Proj LabMONSTER day 5..

Every day it gets tougher.

But finally, we are halfway there. 5/10 days. Today I think I finally faced some roadblocks. And today I felt the cravings. Like for example walking pass fairprice and seeing the milk tea @ only $2.25 for 2. I was damn tempted to just hoot. But we have to stay on the objective, even if just for these 10 days. So I had to suck thumb and ignore all the cravings. Although I had to get a cup of iced root beer (shiok) to keep my body in check if not once my cravings spill over, I will binge (yes I will) and bam, yo-yo effect, simple.

Tried my self made barbells today. Did some 'bench presses' and bicep work. I must say the tek koh is very fragile. And the weights (heavy bags) because they are not compressed, makes pressing them quite awkward and uncomfortable especially the heavier weights. But we have no choice but to improvise, so tek koh weights is a good substitute. It works. Not as effective, but it gets the work done. And no, I realised I cannot do barbell curls with it. The 'snapping' effect when I curl it to my body is extremely awkward and I'd be stupid to let it injure myself. So I could only use the only alternative; my other gigantic bag.

Ok, there is a BIT of improvement. Can see the veins more visibly now but as for size, maayybe they are bulging out a BIT more but no obvious size increase. When (if even) will I see them?

Oh yea, kinda screwed up my eating schedule today. Not the nutrition, but the timing. Somehow I was too lazy to eat (?) and kept on pushing meals back. Until I found out I have to stuff everything into dinner. That wasn't good at all. I felt bloated, low on energy and most of all didn't hit my target protein intake. Well, this is the first mistake I've made and I hope it's the last. I need to remind myself to plan my meals more consistently...

Anyway I bought 800g of chicken breast (fresh, not frozen) to chomp down until 25th. Tomorrow brunch will be just that, chicken breast and some spaghetti.

Diet today!
breakfast-nil
brunch- yong tau foo*
             stuffed tau pok(half)=2g
             1x tau kwa(small)=8g
             1x hot dog=5g
             1x fish cake=3g
             1x goh hiong=2g
             fish ball x2=6g
             bee hoon=5g
*most YTF stuff are argaration because it's hard to tell the exact amount of protein, since they all vary in size and cooking method.**
pre/post workout-30g whey+250ml chocomalt milk=36g (taste super SWEET)
dinner-same as yesterday=40g
before sleep-30g whey+250ml skimmed milk=  34.8g
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total protein intake=141.8g

Wow this is kinda epic fail. 141.8g only. I wanted to just take another scoop of whey but I'm too scared. And my stomach feels really really bloated. Anyway I'm probably 70kg now so my target intake should be 154g. So I need to aim for 170g protein per day now.

Ok, 5/10 days over. Half of it is over...

COURAGE WOLF:
   

       

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Proj LabMONSTER day 4

Argh progress is really slow...!! Or is there even any?

Day 4...in the past I would have given up by now. No way..not this time

So yea, had to drag my sleepy ass to gym early in the morning. Set alarm at 6am but was so sleepy so didn't reach the gym until around 9 plus. Just focused on chest today, nothing more, nothing less.

Tomorrow will be bicep/chest/legs day. At home, with my custom made "barbell". (Basically tek koh+heavy bags)

Anyway, we are 4/10 days already..I have to keep it up.

Weight: 69kg
Today's diet.
breakfast- 1 can tuna=25g
pre/post workout-30g whey+milk=35g
lunch-chicken rice+meat=30g **Add meat from that stall was pathetically little. After adding meat the size even lesser than one piece of breast. Shite!
snack-green tea bean curd=5.9g
dinner-3 eggs(2 yolks removed)+1 chicken breast+half bowl rice=40g
before sleep-30g whey=25g
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total protein intake=160.9g

Quite tempted to take 3 scoops per day from now on, but I think I'll just be conservative now. If things don't work out, I might just become fatter. And if it's really 80 scoops, one tub of protein will run out really soon. Then need more $$$ to restock. Don't want that to happen.

COURAGE WOLF SAYS:

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Jay Chou Exclamation Mark! Album Review

Shortly after my Proj Lab 3rd day post I decided to post THIS. After seeing the ludicrous reviews from a few websites I needed to post this to satisfy my own ego. lol.

