Writings on the Wall

Is love alive?

2009-06-04T12:03:00.000+08:00

I still believe in summer days.
The seasons always change
and life will find a way.

Is it...

2009-05-19T16:52:00.002+08:00

evil to wish someone a quick death for the peace of others?

worth asking people to repeat the time when you don't have a purpose in life anymore?

better to drag others down with you when you don't feel like living?

H1N1

2009-05-15T22:29:00.002+08:00

I was SO relieved two days ago when I received the email that travel restrictions to the US are lifted. WOOT! Finally could get down to booking my connecting flight although by the time I booked it, the cheapest flight is not available anymore, so the hole in the pocket was at USD 218.60, an additional USD119 (BLEH)

When panic about the pandemic broke out, especially with the persistent raising of the pandemic alert level by WHO (not to be confused with severity of disease), at the back of my mind I was thinking 'Is there an overreaction to all this?' I quoted to anyone who would listen 36,000 people die from flu-related complications yearly in the United States. I wondered about the healing rate of the virus, rather than just the number of cases confirmed. I told myself that the virus is mild outside Mexico and experts surmised that the flu would go away seasonally as summer is impending. All in all, I was looking for a silver lining. My grandmother kept warning me about the dangers and the first case confirmed in Malaysia being a 21-year-old student who returned from the United States probably isn't going to assuage her fears. But I know the symptoms and the drug to treat it, I'd be damned if I let this stop me from seizing my last chance at participating in an exchange program.

Harry Potter!

2009-05-03T00:34:00.003+08:00

The trailer for the new movie looks all kinds of amazing! Quidditch is back!
Must reread the book again. It has been 4 years, wow. I remember being in JC and following my friend Marita to buy the book at Borders =)

HEAT

2009-04-25T22:00:00.002+08:00

The heat really saps you of energy.... plodplodplod...

BUT I realised when I have the stubborn will to do something, I can really sit down and do, albeit suffering from procrastination earlier on. I told myself to finish editing my UROPS manuscript for submission to an online journal by last Sunday, but I only sat down doing it yesterday night from 10pm all the way to 4am -_- And I just spent another 1.5 hours editting references.

OH CRAP forgot to take out my laundry... Creased clothing -_- but never mind since I haven't been going out my laundry is all only wear in hall clothes anyway.

Random acts of kindness

2009-04-18T13:16:00.002+08:00

Act 1
Cynthia and I were deciding our meals for lunch at Waraku Heeren, then a girl from the table next to ours reached over and asked if we need the coupons so we gratefully and gleefully accepted them! =) $27 in total! So we paid less than $3.50 each for a set of don and ramen each, and 5 mini ice creams (their desserts are not worth it at all but the Set at $9.80 is!)

Act 2
I got my favourite Marigold jelly (orange- not because I'm a shearite) left outside my door today with no note... Hmmm.. wondered if it was by mistake =p but little things like these just perk up my day and make me think that the world is a better place

The importance of packing

2009-04-16T02:16:00.003+08:00

I've booked my flights departing 23 May and arriving 23 Jul! =D

And the thought of suitcases and packing slowly sunk in...

May 4 Final paper
May 8 Homebound
May 22 Arrive in Singapore
May 23 Leave for US
Jul 23 Touchdown Singapore
Jul 27 Homebound
Jul 30 Baaaallliiii!
Aug 12 Huge withdrawal back to school

Ok HOW to organise my things! T_T

I have to clear out of my hostel room, then figure out what things I want to bring to US so I can store them somewhere in Singapore first without me carting things back and forth Sin-KL-Sin. Then I must pre-plan what I want to bring for Bali so I pack them with me during the first trip home and leave them at home since I'm departing from KL.

Does it sound simple? Maybe deceptively so due to the brevity of my words.
But already packing to go to ONE place is hard enough let alone the preprepreplanning!
Maybe I should just shop for more clothes in US and Bali.

On a separate note, the sales assistant at Blossomz Cathay Cineleisure SUCKS!

They were having a sale where all tops were $15 and all dresses were $25, so if I see things that I like and think they're worth the price, I would take a lot of them to try. I had 6 items on my arm and the girl said 'Sorry maximum three items only'. Which I TOTALLY did not see the point of since I was the only customer there?? And there was another empty changing room in case some other customer walked in.

So I tried on the first three, a pink tiered dress, a satin yellow tube top and a purple layered top. When I came out and I asked whether the purple top had an S coz the M was loose, she said no. (Note that she did not bother to check whether other colours had S) and I rejected the other two, she asked how come, so I said the pink dress had too many tiers I didn't like it when I tried it on. Her reply: You should know it has that many tiers when you saw it on the display. What's UP with the attitude?

Ok no matter, I asked whether I could try the other three items I had, and she handed me two, and said I can't try on white items. So I asked whether I can try on other colours of the same design, and she said she'd get it for me later. (!!) I don't see why she can't just take it to save me the trouble of rewearing my top and popping in and out of the changing room.

Anyway so the other two didn't have a suitable cutting either. When I came out, she said 'Cannot right?' with a smirk on her face, like she presumed that I would not buy anything in the first place and is just wasting her time to rearrange the clothes after I tried them. AND I also noticed she didn't bring the dress in another colour other than white like she said she would. LAZY PRESUMPTIOUS ASS! I wonder if she was the same assistant that asked my friend whether she was pregnant after suggesting she should try a dress a size larger.

Whatever it is, I'm boycotting the store from now on!

*ok I realised my rant is longer than the initial purpose of this article -_-

EXCITEDDDD!!!

2009-04-14T19:30:00.002+08:00

So happy found a cheap deal to go to San Francisco =))
I'm going to Denver for a 6 week attachment!
Thinking of going to New York, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Miami.... *daydreams*
And I think I did well in two of my tests today!
Shall deny the looming ***** lalala

Why

2009-04-07T03:09:00.002+08:00

why am i so emotionally weak
that horrible lump
at the throat. choking. suffocating.
tracks of tears.
is it better being numb
if only
happiness is a state of mind

we might as well

2009-03-31T09:16:00.000+08:00

I don't know your face no more
Or feel your touch that I adore
I don't know your face no more
It's just a place I'm looking for
We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in a different world

I don't know your thoughts these days
We're strangers in an empty space
I don't understand your heart
It's easier to be apart

We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in a another time
For all I know of you now
For all I know

Missing you

2009-03-15T18:09:00.001+08:00

Somehow receiving an sms from my mum today just made me miss my family so much! It's my parents' 25th wedding anniversary today.
I realise that home is the only place where I can be loved the way I am. I'm tired of hurting.

Free...fallin'

2009-03-14T00:25:00.004+08:00

Image by manj3d on deviantart

untitled

2009-02-23T00:29:00.002+08:00

I'm glad you can smile and laugh more now even with what you're doing to me. Even though I've found my bit of happiness a part of me will always be missing and broken. At certain malicious moments if I could erase you off the face of the earth I would. But then I still keep the photos, I still cherish the memories because it meant something. And you do not just throw everything back at the person's face.

ZOMG!!!

2009-01-15T20:49:00.003+08:00

The most scary thing just happened to me today!!!

It started out like a normal scenario, not uncommon to me. I was rubbing my eyes while wearing contacts coz they felt dry. Suddenly my right eye vision, always the right eye having problem, turned blur. A light poke in the eye confirmed that the contact lens was not there anymore. So I went to the restroom to double check, and experience also told me to check whether the tricky bastard went to the lower lid. It wasn't there either, thus I surmised that it must've fallen out. So dizzy with only one eye having corrected vision, I made it back to hall to take out the left contact lens, checking again to see whether the right one was lodged somewhere as it was rare that a contact lens can fall out without touching my face. Furthermore my right eye felt a slight pokey feeling. No sign of it. Halfway during dinner, I started blinking continuously, and OUT OF NOWHERE MY RIGHT LENS FELL OUT TO JUST OUTSIDE OF MY PUNCTA!

OK, not exactly out of nowhere, it was like the upper left corner of my eye. BUT IT CONFIRMED MY WORST FEAR~ THAT THE LENS CAN GO BEHIND THE EYEBALL... ZOMGGG

2008: Wrapped up

2009-01-10T21:02:00.000+08:00

1. The Breakup
2. The Preceptorship
3. Another one flew from the nest
4. Eurotrip
5. The first IPSF conference
6. The election -> Vice Presidency
7. The other election
8. The new guy
8. World Diabetes Day
9. The silence
10. Meet the Parents
11. E-zzhypt
12. Worst sem ever

2008 encompassed a myriad of new experiences, travels and commitments wise. Globetrotting reached to 3 different continents in the world. My trips were definitely one of the highlights of 2008. It also marked the end of my role as chairperson of Photocomm and the beginning of my post as Vice President of NUSPS.

