I’m pondering about this since my choir (visit SMU Chamber Choir Fan Page if you’d like to) was visited by a vocal coach from Philippines. He did technical stuff like breathing, posture, sound production that I would not go into detail else I’ll bore a lot of you out. Not that there’s a lot of you in the first place.

After all technical stuff, before he left he said that the way to improve our singing is to listen to more choral works. He then went on to recommend some people, or rather groups, to listen to. And I just couldn’t stop pondering.

You see, if you have followed my blog from the beginning, you would know that I don’t only listen to choral or classical stuff. Review my music category. I listen to some pop, some rock, some electronica, some lounge music, and every other thing as I feel like it. In fact, I think my choral music collection is like… 5% of my whole collection?

Do we really have to listen to music that defines who we are? Do they have to match?

I don’t think we should choose a music, or any interest, first then decide how we should act. If I like emo songs (I do like some), do I have to sport the over-one-eye hair cut and write sad poems? If I like rock songs, do I have to sport studs and funky hair? If I like classical songs, do I have to act all nerdy? Do I really have to fulfill all those stereotypes only because I like a type of music? And is it fair to judge a person just based on what music they listen to? (or based on their interests?)

All I’m saying – sometimes people identify a group, and then identify themselves. Isn’t this backwards? I think we should identify ourselves first and then join a group.

But then again, this is only a personal opinion. But I’ll stand true – I don’t want to listen to choral music just because I sing in a choir. I don’t want to limit my choices – there is a lot of great music of any genres out there.

What do you think? Do you think you define yourself by your music – or does your music define you?

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“So, do you speak Bahasa?”
“Er… Yeah?”

You see, people, the word “bahasa” actually means “language” in Indonesian. Bahasa Inggris means English language. Bahasa Cina means Chinese language. So when you ask people whether they speak Bahasa, then the answer will always be yes, right?

I think a lot of people tried to “localize” their figure of speech by saying “Bahasa”, but really, sometimes it just seems stupid to answer a question whether you speak a language.

So, bottom line – it’s either Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian language, or even only “Indonesian”.

Sorry, I don’t speak Bahasa.

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Yeah, right. Like you have any tradition, Sylv.

Anyway, this year shall be a scary year for me. A lot of transformation will take place this year. I’ll be 21, legal for everything, considered adult for everything (like, finally???). I’ll finish school life and begin a corporate life (that is, if I find a job, of course). I will lose weight for good, and I mean it! I’ll look like what I used to look like and probably better

I have mixed feelings about those big, possibly life-changing upcoming events. It can be drastic, mind-boggling, but I’m excited about them anyway.

I hope this year will be an exciting one for you too.

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So I’m only taking three modules this term. I know, I know. Freaking three modules?? How can you say it’s crazy, Sylv??? The reason it’s crazy is because you’re only taking three modules!!!

Ahem. Anyway.

My three modules are : PR Writing, Creative Writing, and Current Issues in Business, Culture, and Society. If you see a recurring theme… You’re probably right. They’re all writing. Yes, even that third course which has a name so long I don’t want to bother typing it. Although I might have typed a longer sentence just by typing that. Anyway. These three courses require writing, writing, and writing, and all with different styles. PR Writing is, of course, PR Writing. Concise while keeping the important details, and making it interesting enough so that those journalists will pick it up. Creative writing is, I suppose, more liberating. Although excelling in Indonesian creative writing, I suppose it was time for me to pick up the English one. Had a great fun experimenting. And that third course, we need a business type of writing – really simple, to the point, no flowery words or hard vocabularies.

Hey don’t get me wrong. I like the third course. It’s the only course in SMU where you can get free food. I’m not kidding. (Click that)

So I figured it would be quite a paradox if I take a term full of writing and I stop writing in my blog. After all, this blog was the one that elevated my writing skillzors. If you have the time to sift through my archives from 2006 ’til now, (I hope) you can see the level-up.

So here I am, back in full force of writing!

….I think.

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Warning : this post may contain spoilers of Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, and Gossip Girl.

So I just finished watching Glee ep 13 last night and the last scene of the fall finale was Mr Schuester, the protagonist, kissing Ms Pilsbury, the “will-they-or-won’t-they” girl for Mr Schuester on screen. I guess it’s “they will” now.

