Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Back Again

Surprised? I know I sure am. Never really expected to find myself back here in the Blogosphere, but here I am. Plus, I did a nice little makeover for my blog too. In case you're wondering, the header which I put together is a compilation of most of my favourite Photoshop works. Many of them were for my club and school projects, as advertisements, and flyers for our various events and functions. Others were created on a whim of an idea I had, or even as presents for friends.

On the sides, you will see photos, (none of which were taken by me, as you might've guessed upon seeing my face in every one of them, so credits go to the various photographers whose Facebook accounts I have stolen from) which show some of my favorite moments- not ALL, mind- and some of my best friends- once again, not all- of recent times, that being 2010/11'.

In any case, I will now explain the purpose of my blog. It will no longer be so much of a day-to-day account of my life, nor is it a place for stories of my many ventures and tribulations. Instead, this is more of just an outlet for occasional thoughts, ideas and even public announcements for whatever which I would like the world to know about. As always, feedback is appreciated (As soon as I get my Cbox back), and I will do my best to keep any readers entertained with various projects and ideas which I am embarking on.

Without further ado, I now present you,

A Box Of Memories.

Jun Shern out.

*Static*

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Bottle

Oh. My. God.

You need to watch this fantastic stop-motion short film. Nuff said.

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Jun Shern out.

*Static*

Monday, June 6, 2011

Inspirations and Aspirations



I'm becoming very restless.

Maybe it has something to do with the change of location of my computer, and thus a change of workspace. I used to keep my laptop in my room, or in the study room upstairs. However, my entire set-up has been shifted down here, right to the middle of my living room. Why? Because I had planned to get some music done this holidays. By music, I mean finishing an EP, doing collaborations with other people and even music videos. And it's not too late, actually. I have slightly less than a week left. It's still possible.

Yet, with this new place, I find that I can't seem to concentrate on anything. Not enough to write a new song, figure out the arrangement for a mashup, or do anything at all. Maybe it's the heat, too.

Yesterday, I started out my day on the com as usual. I finally finished the IU Day report which I'd been trying to pen since the start of the holidays. Which reminds me, do I still owe you all a post about IU Day? I don't feel up to writing out the whole thing, so maybe I'll just post some pictures here.







However, the day was not over yet. The finale - which until then was kept a secret to the guests - was finally revealed as a five-man band from the St. John’s Alumni Pipe Band burst through the back doors of the hall and marched down the center to the front of the stage, complete with drums and bagpipes. They played several short Celtic tunes, true to the spirit of Scotland. Upon the chorus of the last tune, our school’s Interactors appeared once more, parading through the hall from the back before assembling on the stage where we stood tall and proud. As the grand sound of the pipe band’s final tune came to a close, the Interactors all bowed together for the last time, before throwing our fists in the air as we cheered:
“WE ‘SCOT THE POWER!”
- excerpt from IU Day Report

It was a massive success, just so you know. The entire event ran smoothly, and I could see that everyone was entertained throughout. We had a good crowd, anyway.

The feedback was tremendous. So many people came to me, full of praise for our club and what a good job we had done. Interactors from other schools, people I had never even seen before, were coming up to me, all smiles and compliments.

Yet, the best part came after I got home. My phone beeped, and I opened the message to see that it was from our beloved Interact teacher advisor, Madam Norhayati.

"Conrats 4 de best IU so far."

In terms of spelling, it was far from flawless. But the message it delivered, was perfect.

* * *

After doing one report, I still had other work to do on the com, but noooo. I was restless. I moved on, to the Playstation.

Yes, the Playstation, if you would believe it. And why is that so hard to believe? Because I don't like playing video games. Or rather, don't like it anymore. I used to be fine with sitting down for long hours in front of that interactive idiot box, but guess what? Prior to yesterday, nobody has touched the Playstation or our Xbox 360 for over a month, since my brother left for the US. And me, I can't even remember the last time I used it. Anyhow, there I was, trying to sit myself down and occupy myself with something, anything, by playing an old favourite, Disgaea. I was there for half an hour, then I ditched the game.