First and foremost comparing 療傷燒肉粽 to 聽媽媽的話 r u serious bro? What a joke?! Both songs are not even similar! Wow. Am I hearing the same songs??

Generally I thought this album was plain average. Some great songs but a lot more pointless ones that overshadow them. And some parts of the great songs could have been instant classics had MR JAY put in more effort. Comparing the previous few albums, this is slightly better than 跨時代 worse than 我很忙.

1) 驚嘆號
How do I even start. Yea it's the typical No.1 slot song of his "movie-turn" albums...see 跨時代/龍戰騎士. Usually a softrock type of intro song, fast paced. Let's be fair and compare them on the basis of fast songs.   驚嘆號  has good heavy guitars, mature music blending, above average verse but the letdown is the chorus lol.
"號號號號號號號號" yea Mr Jay just steal from your old works again lah. Say you love it man. Just another song.6/10

2)迷魂曲
What the hell. When Mr Jay is at his best he's untouchable. But this. This song shows the worse side of his compositions. (However his worst still owns alot of others). The verse, typical, sounds recycled and mashed from previous 'club' songs of his. The only postitive thing is the chorus which is quite classic jay chou rumbling style and catchy too, but for his standard, NEH. I don't dig his clubbing songs at all. Same goes for 嘻哈空姐/蛇舞/扯. No more club songs pls.......4.5/10 (for his standards)

3)Mine Mine
Why are people raving over this song??? Can someone explain to me?? Hey, to me it is just AVERAGE, I have to be blunt! And made worst by TWO points - one, autotune. Two, the background rhythm is an exact copy of 我不配!. However the chorus is the worst of all!!! It's just some uncreative melody that any average artist can create! This is NOT Jay chou standard bro! Yea he's trying show off his english skills but omg. Yea putting in min nan is cool and all but the chorus just don't meet his high standards. It's an insult to 我不配. Really. Do not know why people can love this song so much. Have they ever heard his first few albums? Have they heard his truly classic R&B hits like 龍捲風/上海一九四三/黑色毛衣?? One word for this song -- OVERRATED. 5/10

4)公主病
Ok finally the first creative song from this album. The music is copied from 陽光宅男 (everone knows that already), but I have to give it to him, 公主病 is better. It's a very rare case of a sequel being better than its predecessor. Why? First he just randomly created this tune from Mr J Channel. Second 公主病 is more upbeat and lively, so much so that when I go back and listen to 陽光宅男 I feel that it's soooo slow and not as energetic. Also the melody is very catchy. It's not that type of chromatic-catchy but more in the vein of a strong, rock feel. You can hear the instruments, they are harder than  陽光宅男 and the part where   陽光宅男  goes into a solo,   公主病 replaces it with a breakdown instead. But somehow it's more catchy! Btw chorus was very well mixed. Great song. 8/10

5)你好嗎
Why is Mr Jay going in this minimalist style? I mean for the first of its kind (說了再見) it was ok, (didn't like it though) but doing it again...wow it's boring man! And disappointingly this is the only ballad in the whole damn album r u serious bro??! [This is the main problem with this album; whole lot of pointless experimental crap and compromising on his strengths i.e ballads and ZHONG GUO FENG...I'm sad =((] Before I get to the good points, the worst thing about this song is NO DRUM BEAT HAHA. You can't do this...stop this minimalist stuff and get back to real ballads like 說好的幸福呢/最長的電影 pls...(and I'm not even gonna compare to his first five albums' ballads cos' they are even better) But to the good points, the chorus is GOOD. Very Jay chou style, very similar to   最長的電影 as they both require singer to "biao ying" and sing like their dying. Wow and the chorus on the second time DID HE SING IT HIGH OR WHAT? I don't know what note it is but it's definitely up there with some of his highest ranged songs. Cue 擱淺/髮如雪 last part. As a song, not bad but please go back to the tried and proven formula - piano/violin/DRUMS combo thank you..7/10

6)療傷燒肉粽
I like this song! The chorus keep looping in my head; I can't get it off! It's the kind of song when you first listen you know it's good. Yea, it might suit a female singer better but I guess his voice is cute enough to pull it off. And one thing-people are saying the   燒...肉...粽 part will be sang over and over but please, no. It's the chorus. This is one of the more creative melodies he's come up with in the past 3 albums. Very catchy, very pop, serves its purpose well. The song I've looped the most in the album. As a song it's nothing special but I say again, the chorus. It's addictive. 8/10

