School's starting once again!

well well, i've been lazy n not updating.. hehe... oh well just to keep the concerned friends updated about my situation... keke

oh well, everything was fine n motivating thru out the past quarter, until i developed pain in my hands at about week 9... it was just left hand, then my right hand, and then both arms, moving up to the entire hands... it was super depressing n i have to get through the tests as well... i started not practising n hanging out w frds etc... that was cool since it was the end of the quarter already.. then during the break, i didnt do much at all n hoping my hands can recover faster... went to do acupuncture n my hands has improved alot since.. still not totally recovered yet but pls pls... faster... =( i alrready feel sooo out of touch with drums now! been listening to alot of music in the break... mainly hiphop n classical... haha i really hope i can regain my playing n farking improve alot to catch up... there's no way i wana quit sch becoz of the stupid hands so everyone pls pray for my hands to recover totally soon so i can jam with frds and musicians n get out of school to play gigs within this quarter...

kelvin came over to meet me last friday before heading down to san diego and we had a great dinner at cheesecake factory... it was a pity we didnt have any cheesecake because we were soo full! hehe we chatted and it was great coz it's been a long time since i speak singlish comfortably and im getting rusty man.. hehe

tama called me! haha he was/is in New York and Chicago with jeremy monteiro.. so cool lo... they flew over to play with james moody... we chatted quite abit too and he told me of a studio with decent rate n a good place to practise... will get details from him next time if i ever hang ard NY n play music.. he's taking some lessons over there too with the great drummers in the world! hehe siao eh..

so yeah. i guess that's about it.. the photos r all in facebook as per normal so head over there to check out wat have i been up to! ;)

happy new yr!

ok...i've been lazy to update here... well no internet at home so only go online in sch... need to carry my heavy laptop leh.. sry guys! hee ok i try my best to recall...

the last day of test week mike stern came to lama for clinic... and sadly my test was scheduled after his clinic so i was thinkin to skip or go for it..anyhow, dave's flight back to LA was delayed and the testing started an hr later so i went for the clinic... it was cool and he's really amazing and gave some exercises for the guitarists... he's a great down-to-earth guy... but i missed his gigs at catalina, playing w dennis chambers!! :( coz he played from wed-sun during test wk and everyone has gone down by sat... :( and so i missed dennis chambers... boohoo!

sat was move house day so fri nite i couldnt go watch the gig.. anyway, after moving home and unpack my stuff, i went down to sch for airto moreira perc clinic.. it was cool! if i rem i'll put up the video... hee we had a very big drum circle at the end.. missing the good old days... esp w kelvin in mapc n lila... it was great fun.. after tt i went for dinner w miki n keiko... it was yummy! though the chinese rest wasnt very authentic, the mabo tofu is good enough to satisfy me.. hehe after which went back to sch to hang out... hehe then went to hong kong cafe w andrew.. thanks alot! and i ordered yuan yang... coz i was super full from dinner and yuan yang was on the menu! and the coolest thing was there were LCD screens in the rest, showing cantonese movie... it was showing 无间道III.. keke then i rem during nusws band camp 1 yr (i forgot) me rc ping(?) and i forgot who else stayed whole nite to watch nthe trilogy in my room.. keke..the gd old days.. hahaha i still rem rc never watch finish arh... coz he slept by the 3rd movie on the dirty floor!! hee

for the next few days, i woke up late, go sch late, come home late when the sch closes at 1am during hols.. and slowly i acquire stuff/groceries for my empty room.. now it looks pretty room-y.. hee still need some stuff like full length mirror, drawers... will get soon... got the gas going n can cook now... bought yummy food for my breakfast at home.. and didnt bother about the other meals.. lol..
didnt prac as much nearer to xmas and all the way til new yr.. went to ikea to buy some stuff and eat swedish meatballs! yummy! i still rem moh li n i had lunch there 1afternn and she treated me! i think i took photos for the food too.. hmm i need to dig out... really thank you so much andrew for driving me there n back!

saw some xmas lightings n it was great! pls refer to facebook photo album.. hehe
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15863&l=fae3e&id=518816558

xmas eve went shopping w miki at colorado...and had yummy xmas dinner at barney's beanery... not to forget the yummy gelato we had in the afternn *slurp* after dinner hang out at nori/miles place, drinkin n talking... it was nice.. =) thanks guys!
xmas evening i was pretty bored.. then andrew called me to go downtown LA to see the xmas lightings... it was great... thanks again andrew! rare to find such a friendly n warm frd...

boxing day n the day after.. i think i hanged in sch... but went home earlier.. borrowed a piano book on chinese pop songs from andrew n i cant keep my fingers off the keyboard! spend too much time on keys!

28dec went down to pro drum shop.... hee despite me forgetting to download a copy of map into my handphone, somehow still managed to get there based on my instinct..kekeke good huh? :P
finally bought the books i've been wanting to buy and bought a pandiero! hehe photo in facebook too! n also a tambourine bag to put the pandiero in.. a zildjian splash as well.. been wanting to get for quite a long time n i finally bought it.. i forgot to ask if they sell vic firth headphones though... too bad... =[ they dun have the practice pad i wan... maybe i could have just gotten watever they have.. too late now.. i just realised sch is starting nxt wk and i still havent buy my practice pad! i try to get it ordered this wk... =( at nite miki came over to my house to cook! arigato! it was so yummy n full! heh but my room was too cold for her... the heater is still not on! coz roberto, who knows how to light it up, wasnt ard.. then we went to hang out at aaron's house for a while before heading home... oh i received justina's xmaas present n card! im sooo touched! i didnt expect the present... =D check out the photo in facebook! hee

on 30th, sun, went down to baked potato to catch john daverson big band gig, which plays every last sun of the month there.. it was great! so many musos! the bassist, jerry watts is our sch teacher.. also went to support him ma.. hee i love the music and arrangement! john is so cool! red color trumpet and a trumpet AKIG midi controller! 1st time i see that! i only have a clarinet midi controller in SG.. hee too bad never bring arh.. :P btw john does the music n arrangement this band plays! so amazing! im a fan of this band now! :D thanks katsu for driving us there n back! (photos will be up in facebook!)

