Day Like That

When you're out of the blue and into the black

2009-10-10T13:31:00.000+08:00

好久没有尝试写华文，觉得自己好像不太懂得怎么表达自己。可是我一向来都喜欢在电脑或手机输入华文字。越写越过瘾！而且，华文字体非常整齐，每一个字占据的位子都是一样的。所谓chinese characters，华文字体看起来果然很有特色！

Try to kill it all away but I remember everything

2009-07-12T01:28:00.006+08:00

Watched Here, and wished the fictitious Island Hospital was for real. Looked like a wonderful sanctuary, and if I were there, I wouldn't wanna be out here. Some of the patients choose not to leave, citing reasons like they can't be "out here", or "amor fati", which translates to love of fate, not wanting to change a thing about the state they are in. The hospital also uses a form of video therapy to help patients revisit their breaking point to explore an alternative way to react. As my favourite character Valentino points out, life can only be understood backwards, yet it has to be lived forward. Great use of sound in the movie (George Chua), and a beautiful song by 刘文正, 我找到自己 (I've found myself) at the end.

You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather

2009-07-04T14:50:00.004+08:00

At a field, a white rabbit with orange patches caught my eye. It was so pretty! I'd not seen a rabbit like this before, and wanted to take a picture of it. But as I prepared my camera, the rabbit went into a hole. It soon reappeared but quickly made its way to the middle of the field, away from me. Not contented, I looked at the clouds above and tried to find an interesting spot to take a picture of, but it was not the same. Clouds are always above us, lovely as they are, but you only see a rabbit like this once.

I know a mouse, and he hasn't got a house

2009-06-30T14:10:00.003+08:00

What if I was like The Man From Earth? But better, to stay put at 25 instead of 35. The Girl From Earth! Hmm...

God Only Knows

2009-04-21T11:53:00.000+08:00

Mrs Robinson says (11:52):
wat is up with pet sounds?
Mrs Robinson says (11:52):
why is the album titled pet sounds?
Mrs Robinson says (11:52):
and are those dogs on the album cover?
Mrs Robinson says (11:52):
are the songs in there abt pets?
Mrs Robinson says (11:52):
is caroline a dog?
Andrew says (11:53):
its titled pet sounds as a tribute to phil spector

Saved By Old Times

2009-01-05T23:29:00.004+08:00

Finally had time to think about the year that went by. Among the many things I failed to keep track of, here's something I actually did.

The 15 best films I saw in 2008 (in no particular order)

1. Persepolis
2. Perfume: Story Of A Murderer
3. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
4. Tears Of The Black Tiger
5. Picnic At Hanging Rock
6. Help Me Eros
7. Goodbye Dragon Inn
8. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter And Spring Again
9. Knife In The Water
10. Harmful Insect
11. Paranoid Park
12. No Country For Old Men
13. Tony Takitani
14. Into The Wild
15. What Time Is It There?

I'd originally wanted to cut the list off at 10, but I could hardly choose 1 between the last 6, so I cheated and extended the list.

Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl

2008-11-11T19:55:00.001+08:00

Abdominal angina is a condition that follows the first definition in that the sufferer typically has attacks of abdominal pain. This is not the stomach ache that all of us have suffered from occasionally. It is a dull, gnawing or cramping pain typically felt in the upper or middle portions of the abdomen. The pain usually begins 10 to 30 min after eating, and gradually increases until it reaches a plateau and then slowly decreases over one to three hours. As the condition worsens, the pain increases in frequency and severity so that the patient progressively reduces meal size and/or avoids eating. As a consequence, the person loses weight.

Abdominal angina and angina pectoris involve different organs but have the same underlying cause. In abdominal angina it is the stomach and intestines (rather than the heart) which are temporarily deprived of adequate amounts of blood to perform their jobs optimally. This poor circulation is almost always caused by hardening of the arteries, a condition doctors call arteriosclerosis, although rarely there are other causative factors.

The sufferer and the illness have finally found each other, after so many years.

Like an alarm of impending doom

2008-08-13T21:27:00.002+08:00

I could have expected too much from the Death Cab gig. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't awesome either, like how concerts ought to be. Despite a nice entrance (with chants and stuff), they didn't begin their set with strong tracks. (If i remember correctly they opened with Bixby Canyon Bridge) I think it was only after the third song that they addressed the audience properly. Ben Gibbard went something like "Hello Singapore. We're Death Cab For Cutie from Seattle, Washington," and everyone broke into applause and cheers. Can't remember what else was said but it wasn't anything memorable. At some point later he also announced that they had a new album called Narrow Stairs. I wished they would stop stating the obvious, and just be a bit funnier. He asked the people "Do you like love songs? Here's a love song, for you", before breaking into I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Have to say i found that kinda cheesy. What a nice, supportive crowd though, screaming and singing along. Some people were dancing, even to slow songs. They did not play Death Of An Interior Decorator, but included many other mandatory songs in their set, such as Title And Registration, The New Year (which i don't like), The Sound Of Settling, Expo '86, Tiny Vessels and Transatlanticism. They played quite a bit off Narrow Stairs. I Will Possess Your Heart was perfect showoff time for the bassist. They played Cath... No Sunlight and Long Division too. I especially enjoyed it when they played Grapevine Fires (my favourite track there). It was enjoyable enough, just that it lacked an element of surprise. Many times they played songs from the same album one after another, and Transatlanticism actually came right after Tiny Vessels, just like on the album. And their delivery was not very different from what you can hear on your ipod. Didn't feel it was worth paying $111 for. $58 would have felt just right.

Here we come, Mister Airplane

2008-07-30T14:31:00.000+08:00

I found out there was a team at the Museum Heritage Quest by the name of WHY SO SERIOUS. Hahaha!

Lately i've been hit by a delayed bubble tea craze, and i'm taking this obsession to a different level. On Monday i had bubble tea 3 times! A green apple green tea (my current fave), a mango red tea (quite nice), and a grape green tea (not bad). I'm still trying to explore other options on the menu. Yesterday i had peach milk tea (nice!) and today a regular milk tea with pearls (quite nice). Only thing that's missing is Vitamin C. Sweettalk! Yeah!

Time makes you bolder

2008-07-27T14:33:00.005+08:00

On Friday, we took part in the Flight Of The Night Owl Heritage Quest at the museum. Pong, Fiona, Mel, Kent and me. Mel thought up our group name - The Running Jellylegs. How appropriate. Must say it was a lot of fun racing through all the museums and darting across roads to get from National History Museum to the Singapore Art Museum to some old gates of RGS that are now at some part of SMU (never paid those gates any attention) to the Hill Street Fire Station to the stamps museum to the Asian Civilisations Museum to the Peranakan Museum to the Lim Bo Seng War Memorial Site to some cats on the bridge near Fullerton to St Andrew's Cathedral to CHIJMES and back to where we started. Somewhere in between we had to go to MICA and then to River Valley Road and throw muddy bean bags at another team while trying not to get hit. A lot of teams were very hardcore. They dressed in sports attire and even brought maps. Hahaha. Haven't been so healthy on a Friday night since fuck knows when. Muscles i forgot i had are still aching.

Thought of you as everything I've had but couldn't keep

2008-07-10T17:02:00.004+08:00

Lee Kang Sheng is back with his second directorial effort, "Help Me Eros", after blowing minds with "Bu Jian" (aka "The Missing") in 2003. This time, he plays the lead again (giving it an even more Tsai Ming Liang feel). Not surprisingly, "Help Me Eros" is made in that distinct style that people have come to know Tsai and Lee for - subdued, grim, with minimal dialogue and plenty of sex.

Revolving round the character of Ah Jie, a closet pothead (he grows the plants in his closet) who has lost everything when the stocks market crashed. He spends his time at home smoking up and calling a suicide helpline where he grows emotionally attached to his counsellor, Chyi. He hasn't met Chyi and has no idea she's overweight, but he projects his fantasy of Chyi on Shin, the new betel nut girl below his apartment. Ah Jie and Shin crossed paths one night the two spent seeking thrills in Ah Jie's former sports car, racing down the streets and getting smashed. Their relationship quickly becomes highly sexual (viewers are treated to scenes of their various explicit and theatrical sexual positions - very LOL). As his situation becomes more critical, Ah Jie begins selling his designer furniture for living expenses and finally leaving it to chance by buying a lot of lottery tickets. While the reality of his life plunges into a downward spiral, his marijuana plants offer him a glimmer of hope, where he indulges in his fantasy and his sexual escapades with a few other betel nut girls, portrayed in a few enthralling dreamlike sequences in which the film glorifies the raunchy culture associated with Taiwan’s streets at night.

"Help Me Eros" is about desperation, and the plea for help. This is shown right from the start with subplots that parallel this. In the opening scene, a cooking show is playing on Ah Jie's TV, in which the chef demonstrates the gutting and scaling of a carp, for an exotic dish named "Carp Jumps Over The Wall". It becomes clear that the carp will be served live. The TV presenter then in good humour, takes it upon himself to express the carp's fear and plea to escape its fate, while Ah Jie watches on, visibly disturbed. Chyi's character too, is quietly desperate and dejected.

This story is comparatively easy to understand and relate to, and Lee Kang Sheng's depiction of a stoner is brilliant. He does not overact his altered state like most other movies do. There is also the trademark offbeat humour that is used effectively in this film, as well as thought-provoking moments and bizarre situations. I love how the ending and the metaphor which the film uses to tell it. It seems to lend sympathy to the anti-hero by romanticizing the events.

Word of caution. This movie is an acquired taste. Those who don't like it might find it too cheesy, too exploitative (unnecessary prolonged sex scenes) and too crass. You have been warned.

I thought i had it all figured out but look who got it wrong

2008-06-16T21:54:00.003+08:00

I think IDM could have used a better name. Labelling a type of music as "intelligent" just seems stupid. Would a truly noble person call himself or herself "noble"?

I'm really only praying that the words you'll soon be saying might betray the way you feel about me

2008-05-17T01:45:00.004+08:00

The unsolved mystery of a neighbour's recent plunge to death is affecting me in mystifying ways. This empathy is probably due to the fact that he had tried to chat me up before, and that i'd occasionally wondered what happened to him when he stopped hanging around or getting high beside our unit. He also happened to look a little like someone i used to care very much about. The rumours surrounding his death make me wonder if this is all people think about these supposed lowlives of society, and naturally i feel a little indignant. What will they say the day my body is found? He would never know this, but we were probably more alike than he would have imagined. Well, but i don't even know his name.

To vanish into oblivion is easy to do

2008-05-15T16:25:00.004+08:00

The account of a man's triumph over his physical condition to set free two of his most valuable assets remaining - his imagination and his memories - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, former editor-in-chief of Elle magazine, who had suffered and miraculously survived a stroke that had "put his brain stem out of action".