Problem is? Mr Schuester is married. Well, for now, anyway. He proudly proclaimed that he’s leaving his wife on the day of Ms Pilsbury’s supposed wedding.

Oh, so just because you left your wife you’re free to kiss another girl?

I’m pretty sure that a lot of Glee lovers were cooing “Awwww” at the scene but to me it was a disgusting scene.

Pardon me, but I was not raised believing marriage is “I love you so let’s try out and see if this works and if I’m not happy we’ll just leave each other” thing. It’s not even a continuation of years of infatuation and butterflies and gazing into each other’s eyes. It’s a commitment, sealed for life. Isn’t it obvious from the vows? For better of for worse, through good times and bad times?

I remember spending 5 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy cursing in my head, telling Meredith and Derek to just break up for good. (As Grey’s Anatomy viewers will know, they break up and patch up a million times) I don’t know whether the fact has been blurry because it’s not even mentioned again for 5 seasons, but Meredith and Derek started out when he was still married. Yes, Addison, Derek’s then wife, cheated on him, but did that really give him a license to go have a one-night-stand with some chick in a bar AND THEN eventually “marrying” her? (Sorry, vows on a blue post-it don’t quite cut it for me) I’m sorry to say this, but dammit, keep your dick at its place before you get done with divorce and everything!

I’m quite pissed that the media portrays those adulteries as okay, manageable, fine, whatever thesaurus you can put here. What exactly is the intention? If those shows keep doing this, there will be no surprise that the divorce rate in the USA and probably the rest of the world will keep going up. Oh sorry, it’s already happening now? Maybe later people will not want to get married anyway – too much trouble just for legalizing commitment and sex eh?

My stand is – sometimes marriages don’t work. It’s true. But according to your vows, you’re committed to work the kink out. But obviously, not by having a relationship when it’s all chaos. Seriously, why add oil to the fire?

Endnote: I just realized the same theme is ongoing on Gossip Girl – Serena with Tripp.

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It’s holiday, and I know you’re itching to go somewhere to unwind. Unfortunately the hotels know how much you’re itching and they’ll charge you extra plus plus for everything.

Fret not though. MasterCard Cardholder – Exclusive Deal is available for you! If you have a MasterCard, get this – you can enjoy a free night – stay 3 nights for the price of 2 at 188 participating Accor hotels in Asia! If you don’t know where to go yet, just browse around the page I linked above and try out the search facility. Alternatively, download the list of participating hotels. There’s Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China, Macao, and many more. So many choices to choose for

Oh and, if you decide to book the hotels using your MasterCard, you will also get a chance to win a 3 night stay in a private villa at the 5-star Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort (China). And no it doesn’t mean a measly room. You’ll get 1 Bedroom Villa with a King Bed AND with a private garden with your own swimming pool, outdoor massage area, jacuzzi and separate living room. Cool or what? Of course, breakfast is complimentary for 2. There are 10 prizes to be won, so you still have a chance.

May you have a great (cheap) holiday!

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I’m too busy enjoying the nice food and watching DVDs to discuss about it though.

That’s about it. More updates coming soon… Later.

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note: image heavy post. Click Read More to continue. See larger (original) images by clicking on the images.

Covered from “head to toe” in mosaics.

Not kidding. Really. I even took the close up of the “decorations” in case you’re in doubt.

Uh-huh. Mosaics alright. Specifically, 7000 square meters of mosaic works.

From afar, those mosaics look like paintings…

It was such a sight to behold. Even until now, I can close my eyes and vividly imagine seeing this church.

Anyway, about the church…

This church is popularly called “Cathedral of the Saviour on Spilled Blood” (its real name is “Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ”). It derived its popular name from the purpose for which the church was built. Alexander II, the then Tsar of Russia, was assassinated here (anarchist conspirator threw grenade and exploded a bomb) and Alexander III, his son, built the church as a memorial to his father. The church was covered entirely in mosaics because the St Petersburg climate made traditional paintings and frescos deteriorate quickly. Unfortunately this church’s fate has not been so smooth. In Russian Revolution, the church was used for several nonreligious purposes such as corpses repository and vegetable storage. Long stories short, the church was gradually restored to its full glory, opening again in August 1997.

Info thanks to Church of Saviour on Spilled Blood Wikipedia Page and a friend Julia Tvorogova (always trust locals!).

More (captioned) photos on my Facebook album.