Moved on upstairs to watch TV, and caught the ending of a Criminal Minds episode. Restlessness set in again, and I turned it off as soon as the themesong cued.

I went to my room, picked up a new book Mum had bought me from a booksale. Anne Fine, so yes it should be quite an alright book to read. Not 30 pages into the book, and I closed it.

I went downstairs to fetch my guitar, came back up, and was ready to write a song. Not ten minutes later, I decided that the only past time for me was falling asleep.

And sleep I did, for the whole afternoon.

After dinner, for the first time, I decided that I should not let the heat torment me any further. I turned up the air-conditioning. You should note that the fan here in the living room is useless for any circulation that does not involve the air directly below it. Meaning, the only cool spot in this large 20 by 20? square foot room is a little circle barely the size of a hula hoop, directly underneath the fan. Which counts for even less when you take into consideration that there are no chairs underneath the fan, and my computer table is too far away for me to sit within that measly circle of wind.

So, like I said. The air-conditioning was on, and I felt much better. I did a little bit of artwork for my band, so that we could use it for covers and such. I started on the report for our External Prefects' Camp, which, by the way, was fantastic and incredibly meaningful. But no, I don't feel like doing a post on that, sorry. You won't be able to relate, anyway. These kinds of stories have to be felt, not heard.

ANYWAYS. To the point. The whole reason I'm here today, is because of what I stumbled upon yesterday. Stumbled upon, as in Stumble Upon-ed. If you've not heard of it, I do recommend you try it. It's a really neat little web app, which lets you really surf the web for interesting articles, pictures, videos etc. It was introduced to me by a dear friend Mr Kok Hao Zhe, and it has become a steady pastime of mine ever since.

Anyhow, last night I found something truly moving. Take a look at this amazing project.


Follow the link and read through the page before you continue here. If you're interested you can go to the proper website for that project. There, you have the chance to actually write on the wall. Although it may not be the same as actually going out and writing on the wall in chalk, it does still mean the same thing. It's the closest thing we have, at least until someone goes ahead and starts the project here in Malaysia.

I posted on the website. What I want to do before I die. I'm not going to say it here; if you're really curious then you may go to the website and scroll until you find mine. I did write my name as Jun Shern, so it's not impossible to find. Though just one night after posting it, I've found that my post has already been buried pretty deep, so it might not be worth all that scrolling.

Still, I encourage you to write your own dream on the wall. It certainly gets you thinking. What is my ultimate goal in life?

The many hopes and dreams of the nameless people on the wall have inspired me. Many of them do have worthy dreams. Noble dreams, personal vendettas, and selfless wishes. If you take the time to think about some of the things that people are wishing for, you already have glimpsed into the life of someone whom you have never met. Never met, yet you can understand them through that one simple sentence.

I'm starting a new column in my sidebar. As I go about my everyday life, it will grow. Being at such an impressionable young age, there are so many things that I want to do. My ultimate goal, which I posted on the website, will not be posted here. That leaves space for some intriguing thoughts, no?

Before I die, I want to...

Jun Shern out.

*Static*






Wednesday, March 16, 2011

This Is It

Yep. It's me, blogging again. Surprise, surprise.

IU is at the end of the month, and honestly? I'm petrified. There are still so many things to do. I'm looking forward to it, of course. It's MY day. I've been dreaming of this for months, and now I'm worried something might go wrong that day, or it might not live up to my expectations, etc etc. Anyhow, I've already spent the whole day fretting and planning it, so I actually came here to give myself a break. So give myself a break I shall.

Right after I do some promoting, I mean. Haha! Yes yes yes. You've come to the IU Director's blog. You can't expect to get away without a sales pitch about IU Day. So here I go:

IU Day? I'm taking this year's IU Day personally. Very personally. This is the first thing that I have total freedom and control over. So, it being a testament to my own ability to direct, choreograph, coordinate, plan, innovate and make awesome, I am determined to put on the most amazing show that is possible with our given resources and manpower. Which is a very wealthy source of manpower, I might add.