Only 43 years old, Jean Do awoke after being in a coma for 3 weeks, to find himself a victim of "locked-in syndrome", whereby nearly his whole body was in a state of paralysis, safe for his left eye, which would become his only way of communicating with the rest of the world. Though dismayed at first, Jean Do eventually came to terms with his condition and even authored a book (of the same title) by "dictating" with his left eye. A publishing assistant took his dictation patiently, alphabet by alphabet, using a special code which his therapist came up with for communication purposes.

The movie begins with Jean Do's point of view, as if placing the viewer in his mind. Only after approximately 20 minutes does the camera pull out and lets us look at Jean Do objectively. Between flashbacks and fantasies we get to know Jean Do more intimately, of the endearing relationship he shared with his father and his children, and also of his greatest regrets. Despite a successful career, Jean Do felt that his life had been nothing but "a string of mistakes", which he likened to knowing the result of a race beforehand but failing to bet on the winner. The women he was unable to love and the moments of happiness he had let slip by.

Despite the sombre plot, the movie retains a sense of humour, by way of Jean Do's cheekiness and sharp wit. Teamed with stunning visuals, a fitting soundtrack, brilliant acting and a moving story, this film, breathtaking and inspiring, is a testament to the greatness and strength of the human spirit and should be watched by every one.

* * *

I watched on YouTube Elliott Smith's performance during the 1997 (or was it 1998?) Oscars, where he first stepped into the limelight with "Miss Misery". It was such a nice and simple delivery. Him in a white suit and guitar, looking rather nervous. At the end of the abridged version (due to programme requirements), he took a bow.

Hopin' you'll come through, too

2008-05-13T11:57:00.002+08:00

I guess the bad thing about having something is having to worry about losing it.

Strange infatuation seems to grace the evening tide

2008-05-05T15:50:00.003+08:00

My grand future plans include (but are not limited to) the following:

Taking Erhu lessons
Learning how to play the harmonica (my múm-onica)
Winning my first game of Chinese Chess
Finishing up "Notes From Underground" and moving on to more reads
Finishing the 18489934 movies i have to watch "someday"

***

Until i saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) last night, i was most mindblown by Persepolis this year. And most disappointed by Harold & Kumar 2 (i really enjoyed Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle). And most weirded out by Taxidermia.

Ooh, i get high (with a little help from my friends)

2007-11-10T17:19:00.000+08:00

After a shitty day, i did what i had to do, lifted my mood and put on Severance. Always wanted to watch it but somehow never got around to it. And what the hell, it got me cracking up and freaking out!

The movie revolves around the sales team of Palisade Defence, a multi-national firearms corporation and their team-building weekend retreat in the Hungarian woods. After a series of unfortunate events that includes but is not limited to being abandoned by their Hungarian bus driver, getting lost in the woods, a bad mushroom trip, seeing strange figures in the woods and losing a leg to a bear trap, the team realise there are some twisted killers on the loose and blood starts splattering.

The best thing i like about this movie is that it is so hilarious. In terms of humour and brains, this script is one level higher than the usual comedy-horror. Maybe it's the fact that it makes fun of office workers and the stereotypes, or the stoner humour by way of Danny Dyer's character Steve, or the irony that their somewhat awkward, geeky yet obnoxious superior Richard eventually steps on a landmine manufactured by Palisade themselves.

Things start getting gory 30 minutes into the film, while still keeping it funny, with a lot of blood, body torture, a rolling head that is conscious for a while (fitting nicely with an earlier conversation between owner of said head and another colleague), etc.

The cast did a splendid job with the acting, portraying the office geeks, prudes, arrogant bastards, slackers, etc perfectly. For such a suspenseful movie, it wouldn't have worked with substandard acting or unconvincing horrified expressions.

It's also wonderful how the identity of the perpetuators is never firmly concluded, but the film does provide some theories and hints while leaving most parts to the viewer's interpratation.

Seriously good - bloody funny, rather original plot, interesting characters, laughter-inducing dialogue, gruesome, what else does it take for a movie like this to work?

You and I, could touch other

2007-11-06T13:06:00.000+08:00

Sleep is what happens when your head is at its heaviest, hence you nod off.

Promises they break before they're made... Sometimes, sometimes

2007-10-26T01:04:00.000+08:00

We can't wait for next week, so we can finally count our chickens. Yayyy!

Now he's in the big time, and you're in the way

2007-10-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

I hadn’t thought it would happen to me but I nearly burnt down the kitchen on the other day. I was going to cook noodles and had left the fire on, gone into the room to help my mother pick an outfit when we smelt something burning. A small fire had started burning and there was thick smoke everywhere. I screamed for Mummy and she ran out and grabbed the jug of drinking water within reach and doused the flames. The amount of soot and ashes was unbelievable, considering it was just a small fire. The ashes went everywhere and almost every damn thing in the house was covered in them. The rest of the evening was spent clearing up the mess, scrubbing the bloody soot off the walls, getting rid of the ashes. What a nightmare! But strangely it felt rather nice, just cleaning the house and talking with Mummy, about how insane those ashes were and other stuff. I told her we were lucky we saw the fire early enough or things could have been much worse. And we always get through whatever anyway. So good to be alive indeed.

That burned out halo hangs right above his head

2007-09-06T16:44:00.000+08:00

Happiness is not just a warm gun. It lies in our own hands! For a few days I’ve had a burning craving for Honey Stars and for Sliced Fish Beehoon. On Monday I took care of both cravings. And how rewarding it felt!

* * *

Listening to Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (Broken Social Scene) brings me back to the time I was on cloud nine almost every day.

My most imaginary friend

2007-09-01T18:58:00.000+08:00

I used to have an imaginary cat. I don’t remember when from, but I had it till I was about 8. My cat was cool. It was always on the ceiling, and it followed me to family dinners. A cousin of mine, 16 years my senior, would often play along and ask if I brought my cat. I’d point at the ceiling and say with pride “there it is!”

Who cares what it does since you broke my heart

2007-08-28T16:44:00.000+08:00

In the event of a zombie outbreak, money will be worth nothing. The thought of that thrills me so. Oh, and raiding supermarkets for food supplies!

Now I need a place to hide away

2007-08-28T14:51:00.000+08:00

When I was a little girl, I always sat around and watched my daddy play the guitar. I'd request for "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters but he would just do "Yesterday". Ha!

Even at such a young age, I could sense how deep his emotions were, pouring out from his lungs and through his fingertips. His nostalgia, helplessness and sadness were so plain to see.

Isn’t it amazing? How a song with such a simple structure speaks volumes.

* * *

Finally, Kasper Schmeichel conceded his first premiership goal. And who better than Fabregas to do the job?

I ask and you smile

2007-08-22T01:50:00.000+08:00

My Ipod went berserk again. This will be my 3rd replacement. I wonder why we pay so much money for a supposedly reputable and trustworthy brand name.

What happened was, in the fashion of a zombie attack, my Ipod had a disease at its injack hole, which infected the earphones i was using. Thinking it was my earphones that weren't working, i plugged earphones B into my Ipod, and everything was alright, for a day. The next day earphones B had the same problem as the earlier pair. The diseased Ipod infected 2 pairs of my earphones! Now the phones don't work at all, when i try to connect them to other devices.

And in the fashion of a true Singaporean, i called the Applecare Hotline to air my grievances. We shall see what they do about this.

Coming down the world turned over

2007-08-20T23:40:00.000+08:00

My brother made me recall the title of a movie with the following description:

2 brothers living with a nerd uncle who sells Tupperware.

Me (in less than a second): Napolean Dynamite?
Him: YEAH! But i can't believe you managed with a description like that!

Disclaimer: The uncle was not selling Tupperware, if i remember correctly, but some wok and pan stuff.

People you've been before that you don't want around anymore

2007-08-15T16:13:00.000+08:00

At one of the film screenings in Substation, I saw a short film (with a then-acquaintance Eddie) with the longest ever ending credits. It was many years ago and today I don’t remember a single thing about the film, not any scene nor the plot, only how unbelievably long its credits were! It was as though the credits were proportional to the population of its originating country.

PS: The film was from India.

I give her my heart but she wanted my soul

2007-08-14T01:24:00.000+08:00

I have an ulcer on the right side of my cheek and it hurts like a bitch!

But don't hate her when she gets up to leave

2007-08-13T23:36:00.000+08:00

The iron serves better for use on bread than on clothes. I watched Surreal Gourmet and almost immediately felt the urge to make that Grilled Cheese Sandwich i saw. It's really easy. You wrap your cheese and bread in butter-greased aluminium foil, then press your iron on the outside. The flat surface of the iron, the heat it produces, the aluminium foil and the butter in there creates the same effect as a griller. Isn't it amazing? You can get a fucking grilled cheese sandwich in ten minutes, without a griller in your kitchen!

I talked to my mother recently about Potong red bean ice-cream, and i suppose it got her craving for it too so she bought a box of them when she went out shopping. It came in the form of a box of 6 from King's. On the box it said "The original Potong ice-cream". Up till then i had no idea there was a Potong ice-cream war going on among ice-cream companies, all claiming to be the originator. But one look at the box i knew there was something not quite right about the ice-cream. Opened it to find the ice-cream individually wrapped in foil wrappers and held by an ice-cream stick. Disgusting ice-cream sticks that smell like wood that doctors shove down your throat to check for inflammation. As a result most of the ice-cream tasted like wood. *gags*

Those funny little plans that never work quite right

2007-07-25T01:52:00.000+08:00

My body is conspiring against me. My mind refuses to go to sleep and my stomach refuses to cut me any slack. I just turned to a KitKat bar for comfort. It was gone in 5 seconds.

I'll buy us a bottle and we'll drink in the petrol fumes

2007-07-13T02:08:00.000+08:00

Tonight's supper was apple pastry and apple Yakult. Nice!

Dinner at Food Street at Smith Street (Chinatown) was awfully disappointing. The Satay might have been the worst i've ever had. The meat was tough and the rice cubes didn't stick together. I was looking forward to getting some Whitley Prawn Mee but it's closed down, so i settled for Fei Fei Wanton Mee, which was painfully mediocre. I remember this Popiah i had years ago that was sooo horrible i must have told EVERY ONE whom i'd passed by Food Street with. Do not be fooled by the prospects of Food Street being a one-stop haven for mandatory local delights. It's really nothing but a tourist trap.

Of late i have been in a prata frenzy. The most noteworthy one being the French Ice Cream Prata at Prata Cafe. This is a one-up from just Banana Prata. It's Banana Prata topped with a thick layer of Nutella and a scoop of ice cream! Ultimate shiokness.

Nothing seems more meaningful than eating my fill. It's the best way to kill time, and it satisfies my insatiable appetite. When i can't stuff myself anymore, i feel rather lost, not knowing what to do next.

PS: Sometime back, Pong said "Sometimes, i think i was actually meant to be a mat but i just missed the bus".

