusa's little maid., policemen, rickshaw coolies,
gangsters, prostitutes.


2. VANITY VICTORIOUS VIRTUE VANQUISHED
Comedy about 4 ladies obsessed about their external appearances, but
learn about internal appearances.

a) Cleo : f 20+; Pimply faced.
b) Victoria: f 20+ ;Fat.
c) Becky: f 20+; Flat-chested.
d) Letchmi: f ; Dark-skinned.
e) Susanne: f 20+ ;Short.
f) Lee: m 20+ ;Sales promoter.
g) Sean: m 20+ ; Victoria's boyfriend.
h) Samuel: m 20+ ; Becky's brother.
i) Mr Tan: m 20+; Cleo's office colleague.

Ensemble: Boss, cleaner, chorus


3. CITY OF THE GODS
A musical inspired by the mysterious demise of the ancient South
American Empire - the Teotihuacans - more than one millennium ago.

a) Zelch: m 20+  Charming and playful, reflective.
b) Taloc: m 20+ Handsome and refined, romantic prince.
c) Renoa: f 20+ Beautiful and kind-hearted.
d) Shaman: m 30-40 The religious leader of the Teotihuacans/
e) King: m 40-50 King of the Teotihuacans. An enlightened, wise leader.
f) Queen: f 40-50 A refined yet playful mother of the empire.
g) Ensemble of 6 characters. The ensemble sings and dances and plays
different roles throughout the musical.


4. SWINGLE
A jazz musical dramedy about being single and swinging.

a) Mdm Goh: f late 60's Charming in a motherly way.
b) Natalie Koh: f late 30's Not-so-tall, but slender and petite.
c) Ray Rosario: m late 30's Eurasian, prim & proper, gay.
d) Fred Lee: m early 30's Single, young boyish looks, average buid.
e) Mr Koh: m mid 60's Stout, divorced, young-at-heart.


5. LOVE IS IN THE AIR
Romantic comedy set in a bridal store about a woman who meets an
attractive man just before her wedding. Modern, executive, pseudo-New
York setting

a) Jeremy: m late 20s - co-owner of bridal shop, serious and hardworking
b) Julian - m late 20s - half brother of Jeremy, co-owner of bridal
shop, flirty and fun loving
c) Nadia: f early 20s, sweet and slightly pampered daughter of a tycoon
d) Evangeline: f late 20s, confident, fun loving, about to be married
e) Bryan: m late 20s, gentle, about to be married
f) Alexander Aidan: m mid 40s, rich flamboyant tycoon


6. VICTORIAN DAYS
Singapore 1890: a young doctor is inspired by the love of a singing
girl to devote  his life to public service.

a) Lim m 20+ Young hero
b) Lily f 20+  Heroine, about same age: classic voice
c) Baba Ong m 50+ Lim's uncle, bass
d) Auntie 50+ Brothel keeper
e) Kitty 20+ Young prostitute
f) Dr Mugliston Doctor m 40+  "patter"  type of songs
g) J J James 30+  a Whitehall bureaucrat

Closer to Your Heart - A Success!

2006-03-27T11:22:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday's musical was a huge success. We were sold out, much to my alarm because i had told my friends that tickets would be available in abundance on the actual day. Fortunately i did manage to get tickets for them at the last minute.
We arrived at 3 in the afternoon, everyone's nerves were just building and building..from our rehearsal till 10mins before our actual performance...
But at the end of the day... it was probably the last time we'll perform this act... so everyone agreed to give it their all... and that we did... and blew the audience away. (even our director).
People were weeping, and we received applaud for nearly every song sung.
I would like to take this time to thank my beloved cast, for doing such a great job with my music, for enduring the rehearsals and recording sessions... for having to adhere to me and Hawk's vocal expectations.... because of everyone 's hard work, the musical was a success.
Don't know what'll be in stored for the future now, but i hope that we'll have a chance to work together once more, someday. :)
I will break some rules, and put up some songs from the musical on my music site sometime later... Till then, i'll be busy recording/producing new pop songs, as well as making the new Winterealm site. Keep ya'll posted. Cheers!

Ps: On a side note, i don't know if she's crazy, really thoughtful, or just have alot of free time, but my friend Miss A, has compiled a must-have warddrobe list for guys. Check it out here.

Final Promo for my musical

2006-03-24T09:26:00.000+08:00

Ok guys... The musical that i have been working on will be showing tomorrow.
It's titled Closer to Your Heart. The story and script was written by Mohd Shaifulburi, a very promising writer/director.
The music, is composed and arranged by yours truly. I will also be acting/singing in it for a couple of scenes.
The story is about a broken family and how the members deal with their problems, only to find their relationships drifting further instead.
Mae had lost her husband after moving to Singapore, and 1 of her 2 sons shortly died after... Leaving her with her rebellious son.

The musical will be held at The Artshouse, which is located behind Victoria Theatre.
Tickets will be available at the door, and will buy you 2 musicals. Moon People, and Closer to Your Heart. First show starts at 8pm, Mine starts at 9pm .
If you don't have anything on tomorrow evening, you might want to consider attending.. since $20 for 2 musicals is pretty cheap! Support local productions! And this is probably the last you will hear from me regarding saturday's performance. :)

Closer to Closer to Your Heart

2006-03-21T10:02:00.000+08:00

Pardon the pun.. haha... Did the recording for the comemmorative at Stereo Image Productions yesterday after work. Ended at about 11:30pm, had dinner and then took a cab back.
The recording went pretty well, especially for first timer Shahddon, it was quite daunting for him. But he pulled it off. I'm just glad my coaching during his takes helped him and solved his problems..
So i'm really honoured and happy, that ours is the only musical to have 3 tracks in the CD, aside from ending the CD. I also have my name plastered ALL over.

Composer: Frederick Lin
Arranger : Frederick Lin
Lyricist: Frederick Lin
Assistant Producer: Frederick Lin
Performed by: Frederick Lin

I saw a preview of the programme guide for the night, and i'm just glad that i used a good picture of myself, coz, there are 2 profiles of me in the book. Once in the composer section, and the other in the Cast section.
In anycase, i think i'm drawing alot of attention. Just hope the attention will be good, and come from good sources.

Closer to Your Heart: A Musical by Mohd Shaiful & Frederick Lin

2006-03-17T18:56:00.000+08:00

The musical i've been working on is finally complete, and the response so far to the preview has been excellent. As a matter of fact, out of sheer luck, my Finale song will be the ending track on the commemorative CD (Which will be available on the actual day of the performance). I'm honoured, and very happy that i'm finally getting some acknowledgement for my music.
Closer to Your Heart is on Day 2 of the musical spree, which is on the 25th of March, Saturday.
For $20, you get to watch 2 musicals, Moon People and Closer to Your Heart. Mine will be the 2nd performance.
Do check it out if you have time. I wrote all the songs in the musical, and 95% of the lyrics.
For more information about what we're doing in this Next Wave project, hop over to http://www.musicals.org.sg
Call early, and book your tickets at : 6332 6919 .
And this is our poster.

Freakin' tired.....

2006-03-14T16:39:00.000+08:00

I havn't had less than 5 hours of sleep and still made it to work for as far as i can remember. Yet, today i did. Only slept 4 hours last night, coz i was rushing songs for Closer to Your Heart, the musical i wrote. There's a technical rehearsal today and i had to get all my songs ready, as well as finalize and prepare 3 of the songs that will be featured on the commemorative CD.
The CD will be sold, will put up details at a later date if you're interested.
I hope i don't fall ill, have rehearsals on Wed and Thurs as well... But i can feel my body breaking down already... been feeling groggy all day.
I'll put up the poster for the musical event soon, for the time being, i dont' want to steal your attention away from a bigger event, Dave's Stroud's visit to Singapore. Check the preceeding post. :)

Dave Stroud MasterClass @ Singapore

2006-03-14T02:50:00.000+08:00

Dave Stroud, Master vocal coach is coming to Singapore in April to promote and launch SLS in Singapore. He will be conductin 2 masterclasses, and private lessons for the week. Check out the flyer if you're interested.
Daniel Singh, Singapore's 1st and only SLS Certified teacher is hosting this event. Check out www.danielstudios.com for more details on the event, and to sign up.

A sleepy Monday...

2006-03-06T16:20:00.000+08:00

Today has been amazingly sleepy, yet busy. I started work on the new Winterealm site yesterday, and it's progressing really well. It'll be a good site when it's done, and will last at least 2-3 years.
Skipped lunch today as usual, so i can focus on the greater meal of the day, Dinner!
I still have 1 piece of Mentaiko left, and i need to finish it before it spoils.
I'm a little tired of Mentaiko Pasta though... so i've been thinking all day what to do with it.
I've decided to settle for a simple meal tonight.

A simple miso soup with tofu
Freshly cooked rice with nori and tobiko sprinkled over it
Half of the mentaiko as a sidedish of its own
The other half, mixed with 2 eggs as an omlette.

Sounds good.

Mentaiko Pasta Debut!

2006-03-03T23:12:00.000+08:00

Second food post in a day! I went to get my hair cut at Far East Plaza today, after which, i decided to drop by the supermarket at Isetan. Why there? Because being a japanese supermarket, it packs ALOT of goodies than you can't find elsewhere.
Ever since reading about Mentaiko Pasta on ChubbyHubby's, i had been dying to try it out, given it's simplicity to create. But the main reason is, i wish to know if it tastes as good as it looks. I have no idea how mentaiko tastes like, so it was quite exciting.
The packet of mentaiko. Looked a little appalling. Especially the thought of it being eaten raw.
Mentaiko in it's sags look like a raw piece of organ, specifically, a kidney.
Anyway, i bought my goods, got home and cooked it as soon as i could. Whipped out the camera and took a few shots. This is the first time i have prepared a 'high class' dish, and presented it nicely. I think i give myself 7/10. The taste, was not disappointing. :)
For the recipe i based tonight's dinner on, check out CH's Mentaiko Pasta post.
My version of it is slightly more sinful though. Actually features 3 whole strips of bacon, together with 1 shredded bacon sauteed with the onions. The rest of it is exactly the same as his recipe.
Thanks CH, for introducing this to me.

