Reality is defined by those who care enough to do so; those who don’t will have their reality defined by others.

“The autumn leaves, arranged in two or three scarlet terraces among the pine-trees, have fallen like ancient dreams.”

Sometimes I like to collect string of words that go beautifully together. It’s pretty much like collecting stamps, I guess.

“`Cheshire Puss,’ [Alice] began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. `Come, it’s pleased so far,’ thought Alice, and she went on. `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
`I don’t much care where–’ said Alice.
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
`–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation.
`Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.’”

The scorpion seeks a ride across the river, and by the river sits a frog.

The scorpion requests the frog to bring him across the river on his back, and the frog refuses, fearing the scorpion’s poisonous sting.

The scorpion then pleads, “You can trust me.” Upon hearing his pleas, the frog acquiesces. But as the frog bears the scorpion across the water, he feels the sting.

The poison spreads through the frog’s body, paralyzing his limbs. He asks the scorpion why he stung him, as now, they both will drown.

“It’s in my nature,” says the scorpion.

How can any self-respecting Gundam fan boy not be excited?

Thus, almost like a pilgrimage, i dragged the Ningster to Compass Point to geek out!

The models on exhibition are awesome. I think my personal highlight were the “behind the scenes” materials – panels explaining the product development process of Gundam models, manufacturing techniques and processes, and a peek at the inner workings of the Bandai Hobby Center! If i could, i would’ve done CAD modeling for them anytime, man. FOR FREE. Like, seriously!

Enough said, let’s check out the exhibits!

Gundam Destiny from the Gundam SEED series.

Mega big RX-0 Unicorn Gundam from the Gundam Unicorn series

RX-78-2 from the original series!

Gundam Zero Wing Custom. I think it’s from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

Unknown Gundam #1

Unknown Gundam #2 (I should be ashame of myself for calling myself a fan boy. Hmm.)

Zaku hangar scene.

Oh! Glorious RX-78-2!

and not to forget…

Gundam girls.

Now moving on to my loot (If only i can find time to get my grubby paws to start fixing these)!

The new Gunpla Real Grade series launched at the event!

My first Master Grade Gunpla model! I had a hard time deciding which mecha unit i should dedicate my ‘first’ to, ha.

I was rather surprised that even the carrier bags are Gundam themed. Which is nice.

Who doesn’t like free gifts, right?? Free poster with purchases! =D

I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks building a education software for my Final Year Project at NUS. I must say it has been quite an adventure coding in MXML and Actionscript 3.0. Some instances almost made me pull my hair out.

Once such incident is documented below -

After fiddling with almost all CSS tag to change the text color of the LinkBar control in Flex, i finally found my solution:

disabledColor

Hello Adobe guys. Who on Earth will possibly know instantly that disabledColor is used for active links? Talk about counter-intuitive.

I hope by posting this i will be able to prevent another incident of computer monitor trashing.

Code snippet below:

From the externall CSS file:

.linkBar {
colour:             #808080;
textRollOverColor:  #FFFFFF;
rollOverColor:      #262626;
selectionColor:     #262626;
separatorColor:     #FFFFFF;
disabledColor:        #FFFFFF;
}

From the application MXML:

<mx:LinkBar
dataProvider=”{interactiveMindmaps}”
verticalAlign=”middle”
styleName=”linkBar”
/>

<mx:ViewStack id=”interactiveMindmaps”
width=”100%” height=”100%”
selectedIndex=”0″
>

Hope this helps!

Thanks Jeff Boothe for saving my life!

If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you’ve not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren’t okay with it, then just wait. You’ll find it’s fine to be alone once you’re embracing it.

We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You’re not supposed to talk much anyway so it’s safe there.

There’s also the gym. If you’re shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in.

And there’s public transportation, because we all gotta go places.

And there’s prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you’re hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.

Start simple. Things you may have previously based on your avoid being alone principals.

The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they — like you — will be alone.

Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.

When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You’re no less intriguing a person when you’re eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.

Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.
And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one’s watching…because, they’re probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you’re sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life’s best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.

Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.
Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there’re always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might’ve never happened had you not been there by yourself

Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. but lonely is a freedom that breaths easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.

You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one’s in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.

Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school’s groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cuz if you’re happy in your head than solitude is blessed and alone is okay.

It’s okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can’t think like you, for this be releived, keeps things interesting lifes magic things in reach.

And it doesn’t mean you’re not connected, that communitie’s not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. take silence and respect it. if you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. if your family doesn’t get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don’t obsess about it.

you could be in an instant surrounded if you needed it
If your heart is bleeding make the best of it
There is heat in freezing, be a testament.

Good relationships certainly need to be worked on rather than just allowed to happen.

If so, how much do we allow for natural equilibrium, and how much do we tweak for co-existence?

Does I + U = We? Or will it be just I + U = You and Me?