RANDOM

When you're free, we're really really busy.
However, when you're really really busy, we're free.

Welcome to the life of an NCDCC instructor.

Which reminds me... Its a Sunday today but I'm deployed down to Changi for camp.
And I came back at 12 am last night due to parade.

YIKES! =X

My MP3 died on me, so I guess its time to get a new one. Its really essential for long and boring trips when I have to go over to schools in the east or get deployed somewhere really far away from home like Changi. If not I swear, I'll get bored to death and that won't be a good thing.

The music freak in Zul has spoken :)

TAGGED: 8 CHILDHOOD MOVIES

I can always count on my friends to be cool and innovative! Thanks Syazwani for the awesome idea...

Instructions:
1. Copy and paste the instructions into a new entry.
2. List down 8 stories that you remember watching as a kid.
3. Write why you chose each movie.
4. Publish your answers.
5. Tag 5 friends to do this including the one that tagged you.

ONE: THE LITTLE MERMAID



I think this was the very first movie I watched as a child, if I remembered correctly. My dad loved taping down his voice reading storybooks and I'd listen endlessly to the stories, The Little Mermaid being one of them. A really sweet show, and I remember how I used to hate Ursula the witch as a child. The scene where she grabbed the Little Mermaid and her boyfriend with her tentacles, I wished I could just break off those annoying tentacles and allow The Little Mermaid and her boyfriend to live in peace. HAHA!

TWO: ALADDIN



And this is the second, and final fairytale in my list of 8. As a kid, I was really into the idea of magic as a kid and this element was greatly emphasized in the movie! =) Flying carpet, genie in a lamp, an annoying wizard with the ability to do magic, I still remember the movie well up till today. It is an awesome watch!

THREE: THE LAND BEFORE TIME



The only dinosaur show I watched. Up till today, I still havent watched any of the Jurassic Park movies ... This movie is really touching, a movie with great values for us all to learn from. Tell me, who hasn't heard of "If We Hold On Together?"



FOUR: THE SEED OF CHUCKY



Ahh this movie! At first I was fooled into thinking it was a movie for kids as there was a male doll and a female doll, and you know how dolls are associated with kids. How wrong I was, the movie was absolutely gory and gruesome. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you my first horror movie.

FIVE: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET



Following that first horror movie, I started exploring more horror movies cause I liked the thrill from watching one. This horror flick is possibly one of the better ones, with the plot about people dying from living their worst nightmares. I like how the plot was really well srcripted with really original ideas, unlike today's horror movies which are bland and boring. We all need a blast to the past!

One, two, buckle my shoe
Don't sleep, don't sleep, Freddy's coming

SIX: THE SOUND OF MUSIC



This has got to make it into the list for all the children lovers. No, not referring to the paedophiles, but for all of us who really love children as young innocent cute ones, cause they were really adorable in this movie. Back in primary school, my music teacher especially would keep playing this movie to us all just for us to understand the origins behind that "Do Re Mi" song ... Remember that scene when the nanny sings to her children with a guitar on the hill to make them remember the music notes? Classic.



SEVEN: HOME ALONE



This has got to be the talk of the town back when I was a kid. In fact, this movie was so popular there were three other movies following the first successful one. I really enjoyed this movie just being stunned at the intelligence of the main actor in using creative methods to ward off the burglars from his home. Kids, learn from this.

EIGHT: THE PARENT TRAP



And my final show, the parent trap. Ahh bet you guys forgot about this show did you? A really enjoyable show about a pair of twins out to trick their parents into sending them to boarding school. Lindsay Lohan was sooo cute in this movie, and I used to remember being rather confident that she would grow up to be pretty elegant lady based on the image she portrayed on the Parent Trap. Well guys, sometimes things can happen along the way. Read between the lines, heh ... Either way, this movie is still a great one!

And the lucky five I would looove to tag are:

Tyqa, Vivian, Angela, Inessa, Shahidah

Doing this was actually amusing, fun and therapeutic. Guys, try it! :)

AMERICAN IDOL HYPE

As I came back home from camp, I realized how backdated I was cause by the time I actually settled down to look through my emails and facebook accounts, I finally realized the overwhelming hype with regards to American Idol.

Its amazing to note how people can be so emotive over a talent show like American Idol when it does not really concern them to begin with. Just take a look at how the media has influenced us all.

Alright, now for my two pence worth of thoughts...

This season finale of American Idol was very much like that of the previous American Idol finals. Back then if we all remember correctly, it was the David squared showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook. Two really talented singers sharing that one stage, and of the two, many of them expected Archuleta to win due to his awesome powerhouse vocals that would melt the hearts of even those with hearts of stone. Its really that powerful. Nobody can forget the time Simon mentioned that Archuleta was bound to win and all of us were almost certain he would bring home the crown, till the unexpected happened and Cook ended up winning.

