1. DREAMS – think about what you would like to have, to be, to share andto do. Build concrete examples around people, feelings and places.Activate your imagination where sky’s the limit! Fill up the following categories:
• Work
• Family
• Relationships
• Mental
• Emotion
• Social
• Material
• Physical
2. 4 GOALS THIS YEAR
• For each goal, state
• Why I’ll achieve
• Why I’m sure to reach
• Why it’s important

"The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together. Hopefully more often than not this 2011. Let us recap 2010." says Bubba.

He handled a firearm.
He brought people to church.
He got himself a license to fly in 6 months.
He got himself a diving license.
He can finally swim at least 25m without stopping.
He lost a good friend.
He helped spread the Christmas cheer at an orphanage/home.
He became a little more responsible.
He grew a little, spiritually and physically.
He cooked a lot.

Bubba's hopes for 2011-

To do well at work.
To spend more on others.
To volunteer on a ship.
To relive his 300 Spartan dream.
To learn from both his father and Father.

A tenor ukulele! Mahalo U320T, it was sitting there just for me. Compared to the rest, two Fender tenor ukuleles ($400 and $600 a piece), a concert ukulele (which doesn't have enough frets for me) and a heck load of soprano ukuleles. What surprised me was the sopranos (supposedly cheapest of the categories) with the rounded back or pickup costs a heave $300+. My baby only costs me $129.

Now help me name my ukulele, any ideas?

Just as the websites say, they sound noticeably different, the tenor and soprano. I think to make it complete, my next buy would be a pro-looking long neck soprano (sigh). I'm happy for now.

I bought my first ukulele last year in Singapore for $30. The only reason I got it back then was because of Youtube. I stumbled upon a duo singing a cheery song about their favourite-online-social-networking website. I loved the song. Cutesy song I thought (Rocky even moreso) and the ukulele? Sounds uplifting maybe, it's portable too. Couldn't be hard to play an instrument with only 4 strings and it's kind of like a bass guitar, I thought (again).

So one weekend I strolled into a music shop after classes just to look for one. There I saw them not one but a few hurrah, but it was disappointing. They all look like toys, constructed from lousy materials, and had poor finishings. With some thought, I returned the next day and the ukulele, I bought. Boy, was I a happy camper. Took me a couple of days to get the hang of it being so tiny and all. After learning the few songs I know, the one above, a few by Sophie Madeleine (Balls of Rocky and Balls), and Jason Mraz, it was tossed aside because there weren't any songs I can play with my level of skill and the ATPLs were just around the corner.

Friends back home knew I started picking up the ukulele. Just before I left for Perth, my darling friends, Mun, Jeff, Yinng and Ernst got me a ukulele with a message written behind, and I'd always add "that I should always have it with me never leave it behind, and everywhere I play it I would keep you in mind".

Today, I've got two little ukuleles (Soprano ukuleles
they're called). With all the time I have, sometimes I pick up the ukulele. After so long I've gotten a teeny weeny bit better with it, starting to find songs I can do some finger picking with. One in particular, Jake Shimabukuro's "While my guitar gently weeps", made me realise I need a different type of ukulele (one with a longer neck - more frets). The rightmost ukulele in the picture is a Soprano, then followed by a Concert, two Tenor ukuleles and the last a Baritone. So I've done a little bit of reading on ukuleles. Got to know what I'm getting for the money I'm spending after all (sighs).

The soprano is the ukulele that is most easily recognized because it is the tiniest and the tone is typically the one associated with ukuleles. The one I have has only 12 frets (frets - literally).

Next the concert ukulele is also referred to as the alto ukulele. It is slightly larger than the soprano model, but it has a 15" scale compared to 13" on the soprano. This makes it a bigger choice for people with larger hands. It has a fuller tone.

The type of ukulele that can come with different numbers of strings is the tenor ukulele. It also has an even fuller tone than the concert ukulele. It comes in 4 or 6-string types. You can even get an 8-string type of ukulele as a tenor. It is larger than the concert ukulele. Jake Shimabukuro uses a tenor for his crazy picking solos. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (RIP) as well if I remember correctly.

This is the largest of the ukuleles and resembles a mini-guitar. It can even be tuned like a guitar. It has the deepest tone and is usually the most expensive model.