31st wasnt very very good... but it ain tt bad... maybe coz i slept for less than 5hrs and woke up at 7am to countdown with SG...watched the live telecast of the fireworks.. but damn, everyone was watching the webcast as well! so i only saw parts of the fireworks choreographed to the music.. so cool... so NDP.. hehe so i considered to myself i've already counted-down.. ;) walked to colorado.. it was madness, there were already alot of ppl sitting along the walkway beside the road.. the pavement were avail for 'bookings' since 31st 12pm so all the super sibei kiasu ppl/family have already got their great view of the rosebowl parade next day! crazy! took train down to hollywood, walk abit n had late lunch... wonderful! italian pizza(i believe) thin crust and tasty! back to pasadena n just in time for the shops to close... reached target at 6.05pm it was too late,... it closed at 6pm... the amazing thing was quite a number of shops along colorado were closed on 31st and the window glasses n doors r sealed up with wooden panels or metal gates... i wasnt wondering why would they need to do that.. then i realised there were alot of ppl camping overnite at colorado! ppl may just break into the shops n grab the stuff... really madness...but i feel really sad tt the shops r all closed already so early except for supermarkets(cater to demands of the 'homeless' new yr eve ppl... it was so crowded tt i dun feel cold at all walking bck to my home from there.. lol really dead tired by the time i reach home close to 8pm coz i went to vons on my way home to get some more groceries (sigh im addicted to shopping in supermarkets le..esp for snacks! cannot shop for clothes!) ate a little n watched cantonese drama series, 突围行动 surf net, chat w frds... then ard 11.35pm i decided to get out of home.. so boring... new yr's eve i shd be counting down.... i was so happy to see the great view of the river with CBD and fullerton hotel in the backgrd... can see esplanade...can see the river... i miss esplanade! =( i was happy i woke up early.... and so i popped by aaron's home... they were having a party(not the wild n noisy kind) n i just 不请自来.. heehee aaron tot tt i would be celebrating w other frds coz xmas i was busy with other frds.. it was great! saw new york city countdown... it was awesome... saw the live performances by various artistes... cool.. chatted w the guys.. though they all speak spanish, i was trying to figure out wat they tok but still cmi.. keke... was in their home til 3am b4 i went home.. i was happily chatting w aaron, joking ard w jaime n totally forgot about the time! i was supposed to wake up at 5,45am! gosh...

and guess wat? i woke up at 7.15am! panicked! coz rosebowl parade starts at 8am so i quickly bathed n rushed out of house, walk to colorado.. when i called miki, she was w the japs... i tot we, stephen n katsu were supposed to be watching together.. but anyway i went alone... it was so packed! i regretted not dashing across the road before the parade starts coz the other pavement looks wider and more space.. my side was horrendous... and this horrible old man was trying to pick me up and being funny w me... argh so irritated.. took videos of the marching bands(almost all, except the moments where i was busy finding my $$ to buy the marching bands DVD.. i didnt know there was a band fest the wkend b4 the parade! argh i missed it! sian!!! but i got the DVD now.. hope it's good! it's pretty ex lo but i know this event is too big le so everything is so ex. i didnt buy any souveniors at all.. it's crazy price..maybe next yr lo.. haha it was so amazing to see the flowers/display so upclose n personal.. really really beautiful roses n flowers n... so pretty! pics will be up soon i hope.. hehe refer to facebook photo album! im glad i went but it was a pity i was alone...i recalled that time i helped out in chingay 2006.. it was fun n i didnt need to squeeze w the crowd... =) great times... after the parade everywhere was full of rubbish! no one was clearing or cleaning up... im glad SG really took care of that whenever there's countdown party on nye or chingay coz they make sure they have enough manpower to clean up the mess and regain traffic really fast... over here, the cars just zoom across the rubbish.. haha but i must say, this parade is really big and it's really hard to clean up...i feel that orchard is far more packed than this.. maybe coz this parade is spread out really long.. i think 2.5miles? i cant rem... it was great and after the parade, i cant wait to get home to eat! bought pancakes the nite b4 so i must eat! hee it was a long n torturous journey home coz my legs were already tired from all the walking on NYE and standing at the parade... resist the temptation of buying coffee at starbucks(coz i just spent $ on the DVD) so i force myself to wait til i get home and open my italian coffee LAVAZZA powder for the new yr... hehe i dun see this brand being sold here.. boohoo...

and so after my delicious brunch n 3 shots of italian coffee, i couldnt sleep! haha so more cantonese drama for me... and practise abit coz i really have nothing to do! school's not open, almost all the shops r not open! except for cafeteria n coffeeshops... :( and i guess most ppl r sleeping at home (partying on NYE and watching the rosebowl parade) or they went to rosebowl stadium to watch football... so it was such a boring day for me... at least i did practise my strokes...hehe wanted to disturb yuji's home but i didnt wana disturb TODAY coz they might be sleeping/resting in the afternn... also watched channel news asia webcast.. it was fun.... the morning prime time news.. hehe evening roberto is finally back!! but he's not at home now... i hope he can turn on the hester tonite!! watched dancing w the stars on abc.com.... cool eh... some shows can watch online... nbc.com too... hehe now i got things to do liao... but no live webcast.. wanted to catch the rosebowl football game...university of illinois vs uni of south cali.. hehe was feeling too lazy to cook n ate up my bread w milo instead... coz the bread is going bad soon... but here is not as humid as SG so no grow mould tt fast! keke as long as i eat no tummy upset can le!

and so now, here i am, at 10.29pm 1st of jan 2008, typing this entry for at least half an hr or more and my brain. eyes r tired.. tt's all for now! everyone have a great 2008! =D

yeah holidays!

finally test wk is over, i've shifted to my new home and hols is here! oh well sibei boring now coz nothing to do at home! hehe no tv no nothing... hmm hang in sch everyday...

just got my international calling card and serene never pick up the call!!! argh....dear serene if u happen to see this pls pick up the call next time! got diverted to the voice mailbox lo...

