New Brother Blog

As you can see, I'm tired of hearing/saying "sister" blog all the time. Just why does it have to be so feminine? Anyways, this bilateral blog will publish my Toastmasters speeches. So if you're interested in that, you can click here. I just thought that it'll be better to have 2 side-by-side blogs instead of cramming everything into 1. Somehow, 2 seems more powerful than 1. For now, there isn't much to see over there, but I will soon add on more stuff, so stay tuned.

Skullcandy TiTAN

Well, let's see, I haven't been too active on this blog lately. So even though I don't have much to talk about, I'll write this lame entry on Skullcandy TiTAN in-ear headphones. I'm also going to write more on this blog so that scouts from magazines can "discover" me, like scouts "discover" models in a shopping mall. That's how desperate I am for a dream writing job. My current job has never satisfied me whatsoever.

So back to topic now. A while ago, I researched on some in-ear headphones because I suspected that my old ones weren't high quality enough. At first, I wanted to buy the Monster Turbine with Control Talk because the design is just SO cool. The reviews were good, the jack connection was gold-plated and L-shaped, the wires were handsomely arranged using wire organizers, and I heard that the audio quality is great, especially the bass. Unfortunately, the hefty price tag of $1480 at HMV really made me think for some time.

It made me think for so long that one day, I bought the Skullcandy TiTAN instead. I thought, what the hell, why do I need to buy the best headphone, when a not so shabby $299 one may do just fine. Considering that my old earphones were only $79, $299 is already a considerable upgrade. And, as you can see from the picture, wearing this out on the streets is already well above average amongst the iPhone earphones. The only thing that bothered me were the aluminum-braided cables because they just keep on tangling up, like koalas hugging onto each other. At one point I wanted to exchange it, but after finding out I can't, I gave in. Besides the cable, the audio quality is pretty good. The bass is good. With these earbuds, I can hear a lot more "hidden" sounds that my old Sony's could not pick up.

So, that's my review. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you guys next time!

Working at Disneyland

On the morning of August 22, I attended an audition for Disney character performer for the 3rd time. As shown in the picture, these are the people who dress into stuffed puppet suits, dance in the parades, sign autographs, and pose for photos with little children. For some reason, I just love Chip 'n Dale and would honorably dress up as them, even if it's just part-time. So that was my reason for being so persistent with the auditions.

This time around, I had no problems with the 100 jumping jacks and dancing routine as I avoided looking at the casting director, Russ. During the 3rd part of the audition, we had to do a mime routine. They gave us a sample story to perform without words. I remembered the advice from the online forums that in order to succeed, you need to do super exaggerated moves. I did that, and the next day, I got a call from Disney, not regarding character performer, but for Halloween Performer. I took the 2-month temporary job anyways, since I was really excited to work at Disney.

Even though I worked at Disneyland for just a little more than 6 days, I had a lot of happy memories there. It was very different from my previous employers as the environment was very relaxed and friendly. Sometimes, it didn't even feel like work at all. Sometimes, it felt like I was on vacation to Tokyo or something. Best of all, I was paid to explore Disneyland. No more $350 per visit. From that perspective, I may have saved $2100 and instead made $2640 more.

The first 2 days consisted of studying at the Disney University. All 130 of us Halloween Performers had to learn about Disney traditions, history, and how to dress up according to Disney Look attire. We often got split up into different teams every couple of hours. So to adapt well, it was essential to talk well with strangers unless you came along with a group of 11 friends.

We started rehearsing on Day 3 and that was when we were introduced to our 5 supervisors: CK, Jacky, Rene, Angie, and Irene. Rene is actually a guy who's the stage manager for our Haunted Hotel. The Haunted Hotel is 1 of the 4 designated Halloween places at Hong Kong Disneyland. As Rene was talking about the Haunted Hotel, a latecomer entered the room. She wore an orange t-shirt and her hairstyle was shaped like a ball. Her name was Miracle and she was beautiful.

The following days consisted of regular rehearsals, memorizing lines for 3 different roles in the Haunted Hotel, learning how to use the lockers, getting sized for costumes, and practicing with halloween makeup. All the while, I had friendly conversations with a lot of people, went to work together with Ellis, who lived nearby my place, back from work with someone called Eric, and talked a bit with this Miracle girl. She's a Year 1 hotel management university dropout and she really really likes to talk a lot. Basically, a near opposite of me. I still have the Chip 'n Dale card that she gave me.

Even though these 6 days were short, they were indeed sweet. And this is a good transition for me to go back into my real job and to have more meaningful communication with people in general. I will always remember these 6 days, especially with the addition of Miracle.

First Date

Two weeks ago, I met up with the online girl who I've been talking to for the past 8 months. I was super nervous. When I was waiting for her to show up, my heart pounded so hard, I thought I was having a heart attack. At that moment, I didn't know what to think or what to say if she arrived. For a while, I hoped that she won't arrive, so I can just do my duty of waiting for 45 minutes before leaving and telling myself that I at least tried.

Fortunately, she did arrive and somehow, I wasn't as nervous as before. But I was still nervous, nonetheless, as I drank 4 large glasses of water, could barely eat, and had absolutely no idea of what to say. Even the couples sitting nearby constantly stared at us. She seemed quite comfortable though, often initiating conversation. I got more comfortable towards the end, however, and managed to reveal my humorous side. But that didn't stop me from leaving my favorite umbrella behind.