Ramly Burger Debut!

2006-03-03T22:59:00.001+08:00

I finished vocal training late last night, and didn't exactly have anything planned for dinner. Walking past the night market set up near my home, i noticed a stall selling the famous Ramly Burger. I don't really know the origins of this humble burger, but it has been popularize by the Malaysians apparently.
Essentially, it's a burger with a meat patty, a very thin omlette, diced onions, cheese, mayo and an unknown (to me) dark sauce.
The burgers are freshly made on the spot upon request. Watching the person make the burger is kinda interesting for the first timer, because it involves some flair and stylistic moves, which seperates one ramly stall from another. You'd see the cook tossing the sauce cans in the air, and handling the ingredients with finesse.
It tasted quite good. I don't really know how to describe it. It's nothing like a Macdonalds, Burger King, Subway. I guess it's uniquely .. Ramly. :)

Featured on Mr Brown Show

2006-02-28T16:57:00.000+08:00

A pleasant surprise greeted me today when i listened to the latest Mr Brown show podcast. The jingle that i did for them like a month ago was finally aired, and i think they're even gonna use it from now on as their jingle. It felt a little odd hearing someone talk about you on the show, but i guess it's an honour... haha. Incase you missed the post i made about the jingle, you can get it here.

My saturday breakfast pwns.

2006-02-25T17:41:00.000+08:00

I look forward to weekends for many reasons. One of which is the weekend breakfast.
I tend to make my weekend breakfast as enjoyable as i can, coz it's the only 2 days where i actually have time to enjoy a nice breakfast.
This weekend, inspired by ChubbyHubby's recent cheeseburger post, i decided to make Cheese Muffin! It's a very sinful muffin sandwich, but extremely... extremely... tasty...

Start by frying your bacon as normal, with abit of oil. I used 2 strips of streaky bacon, cut into half. So that's 4 pieces in total.
After bacon is done, put the bacon aside, and crack an egg directly into the grease left over by the bacon, and stir the eggs in the pan until they're cooked. Once they're done, put aside. It takes about 1-2 minutes for the eggs to be done. You shouldn't have much grease left in the pan, it should've been absorbed by the egg.
Turn down the heat, add a slab of butter, and brown the cut sides of your muffins. Let it grill for about 3-5 mins, the upside should be soft, while the cut side should be crispy.
Put the 2 pieces of muffin on a plate, 2 pieces of bacon on the bottom side, eggs on top, and another 2 pieces of bacon on top.
Cut about 2 slices of cheddar, put em' on top of the top side of the muffin, and put them in a conventional oven for about 5 mins to melt the cheese. Watch out for the muffin getting burnt though.
When the cheese has melted, just put the 2 sides of the muffins together, and it's done!

Heavenly.

YAM - Yet Another Monday

2006-02-20T10:20:00.000+08:00

The weekend was a decent. Well my family problem is coming to a close for now, Thank God. Went down to The Next Stage Academy at Newton (Which is basically the Theatrical section of United Artistes Network). Halfway walking there, it started raining...... very... heavily... so i took off and ran out to the main road, thinkign that i'd find a bus stop or something.
There wasn't a single shelter in sight. -_- . So i continued running under the heavy rain, and luckily found a huge tree with a big extended branch, which i stood under for 5 mins, until the sudden downpour slowed down. By then, i already was 90% drenched.
Luckily, the rain did subsided in 5 mins, afterwhich, i walked briskly to the venue. (no point running since i'm already all wet). The last time i got drenched so bad in the rain i think was back in Secondary School, when we actually thought it felt cool to 'take a shower in the public'. Haha. Good times.

Free Your Voice! A Speech Level Singing Workshop!

2006-02-15T11:35:00.000+08:00

FREE YOUR VOICE - A Speech Level Singing Workshop by Daniel Singh - Singapore's only Certified Instructor. Tues Feb 21 7-10pm. Details & Registration now available at www.danielstudios.com - Limited Seats. Register today.

What do 120 Grammy Winners have in common?

They all use the Seth Riggs Speech Level Singing™ Technique

Daniel Singh – Singapore’s first and only Certified Speech Level Singing™ Instructor will be conducting a 3 hour workshop on the Speech Level Singing Technique™. Come and discover how this revolutionary technique can unleash the full potential of your voice.

Some of the topics covered are:

* why you don’t need more breath/diaphragm support
* eliminating vocal breaks
* developing chest, mix and head voice
* falsetto vs head voice
* nasality & how to fix it
* singing in your real true voice from low to high
* effective warm-ups
* singing without strain & tension
* pitching correctly
* voice projection
* learn to sing with the same ease & comfort as speaking

Log on to www.danielstudios.com for details, registration and location map. Limited seats.

PS: If you're attending, enter my name Frederick at the portion where it asks for a Group Code. :) Thanks.

Semi-Dead Fred

2006-02-15T11:08:00.000+08:00

Last night's wedding dinner was quite disastrous. Don't get me wrong, the banquet was perfectly executed. It was the first time i attended a Halal/Muslim banquet, and it was interesting. However, my headache was so bad that all i could do all night was wear a smile and drink my glass of water. Any attempts at putting the food in my mouth simply felt revolting, and made me want to puke. Not that the food was bad, the food seemed to be pretty good, but i was simply not well. Fortunately, i did'nt puke and make a fool of myself. It was pretty much a night of enduring and keeping my cool. First time i attended a banquet with a small portion of food on my plate from the 3rd course, that remained untouched all the way till the 8th course.

Returned home at 2330, feeling slightly better. Played a little FF, mainly doing
something that was scheduled with my FF gang days ago, at the same time, preparing some amterial for today's musical meeting. Finally hit the sacks at 01:30 am.

Woke up today with my head feelin' really heavy, and like 20% control of my eyelids. Dragged myself to work anyway, after poppin' 2 asprins.
Gonna sleep the lunch away... i seriously lack sleep... i think.

It's Scam-The-Couples day!

2006-02-14T12:27:00.000+08:00

Hello, It's Valentine's day, and as most of us know, it is the day couples all over the world get scammed of their money on expensive but 2nd grade quality dining.
The best meal would be one cooked at home by/for your companion! :)

I'm so busy this week..
Tuesday - Vocal Lesssons with Dan 1830-1910
Wedding Dinner 1930 - 2300 (?)
Wednesday - 1st full cast meeting for Closer to Your Heart: The Musical. - 1845 - 2230
Thursday - Possible Meeting with Local Film maker Lionel Chok - 1930ish - ????
Friday - Some R&R time finally. Maybe get a dinner date or sumfin'

I Blew a $8000 deal last friday. Which sucked. Mainly coz i was wrongly informed by a friend about certain music price quotations, and i quoted the company way too high.
In the end, i made myself look like a noob and cheat.
Lesson learnt: Get your homework done from credible sources. More than 1 source/opinion preferably.

Will revamp my site(s) soon. I'm sick of the 900kb Flash loading on www.Winterealm.com .

Finally an update

2006-02-09T10:05:00.000+08:00

I'm back.... Chinese New Year was probably the quietest i've had in my life so far... But coming back to work after the mega-long holiday was good. The moment i stepped in, the aunties came one by one to give their ang paos ... haha.. the amount in total was about enough to pay for the week's breakfast.

Life seems to be at the slumps for me right now... my mum has left for awhile now, dad basically just pretends to be dad, and that he cares, when actually all he cares is his china whore.
The only things i'm looking forward to is my musical, Closer to Your Heat, to be staged on 25th March 2006. Details will be posted soon. Admission, is free.

I have been noticing and observing some famous people, whom have made it big. People whom have left an impact in the world. Looking at their lives, they all have one thing in common. At one point in their lives, they were at the lowest point, the worst condition. And from there, they worked hard... very hard...to strive to become what they have achieved today.
Looking back at myself, i see myself in a somewhat similar miserable stage of my life. But one thing i'm not doing, is working hard and striving for success. My efforts are pathetic. I spend half my time playing games.

So, i've decided.... as a late new year resolution maybe... i will start to 'chiong' and work hard to become the most well known Singer/Music Producer/Composer from Singapore. I will start small, like all the others have. Start by dabbling my hands in whatever i can get hold of in the industry. And work my way up.

Life is like a RPG (Role Playing Game). No one starts the game at level 99 ... everyone starts at level 1, and work their way up.
I will continue to motivate myself. Be inspired.

Happy Lunar/Chinese New Year 2006!

2006-01-29T09:49:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year everyone! I've been looking forward to this long holiday for awhile now. It's rare you have a public holiday that's 2 days, and Monday-Tuesday too.
Anyway, i redid a favourite song yesterday, Stronger. Basically re-recorded it and enhanced/tweaked the music. It sounds alot better now, with my new equipment. I'm pretty sure you can hear the difference. Check it out at the winterealm site, or just get the link here . The file you download will be a .mpx file, you gotta rename it to mp3 after you've downloaded it.
Have a good one, and keep collectin' em' angbaos! ;)

Stomach woes

2006-01-25T16:41:00.000+08:00

Been having stomach/gastric related problems..... i actually went to the docs last week to have it checked, coz my stomach was really bloated and was causing much discomfort and a little pain.
I realized it had been like this for awhile now... a long while, and i had thought i simply was fat. But apparently, it does'nt seem like fat.... seems like something inside is bloating out, making me look somewhat pregnant.....
But anyways, the doc gave me some meds for 2 weeks.

Things were going pretty ok until today. Might be something i ate in the morning, i started having gastric pains, and was feeling a little bloated. But i still went on with lunch anyway, and had chicken cutlet. After that, i was seriously bloated, and in pain. Until an hour or 2 later (now) did i start to feel better.

I'm seriously getting freaked out. I should write as much music as i can before i die or something.