Compare that with this season, and you will see the starking similarity. Lambert against Kris, both awesome on stage performers as well, and just when all of us expected Lambert to win and claim the crown, the unexpected happened yet again and Kris Allen won.

This caused a worldwide (no I'm not exaggerating) rage with many people demanding to know how in the world Kris Allen could have beat Adam Lambert to the winner's title. Poor Kris, getting criticized at, getting booed at, yet if we were to analyse the situation closely, he won the competition fair and square!

Personally I felt both of them were good. I would have been happy if either of them had won, cause both of them have proved themselves to be deserving of that place on stage. One's a rock star who dishes out really high note effectively and melodiously whilst the other has got the clean cut good looks together with a superstar charm and a wonderful voice.

Who cares if Kris won and Lambert didnt? This is only a platform for them to shine, and both of them did. Now all we have to do is wait and see who will be the more successful of the two. Winning the competition does not determine much at all, for the true winner would be revealed the moment their albums come out. The statistics will paint the picture, the statistics will tell the story.

Let's all face it, American Idol is a talent show, yet the winners are determined by more than just mere talent alone. In order to go far and win this, they have got to have luck, skill, and most importantly public value. To be loved by the public is by far the most crucial factor of all, cause the hard truth is the success of a superstar depends alot on how the public perceives them to be and how much the public supports them. You can be a really talented person with the voice of an angel, but what's the use if the public just plain hates you?

Speaking of which, just for random's sake, I heard both renditions of No Boundaries and I very much prefer Lambert's version of the song as it was really heartfelt and just pleasing to the ears. Kris brought a rendition that was not that bad too actually...

So guys, let's give it to Kris for winning the competition fair and squre. He did sing really well and he's got the entire package to represent America as a role model.

Just for the record, this is coming from someone who was hoping for Lambert to win the competition :)

HELLO PRIVATE!

Recruit Zulhafiz is no more. He's now Private Zul :)

Updates on my 11 weeks in camp soon!

Time Flies

10 weeks down...









And I'm down to my final five days as a recruit ..

Time flies.. The next time I post an entry here, I'll be a recruit no more ...

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED

I just found the most hilarious thing on the net today! :)



Whoever who created this must be a freakin genious!

21st CENTURY BREAKDOWN

Just listened to Greenday's comeback album and I found it really AWESOME! There was a whole range of different styles of songs they experimented with and they all sounded really great in my opinion.

I don't understand why critics are being so judgemental about the lyrics and the tune, cause its perfectly fine and cool.

What's with dissing their latest album just cause some lyrics are about greed and America and hedonism ? They're all an issue of perspective, and I feel the lyrics correctly point out the state our beloved world is in now. I guess they're guilty cause they could be indulging in it themselves.. hehe!

And so my verdict, for those of you who have not listened to the album, go for it! :)

AWESOME SATURDAY

Meet up with old pals are always the best. The familiar laughter, the familiar company topped up with fun activities can make even the most boring weekends fun!

Whilst with them I actually chanced upon 2 of my ex-students at Lot 1, both of which actually could NOT recognize me due to my botak head. One totally missed me and the other one took almost 10 seconds to stare at me before he finally registered me as Mr Zul... hahaha! My friends laughed at me when he called me that, but hey I seriously miss my students. Do I really look THAT different botak up to the point of no recognition? Tsk tsk.. LOL!

And for those of you who has not seen me totally botak, here's your chance :)

Reply to tags

[Cassandra]

GREENDAY! A few more days to the release of their album, and I seriously cant wait for them cause I missed them too! haha!

[Amalina]

Hello back at ya! :) Hope you're doing fine!

[Vivian]

I know you'll always do your best soo yup, I'm glad for you Vivian!

[Ayeen]

Hehe remind me to watch it during my free time okay. Usually yup its the sound effect that makes the scene scary and all, not the actual ghost itself.. hahah...

[Hidayah]

Yupp my sentiments exactly! If it weren't for him, I don't think Wolverine would actually be so highly focused upon as a character. Its the actor that makes the character, not the other way round... Haha.. He's seriously awesome!

And the paper says

After what seemed like eons of not catching up on the news due to my NS life, it definitely was a whole chunk of latest happenings I had to absorb when I finally read the papers for the first time in a few weeks.

For a start, the entire non profit organization saga involving AWARE and a whole lot of others. I never imagined something as trivial as this to spark fury in people, but in the age of the economic recession, well anything can happen afterall. To be focusing on trivial issues I shall not mention here when what others are really keen about is wanting to be secured and trying to keep up with the economy, now that's a grave mistake none of us should ever commit, ever.