Some of the greatest talents in the entire school are in the club. We have actors, dancers, singers, designers, techies, creatives, leaders, workers, and basically everything that a show requires. Yes, I am burying myself here, what with the overselling and whatnot. But the thing is, I have absolutely no excuse to let this event slide as just another "meh".We have the potential to deliver, and I owe it to everybody to make full use of that potential.

Bear in mind, though, that this will not just be a showcase of talent, nor is it a concert of any sort. At the core, IU Day's true objective is to promote international understanding. (Don't you dare say "No shit, Sherlock", I'm not done yet!) This means that IU Day should actually be an exhibition for a certain country. Which sadly, many of my fellow IU Directors from other schools have forgotten. The dazzle and the want for fame has turned many IU Day's into nothing more than a concert, which is certainly not what IU is about. No offence meant, but this true.

I aim to hold true to that meaning of IU Day. If you come for IU, I promise that you will understand new things about Scotland, but don't despair, for everything will be presented remarkably and you will certainly not be bored. To sum it up nicely, we will strike a perfect balance between entertainment and information, merged together so seamlessly that hopefully you won't be able to tell the difference.

At least, that's my plan. Some of it is working out very nicely, while others are still in early stages, so I am still trying very hard to make that plan a reality. There is much more to be done, but we have a month. We will do our best.

So what can you expect this year? To be frank, Scotland wasn't exactly on my list of top five Best-IU-able-Countries, but the club chose it through a vote, and I was stuck with Scotland. Perhaps it's for the best, that I didn't get the original country that I'd wanted.

Imagine the first day, when the club decided. Honestly, I was terrified. I knew NOTHING about Scotland. I couldn't even tell you where it was on the map. However, I had to work with it. So, I went online. Read through pages and pages of articles on the country. I even bought a large hardcover book about the culture of Scotland, and guess what? By now, I've grown to love it.

And this is exactly what IU is about. Learning new things about other countries. For the record, Scotland is an amazing country, which I simply never got the chance to get to know about. It actually does have a great number of fun and exciting things, which you will come to realize when you come for IU Day.

One of Scotland's many awesomes.

Anyhow, I shan't say anymore for now. Here are the details, right off my Facebook event page:

Our Theme: We ‘Scot The Power!
Because yes. We has got the power, if you would excuse our lapse in grammatical correctness.

When? Friday, the 29th of April 2011, 3:00pm – 6:00pm.
Do note that while registration begins at 3:00pm, the event is due to begin at 3:40pm with no delays. The main event ends at 6:00pm, after which all guests are invited to the canteen for a taste of some scrumptious Scottish cuisine.

Where? School Hall of Wesley Methodist School, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.
Our school is also easily accessible via public transport. Simply take the LRT to the Sentul station right next to the school, and there will be ushers to escort you into the school from there.

Ticket Prices?
RM8 – Formal wear: School Uniforms, Interact Attire
RM10 – Other: Smart casual. (Shorts and skimpy outfits are STRICTLY PROHIBITED)

For further enquiries, do not hesitate to contact:
Int. Chan Jun Shern (IU Director) @ 016-9077282
Int. Brenda Yew (Asst. IU Director) @ 017-6083826


Wish me luck, guys. I'm scared of my own expectations. But hey, I'm not alone. I've got Brenda, and the greatest team of Interactors to help me make this work.

I actually only meant for the promo to take up a short section of this post, but I guess I got carried away. And now I'm tired of typing. Figures.

Anyhow, I still owe y'all a real post. This doesn't quite count, does it? Maybe I'll do one tomorrow; I'm having a surprisingly free weekend.

More here. http://wms-interactclub.blogspot.com/ :)

Jun Shern out.

*Static*

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Little Wonders

It's a giving season, that's what Chinese New Year is. This doesn't really mean much, though.

What it usually means is that it is a season where people are obliged to give away money as tradition dictates, but this does not necessarily mean that people give willingly, or that the gesture is from their hearts.


However, I'd like to digress the general perception, being that humans are selfish by nature. We aren't, not always. Humans are cautious, and tend to look out for their own well-being above others'. This is survival instincts, not selfishness.