Things are back up

2006-01-20T09:23:00.000+08:00

Hey fellas....
Sorry for the lack of updates..... have been busy dealing with my fucked up family crisis, and fixing up my 2 computers once and for all.... Yes, certain problems with both comps came to view, and i had to fix them up, which included reformatting both computers.
So, it was quite a chore re-installing all the software, considering the fact that i had already gone through that process about 5 times this month.
BUT, everything is good now..... It's allllll good..... temperatures are cool, noise level is silent, audio system all up and working.
I'm ready to make some music over the weekend. This major computer breakdown has been a blessing in disguise really... it had made me upgrade some of my gear, which i would'nt have done so if the computers had not failed.
Now, my studio is alot closer to a professional home recording studio. :)
I'm actually open to projects and recordings .. If you need a cozy studio to record some vocals or have some music done, or have some1 produce a demo/personal CD, email me.

Expect some music from me very soon.
And, i may be doing a podcast show soon, a special request for a few of my japanese friensd in FF, so it will have some japanese content. lol.

Damned computer

2006-01-13T09:15:00.000+08:00

Still bloody hell trying to get my new computer in full perfect working condition. Still experiencing bugs with it. Thankfully, last night i managed to fix one anomaly..... now i just hope i can fix the frequesnt freezing.
Will be busy working on changes and additions to "Closer to Your Heart" , the musical i'm working on. They'll be doing casting near the end of Jan.
Anyone interested in singing for a musical during the arts festival, with people like Dick Lee and Iskandar Ismail part of the project, please let me know.
The story sums up to a tragic and complicated family coping with death and their personal sibling rivalry and such.
I also havn't been attending my vocal lessons. Can't cope financially for now. This will only delay my big plans though. Darn it.
Do continue to check and support my music at http://www.Winterealm.com. I havn't given up on music, just that i've been caught up with certain mishaps in my family and computer recently. That's all for now.

Japanese Curry

2006-01-11T15:47:00.000+08:00

I cooked up a wicked japanese curry which i ate for 3 days on Monday. Will put up pictures of it tonight. I've been terribly broke, and dad's in Hong Kong, so i have no means of getting any financial reimbursements. SO, i figured the best way to survive this episode, would be to spend the remaining amount of money i had, well to be exact, $10 , buy a bag of carrots, onions and potatoes.
Together with some frozen meats in the fridge, and a packet of Japanese Curry mix which i bought sometime back, i cooked all my meals.
This cooking spree began last Friday, with my risotto attempt. I ate that for 2 meals. Followed by some soup made with the stock, with rice and 'pickled radish' omlette. (aka chai pu dan).
Monday, i decided to make something more tasty, and made the vegetarian curry.
It consisted of 1 whole onion, finely diced, 4 carrots chopped into bitesizes, 1 red bell pepper, and 4-5 potatoes. The potatoes are peeled and cut in halves, and then boiled in salted water until you can pierce a chopstick right through w/o much resistance. Then the water is drained, and they're left to cool.
Sautee the vegetables in some oil until they're soft, bell pepper is cooked last, add some of that lovely frozen vegetable stock i had made on Friday with some water, let it all simmer and thicken abit, then add the pack of curry mix.
It was the first time i handled a pack of japanese curry mix, and i was pretty surprised.
Usually, curry comes in the form of powder. The japanese curry mix came in a solid form. It felt and behaved like a chunk of plastecine. Smelt great though.
Nevertheless, i broke it up into smaller chunks, and dumped it all into the pan.
It melted and thickened like crazy. Upon which, i panicked a little bit. I quickly added water to the pan to de-glaze it, and after several additions, it became thinner, and upon testing, tasted just nice. Potatoes are added, and simmer for awhile for flavour to go into the potatoes, and then its ready to be served over rice.
You can then accompany the curry rice with almost any side. It was pretty late that night, so i jsut fried an omlette to go with it. A popular way of eating this curry is to accompany it with various deep fried meats.

Risotto Attempt #1 - Success!!

2006-01-06T22:09:00.000+08:00

I had been looking forward to come home all day, coz i had planned to cook a lovely dinner to welcome the weekend tonight. I was going to make Risotto. And make it i did. My first attempt at cooking the italian rice dish was a success, even though i didn't exactly stayed true to it's style.
I used chinese ingredients, and cooked the risotto the italian way.
I used pork belly stewed with chinese mushrooms and a quarter of a bell pepper. It stewed for over an hour, until the meat was very tender, and the initial broth was reduced to a thick sauce.
To stew the meat and cook the risotto, i used a home made broth i prepared the moment i arrived home.
It consisted of some pork bones, 3 carrots, 2 onions, half a bell pepper, some black peppercorn, and a few cloves of garlic. It was left to slow boil for like an hour+ before i allowed it to be used. The rest was let to boil for another 2hr+, for another day. :)
I enjoy cooking so much, i think my blog is going to become a foodblog! Anyway, here's the lovely picture.

It's been fun..

2006-01-05T16:36:00.000+08:00

You know... i realize i've been wasting time worrying and doing this podcast shit. So, i've decided to stop doing it. I would probably post up some 'impromptu' recordings from time to time, but the files will only be put up temporarily.
The main reason for discontinuing it is because i realized i've been my main priorities, writing and singing original music!
I simply have no time to slack anymore... as each day passes, i grow 1 day older, and effectively, have less chance of becoming a singer (coz of age).
Well other than that, there are so many things i need to take care of and work on... such as grooming, and continuing to work on the voice..... eventually dancing...
So it's time to focus. I'll be writing songs. Check the winterealm.com site.
I'll still blog. But, no more weekly podcast. Was fun while it lasted.

All is well once again

2006-01-05T10:31:00.000+08:00

Hooray! I took half day yesterday, to go buy my computer.
Borrowed a twap of cash from my Dad to get a new computer.
So far, everything has gone well, Thank God. I managed to get all the parts i want, and everything went below budget.
Spent the whole of last night setting things up though. I'll be spending tonight setting up the music production softwares, and if i can, i'll record a little podcast for ya'll.
I'm so happy! Coz the new computer looks SWEET, and performs excellently.

Happy New Year.... not quite....

2006-01-02T22:31:00.000+08:00

First up, i'd like to wish everyone a happy new year. New year has'nt been too happy for me however. My main computer went down, the powerhouse computer for making music and stuff. Apparently, the motherboard/cpu has given way, and it calls for a replacement, which essentially means getting a new computer on the whole. Which, is kinda fucked up. I'm cussin', coz i'm really saddened and frustrated about this. I spent most of my remaining savings this month to get stuff to fix a fault in the computer, and it ended up dying. It does'nt help that i have a musical to finalize over the next 2 weeks. Sigh. I'm gonna have to tap my reserves. Which pisses me off immensely. AGRH.

And because of this financial crisis, i've been forced to stayed at home the whole weekend, through the holidays. I avoided buying any meals, and cooked my meals from whatever was available at home.
I thought a couple of my humble home-made meals were pretty and colorful, so i took some pictures. Hope you like em'.

This is a simple little omlette packed with rice in it, with 4 pieces of grilled luncheon meat, topped with some tomato ketchup.

2 packs of Myojo's Spicy Mee-Pok Goreng, with 2 sunny side ups over it. 1 Yoke was burst in my mouth, while 1 was burst all over half the remaining noodles and mixed together with the noodles. :)

That's all for now. I hope i can get my new computer up soon. Going to do a shitload of research so i can get the best for the best price, and not have to go through another fuckin' heartbreak. All my life's work is contained and produced by my computer. It means so much to me. :(

Sim Lim Square

2005-12-30T15:18:00.000+08:00

Is there some kinda secret trade/business going on at Sim Lim Square that i don't know of or something?
I want there to get something yesterday, a Thursday evening. And all over SLS, i saw girls wearing extremely short skirts, and scantily/sexily clad girls all over the place..... some were just girls accompanying their bfs, that i can understand... but there were solo girls or girls in pairs, who totally didn't looked like they fitted in with the tech. savvy crowd. It simply intrigued me. They were, what some singaporeans would call ah lians.

Well not that i'm complaining, it was nice to have some 'eye candy' in the midst of the gadgets and hardware. It's just that i found it a little amusing. Much like, seeing men in suits browsing around in a wet market. Is there some hidden night club on the top floor of SLS or are ah lians also interested in checking out the latest motherboards and 3D graphics cards these days? ^^;

The Winterealm Podcast Episode 5: Randomness

2005-12-29T02:13:00.000+08:00

Helloo! Hope everyone had a good christmas! I'm back with the podcast, this time, the 5th episode. This episode was rather impromptu, (as usual) . I just decided to sing a couple of songs, and then do the other half of the show in totally impromptu mode. That is, playing and singing whatever came to my mind. Don't think it's too horrible. :D I even sang a cantonese song at the end!
Had to take out Episode2 to make space. Sorry, limited space on my host.
Hope ya'll enjoy this one. Next podcast will be in 2006.

Download Podcast
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Happy Holidays

2005-12-28T10:09:00.000+08:00

Back to the ordinary work routine! I did, however, extended my holiday by a day yesterday. :)
Yeah i know, a photo update is long overdue... will be putting up pics tonight.
The christmas party i hosted at my place was a big success. Everyone had fun, there were lots to eat, lots to drink, lots to talk and laugh about.
Will put up a more indepth post about the food in tonight's entry.
Will also record this week's podcast tonight. :)
Right now, i'm so damn sleepy at work. Probably gonna skip lunch and sleep it off.
Have a good day!

No Podcast This week

2005-12-23T00:23:00.000+08:00

Hi,
I've been very busy preparing things for tomorrow's christmas bash party at my house, so i did'nt have time to record a show for this week's podcast. I might do one over the weekend.
Been getting gazillions of chocolates at work. This is what my collection looked like as of this morning.

And this was what it looked like before i went home.

by the time i'm done with all this candy, this is what i'll look like

Anyway, i'm off to sleep. I'm terribly tired.. have such a crazy day ahead tomorrow.