*stoned*

some photos here!

hee u may wish to check out some photos i post in facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12329&l=b44fe&id=518816558

heehee happy thanksgiving!

hee paiseh just realised it was so long ago tt i post an entry... i cant really rem wat i did/happened for the missing days in between but here's roughly is wat i can rem right now:

10th nov i think.. sat, many of us from school headed down to lavalee to support our teachers in their gig... kevyn, our vocalist teacher fronted the band w musos from sch... matt, my replacement private teacher for dave beyer(out for tour w christopher cross 2wks, back for 1 wk lesson, out for 4 wks) played for this gig... wana see him in action man! he's a great teacher with wide knowledge on techniques n analysing drummers... he's great! see his drum kit n his setup... really interesting.. he's solid n stable.. i hope i can play for gigs in not too long future.. hmm pics up later!

last wk (11-17nov) was a really bad week... feeling down, stoned, numb to everything... i did record my playing for rock drum class so mayb i'll put it up soon after i screen if it's ok.. haha feeling bad as usual i cant hang ard sch to practise n chill w frds... something happened in my house but not gonna mention here.. it's been a scary wk but now everything's fine.. last fri was really bad.. coz it's TGIF n i have to get home early... cooked yummy dinner n watched tv lo.. wat to do... got 宫，野蛮皇妃 on tv 7-8pm..so nice~~ sat practice was zoned out.. not efficient at all!but nite was great! finally get to jam! me, sho and chris! i asked miles but he, nori,yuji,taka,toyo r heading down to baked potato to catch some great guitarist(sorry forgot name) playing tt nite.. didnt feel like hanging out coz was tired n zonked out.. would be a waste of time,$ n brain-dead to get my ass down anyway...some chick corea musos played too i think... well i guess next time ba... same nite, poncho sanchez was playing in lavalee...ya for same reasons, didnt go down.. jamming was awesome! hehe we r in the same rhythm basics EW and it's the only time we(students) get to jam w one another, unless we organize our own jammings... i never get ard doing it.. coz i was hibernating, 闭关修炼, didnt really socialize ard... tt's y i must stay near sch! hope we can jam again soon... it was really fun! after tt, we went to vons to grab some booze n pizza n headed down to their home to chillout.. sho, chris, love, roman n me! great apartment! too bad i didnt take photo of the hangout.. but not my home leh.. it's pretty big n the living room is way chill! 2 sofas, coffee table.. music coming out of the macbook thru bass amp... awesome! it was a great time hanging out! chris's gf is soooo sweet! he just received a package from her. in it was her handmade art n craft n full of encouraging words! awwww... these guys here r making me jealous...love as well! coz he's always toking to his gf via internet! quite chio!his desktop is her pic! ;) sho has a french gf! well, i guess for girls to wait for guys is usually not a very big problem... and some of the gfs may come over to US too... i guess for the other way round, tt would be some problem i think.. but thenn again, i dun wana have such emotional baggage from long distance r/s.. it's too much for me.. haha i rather spend the energy on music or just get a bf here! lol joe has the same thinkin as me... too much to handle.. and with no car to get me home, i ended up sleeping in their living room til morning to get bus home.. btw, the sofa isnt as bad as they mentioned! it's pretty comfy.. home to bathe, had lunch n out to school again.. meeting axel for a jam.. in the end didnt do much also...discussed wat song to play in future jam sessions... no guitarist also...hard to play too.. 4pm there was a perf in the loft 2nd floor of sch... i was blown away! i didnt know there would be an artist painting on the spot w live music! it was way cool! singer is our sch teacher, his dad plays drums/percussion accessories/sings really well! brazilian i think.. apparently, he has been ard for a super long time n has loyal fans in the crowd! 有眼不识泰山 hmm i think my chinese improve over here... lol it may go downhill after i move out of my current home.. percussionist is the hubby of singer... the keyboardist is really awesome w the DJ too! the DJ is always busy mixing the sound effects.. then normally it's like very short effects then he quickly go n choose another disc to mix another effect... hehe 1st time i see such a perf.. it's really cool n i hope to do such projects some day! and it would totally be cool to bring this band down to SG for mosaic fest! perfect fit for the fest! well maybe after i get back to SG n get my links in esplanade back in check n we'll see! pic later!
and ya i didnt prac much on sun.. abit at nite n then axel sent me home...

mon was all right... went to do some apartment hunting in my area... saw like 2 places tt might b suitable for me.. cant rent whole apartment :( then back to school online to find more places.. i found 2 suitable ones(price, location wise) n emailed them! hehe so happy to finally see something lo..jammed at nite w axel finally.. no guitarist coz miles had to settle something n couldnt make it.. we played blues n it was fun...tried out this blues tune tt i had to play for class next day.. it was fun..practised earlier in the day n figured out some fill-ins.. someone opened the door while we were playing n it turned out to be valerie! hehe i didnt expect the door to open n i think i looked abit stunned... she gave a thumbs up b4 closing the door! lol may post the recordings here during class after im done w editing.. where can i post audio?? tues EW w tony was fun! i think i screwed up on the extended blues last chorus(u can hear from the recording) coz i didnt bring the sheet i wrote up to the stage.. i attempted to memorise and all was going well til i did a fill, thinkin it was normal 12bar blues. i havent hear any of my own playing yet... too scared to hear myself playing n screwing up.. :( i must face up to reality n work on my weakness... it was a great lesson! 5 drummers only instead of 8 and we all got to play twice! hehe 2nd time wasnt as great i played but it was fun! maybe it's the thanksgiving wkend n the hangout on sat nite tt contributed to the feeling good thingy... maybe it's the jam.. i duno.. but i do know tt i didnt practise as hard last wkend coz i can feel things r running abit backwards..technique wise.. ganbatte!!! prac my double pedal abit...so fast rusty le.. haha 1 day no prac no smooth 16th notes on bd.. but i got the RH LH RF LF thingy going... hehe got some tips from love on sunday so can work on something...WHEN i have TIME