But now we must pack up every piece of the life we used to love

2007-06-28T15:20:00.000+08:00

Hey, try doing this. Go stand in front of a mirror. Make sure there's a good light source available. Open your mouth real big, say "Aaahhhhhh" and stare at the back of your throat. Do you see holes at the side? I just found some relatively sizeable and seemingly black holes at both sides. Is it normal? Do you have 'em too?

We trade these lines to get us by, but what's it matter?

2007-06-26T16:01:00.000+08:00

Pong has come up with the perfect ultimatum to use against me. He threatened me with “I’m gonna grow up tomorrow! You can go play by yourself!”

Seriously, what a nightmare that would be! Then I can only turn to Elvis for juvenile company. But then again, even Elvis doesn’t talk like a regular 8-year-old at times.

Last week, Elvis asked me questions like why I didn’t own a house, why I wasn’t married, etc. I said I was still a kid, just like him.

Elvis: No, you’re an adult.
Me: What? No I’m not!
Elvis: You think you still small?!!
Me: …

I wish they'd leave me alone, and let me be

2007-04-27T20:51:00.000+08:00

I feel like going home, wherever that is.

Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see

2007-04-27T02:26:00.000+08:00

I am guessing it is finally kicking in. This week i have been feeling like i need to start taking that baby step towards my eventual landing in a job, by casually psyching and sweet talking myself to at least get into the right frame of mind. That has resulted in bouts of unpleasant feelings i sometimes cannot make any sense of. I am also very tempted by the prospects of running away so that i can be anywhere but here. Anybody interested? We could busk in the streets and sell dope in the alleys.

Watched The Red Cockatoo and Eternal Summer recently.

Cockatoo is set in 1961, just before the Berlin Wall separated the East Germans from the West, and from the rest of the world. The story reminded me slightly of The Dreamers, rebellion at a time of social unrest, new kid in town, love triangle, lots of sex and rock n' roll. Certain parts came off rather cheesy, but that could be due to poor translation. All in all i feel it's not as bad a movie as made out to be (but Dreamers is still better).

Eternal Summer was better than i'd expected, but it also didn't feel like a very original film, borrowing bits from Brokeback Mountain and Tempting Hearts aka Xin Dong (directed by Sylvia Chang) and C.R.A.Z.Y. The story revolves around two boys who have been best friends since they were children and a girl comes along in their teenage years to screw everything up. A messy love triangle entails and it's not the girl who gets caught between. While i think the movie could have ended in a few other ways, and the dialogue also happens to be a bit too honeycoated and wishy-washy (but then again, it is from Taiwan), the elements of youth are still brought out very nicely in a simple manner - recklessness, alienation and need for acceptance. It's rather easy to identify with the characters and to understand their actions. You need not have fallen in love with someone of the same sex to enjoy the show.

I know it isn't dignified to run

2007-04-14T13:29:00.000+08:00

I feel that Tuesday is the most awkward day to be out because there isn't much to do on a Tuesday night. On Monday nights people might go out and do something to chase the Monday Blues away, and on Wednesday they mostly go to some club or whatever, and on Thursday some people celebrate the arrival of weekend a day earlier, or some places do ladies night on Thursdays (i think). On Tuesdays though, it seems like much less is going on, and it's even more quiet than Sunday nights.

***

Travelling on the LRT is actually quite a strange idea to me, i mean, what kind of a train is that? No driver, and there is hardly any staff at the stations. We are being taken over!!!

If anything could ever be this good again

2007-04-07T18:16:00.000+08:00

There's something in my body that drives electronic gadgets wild, i swear. Firsly, computers always die on me, then my Ipod too was acting strange.

Brought it to the service centre, went through 2 hellish days without music. I can't live without the baby. How does one endure long bus rides listening to other people's conversations? (Ok actually i am quite an eavesdropper, but still!) Or worse, listening to imposing and inconsiderate fellow commuters play their music through speakers?

So, the service centre replaced my Ipod with a new one, and i was so excited, like getting an Ipod all over again. But on the third day of using, the Ipod couldn't be turned on at all! And i remember i'd left it nearly fully charged.

Brought it down to the service centre again and it was diagnosed as a battery problem. Like hello? How many times do i need to visit the service centre before i can just relax and use the baby? BABY!!!

Then they expect you to pick a career

2007-04-05T15:09:00.000+08:00

Just saw Leben der Anderen, Das aka The Lives Of Others yesterday. Winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it's a subtly moving story set in East Germany during the mid to late '80s, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The film depicts the horrors of living in a totalitarian state, where the Stasi, secret police of the GDP spies relentlessly on its citizens.

For reasons that are not so clear initially, writer Georg Dreyman and his actress girlfriend Christa Sieland come under the watchful eye of Captain Wiesler and his team. We see how meticulous, efficient and clinical but frighteningly robotic the work of the Stasi is, as they spied on their subjects, recording every little detail of their lives.

Dreyman and Christa are both tortured artists, in similar yet different ways, blackmailed by the bureaucratic system but desperately longing for a change.

Wiesler though, is my favourite character. He starts off as a merciless interrogator training the next batch of Stasi agents. But underneath his stone-cold exterior, we see the emptiness of his life outside his work. He goes home alone, eats an instant dinner in front of the TV and occasionally engages the service of a prostitute.

Spying on Dreyman and Christa sparks off something in him, as he gets drawn further into their lives filled with passion and ideals, things that are lacking in his own.

Although it's a little more than 2 hours long, and most of the setting looks drab and dull, clearly representing the oppressiveness of that period, there's not a boring moment in the film. Dry humour is used scarcely but effectively.

This movie also touches on the notion of what it means to be a good person without seeming like a cliché. And the ending is just brilliant. Could be the best film i've watched by far in the cinemas this year.

Upon this tidal wave of young blood

2007-04-04T15:30:00.001+08:00

At almost 60 years old, Sakura is still every bit a wonderful performer, her voice coarse but strong, and she can definitely dance the pants of anyone.

Onstage she was brilliant, sending the audience into laughing fits with her whacky chatter, peppered with lots of swear words Singapore-styled. Just as how culturally diverse Singapore in the 60s and 70s was, she sang in a few languages other than Mandarin, like Berhasa Indonesia, English, Spanish and Cantonese.

Know that Chee Chee Pom Pom song? She performed that! I always liked that song. She also did Elvis' "It's Now Or Never".

The setup of the concert felt very nostalgic, like it came right out of the 70s, with the getai-sounding band, except that Sakura doesn't look the same anymore. But of course, her charisma remains, and i'm sure she gave the audience, most of them in their 50s and 60s, plenty to reminisce about.

Comfort Of Strangers

2007-04-04T00:31:00.000+08:00

I caught this movie over the weekend, without a clue what it was about. Turned out to be a very rewarding experience.

French psycho chiller, shot in black and white, this is the director's debut feature. The plot is original and dark, and the soundtrack does an amazing job at maintaining the suspense.

Just like Mysterious Skin, i think it's best to watch it without much prior knowledge of the film. That way you can feel the intensity and shock full-blast.

But to put it simply, it's a story about a struggling young labourer who unknowingly gets himself into a dangerous situation hoping to make a big sum of money, and what happens next is an unfathomable journey through living hell. The ugliness of human nature is portrayed so cold it numbs.

Go see it if you can, surely worth your money!

It just won't be me ever again

2007-04-02T23:51:00.000+08:00

Have not been updating this for a little while. A few things that have happened so far are that i've left my job, caught 4 excellent gigs at the Mosaic Music Festival (Jose Gonzalez, YO LA TENGO, Album Leaf and Rachael Yamagata), went for 2 Many DJ's and had a blast, saw the Middle Eastern exhibition at History Musuem, overslept and missed Tsai Ming Liang's talk (sorry Tang Wei!) but spotted TML and Lee Kang Sheng at Bugis Junction, watched the ever dynamic Sakura in concert, amongst some other random stuff that i will tell you about when i remember.

Here's a sign i found near my place, beside a primary school.

Cos when i need a friend it's still you

2007-03-01T10:54:00.000+08:00

Right now, i'm absolutely hooked to Banana Chocolate Prata, reminiscent of Banana Pancakes in Vang Viang. Right here, i try to have it at least once a week, at Al Azhar or Al Ameen. The latter doesn't have chocolate, only Milo but that's fine with me.

But technically, this prata doesn't exist in their menus. They only have Banana Prata and Chocolate/ Milo Prata separately. You have to ask them to mix it for you, and that can be quite tricky. Once my Banana Chocolate Prata came in 2 pieces - a Banana Prata and a Chocolate Prata, and they were soggy. Another time the man at Al Ameen insisted they didn't have Banana Milo and wouldn't be able to do it (though i'd had it there previously).

Most people can't imagine their prata like that, but trust me man. Once you try it, you'll love it!

I know the Prata Cafe near the former School of Physical Education has this French Prata, which is exactly Banana Chocolate Prata, but it's more of a hassle to get there. Nice place though, and i have a really fond memory of the last time i was there, eavesdropping on some sort of a family conference. But that's another story.

Recently, i've discovered a Sesame Paste ice-cream from 7-11. I know it sounds disgusting and i was quite apprehensive too initially but after taking a bite i was blown away! Can't remember what the brand is, but it looks like one of those Japanese ice-cream, except it's really made in China. The wrapper is white and it's shaped like a Potong ice-cream, with a stick coming out of one end. On Tuesday night after watching Babel i was dying to buy my Sesame ice-cream cos before the show i had tried looking for it at the Lucky Plaza 7-11 but they didn't have it. So i made it my mission that night to hunt it down in all the 7-11s in town. As we neared the ice-cream section at the Far East Shopping Centre 7-11, Mindy found it and we got a bit too excited that this UWC-looking boy and girl also became curious about the Sesame Paste ice-cream. The guy was cautious but the girl looked like she was in the mood to try something exotic and we were just plugging the ice-cream. And it was only $1.20 so she decided to buy it. Hahaha can't believe we managed to convince her! I wonder if she regretted listening to us, cos after all, Sesame Paste is an acquired taste. But i don't really care whether she liked the ice-cream cos the kick was in the fact that we made her buy it. Haha!

Walking through this changing season, sorrow spreads its wings

2007-02-08T10:45:00.000+08:00

I have plans to

a) start on the lot of films and books which have been lying around since forever
b) be more active in my pursuit of gastronomic pleasures
c) quit my job

Doll me up in my bad luck, i'll meet you there

2007-01-30T10:00:00.000+08:00

It seemed like a rather foreign idea to be in a rush in Laos. I was all prepared for a lazy holiday (we brought books!), thinking we’d be slacking half the time. Turned out though, that 10 days was not enough, because we spent nearly 24 hours on bus rides (Vientiane -> Vang Viang, Vang Viang -> Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang -> Vientiane), and not forgetting we had to spend our last night in Udon Thani (quite a waste of time; nothing exciting about the place) so as to catch our morning flight back home.