It was also a year of many new lows. The relationship took a bad turn but things looked up, and what was so ideal (and perhaps selfishness on my part) just came crashing down and lacrimal production was overwhelming.

But new relationships were also forged, along with it came new challenges. And with the hope of happiness and living life to the fullest, 2009 was ushered in.

Carlos+Gaby <3

2008-12-03T13:09:00.002+08:00

Today I was watching Desperate Housewives Season 5 Episode 9 and the last few minutes involving a scene between Carlos and Gaby just moved me to tears. A doctor told Carlos that he could regain his sight as they found a tiny bone fragment pressing on his optic nerve which made him blind 5 years ago. Gaby panicked because she has, in her opinion, lost her looks after giving birth to two daughters. But the upside for her was that she was married to a blind man so it didn't matter. Initially the surgery was scheduled a month away but the doctor announced the surgery can be moved forward to next Friday. So Gaby overstrained herself with workout sessions til she was in pain when she got in bed next to Carlos. After confessing her fears, Carlos asked whether she remembered when he decided to propose to her.
Gaby: When you saw me walking down that runway
Carlos: No, that was when I wanted to have sex with you
He then proceeded to tell her bout a dinner they had in a restaurant where she ordered a huge plate of ribs and finished it, with ribs hanging off her teeth, barbeque sauce on her lips and grease in her air, but she looked so happy. And when he said she was such a mess, she pulled out a mirror and laughed when she looked at herself, such a big laugh that it filled the whole restaurant, and that's when he knew he wanted to hear that laughter for the rest of his life.

Gaby: Do you know when I decided I wanted to spend forever with you? 2 seconds ago

That's just the sweetest thing ever!

Perhaps this is a fear that resonates among people with good looks as Amanda in Ugly Betty also said, "You're lucky Betty coz you'll know when people fall in love with you. I'll never know if they just like me coz I'm pretty"
Of course I know I'm not a good looker at all but it really warms my heart when I'm told that I'm beautiful =) like how Daniel told Betty when she was broken up over a boy and said people will only tell her that she's beautiful 'on the inside' but Daniel firmly told her, "You're beautiful" =))

Last

2008-11-30T16:44:00.002+08:00

In between sleeping past 4am, complaining restlessly to my neighbours, packed lunches, episodes of Friends, Geo challenge and Solitaire, I've made it through the four core papers. Now it's the final lap for my Culture and Society module and I'm stuck watching Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.

Pick-me-up

2008-11-25T16:21:00.002+08:00

Checked two results for the impending two papers on Thurs and Fri. A nice surprise =)All the way now!

Wishing...

2008-11-24T01:56:00.001+08:00

...you were somehow here with me

Love takes two

2008-11-19T23:25:00.002+08:00

Baby, tell me, are we heading into trouble, yeah
Is it my imagination taking whole
Do I read too much into the way we say
The way you move away from me
I may feel that you're the one
But when all is said and done

There's a whole lot of things you can do and do without me, yeah
There's a million things I can do and do alone
But the best you can do for yourself
Is sharing with that someone else
No one wants to be alone
It's the one thing that I know

Ants in my pants

2008-11-08T16:40:00.002+08:00

My room is attacked by antssss!!! =(((

I swear, it has NOTHING to do with the 'untidy' state of my room... It only started Thursday night, when I was studying and suddenly I find myself killing up to 10 ants in a few hours randomly crawling on my study table. Then more and more continued to pop up till the source was identified as the lollipops given in the SHeares Link packet. Gah. But that was a few ants only. Discovered some ant trails leading into the cracks on the wall and window.

Then after Man's birthday celebration, the cake platter and used tissues were left on the headboard of the bed. OMFG after like half an hour the plate was INFESTED with a horrifying amount of ants in a frenzy. Fortunately they were SMALL ants.. what a nightmare!!!! They all started scurrying into cracks along the wall at the side of my bed, sprayed insecticide but since they didn't 'crawl out carrying their eggs' (Wong, 2008), we surmised it wasn't a nest but just a conduit to their nest. Today when I cleaned my floor I was observing some random ants and I'm sure you've observed before when ants meet each other from opposite sides they must stop and communicate with each other before parting in their own directions again. I've always wondered what they say to each other. Anyway I noticed this ant who bumped into a small amount of ant carcasses on the floor. Must've been quite a shock bumping into so many dead bodies. But oh well, infest my room and you're dead!

All the Small Things

2008-10-30T01:47:00.003+08:00

... have made me lose my mood over studying

... have seeded doubts

... have made me kick myself

=)

Earth shattering

2008-10-27T14:27:00.002+08:00

I really didn't see it coming.
I was skeptical he was good for you.
The screaming matches and fights ending in tears.
The conflict bred within the family.
But you convinced me otherwise.
If you could pull through this with him by your side, you could pull through anything.
And I became more accepting of his quirks, seeing more of his qualities.
You instilled such faith in me, though at first naive, it turned to admirability.
But he's not by your side anymore.
And I know you're strong and mature to get through this.
Any difficulties along the way, you know I'd support you the best that I can.
With love.

Peace

2008-10-23T01:45:00.001+08:00

Thanks for sharing. I wish your soul peace.

Eating Alone

2008-10-18T20:13:00.002+08:00

Since entering university, eating alone has been quite a common phenomenon. Especially this semester, I eat alone at least once every week in the arts canteen. I remember in JC this used to be very embarassing for me. I hate eating alone in public. Now, I'm compelled to do so, so no other choice but to swallow it down (pun intended).

And since my two other international friends are jetsetting all over the place and people with a home go back to their cosy dinners, I'm left alone on Saturday nights too. Geez I need to form an eat dinner on Saturday club.

Negativity

2008-10-05T23:31:00.002+08:00

I listened.
I tried.
But it's never enough for you.

A test, a movie and two clubs

2008-09-20T04:51:00.002+08:00

Bleh freaking test..at least it's the last of CAs til after the mid sem break! Whew!

Watched No Country for Old Men after returning to hall, courtesy of LH.. was the correct movie this time coz I asked him to download There Will Be Blood, thinking that the movie was about a psychopathic killer who goes after this guy who found millions in a desert. Yeap, that was the former and the latter was actually about an oilman and his hatred for competition with some religious themes in the form of an annoying 'false prophet'.

So No Country started off well enough, with a lot of suspense, and I do love Tommy Lee Jones' lines.. Subtitles are a must, especially with that country drawl.. The killer is just kerrazzyy.. based on earlier reviews I thought he coin toss would come into play more often (like the schizo Two Face in Batman) but I think it was only mentioned twice in the movie. Of course, like most artsy fartsy Oscar nominated movies the ending wasn't a satisfactory one in my book coz I always like to see some kind of penance, especially when the villain isn't all that likeable (didn't have a flaw that would allow me to sympathise with the character)

Final verdict would be worth a watch, but don't expect any kind of ending

This was my second time going for Pharm bash, now quad fac rather than tri fac in year one (which I came so late I missed all the dances). It was alright although Zouk had a sucky selection of music after the crowd dispersed. At first some classmates wanted to go Phuture but luckily didn't in the end coz I thought it was so not worth it ($25 for entry to both Phuture and Zouk but we already paid $12 for bash tix) So we went to Double-O instead. Was quite impressed by the club coz there were two sections for dancing and a section with live band (though one on the ground floor like more gangsta/nigga hip hop dunno how else to describe) and the one on the first floor is just jam packed with a lot of people fishing but not in the terence way. Would have liked to stay and listen to some music but with clubbing type people so must club haha.

And it's soooo nice to have someone drive you home after a hard night's clubbing =))

RAWWWRR

2008-09-08T17:37:00.002+08:00

Grr I hate it when people call you like 20 mins before something is to be done and expect you to do it!!!!!!!!!!

PMSing!

The Friday Blues

2008-09-05T21:15:00.003+08:00

Today, as it started out, was NOT a good day for me.