7)琴傷
Well this might be the one I'd start to appreciate more and more each day. Quite a weird song but after a feel listens and reading comments you can hear the similarities. So if we put it into catergory it's similar to 夜的第七章 and 夜曲(rap part). Although the aforementioned are much better but this has it's own unique taste, I'd say. The chorus- intriguing. However the part that is starting to grow on me is the background music during the chorus. The du dudu du dudu du dudu du dudu part. Very arrogant sounding. Yea people all rave on the piano part etc etc great reference etc etc yea I give him credit being able to mash it into the song but this is Jay chou...who should be CREATING the piano lick instead of just copy and paste. I need a few more listens. Right now, 7/10

8)水手怕水
牛仔很忙/魔術先生/水手怕水 -- they are a trio. Listen all three after one another for full effect. Everybody likes this kind of cute cowboyish song. But they are just that. Rarely will you see them make anyone's top Jay songs. But I understand, this type of 'gimmick' songs are necessary for variety so good, come out with more of these! 6.5/10

9)世界未末日
Easily, THE song of the album. Wow. I love it. Nobody should even argue otherwise because non of the other songs can even fight with this. At first listen I was shocked: "WHAT the intro has the 晴天 feel!" And that got me real excited. And Jay did not disappoint. For the first time in a long time this is the only song that has two verse types; the intro verse PLUS and build up verse. What does it mean, simple. He is not rushing into the chorus and I really love songs like that, when it's slowly built. In an industry of verse-chorus-verse-chorus this really stands out. Amplified by the fact it's a rock/guitar driven number. The part where the drums kicks in and he sings to the beat is the best part of the whole album. And at first I thought it was the chorus but bang, the drums intensities and out comes a brillant chorus! It really HAS THE END OF MOVIE/WORLD ENDING FEEL~~ I love it. Again, best Jay chou song in the album but one small criticism.

WHY DID HE NOT SING THE BUILD UP VERSE AGAIN ON THE SECOND PART...wanna cry...go hear again...verse1-building up verse-chorus-verse1-chorus-end.

If only had he sang the build up verse, this would have been perfect. Even without a bridge! Wow. How hard could it be to just add the build up verse again? Album time restrictions? Even so he should REMOVE those pointless crap and sing the damn build up verse again!! The song gets a 9/10 but had he sang the build up verse AND added a bridge it would be PERFECT.
What I'm saying is verse1-bu verse-chorus-verse1-bu verse-chorus-bridge-chorus Wow that would have KILLED it!

10)皮影戲
Wow. Can't believe it. The zhong guo feng lick in this rap song is the only ZGF part in the whole album!!! I'M SAD. Really want to say a big F to Mr Jay for NO ZGF song in this album!!! ZGF is HIS TRADEMARK BRO! Wow.
Whatever, this is another forgettable, pointless, .......
Haix. 5/10

11)超跑女神
Oh-Oh~... Sounds average at first, needs repeated listens. The thing that sucks for 超跑女神 is it's fighting a losing battle with   療傷燒肉粽 in the album. But the problem is the album only needed either one. Why did he put both in one album baffles me.  超跑女神  is not bad but would have had more credibility if put in another album with nothing fighting with it.   療傷燒肉粽  just overshadows it, sad to say. Point to note:   你專心在畫睫毛　我專心在等你笑
你唇膏　塗抹少少　撒嬌　討好　我收到
Is a classic, pure Jay style. But a shame, it only lasted few seconds.
Oh. The  龍捲風 piano touch is cute too. 7/10

That's it.

Three (+): He still can create ultra-catchy melody, he is not ditching rap, and  世界未末日 .
Three (-): NO ZGF. Too much experimental crap. Unbalanced song variety.

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Proj LabMONSTER Day 3

The progress is slow and the training is tough but I just have to press on and not give up like before...

