·: [HD] [VIDEO] Compilation of Zhang LiYin's "Agape" ...

·: [HD] [VIDEO] Compilation of Zhang LiYin's "Agape" ...: 140820 MBC Show Champion FULL 1 | N E W 140819 SBS MTV The Show FULL 1 | FULL 2 Source: as tagged

Really loving Liyin's live performances of Agape :)

2014's Big Trip - SK & J - Heading there

Ever since graduation, I've made the effort to take a big trip abroad somewhere every year. 2014 is no different and this time I'm heading to South Korea and Japan. Having observed and been fascinated by Korean and Japanese culture from afar for so long - from kpop,  k-dramas and bulgogi, to anime, jpop and sushi - I'm very much looking forward to my journey.

Currently I'm still at the George Bush Int'l Airport waiting to board my flight. The excitement hasn't hit me yet. I think it's because I'm heading to San Francisco first and won't be flying to Seoul until tomorrow morning...also because I'm too tired at the moment =_=. All the lack of sleep from this week of running errands, shopping, packing, in addition to the usual routine of going to work, has definitely worn me down. I'll sleep very well tonight in my, hopefully bug-free, hotel in the Golden Gate city.

Once upon a time: Update

So much for daily updates! It's been 3 years... I've decided I will no longer make such a promise for fear of not going through with it again. I wrote daily updates, once a upon a time. As for the reason of my negligence, life just got in the way. From now on updates will come when they come.

To make up for my negligence,  I present to you a picture of my lab looking hipster with shades on.

To make up for some of the lost time, I'll start with an excerpt of my life from a few years back...just stuff I wrote a long time ago that was collecting dust in my draft folder.

-2011-

After graduating from my overcrowded longhorn alma mater, I took a one and a half month vacation to China before starting my work life. I visited estranged relatives and celebrated the end of my exhausting 17-year long career as a student. At the time it felt as if a daunting weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I had finally managed to step out of the assembly line-like system that guided me throughout my adolescence. Basking in my new found freedom, I sought reprieve in the intriguing food and culture of my home country. It was a welcomed change from my usual Chinese-American lifestyle.

During my short stay in China, good and bad experiences came to pass, more good than bad. The bad experiences were the usual when you visit China from a Westerner's point of view: the toilets that are sometimes no more than a hole in the ground (literally), the lack of air conditioning in some places, the lack of actual cold water in restaurants (cold = lukewarm in China), sanitary concerns, fear of bag snatchers, etc. 

Now for the good experiences:

Having grown up in a very flat city for a good chunk of my life, I welcomed the sight of mountains and greenery in abundance. I traveled through Central China where mountains ran through much of the land so I got an eyeful wherever I went. Scaling the mountains proved rather challenging, especially if no established trails exist for people to travel on. Around the city my grandparents resided, four mountains loomed along the border on all sides. They were so significant to the city people that locals even gave them names...which I have conveniently forgotten. I had the opportunity to climb some of the mountains with more established trails and lost count of how many pagodas I sat in to rest during my climbs. Each painted and carved into unique oriental designs, the wooden pagodas were decorated with calligraphy at the entrance which designated an auspicious name to the structure.

Temples resided on some of the mountains as well. However, they were not as easy to reach as the pagodas, which were considered resting spots rather than destinations of a long, challenging trek. I remember one of the temples I treked to was reachable only after climbing 3000 steps up a crisscrossing stairwell with no safety rail on the sides. The trek was only supposed to last 3 hours but because the original stairwell proved too steep for descending, my aunt decided to take an alternative route. This extended our journey to an unexpected 6 hours...we were very famished by the end of it. During another trek, we reached a temple built on the edge of a cliff that was only reachable after hiking through a forested area and climbing up a 45 degree slope with only the roots of an ancient tree to use as footholds. Again, the descent proved more daunting than the ascent. Each time we reached a temple, we were greeted by the intense smell of burning incense and colorful images of reverent figures like Buddha or the Kirin on the walls. The locals believed taking pictures of the reverent figures was a show of disrespect so I was not allowed to take photos in the open. In one of the temples, I had my fortune told by inscribed wooden sticks that fell out of a cup I was instructed to shake with all my might.

Back in my hometown, my grandparents were very inquisitive about my life as much as I was about theirs', so we had insightful conversations about the things of the past, current state of affairs and future plans. "Ah so much has changed," was a commonly uttered phrase throughout our discussions. Unlike in America, where I can count the number of relatives with just two hands, the number of relatives I had in China was immeasurable - cousins however many times removed, great aunts, great great uncles, etc. And unlike the simple family hierarchy titles of the English culture, Chinese culture designates more complicated titles to different types of family relations. Because of the complicated nature of these designations and my infrequent need to use these titles since I don't visit China often, I tend to forget or miscall my extended family members. These occurrences are usually followed by an awkward silence or laugh, and then me being corrected.

END

I admit, this is not a very complete sounding post, but I will end it here. I only wrote this much back then and unfortunately my current memory of 3 years ago is not very detailed ^^

The beat

Doodidapdapdidumdoo...