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And so naturally in Singapore we live with numbers. A lot of them. Our apartment’s unit numbers, for example. It’s usually 4 numbers, #03-09, #04-05, #06-07, and so on. And of course our postal code number (every building has different postal code numbers! That’s how small Singapore is….). And a lot more.

This usually is not a problem for Singaporeans or someone who has lived in Singapore for quite some time. It was not a problem for me, at first. The problem comes when you move around (quite) frequently.

You see, when I just moved here, I occupy #34-xx (if I remember correctly). Then I moved to #08-xx. And then #05-xx. Now it’s #01-xx. And of course they all have different postal codes.

The problem usually occurs in the lift. When I was still in transition, I would often absent-mindedly press the wrong floor button. Is it 8, or is it 5? Problem also occurs when I’m off visiting my boyfriend for the weekend. You see, my boyfriend lives in #08-xx. Again, is it 8, or is it 5? Or is it……?

And I’m not finished. You know that sometimes apartments have these “nifty” enter-code-to-get-in stuff? Uh-huh. These things are usually coded with 4-digit codes. So yeah you can guess what happened. Even worse, when I lived in #05-xx, they regularly change the codes and I sometimes find myself stranded outside the gate because I forgot the new code, or I entered the wrong code thrice. Urgh.

Oh, and, remember those postal codes? I’ve lost count on how many times I wrongly entered my postal code when I’m ordering something online.

The problem with numbers is not only contained in addresses. Did you know that SBS Transit has around 300 buses, and of course, with different numbers?

Sometimes the problem is that two buses with almost same numbers (12x and 12x+1, for example) sometimes have almost similar route, while on the other hand, they can also have totally different routes. So imagine if they actually have totally different routes but you forgot which is which, and you boarded the wrong bus…… The rest, as they say, is history.

So how about you? Any number woes you’ve encountered, in Singapore and in somewhere else?

Photo by stewf available under Creative Commons NC-SA 2.0

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My years in SMU (and possibly Singapore) is ending. In approximately 7 months, I will receive a fancy-looking scroll, take photos in my big baggy regalia, and throw my square hats to the air.

When I first came to SMU, I was 17. I thought I was ready for everything – I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do yet. I thought within 4 years, something, somehow, would come to me and I would steer my way to that.

But nuh-uh. Not quite. Sadly.

When I first tried my hands on programming/coding, I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. Then more stuff came about networking, information security, enterprise integration, architectural analysis, more network infrastructure, etc etc etc. I thought maybe I should just find my feet. Maybe it would get better.

It didn’t.

Year after year, I spent my years in SMU (still) trying to find out what I should do in life. I kept doing everything I want. I blogged actively and became active in a blogging scene. I joined a choir and sang with them in a myriad of performances. I even tried out to become a songwriter – my song was showcased in a musical play in 2008. I managed a gamelan (Indonesian music ensemble) club. I did two internships. I did a web design/development one, and then I did an online marketing (as account executive) one.

I kept waiting for that one moment when, at the drop of a hat, I feel some butterflies – when I feel that this is what I want to do. This is what I’m supposed to be doing. This is what I’m glad to be doing now – and many years to come.

It didn’t come.

So right now, as the end is looming, I’ve given some thoughts that there are two things that I can do right now.

1. Keep trying different things. Even if I don’t like it, at least I’ll know what I’m not supposed to do.

2. Choose. Separate the sheep from the goats. And make peace, be at ease with whatever my choice is.

Right now, I know my time is running out to try even more different things. Honestly? After 20 years, I’m tired. My parents were great to give me a lot of opportunities to try and do different things. But I’m tired now. I’m 20, I’m about to graduate from university, I suck at school, and I have no direction where to go.

So the next best thing is to choose. Yet I don’t know what to choose, what to do for many many years to come. How can I plan for those years to come if I can’t even decide what to do immediately after I finished all my classes in SMU? Should I go to China to study Mandarin? Should I go back to Jakarta and enjoy relaxed life before working life? Should I stay in Singapore and try to find a job immediately?

Hell, I can’t even plan on what to eat tomorrow.

PS: If you see a lot of idioms scattered around this post, this is because my professor suggested me that I should practice on using more idioms. I’m glad that she actually likes my writing, but she said my grammar and use of idioms let me down. So this is the best avenue to practice!

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