너 때문에 미쳐

I’ve been a Kpop fan/follower for a while now so I like to keep up to date with the latest news and the latest bands that make a comeback or debut but recently I’ve noticed that to do so is not easy as it used to be.

So here’s a little number crunch for you:

Overall there have been 280 groups that have debuted (including sub-units) since 1996. Up until 2008, on average, about 10 groups will debut during the year; however in 2009 that number had doubled to 20. As expected, this number kept increasing with 35 in 2010, 61 in 2011 and this year, 2012, 66 groups have or will debut. So on average, about 5-6 groups will debut in a month and if I take an average of 5 members in a group, that’s 25-30 new people every month and 300 every year entering the Kpop industry. 
(Did I get the maths right? I'm actually not that good at it xD)

I’m not sure for you, but that’s a little overwhelming for me. With the vast amount of Kpop groups out there, I’ve gotten to the point where I just don’t know (or maybe I just don’t care) about the new groups anymore. Things have gotten confusing as to who is who and which group they belong to and honestly I don’t think this is doing the Kpop industry any good. I have a few friends that have pretty much given up (or on the verge to) on Kpop and I think that Kpop is now quantity over quality.

Of course I’m not saying that there hasn’t been any good song out there but I have witness some disasters before (don’t think I should name any). If groups don’t make an impact right from the start of their debut then they are just going to be forgotten or be overshadowed by other groups especially if they’re not from well known companies such as the big 3 (YG, SM, and JYP). Maybe they will be remembered as a group that didn’t make a very good debut/comeback and people might be skeptical of listening to their new songs (or maybe that’s just me).   

Companies should spend more time in making sure of a solid comeback by experimenting with songs and concepts that fit the image of the group rather than just putting them out there in “no man’s land”. I know that the trainees do train for a very long time and I'm not doubting their talent at all. However since I’m not part of the Kpop industry at all other than being a follower/fan, I don’t know the exact process of debuting a group or what really happens behind the scenes so what I’m saying could all be nonsense but it’s just my 2 cents =)

Here’s a little quiz for you to see if you know your Kpop idols:

http://www.sporcle.com/games/KPopped/KPopIdols

The list of Kpop idol groups:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_Korean_idol_groups

just to name a few =)

Until next time,

HamsterG

Pictures credit to rightful owners 

Socially Awkward

Humans, by nature, are social animals. Our entire civilization was built upon social interactions. So much so, that we are expected to follow an undocumented set of social rules and guidelines. It is expected of us to know all of them, across the different cultures.

What if they think I'm autistic because I don't say grace?

Of course the normal daily greetings are simple. Just a simple "How do you do?" a "Good morning" or "Afternoon", surely everyone has managed to nail that by now. No. Do not be tricked into a false sense of security, you can never nail this, ever.

No, Just no.

Why? Well, what if the opposition had a bad day? How will that go down?

"How do you do this fine day my friend?"
"Terrible! My cat died, I got mugged, and, my car's on fire."
"Oh dear"

And "Oh dear!" indeed. You had no intention of opening the gates of hell so early in the morning.

But no, the magical unwritten set of social rules state (in Segment 142.7 Section BB-3G to be exact) that you have to stay, listen and act concerned...or does it? As I have hinted at, social interactions are full of evil traps. They're deadly, evil and sometimes render you cold blooded.

For one case, the scenario may go like this:

A: oh dear! How saddening! {I'm not even close to him...}
B: Yes and...
A: I'm sorry good friend but I am in a hurry, here, have a tissue

Or this:

A: {we're not even really friends} My cat died too, and my fish is on fire. And just because everyone is dying from cancer, I also probably have cancer. Don't see me crying about it.

Or even this:

A: Have you met Jesus yet?

The possibilities are endless, and arguably, they all lie in the grey zone of "is this an acceptable response?" I know what you're all thinking. Pui, you clearly only gave examples of unacceptable responses! Perhaps I have, my dear readers, but we have to remember, social interactions are only possible with 2 or more parties. Thus this raises the big question, should Person B have said what he did? Before you all unanimously say yes, think about this. You're on a bus talking to a fellow commuter to kill time. Do you really want them to know about your personal life?

Probably not.

In fact the sole frightening question that we must all ask ourselves at one point in time or another. "Does the other person even give a shit?"

Clearly not giving a fuck

Now, although this is the most difficult question to answer in the entire existence of civilization (because the answer of the universe is 42), I have devised a fail proof method to deal with these socially awkward situations.

I call it the "oh my god, is that a unicorn?" technique.
Rather than trying to explain it, I shall now list a series of scenarios to demonstrate.

Is your friend trying to bore you with their intellect?

Stun them with UNICORNS!

Are you being attacked by your tutor in class?

Use it as a distraction!

Do you have to sit through annoying family gatherings?

Great at creating chaos and confusion!

See how it fits nicely into almost all situations? Well sometimes there are scenarios where it doesn't work.

Violence is the key to everything!

But remember, only use the UNICORN-PUNCH technique in awkward situations where the normal UNICORN tech fails.

