the year in numbers.

i'll be sailing in the ocean off fremantle perth. away from 26th december to 6th january.

passed my final theory test on monday, booked my practical test for 5th march.

jan 23 - mogwai live in singapore.
mosaic music festival!
march 14 - psapp
march 15 - brad mehldau trio, yellowjackets, of montreal. spoilt for choice!
march 18 - battles
march 20 - the cinematic orchestra
march 22 - naturally 7

as for this year, there were more offputting than heartening moments. and the totally awesome heartstopping moments were rather lacking in number. 2 of those moments would have been in qingdao... a laser standard in 20 knots and swell, and getting signatures from some famous figures. actually, collecting a sheet of paper which read '40 points' was pretty awesome, and as long ago as that may seem, it still counts as 2008.

then there was mono playing halcyon (beautiful days), victor wooten's looping solo, marcus' sax and stanley's double bass solos.

i still remember 2007's heartstopping moment.

ok let's move out. juno tomorrow, swan river the day after.

engine brake.

driving around in a big car, spouting big words,

i feel too old too soon.

amazing grace

asked, not unreasonably, to be given some time to do something a bit more productive and meaningful over the new year.

i was used as target practice. i can imagine hearing 9X19mm parabellum rounds whistling past.

The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was the motto and telegraphic address of Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken.

i still believe people are by nature good at heart. that people at least tend not to want to cause harm to others without reason. the evidence i see somehow seems to point to the contrary, and i feel i'm being hopelessly optimistic of the human nature.

i keep dodging. questions and glances. a bit like george bush.

next year's concerts look great.

the problem.

i just saw the white and blue 'ib' logo adorned on an mrt advertisement on the way home. promoting the president's challenge.

if i were supposedly a global citizen,

why do i have to carry an ugly green ic and why do i require a passport to get me through various customs?

on the way home i also passed by teresa ville, where hwei yen's wake was held.

why do people hate other people to the point that they will want to put 7.62mm rounds through each other.

sure, there are people that i don't like being around with. there are people that i try to avoid, and yes, i'd say there are people i hate. though i'd imagine it would be a very tiny number. right now i can only think of 1 really.

surely, i'd never find the motivation to cause grievous harm to any person.

and yet, just go look at the news everyday to see that there is a serious problem with the human psyche around the world.

and a problem needs a solution.