To prove this point, I'd like to share with you all a story of a small miracle. Perhaps it's not what you might think to be impossible, or that it's undeserving to be named as a miracle. But that's why I call it a small miracle, or rather, a little wonder. This really touched me, and so, it drove me to publish this story immediately after it happened.



This story took place about an hour ago.


My family and I had just had our big CNY dinner, this year at the Grand Imperial of Hartamas Shopping Mall. Once again, I had forgotten to bring out my Cross Country donation card, which I had meant to do at all my previous family gatherings. Thus, it was still sitting upstairs in my bag, empty but for my name written on the top.

It seemed that my aunts and uncles had not finished their chatting and catching up, so after dinner, we headed back to my place, where they sat happily in the living room, laughing it up. I was next door, doing my Add Maths homework on the dining table.

Anyways, I was getting tired of quadratic equations when suddenly, I remembered my donation card. I realized that this would probably be my last chance to bring it out and collect donations, so I thought I might as well give it a shot, instead of coming back to school empty-handed. And so, I fetched it, and soon found myself standing in the middle of my living room, smiling sheepishly.

"Err. Hi, everyone. Um, as we're all here tonight, I'd like to talk to some of you about something."

And so I did. I launched into a short speech about what the Cross Country is, our goals, and which charity organizations we are aiming to help. I also gave a little explanation about Children's Wish Society, and how they helped to grant terminally ill children their final wishes.

"So, if you guys would like to help out, that would be really great. I have a donation card here, and any sum would be most welcome. Just give from your hearts."

I laughed lightly, hoping they didn't get the wrong idea and assume I was a conman. I passed the card to my closest aunt, and she smiled as she wrote the first entry in my donation card. RM20. Then it was passed along. RM50. RM20. RM50.

I was taken aback. I had not expected this. I had hoped that each family would give perhaps RM5 or RM10, and maybe then I would be able to scrape the minimum donation of RM55 for Interactors. I quickly stood back while they made their donations, hoping my standing too close was not pressuring them to donate more than they wanted to.

Suddenly,

"Shern, who do I address this to?"

I looked up, and saw my uncle holding up his cheque book. I laughed, thinking he was kidding; the jovial uncle he is. He wasn't. My mum asked him to address the cheque to her, and she would cash in the money for me. Eventually, the donation card had come full circle, and I opened the card. I gaped at the large sums which I found inside. I was utterly dumbfounded and tongue-tied, so I faced them and bowed. "Thank you so much."

*the total donated sum will be withheld for privacy reasons.

And I bowed again. And again. And again.

Tonight, I have learned something. People are willing to give. They want to help. It's just hard to do it sometimes, cos most of the time you don't actually know whether or not to trust that your money will be put to good use. People want to go to bed, knowing that they have helped others, and that somewhere, they have made a difference in a person's life. Who doesn't want that?

I'm just really glad that my relatives had trusted me enough to donate in the way they did. They were all really nice about it, and spoke to me about how all the money would be handled, wanting to be sure that it would reach the people they were hoping to help.

It was a beautiful experience. I had never expected this much to come from such a small group of people. They were giving to strangers; cutting out parts of their own well-being to contribute to that of people they had never met. This is charity, I guess. And I'm really glad to have seen it happen first-hand. It may not seem like that big a deal to some people, but maybe it has to happen to you for you to actually feel it.

Anyways, thanks, relatives. I won't forget this.


Why do fish mongers charge so much for fish?
'Cos they sel-fish ma.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone.

Jun Shern out.

*Static*

Saturday, January 22, 2011

I Believe In Awesome

Picking up from the start of last year's year-end holidays. Almost half a year ago? I can ask for nothing more from life. I have had the most amazing past year that I never imagined possible. Thanks, everyone.

I believe in awesome because:

19th of November, 2011 (Last Day of School)
-Initial Sound's performance @ Endgame Concert was the bomb.
-We did our first real, unplanned encore of our signature song mashup Yellow/Fix You at Endgame.
-I had the cool title of Stage Manager at Endgame. Though I didn't do that much.



22nd of November, 2011
-Interact Club's PBS Workshop was blast. Spending time with young, innocent kids FTW.