I guess I'm willing to spend $150 on it, tops. Hopefully I get a good deal. I'll need to read up more on the types and brands. I will become a better ukulele player. This would be my new year resolution (heh) it's never too late to think of some after the eve.

Hello world (38:30).

Today I realised how scary it is to fly alone. There were no intructors to keep an eye on things and save the day in case of a real emergency; if I crash and burn. My plane was thrown about in the air, by the sudden gusts of wind, unexpected thermals, varying crosswinds on the runway. It was bad but not the worst of conditions, it was my handling. Every landing I made, I wished it was the last, but I had to go the full hour.


Now I'm here, sitting in front of the computer typing this out. Wonderful experience. I'll do it again and again until I get it right. I'd better. Another hour out there in the skies, solo, some peace and quiet maybe, and the adrenalin rush. Sooner or later I'll be immune to all this. Treasure it while it lasts.

This is the song I bring to you
Nothing made up no fancy tunes
I'm singing whatever's on my heart

I'm sure you have so much to say
If only I gave you a minute a day
I think I would have more songs for you

Sometimes I wonder I question
Was that your voice
or my imagination
I don't know
I don't know

Still you say you love me
Whenever I doubt and walk away
You follow me
you follow me

I'm amazed by you
I'm amazed by you
I'm amazed by you
and how you love me

So many times my faith grows weak
And so many times
you're the last one i seek
I don't know what you see in me

When I complain that I can't hear
Your voice in my heart
you say you're near
You whisper songs into my ears

So here I am singing a song that I wrote
And here I am playing guitar
that I don't know how to play
but that's okay (right?)

Cuz you are the one
who has sung over me
It's more than just
a-ny old epiphany
So won't you captivate our ears

Stress is a product of us taking the actual demand processing it as perceived demand and comparing it to our perceived ability instead of our actual ability. Did I phrase that correctly I wonder.

The group had a long and rough day, at least I felt like it was.
I am scared, shocked, shaken and shattered.
Can I really pull it off?

Baby Sarah Ho was born on the 28th March 2009 at 7:47am. So the next day, on a Sunday morning, I started organizing a course outing for a visit after church service. I managed to gather 6 of us, and some brought girlfriends. Sarah is now the darling of 143. She is so alert and so freakishly cute all wrapped up. Her skin feels softer than peaches. She lets us carry her around. She makes funny noises too. So, There are now 3 babies/children in our course, Alan's and Nicholas' children. I expected the hospital to be more of a baby factory, the nursery (if that's what it's called) packed with babies in 'trays' lined up nicely in rows and columns. Alas, there were only a handful in there, and they're not even stacked properly!

Later in the evening J.Lo wanted to check out Flight Experience, the B737 simulator. It costs $1,000,000 by the way, and it's not the full motion simulator. I imagine it would cost a fortune. Mary then suggested Fish Spa at Singapore Flyer before our movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic. Gah, fish spa was traumatizing for me. Especially when they try to get in between your toes. I sort of became the laughing stock of the day for the staff. Hmm, about the movie, I thought it was pretty funny. I wonder if I became something like a spotlight for Nigel and Mary.

• Clip 0903 : Kenko Fish Spa

I might be sent for review with the chief instructor depending on my performance.
I'm at home with medical leave for stress induced illnesses 2 days. That bad.

1. Go to one of the poles (north/south) and watch aurorae
2. Swim with dolphins
3. Swim with sharks
4. Hold onto a killer whale's fin
5. Whale watching
6. Visit the Great barrier reef or the Belize barrier reef
7. Visit the pyramids
8. Ride a camel
9. Visit Petra
10. Go to the Forbidden City and pretend I'm Sun Ce
11. Skydive
12. Bungee jump
13. Road trip from Malaysia to Europe
14. Deep sea exploring for giant squids and weird sea monsters
15. Snowboard/skiing

What's your bucket list?

I'd love to go to space and actually see the giant ball we're living on. Unfortunately, it's beyond me.

If you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is small.

Prov 24:10

Dear friends,

How are you doing? Carry a picture of me and place it on the table when you're out for food, and on the seat if it's a movie session. Heh.