today was okay, but was feeling exceptionally sleepy n tired.. couldnt stay awake during practise...went to nap for like 10mins instead n back to practising.. my techniques r rusty le! must work alot! down to contemporary class.. was excepting another ECM thingy or jazzy stuff but it was funk! gosh... heheabit swung some more...wrong shoes today so my bd was really not very stable at times but it was fun playing tt song... getting used to reading charts which r written in cut time..the bars jump really fast... i must get the songs soon man...i dun wana buy from itunes leh... save some $$ :( maybe for contemporary EW, i may get those learnt in class.. meanwhile, www.pandora.com is sufficient for me.. too bad, only avail for listening in US! it's a great online radio tt plays style/music u want... oh, there's sooooo many oldies on the radio here... i hear all the time lo.. i feel old...now i can understand why how come US ppl like these kind of music... not only the old, the young ones too! coz they grow up listening to these! im just pretty amazed.. hopefully in near future Sg can be something similar..not only latest poptunes, but wide variety of music... dun have to be classical all the time, but just exposed to diff kinds of music... it's pretty ok right now, can be better, esp the parents can help to cultivate a music listening habit.. i think it helps in overall well being n destress-ing, etc...

tml no sch! thanskgiving day! not open even if i wana go practise... fri no lesson but open for prac... and fri is the biggest shopping day in US! well maybe i popby some stores in pasadena but see how it goes... shd be damn crowded n must go early... it's crazy one lo.. stores opening at 4, 5am for the sale... faintz...ok i guess tt's all for now! pics, videos, audio later!

tiring week.. but fun at the end

jamming in the house?! way cool!

i love the puppy!


ok. got pretty stress out this wk... prob it's a build up from last wk.. hehe
anyway sch's still great..
Tony is such a nice guy! he's our rhythm basics EW teacher n the jazz ensemble i/c.. he's been rather patient with me and didnt scream at me! haha but ya i feel more encouraged when he's ard...despite the super zai ppl ard in sch.. not to forget to mention Steve..he's pretty encouraging all the time to everyone so i dun feel stressed out when i see him. mike is so scary.. i always screw up whenever he's ard.. this is bad.. maybe i shd get him to be my tutor for a quarter n stress myself totally! well see how...my teacher Dave went out of town on a tour in europeso Matt took over the private lesson.. he's so awesome.. i think we have same teaching methods n patience.. keke but of coz i didnt mention i teach in SG.. he's also encouraging n gave some exercises for me to work on... techniques! must ganbatte... btw Matt is joe morello's student! so envious!

there was a clinic/performance in sch... Bryan Baker Quartet.. bryan is a LAMA grad n he's super shen lo! his drummer is chao zai! had a chit chat session w the drummer n he taught us abit of frame drum technique.. the music they play is free form music... which means no structure.. they r cool!!! there's a sax/bass clar player. he's WoW... it was pretty cool when he did a rhythm by tapping on the keys n not playing. (miked up of coz)

after the clinic, me roberto n gabor headed down to baked potato to check wil kennedy n the quintet out! gabor has a great car with a GPS system which speaks many diff languages! so cool.. he got the GPS in hungary n it's got US map! wil is awesome! he's a lefty so the setup is different... he's so musical in his playing n the whole band has a great energy all the time. band leader is the vibraphonist/piano player.. he's great in his vibes techniques from the angle i can see(blocked by sax n guitar player) i must reach tt kind of playing FAST! mike said tt my playing is very musical and he cant wait to see how i play after i overcome my technical difficulties. tt's pretty much how he phrase tt.. haha well it's pretty encouraging but if u wan to see it in another way, it just means u r not there yet. sigh sorry im pretty much a pessimistic here cant blame me for tt. i know i must ganbatte but i feel kinda lost where shd i start from. watever it is, ya ganbatte! well how i played in school this wk is really so terrible so i feel bad too. i dun even play like this back in SG! hmm.. maybe i just need to join a community band to feel more balanced.. i cant focus on 1 thing all the time.. i need to do multiple things.. just like how i survive NUS-- studying a major n a minor, playing tons of music in symphonic bands n in guitar club, teaching, involved in running nusws/musart, work in sch occasionally.

anyway sat was another practice day...had the half burritos from last nite as lunch.. yummy.. hanged in sch til 5pm.. Andrew invited me to go for a party organised by his teacher(lynn i think).. hee great view along the way... kinda reminded me of italy but it's more brownish over here.. not so green or snowy mountains.. hee nice overview of the cities/towns.. his teacher's house is awesome! big living room w equipments... drums, baby grand piano, guitars, bass guitar, amps(the hubby, Kevin built it himself!) the amps were great... if interested to hear the sound let me know k.. hehe there's a pool in the backyard... great place! nice quiet town. everyone knows everyone.. all the kids in the town r practically her piano students.. win lo.. i love the decos in the house.. very classy n with much taste.. pretty much my style ;P they had a big puppy and he's so jumpy n excited! hahha really energetic coz he's been going in n out of house thru out the nite.. the food were all very yummy n mainly done by the couple themselves! i love the steak(forgot the name for it), the salad, ham with crackers, beer, etc *slurp* we found a nice n quiet table beside the pool to enjoy the food.. then gradually i realised tt the guests are mainly musicians! how cool is tt! hahaha she must have great 人缘 for the great turn out of the party.. then the music began! the musicians took turn to play n jam! so mindblowing! there's this instru(i duno the name) tt it's designed by tt guy itself! it's bass n guitar combined as one n he used tapping to play the 2 parts at the same time(u wun have the chance to pluck the strings!) so zai!!! too bad no pics on tt coz i didnt bring the cam along w me til like much later went back to andrew's car to get it.. tt instru is heavy n costs like 2.5k... -_-'' but real cool! hopefully some day these ppl can go down SG. took to this guy on n off at the party.. he seems to be alone and i duno even know his name! he's a guitarist.. shd have gotten his number or namecard who knows 1 day we can jam together.. but too late anyway.. he really resembles a musician i saw in SG while working for Tama..cant rem but shd be a drummer.. oh dear, they might be relatives! haha never mind.. if i have the chance to see him again i would love to tok more to him.. been toking w andrew thru out the nite mainly.. duno anyone there ma..

more pics coming up too! stay tuned! ;)

ok 1st wk of sch (photos n 1 video added! the best vid too big..i edit first)

homemade soup!


