21 April 2009

Back on Track

And finally, my life is back on track. Well almost.

After my trip to New York, I had so much catching up to do, it wasn't funny. I then realized, I was falling back into the old ways where I'd get stressed out because I kept looking at my never-ending to-do lists and felt like there was always something waiting for me, even if it wasn't due today.

I then did what most people would do to give themselves a fresh start. Well, most geeks really. I did the equivalent to a girl getting a haircut to shed away her old memories or a guy buying himself a new cap. I reformatted my computer and boy does it feel good! It gave me that fresh feeling that made me feel like it was time to throw away my old ways and get on with the new. I sat down and went through all my work processes and figured out all the problems I was facing and listed them out, and solved them one by one. I've also started on a book called The Mind Map Book. A clear classic and figured I could use with the extra information this book has on Mind Maps. I mean, no one really needs to be taught mind mapping, but it's more like how to best use them. Kind of like no one ever needs to be taught how to do make to-do lists, but it's how to effectively use them, or make them more efficient that helps.

I must say, I've got back into my GTD ways and it's rocking my world like it did before. Especially since I've modified the way my to-do lists are displayed to me, hiding anything that isn't due today, until I want to see it (ie. when I've finished everything there is to do today :P). I've got myself into a fixed routine of practicing drums around 30 - 40 minutes a day, as well as a good, efficient workout routine that gives me days off without the psychological guilt trip many gym-goers get when they take the day off for rest.

I've also figured out a bunch of ways to keep my mind constantly growing in all my passions, from my love for everything metal to learning about the most effective way to do a bicep curl. I've also got myself going back into drawing but that's where I still have to work a bit because I still suck :P. I can't even seem to draw stick men properly.

My band, Eve of Sin, had a gig on 11 April 2009 during Easter weekend and boy was it awesome! Oh man, the crowd was freaking insane! I loved it! Thank you so much! We filmed it down but it's really quite dark. I should have used my night-vision setting, even though it makes everyone seem like green zombies, it's better than looking at a patch of black. But after some post-production, I can see the crazy moshing and oh man, my favorite, wall of deaths! We didn't expect it during one of our songs, but the crowd just spread apart like the Red Sea in the story of Moses! And before we knew it, BOOM! Ahah, I have to get the video to the other bandmates before I get everyone's approval to upload it for your viewing pleasure. Please be careful, it is still metal so mind those ears! :D

Comedy's been going good and I had 2 good shows this weekend, with English on Friday and Chinese on Saturday :) I hosted the Chinese show and it's a lot of fun, even though I'm not very used to starting a show, but the coolest part of hosting is that you get to keep going back on stage :) So if you ever forget to say something, you can go back and do it! :D There is a 2nd chance! :D i even got invited to go on a TV show called Sunday Whiz (Check out the 19 April 2009 episode) as a guest to talk about racism in Hong Kong. It's in Cantonese, but it was quite interesting. I guess the thing is, if you ask me to point out racist events in my life, I could go on and on and on, but at the same time, I don't feel that racism really. I just feel it's racist only if you take it as racism. Calling someone a gwailo, in my view, is racist only if it's said offensively or if you want to make sure it's distinguished that you are not them. But there are a lot of people who feel good being called that, it makes them feel like they are part of society, now that they have terms like that that are specifically for them. But oh well, I respect everyone's opinion :).

I'm hitting a slight plateau in the gym though, so my routine's probably going to need to get changed in a week's time, however, the coolest thing is that I'm getting some pretty good gains though. I think it has to do with the way I plan my meals before and after my workout and so far so good. I have to say though, I've come to realize, my flexibility isn't balanced though, my left side is muuuuccchh tighter than my right, which sucks but also makes sense seeing as my right side is stronger and also from my drumming, using the computer, it's my right side that moves the most, left side usually stays there, hence the muscle tightening. Sigh :\