Wednesday Woes

2005-12-21T10:24:00.000+08:00

Woke up so impossibly late today, with my alarm still running in the background when i woke up... (meaning, i totally slept through the entire ringing phase).
Tentatively, i am expected to report to work at 0830. I woke up at 0830 today. ^^;
I blame my dad. He was using the electric blender grinding ~~his nuts~~ something at like 6 A.M. Naturally, i woke up to the noise 2-3 times between 6-7 AM, but in the end, my mind subconsciously adapted to the noise, and filtered it out, putting me back to sleep. Unfortunately, it seemed like this Mental Block also blocked out the alarm beeps when i was supposed to wake up.

Anyway, i still dragged myself to work, coz there's this Christmas Celebration in my section this afternoon. There will be loads of free food, gifts and such.
I came to work and there was like 1 mini candy/snack bundle and 6 pieces of chocolate arranged neatly on my workspace.

We have this little christmas game that the entire department take part in every Christmas. They call it the carer and caree game. Basically, everyone is assigned a caree for 2 weeks in the christmas season. The carers identities are to be kept secret to the carees, and they must do something to show care for the carees everyday. Be it a little card, or a gift, or something..
So this goes on until the last day, where the department have a biggish party and the carers will be revealed to the carees, and they exchange 1 'finale' gift.
Haha... its quite fun if you get assigned to someone that you would want to care for. But sucks if you're assigned to the person you hate most.
Will post up pics of today's party later tonight... also have a big Christmas house party this friday.:)
Later!

Parody/Jingle for The Mr Brown Show

2005-12-19T10:39:00.000+08:00

I did this up a week ago, sent it to Mr Brown, but got no reply from him about it. So i thought what the hell, i might as well just share it with everyone. It was a little rather comedic jingle i did in 3 hours on 1 of the nights.
I had done it hoping that it'd be used as a theme song or something for his Mr Brown Show.. lol. Anyway, download the mp3 for a good laugh.

The podcast lives on...

2005-12-19T09:15:00.000+08:00

I was about to officially announce that i'll be dis-continueing the weekly podcast. Coz, when i checked on saturday, i had a whopping 7 downloads for episode 4, which i felt was my best to date.
SO, i checked out my stats page to see how pathetic the downloads have been, and voila!
Episode 4 now sits at 47 downloads over the weekend, episode 2 and Episode 3 have doubled their figures since the last time i posted stats. Ep. 1 has remained the same, since i've removed the link. But anyway, this is good news, and encouragement for me to continue the weekly thursday show.

The weekend has been pretty boring. I did'nt go to for my free Zouk invite on Saturday, simply coz i did'nt manage to get a partner... Well i was'nt looking hard actually...simple asked 2 good friends, they had plans, so i called it off.
I spent the weekend training my voice, and gaming. Made a lovely dinner on Sunday. I had wanted to take photos of the wonderful dish, but my camera's battery was out. So i skipped the whole 'article-on-sunday's-dinner' thing.
I realize i hav'nt been writing new songs. It had suddenly occured to me how lazy i've been, and been forsaking my creativity.
SO, i've made it a point to start work on song production again, and hopefully come out with a song before 2005 ends.
If you like what you hear on the podcast, remember to help me spread the word about me!

The Winterealm Podcast Episode 4: My Own Songs

2005-12-16T01:31:00.000+08:00

This week's podcast, i'll be singing a few of my own compositions, with a surprise ending song. Don't really have much to talk about it here, go check it out yourself. Most of the songs in this week's podcast are in mandarin though.

Episode 1 has been temporarily removed to make space for ep 4. I'm looking into alternative ways to host the large mp3 files.

Download Podcast
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A subtle compliment

2005-12-15T12:22:00.000+08:00

My auntie colleague suddenly out of the blue gave me this conversation:

Auntie (in cantonese): Hey Fred, how much do you weigh? like..how many kilos?
Fred: 68kg.
Auntie : Wah.. funny leh.. my husband weigh 70kg but he so small size.. must be all in the belly..
Fred: ^^
Auntie: What did your mum feed you when you were young? make you so big size..
Fred: I duno..she fed me all sorts of stuff...
Auntie: aiyo.. i wanna feed my son the same thing mah..
Fred: ^^;

Routine #195

2005-12-14T09:14:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been caught up 'managing' my family crisis, since my Bro has gone back to New York.

For some reason, time seems to be flashing by very quickly these days!
It's like, i arrive home from work at 7.. have dinner.. shower... then watch a movie/show while playing a game or surfing.. Before i know it, its 12 (A.M).
Pissed that i hav'nt really gotten enough of the night's leisure hours, i make an effort to stay up an additional hour or two.. But it usually ends up with me waking up grumbing in the morning...

Oh yes, i'm one of those with morning mood swings.. not severe such that i'd throw stuff about though..... but i usually refrain from communication the moment i wake up... i get pissed easily.

I had a slight interest in applying for next year's Singapore Idol, but my coach objected to it, saying that he does'nt have a good feeling about it, and usually when he feels that way, it's true. So, i'll trust him, and forego SGIdol.

Anyway, tomorrow's Thursday. Get ready for another podcast episode. :)
think i'll be singing my own compositions tomorrow, and also include some random jamming on the keyboard.

Some disgraceful figures
Number of Podcast Downloads:
Episode 1: 80
Episode 2: 31
Episode 3: 19

I'm predicting, Episode 4: 5

The Winterealm Podcast Episode 3!

2005-12-09T01:28:00.000+08:00

I was nearly going to skip podcasting, infact, close down the whole thing. But then i thought to myself.. what the heck.. it's just a recording of me singing and playing the keyboard casually.. it is'nt really that much trouble.
It was 12 a.m , i wasn't feelin' sleepy, so i thought i'd just do a short recording.
Actually, i had intended to just sing Corrine May's Journey, and end it like that.. Then i kinda got into the groove, and sang a couple more songs.
I'm still quite depressed about my family splitting up. But shit happens.
If you're ever parents, remember to continue to love each and everyone, and be responsible. Hope ya'll enjoy this week's podcast. Go spam for me or somethin'.

Get the Podcast Here! Winterealm Podcast Episode 3 : An Intimate Evening

Subscribe to the feed at : http://feeds.feedburner.com/winterealm

An Update!

2005-12-06T17:46:00.000+08:00

Hi! I added some cool new features to the blog, thanks to Bloggerhacks .
Mainly, a new comments system and a 'most recent comments' list on the sidebar.
I'm slowly climbing out of my depression.. Though, my family seems to be over.. good old days are gone... Brother and wife will be leaving this saturday, probably won' tget to see them for a couple of years at least. My mum will be leaving for Indonesia/Hongkong in probably a couple of weeks, maybe a months time.. also for good.
Which kinda leaves me alone in Singapore, with just my friends and a psuedo-dad.
It sucks.. but.. life has to go on.. ther's no time to be pitiful. Just gotta make the best out of what i have.
The songs i wrote for my musical was well received at the playreading. Just a few criticisms that i have to take note of, and make some changes.
I'm gonna continue to do the podcasting periodically.. simply coz i enjoy doing it.. the only thing different from what goes on normally is i'm recording and publishing the singing. Otherwise, whether i do a podcast or not, every night i'm singing stuff all the time while i surf the net, play games, etc. etc.
So i was thinkin' .. wth.. why not i let others listen in too.
But seems like people are more interested in a more planned and scripted show. So i'll just do that.
Cherish your families if you have a complete one. It is a joy to have a warm family to return to everyday. really.

Winterealm Podcast Episode 2 : It's Christmas Time!

2005-12-01T00:17:00.000+08:00

It's here! The 2nd Installment of the Winterealm Podcast show.
This episode (upon suggestion) , i'll be doing Christmas carols as the genre!
Actually, i should'nt use the term christmas carols, coz i think carols refer to the traditional christmas songs. So i think, Christmas Songs would be more appropriate.
This episode is rather huge, 32 megs. 35 minutes of trash singing.
I made a few mistakes, so the quality might not be as good.
I also hate my pronunciation. It is bad when i'm calm, and worse when i'm running a continuos recording.
Lotsa Michael Buble style christmas songs in the show. I did'nt really play alot on the keyboard in this episode, the next one i'll be doing alot more original material on the keyboard.
Till then, stay tuned. Remember, if you enjoyed it, tell a friend about it! Spread the news. :)

Get the Podcast Here! Winterealm Podcast Episode 2 : It's Christmas Time!

Subscribe to the feed at : http://feeds.feedburner.com/winterealm

Pictures of my Home Studio

2005-12-01T00:10:00.000+08:00

My little home studio / bedroom .
What you did'nt see in the pic:
(i) Bed
(ii) Warddrobe area
(iii) Upright Piano
(iv) uglyass-uninspiring-unromantic white fluorescent light

Preparation for 2nd podcast

2005-11-29T09:18:00.000+08:00

Hi,
I'm starting work on the 2nd podcast. Christmas edition. This time it will be more organized, since people might play the show during the christmas season.In other words, it will be done in a way such that you can play it out at home for everyone to listen to. :)

In the meantime, the playreading for my musical "Closer to Your Heart" will happen this Sunday. I just received word that Dick Lee will be offering his assistance to the team as a mentor. Cool bananas. I hope that everyone will be impressed with the musical. They have to.

Back at home, things are maintaining at a certain miserable level. I'm clinging on to my love for music, God, my mum and my brother. If not for these things, i'd have gone insane.
I've been wanting to put up pictures of my room/studio and my new toy, but hav'nt had the chance to do so. Will probably update this post with the pictures when i get home tonight.
Till then, take care!