WELCOME PARTY! OCT 05 2007
great singer! student band!

jamming inside performance hall while party's outside!great food too btw!




keiko(i think, vocals), miki(drum grad) & me!

me & Roberto(drums, Ecuador) showing off our lucky draw prizes!LUCKY!

Miles (Guitar, Korea)

me & shy Taka(drums, japan) showing off our prizes!


Awesome band!!

Cuuuuute baby(marco-san's) with 3rd quarter vocal student(she's really great!)

im heading to bed now but tot i'll just add a quick entry...

it's been tiring... coz im not used to practising everyday! lol but it's good..then the bus system is terrible here... esp near my home.. coz my area most ppl drive cars so bus is not so regular..sian cant wait to move nearer to sch!

the most significant thing tt happened this wk would be the welcome party on friday nite... it was cool... will put up pics n video! hehe totally awesome! and i was lucky to win the lucky draw tt i didnt even know it existed! hahaha just a green spag.. the color is cool looking! will post pic then can see! hehe lucky!

not to forget tt i got to know this great guy, Andrew who is so damn cool! he's native american(ok, half. the other half i forgot!) he can speak chinese! hahaha and very 标准！he went to taiwan b4 to study chinese... he learnt in high sch.. so cool! he loves asia man.. he can speak abit of jap too! pretty friendly guy.. goes ard knowing ppl ... well, it's the same few guys in sch so it's hard to miss sometimes.. haha

kk tt's all for now, im waking up b4 8am later! i've booked 10.30am already and mimi will be dropping me off at sch! so happy! no need to be irritated by the bus by 1 time less...

1st Week in LA

mon, 24 sept
well well.. pretty exciting.. mon was pretty scary.. hee i found my way to school via 2 buses.. i know the buses to take just wasnt sure where is the area i need to connect the buses.. but everything went well...while waiting for the 2nd bus, i saw In and Out burger! awesome! was thinkin to myself must go n eat sia! hee so popular.. hee the stop i wait for the 2nd bus, there was a guy drinking at the busstop... he seems pretty ok.. well well finally reached sch then iris n miranda r both not in the office yet.. tahkus greeted me n told me to go starbucks for coffee n come back later..hee but i went walking ard the area... cool... down the street there's a Vons supermarket, some eatery, deli, thai rest, blah blah. walked into a shampoo store n bought my shampoo n conditioner.. well... thinkin back, the price shd be more expensive than buying in supermarket right? hee well not sure if supermarket will have the brand.. prob not.. it's Redken.. hee okok, i know i must not anyhow spend $$ but hair very impt wat...it can determine how u look k.. walked back, miranda not in yet so mike(ya i dun rem his looks le) showed me into the campus n tell me to walk ard.. lol.. thanks lo..but ya, really small, but they r still making a recording studio on 2nd storey of the building, which is pretty awesome! we can record music in professional setting right in the small little sch.. haha checked out the drum studio.. they r all yamaha tour custom n hardware.. hmm.. they love yamaha? hehe walked up to 2nd level where the vocals room n internet is... there were some guy upstairs hanging out.. prob graduates of the sch or wat.. then i tried to find kelvin's photo on the sch photos.. haha cannot find sia.. never mind... then went off le.. explore the area... down to colorado area/shopping area.. cool.. there's a park just up the streets, metro train, shopping!!! i saw cheesecake factory restaurant.. cool. looks good...but must be damn ex too.. =\ stepped into GAP.. heehe nice clothes! pricing wise still ex but at least can find like US$10+ top in there... try finding them in SG's store.. they'll be at least US$20 i believe... very nice.. i wan to buy! =( i brought alot of clothes over le.. cannot buy! until i throw them away.. maybe winter time can buy..

(right now actualy summer clothes stil can wear in Fall in LA...it's only in the morning/evening need to wear 1 more jacket..it's better than SG aircon.. haha this air is natural one.. hahaha nice weather sia.. hehe they told me it doesnt rain in LA, so must drink lotsa water.. and the fact tt it rained on tt day i touched down in LA means it's so significant tt the sky decided to release the water in LA on 22nd Sept! hahahah)

saw abercrombie, blah blah.. saw a few small boutiques but never go in also.. trying to familarise ma.. wana take photo but dun wana look like tourist/suaku in the area ma.. alone wor.. not safe to look new.. im pretty blend in le.. just tt i seems to dress abit more 'style' than them! haha not tt im at the front of fashion, but they r really as ppl tell me tt tshirt n jeans enuff le..even the staff in the sch all dress casually... they no need so office looking la.. hee like tt more 亲切 wat.. hee my sch's area less chinese walking ard..my town alot more..

down to In and Out Burger for lunch!! hehehehe soooo happy! and so lucky! coz i didnt even know where to buy it except in Las Vegas and maybe downtown LA.. haha :D the ordering part was pretty fast.. only 3 set meals to choose from, $3+, $4+, $5+... i choose the cheeseburger $4+ one... the size seems tt i can handle.. then the waiting for the food is long...drinks is self service(like carls Jr) and i believe is free flow too! u can see the kitchen from the dining area.. and true as i was told, they prepare ur food after u ordered! u can see them putting the freshly peeled potato thru the mould to crush into fries.. and throw into the frying pans... wah... must be realfresh i was thinkin... hehe well, ketchup is free flow.. didnt see mayo and chili... but later on i saw someone carrying a plate of fries with mayo/thousand island on it... it's just like our cheese fries in KFC... looks yummy! n too big! haha nice the burger n the veggie inside was soooo fresh.. heaven! hee great food, reasonable price! at $4+ for a meal, it's really pretty decent le.. coz i walked past burger king the meal is like SG's price but in US$... i guess the serving would be pretty big too.. but never try.. haha couldnt finish the fries n chuck the remaining away.. yes, i know next time can tabao if cannot finish..