I don’t think i’d find it too long a time if i could spend a month in Laos. The country is so big, and there're so many different parts to visit. And within a state or a province, there's already so much to explore.

In my time there, i felt like i had been transported to the 60s, and 50s sometimes, depending on which part you’re at. Very nice and nostalgic.

Instead of hanging out at “Friends Cafes” every day, (by the way they have a bigger selection now, some restaurants are showing Family Guy, Simpsons… some of them screen movies), we spent our afternoons in Vang Viang being active under the sun, (hardcore) cycling, exploring caves (Phoukam Cave was very nice) and tubing down the Nam Song river. I am 5 shades darker now.

The nights would be spent eating out, carefully choosing a diner (and what we wanted to watch). I like most of the eateries in Laos. They have very good sense of décor. A café is always cosy, complete with mattresses or hammocks.

On the way back, we’d stop by a pancake stand and have our second banana pancake for the night. The first was always before dinner, on our way out.

We checked out some Muay Lao boxing at the night market. It apparently happened every night. It’s evident how Lao boxing is a big part of their culture, since the place would be filled with local men, even boys as young as two or three. I especially liked how they played traditional Lao music in the background. It seemed to give the boxers momentum and fluidity in their moves.

I didn’t enjoy Luang Prabang as much as Vang Viang, probably because i only spent 2 nights there. Luang Prabang caters to a different group of travelers – the middle-aged holidayers. I like it enough, for its quaint colonial-style shophouses and sleepy town feel, but it just didn’t seem as friendly as Vang Viang. Also, room rates were much higher. Our guesthouse charged much more than the one in Vientiane, for a room with similar amenities.

The best thing about my short time in Luang Prabang was Le Cinema. It was a place with a concept like E-Max at Cineleisure, where you can pick a DVD and watch it in one of their rooms, except Le Cinema was full of arthouse flicks. In total it boasts a collection of 700 (pirated) titles. We saw Dead Men there.

The night market was also quite fun, good for shopping for souvenir shirts, textiles, handicraft, etc. Everything was laid out on mats on the floor, and while there were many, many stalls, most of them sold the same things. It’s quite a consistent thing about Laos. Repetition was everywhere. Same same, but different.

I missed some of the must-do things at Luang Prabang – watching the sunset at Mount Phou Si, and the alms giving ceremony in the morning, opting instead to catch more sleep and go for a half day tour to the famous Pak Ou Caves, more than an hour’s boat ride away. It also included stopovers at 2 villages, where they made Lao whisky, textiles and paper and every one was just trying to sell you something.

In all honesty, the Pak Ou Caves felt nothing more than a tourist trap to me. There wasn’t anything spectacular, just very touristy. And the boat ride was so cold i almost died.

I’d still like to visit Laos again. I may even try to do it alone next time. Before i went i was a little apprehensive about the sanitation, safety and condition of our lodging, but there’s really nothing much to worry about. The people were generally nice and sweet-natured, the food’s very tasty (Lao food, Thai food and Farang Food), the flushes worked fine in the guesthouses. And there’s always a range of guesthouses and hotels to cater to different budgets and different needs.

The picturesque landscape is enough reason for anyone to go. Pity though i didn’t take a lot of photos. Will probably post them next time.

Like Boon said while we were hanging out at a hut at Sunset Bar in Vang Viang, “How do you properly describe this to someone?” I can’t. You gotta experience it for yourself.

Let Forever Be

2007-01-20T00:36:00.000+08:00

My fourth day in Laos now, Sabaidee!

I'm at the second stop now, Vang Viang (i prefer it here to Vientiane; can't wait to see how Luang Prabang is like), and it feels like i'm in an ang moh country within Asia. What little Asian tourists here are mostly Japanese, so wherever we go, the locals ask us "Nippon?" Oh and would you believe it, today when we went cycling, an ang moh woman smiled at me and said "Sabaidee!" I was damn stunned.

The food here is quite good. Have tried some of the Lao food like noodle soup, fried rice and the PANCAKES ARE AMAZING! I'm eating two every night. These pancakes are actually roti prata, and you can choose to have them with banana, condensed milk, sugar, chocolate sauce, etc etc. And the stall vendors here grill them till they're so delightfully crispy. These makeshift stalls are EVERYWHERE in Vang Viang. Reminds me of the Ramly burger culture in Malaysia.

I've had a pretty interesting adventure so far, more after i go back. I wish that was not so soon! Kup Chai Lai Lai for reading!

Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there

2007-01-04T17:55:00.000+08:00

If new year’s day is any indication of how the rest of the year would turn out, hopefully there’ll be plenty of happy times and happy minds in 2007.

At almost 3am, the bunch of us went into retreat at Fort Canning Park, some on a bench, some on the floor. Boon was Ai Xin DJ for the night, playing a carefully selected song for every one present. As a result, the music we got was something of a superbly diverse, random mix, covering different genres like metal, psychedelic folk rock (Grateful Dead), anti folk, dubstep, comedy (Borat), Asian psychedelia, etc etc.

After a not so close encounter with what we thought was the supernatural, we walked off in search for another conducive spot for slacking and listening to music in a group. We came to the new tunnel where the National Library used to be. I think that was my first time walking in a tunnel meant for vehicles. It made music sound very good!

Thereafter, we got hungry and headed towards Plaza Singapura for some Mac’s breakfast. Nowadays, Mac’s seems like the most appropriate and convenient solution for such sessions. Before we got our food though, we were distracted by aunties literally going nuts, scrambling about to beat the queue for some free canned abalone. It was the most hilarious thing i saw all day! (All week maybe)

Words can mean nothing to some in this world

2006-12-23T13:59:00.000+08:00

We went for Kid Koala on Wednesday, Andrew, Tangwei, QJ, Boon and i. I had never heard any of his stuff before (or other turntablists) and that was the main reason why i wanted to go. I’m enjoying this more, going for gigs that i hadn’t listened to previously, just to be surprised.

And Kid Koala was a very pleasant surprise. When he started proper, i was also in the optimum state of mind to enjoy it. Even though the tunes were mostly unfamiliar to me, i enjoyed his music choices. Good mix of trip hop, rock, jazz, blues, pop, hip hop, etc.

The crowd consisted of mostly people who looked like they clubbed a lot at Zouk, not the Mambo Night kind but more like those who go when they fly in guest DJs. Some of the guys belonged to the Far East Expensive T-Shirt Gang. Baggy shirts, caps, chains around the neck, you get the picture. Mindy used to go out with somebody like that.

Although nobody was really dancing, it was still evident how people were really immersed in the gig. There was a generally positive vibe about that night, like everyone was connected by this wave of euphoria. And you know, there was hardly anyone smoking so I thought it was some turntable etiquette, like it’s rude to smoke when somebody’s spinning.

At all the intended points, the audience went hysterical (I only knew later that those were intended points because like i said, i’m a newbie). Moon River blew my mind. I swear in those few minutes, not a single bad thought crossed my mind. The way everyone else reacted, i think they too only saw beautiful things in their head.

Kid Koala was very charismatic. He had a perpetual smile on his face. QJ noted that he looked like he was frying kway teow. I agreed. He would periodically wipe the perspiration off his forehead with his arm.

Too bad though, it wasn’t held on the rooftop as it was supposed to be. That would have been how freaking awesome?

Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints

2006-12-16T16:52:00.000+08:00

Stepping into Stones Bar after so many months was the most nostalgic thing i'd done all week. I saw a lot of the same old faces, and was greeted by hugs and kisses, literally.

The place had undergone some sort of a face lift, with new couch seats by the windows and a mini platform for a solo gig. The crew is also slightly different now. Only a coupla people have stayed on.

For some reason the place is more happening now, though i've seen many a happening night there in the past. Maybe yesterday was just more enjoyable since it was my first time after so long.

When we arrived, there was this dude rocking out on his electric guitar and singing along to recorded pop rock tunes. He was really quite impressive during his first set. On his second he went downhill with his song choices - Maroon 5, that irritating one-note song from Hooberstank, etc. Oh would you believe he played a bit of Jackie Cheung's wen bie for the heck of it? But that was really funny.

In between his sets, someone (might have been Uncle Mark) played some really good songs to keep the party mood going. I remember fondly the exact moment i knew i was set for the night. Chuck Berry. Johnny B. Goode! Thereafter we were treated to some Led Zep, Aerosmith, Steppenwolf, etc... and Hendrix and Lynyrd Skynyrd upon request. And it was such a weird concept. The DJ was actually casually providing commentary on the football gold medal match between Iraq and Qatar. But he only did like 2 or 3 sentences within a song, and it mostly had nothing to do with the sport itself.

Speaking of that match, damn it. Firstly, the two teams were playing such lousy football. And when it was finally over, i don't even know who won but the score was 1-0, the closing ceremony/celebration took so long it must have lasted almost 2 hours by itself! And it was so elaborate. With camels, magic carpet rides, pyramids and the works. So much effort was put into that closing ceremony it was even more exciting than the NDP.

While the music was playing, some people were like dancing man as though they were at a club. How cool is that? Disco dancing to rock music.

Have i mentioned that one of my most favourite things to do while getting smashed is to hang out at bars? Especially those random bars with strange crowds that are beyond my age group. It's like you're more aware than ever of your surroundings, and observing people from different subcultures sometimes bring about strange little discoveries.

We're finally on our own

2006-12-07T23:13:00.000+08:00

Imagine taking a late night train home and a lady in red (total stranger) says to you, "Aren't you lonely?", before engaging you in a tug-of-war to pull you down the tracks into the way of the oncoming train. And you use all your might to pull so she doesn't fall to the tracks but you lose anyway and she gets herself killed right in your face. Wouldn't you be damn angry? Like why did she do that to you? You didn't even know her.

Sounds like a good story to me. Too bad for 9:56 (Korean horrody). It had a great beginning, but it doesn't actually have much to do with the main plot. And the main plot was actually a very bad story, complete with ridiculous moments and too many messy sub-plots.

Go watch it (on a weekday, i'd recommend) only if you enjoy bad horror flicks, just for laughs.

That aside, i've recently discovered that i have this strange habit of conjuring up disturbing visuals in my head. I've been seeing this pair of slit wrists like in a black and white photograph, the hands are damn pale against a black background, and the slashes run deep. Then i've also seen a man who hung himself. It was a low angle but you can't see his face because his waist-long hair falls forward, over his white robe. What the fuck. It wasn't supposed to be that way!

No one can know how we feel

2006-12-05T01:01:00.000+08:00

It is always a lot of fun getting together with the mass comm people. We somehow always end up talking about the same subjects. Ex-mass commers (these 3 we ALWAYS talk about), lecturers, etc.

It was Shaun Koh's birthday so we all hung out at 6th Avenue. We were such gluttons, going from Omar Sharif to Venezia to Tea Party to Adam Road to Mc Donalds. Ate so much!