It's been 7 weeks since I left for 'the job'. Have been out of sight out of touch since then. Still don't own a computer or a notebook. On the weekends, my dear friend leaves his notebook in the 'accomodation' for me to use :) and another ferries me around to church and meetings.

What's the school like? Intructors were split into ground and flying. It felt worse than school. They don't come in often. We're left in the pits to fend for ourselves. It's almost like a factory(Geeknote: Star Wars, Storm trooper factory). Many a time we were sent to the dreaded CBT(zzzBT) room, packed with 'education' terminals. Ground school is tough. Not because it's uber hard but because of the time constraint. In 26 days I'll be having my exams, and we're not finished with the syllabus. Barely halfway even. It's all up to ourselves now, self-study, that's how it has always been sadly.

We have 4 planes and 2 as backup and started flying 2 weeks ago. It has been fun, learning curve is high. Coordination is important, and the understanding of how it works too. Overall, it's pretty hard for me.

That somewhat sums it up for me. I'll post up pictures of the plane whenever.

Signed,
anon

            The past few days, no, weeks has been uneventful, save for the few outings I have had with my friends, birthdays, etcetera. The reason why the lyrics and writings of others are posted here.

            Today, it will be about cats, our little feline friends (to some). I am indifferent, I don't mind having pets, as long as I can pet and play with them occasionally. I cannot remember how many years since these cats joined our family. The first year was alright, since the first cat we had wasn't that wild, at least it had little or no hunting instincts left. Our more recent ones, (sigh) unfortunately tends to bring home their prize from the "wild". Nowadays, I would be sitting in front of the computer minding my own business, when suddenly screams, shrieks, ripping sounds from the kitchen would be heard. Almost instantly I would groan from the thought of cleaning up after them.

            Cleaning up after dogs, many complain walking the dog on a leash with one hand and a poop-scoop on the other.You know, cats, these dastardly evil creatures, are probably worse.

            Which reminded me, sidetracking a little, (ahem) cats cannot be trained. Our black cat pees on anything black we have, victims include tees, handbags, backpacks, pants, you name it.

            Anyway, the point is, cleaning up after cats look like this. On the right, is a medium-sized rat, the body being 3.5" long.


            You see, dogs probably do get their fair share of hunts. However, dogs maul their victims. The result of the mauling may have the innards of its victim squeezed out of its body bag like the picture above.

            Now, I would like to ask all of you to stop scrolling down if you think the above picture is gross, made the lunch you've had earlier dance in your stomach, or ruined your plans to have sushi for dinner. Then again, it's already too late to tell you that, I know (or) most people (I know) would scroll down all the way without reading it in an orderly manner first.

            If you remember the sounds I hear when I'm minding my business in front of the computer, I mentioned screaming, shrieking, and finally ripping. The prize of the domesticated yet wild feline is shown below.

            I was supposed to clean this up. There were several organs (God know what they are) scattered around under the table. My guess that the big slimy oval shaped thing still stuck on its body is the stomach and the brownish goo a few centimeters away is the feces, faeces, or fæces (whatever spelling you are familiar with) are waste products.

            This find made me wonder why did the cat bring its toy in. I don't think anything was eaten (like I'd bother to count the innards). Lizards were fully eaten (except for the head), smaller rats 2" in length, were also eaten, but not everything, because I've seen them eating one live.

            I wonder if humans were made smaller would our "pets" still rub themselves affectionately on us and purr. Or would they just rip us apart to feast on our innards.

It's been a little more than 2 weeks since I came to where the Queen is. I've pretty much gotten used to it here. My nose doesn't bleed anymore but it's still chilly.



Here's a picture of my surrogate family here in the United Kingdom. They're the reason why I settled down so quickly here.



Here's a couple of pictures I chose out of the thousands (and thousands) of photos we've taken the past two weeks. Our first weekend trip to York.

Lastly, I just love how they put up random obscene erotic-ish whatever you artsy people wanna call it paintings. Originals hung all over without proper security.



I got the crazy eye from old English (rolls eyes) women when I did my other *cough* more peculiar poses with the paintings. Haha like I care.

I went through a lot of trouble to be a person of good conduct.
Now I am officially a GOOD PERSON.
And I have proof.