the bus has no bell... -_-''' u need to pull the cord


this is my home!

clear blue sky eh? hee

In & Out Burger! yummy!

then went home to check online where to buy wkly bus pass...then out i went again.. aiya since i've gotten the day pass, might as well make full use of it.. kekeke also can familiarise the bus route.. then went back to Fair Oaks road to find tt place to buy the pass.. cannot find! argh.. then dropped off at the shopping area... nice place.. but havent check out where r the pubs to hang out.. went home, dropped off after my house, to the HOWS supermarket near home..bought some more groceries n carry all the way home... a few streets awat..maybe 15mins walk lo.. it's ok la.. i like to walk.. LOL so happy bought my cereals, milk, of coz my florida orange juice! maybe i'll try Tropicana next time.. i scared not nice leh.. tt one abit cheaper.. hehe if not nice back to forida! hehe

Tues, 25sept
ok i stayed at home whole day coz i wana practise my strokes n do some reading b4 the evaluation on thurs.. did outdoors coz mimi is sick n resting at home so didnt wana disturb her w the noise.. i retune my host's snare drum.. so tempted to buy over! pretty nice wood n in good condition.. Yamaha Maple Custom.. haha since she put at home also collect dust ma.. hmm.. well, no budget for snare now so see how in future.. unknowingly, i practised strokes for 2hrs+! congrats man.. haha but im itching to prac drums leh.. havent gotten my gears yet... then settled my meals at home lo.. really nothing much... just chatting online w u guys back home! haha mainly is dear elaine-chan! and my 2nd bro... thanks alot for all the advices elaine! 我真得很感激你的support! hehe 2nd bro feeding me w info on wat's happening back home.. aiya, the hp bill also bobian la.. i need to tell the whole world im leaving wat.. and the calling to the bank hotlines contribute alot la.. i also dun wan ma.. u also know the stupid phone at home is damn soft.. hear wat sia..


Pretty snare drum!

wed 26sept
great! 1st day of sch.. i woke up very very early.. coz i scared cannot wake up or the bus will sabo me.. took my own sweet time to drink my italian coffee(heehee) , eat my cereals... lalala read some magazines on the table..down to sch... when i reach, i saw quite alot of ppl le.. found a table w an empty seat n filled in the sch form.. wait n wait.. see some europeans.. tok to a few japs.. so many jap sia... was thinkin tt im the only SEAsian in this batch.. hee grp orientation and then department one.. everyone has to intro themselves in the department orientation.. heehee got another female drummer in my class! her name is Valerie from US.. she was captain in her high school band, plays percussion. oh boy, must get her to teach me some tricks! she seems to know Ralph very well and plays jazz.. Joe Pocaro and Ralph Humprey filled us in about our department with mike packer there too.. there's a blind guy in my class i think his name is Ilan.. i'll update again about his name.. hee he's been in this sch for a few summer programs n now for the fulltime one.. he's cool man.. he must be really great coz when he said he has only play drums for 3 yrs, the teachers couldnt believe it.. he must be great to be in my class... and of coz, his ears must be very sensitive... can learn a thing or 2 from him.. got to know a jap guy, Takayuki who sat beside me during orientation... just found out he's only 18-going-on-19! argh i must jiayou!! went for lunch w him and back to sch... took pic for student id pass and nice valerie was kind enuff to drive me n roberto (ecuador guy) down to guitar centre to get our stuff... pretty easy to go down but it's very very long way.. and it turns out tt it's very near home.. i stayed on in Guitar Center longer coz i need to get everything.. daniel the salesman helped me with all the stuff, bought Zildjian 17" medium thin crash and mastersounds 14" hihat, iron cobra double pedal :'( (ex!) the hihat clutch, washer, felts, practice pad stand n a cymbal bag to carry everything home.. the normal cymbal bag was out of stock so he got me to buy Road Runner Cymbal bag with wheels so i can get home w the stuff.. everything was pretty ok and he gave me big discount on the stuff... the only complain i got was he made a mistake in keying in the cymbal size n charge me for the wrong cymbal n i had to walk back to GC to change it n get some $ back... daniel persuaded me to get the 18" cymbal(the one keyed into the system) instead of changing the cymbal in the system but i didnt wan it coz im getting a ride from someone in sch.. 18" crash is too low for me.. in the end, they rekey it but never gimme discount for this cymbal! argh so disgusting! i shd have been persistent on tt discount, after all tt carrying to n fro from the busstop which is abit far from GC. im pretty disgusted with their service n i wun think about going back unless i have to. DONT GO TO GC IN PASADENA! IT SUX! of coz they've got everything u need in the store, but how can u run out of stock?! the store is very big lo.. so farking disgusted. charge so high some more, they think im idiot or wat. but anyway, since i need it n for convenience sakes(im at the store already) i just get my stuff there lo.. their pricing style is like our swee lee in SG. mark up real high on the shelf n charge u lesser when u pay(ok, maybe not for everything) yucks! took bus 487 down san gabriel til Hows supermarket/subway is n walked home from there.. it's much worse than carrying the groceries home!!! but i survived n getting more muscles esp in my left arm i duno why. had instant noodles for dinner... and more chatting on internet w elaine-chan n bro.. turn out tt the practice pad stand doesnt fit! argh so sian.. rather pissed w the store le then need to go back.. didnt go out w caroline at nite when she need to go to the store to return some stuff.. busy w checking out the prices online n see worth it or not. hee got 30 days money back guarantee ma..