The best part of the evening had to be at Tea Party, where we played this really cool game. It's a bit like Truth Or Dare, except you can't do a dare. You have to answer the questions.

Wenkai kicked off with a brilliant question for Jeremy. "How big are the testacles of an elephant?" To which Jeremy sportingly came up with a very funny, random answer.

Speaking of Jeremy, now we know what's the kinkiest thing he's done. Haha.

Xiaowen asked another killer one, for Zaki, "Have you ever had the desire..." At this point i thought she was gonna ask something sexual. "... to eat pork?" Everyone cracked up. Zaki's answer was no.

Xiaowen had trouble naming the best song to have on during sex. I stumbled at my questions. (I kept getting the profound, thought-provoking kind of questions when i was definitely in NO state to ponder about anything.)

Boon's question to me was rather interesting but it made me realise something about myself, which was actually very obvious, come to think of it. I just didn't think everyone knew!

Someone (Ian or Zaki, i think) asked Boon what he would have done at the last Writ Comm lecture if he were Desmond Kon. Boon said if he were Kon, he would have apologised to everyone and admitted to being a total asshole. HAHAHAHAHAAA!

We also learnt about Daniel's obsession. So clinical and precise it actually blew my mind! And he was rather surprised that we were all so amazed by his quirk.

There were so many more good questions and equally good answers coming from everyone. And it's such a fun game. I hope we play it again next time we see each other. I've got some questions thought out already. Gonna be well prepared next time!

That was indeed a strange day, but it made me so happy, just drifting into the zone, and enjoying the time. =)

You're floating like a royal balloon

2006-11-24T10:16:00.000+08:00

For some reason i have been watching movies that are very disturbing.

1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. Jesus Camp
3. Time

The visuals are especially grabbing, sometimes shocking, in times like this.

Texas Chainsaw was mainly very gruesome and intense (pretty fucked combination huh?), and the suspense nearly killed me.

Jesus Camp was troubling beyond words. Such a frightening documentary. Seemed like a rather honest portrayal of the subjects, though it really freaks me out to know that something like that is happening. It's like Nazism in another form man. All that brainwashing and exploitation business. I can't imagine doing that to a child.

Time was also very troubling. I had no idea what to expect from it before watching, but it wasn't a letdown at all. The whole idea of the film is a little whack and a little sarcastic. But the thing i can't get over is the psychotic girl's problem. The parts where she goes nuts on her boyfriend and starts acting weird in bed makes me sick. And her whole obsession. Insane! Can you imagine the sickness in her?

The best part of the movie was in the middle, when due to a technical glitch, the movie's audio went mute, and music came on (it sounded very much like Queen) and the two lead characters so happened to be in a super intense sex scene! Wtf. Somehow the music went with the movie. That had everyone in the audience in laughter man. People didn't know whether to get the GV staff to fix the problem or just enjoy the madness.

Oh yesterday i had great problem ordering stuff man. It was such a simple task which i managed to fail so horribly. First it took me about 5 minutes to get it right at the table before approaching the cashier. "Espresso Ice-Blended, small" or "Mocha Ice-Blended, small". Trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks. Finally, i mustered myself and stood up, walking towards the cashier, eyes fixed at the cakes display. I could sense the kachiau-ness in the staff, and indeed just before i was to order, they said something to one another in Malay and started laughing. I had no clue what they were talking about but still, i felt like i was gonna burst the moment i open my mouth. So i played cool and stared down at the menu, asking them to give me another minute. In my head i kept seeing that damn weatherman in the Borat film. Stupid weatherman curse!!! And the fucking cake i wanted had the longest name! And then i walked back to my seat, defeated by a persistent laughing spell. It was soooo embarrassing. And i could still hear them laughing about whatever stuff.

I've been eating a lot lately. Ahh. I must mention the cold noodles from Ramen Ten. Is that how it's spelt? Anyway, very very good cold noodles. Better with extra sesame oil and chilli powder.

Pizza at Tea Party (along Bt Timah) is also very good. Simple but good. And the different pizzas have very cute names. We had a pineapple and ham which was named Common People. And there was another named Everybody Hurts. I wonder what kind of ingredients go into a pizza with that name.

Out Of Focus

2006-11-17T00:49:00.000+08:00

It has never been more exciting spending time here. Suddenly things look more interesting, and i'm discovering something new all the time. Must be a change in state of mind.

I feel like i'm ever ready for an adventure, eat more ice cream, eavesdrop on more strangers' conversations, watch more people play football, play Puzzle Fighter, listen to Pink Floyd, run into old friends, check out new eateries, invent new games, go to the Night Safari, etc etc.

There's a killer on the road

2006-10-31T23:32:00.000+08:00

Despite all its hype, The Prestige failed to disappoint. I had known very little about the film beforehand, only that it was about magicians. And that it was another Nolan-Bale movie.

I felt that all typically Nolan elements were present... a lot of suspense, cutting back and forth between different time frames, sombre mood, etc.

Unlike Memento, Prestige was easier to follow. But in all fairness it's still a bloody clever story. There're twists and turns right from the start till the end. And in the end, every mystery falls into place, and every thing makes sense. Also, i think it's been a long time since a movie surprised its audience with a twist with the same impact like The Others and The Sixth Sense did.

I also love how the little details actually bear great symbolism to the whole idea of the story. Very, very impressive.

I sooo wanna discuss the twists but i shouldn't spoil it for you, right? At least not now. Maybe next week (I'm really just very sleepy). After i come back from Bangkok.

That's right i'm going! But the thing is i'm actually quite sian about it. Didn't really have time to prepare myself. And i'm just not used to having to take charge, make decisions sorta things.

I'm not as expertly as Ilynn and Mindy when it comes to Bangkok. I think they know the place like they're PRs. And one thing i'm sooo not looking forward to is the bitch of a splitting pain in my ear/ skull during landing. Holy cow man i really thought blood was gonna ooze outta my ears the last time. I remember wondering if Dennis Bergkamp had the same hellish experience that's why he doesn't fly. Did he?

Something In The Air

2006-10-16T02:04:00.000+08:00

I'd rather wake up feeling like shit so i can't feel worse as the day progresses.

This morning i woke up feeling quite fine, strangely. That's a first! Considering i've had too little sleep and have been working too damn much for most of the week, and that i'd had to work today as well (on a Sunday, bloody hell!!!).

I don't know what they're burning in Indonesia man! Heheheee. For no good reason, i was really quite chirpy, for the first half of the day at least, then it kinda got worse. What's new.

Feel Good Hit Of The Summer

2006-10-10T22:55:00.000+08:00

If you're going to the cinemas, you must watch Little Miss Sunshine. Great, great movie. Simple but great.

A story about a somewhat dysfunctional family on a roadtrip to a beauty pageant for little girls, in which the characters don't seem all that oddball after you get to know them better.

I feel that a large part of the film's success stemmed from good writing. The characters were written brilliantly. Most of them had some quirky trait - gay intellectual, angsty teenage poseur, annoying motivational speaker, junkie womanising grandfather. But as the story progresses, it's not difficult to understand the characters. In a way, their quirks are not "over the top", and the balance is actually maintained between interesting but not unbelievable, which is what i like best about it.

Most of the characters were unlikeable at first, especially the motivational speaker father. But the events that followed gradually changed him. One by one the family members get their turn at a fuckup point.

Although they seemed too different to be family (how similar are we with our family members anyway?), they're strongly connected by love, for the young daughter (cos she's the sweetest, without any agenda), if not for each other.

Besides great convincing acting, the offbeat humour also made the movie so very enjoyable. Unexpected moments, LOL dialogue. It made me laugh and cry. There was this scene that that particularly touched me, and at that point i hadn't realised the significance of the scene, yet it had such an impact on me. I thought that was quite something.

So go watch it. It'd be worthwhile i promise, definitely beats Lower City.

And for this gift i feel blessed

2006-10-05T00:44:00.000+08:00

I understand the fact that there are all kinds of people in this world, and a person can be so complex. But still, the only thing i care about in a person is what music they listen to. And people are classified into 2 simple categories -- those who listen to good music and the others whom i wouldn't really be able to talk to. I'm very serious about wanting to do up my questionnaire that should cover all important bases such as music and film. After years of thinking about it it's high time i do it. I'd even thought up some questions for it. So exciting.

One may argue that what's good music is very subjective. I'd thought about that too, and in the past i thought, "as long as it sounds good to me". But then Pussycat Dolls may sound damn groovy to some people. I suppose as time went by, i realise what's good is actually just something that's sincere. Could be any genre, but when it's sincere and heartfelt, it naturally connects with people. Some people of course. Difficult for those who worship the Pussycat Dolls, and Fergie too.

Last time i probably stuck only to a few key genres. Some 90s alternative rock, some 60s & 70s classic rock. Maybe it's the way time can change me. You know it when it's not the genre that matters, but the music itself, regardless of what form it takes, and you put aside all the pre-conceived notions you had about certain types of music, and allow yourself to understand the story behind that country number, identify with the vintage blues song, get inspired by that punk rock anthem, as long as it touches you and you can relate to it.

So am i a music snob? I don't know. No because i don't know that much (obscure) music to begin with. Yes because i'll probably never look past the trashiness of the Pussycat Dolls.

Here it goes again!

2006-10-04T00:18:00.000+08:00

I fucking love the Ok Go threadmill music video! The first time we saw it we found it so hilarious and brilliant we were simply blown away. We thought maybe it was just us, you know. But now i know. It's truly awesome!

Good times for a change

2006-10-02T22:43:00.000+08:00

The company organised a trip to APB for us the other day. Felt like an excursion! Taking the chartered bus, listening to the girls chatter nonstop. The tour was very interesting as the guide talked us through the brief history of APB, some background on beer-making, bottling and stuff. The best part though, which everyone was waiting for, was going to The Tavern, where the APB staff hang out and drink themselves silly for free, after office hours of course. And we, the privileged guests were treated to endless rounds of fresh, ice cold beer - Tiger, Erdinger, Guiness, etc.

The Tavern is such a nice place. The decor was so English i felt like i was in a little football bar somewhere in England (duh). Without the football hooligans, we had to fill in that role, not without the nicest fusball table i've ever seen, and a bunch of screaming people being on the Corona Bottles FC and the Lime Wedges United.

See the Arsenal flag behind Joey? Ha. That's Joey in yellow, and Cheryl in white. This old man, he approached us and asked if he could take a picture with us on his camera, so that when he went back to England, he could show it to people, and if they ask "Who're these girls?" He would fake sadness and say,"Hai. Don't talk about it". WHAT THE FUCK?!! Haha. We found that so cute we obliged. And even took shots with our own cameras.

Cheryl thought we were drunk (that's me and Jiza), so she took this picture blur to prove her point. No. Actually, it's just Cheryl. She had to be drunk.