Spent most of the day outside (Istana gathering) so not much was done. My body definitely felt like resting at home. I guess I was so tired I even fell asleep during the movie! Twice. Nah. It's not me. The movie's too boring anyway. Shoulders still hurting. And felt the burning sensation in my thighs and quads while I was on my way home. Two hours sitting in a movie theatre WILL contract your muscles and trust me, it hurts afterwards.

Diet is ok, another standard day. Except I cheated a bit with the Pokka cloudy apple drink. Bluffed myself that I was drinking it out of thirst and necessity, when actually in the first place I should've brought my own waterbottle, if I was commited enough. My bad.

Today's intention is just to rest, and maybe hit my biceps a bit. I will do chest/arms tomorrow (yes MUST GO GYM TML) so will keep it light and easy today. I hope I'm not pushing myself too hard, to soon.

Anyway too tired to type. Will be posting daily for recording purposes and motivation, at least till' my 10 days are over.

Diet today.
breakfast- 30g whey =25g
brunch- soya bean drink=7g
             PEK KIO chicken breast rice+meat+tau kwa=56g
             cloudy apple juice=0.5g
dinner- yong tau foo soup(no noodle)
            prawn ball/crab ball x2=6g
            1x tau kwa=10g
            1x tau pok=3
            1x goh hiong(prawn)=2
            1x fish cake=3
night snack- 100g cornflakes=8.2g
                    250ml chocomalt milk=11g
pre/post workout drink- 30g whey=25g
----------------------------------------------------------
Total protein intake=156.7g

Good. Still hitting the mark. Might be inaccurate in some food items, so total intake might vary +/- 10g. So better more than less. Bye.

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Proj. LabMONSTER(in progress) Day 2

Ok, we are done with the second day of our training. The diet has been quite strict, with heavy emphasis on protein. I've tried my best to make sure I really get the protein this time.

Well I said yesterday the breakfast for family day might screw with my plans, but luckily it was only 1x sausage mcmuffin. I still hated the idea of consuming fast food especially Macs during my training days but it's ok, one sausage mcmuffin is nothing.

Result of yesterday's training? Whole back was aching. Which is strange! It should be my arms and chest but it was my back instead. This simply means I used too much of my back for the workouts. Got to get much much stronger man...

Today's workout:
I wanted to concentrate on compound, full body workouts today, or at least that was what I hoped for. I'm still a n00b at weightlifting. =( No arms training today. So I did three important but moderately difficult workouts today. Deadlift, squats, and standing military barbell press. I've to admit it's the first time I'm doing such 'advanced' stuff but I figured if I want to be serious about making a change, I must do them. Perfect form and posture AND breathing is crucial for weight lifting, especially so for these compound exercises. So I tired my best to do my research, watch the instructional videos to learn correct form. I think I did quite well. But having a big mirror in my room would help so much. Added some wide arm push-ups too (for chest) and crunches+flutter kicks (for abs). Overall quite satisfied with today, with the fact I'm doing everything at home AND using self-made weights.

Now the diet.

Ate quite a variety today I guess, let's see:
Breakfast- 250ml milk+30g whey =35g
                 1x sausage mcmuffin-14g
Lunch- young tau foo.
            2x egg whites, 1x whole egg= 12g
            1 slice fish= 5g
            1 tofu= 5g
            1x hotdog- 5g
snack- 1 cup yogurt=7.5g
pre/mid/post workout- 30g whey = 25g
dinner- 1x can tuna chunks in broth =25g
            chicken breast rice+add meat= 25g+4.2g=29.2
-------------------------------------------------------------
Total protein intake=162.7g

YES. Over the 150g mark by 12.7g. Great improvement from yesterday. The choice of food is not bad and sustainable. Cheap too. But would have liked to remove the sausage mcmuffin. Oh well.

Day 2 is over.

I'm building momentum, let's go!

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Project LabMONSTER (Revisited Nov 2011)

Since my last duty, I somehow had a newfound surge of energy and motivation to start training again. Well, my running 'career' is on hiatus right now, except for the one big event which is SCSM 2011. My last run was well over two weeks ago, where I ended abruptly and painfully at only 7K. It is totally unwise to run at all much less a FULL marathon but I've already signed up. Anyway I will obviously do a walk-run strategy and worst come to worst I'll just walk till the finish line... So back to my training. Yea, "Project LabMONSTER" is brought back from the grave once again and this time, I may actually succeed. Finally?