I came in 10 minutes late to a lab that I did not enjoy

The lab lasted from 9am to 2pm, partly coz of my general ineptitude and the inconsiderate behaviour of certain individuals

I found out halfway that my menstruation cycle started and it stained my WHITE pants

After lab I went back to hall, scrubbed my pants, cooked instant noodles and wolfed it down (my stomach was growling that badly), went to hall to check for documents, sent my notes for printing in Science co-op and before I had a chance to lie down, I had to go for exco meeting.

But when I peered out of the stained windows of the shuttle bus, I caught a glimpse of blue sky, as blue as the amazing expanse in Europe

and I felt alright again

Family vs CCA

2008-08-31T15:22:00.004+08:00

I know I am a tremendously fortunate girl to be able to go for overseas vacations nearly every holiday but sometimes these vacations stand in the way of my commitment to various CCAs in university and hall. What am I to do? It's so hard to say no to my family especially my mum who planned and planned so far ahead to book for vacations. Of course I'd love to travel the world, who wouldn't? But the fact remains that I can't give a ready reply to whether I would be free during that period because some activities are not planned that early! And when I know about it I would be unable to go for it because of family. I don't want to be limited in my capacity to have these experiences. And it definitely would not reflect well on me when I'm supposed to do something but I say I can't because of family vacation while others are putting their time and energy into it.

I hate being bothered by something that is months away when I have a pathology test next week and I have not studied for it!

Edit: Mum has postponed the dates of the trip to Egypt and it was a blessing in disguise coz we qualify for early bird promotion now so yay! =)

Totally random post

2008-07-16T14:53:00.002+08:00

We're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Because of the wonderful things he does.
We're off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Isn't that song rather annoying? But it was a treat to watch that old movie again on TV in Australia.. I found the munchkins rather annoying too (Dina don't you ever call me that again! Haha)

***

Was catching up on SYTYCD episodes online (thank god for slimtainment) and noticed how some dances require aggression and passion (esp krump i suppose) and off went my vocabulary train to how passive-aggressive is also another term used and aggressive is the adjective of aggression but passive is not that of passion. yeah, like i said, totally random.

***

Went rock climbing yesterday with mucho muscle ache today. i'm such a masochist. and i can only manage 6A boohoo.. cursed hakim! we shall conquer you one day! Ducky was so farnee when I let her abuse the poor kelisa. i think the car died on us at least 10 times..

***

Am excited about the Europe trip! Just not excited about the packing. Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw, Berin, Prague, Cluj =)

***

Chester is a ticking timebomb! =( will probably spend the evening picking off more disgusting ticks. poor doggie.

***

I want to meet up with people but why why why are they working. It's a privilege to laze around I tell you.

***

Watch Reaper. It's well worth your time =)

Retail therapy!

2008-06-29T22:15:00.002+08:00

Another one of my retail therapy posts =p

Met up with some secondary school friends today at one utama.. seems like the whole world is at one utama.. saw an ex-school mate in padini concept store who came back from melbourne, then pharmacy mate adeline at parkson, then add math teacher at guardian.. who told us she bought disposable undies 0_O

And my spoils were...
Black heels from Vincci $39.90
Top and shorts from Nicole $38.40
ZA two-way foundation from Watsons $42.90
Clean and clear oil-blotting paper from Guardian $5.90

Definitely no match for Dharsh's how many tops from Nichii

Going to rush back to Singapore tomorrow... Hopefully I can get everything sorted out then it's back to Malaysia on Wednesday!

Musings

2008-06-08T13:34:00.002+08:00

Already it's been four weeks into my attachment. Rather looking forward to next week when I'll have attachment to a doctor and the nurses. Sometimes I think the job is like stuck in a rut, especially with monotonous packing and packing and packing. the perks seem few and far between. Even when seeing pharmacists recommend P items, it's not like we ever practise what we've learned coz it's just not practical. There are days when some things break the monotony and I learnt new things but I've never really found it enjoyable. I don't know what this says about my future. I wonder whether I'm even meant to be in the customer service line when I get so easily put down by nasty impatient people. Of course there are those rare smiling, courteous customers which really makes helping them worth the while, even though I'm not helping much. Like I was talking to Jon yesterday about how I may be interested in being someone in the drug information centre answering queries but then he asked how challenging would that be? And he asked me to picture myself doing something actively like being in the research lab for drugs. Before applying to university, it was a dream that I entertained. But when I evaluated myself, I'm not sure if I'm cut out for lab work at all. But I still haven't taken up a UROPS. I think the problem with me is that I don't take up things that challenge me because I'm just too complacent. and scared of failure. I think I WILL take up a UROPS next semester. The question now is which, I just viewed the project listings. There is one listed under pharmacy that will evaluate the cytotoxicity of cinnamaldehydes. That's 4 MCs. But there's another one under Microbiology which identifies host factors in mediating vascular permeability during dengue virus infection, which sounds more interesting because it has greater relevance and applicability but it's 8 MCs. Again, commitment issues.

Already it's been 2 months and a day. Reading a post on Nith's blog just echoed my sentiments. I've been putting off blogging about this but I will say it now. It's hard being suddenly out of a relationship that has lasted more than 2 years. It's hard when people think you're not too affected by it just because you don't show it on the surface, you don't know how to express it, but feel the loneliness at night, alone in bed; certain things, songs, places which trigger off the memories of a time which has passed us by and you shed tears in silence. It's hard when people ask if you truly loved that person and you don't know what love is anymore because you idealistically thought love is supposed to be eternal and all-encompassing. Love will not die even when you are filled with animosity. Love will prevail. It's hard when you long for someone to hug and hold you and whisper that he loves you, and you wonder and wonder and you are filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Sentimental

2008-05-26T03:16:00.001+08:00

I can't believe I cried over a Kenny G song.

it was a good day

2008-05-20T21:31:00.003+08:00

Today was a relatively good day.

Had asthma inhaler technique counselling (FINALLY!) The Pulmicort turbuhaler looks quite cool to use. Unlike a normal Salbutamol inhaler, it allows you to suck in the dose at your own time. The inhaler requires you to co-ordinate between releasing the mist and inhaling at the correct time. But the thing with the turbuhaler is that it has such a low dose hence it does not have any taste, so you really have to breathe in forcefully, as I think the package insert mentioned it is airflow driven.

Learnt how to print label but did not manage to capture prescription. Will do it by this week!

Quizzed about anti-hypertensives which I looked up and learnt about anti-diabetic drugs too. Seriously, the learning something new a day is really what keeps me going in this job which packing, sticking label and stocking up can get feet-hurting, neck-cricking, unbearably routine.

For lunch (alone again) but discovered a really nice chicken rice stall just opposite sumo house among the malay stalls, this stall is chinese owned though, chicken rice at only $2.50! Comparable to ginza! Imagine my joy, good food at a low price, ain't easy to survive with $5 a day you know.

Clocked off at 5pm, then met Jol for dinner at Thai Express, Raffles City. Another good meal =)

And... to top it off, I listened to the most ridiculous and hilarious story which can only happen to one person (X). So X was cleaning her blankets and pillows in the washing machine, and when X went down to take it out, X found out that the machine has fallen over! And X can't bloody well take her laundry out! And at the same time, water was leaking out. X tried and tried but it was so freaking heavy til X was about to give up and finally with a last heave, it came upright! I haven't laughed so hard since don't know when. Thanks X for the story =)

Shall do my retail assignment... maybe after Desperate Housewives =p

better

2008-05-17T00:39:00.001+08:00

Somehow bitching about it and finding people in the same boat made everything all the more better. and a good meal at the end of the week =)

AI conspiracy theory

2008-04-30T21:42:00.003+08:00

Ooh don't you just love conspiracy theories? Just watched American Idol Top 5 performance on Youtube and this time they get to sing two songs in a show. So in the beginning Ryan Seacrest tells them that the judges will only give feedback after their two songs, then halfway he tells them to give their feedback after the first round. So Paula starts reading off her notes about Jason, the first performer, and rambled onto his 'second song' which she felt he lost his charm and left her empty, that he wasn't fighting hard enough to stay in the top 4. And everyone was like huh?

Then she realised her mistake and tried to cover up by saying it's David's notes, which did not tally at all especially when you DO see Jason's second song

It was just horrible, emotionless and he looked so defeated, like even the posture was all slumped. And this was when Paula's notes made sense! So did Paula destroy the credibility of AI?