Blooming flowers waltz before me

2006-09-25T22:39:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday the girls and i almost did something stupid. Out of desperation and immense boredom, we thought of going to MOS. (Please don't judge me. If you're even thinking about it, i know you ever wore baggy jeans too! You must have. Everyone went through that phase!) Actually it's just because some of ilynn's friends were there. But that place always makes me feel weird, even the idea of just being seen at the carpark area outside makes me squirm. Luckily they felt the same and it was wayyy too crowded so we decided to look for greener pastures elsewhere.

After considering 1001 places, we decided on Scarlet Hotel, and boy, was it scarlet indeed. The place was red hot, so beautiful! Real comfy.

Mindy, our designated driver had to do with a mocktail. But it's for the good of the general public, that i assure you.

Ilynn found that her martini tasted weird. It's some carribean martini, if i'm not wrong. Some malibu and pineapple juice? Sounds innocuous, but don't bet on it.

But Mindy wasn't happy being the only sober one so she decided to snort her mocktail for a high.

Because you're gorgeous

2006-09-10T15:58:00.000+08:00

The one thing i miss most about Arsenal is Robert Pires! He is the man... Sometimes i wonder, if i ever got the chance to see him, what would i say to him? What would i say to Robert Pires, standing right in front of me?!!

I'm empty and aching and i don't know why

2006-09-09T02:33:00.000+08:00

I love watching Rockstar. Last season and this. Yes i know it's full of shit. INXS used the show to jolt everyone's memory, and to give themselves a reason to make a new album and to play some concerts. Supernova is giving Jason Newsted, Gilby Clark, Tommy Lee and even Dave Navarro a second chance at their career. But it's just so enjoyable, watching people perform rock songs on TV. It's a million times better than American Idol. Who cares if the contestants are just hired actors or true rock n' roll hopefuls when they get on stage and play Hendrix's "Fire"? Or belt out classics by The Who, Bowie, etc? This season is ending and i'm glad Magni's still in the running. He's rocks my world. A pity about Storm Large though. I thought she kicked ass. Can't believe she crashed out before Dilana, the one who doesn't have "a big imagination" when it comes to songwriting. Storm's emotional delivery of "Wish You Were Here" almost made me weep, man. Yeah, i listened to "Wish You Were Here" like the whole of today. And it made me feel so weepy. Fuck.

Wanna taste the salt of your skin

2006-08-09T13:31:00.000+08:00

Contrary to that famous Chinese saying that human nature was kind by default, i think people were born evil. Look at any child. Greedy, impatient, selfish, self-centred, sometimes even rude. Social conditioning taught us how to hide our true nature and to become more hypocritical, to be nice to people, to smile, to offer your sweets, etc.

I did it though because he lied, because he took you for a ride

2006-08-07T23:23:00.000+08:00

The bad thing about having a good time is the comedown.

* * *

Now that i'm certain what exactly sadness means to me, i have to say, i'm devastated.

You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows

2006-07-29T11:55:00.000+08:00

What i really can't stand is hearing a fake (American) accent.

Helter Skelter

2006-07-21T10:06:00.000+08:00

My new resolution is to stop taking taxis excessively (if at all).

Taxi fare hike can go fuck spider!

Feel it come to live when i see your ghost

2006-07-20T10:18:00.000+08:00

The weekend was spent mostly at Baybeats. It's quite cool ya, how the turnout has been increasing each year. Can find all kinds of people there. Emo foos, punk rockers, punks, indie hipsters, geeks, slackers, babes who listen to more r&B actually, etc etc. Shaun even said he saw bengs and lians at Electrico's set.

This year's Baybeats has to be the most rewarding for me. As in, the previous years i mostly went late and missed all the bands i'd wanted to catch, such as Observatory. Two Baybeats ago i managed to catch Last Days Of April though. The lead singer was worth everything.

Plain Sunset has reunited damn fast man! Remember when they broke up? Wasn't that long ago, like abt... 2003 or 2004. They played that final gig at the Substation and people who couldn't get in were so upset. Anyhow, this year at The Arena they had such a big crowd! I don't know if their turnout was better or Electrico's. I thought it was the latter but Shaun said Plain Sunset.

I thought Electrico's gig was quite good. Very rocking and all (it's my first time watching them). Boon thought it was quite... i can't remember his exact word but i think it meant something like it was all very rehearsed. Let me just say now that Xiaowen is the best gig-going buddy i have. She's enthusiastic and has no qualms abt squeezing through the crowd and therefore getting better spots. Haha!

Boon totally loved Astreal's performance. Too bad we didn't stay for the whole set cos we decided to go get good spots for The Posies. Totally worth it! For me that was like the best gig in my Baybeats experience this year. Ken Stringfellow's solo set was quite impressive too. Mellow and nice. With Posies his stage antics kinda reminded me of Dave Grohl! He's also got that sort of hair. Would you imagine? If Foo Fighters would perform at Baybeats. Ok that's really impossible. Or like Queens Of The Stone Age came? And Dave Grohl drummed for them still? Sighs.

Another good thing abt Baybeats is that it's like a mini Mass Comm gathering. Those people (like Ian Tan, Daniel, Mervyn, Ben etc) whom i see once a year, i see them at Baybeats. Really nice to see everyone y'know? I'd say we all haven't changed much. =)

Looking forward to more!

Third Stone From The Sun

2006-07-07T22:18:00.000+08:00

Why do people grumble so much? I do up a proposal and pass it real early to the respective department, which has to get everything ready. I check first with them if they have what we need and they say "Huh! Lucky you ask me. If not, god bless you. Don't know where you're gonna find brownies for 30-something people. Aiyer you all do things very scary one. Every time last minute."

I do up a proposal at the last minute, no thanks to clients to like to call us up 3 days before their event, pass it to that department at the last minute no doubt, and they say "Walau. You all eh, always do things last minute one leh. Very scary you all. Cannot always last minute what. Now i must go and check if i have stock. If not how? Where you gonna find brownies for 30-something people? If cannot, we're fucked, you're fucked too, you know?"

Good lord. Can't they ever just shut up and do the damn job? I didn't ask for all the last minute rush. Ask them first also they will kao peh kao bu, don't ask just give them straight away they still kao peh kao bu.

You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon

2006-06-30T01:03:00.000+08:00

For a lot of my Top 20 favourite movies, i didn't know they were to become my favourites, even right after the show. It's like, after the end credits roll, if for days, weeks or months i keep thinking about it, i'll know just how much i like it.

Is that normal? I mean, think about it. Most of our best moments were spent not realising that those were to be the best. Just like Counting Crows said, "I can't remember all the times i tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass".

C.R.A.Z.Y. was different, though. Five minutes into the film i knew it was to be something i'd really like.

Besides the fact that i have a soft spot for most things set in the sixties/seventies, the story was absolutely enchanting. It was easy to identify with the main character, and even some of the others - the mother, the brother's (hot) hippie girlfriend, and sometimes even the brother (Raymond).

Zac, the lead is so goodlooking any guy or girl would want him. And why is it that a lot of foreign kids can act so damn well? They are so convincing in their roles!

Another contributing factor is the soundtrack. I love it! *melts* It features the best sounds as the story progresses through the decades, from Patsy Cline to Jefferson Airplane, to Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Wow wow wow.

Wonderful, wonderful coming-of-age story. Makes you feel a wide array of emotions. Go watch it, if you haven't. =)

Now the demon in me knows, what i knew so long ago

2006-06-29T01:25:00.000+08:00

Today i listened to "Reflections of My Life" (very very good song), and it brought to my mind the series Growing Up. I used to watch it every Sunday. It must have been the best local production from Channel 5. VR Man? Spin? And anybody remembers Masters of The Sea? What the hell were they thinking, man.

I think every father would like "Reflections of My Life". It's a song i think many fathers can relate to - nostalgia, small waistline, hair, hippie chicks they got or couldn't get. I know mine surely can. He used to play that a lot on the guitar.

I especially like the part where he sings "The world is a bad place, a bad place, a terrible place to live. Oh but i don't wanna die". Like i can so feel the pain.

* * *

Does anybody know i hate working? It's making me feel so... stupid and useless, and lazy and like i'm losing touch with a lot of things? I can't keep up with reading anymore. I can't find the time to write. And for watching films. Everyone else is just discovering more things and learning new things while i'm busying myself with a mundane routine that consists of nothing more than fretting over my wardrobe, rushing to get to work, and working till god knows what time every day.

I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving, oh the days go by so fast

2006-06-23T12:41:00.000+08:00

Who wants to go for ice cream at Island Creamery? Let me know. I want a scoop of Apple Pie. It's so good. And of course the Teh Tarik (but i much prefer Apple Pie). Maybe a scoop of Horlics too? Guess it wouldn't be that bad. Yes, i think we should.

We have to laugh to look at each other

2006-05-26T00:00:00.000+08:00

There are days when i just feel like screaming out profanities at the top of my voice. I believe that'd make me feel really good. Or at least rather tickled for a while. Randomly yell some body part or things you'd like to do with someone's mother.

The future's uncertain and the end is always near

2006-04-22T14:36:00.000+08:00

Counting down the Highbury days, each home game is getting increasingly emotional. Even a squirrel made its point known when Villareal went over.

When I heard about Wang Bin lao shi it wasn’t exactly the best of timing. I was feeling that way, and the news was hard to digest. It brought back lots of long forgotten memories of teenage angst and delinquency, and how she’d always bothered to talk to me about everything. Sometimes I felt she bothered too much. But how many teachers, or just people in general, could be like that? I did appreciate her, whether she knew it or not. Well, one thing for sure, I’ll always remember her as the one who taught us how to sing Dylan’s “Blowing In The Wind” during music class in Sec 1.

Slow Ride

2006-04-16T01:22:00.000+08:00

Yesterday we made our monthly pilgrimage to JB. Same old group plus one more. This time we were much more focused and headed straight to Holiday Plaza for a nice, big lunch in a very cosy Pizza Hut. Pity we didn't get our stuffed crust.

Right after was the main reason for our outing - DVD shopping! Ping Pong brought us to this other place that had more of older titles, and we literally went crazy. All that time spent in the back room, pouring through endless stacks of discs, shortlisting and selecting, while more and more people came into the room till it was impossible to move around.

Lesson learnt: Don't go on a public holiday.

I bought 15 pieces this time, and i realise i've starting becoming the type of DVD buyers that buy a movie not because it's new and they haven't watched it but because they've seen it and just wanna keep it. The keeper type. So damn happy i managed to get Before Sunset, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Shawshank Redemption and Trainspotting! Oh and a Ben Folds live concert, too. *happy*

It's crazy cos the group of us in total bought almost 60 pieces. 60!!! It kinda frightened us a bit and we spent much less time and more importantly, money at the video games shop.