thurs, 27 sept
reached sch ard 9.30am as stated in the schedule though i know my turn for sightreading evaluation is at 11.30am.. haha tiring sia.. prac abit with snycopation by ted reed and realised tt it's a popular book.. i saw a few other guys holding it.. the euro guys all hang ard together one.. cannot miss one.. coz their dressing style is distinctly un-american.. hee similar to those ppl in italy, that is low abit baggy pants, show boxer out like no one's business.. hahaha and their hair is very neat one..coz i like UK bands, their hair n face features very europ-y like! haha interesting to observe.. somehow im hanging out w the japs.. and the farnie thing is the japs dun gather together as much as those europeans.. do my sch ppl think tt i cant speak english for nuts or wat or they just like to stick to their own kind? hmm... perhaps drum department is too big.. 33 of us in my class.. the others is much lesser than tt and they(own department) will tend to stick together more often.. maybe after some time things will be better.. my turn to be tested by mike.. abit stressed... played rock, funk and jazz.. gosh funk was pretty bad! i kept on switching into rock unconsciously!!! boohoo! jazz was the worst of all! i know i can do it maybe i was just nervous lo.. play jazz like wana fall off the chair like tt!! *wail aloud* never mind time will tell tt i can play more than tt! did the sightreading test.. boy it was tricky! but i made it through and was given to skip SR class but still have to go to ASR classes... heehe oh man i'll miss Joe's class! never mind.. nxt quarter got jazz classes so can see him more.. =[

got to know Miki, the jap drummer gal who grad already from the sch.. very nice lady.. she told me i look jap! hahaha this is the 1st time ppl said i look jap!heeehee she's been real nice n was telling me it's not tt easy to find gigs to play, esp without a car and drums... well, i'lll see how things go on later lo.. right now, just learn as much as i can!!

lunch i hang out a taka again... coz our turn for the test is next to each other... hee great lunch in a cafe along colorado blvd.. had theory test in the afternn by Dave Pozzi. hee those tt wnaa take level 1 can go off... a few ppl left after they saw the test paper n couldnt think they can make it thru.. i was determined to skip level 1 so i tried my best.. haha circle of fifth! i know tt one but i didnt know there were 3 enharmonic major scales in it as well! i only know Gb n F#... hee but anyway i passed the test.. the aural test was pretty easy... just up n down the scale.. the interval test was a-ok... and yesh, i skipped to level 2! all right! heehee maybe im the only drummer who got to skip to level 2.. hehe duno if i shd take L3 and 4 and go on to arrangement class but i shall think about it later.. maybe doing producing n recording is gd enuff for me.. can i do both?! haha more $$ $300/unit more for extra classes taken.. boohoo.. got to know this damn cool looking female guitarist, vicky, after test.. always wear boots one with big glasses.. her whole family plays music except for 1 bro.. so cool.. out of the performance hall and saw the japs.. yuji, taka and toyo. we chatted for a few hrs at patio area.. toyo told me i looked jap too n was wondering how come this jap dun speak japanese at all.. lol.. then left for home w yuji in the evening.. we stay rather near each other aong huntington drive.. but he stays like 15mins drive further down Hows supermarket.. it's great to know someone has to change bus as well and goes along the same route.. hee he's also in the homestay program but only for 2 months.. we have decided to share apartment le.. together with Itzumi, vocals girl. we'll start to look ard for apartments near sch..no need to travel so far le.. hee itzumi is stayin in green plaza.. alot of the internatinal students r staying there.. hee taka as well but he cycles to school... this is so exciting! though i will miss staying in this home im in now, but i think staying near sch is more impt.. i can prac til late n walk home rather than trying to catch buses home.. the public transport is terrible.. got the form for bus pass application! yeah! im eligible for student bus pass $36/month! heehee now i spend $5 per day to n fro sch.. =(

fri 28th sept
no need to go sch in morning so woke up pretty late.. hehe had instant porridge(not nice one) plus mushrooms i bought.. (yummy!) n off to sch.. did my BOA acct le. need to deposit $ into acct.. only setup the acct but no $ inside.. hehehe the staff tt came down to sch were great! so friendly.. hee late for international student orientation.. nothing much really, got the papers n reaad thru... any questions also can walk into office to find miranda wat.. hehe checked with her about the M1 visa coz the US embassy very niao1 about the pass so give me til oct 1 2008 only.. she said it's ok as long as i stayin US lo.. hehe ok verified tt le so im relieved. down to GC to exchange my practice pad stand... i brought the cymbal bag along to sch... got to know Gabriel from hungary at the BOA acct setup.. he was very interested in my cymbal bag n tot for a long time whether to buy from me.. haha ended up i chuck the bag with him n let him decide til monday.. well he wun run away also.. the sch is so big only..in my class some more.. he's a really nice chap.. maybe can hang out w him more.. tt roberto is everywhere.. keep on chatting w ppl.. down to GC w taka n yuji n changed for a crash cymbal stand to hold my pad.. hmm.. tt sales guy i think he also duno the stuff one.. or do they think im stupid? idiots man.. he told me the cymbal stand is pacific DW one.. but it's not leh.. only the stupid tag on it says so.. it's clearly not so later on i look at the stand carefully.. made in taiwan.. hmm... of coz he didnt charge me the price as stated on the DW price tag.. if he had done so, i'll kill him! haha hand carry the cymbal back n throw into locker.. didnt get to apply mobile line.. hmm over this wkend ba.. decided on getting T Mobile.. best choice le.. $39.99/month, free after 9pm n wkends.. more mins given for this plan as well.. stupid AT&T is a rip off. haha.. but anyway my host said if only use in LA, Tmobile is good enuff.. i'll go down to the shop latest on monday near sch to get it done.. reached sch almost 5.30pm le.. the party has started! woah the pizza r huge!!! pic up later. it's so amazing.. never see b4!!! hahaha italian food in US? hmmmm... salad was so so, pizza was great.. ice cream is very yummy! missing italy! the italian food is the best in italy! hahaha

ready for sch!

huge pizza!!