Murders, killings, natural disasters, riots and cries of help from the third world countries, all these happenings seem to be getting more widespread and out of hand nowadays. We should start realizing the seriousness of this problem and do all we can to ensure that these happenings can be reduced hopefully ...

And finally with SARS finally out of our sight, now we say hello to swine flu. It seems 2009 is a year of gloomy outcomes with everything unpleasant encompassed into this year. Starting from the economic downturn, to social and political unrest in countries, and now this ...

Take care of yourselves guys, and lets all pray for this year to be a better one starting NOW! Afterall, we only see the rainbow after dark clouds fade away am I not right? :)

Replies to tags

[Cassandra]
HAHA I know la! I miss you guys too, and of course I have not forgotten you guys! Abit hard to right, since we've been through so much together in two years. HAHA! Lets go out soon, when NS starts giving me more freedom!

[Amalina]
Well hello there! :) Good luck for your exams ya!

If Vesak Day was on a Friday, I would get the day off. If Vesak Day was on Sunday, then I would have gotten Monday off..

So why why why must Vesak Day fall on a Saturday then? Totally no incentive for that day. Hmph!

Tag Replies

[Ayeen]
I heard wolverine wasnt as nice as what others expected it to be. Haha! And seriously? I heard jangan tegur is scary! I should go give it a watch myself soon :) Thanks for the recommendation ya! All the best with your exams!

[Haz]
HAHA I was singing that song to myself when I saw your tag and LAUGHED! Its addictive aint it?

The problem with Wolverine

Something random, I still cannot get over the fact that Wolverine is so highly appreciated and emphasized in the X Men series. Seriously, what's so good about him that's worth so much focus on his past and future? I'd rather they created a spin off on Storm or Jean or Cyclops... Now that would be more exciting to witness ...

Heh, I'm a fan of X-Men since young alright, just that I'm rather biased against Wolverine cause I remember as a small boy thinking Wolverine was really cocky and annoying with the way he was portrayed in the series...

Then again, I don't really mind the movie cause Hugh Jackman's playing the annoying character and we all know what an awesome actor he is :)

Tag replies

[Tyqa]
Yes you can still try to mat-tify me after your exams. It'll be a hard task man! HAHA! Thanks and yes I am having fun in camp now :)

[Vivian]
Hey there! Yes time passes really fast, and it really feels so fast I amazed at how much I have completed thus far. I'm fine, and you? Study hard for exams ya! All the best!

[Zhen Qin]
Exactly my point! Weekends should be used for activities, not to rest the eyes. That can be done in camp. LOL!

[Kenji]
Yeap I was referring to Mad World. Adam's version is on repeat for my Mp3, and its been a week now and I never get sick of that song. Its really beautifully sung! :) Gary Jules' version was really good too actually! hahah...

[Beverly]
HEY! Haha yes NS is getting better, thanks! Keep the tags coming!

[Cassandra]
LOL so I'm missed cause you need somebody to bully? >.<>

[Ness]
HEY! Yess its three more weeks to partial freedom. That way we dont have to end our convos abruptly anymore. It has happened alot these past few weeks eh? HAHA! I cant wait for it to end! And yeapp I think I remember telling you about that. Never mind we shall continue the next time we see each other online, and I am looking forward to that man! Chatting with Inessa is always a fun activity aint it? LOL!

[Judamouse]
No problem :) Thanks for tagging and dropping by! All the best for your exams ya?

[Fizul]
Archuleta is an awesome singer man! You should listen to the lyrics and the way he sings them. Its really soothing to the ears. Haha.. and eh Aliff is no where close to Archuleta in my opinion so they should not be compared together la! LOL!

[Ain]
Alamak, haruskah saya anggapkan kata-kata anda itu sebagai pujian atau sebaliknya? LOL! >.<>

[Nawa]
HEY! Alright I'll relink. And YES he should not be in the bottom two. No no no! He must win, heh!

[Dina]
Agreed! Yeapp I do miss my students calling me that, although now I have a totally different group of people calling me that. Hehh.. And yeap, MAY IS HERE! And that means two things. One, I'm 20 days away from ending my life as a recruit. Two, our meet up should happen sooon! hehe.. Two great events to look forward to :)

WELCOME BACK GREENDAY

After a very very very long break of about 4 years I guess, they are finally alive and kicking with their brand new album! Greenday has been one band I have envied since young apart from simple plan. Even till today I STILL love some of their songs, so I am really excited to see how this new album turns out!

I heard this new album has a very different concept, away from the pop punk roots they once had to the genre of classical rock. Sounds rather interesting, so I'm hoping some of their songs will be as good and impactful as Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams, two of my favourite songs by Greenday.

15 May, we will all find out

Greenday fans, rejoice!