Fans are stoked that the show seemed to be rigged, that the producers decide which are the contestants to do well, and scripted the judges' comments. Hence that could probably explain why Jason was so spiritless on the second song. Come on, any credible contestant would want to fight and stay in the show especially after Paula's 'look into the future' comment. Unless Jason really doesn't want to be in the show, which I don't really care, coz he always seems to be in his own dreamy world and I loathe that he's still in the competition coz of fangirls. But I at least expected him to put on a more earnest performance, regardless of vocals.

If the latter is true, then perhaps it tallies with speculation that the judges are not hearing the live performance for the first time, hence they already have notes on their performances. And Jason just can't be bothered to improve his performance.
However, this sparks off another theory that judges already having pre-conceived ideas during rehearsals and scripted their answers then, so it doesn't really matter whether contestants did well in the real show or not.

Conclusion: Paula is drunk. David Cook is brilliant =)

Armchair critic

2008-04-23T22:47:00.006+08:00

Syesha Mercado- One Rock and Roll Too Many

The judges said she's showing masses of personality but somehow I thought she could've been more theatrical and had more fun. Good job on interacting with the musicians though

Jason Castro- Memory

Disaster all round! He looks stoned all the way. He doesn't even know it's from Cats? Oh go back to your hippie surfer dude world. I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's comments though. And that British accent too. He's just so spot on with all the contestants.

Brooke White- You Must Love Me

Brooke sounded good but somehow I was bored. Why was the audience dead silent during the comments. And Paula looked like she fell asleep.

David Archuleta- Think of Me

Props to David for taking a risk and incorporating his 'Stevie runs' into the song (though it became rather unrecognisable in the middle). It really sounds like him, but unfortunately I get rather bored with his voice. Again, it's a good one and it shows he's a talented composer (or rearranger?) but it just doesn't interest me as much as the other David's. And quit it with the adoring teenyboppers already. Sheesh! Ryan always seeks to embarrass him.

Carly Smithson- Jesus Christ Superstar

Shouty shouty shouty. What's with the outfit anyway? Thought she wanted a cool dress. Ricky Minor dancing is cool! And Randy's fashion sense has gone to the dawgs.

David Cook- Music of the Night

This song really showcased how strong his vocals are. As much as I liked Always Be My Baby last week, I didn't like it when he swallowed words and went into some rocker style mumbling into the mike. This week everything was clear and absolutely wonderful. I'm glad he kept to the original composition and didn't change anything (except for the last note which didn't end very well for me)

Paula: You have a beautiful instrument there. ooh

I don't get it with Simon, you want versatility or not? Prefer people in this genre or that. Ryan, no no don't sing.

Yayness~

2008-04-18T13:14:00.001+08:00

YEEE--AAYYY!

I got A+ for my Pharmacology test! Hopefully that'll pull my B- up even though a lot of people did well for this test.

WTF?

2008-04-16T20:21:00.002+08:00

Saw this on my friend's blog, so I ran my blog add thru the test

Created by OnePlusYou

WTH???

Brief respite

2008-04-16T18:53:00.002+08:00

It's been such a tiring daaaaaayyyyyy... But am so glad it's over!

Less than 3 hours of sleep, a pharmacology test, 4 hours of memorising drug names, ingredients, indications, side effects, contraindications and patient counseling points, a 40 mcq quiz, soupy spaghetti and here I am in front of the computer which I dutifully kept off for most part of the day before.

Looking forward to Saturda-ay =)

Happy birthday Dinasaur!

The Ghost of You and Me

2008-04-14T22:01:00.002+08:00

What am I supposed to do
With all these blues
Haunting me, everywhere, no matter what I do
Watching the candle flicker out in the evening glow
I cant let go
When will this night be over

I didn't mean to fall in love with you
And baby there's a name for what you put me through
~~It isn't love, it's robbery~~
I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

Seen a lot of broken hearts go sailing by
Phantom ships, lost at sea
And one of them is mine
Raising my glass, I sing a toast to the midnight sky
I wonder why
The stars don't seem to guide me

I didn't mean to fall in love with you
And baby there's a name for what you put me through
~~It isn't love, it's robbery~~
I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

The ghost of you and me
When will it set me free
I hear the voices call
Following footsteps down the hall
Trying to save what's left of my heart and soul

Watching the candle flicker out in the evening glow
I can't let go
When will the night be over

I didn't mean to fall in love with you
And baby there's a name for what you put me through
~~It isn't love, it's robbery~~
I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

I didn't mean to fall in love with you
And baby there's a name for what you put me through
~~It isn't love, it's robbery~~
I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

Waiting for the world to change

2008-03-09T17:10:00.002+08:00

In a way, it has already.

http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/9/election2008/20080309051122&sec=election2008

Ruling coalition party Barisan Nasional has lost its grip on four more states- Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor (my state!), exclusive of Kelantan which is retained by PAS.
The parliamentary seats have not been all accounted for yet but BN has won a simple majority to form the government. The last time BN lost their 2/3 majority was during 1969 where the race riots were sparked off. I suppose that's why victory celebrations were banned? With BN candidates warning voters to vote correctly lest May 13 happens again, one is apt to roll one's eyes at BN instilling false alarm into voters. But why are the opposition leaders asking their supporters to keep calm and not celebrate yet also?

For me, generally I am quite apathetic towards politics although I know policies made will affect my life (duh!) but it's just really disheartening and sickening to flip through the newspapers and see stupid decisions and sexist/racist statements made by leaders, both government and opposition. The interest for the general elections 2008 came quite late for me, only picking up yesterday when the polls were closed and results counted.

The results have been quite shocking to the BN (no happy birthday for Samy Vellu, Penang falling to opposition), it has also been interesting to note that young Nurul Izzah Anwar defeated Shahrizat and blogger Jeff Ooi won a seat for DAP. Urban areas are swinging towards the opposition, perhaps due to the accessibility to non-mainstream media that are generally more supportive of opposition/more critical of government. I noted that all state seats in Sarawak fell to BN, except for one in Kuching. Wonder if interviews on Kennysia.com contributed to that? All these seem to indicate a younger generation making a change. Personally, I am quite apprehensive to see PAS winning so many seats. Albeit portraying Islam as fair and just, I still remember PAS pressing for the implementation of the syariah/hudud laws.

Detractors of BN but skeptics of the opposition would say: Ok, so government is corrupt, failed to deliver blabla... but how do you know the opposition won't give empty promises also?
So really it was a catch-22 situation for the opposition. The skeptics want a capable opposition, and capability arises from experience. But if the opposition is not given a chance, how would they gain the experience? Now that the chance is realised, it remains to be seen how the political climate in Malaysia will turn out. Will PAS, PKR and DAP be the new coalition? Will they be absorbed into BN like Gerakan in 1972?

So, the wait continues.

Valentine's 08

2008-02-20T21:39:00.000+08:00

On an event that is commercialised to no end, we decided to celebrate it a day earlier at Jack's Place in sleepy Anchorpoint.

What better way to spend the time on the bus?

I realised that there's different white balance effect on the bus window! Cool huh? =)

Unfortunately, no pictures of our food. It was not bad though, yoghurt on slipper lobster. Bizarre.

Passed by a florist on the way back. Of course which girl doesn't secretly dream of flowers? But $25 for a bouquet of 3 roses is just freaking expensive! So no flowers for Valentine's. I had SP rehearsals instead. Ah, the wonderful life of a hostelite.

Chinatown stroll

2008-02-16T15:54:00.006+08:00

Happy CNY!

This was quite some time ago when I was searching for inspiration for our photo competition-- Overlooked: On Second Glance

Saw this lone jigsaw piece right outside my hall. Wanted to get a close up of the ground with the piece but felt self-conscious about squatting down there lest anyone walked by. I need to be a more thick-skinned photographer!

Made do with this instead

Right outside the MRT station. Inspired by Ce-Yi's Chinatown project too! Haha this actually got Bronze in the photo competition!

A rather evil looking Chinese lion. Normally they're red in colour =/

I don't think I've ever played with firecrackers before. How sad. I think my generation made do with sparklers and milder things that go pop!

These look so cute, though I'm not really sure what they are

This picture looks a tad cluttered but I quite like it. It sort of reflects the haphazard decorations at individual stalls

The background in focus

SO many stalls selling these Taiwanese treats. I got a free sample, they're not bad really. Sweet

Went to the Tooth Relic Temple (Wonder what's the origin of the name!)
Was pleasantly surprised at the quality of my Nikon D40 at low light conditions =)

Close up of the colourfully lit balls at the Tooth Relic Temple. People hang their wishes on the trees

Symmetry: I'm not sure which goddess this is

I love this row of lights!