The aftermath

2005-11-26T02:39:00.000+08:00

Hi!
The response for the podcast has been mediocre... i noticed there have been quite a few downloads and visits, however, very few comments! I don't know if i should continue the thing or not...
If you've listened to it, please leave a comment! Let me know if i should continue with the shows... Do not be disappointed with the first show, because the quality will get better. But i need feedback... tell me what you think... tell me that you've heard the show...
And if you liked it, please tell your friends about it! The only way for this to grow is more publicity. Unlike some other famous bloggers, i'm not out for attention. I want to share music. I want to entertain. Why?
Simply coz, i don't want to keep my talent to myself. I'd like to make a difference in your lives.
So please.. let me know what you wanna hear...
I hope i'll get more feedback soon. :)

The Winterealm Show/Podcast #1 [Debut!]

2005-11-24T23:30:00.000+08:00

Hey folks.. The Podcast show has begun.
Decided to take my mind off life abit, and do the Winterealm show thingie. In case you care, my mum's fine and back at home now. She had an infection on a burn wound and triggered a side effect from the medicine she applied on it.

So, i sat down and recorded a little show of me singing a few christian songs, since i was in the mood. It's very freaky hearing myself talk. There are alot of bloopers, and i don't intend to remove them. I hope the thingie will be well received. Otherwise, it'll just be a one time thing. If it is well received, i will continue.
This show was recorded in a laidback manner, and with pretty questionable audio quality intentionally for certain reasons.
(i) proof that it's original
(ii) people from ripping the songs apart.
Please leave your comments. And tell your grandmother and her friends about the show. :)

Disclaimer:
This episode of the show contains christian content, and features me singing christian songs.
If you do not like such material, don't listen.

Get the Winterealm Show Debut here!

[edit]the podcast feed : http://feeds.feedburner.com/winterealm[/edit]

ps: i'm very new to this podcast shit... while the mp3 is up, the podcasting essential technicalities are'nt. I'll be looking into them.

Dark times

2005-11-23T12:19:00.000+08:00

Mum's return has unveiled some revelations. I am going through some really bad times now.
I'm broke... my family is breaking apart... i'm heading nowhere with my music ... and i'm walking through these times alone... There are many things that i can't say here... but there's a pretty good chance that i may have to start living on myself, so i need to prepare for that.
I guess this is an opportunity for me to really push myself. It's an emotional motivation as well.
Right now, i'm hanging onto the phrase "What does'nt kill you , make you stronger.." .
I don't know what to write anymore at this time... My mum's lying in the hospital.. i hope she recovers soon and be healthy...

The Winterealm Podcast?

2005-11-21T14:53:00.000+08:00

I've been a fan of podcasts ever since i've bought my iPod. And seeing how Podcasting is starting to take off in Singapore, i see it as a growing way of reaching out to the masses.
And so, i'm thinking of reviving my now-discontinued Winterealm Live show, probably on podcast this time.
For those who don't really know, i used to host these live shows on my shoutcast server at night. What i would do is, i'd allow 10-12 pple in, and i'd sing songs while playing on my keyboard at the same time.. It was pretty fun and cool, taking requests and all, but i had to stop it after awhile, coz i was'nt getting enough support, and my server could'nt handle too many people. But now, doing a custom music podcast would be special, and just might hit it off. I'm thinking along the lines of the Don and Drew Show . I love that show so much! And i've not found an alternative thus far. So, i think i might just be starting this shit.
Question is, if i do it, will you be interested/excited?

The week in summary.

2005-11-21T00:03:00.000+08:00

It's been a pretty okay week. But the weekend was boring, in a sense.
I've been on a gaming and eating marathon! Ever since my mum came back, there's been an abundance of food. I'm finding difficulty in setting aside time to workout, coz everytime i do, it's time to eat. -_-;
Anyways, our department went on a little hiking trip earlier in the week, at the MacRitchie Nature Reserve. I did'nt know they had built a treetop bridge.
Anyway, we trekked for like 6 kilometres in total. Up the little hill and eventually up to a treetop platform, with a moderately long industrial-made bridge suspended on the trees. The view was'nt particularly good. It was'nt particularly high either. Just mediocre. Infact, the highlight was'nt such a highlight at all.. It was like a secret bridge tucked away in the middle of the forest. If i were to build something like this, i'd make sure i do some marketting on it, and make it the highlight of the nature reserve. Oh well.
On a sidenote, the monkeys have skin that is immune to barbwires! O_O;

This morning's breakfast was sinful as usual. My weekend breakfasts usually are.
I made 6 Strips of bacon with 3 hashbrowns. The photo taken was particularly beautiful..infact, the most beautiful food picture i ever took.
I decided to add some standard effects to it, making it look like a Chubbyhubbyish kinda pic, and put it up. :)

Aside from that... I'm working on doing a recording of the musical i wrote.
Looking for 2 Female mezzo-sopranos/soprano singers as well as a male baritone.

I'm actually feelin' like a loser, after giving my number to a girl and not getting a call from her. Now that i think back to what i did that morning, i feel kinda dumb. oh gosh..what have i done?!

The end (of the week) is near

2005-11-18T11:08:00.000+08:00

Realized i hav'nt been blogging. Over the past week, i've changed how the blog looked though. Tweaking the layout here and there. It does look more personal, more Frederick now.
You know.. my life is a bore right now..... there's like absolutely nothing happening in my life atm... i'm so bored i gave my number to a random attractive chick who stood beside me on the train the other day. Just for that moment of adrenaline.
Mum is back from Hongkong for awhile, but she's been bitching about everything from the ceiling to the floor..... it's really un-nerving... even though i had missed her so much... but now that she's back,she can't stop scolding everyone. I guess you can't please everyone huh?
I'm looking forward to my bro's return home on the 26th of November..
One thing is i hav'nt seen him for over a year, and another thing is he's bringing me back a nice toy. It's a drumpad by M-audio. Basically, it's a cool device that will let me play drums with my fingers tapping away, and will let me make better music. :)

Spruced up blog

2005-11-13T02:39:00.000+08:00

Finally got my ass down to spruce up the blog a little.
Changed the colours back to my usual trademark blueish theme, also made a little header based on the current background picture from my Winterealm.com site.
I'm actually trying to decide whether to change the bg color of the blog to a blue hue, or leave it as white. What do you think?

Anyway, went to watch Tom Yam Goong tonight. It was an okay movie. The fight scenes were very good. But the production of the movie was horrible. Video editing was choppy, very lame midi soundtrack. If the whole packaging was better, the movie would have been alot classier. Especially since Tony Jaa did the stunts to perfection. The production simply did'nt do him justice.. which once again shows, how packaging is so important. Good packaging can make the worst look good, and bad packaging could make the best look worst.

An unlucky/lucky ride

2005-11-12T01:23:00.000+08:00

Took the bus home today from Police Academy. Just a couple of minutes after getting on the bus, suddenly everyone experienced a huge jerk, like as if the bus ran over a dog or somethin'. The jerk went on for awhile, and eventually the bus came to a stop by the pavement. Everybody were looking all over, until the doors flung open, and the bus driver beckoned us out. The smell of hot rubber was introduced to us, and everyone knew that it was the tyres. What was shocking was how badly screwed up the tyre was!
It looks completely wrecked. And come to think of it, if the bus was in the middle of the road going at high speeds, or taking a turn when this happened, the results could've been disastrous. Thank God no disaster happened, and we managed to walk away grumbling about the delayed ride.

Another cooking entry!

2005-11-08T23:25:00.000+08:00

Ok now.. Got home tonight and decided not only to cook, but to take pictures and blog about it. Kinda makes the whole cooking experience a little more interesting.
I made noodles again, my favourite. Together with prawn/shrimp omlette with spring onions/chives. This omlette, is one of, if not the favourite dishes that i like, and could just eat with a bowl of rice.
Anyway, i thought of giving a detailed account of how i cooked this shitty dinner, but it'd make my blog look like some flog (Food-Log), which it's not, and i'm no expert chef either. So, i'll just briefly explain with the pictures.

Main Ingredients: 3 Eggs, 4 prawns, Spring onions

Deshell the prawns and dump the shells+heads into the pot of boiling water to make the broth.

Slice up the prawns into halves, chop up 2 prawns for the omlette.

It's a 3 egg omlette. :)

Dump spring onions, chopped prawns, soy sauce, some sugar, some salt and beat with eggs.

Fry some finely chopped garlic...

..Followed by the prawns...

Time to fry the omlette..

These are the lovely noodles i use.

Cook em' noodles.

Eggs are cookin' nicely.

And the finished product.

My noodles.

My omlette.

It tasted ok. I forgot to add something to the soup, so it did'nt taste perfect.. but omlette was perfect.
After dinner, i was supposed to make some coffee from my usual Nescafe 3in1 Regular. Then an idea struck me, and i just went ahead with it. Combine 1 packet of Nescafe 3in1 Regular with 1 Packet of Milo 3in1. The result? Hot Mocha. hahaha... Thats all folks.

Back to Monday

2005-11-07T11:17:00.000+08:00

I overslept today pretty late. Woke up at 8 am, jumped out of bed right into the showers and left for work.
Had a pretty boring weekend. Bad gaming experience yesterday. Got mad at a couple of guys ingame, and things got kinda ugly in the linkshell. I was frustrated.. at the dedication and effort i took to serve the linkshell, and people take me for granted. Oh in case you're wondering wtf i'm talking about. I'm talking about the game Final Fantasy 11 . It is a mass multiplayer online role playing game. Which basically, is a game that features a world of it's own, with about a population of about 3-4000 people. A linkshell is a like a team or even a 'Family' that we build/join.
Getting kinda broke... wonder when will i start getting paid for my music.

Food for Thought

2005-11-05T14:06:00.000+08:00

This entry is going to be about food. Counting back 2 days, starting from this morning.
Because i'm home alone alot, i've somehow or rather cultivated some cooking skills. Much of it was passed down by my mum, otherwise, just a touch of creativity and imagination can help cook a nice meal.

That's my uberly oily american style breakfast today. 3 Farmland hashbrowns, together with 1 "splattered fried egg" . I don't call it an omlette or a sunny side up simply coz, it is'nt. What makes a splattered egg is when you pop open the egg pretty high up from the pan, and it literally splatters all over the pan, usually breaking the yolk in the process, and looking like how it'd look if thrown on the floor. The result is a thin but consistant piece of fried egg :P
And if there's anything i love more for breakfast, it's gotta be hashbrowns. I adore hashbrowns.