-Pui.x

Constructing Pieces of Lost Memories

So recently I got myself a new desk in my room and I had to put the pieces together along with my dad…well mainly my dad putting it together and me watching him do all the work.

While my dad was building the desk, it kinda made me think when was the last time we spent time together let alone being in the same room for more than 5 minutes.

If you’re wondering well, he’s my dad and we live in the same house so you’re bound to be in the same room. Actually, my day consist of me hibernating in my room in front of my computer and only coming out to find food in the kitchen (my mum always says that I'm brooding like a chicken --") While my dad’s day is basically watching TV in his room, Facebooking on the iPad or putting together those Gundam model thingys. I guess you can say our paths never really meet unless it’s during dinner time or when going out along with my other family members. 

Brooding like a boss

So while we were hammering our way through this desk (not literally hammering the desk but like working our way through it), it felt like we were putting together pieces of my past memories that I’ve had with my dad. There were times where it fit perfectly and things were just right but there were also times when things weren’t quite right and it needed a bit of effort to fix.

I’m not saying my relationship with my dad is bad or anything but I have to say that my dad has gotten a lot more wrinkles and white hair than I last remember.  I guess I just need to take the time out of my busy *cough* life and spend more time with those around me.

That's not my hand btw xD

Until next time,
HamsterG

Pictures credit to rightful owners 

The child that once was

Hey everyone! So many of you have absolutely no clue what my previous 2 installments of my comics was in regards to. Do not worry as the third and final installment will reveal everything!

As of late, I have decided to join the ranks of "responsible adults" by getting a job, actually waking up and going to work, and hating every moment of it. I will  allow a moment of silence for all of you to commend me on my bravery to attempt to grow up. *silence* Brilliant! Now that we have acknowledged my courageous endeavors to the front line of the work force, I feel the need to bring to light the true nature of "becoming a responsible adult".

The following is an extract of my diary:

Day 1
Today I join the ranks of the adults with a job and uniform. This is not my first job, so I'm sure I'll do fine. The sun was warm and bright as if to welcome my new routine life. The coworkers are friendly and the customers were reasonable. Day 1 at work was quite standard, wasn't easy but wasn't tough like it was made out to be. Went home and enjoyed doing nothing with my life but games and internet. Ha! So called responsibilities!

Day 9
Today I had to wake up again. The suns hone on my face in an attempt to mock my feelings and mood. Some customer wanted to refund a half finished drink because they didn't like the taste of it. I went home to my then meaningless life to waste away.

Day 197
Got up. Felt like shit. Hated customers. Went home and sat in a corner.

From the extracts, it would appear that the adults have lied to us. The "responsibilities" they speak of is just making sure you have enough money for the next meal, paying your bills and rents on time...etc. Other than that, it is quite easy to simply sit there and cry about how much life you don't have. However, on this seemingly dangerous journey, I have learnt (yes, learnt, and consequently decided to warn my fellow young adults and adolescents) that work is hard. It is not the nature of the job that is difficult (provided you were give n access to the necessary training). Nope, with enough practice, anything can become simple. The greatest difficulty - by far - is getting up every morning, looking at yourself in the mirror and saying "Yes, I will make it through today!" and going to the job that you hate. Smiling at the customers who curse and degrade you because of an error on your company's part. That, is the difficulty. That, makes work hard. It shall be my life long quest to find a job I'll love doing everyday for the rest of my life. But for the meantime, I guess I'll just hate my job like most other "responsible adults" and earn some savings.

-Pui.x

Back to Basic

Hey guys, hamsterG here =D This post is actually from my old blog which doesn't exist anymore so you might have read this already.

We’re all living in a life where we rely on mobile phones and just forget about the outside world beyond the technologies we have. I didn't really think about this until I had an encounter with a friend and this is roughly how the conversation went :

Friend: “Hey, what time is it?”

Me: *looks at watch* “It’s 1:43”

Friend: “you wear a watch?”

Me: “yeah…why?”

Friend: “Well you have your phone don’t you?”

Me: o.O

I was a little taken aback and it made me think, are mobile phones our answer to everything? Do people know how to tell the time or calculate basic math without whipping out their phones and having a bright digital pixilated screen telling them?
     

It makes me wonder, is everything about touch screens and 12 mega pixel cameras and being able to browse the web at 4G speed and...Siri?

What happened to using normal cameras and having that not so perfect picture making it perfect?

What happened to having a decent conversation with friends without having to check your phone every 5 minutes for a WhatsApp or Facebook update?

What happened to just making your own sandwich instead of asking Siri to?

Of course having this little device in our pockets can make our daily life so much easier and more manageable but it doesn't mean we should rely on it for everything we can be capable of.
Instead of playing some soccer game on your phone, go out and play soccer with your friends.
Instead of going on online stores, go out and shop with someone.
Instead of playing Angry Birds, go throw some birds at some pigs (I'm joking, no really don't go and find some birds to throw...that's not nice)

In the end, we just need to put it down and sit back and relax, have a cup of tea and enjoy life beyond a 3.5 inch screen =)

P.S. If you're using your mobile phone to read this, remember to come back （＾ｖ＾）

Until next time,

HamsterG

Pictures credit to rightful owners

Transformation

To be continued....