What is it exactly that makes a piece of music so addicting? Is it the catchiness of the melody, or the meaning behind the lyrics?

So about a week ago, during one of my random ventures surfing youtube, I chanced upon the popular youtube user, nigahiga, favoriting a video from the WongFu ISA Concert contest. After watching that one video, I randomly picked another video from the same contest. The song was called "Parade" by worldismarble and I don't remember how many times I clicked the replay button! It was one of those light, fun, but classy songs that just made you want to snap your fingers to the beat and bob your head...and I couldn't stop listening to it!!!!

Become addicted as well! ...you know you want to.

The other song that caught my eyes (or rather, ears) was called "Beautiful People" by Sam Ock. For me, this song wasn't as addicting (didn't repeat as much), but the lyrics were touching and left quite an impression. It will make your day feel a lot better :) or at least leave you smiling afterward.

Check it out!

Hehe. I admit "Beautiful People" was really interesting, but I still hope "Parade" wins the contest!! XD If you do too (or not lol), vote here~

Soooo...which one did YOU like more? :)

The downfall

So I decided to ride my bicycle yesterday for the first time in several years (when I say several...I mean 4-5 years) on my way to and back from work. It's not a far distance, but the heat and overbearing sun convinced me ultimately. I would've started riding sooner but one of the caps on my tires was broken :\ I finally stopped my laziness last week and looked up a bicycle shop to go to. Apparently they give you tire caps for FREE o.o I only asked for 2, but they handed me like 6! Haha...I love free stuff...even if they're just tire caps.



So after bicycling yesterday, I found out two things: I'm still out of shape even though I've been running the treadmill 2-3 times a week, and I now fail miserably at the sport of cycling (like I do at most sports...). I try to avoid uphill cycling...cuz that's pretty much impossible for me at the moment ><" and I'll probably look like a retard attempting it...just imagine someone straining to pedal on their bicycle as they barely move at all uphill...I'll probably just fall over. My steering needs the most work though. I can't seem to go straight...always swinging left and right, and I can feel the wobbliness (word?) of my movements.

I did get the hang of steering as I went faster, but I became a bit too overconfident unfortunately. My friend called me while I was bicycling and I didn't think steering with one hand while my other was holding the phone would be too difficult. WRONG! I ended up falling off my bike (and in public no less) and scraping my knee. The way I fell was embarrassing too. Initially I found my balance and managed to catch my bike sideways before it hit the ground, but then, by doing that, I lost my balance again and was flapping my arms like an idiot as I fell sideways..........我觉得好委屈 T_T. By this time I was pretty much annoyed at how this whole bicycling experience turned out. I was seriously hoping nothing else would happen...but THEN, as I was going down one of those gradual slopes that connected the road to the sidewalk, I accidentally went over a small stream of water and got mud splattered onto my legs and shorts. Why the heck is there even water on the road on a hot, sunny, and DRY day?!

Well, this concludes my horrible experience yesterday. I hope these aren't signs or something telling me to stop bicycling around. For now, I'll just consider these moments as signs that I need to practice more. So, RAWR for motivation!

Negligence

So, what is a friend?

Someone who's there at a time of need?...so what if you were to miss out on one of those times of need when you know u might be needed? Are you still considered a good friend?...I guess you would call that negligence... and just to let you know, it sucks being the one who caused it.

There's that sinking feeling of guilt mixed with self-disgust and of course feeling pissed off at other people who contributed to making you negligent... even though you know ultimately it's your own fault.

From the other perspective, it definitely it sucks to have negligent friends. But not ALL your friends can be negligent right? ... I guess that varies from person to person. Once deemed as a negligent friend, it's a difficult process to climb back up that ladder...

If you end up in any one of these situations (and you actually care), let's just say talking to other people involved helps a whole lot and who knows... you might not be in as deep as you originally imagined yourself to be? and perhaps that negligent friend of yours...may not be as they seem?

Interesting day...

SO...got up at freggin' 7 AM on friday to ride the bus to school and finish my lab report...only to discover later on in the day that there wasn't anything due... -__-" ai yah...my life. I seem to be living rather carelessly these days with no particular aim. To those who strive to achieve great things, I admire how motivated you are. Nowadays I just look forward to the next episodes of Smile, You and You're Beautiful...sad, no? (but they're so good!! ... very recommended)


But what exactly are "great things?" When you pop the question to someone randomly, the first idea that'll materialize in their minds will most likely be the objective one...making a difference in the world...WELL, if that's the case, then I think everyone will eventually achieve great things...whether it be good or evil. From things like carbon footprints to volunteering to saving up pink Yoplait yogurt lids to sharing stories to saving lives, aren't those all impacts of some sort? ... and no, I'm not trying to cheer anyone up with this, but just bring to light what my thoughts are... so the next time anyone feels down about their purpose in life compared to other ppl's, they should remember it's the little things that count from time to time and that eventually build up to become the bigger impact in someone's life. That someone maybe someone you've never met before, or even yourself.