Had a very pleasant evening last night with Lynn. A friend whom i've not met for 6 years. Finally managed to peel her away from her auditor job, and met up for a long overdued dinner. 6 years...

We went to the same restaurant which we ate at 6 years ago. Swensens . Only, this time, the one at Orchard. I had the classic Chicken Baked rice, with a Seafood Chowder soup, while she picked the Crayfish Pasta. I avoid pasta at 'family restaurants' , coz i think nothing of the pasta they make. It's usually overcooked, and comes with the same sauce base that they use for the 36 other pastas on the menu.

So anyway, i was'nt impressed by the food. Soup did'nt have any flavour at all. It was just cream soup with bits and pieces of seafood dumped into it. How cheap.

Baked rice was okay. Luckily the chicken was actually pretty tender. No softbones or anything.
Wish they'd bake the cheese a little more though... or a little more cheese for that matter.

Went to Coffeebean across the road to have a nice latte, and chatted abit more about my music and her boyfriend and stuff, before we went home.

This last picture was my dinner 2 days ago! It's nice to have a nice hot bowl of soup noodles on a rainy night.

Soup was prepared with some Ikan Billis stock granules, some soy sauce, some seasame seed oil, some fish sauce and some salt. Yes, a total 5 somes was used in the last sentence.
Cooked it with some yong tau fu i bought at cold storage, and after that, dumped a bundle of shanghainese white noodles into the soup and let it cook for awhile. Noodles were taken out, leaving only the soup in the pot, popped an egg in and stirred around the yolk for a few secs to create that 'egg flower' effect, and then emptied the contents of the pot to the bowl, with the noodles and yong tau fu.

Dinner is served. Do you want some? ;)

Finally, it's completed.

2005-11-04T02:17:00.000+08:00

Managed to finish writing lyrics for all 9 songs, in the span of about 7 hours. The first half of the writing marathon was a breeze. Ideas came with every second. I got rhymes and stuff flowing right onto my Word document. It was but a matter of time i was down to the final two songs.
For some reason, the final 2 songs were alot harder to write. Probably coz it was already past 12 AM, and i had been churning out lyrics for the past 6 hours! If my body was'nt tired, i think my brain needed a break. Eventually after an hour+ , i finished up the final 2 songs at about 2 AM.
Yet another feat that i'm pretty happy with. I'm glad i'm going to have a good night's sleep tonight, even though i only have like 5 hours of sleep left. lol.
I'd like to thank the people who have been giving me your undying support. (in no particular order) Janice, Cherlyn, Mr. Louyau , Daniel Singh, my NS Pals, and last but not least, Serene, for entering my life again, to inspire me with the painful memories we shared. I'm gonna go sleep now. It's time to unwinddddd.

All Done

2005-11-03T18:04:00.000+08:00

I finally completed my songs within the deadline.
14 songs, in about 2 weeks, plus minus a day or two. Was'nt easy.. infact, was the biggest challenge i've faced to date. Musically. I'm getting the hang of it though. It's different when you're working under pressure. I must admit though, a couple of the songs probably sound very 'factory made' . But at least 7 of them, had personal touches added to them.
This takes a great load away from me, but at the same time, introduced a new challenge. Lyrics.
I now have the responsibility of finishing up the lyrics for about 8 songs, coz our lyricist has to be away, and cannot finish them. Hell i'm just gonna let every word flow out and just fill in the blanks for now. Deadline is tommorow.. and this is the absolute deadline. Not my own personal deadline. So, yeah...

Crazy little thing called Life!

2005-11-02T17:48:00.000+08:00

Life is getting interesting... i'm amused. There's a new staff appointed in my department , but from another unit downstairs. Her name is Belle. At first i thought she's just some other chick.
But i was thinking about random things today, and she popped up in my head (coz we ran into each other earlier in the canteen, but i don't think she saw me) .
Suddenly, it dawned upon me that i had a friend 3 years ago called Belle too. She fit her description.

(i) Tall, Skinny (she's like what.. 172cm?)
(ii) Looks like Phyllis Quek
(iii) about 3 years my junior
(iv) Surname is Chua

after some investigating, i found out she stays at Woodlands too. Which is where the one i knew stayed. So right now, it's like 90% chance that she was the Belle i was knew many years ago. We were buddies then. But somehow, i can't remember how we lost contact. I knew her boyfriend then, well too. Infact, i was trying to woo his sister. Hahaha.. good times. I'm quite excited that i might get reconciled with an old friend once again! Coz we were pretty close back then... always going out together and shit.
I'm gonna bring a photo i took with her back then, and show it to her on Friday.

"Hi .. does this picture look familiar? "

Hohoho... i can't believe somehow or rather, i'm crossing paths with people i used to know long ago again. It's funny how life works is'nt it ? One second you seem like the loneliest person in the world. The next, friends are popping up all over. :)

Holiday season

2005-11-02T10:18:00.000+08:00

Already past the deadline i had set for myself ... The real deadline for the music is actually 4th November, this coming Friday. But I set it to Tuesday, 3 days earlier to be safe. Today is Wednesday, i have 2 songs left.
Fortunately, the remaining 2 songs are pretty small songs, so i think i should be able to finish them. Now the only problem are the lyrics. I think i'll need to help out with alot of lyrics, coz my lyricist can't seem to cope.

It's a holiday week. This week there are 2 public holidays, falling on Tuesday and Thursday.
Tuesday was Deepavali, which is a Hindu festival, where they basically display lots of lights to scare off evil spirits or something... throughout the festival are many religious demonstrations, like walking on hot coal, body piercing, etc.
Thursday is Hari Raya, the Malay New Year celebration.

I've been having fun with my iPod. It has been working flawlessly, other than its battery, which drains very fast if you play around with it alot.
I've been spending most of my time (when i'm not writing songs) organizing, and entering Song information into my thousands of MP3s , so they appear nicely on my iPod and iTunes. Song titles, Artistes, Album info, etc. A BIG hassle, but i just do abit at a time, eventually it'll all look nice and slick.

One thing i enjoyed alot so far on the iPod are Podcasts! They update automatically, and the ones i listen to are so damn funny. Lightens up my mornings at work.
I Subscribe to the Mr Brown Show , 98.7 Don and Drew show, and this foreign 1 uncannily called the Dawn and Drew show. The latter one has some explicit language and content, but it's all good in the name of fun.

I can imagine my song writing marathon will soon be over, and i can play some games soon. Been neglecting my FF11 and F.E.A.R . But seriously, i'm surprised by what i had done over the past 2 weeks. 14 songs in 2 weeks. There are a couple of reprisals, but i'd say.... at least 7 of the songs are unique and actually pretty good. At least, to me. When this is over, i'll record them and put them up. Afterall, i have the copyrights to them.
That's it for now. Have a good day! Many friends of mine are having their exams now/soon . Good luck!

A rare Birthday celebration.

2005-10-29T01:24:00.000+08:00

My department people gathered today, to celebrate the occasional birthdays that fell within the 2 months. In today's case, October and November. So, natuarally i was called in.
I can't remember when was the last time i had a birthday cake infront of me for me. Or perhaps, never?

See, my family has never been in the habit of celebrating birthdays. None of those joyous birthday surprise parties you see on TV, or anything of that sort. So naturally, i don't expect my friends to celebrate for me either. Year by year, my birthdays just pass by without anyone noticing.. well... i do get the occasional card from some girl friends, but that's about it.

So, today's scenario was a little awkward, and alien to me. Especially blowing out the candles.
Luckily, i had my camera with me, and had the guys take some shots. I knew it was a good thing to carry the camera around all the time. You never know when you'd need it. ;)

Looking forward to the weekend. To finishing 6 songs in 3 days. Possible. I must tell myself, it will be done.
Made a couple of new friends recently, i'm quite happy about it. One is from Malaysia, the other from Taiwan.
Also recounciled with a person i had thought i would never meet again in my life. Someone who was the biggest mystery in my life, and also changed my life forever. I forgive her for what she had done in the past. But it would be hard for me to trust her whole heartedly again. But i have to thank her. If she had'nt broken my heart so badly 3 years ago, i would never have gotten down to writing songs. Because of her, i had started on this journey in music, that i am confident i would take on for life.

Meanwhile, look what came into the doorstep today. :)

My personalized 5th Generation iPod!!! Finally.. after months of saving. I'm glad i had waited, coz if not , i'd have gotten a lousy 4th generation ipod, which has a smaller screen, thicker build, less space, lower battery time, and NO VIDEO. woot. This device, is the ultimate sexiness. I am in awe. It is so slim, check out the pic with the pen!

Anyway, was taking a break from my songs to write this entry. Time to get back to work. Right now , it's 9 songs down, 5 to go. Cya!

8 Down .. but 6 more to go..

2005-10-28T01:51:00.000+08:00

No, i did'nt count wrong. Met up with Shaiful, my scriptwriter and Dhanniah my lyricist today at my place. We discussed about many things. At one point, we were unsure if our intended 11 songs was enough for an average musical. Sure enough.. after asking Dr. Kenneth Lyen, the average song count for a musical is 15 ... Les Miserables went easily over 20 songs.....
So, we panicked for 5 minutes, and i continued working on the song i was doing, while Shaiful & Dhanniah discussed about the story. After i was done with the song, I was told about 3 more songs will be added, with our total coming to 14 songs.
This has got to be the biggest challenge i've faced so far. Never have i been pressed so hard to churn out so many quality songs that are individually unique, within such a short time frame.
I'm quite satisfied with the quality of my output so far, but i'm a little worried i might get too stressed, and creativity starts to slow down. Reason i'm saying this coz, i've already started to recycle ideas while trying to write new songs. Old melodies just keep popping up in my head. Which is a very bad thing. I need to forget everything i've written in the past 1 week.
But damn man.... I've already done 8 songs.. lol ... 6 more to go .... Latest by Monday ...
Anyway, i'm going to sleep now. I've been writing till 2-3 AM everyday for the past week, and waking up at 7:50 AM for work. Haha.. i'm pooped. May the force be with me.