24th of November, 2011
-Megamind @ Midvalley with Prefects + +
-Megamind is a fantastic movie. I hadn't laughed so much at any movies in a long time.
-I love this group of people.

25th of November to 2nd of November, 2011
-OSAKA, JAPAN STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM! Unforgettable, unregrettable, indescribable.
-Choreographed Indian Dance for showcase @ Omi Brotherhood School, Osaka was well-received.
-Whoa! at Japanese families. I never imagined that anyone of our same species could be so nice.
-Played guitar for my astounded and excitable host-family in Japan.
-Universal Studios Japan was where I realized how much brilliance a person can really feel, such that the only way to keep from bursting is by singing and screaming out in joy.
-Flight home from Japan was delayed, allowing us one last epic day in Japan.





3rd of December to 5th of December, 2011
-The huge Interact District Conference @ Royale Bintang Seremban, a gathering of over 800 Interactors from across the country
-Meet, greet, feed our highly-praised namecards to everybody
-Epic hotel room. For decency's sake, I will not reveal the disturbing story of my hotel room on this blog. Ask me in person.
-Largest Dance Battle I had ever been in, to an audience of the entire body of 800 + Interactors. Did I win? I'm not so sure, myself. Everyone was just having fun.
-I super love my WMS Interactors.


11th of December to 13th of December, 2011
-Pulau Pangkor with the mum's side cousins, including the special guests from the Land Down Under.
-Time spent with the cousins are always amazing. This was no exception.
-Surprise birthday party, excessive song-singing before finally being allowed to cut the cake. Thanks, family.



17th of December to 20th of December, 2011
-Mind-blowing experience at Club Med, Cherating with father's side cousins.
-Birthday well-spent.
-Landed my first proper front flip during acrobatics course; aid of mini-trampoline.
-I would like to say that the nightly musical performances and shows at Club Med are some of the best shows I have ever seen in my life.
-Dance battle! Jun Ian, Jun Kit and I had a chance to battle the others present. My brother easily owned everyone else.
-received my beautiful Internet Radio from an uncle.




23rd of December, 2011

-Christmas party @ Loong's with extended family
-parents dress-theme: 70's fashion.
-Cousin's Prom Night; joined us after his Prom.
-Epic serenade session: 10 cousins and a guitar piled illegally into one car, headed to cousin's prom date's home to sing her "Just The Way You Are" on a spontaneous whim.
-Mamak after serenading.
-Slept at Tan's just before 6am.

25th of December, 2011
-received a professional Studio Condenser Microphone as a shared present from 26 AWESOME friends.
-recorded a Medley as thanks to the Awesomes.


26th of December, 2011
-Christmas party/Reunion dinner @ home with ex-neighbours from Damansara Heights.
-Reunion after more than 7 years.
-There's a reason why we were all best friends when we were young: The two families whom we used to live in-between are awesome people.

30th of December, 2011
-Orientation Day and Leadership Camp preparations in school.
-Kelly's birthday party at her house.
-Epic-ly random and hilarious story-telling session by Eric and I. In Chinese.


31st of December, 2011
-New Year Countdown @ DPC Waterfront with Jamin, Juinn and Joo Ann
-Picnic in a secluded, open field beneath the fireworks.
-At Tan's, played Zuma Blitz on Facebook uncontrollably.

3rd of January, 2011
-School reopens.

7th of January to 8th of January, 2011
-Internal Prefects' Camp in school.
-Debut release of my best shirt design yet, the Prefects' T-Shirt. I'm really proud of this one.
-Unforgettable and ROTFL-worthy simulations of Clearing, Assembly Control, and Screening.
-MUCH more fun than I'd expected. It was amazing.



14th of January, 2011

-chosen as new President of Social Studies Club, completely no idea what to do with the club.
-Pre-Chinese New Year dinner @ home with the Cousins.
-Auditions for performances for the Yee Wei/Huei Jean Wedding in February.
-First time hearing Joo Ann sing. She auditioned for a solo piano/vocals performance of Only Hope, and we were completely blown away and amazed.
-Performing Lucky by Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, duet with Tan Wei Yi.