Mingler party!

then hang ard, walk here n there,m checked which grp am i in and private instruction tutor n timing.. then a brazilian drummer walked past n asked us if we know who is xiao tian.. lol! cute sia..then i said it's me.. heehee katsu was looking for me! the one tt i wana buy his ride from! haha i havent got my mobile line ma cannot call him in sch.. he's a great guy n then showed me the 2 rides he's selling, didnt like the inital 20" k custom ride i wanted to get, ended up getting the 18" K ride.. hehe the sound is great but i would love the 20" one.. anyway, i just wan it for practice so anything goes la.. paid him on the spot. haha he's richer by $100+ right away! hee he's pretty helpful n said if i have any questions about the stuff taught in class i can approach him.. he just graduated from the sch n in the grad program.. which is just taking private instructions only.. cool i told him i also wana hang ard US after i grad.. hee he also said it's alot of $$ n it's tough.. ya lo.. =( i must ganbatte!

left sch for home w yuji at 7plus n reaching home an hr later..we have so much to tok about.. he's a real nice n gentlemental guy(jap guys ma) n he stayed in UK for 3 yrs and went to Drum Tech over there for 2 yrs! he must be real good! alittle stressed out here coz female drummers r rare n ppl r anticipating how good i am... gosh.. practise!!!

the rest of the nite was spent watching korean drama serial, war of money 钱的战争. it's very dramatic n farnie! hehee watched 6 epi in a row n ended up bathing at 3am! haha never mind la, the plot is very good n u just cant stop watching.. hehe slept ard 4am..

sat slacked at home... coz go out need to take bus which means $$ heehee then sunday too...except tt sun evening caroline n mimi jio-ed me to go watch movie with them... our prepaid tix(sg shd have tt and at super low price!) didnt allow us to watch the show we wana catch but we bought the tix anyway for the same timing n went to watch Eastern Promises anyhow hehehe Great show! i love the cinematography and misc-en-scene (i dun rem how to spell) and how the movie implied alot of things... well, if the show is going to SG, must watch! about russian mafia... hehe i like the leading main actor!(forgot name! hee)

ok more updates

Hush puppy dog!!! and its forever frds bag -_-''' not to forget the 4 old ppl of NUSWS.. squirrel, zookeeper,wolf,monkey


Xuanhui n Hubby! thanks for comin!

MAWO perc section! wysen,serene,crystal,kailing,paulene

my family and the new addition, shirlene..not to miss out the little boy boy in the stomach(not mine!)

glimpse of plane next gate

yummy snacks they provide! (got instant noodles too but i never eat) i didnt eat the nachos chips in the end..

yummy dinner

plus dessert! slurp!

this is lunch but i considered it breakfast

approaching LA! i think this is the west coast line of LA!

yeah reach LA le!

on the shuttle bus to home

22nd sept, sat in LA
ok.. my flight reached LAX earlier than expected... great pilots huh.. hehe 6.05pm local time landed.. then the stupid customs took so damn long.... the queue is super long.. and when i got my turn, the officer told me tt i filled in thr wrong form.. sian diao... didnt look properly sia.. go fill another form n queue at the wheelchair ppl's queue.. the officers there aint any better... they sibei slacker lo! then when it got my turn the officer was toking crap w me... liew.. wat's their problem sia.. they think they very big arh.. they r worse than the embassy ppl... coz they tok more cok than them.. obviously trying to eat snake lo.. argh!! then all my stuff need to go thru the xray thingy.. tt female officer very cute leh, she asked me if i got bring mooncake... hahaha they r super slack one lo.. they see my luggage so huge n heavy also never help one.. the guys tt is.. only the guys who helped to keep the trolleys helped me to put my luggage up the trolley..

got on my shuttle bus finally.. well, no need to book one lo... and it's cheaper actually if i dun book!! haha my area no need so ex.. i know liao... haha finally got to the house like 9plus pm! so paiseh coz the host was expecting me in earlier lo.. but bobian leh.. i cant help it.. then put the stuff in my room, settle down abit then we headed for dinner at a vietnam restaurant..pretty nice, tasted quite similiar to tt phoa restaurant in holland v.. but they dun give so much chili for us to put in... couldnt finish.. was damn beat n tired man... muscles can see liao.. haha back home n 1st thing i did was on laptop! hehe then connect to the house's wireless.. yeah yeah online!

oh other than my host, caroline, there's the other lady, mimi, who stays in the house.. me n her shared the bathroom.. hee she's a minister in a church! best!

my room! big n cosy!

23rd sept, sun
woke up damn late.. set alarm like 9plus am canot wake up.. was up til 2plus am... then got up n going at ard noon time...had some steamed corn done by my host...hee she showed me the coffee beans grinder at home n the filter... awesome..cheap n nice.. yumyum.. we went out after tt... to post her letter to her son..to some mobile shops to check the pricing out.. ex ex! =( then down to hk supermarket... it's a great place! it's an asian supermarket... got rice, spices, chili, curries etc from asian! haha not to mention soy sauce, vinegar etc.. how cool is tt.. bought some biscuits n jap curries(on offer!) then off we went to buy mooncakes at this yummy bakery.. didnt buy anything.. dun wana waste $$.. saw ding tai fung across the carpark.. hahaha went to pick up mimi n then her aunt who stays in a 老人公寓... the aunt is 93yrs old!! happening sia! can tok, can think, still rem things n everyday watch dvds!! hahaha so the 4 of us went to eat at this 福州菜馆 at duno which town n it wasnt fantastic... for me i dun really mind if food taste not very nice... but it's really not tasty... i just eat as usual la.. haha the aunt treated us in the end.. so cool... then we went to send her back n went up to her room to sit for a while.. and also ate mooncake, mini mid-autumn celebration.. haha very big leh! never take pic la.. not very familiar so better dun do stupid things.. i wanted to take to show u guys n my parents how big n nice the place is... very peaceful place.. we went home soon after...

HK Supermarket!

more on my home

living room (piano not in view)

dining room which we dun eat at

er i duno wat is this room called... big huh


bathroom

ok 1st post in LA!

ok it was pretty frustrating at the customs w unfriendly officers(comparable to those at embasssy) n super heavy luggage...n desparating trying to find something i may not have brought.. sian 1/2.. more details in future i hope.. really lazy to put up the nice photos coz too many le.. n u know there's always problems w uploading photos..
i update hopefully by end of the wk k..

btw, everywhere is chinese, u see chinese everywhere, u hear mandarin everywhere... is this LA or wat?! haha i found my chicken rice paste, curry chicken paste, nasi lemak paste n tom yum paste.. bought jap curry too.. so if anyone can tell my mum dun need to buy la.. got paste here.. figure how to cook lo

i cant resist eating now! ciao for now