5 Songs Down, 6 to go..

2005-10-26T14:05:00.000+08:00

People have been msging me recently, regarding my MSN title.
No la.. i'm not releasing an album..... though i wish it was the case...
I'm writing 11 songs for this musical that will be staged (on a small scale) at next year's Singapore Arts Festival.
I will put up more official information as it becomes available.
Meanwhile, i am so frickin' tired. Went home yesterday thinking to spend the whole night writing songs, but i ended up lying flat on my bed after some exercise. Slept for 2-3 hours till 12 , and then i worked abit on a couple of songs, had a discussion with my scriptwriter, and finally hit the sacks at 2:30am.
Barely pulled myself out of bed this morning. So far, progress has been pretty steady.. But the remaing few song are going to prove a decent challenge, as i've not written any songs about their subject matter before.
One is a song of hope, another is a song .. basically about... the guys visiting prostitutes..... i like to refer to it as "The Geylang Song" . Haha... yeah......tell me about it.

Musical Musical Musical...

2005-10-25T12:46:00.000+08:00

Been under quite abit of stress.... completed 4 songs so far, 7 songs to go. In theory, it's only 5 more songs to go, coz 2 of the songs are actually repeated tunes , only different arrangement.
For the past few days, i've cut off all leisurely activities in my life.
No Games, No TV, No Movies, Minimal Sleep. Everyday after i go home, i have dinner, and then start working on music. Hav'nt even had time to practise singing.
But i know i have to do a good job at this one. It is a good entry point for me to make a name for myself.

Your silent fan of 6 years. . .

2005-10-20T09:28:00.000+08:00

I received an email with the subject "Winterealm Feedback" last night. Emails with this subject come from the Feedback form in my Winterealm site. I hav'nt received one for awhile now, so i was quite eager to see who it was, and what it was about.
I opened the email and was surprised to see quite a lengthy passage.
This girl, (whose name i won't divulge here) had been listening to my piano pieces when i first started publishing my songs on the net. She found solace in them, and she could feel the emotions in every one of them. Coz back then, i did'nt have descriptions for my songs, so one would'nt know exactly what the song would be written about. And all these years she said, she had been growing up with my songs (i gather she's pretty young) , and being a computer-idiot , she did'nt manage to check on my site often, until last night.
She was surprised that i'm still writing music, and how i've grown, blah blah... from there on are some praises and encouragement. And signed off as "Your silent fan of 6 years" . That line just did it for me. I'm touched.
And then, another new person i met yesterday, told me that she actually knew me from my site when she visited 2-3 years ago. Despite my seemingly failure these days, i seem to have had quite a following in the past! hohoho.. but whats the use..... 1000 people can tell me "you'll be the next big thing!" but in the end, i'm still a nobody... Come to think of it, i'm like the internet loser.. the guy who never made it..
Like Janice said, perhaps all i need, is just a smile from lady luck.

Another week

2005-10-17T09:22:00.000+08:00

The weekend was a decent one. Had a lovely dinner with Fiona at Crystal Jade, stayed home to finish up some work on Sat, and went out on a group dinner at Compass Point on Sunday Night. It was at a little locally set up japanese restaurant named "Wasabi" . The food was lousy. It cost the same as Sakae Sushi and the likes, but the quality is even worse than Sakae ... But anyway, it's not like i was expecting some high end japanese food at a place like that..... unlike Fuji Japanese Restaurant - Bangkok ..

Anyway, i've got a musical to complete by 3 Nov ... that's about 2 weeks, and so far my
scriptwriter has informed me that he's expecting about 13 songs so far. Quite a daunting task, together with my expectations of the music. I don't think i'll have enough time to orchestrate all 13 tracks. I'll see how it goes. Have already done 2 songs, 1 is the main theme of the musical. It's yet another style from me that has never been heard before. I'll see if i can post the songs up on the Winterealm site when they're done.

It's funny how people change.. After 5 days in Bangkok, i seem to have changed from my introvert personality. I seem to have gone back to my old self. I've been having this longing to go out and interact with people the whole week while i was at home. For once in a long time, i actually want to go out, and found it truly unbearable to stay home.
Singaporeans still need to smile more...... especially when they're smiled at. Comon.. not everyone is a serial killer/kidnapper/rapist...

The Bangkok Trip

2005-10-15T12:47:00.000+08:00

5 Days in Bangkok left a truly unforgettable experience. Everything there was cheap, yet good. The traffic is bad sometimes, but surprisingly, transportation is efficient! The best way to get through a jam is to get on a tuk tuk, or 1 of the trains. There seems to be no traffic laws in Bangkok. Vehicles swerve in and out of each others' lanes, yet i did'nt see a single accident over the 5 days of travelling about. The people were beautiful and friendly. The food is cheap and excellent, coupled with good service. Even though i don't speak their language, i felt rather comfortable and thought i could get used to Bangkok. I'm definately going back soon!
Anyway, here comes the photos. Enjoy.

Us getting on the bus headed to Changi International Airport.

Taking a few quickie shots before we entered the terminal.

1)That's my favourite Italian style pizza.
2) That's our friend, Kheng. Unlike what his name suggests, he's the most hardworking 1 of the lot.

1) Check out the shiny forehead of that guy on the right, that stood out of the pic for some reason.
2) Group shot. Gary, Cedric, Anselm, Clement.

1)The objective of this picture was to take a pic of that stunning gal in the center. She has a milliondollar smile. Too bad we did'nt get to talk to her.
2) Me, on the plane.

Assorted voyeur shots of the SIA Stewardess(s)

Men deep in thought. Seemingly.

The shot and smile that melted our hearts. I asked her to pose for a shot while we were alighting from the plane. Because everyone was moving forward, i could'nt stand still and take the photo, so it was a little blurred. And she grumbled in a psuedo pitiful tone "why am i taking the photo alone..." but it was too late, we were already past her... after which, we cried our hearts out and lamented for not taking a picture with her. Anyone knows her by chance?

Bangkok

1) The infamous tuk tuk.
2) Morning view from my hotel window.

1) Me and Cedric
2) Kheng, Fred, Ben, Cedric, Clement, Gary

The streets of Bangkok.

We were headed for a boat ride tour, towards the Wat Arun temple. This was the same type of boat we were about to board.

1) Stuff floating all over the river.
2) A condominum along the river. I'd like to buy a unit here when i'm able to. I heard it costs only 30k baht . How true that is, i'm not sure.

1) On the boat...
2) Cedric and Clement

1) The magnificent Wat Arun Temple
2) Me with an amazing back drop.

1) The glimmer on the left side is not a photo/camera effect!

1) Me posing by some 'great gate' . (Star Gate?)

1) Clement & Fred

1) Groupie: Junhuai, Fred, Anselm, Clement, Kheng
2) Fred & Davis

1) Houses along the river
2) Floating merchants

1) Check out the sizez of the fishes were were feeding with bread. It was supposed to be some kinda good deed to feed the fishes, and perhaps get something good in return.
2) Group photo at the lunch buffet. I look like the Chairman of the association!

The infamous Mah Boon Kong aka MBK Shopping center. Hub of all trendy stuff.

Us taking a break at Swensens. I believe you can't find a cheaper Swensens anywhere else in the world. However, the catch is... Their Swensens only sell ice cream.

This is the bowling alley at the top of MBK. The place looks fantastic, and i nearly got my ass kicked for taking this picture. But it was worth it. They have a DJ spinning music there, Hip hop RnB stuff, and you have swarms of pretty school girls going there to bowl and hang out. Altogether, the place is an excellent place for chilling out!

1) The guys all dressed up for some night life!
2) Hollywood Discotheque. Recommended by our perverted tourguide, who basically ripped us off and took us on a joy ride. Asshole.

1) Chatuchak. This is a crowded little corner eatery, where we had an excellent breakfast. I was skeptical at first, coz the clay plates looked pretty dirty. But the quality of the food made me forgave everything else.
2) Spring rolls, light skin with ample juicy fillings.

1) I had the rice vermicelli with grilled pork. Was disappointed that there was no sauce, but soon realized that it was cuz the flavour of the grilled pork was so excellent, anything else would bring injustice to it.
2) My friends had the vietnamese pho. The noodles were amazingly elastic and chewy. Something that is seldom seen in rice noodles. The soup was good too.

1) An outdoor shot of Chatuchak market. The biggest flea market i've ever been to. It really defines the term 'Flea Market' .

1) A humble hawker selling some grilled poultry outside Chatuchak. We bought 7 sticks for like 20 baht. Do you have any idea how insanely cheap that is? It tasted very good, and we did'nt get any food poisoning after that either. You MUST try the roadside stalls when you're in Bangkok.

Went to Chinatown's Nam Xing restaurant for some cheap but mediocre quality Sharksfin. Had scallops, brocolli with crabmeat and a huge fish steamed cantonese style. Total damage, about SGD20+ each.

Day3: The street of Pertunam.

1) Birds sold by the cages. You're supposed to do a good deed by buying a cage, and setting them free. That way, your wish that you prayed for would have a higher chance of coming true.
2) Me and Anselm.

1) At a shopping mall in Pertunam. There are like 5 storeys and all of them are connected by these "Step-less" escalators. Pretty cool. Shortly after i took this photo, i came across a sign that said "No Photo"
2) Theres something about skyscrapers that just seem to yell out 'TAKE A PHOTO OF ME!'

The river/canal transport.

2) Aha! Yes.. Fried Cockroaches. The term 'I'll crush you like a cockroach!!" is passe. Here, the fry and eat them. My friends did buy a couple of bags. But none of the roaches though. Reviews from them suggested that fried mealworms tasted like prawn crackers. As in, the Calbee stripey kinda crackers.