And everything else is so far so good. Today I get to take it a little easy and I've got myself a slice of salmon. Did I ever tell you how much I love salmon? You have no idea, whenever I buy it, I literally have a singing tune in my head as I wait to get back and cook the hunky piece of juicy fish :). Maybe because it's good for my heart, it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling you'd get when you saw, say, a handbag of your dreams and you fell in love with it :)

Mmm... salmon *drools like Homer does*

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09 April 2009

The beginning of rest

So this weekend is the mighty long Easter holidays and my band's got a gig lined up for Saturday night (shameless plug: 7:00pm, 1/F, 2 Holy Cross Path, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong, HK$140 walk-in, HK$120 advanced tickets) alongside a really strong line up of top metal bands in Hong Kong. Today marks the last day of any stenuous exercise/practice because it's my and my band's policy to get at least a day's worth of proper rest so we can headbang it out during our performance.

Speaking of performances, I finally got a chance to review some of my comedy tapes and it's good to be able to see the audience/show from an audience point of view. I was watching one of my tapes from a show in Februrary 2009 and I noticed parts of the show I completely forgot or didn't notice happened that night! Waoh! Ever since my trip to New York, I've been totally psyched about working even harder towards everything I love and my passion for graffiti has returned after being bombarded by awesome vandalism all over New York City! Boy oh boy were those 2 weeks good for me :) I was just recalling my walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and how I felt so at peace in the middle of it. The thought that I was alone was really satisfying because I knew right now, it was literally my world. No one around me knew who I was nor would they care to find out, which to some people may seem like quite a sad reality but oddly enough, I really enjoyed that feeling, which is why my time in NY was so good because as I've always said, the vibe there is so... independent. No one cares about you which allows you to fully express yourself and your creative side. If you want to start singing on the subway, go for it, no one's going to give you the stink-eye and whisper to their friends "look, that guy must be crazy!" That's one thing NY edges over HK, however, HK still has a tonne of great qualities that I really love. One of them is the pace, it completely puts NY to shame. You can get so much stuff done in HK it's not funny :). I love it.

Speed. It's equal to distance over time, which in many ways could measure your progress in life. How far have you reached in the past few weeks? These last 2 weeks have been crazy ups and downs for me, battling jet lag, taking care of my own business, seeing to comedy, getting back on track which means getting the gears in motion again. My room/office has been a mess for the last few days and I've finally got a chance to see to it and it feels good to be able to walk out and walk back in to an organized little dungeon. Yes, my room is in many ways my own dungeon, and sometimes I'd appreciate it staying this way so I can lock myself up and just focus on what I'm trying to accomplish. Going back to the idea of speed, I was doing some research about sprinting and how there are 2 main factors affecting it's speed:
  1. The strength of your muscles
  2. The technique used to run
I know I've talked about this concept before but lately, I've been trying to work out a proper process so that I can simultaneously see to both factors in everything I do. The problem I've realized is that at any moment, the technique you use can always be improved. I have yet to find someone with perfect technique in anything. It's often adapted to suit their style/bodies/methods but also there's always going to be some guy who you meet and introduces you to a wild new concept you never thought of and boom all your old ways seem like they were never as good as you thought. I guess I'm saying this because in these last few weeks, I've had some time to do a lot of reading, thinking and experiencing that has humbled me into realizing where I really am and where I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, I've never been the proud ego-istic type to think he's on top of the world, but it's a good reality check to see someone better than you at work or learn about a better way of accomplishing the same thing. Hey, at least I've learned something new :).

So here we are on the Day 10 entry again and I've got 10 days ahead of me to make things worth my while. Let's just say I've got everything lined up for me to "enjoy", band show, comedy performances (shameless plug again: 17th April 2009, 9pm English at TakeOut Comedy, 18th April 2009, Chinese at TakeOut Comedy -- 34 Elgin Street, Soho, Hong Kong, call 6220 4436 for ticket reservations), and a heck of a lot more! :D I think this has got to be the most hyped up 10 days ahead of me in my life :P Ohh la la, here we go! :D

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