After JB it was Winning Eleven madness at E Max. I find that you tend to play like the club you support. Special K scores the kind of goals that's very Arsenal. Something like the kind Pires or Henry sometimes would score. Not too far from the net, a coupla defenders around, a twist and turn before sending the ball home through the defenders. Ping Pong scores the very Steven Gerrard kind of goals. Relatively far strikes. Amit i'm not sure but Special K says he does play like Newcastle. Cool huh, how it really affects your decision making. No wonder Everton fans are so... different.

Oh previously i tried to come up with a list of all-time favourite movies. Like my Top 10, but i just couldn't keep it at 10. After much deliberation, i came up with 17. Actually i'm quite sure there're a couple more i haven't included. Top 20 makes more sense than Top 17, don't you think? I'll let you know again. =)

Who needs action when you got words?

2006-03-25T14:43:00.000+08:00

Mindy says I attract weird people. Weird people always come talk to me.

Just the other night at Clementi, I was waiting for Mindy when this 40-something Chinese man came over. I still had my earphones on so I only saw him looking straight at me and saying something which I couldn’t hear, obviously. I removed the phones, and trouble began.

Him: Do you speak English?
Me: Yup I do.
Him: Erm, I need your help.

(Thinking to myself, “Whatever it is, just don’t ask to borrow my phone.”)

Me: Okay… what’s the problem?
Him: There’s a girl over there, young girl, and she’s feeling very down. I think she has some relationship problem… Maybe out of love, and she’s alone, talking on the phone.
Me: Ahuh…
Him: And there’s this group of boys sitting near her, and they’re planning to do something to her. Something very offensive.

At this point, Mindy arrived.

Mindy: What’s happening?

He briefly repeated the above, and asked that we follow him to check on the girl.

Him: I think it’s good if you can approach her and talk to her. I wanna help her but I’m a man. She’d be more comfortable talking to you. I think she needs a role model. (???) I don’t wanna see my fellow Singaporean get into this kind of trouble, and I can’t do anything to help. Can you come with me? Just go and see her first.

Mindy and I looked at each other, then followed him reluctantly. I mean, this was about the weirdest conversation I’d had with a stranger.

When we came to the girl, all we saw was a generic-looking teenage girl talking on the phone. Sure, she looked kinda spacey, but nothing like depressed. And, the bunch of guys the man was referring to looked just like normal boys who play street soccer on Sundays. They were talking and didn’t look like they even knew the girl was sitting beside them.

Mindy: I don’t see any problem here.
Him: Please just go and talk to her?
Me: But how? There’s like nothing going on?
Him: She needs some help and guidance.

Mindy and I tried to explain that there wasn’t any situation as far as we could see, and you can’t just go up to a stranger who’s on the phone and ask if they need help.

Mindy: If you really think there’s a problem, why don’t you just call the police or something?
Him: If you’re self-centred, you can go. Just disappear.
Me: What?
Mindy: Okay. Fine.

So we walked off. Cheeseen!

Hiding from the sun, waiting for the night to come

2006-03-16T18:59:00.000+08:00

We got our DVDs safely! We're all happy now. When Amit gets his he'd be very happy too. Unfortunately, i have no time to start on them. I bought 10! And we only checked out one shop. We spent hours in the secret room, browsing through the titles, making difficult decisions then finally testing them piece by piece. Testing of DVDs is very important.

We got a very good price cos we bought so many. Can't wait to buy some more the next time i'm there.

Meeting up with the delivery guy made me so kancheong most of the day in the end i made ping pong come with me. I kept imagining police popping out during the meeting to catch me. And what if the fella didn't call? Like he got busted at the customs or something? Real bummer that would've been. I mean, it does happen okay. Boon said one time he didn't get his stuff. What's more the delivery man called me two hours later than he said he would. We met at 12 midnight mann, and he was on his motorcycle. Haha. Sounds like shady lane!

And the four right chords can make me cry

2006-03-10T12:47:00.000+08:00

If you go to the 7-11 at Liang Court, watch out for this young punk of a cashier. He's a hum sup loh. He remembers if you've been there and what you bought the last time. And he gives you a smirk, and says "That's all today? Not buying anything else?"

And if you take bus 143, beware also. I was crossing the road when the bus driver just winked at me. In broad daylight!

Ok, now i'm off to like pump some beers and mix a few drinks. Damn the US Marine.

Tmr, we be merciless pirates!

Randomness.

Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay

2006-02-26T00:54:00.000+08:00

B: I'm not the indie type what.
A: You're NOT the indie type then who is? What type are you then?
B: I'm the jealous type.
A: What kinda music is that?
B: Jealous music. Haha.

Where Were You While We Were Getting High?

2006-02-25T21:15:00.000+08:00

Post rock blues. That's what we're suffering from. *winks at Pong*

What a night that was. The gig was kinda crazy, but in all fairness, it wasn't really because of Oasis.

Their performance was really just alright. Firstly, the set was more or less predictable, word was out they'd do a cover of The Who, and they actually played Champagne Supernova right after Wonderwall. Somehow that just didn't work for me, two of their most hyped-about songs from arguably their best album back to back. And they weren't very entertaining on stage. But that's what Oasis are about, isn't it? Plenty of lan-lan attitude. All the photos in my camer (taken by Boon. not bad eh?) showed Liam in the same pose. So, no point posting them up.

To their credit, they played lots of their older songs, which were really why so many people became fans. They played mainly stuff from What's The Story Morning Glory? and even Definitely Maybe. All my favourites, such as Cigarettes And Alcohol, Acquiesce, Live Forever and Masterplan (the latter two being really heartfelt). We huddled closely and held ice cream hands during Don't Look Back In Anger. Pity though, they didn't play Supersonic or Roll With It. They should've just not played any of their new songs.

The crowd around us was very enthusiastic. The crowd in front of us was very tall. Anyhow, everyone was screaming along to every single word and jumping up and down. I even got punched in my left jaw by this dancing maniac of a guy beside me.

Found it rather odd also, that the last song (My Generation) was played with the audience lights turned up.

After the gig we all huddled around the table and watched the self-made porno clip starring the now famous NYP couple. How many people get to do that the first time they all go out? Haha. We rock.

The Masterplan!

2006-02-24T10:46:00.000+08:00

"I know that when you want to do business you must have a plan then carry it out. Stick to your plan. Not like when Tom walks past you try to sell him something. Dick walks past you suck him." -- Special K

You want to but she won't let you

2006-02-22T18:13:00.000+08:00

I've been gone for the longest time Billy Joel would be so proud of me. Been busy busy busy!

Now i shall put up this public service announcement and warn you all about delivery services. Beware, folks, when you're lazy and wanna have your meals sent to your doorstep.

Once i ordered a Fillet-O-Fish from you-know-where, it came without cheese! And then the other time we upsized the meal but the fries in there were only half-full. (Trust me to still be an optimist in a situation like this) Nobody cheats me when it comes to fries!

And then the people at Canadian Pizza also deserve some mention. They managed to burn a pizza and a shepherd's pie and still send them to me. I called them back to complain, and they actually said they couldn't replace my pizza cos we had already eaten 3 slices. Come on, what were we to do? We were so fucking starved, having waited nearly an hour. As for my shepherd's pie, they said they'd replace it, and the delivery man came after yet another hour.

So if you order food, be sure open it up and inspect it thoroughly, in the delivery man's face!

Last week at the Franz Ferdinand gig, i got my mind blown away even before the band came out. At the door, i was so amazed at all the different kinds of people who were there. In that condition, everything was mind blowing and amazing. But there was this lady who looked 30-something, wore a white blouse and grey knee-length skirt, completing the look with a pair of plastic frame specs. Like i told Ann, that lady looked just like a librarian from 1991! And she was there to groove along to FF. Speaking of which, i'd die to see another FF in action. Foo Fighters of course.

And come tomorrow, you will find me caught beneath the landslide!

White Rabbit

2006-01-24T09:45:00.000+08:00

It had always been in my plans to work as close as possible to John Chee. *sniggers*

The Devil In Me

2006-01-10T03:05:00.000+08:00

I'd like to share with you some of the funniest SMSes i ever received. They're from way back though.

(Some parts have been omitted)

"I don't think it was me causin trauma n panic. It's ur own guilt consciousness."
Cool. I learn new terms every day.

"i already smashed up my hp. At least i wont bother u anymore. But my preception of u remains."
A smashed up handphone allows you to at least send one sms. And pls enlighten me. What on earth is a preception?

"U can selfish, self-centered n a total bitch that's why."
Thanks mann, i really needed the laughs.

Stacked Actor

2006-01-05T12:38:00.000+08:00

I saw this on Hollywood Squares.

Host: What did the Queen give Mick Jagger, which was something he never had?

Celebrity (i forgot who now): Satisfaction!

Totally cracked me up.

Double cross the vacant and the bored

2006-01-04T23:57:00.000+08:00

Besides saving money, the reason why some people'd rather buy DVDs outta a suitcase has to be that their fellow countrymen possibly top the list as the worst cinema patrons in the world - laughing at parts not meant to be funny, asking too many stupid questions loudly, making unnecessary comments, asking their friends "Wanna listen radio or not?", etc. (I swear someone sitting beside me said that during Exorcism of Emily Rose) If we can place our palms on car windows for days, maybe the next challenge should come in the form of sitting through movies WITH MOUTHS FUCKING SHUT.

Say, don't you know me? I'm your native son.

2006-01-03T16:59:00.000+08:00

Here they are, pictures from Christmas. =)

My cousin and his wife are great. These past years they've been putting up the tree and inviting us over for some turkey and gang. And of course the beautiful kids. (All 4 of them!!!) It's the 2nd year i've brought Mindy and Ilynn along.

Great Balls Of Fire

2006-01-03T00:22:00.000+08:00

It's scary. I remember when it was 1994, i couldn't imagine life in 2000. And now we're only 4 years away from 2010! My dad must've said this to me a gazillion times. "Time waits for no man"; and even worse when you're a woman i say.

On New Year's Eve, we made a last minute decision to go watch the fireworks at Marina. Finally we've stopped being lazy! Good start to the new year. We followed the crowd, they were hard to miss. And we reached that bridge overlooking the waters. At first the guard didn't allow any more people to get on the bridge but at 12 he relented and up we went, as the fireworks exploded right in our faces. Spectacular view. It was so beautiful mann!

After that we just walked around, trying to avoid getting sprayed by that foamy thing in everyone's hands. I feel it's impolite to spray at someone who isn't carrying one.

By 2am, the ground was a hazard to walk on, if you could find any at all.

Happy new year!

Reindeers toasting on an open fire

2005-12-25T22:25:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas, you. (If not, at least enjoy the long weekend.)

It was very enjoyable for me; i think i liked it more than last year's.