1) Had intended to take the girl in the center, but she did'nt give me a pose. Instead, ended up with a pretty stylish night shot.

1) Our last day at Bangkok. We're chilling at another Swensens outlet in MBK. There are like 3 Swensens outlets located in the same building. All 3 of them are equally packed.
2) Tried to take a pic of the gal behind.. She's pretty cute, but she did'nt turn to the camera.

1) My banana split. (Hmmm.. that sounded wierd)
2) Departure from the hotel. Last group shot.

A couple of 'heavenly' shots taken on the bus towards the airport.

to conclude...

hoho.

Life in Singapore sucks

2005-10-12T11:12:00.000+08:00

Today's the 2nd day back in Singapore. I had a really long night's sleep. Feel more or less recovered from the fatigue. Bangkok was truly amazing. Being there for 5 days was such an enjoyable experience. You go there with a few hundred bucks, you can spend like a King. 1 out of 4 girls you see anywhere on the streets are attractive, and they're friendly. They don't give you cold glaring stares or look away snobbishly like how Singaporeans do. They give you an opportunity to smile at them, and receive 1 back. I miss Bangkok so much.
Today's only the 2nd day of work, and a storm is brewing in the dept. Our boss is tightening up rules, and making life hell for us. It sucks.
I'll be quite busy at night, writing songs for the musical i'm working on. So far, i've wrote 2 sad songs, 1 a song about a man asking the girl of his dreams to go with him to a far-away place. The other, a love theme.
I guess... the 5 days in Bangkok, i've never been alone. Having company is a nice thing. Here back in Singapore, like yesterday, after i went home alone, i had dinner alone at the coffeeshop. Returned home alone, and spent the night alone. The feeling sucked. This is those times when you would tell me "Fred, you need to get a gf!" . Easier said than done. I'm not worried about not finding a girl who would like me, i'm more unconfident about my ability to love and treat a girlfriend right...
My expectations for a gf aren't really that high.. There are simply a few qualities i seek in a girl that will make my heart melt like butter. But these things i cannot reveal! Coz they are things that come naturally...... if someone tried to be like how i'd want a girl to be, then it would'nt be real. Anyway, i gotta get to work. Bah.

Bangkok is Mindblowing

2005-10-09T10:31:00.000+08:00

Heya,
It is now 9:31 am, i'm here checking out some nightspots at this Internet shop across my Hotel. Usage costs only 40Baht per hour, that's like less than 2 Singapore dollars per hour.
This city has been truly mindblowing. Go there with a few hundred bucks and we're living like Kings. Bought a shitload of crap, and am really enjoying the place.
Anyway, will do the little photolog, and talk more about it when i'm back.

Setting off

2005-10-06T16:49:00.000+08:00

Here i go..... off to the airport soon. It'd be a first, travelling to the airport in a Police Bus ..... My photolog will begin at the bus ... Will come up with a nice summarized photolog when i'm back. If i come back. ;)

D-Day Bangkok

2005-10-06T11:53:00.000+08:00

This is the day, This is the day
that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
And be glad in it, and be glad in it!

The day that i have been anticipating for months, has finally arrived. I will be flying off to Bangkok today!
To be honest though, i'm feeling a little uneasy, though excited. I'm just nervous.. about visiting a foreign country, whose language i can neither speak nor understand. Most if not, all of the countries i've been to so far, i've understood and speak their languages. ie. Malaysia, Hong Kong, China.
Clement from work had this dream/premonition that the plane blew up, and he took a photo of it. Somehow, he, together with 2 others could'nt board the plane for some unexplained reason (dreams do not follow logical reasoning) , and while he was taking a picture of the plane lifting off (with ME in it) , it blew up. :(
Does'nt that sound like a familiar scene from some movie? Final Destination ? I hope its just a dream man..... one thing for sure.....if for some reason later, Clement can't board the plane, I'M SURE AS HELL NOT GONNA BOARD IT EITHER!
I on the other hand, dreamt of being robbed in Bangkok, and was stripped of all my money. That is an issue i'm quite worried about too. Pickpockets.
Anyways, hope i'll have a good time. Basically gonna this trip is going to re-fit my warddrobe.
I'll cya'll in 5 days time. If i don't make it back, i hope my music will become my legacy and become famous or something... :P

Hippy Dad?

2005-10-05T11:55:00.000+08:00

1 more day to Bangkok. I hav'nt packed yet, plan to do it tonight. Not like i'll be bringing alot of things over anyway. Our plan is to go there with an empty luggage, and come back with a full one.
Dad gave me a surprise last night... He just came into my room out of the blue, passed me a stack of Thai Baht , (around 4500+ Baht) and told me:
"This should be enough for your trip.. should be enough to call girls also..."
"Remember to wear condom ... the HIV rate there is high.."
"There are ago-go clubs there, if you bring back girls from there, also must wear!"

Fred: ^^;;

On another note, why are girls so fickle-minded at times?

2 more days to Bangkok

2005-10-04T09:53:00.000+08:00

Counting down to the Bangkok trip this Thursday. Everyone is anticpating it so much. Me in particular, since it's the first time i'm going to Thailand. Excitement!!

Saturday Party

2005-10-02T13:14:00.000+08:00

Queenie's birthday bash at her place on saturday night was quite a good one. Definately one of the better house birthday parties i've attended. Attendance was pretty full, consisting of a fair number of chicks. It was really a nice socializing party, thought it was a pity i did'nt get to talk to the hottest girl there. I had 2 slices of pizza, and 3-4 glasses of red wine.
I made some interesting observations about girls at parties.. While everyone was scattered everywhere in their cliques, gossiping about stuff, the moment i started a conversation with 2 girls about ghosts and the supernatural, everyone's attention and interest immediately turned to us, and the next thing you know, all the girls were around us listening in, squealing/giggling away.
It's funny how girls appear to be terrified about such things, but yet, have so much interest for the topic, and keep asking for more stories, etc. etc.
Anyway, i'm quite sad/pissed/frustrated .. Everyone said the same thing upon seeing me yesterday. Even a schoolmate, who has'nt seen me for 7 years. This is how most/all of them greeted me :
"Hey Fred! OMG! You've grown fat!"
The second thing i get from my female friends all the time is:
"Fred, you need to get a tan!"

The tan part is'nt really that hard, but is it really such a big thing for guys to look tan, and not fair? As for my fuckin' fat face..... i have no idea what happened.. It just bloated up rapidly after i got out of Police Academy ... I did'nt change any eating habits, nor had any major emotional trauma... i simply started.. getting... fat... After a 23 years of being skinny, and 'immune' to becoming fat, i got fat. Anyone knows how to effectively trim off fats from the face? that's the main thing that's bothering me..everyday... damn it.

Today's blue screen pic of the day

2005-09-30T18:39:00.000+08:00

I like my hair today. Hello weekends! I'm gonna have a pretty eventful saturday. As for Friday night, darn i've got no date. But nevermind.. i shall stay at home peacefully and prepare a special little music project.
I'm so in love with a certain model/celeb named Debbie Wong... sigh...

I'm vain!

2005-09-29T21:30:00.000+08:00

I like taking pictures of myself daily, to see how i look for that day. Yes, i'm still quite the vainpot i used to be in secondary school. Only difference now is, sometimes i'm too lazy to style myself... whereas before, i could never ever leave home withou styling myself up.

New Song on www.Winterealm.com

2005-09-29T11:54:00.000+08:00

New original song up. It's titled Ai Qing Bian Yuan, which translates roughly to " The Brink of Love " ..
Everything was done by me, EXCEPT the lyrics. Written by a lady friend of my buddy, who spoke highly of her. Well she has a degree in Chinese , and had won best lyrics in a local music competition. It was wierd, and quite a challenge singing somebody elses lyrics for once. Special effort had to be put in to personalize the song, and make it sound genuine, instead of sounding like some karaoke session.
I went for the big dramatic feel this time for the music. I think it came out pretty good. Go check it out!
http://www.Winterealm.com/songs/vocal/original/Frederick Lin - Ai Qing Bian Yuan.mpx
Just rename the filename to .mp3 when you're done downloading it.

Trying to recover

2005-09-28T11:30:00.000+08:00

I'm a stubborn fool. I'm trying to recover from this inflammation, by taking lots of water and vitamin Cs while the sickness is in the initial stage. I've done it before, and i [hope] to do it again... I'm looking forward to Bangkok so badly!! Kinda worried now that i'll be sick when i go... Think i'm gonna see a doc the moment it gets worse.
Meanwhile, i'm so bloody sick of work. Been surfing for little travel guides about Bangkok, including the nightlife , which looks pretty exciting!
I'm gonna buy some 4D ... hopefully can get lucky and win some extra money to fund my trip...
ahhhhhh i feel so confined. After doing some soul searching recently, i realize i may not have been myself lately... rather, i've been trying to live according to others' standards. Maybe it's because of this lack of identity, i seem to be pretty lonely... Then again, i can't deny the fact that i've been shutting people out of my life.. i hav'nt been giving anyone a chance to enter and be a part of my life. Selfish? maybe.. I think it's a form of self-defence that i've learnt to develop after these years... That the only person that you can rely on, is yourself. But this can't go on forever... i don't think humans were meant to live alone. Adam had Eve, and vice versa. But now that i've wanted to start opening up, i'm having difficulty finding people.
Sometimes i think i suck in life... seriously... with all my talents and abilities, they seem to be good for nothing at all...

2005-09-27T11:11:00.000+08:00

Welcome! I've decided to seperate blogging from my actual music website.
My original website was never meant to be a blog anyway, thus it was'nt designed to be a good vehicle for blogging. After much deliberation, i've decided to make a seperate blog site and retain the winterealm.com site for official music purposes only.
So anyway, i'm looking forward to a new lease of readers/listeners here! This is so much easier to update as well!
Putting up pictures and stuff together with the entries will be easier too.
Anyway, will build this thing up nicely as time moves along. Stay tuned!