This could've been a better composed picture but I was hesitant to intrude on their personal space.

Along some random alley

Inspiration from The Lock Project as seen from Ce-Yi's site.

And last of all, my photo which was awarded 2nd place so I get a Canon Selphy printer yay!

BRRRR...

2008-02-04T01:47:00.000+08:00

I haven't felt so cold at night in a long time. Can't even turn on the fan!

Not forgotten nor forgiven

2008-01-20T00:01:00.000+08:00

I don't really know what triggered this post but I suppose it's seeing how some people can still be happy happy pseudo muchloves after what they have done-- hurt, bitch and backstab people. It reminds me of one of Jolene's entries about how cheating guys can still turn out to be good guys to their other friends, and regardless of how morally wrong she thought of their behaviour, they CAN still leave the impression that they are nice guys. But not me. Those people I was referring to in my first sentence, they are only nice to people of the same inconsiderate kind, only pretending to be civil when they need to use you. What they did, I have lost all respect for them and that twinge of contempt is what is left. It's always one thing to wish that bad things will happen to other people, but it's another altogether when you set out to actually hurt people you don't even know well enough.

I put on an exterior when I see any of them, I guess that's part and parcel of the real world, pretense to 'get along and avoid unnecessary conflict'. But that twinge, despisement still resurface. Like I said, one thing to wish for... ...

I'll be glad when they're gone.

Catching up

2008-01-06T23:59:00.000+08:00

I've neglected my blog for so long. There's so many things I should've blogged about but I'm down with the holiday lazing around bug!

So far I've been home twice. Before and after the Langkawi trip. And then after Christmas. Things I've bought on shopping trips back home:

1. Black and gold heels from NOSE (RM24.95)

2. Yellow polka dotted spaghetti top and brown spaghetti top from T:JOUE (RM 12 + RM 15)

3. Flowery Kimono like top from D&D (RM 29.90)

4. White bag from Curve Flea Market (RM 25)

5. Flower clips from Curve Flea Market (3 for RM10!)

6. Black long sleeved cardigan from random shop in Times Square (RM 29.90)

7. White shorts from random shop in Times Square (RM25)

8. Black and silver heels from JOOOI (RM 25)

9. Black tube from Fortune (RM 4.90)

10. Black starry set from Pierre Cardin (RM 19)

Argh you do the math. But the new Pyramid is now my fave place to shop! =)

The movies I've watched:

Warlords: One of the first Chinese epic movies I've watched in the cinema. (watched Curse of the Golden Flower, Banquet on pirated DVD and Feng Yun on TV which is a really long time ago). At first I thought it was rather well made but then it became too dreary for me, and especially with the redundant female character: so happy to see her killed. Muahaha. All through I was also wondering why Jet Li is in the film: Wasn't Fearless supposed to be his last film? Anyway his facial expression almost always involves twitching/quivering/trembling. Takeshi reminds me so much of Orlando Bloom (especially when asking the soldiers to kill the 3000 citizens) and somehow his lines are always repetitive. (struggling to beat someone up when down is also such a role Orlando will go for!) As for Andy Lau, his acting characteristic is rather inscrutable for me, which my friend quipped that this shows he's a good actor. Perhaps.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer: As most film adaptations go, this unfortunately fell into the category where the book was so much better. However, one must commend the director for braving an attempt to project the description of smells into visual effects. Albeit the film did cut down some rather draggy parts in the book, it just fails to translate the elaborate descriptions, the essence of the book into film. Read the novel instead!

Ratatouille: Rewatched. Still enjoyable the second time round. Humorous and touching. Skinner is like a cross between Gollum and Jaafar (from Aladdin). I teared up again when Colette saw the Anyone Can Cook motto inside a glass display, and also when Anton Ego had his childhood memory. I love the French theme song.

Hotel Rwanda: Brilliant film. It succeeds in evoking emotions without being over the top like most films dealing with heavy themes tend to be. There is violence shown but not too explicitly that the viewers become desensitised to it. (Apocalypto, Passion of the Christ, anyone?) You really feel and root for the characters and thus the film keeps you on the edge of your seat, hoping for the best.

Lust, Caution: I personally didn't think too much of the film. I just realised how rapid Chinese can be, without English subtitles, I believe some things got lost in translation. However, I had hoped that I could still understand the film by just looking at the emotions portrayed by the actors, however I felt that the female lead's expression can be a tad misleading at times. When she tries to look seductive, she looks sleepy instead to me. The film is rather like the style of Brokeback Mountain. Subtle, other than the raw sex scenes. But at the end of the day, I didn't have great impressions of either film.

21 grams: Wonderful piece of work. I was interested in this film since the scenes are not in chronological order, neither is it in reverse chronological order like another brilliant film Memento. Instead, they are fragments that just come together beautifully in the end when everything falls into place. At first I was tense in figuring out which scene came before or after one another, but as the movie unfolds, I just got caught up in the powerful performances and scenes just naturally revealed themselves to me. Highly recommended!

The books I've read:

Life of Pi: A great story of courage and hope amongst desolation and despair of a boy surviving on a life raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Early reminiscince of childhood had moments of humour. Check out the chapter on 'interfaith dialogue'. The story then plunges into survival mode after a tragic accident at sea. A mind-bending twist at the end, I was simply blown away at the parallels it drew.

Middlesex: Easily one of my favourite books of all time. The novel is highly engaging with details that do not weigh the book down but elevates illustrations of characters, times and places. I was simply drawn in and lost in the worlds it depicted: The anguish of the invasion at Smyrna, the hard life at Detroit, the status mobility to Grosse Pointe and most of all, the voice of Cal, formerly Calliope, the anchor of the story about a hermaphrodite and her connections to the family tree and the world.

HA HA HA merry christmas

2007-12-25T23:13:00.000+08:00

In the name of all things ridiculous, Australia has banned Santa's normal 'Ho Ho Ho' greeting and encourages the substitute of 'Ha Ha Ha', as the former is derogatory to women for having the connotation of 'prostitute'. What a laugh!
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22761386-2,00.html

Another unconventional sight was that of Malays in traditional costume carolling about the Lord right in Orchard! Photos in someone else's memory card!

Have a kooky XMAS!

OVAH

2007-12-05T12:03:00.000+08:00

to quote McBitch: "it's over. it's soooo over."

Ok shouldnt take such a pessimistic tone... wheee!!!

Plans lined up on the day where everyone was in my room watching me do the intelligence test:

Today, later, postponed to 1pm: Nasi Kandar! *edit: Nasi Padang, my bad)
Today, dinner: Katong laksa
Thurs, dinner: surprise?
Thurs, 9pm: CLIQ @ home club
Fri, 4.15pm: The Golden Compass @ Cineleisure
Sat, morning: Botanic Gardens and Island Creamery
Sat, evening: Family time!
Sun, afternoon: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Matinnee =)

Yayness

PS intelligence test here: http://intelligence-test.net/ (it's really quite fun)

Stupid question

2007-12-01T01:10:00.000+08:00

Just now I asked Adrian
"Are you waking up tomorrow?"
Then the look on his face only told me how stupid the question was. Or how morbid.
"No I'm waking up only on Sunday"

Constant :: Change

2007-11-24T22:31:00.001+08:00

It's amazing how after 9 years, the Westlife formula has not changed.

Cover version- check
Shane and Mark: lead vocals- check
Nicky and Kian: stand around, look pretty- check
Brief silence before rousing chorus towards the end- check

Westlife was like my first boyband obsession.
::In 2000, my very first email was sweetnicky_westlife24/7@mail.com what a mouthful eh?
::My first Smash Hits magazine had Westlife on the cover wearing devil horns.
::I had e-pals and penpals I exchanged mails with due to the mutual liking of Westlife.
::Everytime I went online I will look at the numerous Westlife sites bookmarked under favourites. Constantly up-to-date with their gossips! I read a number of fan fiction too. I remember Aiko, but I think the site is not there anymore. Guess she's moved on.
::I went to three of their ocncerts in Malaysia and saw them at MTV asia awards 2002.
::Are there still posters on my study room wall? I forget if we've taken them down.
::I liked their first 3 albums a lot. I memorised the tracklisting and song lyrics. I would scribble their lyrics onto my exam scripts in Secondary School when I have too much time left.
::I would listen to the UK top 40 on the radio every weekend, especially when Westlife's single is on.
::I used to tape radio interviews/songs and MTV videos of Westlife.
::I wrote cheesy fan fiction about them which I only showed my sister.
::I have too many Westlife memorabilia, I think for the first album itself, I had the CD version, the cassette version and the Special edition version that came with a DVD. Countless magazines, ordered postcards, Westlife offical book, tour DVDs...extravagance courtesy of my mum! It's embarrassing really!