To make it short and sweet -- I'm on a short term plan to achieve the improbable: make some changes in 10 days.

Yes it's a 10 day challenge to a more muscular physique. I'm not trying to suddenly become some musclefreak, but just aiming for some significant changes. I believe it's possible if I work hardcore for 10 days.

Few factors for this sudden project:
1) my 11 days leave from 17th-27th. Taking away the first day, I have exactly 10 full, uninterrupted, free-from-army days. This is a nice number to try to accomplish something. Also, with 10 days to myself I can test whether the theory of me being able keep healthy (eg self cook, clean eating) when meals are controlled by me is correct. There has never been 10 solid days free in the last 2 years since my enlistment. The last time I self cooked and counted calories was in 2009 (when I had all the free time in the world) so I'd like to get back to a healthier livestyle again.
2) friends. Somehow, some guys in istana decided to train and bulk up so much that it is starting to become a trend. And seeing them more muscular, while I was getting fatter wasn't cool at all. For quite a few weeks this has been bothering me already. I want to be better than them. I have to. Time to hit the gym, enough said. Then I'll show them...
3) preparation for university life. Ah, the social pressure. With so many JJC kids there, and much much more fit guys in uni, it's a different ball game. Being slim can no longer cut it. I have to have some muscle. Especially the arms. NEED. BIG. ARMS.
4) just want to do something, anything with so much free time. Better than waking up everyday and spending the whole day rotting in front the laptop, which is made worse by the fact I can't run long d. If I can't run, I have to pump iron, simple.

So yea a lot of motivation this time round. I am going to promise myself to commit long-term, but NOW, now the short term target is to, as I mentioned, gain some muscle in 10 days. It's a 10 days challenge!

I believe it will work this time. I have the knowledge ( always had, never executed). I am executing now. (heavy weights, low reps). I have the resources (itouch, bodybuilding.com). I have the motivation and inspiration (mentioned above). I have the money. And this time, probably gonna be the crucial factor; I have the PROTEIN. Yes. The basis of muscle building is simple, you must have enough protein! If not no matter how hardcore you train your biceps will always look the same!

So I'm trying as hard as I can to follow the method of 150g protein/150 lbs (my weight). Every single attempt previously failed because it was too unrealistic to get so much protein with normal foods. Either I have to eat more (more $$$ wasted) or get protein powder. And finally, I can say, I GOT MY WHEY PROTEIN TODAY! It's the Ultimate Nutrition Prostar Whey, which is generally what everyone uses and is quite effective too. The 25g of protein per scoop is a miracle.

Anyway too lazy to elaborate on my workout but I can say I'm working harder than usual. And I'm actually working hard, in a long time, so.

Today was the first time I went back to a public gym in like, 6 months? And finally I forced myself to check my weight after so long of deceiving myself. I gave myself a range of 67-70kg and my to my relief I'm only 68kg. It's still bad but I'm still fitting my clothes so no worries.

Let's end the post soon. So today is officially the first day of my 10 days challenge. I really hope I can stick to my schedule for this 10 days. I know if I do, this will be long term. If I don't, every thing's going back to square one.

Day 1
Weight: 68kg
Total Protein intake: 135g
Food:
Breakfast - nil
Pre/Mid/post workout drink - 250ml low fat milk + 1 scoop (30g) =35g
Brunch - chicken breast rice + 1 egg =30g
Snack - soya beancurd 1 serving = 6g
Dinner - spaghetti in tomato sauce + 3 egg whites = 29g
Pre/mid/post workout drink - 250ml low fat milk + 1 scoop (30g) =35g

P.s Tomorrow breakfast/brunch might be compromised because of family day buffet...I'm sad. Anyway, 14 days to ORD =D=D=D

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Last Month as NSF

My long awaited post is here..

