Eccentricity took over and I decided to brew myself a cup of Lipton tea. It’s 12:31am right now, and I was intending to sleep early since I have been feeling really, really tired physically and mentally the past week. Part of the blame must be apportioned to my greed - I simply want to have MORE TIME to do things that I like. And the only time I can do so is after work, which basically means the period between 8pm-2am (ok there are times I break the 2am barrier, but I had good reasons! … I think)

So what do I spend my time doing during this precious 6 hours? Well, there’s the usual routine of checking my Gmail, Google Reader and Facebook. A huge portion of the time goes into entertainment - such as DotA, PES 2010, HIMYM, Grey’s, or anime. Another huuuuuuuuuuge portion goes into design. Anyone who has the idea that design is easy MUST.BE.INSANE. Tedious and draining. At times, rewarding. But not always. And last not least, I need to allocate time for imagination and curiosity, which often involves my personal hobbies!!!

Right now, it’s magic. And magic is a punishing albeit rewarding hobby that requires a mammoth amount of discipline to keep practising and learning. There is a lot to read, a lot to watch, and a lot to practise. Buuuuuuuuut, I’m lovin’ it! And that’s what matters most, isn’t it?

Before magic was Neuro Linguistic Programming. Was rather fascinated by the mechanics and potential of this intriguing field that has received much admiration and condemnation. While interest may be waning, it may be picking up again after talking to Li Jian about potential weekly meet-ups to learn and practise NLP. I managed to get my hands on some videos which is probably as good as taking the course. So that’s at least $2.5k saved for each of us! Will probably rope in Royce as well since we went for the preview together, and maybe Wing if he’s interested. haha but Wing’s a wild card, so we’ll see.

And then there are the many, many, uncountable, multifarious, spontaneous ideas that I get from time to time that I wish to act on. Like I was thinking of starting up something (no idea what yet) after NS is over - could be a business of some form that utilises social media. Was inspired by the stories of amazing individuals that I read from this book called “Difference Makers - Stories of Those Who Dared”. Youth should be spent experimenting on the most impossible or impractical of ideas for there is little for us to lose and much for us to gain.

Another idea was to plan a backpacking trip to some exotic place like UK or France (again, after NS). Or maybe plan/participate in some overseas CIP. Or even something crazy like going to a country where I cannot speak her language with limited cash and try to think up ways to earn a living. Maybe for a month or so. 

And as I chase these thoughts around my mind along this endless stretch of concentric tracks, I think I have figured out what the common theme behind these ideas is - that is, they are all manifestations of my subconscious desire to GET OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE. Yeah, that seems to be it! I WANT TO EXPERIENCE LIFE AS IT IS - unprescribed, unexpected and untethered! Not forever of course, since I also love my current lifestyle, but at least get a taste of what it’s like. 

ALRIGHT, I shall call it ‘Project Unprescribed’. Fortunate individuals may be invited to help realise this project (:

And after not consuming caffeine for suuuuuuuuuuuch a long time, this tea is making me go eenie meenie miney mo lova… eenie meenie miney mo lovaaaaaaaaa!

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I have been thinking about getting my personal domain name for a while now, and I finally got one last night from Siteground.com! I guess I’m rather fortunate since I managed to get http://www.nicholastong.com (I have set it to temporarily redirect to this blog), which was surprisingly not taken up yet. You’ll understand why I’m surprised when you do a search on Google with the terms “Nicholas Tong”.

Anyway, to my utter disbelief, I was shown a killer offer right after I have signed up and paid for the web hosting! Life is damn unfair. Have a look at it:

That’s one-fifth the price I paid ($70 SGD, if you’re wondering)! Urgh. Only good thing appears to be the little bonus for every referral done. Oh well. So if you’re interested, here’s the link for you to look at.

HMM. What are my subsequent plans for the website? I think I’ll most likely be spending a few more late nights working on designing another personal web template when I return from Phuket, and I will probably shift my blog over there as well. Other than the blog, I’m also thinking of setting up other webpages to promote two services: 1) Freelance Web Design 2) Lessons on Design & Animation.

The consideration to give lessons on design and animation was actually triggered by sketches of conversations with different people when I was discussing whether it’s worth it to pay $1500 to learn to perform magic. These piecemeal conversations, when stitched together, probably look something like this:

I think the thing about paying money to learn a skill that you can otherwise learn for free on the net is that doing so will accelerate the learning process by a great deal! The person teaching you will be able to provide tips to learning skills and techniques that may otherwise take months, or even years, of practice to master.

Let’s take my design skills as an example. I learnt Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver and Illustrator on my own, with the help of some friends along the way. To reach the level where I am now took me at least 8 years. But let’s say if I were to teach you what I know now, you would definitely take just a mere fraction of the time that I took to learn the things I know!

This is because I know what to do and what not to do now; because I know what are the things that are useful and that which are not; and most importantly because I know how to answer or find the answers to any query that you will have, which is probably what I spend most of the time doing - either debugging/troubleshooting or searching high and low for tutorials to the things that I had wanted to learn but yet am not sure of what it is called in the community.

In the end, I think it’s probably worth paying $1500 to learn to perform magic. After all, I have this philosophy that whatever we earned during NS should be spent on pursuing the things we are interested in or to learn additional skills that may be helpful in future. I guess it makes the 2 years spent in pseudo-enslavement feel just a little bit more productive. And not everything should be valued in monetary terms.