But after they did one too many covers and look same-y, their fourth album Turnaround didn't leave much of an impression on me and I just grew to like other 'proper' bands (with instruments) more.

I just recently wiki-ed them. Nicky's a father of fraternal twins and Mark's gay. But they're still continuing to churn out music. Ah well, at least they proved the sceptics wrong about them breaking up. Even though I'm not a fan of their music now, Westlife would always remain an integral part of my teenage life. Listening to their first few albums will always bring back memories of the relatively carefree days.

Mind-altering Parasites!

2007-11-23T19:36:00.000+08:00

While looking at one of my lecture notes, I noticed a slide that the lecturer didn't elaborate much on. It was about toxoplasma gondii and there was an excerpt that said
"Suspicion is growing that one of the most common human parasites in the world is messing with our minds"

Sounds sinister?

Read about it! http://www2.nau.edu/~bah/BIO471/Reader/Sapolsky_2003.pdf
It's a really interesting article that is totally understandable in layman terms. SP1203. cough

Hours ticking by...

2007-11-23T16:28:00.000+08:00

My prof's reply to my email (I'm always for knowing my grades, no matter how good or bad they are)

The presentation grade will be taken as the CA, but it wouldn’t be disclosed for it is too close to the examination and may destabilize your mood and momentum in your study.

Your group has done well in presentation.
Best wishes in your coming examination

I really hope he meant it =) and not just to 'stabilise my mood and momentum'

I love reading the microbes book though, it's like some bedtime story, although with gross pictures.

The wish list

2007-11-22T02:32:00.000+08:00

*hint hint*

no seriously, this is a guide! remember how gift-buying used to be a breeze when you were younger? no brainer gifts like photo frames, cute but rather useless decorative items and notebooks? for girls that is. Well unfortunately, the older we get, the more materialistic too! (and picky perhaps)

So here's a guide to what I'd like:

1. a canon DSLR!
haha i think that's a bit too extravagant, so maybe a good digicam with manual functions will do

2. beach shorts
i've been trying to look for them for the longest time! not in black or white please...

3. white long sleeved silk kimono top with flowers
the one we tried to get for dina.

4. cheongsam!
a sleeveless one... or save that for CNY shopping lol

5. fitted long sleeved cardigan

6. non-slip flip flops (no Havaianas!)

7. book. surprise me with something i'd like. or look at my visual bookshelf

8. spa package

9. nice haircut with highlights?

just as a general guide, if you want to get me clothes,
currently i like halters, boatneck tops, off shoulder/one-shouldered tops, retro printed tops

most of all, I'd like a nice dinner at a Western restaurant with friends! maybe a colour-themed party =)

what not to get
1. a new phone [i'll wait til my contract expiry next year to get one]
2. earrings [i have pretty much enough for the time being =p]
3. necklaces [same as 2]
4. shoes [one can never have too many pairs... but i'd like to try on shoes for myself]
5. body shop (or any other brands) products [i don't use any products religiously]

feel free to use your creativity too! I like surprises =)

is that too hard for you darling? =D

24 hours

2007-11-20T16:12:00.000+08:00

The other day I had this horrible dream where my mum accidentally cut some vital vein/artery on my forehead and proceeded to tell me I had less than 24 hours to live. Ok never mind the absurd situation but just focus on the 24 hours to live part.

And in the dream I was like 'what am i going to do?' and I did nothing! **

Hence upon waking up, I planned a list. So in the real life scenario if this actually happens, I shall be prepared.

1. Make love

I don't want to die a virgin =p

2. Family and friends

Spend time to say my goodbyes to my nearest and dearest

3. Last meal

I'm no foodie, so I just want my mum/grandma's cooking! A little bit of this and that

Mum's spaghetti
Grandma's
ladies fingers
curry chicken
broiled egg
ketchup prawns
steamed fish
kangkung belacan
wong nga bak soup

4. Sky diving

Can't squeeze in too many activities, so just fly me up a plane, and throw me out of there! Haha.. imagine if I die while having the adrenaline rush and my soul fades into oblivion...

...while my body comes crashing down to earth! will be such a shock to people below, morbid me. But I always imagine myself to be cremated, and I want my ashes to be spread to the most beautiful sea in the world.

** 24 hours dragged into another day, and yet another day til my mum said "Looks like you're not gonna die after all! Weirdest dream ever!

Reminder: The wonders of a bell curve

2007-11-15T10:00:00.000+08:00

Today we were reminded about how majority of the class will do well in Pharmacostatistics, above 80-90%, absolute values that is. Until you apply the bell curve system, and one mark may mean the difference of a grade. Life's peachy isn't it

Stress: Release...Build-up...Release

2007-11-12T21:23:00.000+08:00

Stress release outing on Nov 10 was fuunnnnn!!! I just posted up pics on Facebook but I guess I'll replicate a few here...

The day started out dark and gloomy... I was like... oh no, not like the zoo outing again! It was drizzling at ECP when we walked towards the kayak place but since we were going to get wet anyway, we didn't mind much... that is... until we saw the kayak rental place was taking over by MANA MANA CONSTRUCTION! noooo.. this is after HALF AN HOUR of walking, thanks to tour guide of the day dina. After searching along the shoreline, there was not the slightest glimpse of a kayak, tides were high!

I suppose Dina also didn't mind the walking since she got to share an umbrella with james...Ah the budding romance...

The raindrops were getting larger, so we took shelter in this hawker centre.

I like this pic even though Adrian commented my face looks like it's stuck to dina's.
When things go awry, makan! We had some hot drinks with satay. This will be a recurring pattern later.

So anyway, we decided to rent bikes and cycle, where my cycling techniques were mocked as being aunty and i was the target of much backwheel bumping. Gah.

An hour later, we returned to the bike rental shop and bought a frisbee! Adrian was tired from cycling so fast so he sat out for the game. Well, we have our photographer then!

The first thing we had to do was to take pictures of course...I suggested the jumping in the air pose!

Sandra's expression is classic

Again, Sandra cracks me up

This is damn stupid and funny. We all look so retarded getting ready to jump.

Finally in the air!
I wasn't happy that my legs were flying everywhere so I made everyone take another group shot =D

Voila!

Our logo for [Save Dinasaur from Extinction campaign]

Our $3.90 glitzy purple frisbee!

James picked me as his teammate! it was samuel, dina and sandra against two of us. I wonder was it sympathy that prompted him... hahaha.
In the end we did well! i think it's also coz everyone's catching skills suck.. hence we weren't at that much of a disadvantage.. the final score was 1-1! So everyone got dunked into the water...

Sandra in danger

Down the sandy slope she goes! One thing she remembered hearing was Dina saying... "kick her!"

Smiley group pic... missing Adrian!

This photo just cracks me up.. good one adrian.
Dina: I run like an athlete ok!
James: Sure, if an athlete runs like this (arms flailing like Dina in the photo)

Given a camera with self-timer mode, 6 photowhores, a beach, you get the following:

Imitating yen's classsic slutty pose. I think James did a good job. =P

Act cute... one to six!

Severe looking school photo. Back straight, arms at your sides, at-ten-shun!

By then it was around 2 plus when we washed up and changed. MORE walking to the bus stop to go to Parkway Parade... Ah I was reminiscing out aloud...Finally at 3pm plus, We had lunch at Crystal Jade, my soya chicken was not bad! James ordered some exotic sounding goose with mango!

After walking around Parkway and getting LH's calibrator from Harvey Norman, we headed back to the bus stop. Next stop: Orchard.
While waiting, Sandra was so tired she fell asleep.. and Adrian saw the bus a distance away coming to the bus stop along with two other buses. So we walked away from the bus stop onto 36. Only when we got our seats did we realise Sandra was not with us!!! She was having a puzzled expression being stranded on the bench! Luckily someone pressed the bell and the backdoor opened so I could shout out to her. She came on soon with a disgruntled expression on her face... LOL!

