Oh damn, it's October 2020 and almost one year since Covid-19 surfaced in Wuhan, and things take quite a sharp turn around.
In March, when MCO was announced, I said it was stupid. I stand by what I said. People love to let emotions take charge when they are in fear. I said MCO was a temporary solution that would only delay the inevitable. People said I was stupid and reckless and that people like me are the reason the virus can spread.
Seven months on, look at what is happening now. It is self-explanatory. The current situation is way much worse then what happened in March, and people really couldn't give a damn anymore.
The difference between me and most people is that I don't let my emotions override my judgements. I stood by what I said, and I'm witnessing what I'm predicting.
It has been 10 months since I left my home. It would appear I wouldn't be able to return for a foreseeable future, including CNY next year.
I've been freakishly busy recently, where all I did was waking up, working, and went to sleep immediately after work. I had been so busy, I literally, seriously had no time to do anything leisurely. Even eating a meal felt rush.
But this song was one of the songs that managed to calm me.
I've heard this song before on Spotify, but I couldn't find it on YouTube. Only very recently was this video uploaded. This version is thousands times better than the original.
I was hoping she could release a music video (which is likely a single) on either Sour Candy or Replay, but she chose 911 instead.
I wasn't enthralled by 911, although most fans appear to craze over it. To me, it sounded okay, but I wasn't fascinated by it.
But I admit it's a catchy song and, like most of the songs on the album, it was likeable and enjoyable.
This year has been devastating to the entertainment industry due to Covid-19, and we've had almost 9 months of no new excitements due to a halt on almost every activity.
911 therefore couldn't come at a more welcoming time. When I first heard it was gonna be released in 9am P.T., I had to search what PT meant and what time is it in Singapore time. Damn, midnight it was I found.
So I waited. And the countdown was unbearable.
Then, it premiered.
As an avid Gaga fan, the music video lacked a little Gaga-ness to me. It looked like a fantasy (which it was meant to be), and there was a lack of Gaga dancing. I mean, after watching her VMA live performance on 911, this music video came a bit disappointing for me.
However, this music video still kicks ass a lot. It was incomprehensible until the song ended and viewers are shown what actually happens. Then, the whole music video makes sense. Brilliant concept, I would say.
Lady Gaga makes my depressing 2020 very much more delighting and entertaining. Thank you, Lady Gaga.
I'm only aware this is the last music video One Direction released, without Zayn too. It's a fitting farewell song.
I guess since Zayn left, they know it wasn't the same anymore, and so they just went on a hiatus.
I'm not a 1D fan, but I did listen to a lot of 1D songs since 2010 hence even though I'm not a fan, their music was influential to me.
I was aware Zayn Malik left, but I never knew what happened next. To be honest, I didn't even realise they are on a hiatus.
I don't blame them. I'm pretty sure Zayn has his reasons for leaving 1D even though he has been portrayed as being very happy in the band.
I myself have gone through a few phases of my life, and in each of them I repeatedly found myself needing to escape and move on to the next phase.
But when I've moved on to the next phase, I yearn for the last. When we have lost something, when we are already in a different situation and have moved on, we tend to remember only what made us happy, and not what made us wanted to move on. That's just life. Our brains are structured to remember only the happiness.
They were young. They hadn't found what they really wanted. Five years down the road, someone had. And they bid goodbye.
We all always want things to be the same. But we always never appreciate what we have, until we lost it.
1D is not coming back, guys. Few years down the road, I'm starting to miss listening to their songs on the radios. But let's admit it - time has changed. 1D members have each found what they want, and the boy band will not return. Not so soon.
I'm pretty sure all of them, including Zayn, want to go back to how it was. But everyone is different now. There's just no going back anymore.
If they were to re-assemble later, it would be many years later where many of us would already have teenage kids. I would be looking forward to it.
Anyway, night guys. I also miss a lot of my past. I can't go back to them anymore. But it's fine. Let's move on.
Here's a few things to start: First, I'm not a One Direction's fan. I listen to their songs, and that's all.
Second, I am an extremely sentimental guy. My emotion is very easily influenced by my surroundings.
1D songs were a hit when I was younger - when I was in my university especially.
When I was still studying in Swinburne, Fly Fm was an inseparable part of my life. I listened to the radio stations every day, every time I have a chance to.
1D songs were almost always on the tracks.
Fast forward to now, 2020, 2 years since I graduated, 6 years since I first entered Swinburne, memories just hit me really hard.
Time really flies. Things have changed. Circumstances have changed.
1D has broken down. Zayn Malik has left. 1D, which was so subtly influential to me, is a memory that will not return.
It really just makes me miss so many things I enjoyed so much in the past.
I've been reading his books since 2010 when I first read The Executioner, a book which even my sister couldn't help but got engrossed in it. Every year, Chris Carter publishes one book, which I find too little. Every year, I try to get the book immediately when it was published. Back in the early 2010s, e-book was not popular. His books were also deprived of the attention they deserve, so they were particularly hard to get. The only bookstore that sold his books were Borders in Queensbay Mall, which has now sadly shuttered. But so many years later, I'm now in Singapore, and I've got access to Google Play Books. The publishers usually do very hard to gain profits by first releasing hardcover versions only for the first year so that they have a reason to charge more. Nah, I go for e-books, because I refuse to pay more just for the hardcover, and also because his books are not immediately available in Singapore or Malaysia, and most importantly I couldn't even wait for a second more to read his books and ebook gives me immediate access!
Anyway, as usual, his books never fail to charm. I devoured the book in 2 days, max. The beginning of the books was a bit slow, and it started off a little differently from his previous books. The killer in this book is a little less sick, less brutal (though still brutal), and unlike the previous books, there aren't any races to save victims, because in this book all the victims have died. Still, this book is enchantingly absorbing, and you couldn't stop reading it even if you want to. He wrote it in a different tone, a tad less analytical, a bit more personal, and also the suspense isn't as strong. I initially thought the killer was bipolar, given the way it went, but as it turned out I was wrong. But, doesn't matter, it was still a good read, although I find it weaker than his previous novels. But since a tragedy befell him while he was penning it, I think it's understandable. If you like a crime novel, I highly recommend Chris Carter's novels. Although, given the amount of time it takes for me to finish it, I think his books really don't worth the money, since for the same amount of money, you could also buy some other books that keep you entertained for a much longer period. Rating: 9/10.