So it's finally end of October. I thought it'd be a tough month, and yes I was right. Seemed to pass quite slowly but I was so occupied that I didn't really feel that way.
The most significant event was of course, Pre-ORD training/MP refresher course. I have to say, our batch's one is probably the easiest compared to the past few trainings.
+1, Stay out
+2, no live firing
+3 good progression in training schedule
+4 quite un-regimental

However, we did have probably the toughest 8K route march. IMO this 8K route march is tougher than normal and comparable to 16K RM in BMT. No joke. It is mainly due to the fact that we've not done outfield and route march since Apr last year so we were very much unconditioned. Being in Istana platoon and having a eat/sleep/stand schedule doesn't help either. Also, our 8K was not just a normal 8K march, it was modified as an "FBO challenge". There were quizzes and stations every 2K and ended with casevac around 7.5K mark. Man, the casevac portion was tough as hell. I don't know how the elite soldiers do this day in, day out. Anyway the 8K march was the last event of the training and everybody felt great to finally complete PreORD training. Nothing can stop us from ORD now!

After the PreORD training though, I still had 4 duties left to complete in one week. It's my fault I didn't plan my leave beforehand. But the 4 duties were ok, not tough at all.

The main story right now is my SIM application. So the long story was, I originally wanted to study psychology in a local Uni. I needed to get BBB/C but obviously I couldn't get it so I dropped the plans. Then I went to NS, uni plans stopped until last year end I decided to try for NTU Arts Design Media. I did a portfolio and applied, but guess it wasn't good enough. I was rejected. So reality was I had no choice but to go SIM. I read through the courses and psychology was still interesting but all the voices around was saying jobs are hard to find with bachelor in psychology. So I decided to go with the norm. If I couldn't study what I want then I'd study what was realistic. Something that could stabilize my future. So I checked the courses and Business Admin was the only viable option. It required only a basic A lvl cert and was the best course for A lvl flunks like me. I can choose something like Acct&finance or banking like what most poly guys do but the thought of facing math and numbers again was too horrifying. If I can I never want to do Math or science again. That was why I wanted to get in NTU ADM. So I decided to do up a better portfolio and try for 2012 intake again. I've managed to finish a piece of work then. Then there was PreORD training after-army talk. It made me re-think about what I want to do in my future. More recently I had a talk with Istana friend Jonathan and well, he said some things that made me re-think me decision.
I went through some thinking and decided to apply for psychology in SIM. Deep down I knew that the chances of getting in ADM even next year was highly improbably because I had no background and no resources. Then I chided myself for being so stupid to even think of doing business admin. Business? I never wanted to do business, what the hell. At the very least I have an interest in psychology and spiritually I always thought the voice in my head told me I'd make a good psychologist, or at least in similar fields. I am not saying I want to be a psychologist either. At least I'll not go into the clinical side, and I don't want to do couselling either. If possible I'll take the route to become a I/O psychologist or sports psychologist. But this route is long and tough, especially in Singapore. But I've decided, I rather study something I like and do well than take the general route and suffer again.
The last week of Oct I've been scrambling like a XINJIAO asking questions and reading up on private schools that offer psychology courses. I decided to apply for Bachelor in Science (psychology) at University of Wollongong (SIM). I'm glad that at least I know why I'm choosing this Uni and what the future lies and what I must sacrifice to do well.
And because the reg deadline for Jan intake is Oct 31. That's why I'm scrambling. Now, I've finally got everything done. I even went back to JJC to take my SGC (last to take, what the hell.) and also made a trip to MOE to get my O level statement. Now that I've gotten my endorsement tomorrow I'm going down first thing in the morning to apply. Now the only thing I fear is that they reject me. Because I only just hit the admission requirements. Good luck to me...

Anyway what a long post, and I think I've revealed way more than I should. Tired, it's time to rest.

(Yea,,,....FIVE duties to go. Feeling quite emo especially inside Istana guardroom because of the emotional attachments to that place. Maybe all those lao jiaos felt it too..but they certainly didn't show it. Well, most of them didn't show it. Ha ha, xin jiaos, when you actually miss the guardroom, you know you're gonna ORD soon. I'm walking around sometimes, can't sleep, just relishing the final moments before I leave...lol.
And of course, from 1 Nov food is being indented so the culture of going out to buy food is over. I wonder how the lao jiao feel about this haha...and MPEU's becoming stay in next year onwards...SAY U LUV IT XIN JIAOS...lol. This is damn bad...
If it's me I will feel damn emo too and btw it's so ridiculous because Istana can't work on stay in system, dumbasses! Don't know what them higher ups are thinking. Good luck to the xin jiaos, hang in there man.

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