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Plaza Sing, Stardust was sold out!! So was the Cathay one.. and Cine, Lido, Suntec left with first two row seats.. which James quipped that his ass would be hanging off the seat if we took those. We were even desperate enough to consider a 930pm show at Ang Mo Kio hub! But i guess it'll be real tiring and we can't catch the last bus home in time.

So the journey continued with even MORE walking to mind cafe at Prinsep. It's this place where youngsters gather to play board/card games. Quite cool actually. The only catch was, the place was packed to the brim with people! WHY the heck is everywhere so crowded on a Sat night? I've watched movies on Saturday nights before and it wasn't THAT hard to get tickets... Is there some holiday I don't know about??
Yet another obstacle. and we consoled ourselves with some dessert some distance away.

Dina led us to this famous tauhuey place where I just collapsed my butt onto the chair gladly. We saw a lot of trishaws playing olden chinese medleys cycling past. One played beautiful girls by sean kingston though!
While waiting for Mind Cafe to call Dina back, we played a game introduced by James called Word Association. It's like you can say king then the next person say queen then cards then poker and so on.. It was quite entertaining... Guess who was the big loser!

When the call finally came, we walked back to Mind and got Balderdash and Taboo to play. Balderdash is this game where you just make up acronyms, laws, people, movie plots and words. It's really fun! And you get to learn quirky stuff like how PBMA stands for Peanut Butter Manufacturers Association, not Promoting Breast Milk in America. And embolalia means the use of filter words um, ah.. not a bacteria in the toenail that causes athlete's foot!

We stayed there for two hours. Taboo was a riot too, with ESS against JAD! Somehow we didn't get dinner then at Orchard itself. We just walked some more to a bus stop two stops away from Plaza Sing.

Last stop: Prata shop to fill our growling tummies...The photo doesnt do justice to the yumminess of Adrian's mutton briyani.

Last walk back to hall... just collapsed on the bed..

The next day, was stressing day coz I was rushing my useless Stats report... and preparing for my SP1203 presentation...

Today, everyone looked nice in formal wear. (except for some who came in tshirt and denim skirt.. roll eyes) Congrats to the top 3 teams, but HAH at prof's statement about how everyone's a winner. Give everyone a prize then!

Concussed after getting back to hall. And been watching Heroes all the way. First season just premiered on Channel 5. I've watched the second part of Heroes at home, missed the first part, so now's my chance to watch the backstory.

Supper later!

I tried...

2007-11-12T21:20:00.000+08:00

I have failed the nablopomo determination of blogging everyday for the month of November. Ah well...i will try to blog as and when i can... exams are coming!

Strings Haiku

2007-11-07T23:59:00.000+08:00

~Ulvinne on deviantart~

Light hearted strummings

Laughter, Nostalgia, Heartstrings

Night. Silent hummings

Close your eyes

2007-11-06T23:47:00.000+08:00

A light touch, caress

Soft whispers in the pillows

Close your eyes and rest

Sundae Haiku

2007-11-05T23:56:00.000+08:00

Colourful sundae

Swirls of berries and delight

Worries melt away

Rain haiku

2007-11-04T23:31:00.000+08:00

Trickling symphony

Sonorous thunder rumbling

The calm of a storm

Droplets

2007-10-21T22:45:00.001+08:00

The things you hardly think about

Today when I looked from the corner of my eye, I saw a droplet forming on my freshly washed hair. And I just thought it was amazing.

Travel

2007-10-19T16:33:00.000+08:00

I was browsing thru the Singapore Sun Festival site then I saw this shortlisted entry in the Regional Travel Writing Competition : Asia Through My Eyes. Just thought of sharing since it was so beautiful to me.

Bali- The Evolution of Love by sarongskirts

The waft of evening breeze brought with it the salty tang of the sea and the delicate trace of
frangipanis. I closed my eyes as the familiar cocktail of scents grazed my skin, and for a
disconcerting moment, I felt like the sixteen-year-old who was visiting Bali for the first time.

They say you never forget your first love. Even though it has been five years since my love
affair with Bali began, some memories never quite fade.

I remember the mysterious Balinese air that spoke of contentment and an underlying
spirituality.

I remember the gilded sunlight that peeked through the leaves of frangipani trees to cast
intriguing shadows on the ground.

I remember the intense green of rice terraces set against a solemn backdrop of wise
mountains.

I remember the temples, both quaint and grand, that sat along the road, or weaved amongst
the tropical forests.

I remember the over-spilling sidewalks, and the hive of tourist activity all day long.

Most of all, I remember the Balinese with their ready smiles and warm hospitality.

I remember, vividly, a vocally impaired young souvenir peddler I met at Kuta Square. His
toothy grin was sincere, even though I had rejected his goods, and we spent a minute miming
a conversation amidst the jostling crowds.

Resistless against such charm, I fell in love. Not with him, but with the invulnerable
tranquility of an island untouched by life’s unpleasantries.

Bali was my teenage epitome of paradise.

My shock upon hearing about the bombings in October 2002 was indescribable. Having
returned from Bali barely four months ago, it was inconceivable to imagine the restful
paradise in a state of destruction. Why Bali? That was my only coherent thought as I watched
the news. Why was the harmless island chosen as the victim of inhumanity?

Anxiety gripped my young heart when I found out that a bomb had erupted in Kuta Square,
and I prayed that my peddler friend made it through alive. Yet, I knew that the ache in my
heart was inconsequential as compared to the pain of the many who had lost their loved ones
in the tragedy.

When a second round of blasts shook Bali three years later, I was furious and worried. I
worried if Bali was strong enough to withstand the repeated stabs at its tourist economy, and
if the island would be able to rise again from the aftermath of terror.

In search of answers, I finally made a trip back in December 2006.

Returning to Bali was like returning to the embrace of a lover who was finally home from
war. Yet, the years apart have fostered a hardness I was unaccustomed to. The innocent face
of the lover I thought I knew so well was now marred by the desperation to survive.

Sidewalks, once overcrowded with boisterous holidaymakers, were now filled with local
touters at every nook and cranny relentlessly begging for sales.

Restaurants, once teeming with starving tourists, were now eerily empty. Waiters, once
worked to their bones, now sat idly to watch time creep by.

Market stalls, once brimming with activity, were now lifeless; and a layer of dust had settled
over goods left unsold for far too long. The shopkeepers, once earnestly friendly, now wore a
hint of desperation in their eyes as they grabbed at every passer-by to mercilessly cajole a
sale.

A bittersweet sensation of homecoming clutched my heart as I took in the familiar warmth
and unfamiliar cold. Seeing how the bustling tourist hub of my memories had transformed
into a ghost town chilled me to the bone.

How could I love a paradise I no longer recognized?

Finally caving in to a persistent tour salesman right outside my hotel on Kuta Beach, I took a
trip to Tanah Lot on my last day to catch the famed sunset, and chanced upon a Balinese
temple procession.

Chattering and laughter filled the evening with an air of festivity as the congregation snaked
toward the cliff-top temple. Local women competently balanced overflowing baskets of fruit
and flower offerings atop their heads, while the relatively unburdened men looked on and
smiled.

Gracefully, they paid their respects to the Gods. I watched mesmerized, as serene smiles lit
their tired faces. For the first time on my return trip, I saw not guarded desperation, but
instead a glimpse of the vivacious beauty I remembered so fondly. I realized then that the
attacks have not destroyed Bali, but have instead uncovered the hidden strength of the
community.

In the magic hour of the fading twilight, I fell in love all over again. This time around, I lost
my heart not to the untouched perfection whose loss I had mourned; but to the resilience of
the island and its undying belief in faith.

I remember the travel plans to Bali circa 2005 that was warranted only a faint glimpse of imagination before some exams or another took hold of our minds for longer. But I remember our eager chattering mouths about Surabayan Marita being our tour guide and renting a vehicle to drive from her hometown to Bali. I wonder how she is now. Last I heard, she is pursuing medicine in Indonesia. And the lack/inconvenience of getting Internet connection prevented her from contacting the ones she left behind in Singapore. Or maybe it's just another case of faded friendship despite memories tucked safely in a corner of my mind.

But anyhow, am looking forward to the Langkawi trip in December with some friends. May there be more happy memories to come.