Yup, I will start asking around for interested parties once I’ve set up a proper portfolio of my works and have designed a complete curriculum. Based on my initial draft, my goal is to create a course that will take a complete newbie to the level where he or she is comfortable using Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver and is able to create a decent to semi-pro website. All in 2-3 months. And I believe that it is very possible.

Ambitious? Maybe. But it seems like a rather intriguing project to take up! So I’ll definitely give it my best shot. Meanwhile, if you’re interested, drop me an email at talktome@nicholastong.com (will be using this email address for non-personal mails)! Even if it’s just to share some advice or thoughts, they will be greatly welcomed!

Yes, everything seems rather exciting at the moment :D

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I have this spontaneous urge to go on a Reading Retreat, where I hole myself up somewhere with like-minded friends and we spend a few days catching up on essential readings. Just as our eyes need light to see, our minds require ideas to conceive. Read this quote somewhere before and I can’t agree more.

Furthermore, life is about continual change and renewal - of thoughts, ideas and perspectives - hence, reading is one of the best forms of ensuring that our brains don’t become stillborn. Of course, the type of literature matters greatly too.

Yup, another one of my random ideas. Wonder if anyone will be interested to try it out. The basic framework of the programme will be breakfast, read, lunch/entertainment, read, discussion, read, dinner, discussion, entertainment, sleep. Rinse and repeat.

On an absolutely random note, life is good (:

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I am saturated with envy. Envy towards Royce and his company for having the blessed opportunity of playing Inter-Unit Frisbee. They spend their time painting the sky in evanescent strokes of frisbee in graceful flight while I spend mine conjuring articles with subtle hints of NE messaging. The contrast is killing me.

Ok, not really. But still, there’s this burning sting of envy. You see, there’s this relationship I share with the frisbee. When I sprint after a frisbee that is heading towards the end zone, something within me coalesce – at that stretch of moment, the noise of the crowd falls into the background and the world becomes a stage for two. It’s like… chasing after ephemeral dreams – and you find yourself getting closer and closer with every breath you exhale, with every stride you take. Finally, as you see it within reach, a triumphant burst of energy is unleashed and you stretch your arm to seize it in your hand. It is actually less a process of snatching the dream from the air than of two jigsaws finally filling in the missing spaces of their mutual existence. Then, the moment is consummate. You have finally grasped your dream.

So yes, that’s frisbee and that’s the way it relates to dreams. For me, at least. This thread of thought then leads to the expiration of weekly visits to NUS for frisbee training. I guess I really feel out of place there since I was the only non-NUS guy. Oh well, two more years. And I miss those after-frisbee sessions, creatively dubbed ‘Tuesdays with Nick’, spent talking to Run Ting and Shi Hua at their hostel. It’s this kind of conversations that slows you down on the accelerating conveyor belt of life and gives you pause to take stock of daily affairs.

Anyway, I’m thinking of joining AYC 2010 with a few other friends. Even though I am involved in several tennis projects right now, I am still missing an outlet for thought and expression. I like being involved in the inauguration of ideas and to be at the crossroads of competing opinions. I like to participate in discussions where ideas are moulded into words and words are then crafted into actions. I like to be at the vortex of creativity and entrepreneurship which unravels into constructive forms of innovation. Simply said, I am a dealer in this market of thoughts that trades in currency of ideas and I want to do business with you!

haha alright, I shall snip off this string of thoughts and end this post here. If you are bored and are thinking of working on random projects, talk to me! The concoction of chiliad plans and schemes is bursting to be spilled over from the melting pot of my mind, and it seems almost criminal to keep them imprisoned in their solitary confinement.

So yea. Let’s discuss.

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I just got an idea! There’s this cliche which we all know very well and it’s called ‘Practice makes perfect’. In line with this philosophy, I am proposing this little idea to help improve my Keynote (Mac’s version of Powerpoint) skills, which may at the same time benefit you as well!

Alright, so this is how it goes:

1. You need a digital presentation for a project
2. I want to gain experience in making Keynotes
3. We can collaborate!

From this, you may:

1. Gain an outsider’s/alternative perspective on your project
2. Have more time to focus on other aspects of your project
3. Hopefully learn something from me (as I hope to learn something from you too!)

It sounds like a positive-sum game to me. Let me know if you’re interested! If you’re a friend who’s overseas and are unable to discuss the details in person, there’s always Skype, so fear not ;)

And if you wish to look at some of the Powerpoints I have done in the past, just let me know on MSN!

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I have got SO MUCH to share, but I don’t have the time now! Frisbee, friends, projects, ideas hog the present limelight of my life and I’m quite glad of how things are going along.

A random roti-prata friendship theory presented itself in my mind.
Stories of adventures at exotic places shared by scouties.
Another hopeful plan for a HouseD or not so full-HouseD overseas trip - Beijing!
A tennis website project that is pulling me along with the momentum of its idea - and I see new things, learn new things.
Potential french classes.
The calendar project.

Life feels quite exciting these days, even in the face of office work that seems to reproduce like amoebae, multiplying incessantly. Well, I guess in the midst of insanity lies redemption - some of the work have pushed me to come up with certain creative concepts that are quite cool!

And another bunch of friends prepares to leave. Time for meetups.

P.S. Check out this idea - I think it’s really worth trying! Maybe I shall start looking around. Trading skills seem like quite a thrilling prospect!

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