15th of January, 2011
-Interact Club's Community Service Trip to Soup Kitchen.
-Another unforgettable new experience. Washed heaps of cutlery, cleaned countless tables, wiped unsurmountable squared units of surfaces.
-Helping to serve free food to the poor FTW!



16th of January, 2011
-attended Loong's music school concert @ Bentley's Music auditorium.

20th of January, 2011
-Thaipusam holiday! Hindu's FTW!
-Went for a Pre-Run of Interact's Cross Country event @ Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
-Taught Victor to ride a bicycle.

21st of January to 22nd of January, 2011
-Managed to work out a brilliant scheme of work for Social Studies. Wait and see, Social Studies is the next big up-and-coming club of the school.
-The long-prepared and much-awaited In-House Leadership Camp 2011!
-Our In-House Leadership Camp 2011 was the bomb.

-All my long, mind-wrenching hours of planning the camp's Mystery Game was worth it. IT WAS EPIC!
-Xin Jie and I were the facilitators of the winning team (Group 12 MOJO JOJO!). I love my group. They were awesome sports.
-Honestly, I don't think I have ever felt better than I did when the entire camp was over. It was an immense success, and the thunderous applause that ended it was thoroughly felt.

I love this life. Or rather, I do some times, and hate it at other times. Well, I don't hate it. It's just that I have way too many things to do all the time. I barely do my homework or study , and yet I am sleeping past 1am every night, preparing for all these activities.

For the past week, I was running extremely low on fuel. I was tired to the bone, and I often fell asleep on the computer or on my homework late at night. During the daytime, I felt like crap, though I tried not to show it. It was really too much for me.


I believe it's worth it, though. All my late nights of preparation, pondering, planning, brainstorming, typing, and editing my plans for Mystery Game paid off when the game ended. I had seen all the participants having a great time trying to solve my mystery, and whenever anyone thanked or congratulated me, I felt the strength coming back. And finally, when Mr Naresh thanked me for my work on the game, everyone applauded. This is what makes hard work worth it. When people appreciate what you've put bucket loads of effort into, the feeling is so relieving, so satisfying that you forgive yourself for putting yourself through all that work, and you want to do it again.


Problem is, I see no end to it. How many more times this year can I go through this sort intense hard work?
After this, we have our Cross-Country coming up on the 19th of February. There is still a lot of work to be put in into Social Studies if I really want to turn it into an active club. And there's the issue of the school Newsletter that we're about to start. Our first issue is due in February, and there's so much more to be done.

Of course, most important to me is my IU Day. Brenda and I are getting worried about it already, though we've only planned it to be in May. There's much to plan and practice, and we need to begin early, because I have promised myself this: This year's IU Day, of the year 2011, will be the best IU Day the school has ever seen. Mark my words, and attend IU Day in May to judge if I have succeeded.

After that, there'll be the school Concert. I get the feeling I'll be doing the programme booklet for concert, and I do actually want to do it. Problem: Mdm Sarah Tan has already asked me to take charge of a dance under her, and I agreed, because she mentioned that I would have complete creative freedom in choreography, and that's rare as far as school concert goes. So I'll be pretty busy around that time. And that's dangerously close to SPM.

It's not as if school work is a piece of cake, either. I'm in Form Five now, and the workload is raining down hard on all of us. SPM is coming, and I want at least 8A+'s out of my 10 subjects. Ambitious much? Well, no harm in trying.

At least now that the Leadership Camp is over, I have a short grace period before the next big project. And there's the CNY holidays coming up, too. At least I can use this time to catch up, then get ahead in my studies so at least I don't have to worry about that portion of life for the next few months.

Wish me luck. I'll try my best not to kill myself or work myself to death. Dad says, "Delegate your work! You musn't keep taking everything into your own hands!" I agree. Thanks, Dad. I'm trying to do exactly that. But it might be a little more complicated than it seems now.

You might be wondering, though, why I do all this? I've asked myself the same question. "Why do I keep trying to do all these things?"

Well, now I know. Because I believe in awesome. I'll get there one day.

Jun Shern out.

*Static*