It was eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat. How many times is that, you ask? A LOT. The children drove everyone crazy, but that's the whole point of their existence so it's all good. Hehe. We had a surprise visit from the Christmas carol people, and Elvis even joined in on one song, much to our delight.

I'll put up the pictures next time ok?

I saw Carmen and the devil walkin’ side by side

2005-12-16T01:06:00.000+08:00

Bi-annually Mango sale. Hahahahaa. Crazy as always. I can't fucking stand those girls who bring their boyfriends into the already overly crowded boutique when all the boyfriends do is to park themselves right in front of racks of clothes, looking as useful as a third nipple.

Mindy got me thinking with her recent post, about defining ourselves, who we are, what we like, what we hate, etc. This does not do justice to her thought-provoking entry but i'm reminded of the very funny "profiling" some people do for themselves. They go something like this:

Likes: Genuine and sincere people, honesty, good company

Dislikes: Hypocrites, liars, bad company (why huh they're not bad a band okayyy)

Come on, give us a fucking break. Doesn't everyone?

That's Alright Mama

2005-12-10T22:11:00.000+08:00

This is Elvis, my favourite paikia in the world. Since this is my first post with a picture, i figure it's a good idea to put up a picture of the beautiful boy.

Actually i just wanted to test if this Add Image button works, but it's also a wonderful opportunity to present Elvis, since i talk quite a lot about him.

At six years old, he's great with girls. The girlies simply adore him and have no qualms travelling halfway across the country to see him and take him out for a nice meal. This photo was taken by Ilynn at Swensen's on our last outing. (We tease-suggested going to the library and he said "But it's so hot outside!" Cock-and-bull.) He was so happy that day cos he went home with stickers and jigsaw puzzles.

Last week i caught him saying "shit". Walau, i wonder what's next. When he goes to primary school it's only gonna get worse. Sometimes i wish he'd never grow up.

Damn it, i miss Elvis!

But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

2005-12-09T00:09:00.000+08:00

Can somebody please tell the Taiwanese popstars to stop saying "chao high" all the time? It's fucking rude!!!

Can't Get Me No, Satisfaction!

2005-12-07T15:55:00.000+08:00

Children born in the early '80s -- a generation poisoned by Michael Learns To Rock. Most of us can sing their songs by heart without even realising it.

You don't believe you try?

Belfast Boy

2005-12-04T13:44:00.000+08:00

I used to tell my father he could work for the met services. Everytime he washed his car it'd rain afterwards.

And i got his lousy genes, besides things like bad teeth.

Most of the time i get ready to go out it's super annoyingly sunny and i slap on some sunblock, then by the time i reach the great outdoors it starts to rain.

It's not just December, mann i tell you. Happened to me in September too.

Momma this must be my dream

2005-10-29T23:15:00.000+08:00

My brother saw this man at the kopitiam order a cup of hot water for 20 cents. When he got his hot water, he took out this satchet of 3-in-1 coffee from his pocket and poured it into the hot water. Ha.

So next time we'll order "Kopi, don't want hot water!" for like 50 cents and bring our own water in a thermos flask.

Your diary's looking like a bible with its verses lost in time

2005-10-13T00:52:00.000+08:00

My student's just done with her PSLE and she wants no other than to go to my former secondary school. Why she'd wanna do that, i have no idea. I used to think it was just teenage angst that i hated my school. Back then, hate was a pretty accurate sentiment.

I don't feel that strongly about my school anymore, since i started growing my hair and looking more like a person. But i can't say that's where i'll send my daughter, if i have a child at all, ever.

Maybe i can't grow out of things, but that school just made me feel like shit most of the time. Even recess time was unenjoyable, because of the fucking horrible canteen food. I ended up waking up a bit earlier every day to cook my own food and bring to school, which would sometimes finish before recess.

And the uniform. The uniform. Good lord. Sorry, that's all i can say about the uniform.

This is gonna sound quite shallow, but students from my school didn't enjoy the best of reputations, no thanks to the school image (and the uniform). Students elsewhere just seemed so... at ease, when for 5 days a week we looked awkward as hell, and goodlooking boys and girls wouldn't take a second look at us. No offence if you were from my school. Some of the girls actually looked pretty, you know who you are. And if you didn't look very nice back then, i hope you got a better hairdo already. If you were only into boys across the road, i hope now you have more places to look.

*major sigh* Those 4 years made me see a lot of things i wish i hadn't seen then. I just can't help but feel that if i went to another school, i'd have felt much better about everything, and might even be in a better place today.

Comfortably Numb

2005-09-18T04:04:00.000+08:00

Everything happens for a reason.

A body lying in its coffin rarely resembles the person that used to walk around in that same body due to the thick, waxy makeup. I believe that's so we don't get too attached to the body, and so that the idea of death doesn't grip us too tightly.

Now it's a little difficult talking to people without thinking for a moment - would this be our last conversation?

Closing Time

2005-09-14T21:19:00.000+08:00

Wanna hear something stupid? No, not the song.

Some fat, ugly no less, drunk called me anorexic, except he pronounced it as aneROKsik. Since when did E sound like O, in English?

Anyhow, here's the gist of the conversation.

Fat Jerk: Dear, are you anorexic? You know what's anorexic?
Me: Yeah i know. But i'm not.
Fat Jerk: You are... (in that annoying fatherly manner)
Me: No i'm not. I love food. I do eat.
Fat Jerk: Anorexic (not anorexia) is like that. You think you're not but you are.
Me: I said i'm not. Do you even know me?
Fat Jerk: I don't know you, but i know you're anorexic.
Me: Are you drunk?
Fat Jerk: Yes. But the thing is, drunk to what extent? *gibberish*

How does a stranger have the right to tell you what you are? I mean, i would know what i am and what i am not, wouldn't i? Like, i know i'm 21. Nobody can come tell me "you're not 21. You think you are but you're not". Up theirs!

Half the time has passed away... things we thought of yesterday

2005-08-20T22:46:00.000+08:00

Have you heard me tell this story? Random childhood memory.

Primary 1 English listening compre and the teacher, Ms Basrah told us to cover our answers so as not to let anyone copy. Remember those listening compres? We were given 4 different pictures and the teacher would read out a sentence and we would then circle the alphabet A, B, C or D of the corresponding picture.

Kaypoh me i glanced over at the script of the girl sitting next to me. Think her name was Fatimah or something like that. She followed instructions, but not very well. Instead of covering the entire row of letters, she put her eraser over the letter of her choice!

The Kids Aren't All Right

2005-08-10T00:15:00.000+08:00

We went to watch Crash at Marina Square. That place is so havoc now with all the new shops and super gigantic but nvr crowded Giant. But today, just today, cos of the fireworks the entire City Hall/Esplanade/Marina area was packed! It's like people were getting ready for a countdown party. So many people dressed in red. Though i really like the colour, i'd nvr wear it on National Day. It's as corny as radio DJs playing "Friday I'm In Love" every Friday.

Crash was pretty good, and most of all, very relevant in our society. All that paranoia, racial stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecy, a lot to think about! (pls read on)

As we were leaving Marina Square, we walked into a bunch of screaming Malay kids. Some ten over kids were walloping the fuck outta one skinny kid, and a lot of other kids were sitting around watching. One of the Malay guys even took out his belt for further effect. Must be something he picked up from his old man. As they were scuffling about, a lady passerby shrieked "Police come already! Quick run, all of you!" That used to work, but i guess kids these days don't give a shit about that anymore. One little kid who looked no more than 12 years old joined in the action too, and he fell into the water. I thought he was gonna break his head at the curb. (I don't know which is worse - cracking his skull or being involved in that gang nonsense.) Then it looked like they were done, but fights like that don't ever have clean endings, until someone bleeds, or the cops arrive. So they went at it again, then stopped, screamed some gang name that had three numbers in it and went away. And then they all ran in a certain direction again, for what i presumed was another round.

See, what made me mad was that so many kids were going at one guy. Where's the glory in that? It's easy to find strength in numbers, but that's surely not something to brag about mann. But we don't know what the full story is btwn the whole army of them and the lone ranger. But really, it's just stupid doing things like that. They'll nvr learn, will they? And if you're caught in a situation like that and you can't avoid it, poke someone's eye, or kick someone's balls. =P

On The Road Again

2005-08-08T01:31:00.000+08:00

I can't remember how long it's been, not until i check the date of my last post anyway. And not like you're missing much anyway.

Same old story. The wretched comp has once again failed on me.

Somebody did a fantastic cover of that r&b number "No Diggity" by Blackstreet - song reminds me of the early sec days with Mindy dear - in this rock manner, with lots of funk in it. Really awesome job, got me and Special K grooving along, but i still don't know who the genius is. It's hard to imagine people remaking r&b songs in that way. That's what i call taking someone else's song and "making it your own".

It's hard trying to do something in a cybercafe. I can't fucking concentrate with all these crazy gamers shouting at one another over the terminals and at their own monitor. "Eh bo liao mai kao peh kao boo!" "Siang ka lee kao peh?" "Cheebye lee bo kwa teo ar?!" "Walau knn zi eh level lim peh buay sai" "Zoh simi lanjiao?!?!"

SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

Teach Your Children

2005-05-30T23:45:00.000+08:00

I cannot believe such people exist.

Ann and i were at one of the Muslim eateries in Far East Plaza, and sitting very near us were a strange couple. While we were waiting for our food and talking, i noticed the guy glance at me and squint his eyes (if you can call them eyes). And then it happened again. And again. And again. Sometimes the girl stared at us too.

We were very puzzled. Like what the fuck is their problem? And when we looked right back at them, into their eyes, they did not have the decency or the common courtesy to look away. (Reminds me of that Hollanv V ah siao)

Finally, Ann *round of applause* did something remarkable.

Ann: Can i help you?
Guy: Huh?
Ann: Can i help you?
Guy: No... not really.
Ann: Cos i feel very uncomfortable that you keep looking at us and frowning.
Guy: I was frowning meh?
Me: Yes. Do you have a problem?
Guy: (muttering, barely audible) I thought you were a man.
Me: What?
Guy: (looking down at the table) Nothing.
Me: Say it again. You had something to say. Say it to my face.
Guy: wwhehhemmwsueh (fuck knows what he was trying to say)
Girl: (trying hard to avoid eye contact) He is embarrassed that he said you looked like a man.

At this point, i got up, splashed my entire cup of teh peng on his ugly head. Okay, i did not do that.

Me: Fuck you. You cheebye son of a bitch!

NOOOO! That was just what i i said in my head. Fortunately, this came out instead.

Me: He should be more embarrassed about the way he looks.

After that, we had our dinner in peace. I caught him looking over once more, and then he woke up his idea.

What gave these two creeps the idea they had the right to talk about looks? Mind you, the guy looked like a sleepy, pimply Chinese nerd, and his girlfriend looked like her parents were first cousins. Have you seen a man this thin? And if i were a man indeed, he'd be beaten flat like Hainanese pork chop!