I think I could have done better. I'm not sure what she's thinking though. She probably just thinks of me as a normal friend because she rejected me for a second date.

Sad City

Recently, I moved into a neighborhood known as the sad city. The reason it's called that is because the people are poor. I always hated to live here, but here I am now, and I'll have to accept it. Tonight, as I was doing pullups in the children playground, I looked up and saw bright stars in the sky. This, along with the night view, are two of the things I enjoy about this neighborhood. I guess life isn't that bad after all.

Drop-Dead Gorgeous Dance Instructor

Today, I attended an audition for Disney Character Performers. After the signup procedures, the candidates headed up to another floor for height measurement. I was happy to fit under the height requirement of Chip 'n Dale, my favorite Disney duo. Then we went into a large dance room. All the candidates stood along the edge of the room, anxious to know what's to come. A lone female was reading a book at corner of the room, not saying a word. She wore a conservative black blazer and black pants. For a minute, I thought she was actually a secretary. That all changed, when the other Disney staff came into the room. Suddenly, she stood up, faced the audience, and took off her blazer gently. She had a white tanktop, which could barely cover her perky bosoms. They were literally saying hello to the candidates. Teamed up with her gorgeous face, the visual image caused a chain reaction inside of me. My God, life is good.

Date Proposal?

On Wednesday, a woman that I've been chatting with online, asked if I was comfortable to have dinner with her. Without thinking much, I said sure, but I regret it now. I guess the major deterring factor is that her looks aren't that good. I don't want to sound shallow here, but I saw her Twitter pictures and I just can't stand her long finger nails and weird smile. I try to tell myself that the reason I'm not seeing her is because I don't want to hurt her feelings by only seeing her once. But who am I trying to fool? I know the main reason is because I don't want to see her, and gag as a result. I know I may sound shallow here, but what human can survive without breathing?

Engine

I recently watched another Japanese TV drama, called Engine, on the internet. It was after watching Good Luck!! and Pride, all by the same actor, Kimura Takuya. The TV show is about a car racer who got fired in the first 10 minutes of the first episode. He decided to go back to his old racing team to beg for a racing position. The problem is that he's already 32, presumably past the peak 20's as a racer. Despite endless persuasion by his drop-dead gorgeous ex-girlfriend to quit his dream, he continued to pursue it. He even managed to win the current team's racer, but was only offered a position of car mechanic. The story goes on, but the majority of the drama is actually about the orphanage started by his foster dad and sister. Again, there's at least 2 hot chicks in the orphanage. You just gotta watch the TV drama to know what I mean.

Paper Airplanes

As a part of my goal to learn more about aviation, I looked up a few paper airplane designs and folded the good-looking ones myself. The one at the back is the easiest to fold, looks the coolest, but doesn't fly too far (best used to impress kids). The one on the right has 2 collapse folds, doesn't look too cool, but flies the farthest (best used for competitions). The one on the left is in between.

I'll try to fold an F-15 fighter jet next time.

War Against Mars (Operation W.A.M.)

Last Wednesday, I did something very special for myself, a 2nd Toastmasters presentation. I basically took Colonel Quaritch's speech from Avatar and changed it around a bit. Here's the speech:

"All right, soldiers! You all know why you're here. We're at war with the aliens from Mars. I am General T2O of the United States Marine Corps. We've been sent here under the direct command of President Obama, ordered to rescue the Hong Kong people from the aliens. Here's the situation. 4 hours ago at 1530, the planet Mars collided with the Earth's surface. The 2 planets are now interconnected at Tai Mo Shan, 9 miles north of where I'm standing. The aliens have jumped off their planet and parachuted into Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan, killing everything in their path. So far, 9000 people have been killed. 1 hour later, the Marine Corps sent out 2800 soldiers to fight these aliens. Their weapons included 12 SA-2 Samson VTOL rotorcraft, 24 M777 towed howitzers, 48 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, and 192 fifty-cal machine guns. However, all the weapons are gone and all the 2800 soldiers are dead. That's how powerful our enemy is. This is a picture of the aliens we're dealing with. (Hold up picture of StarCraft lurker.) Outside this building, these aliens are waiting to kill you and to eat your brains for ice-cream dessert. As the head of security, it is my job to keep you alive. If you wish to live, you must obey my rules. W.A.M. rules. Rule number 1; you must have a leader. (Walk up to an audience member.) Stand up soldier! Congratulations, you've just been promoted to Captain. Now it is your job to lead the soldiers out into the battlefield. Sit down. (Audience member sits down.) Rule number 2; everyone needs to fight. Even women, children, or anyone who can hold up a gun is going to fight. Everyone in this room, everyone of you, are fighting for survival. That's a fact. We will fight terror with terror. We will show the aliens that they cannot and shall not take whatever they want. And the way we'll show them is by killing them. Now everyone repeat after me. We will kill the aliens! We will show them who is the boss! Oorah!"

I followed Quaritch's commanding voice and pulled through with the 5:30 minute presentation. Even I couldn't believe I did it. At first I was quite nervous, but after speaking loudly for the first couple of seconds, I was okay. I should be able to enjoy going to Toastmasters from now on, especially when I'll be doing a military speech.