Happy

2007-10-10T18:16:00.000+08:00

Yay. This is the first time ever that I ended prac on Wed at 4pm! Normally we drag past 5pm.. even to 6pm sometimes! And it's also the last lab session I would be having. More yayness. My Mon and Wed afternoons will be free now =) And I made a new discovery of a computer lab in the 6th floor of Science Library. Was only aware of the CBLC on the 5th floor. So additional source of time filler.. without having to jostle for space in the CBLC near LT 23.

Yesterday we had our first Photocomm workshop complete with slides courtesy of CK and moi. It went quite well I thought, although the juniors might have a bit of info overload at the end. Which is why we must have an outing soon! I thought of going to ECP or some beach to take the sunset. But that'll have to wait til they have more advanced skills first. Right now should go to somewhere in the day that requires relatively simple manipulation of the camera.

And there's gonna be ice-cream mooncake tonight. Yum!

Missing chester

2007-10-06T02:17:00.000+08:00

Missing the little Poo-Tzu. I think it sounds much cuter than Shih-dle.

Lapping up his drink before coming to lick me.

He has such a cute bark and stands up like an ickle baby!! Look at how his little legs go and when he crawled thru the 'obstacle course' in the garden. And the RUG POSE at the end. When he just slides into a lying on stomach position. It gets everyone all the time. =D

count the number of 'sits' I said in this video.
My dad coined the term 'lion dance' for his playing with food antics. How his tail wagged! =))

Chester cuddling up to mum. She's probably the one he likes most, since she spoils him the most! Check out 0.24 when he starts going in his manic mode which Im a bit scared of coz he just won't stop biting. And his eyes will bulge real big. Whites all round. Teething puppy. Mum said he shed a tooth few days ago and they're keeping the tooth for the dog tooth fairy. Funny sometimes how ppl treat dogs like kids =)

Post bathing. the shrunken ball of fur shaking himself dry!

The hilarity of it all

2007-10-06T01:22:00.000+08:00

I wondered what was so hilarious when the lecturer mentioned it is good practice to know whether the gelatin base for animals came from cows or pigs. And it is especially important for muslim customers that their medicine must be halal too. Then the class just burst out laughing.
Disgusted. Narrow-minded cheenafied majority personified.

The lighter side of things

2007-09-14T23:34:00.000+08:00

Post started 04/09/07---furnishing with pictures + procrastination took me 10 days to get this post done.. frivolity is not easy!

If you have seen my MSN nick, you'd have guessed there were some pretty heavy politics flying around... So not in the mood to discuss it now..

Let's move on to happier, shallow entertainment.

I've been hooked onto WHATTHEBUCK thanks to dear Sandra. It's just like this real bitchy funny guy. I've always thought funny gays are entertaining. Oh my stitches hurt!

I've also been thinking of how to update my blog, and just thought I'd share some useless bits of fashion info about myself.

What I will NOT wear. EVER

I've been bitching about this ever since I seen it break out in blog reviews, flagship stores and $5 imitations

The most disgusting footwear on earth

and the cousin faring less in popularity. I sure hope it is!

Jelly shoes. Ew.

What I will not wear just coz everyone else is wearing it

Little Miss (insert adjective) tees

Elastic belts

used to want one but realise they're just gonna torture my flabby stomach.

Long chain necklaces with fat hearts on them. I will wear other pendants though

Big round retro earrings

Haivaianas

Abercrombie and Fitch (so the Central forum)

Birkenstocks, Papillos and lookalikes- i think nearly 90% of NUS population has it!

What I will jump on the bandwagon for
Retro print stuff. I'm just into retro now.. Want retro shoes...!
Peep toe Pumps..

Retro print silk hairbands!

Dresses!

I was trying so hard to get images of more colourful print dresses, somehow the nice ones are monochrome. ah well

Off the shoulder tops/One shoulder tops

Black and white stripey tops (diagonal, never horizontal)

I still think leggings are alright. Not the stripey or loud ones though.

By the way it was my 2nd year anniversary yesterday. How time flies. The process was rather strung out, emotionally, but the end was good.

images from Google images, asos.com, topshop.co.uk

Changed

2007-09-12T00:17:00.001+08:00

I wish I could turn back time, take back the things I've said and done. But the only way is forward, no looking back.
Things were so different just a week ago.

Silk Road

2007-09-10T23:02:00.000+08:00

An act of procrastination by the brilliant Teah

1. Put your iTunes,Windows Media Player, etc.On shuffle.

2. For each question, pressthe next button to getyour answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN. NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Unforgiveable Sinner (Lene Marlin) --- Fierce!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Wind It Up (Gwen Stefani) ---Emotionally, yeah

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Wow (Snow Patrol) --- ooh..

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Prayer (Secret Garden) --- In a way

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?
Hard to Find Her (Zed) --- If I refer to myself as the third person

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
What makes you different (makes you beautiful) (Backstreet Boys)--- Soppy song but I like it still, dare to be different!

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Trouble in here (Howie Day) --- so not!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Can You Feel The Love Tonight? (Disney Timon and Pumbaa) =p

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK ABOUT YOU?
The Truth (Good Charlotte) --- Such a good daughter I am, but the lyrics mean otherwise

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BESTIE?
Secrets (Good Charlotte) --- Another GC song? what dirty lil secrets eh?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Dumb (Nirvana) --- Wrong answer!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
How Dare You Call This Love (The Darkness)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
If You Didn't Love Me (Corrine May) --- Shivers

WHAT SONG WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR WEDDING?
Cool (Gwen Stefani)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad (Def Leppard)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Stuck In A Rut (The Darkness) --- Thanks

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Vindicated (Dashboard Confessional)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
She Loves You (The Beatles) =))

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Silk Road (Kitaro)

Home

2007-09-09T23:28:00.000+08:00

Having been in Singapore for close to three years now, and I've adjusted to the bouts of homesickness I used to feel then. I used to feel bad when I didn't miss my family as much as they seem to miss me, or I only felt homesick when problems crop up and I'm overwhelmed with loneliness. But I guess I'm not really the kind of person to feel much or miss much. I get on with what I have to do and only allow momentary lapse into dwelling on what's not here with me. And the frequency of their calls has decreased. I guess they've gotten used to me not being at home anymore, although I know they'll always welcome me back with open arms. We all have our own lives to lead.

Dharsh used to say when I complained about distant friendships, it doesn't matter that the person can't be there all the time with you physically, but what matters is knowing that friend is someone you can turn to when you're in need. It's a hard fact to accept but that's when new friends come in to fill the gap.

On 24th Sept, home to Chester whom I've yet to meet and to the warm bosom of my family =)

Break

2007-09-06T22:00:00.000+08:00

I saw the look on your face
Tired or guilty
Just plain refuse to know me

I won't give in this time
You make the first move
It's your turn, your call, your line

Another war without words
Break the silence
Or will you build up defence

Pissy Pessaries!

2007-08-20T18:44:00.000+08:00

Haven't been updating my blog since I came back to Singapore much. Laziness of my nature.

First week I'm back had been a whirlwind of orientation activities at the sidelines, protected by the lens, organising photographers as incoming chairperson. Then rag on 11th august at the padang, what an adrenaline rush, double burn after Sentosa. Never have I seen such an open display of mass emotion. I was glad and proud to be part of it, however minimally I helped for rag.

Then all too soon, school has started. But first week was still alright. We got a rule breaking speed demon cooler than she looks fogey for Pharmacy Law, a detestable honkie for Pharmacostatistics, a softspoken woman nearing her final trimester for the continuation of Physical Pharm (NOOOO) and a well versed (but of course) lecturer for new module Foundations for Effective Communications which I look forward to.
The glorious days without practicals and tutorials gave much naptime and video marathons of America's Next Top Model cycle 8.
Wednesday was laydee's night out at Zouk which unfortunately clashed with Temasek Hall bash. Crushing bodies causing claustrophobia amidst the funky monkey moves and the shakin' hip hop beats.
The weekend was spent having a good meal at Holland Village, loitering around Ikea til I fell ill and a nice pasta dinner at Anchorpoint. Saturday night was taken up by Donnie Darko. Sunday was for recuperation obviously. And endless vegging of So You Think You Can Dance.

Week 3 - Jaimie and Hok ( Jazz )

One of the couple's dance also led me to discover One Republic which I was blown away by the music used by KR during Dance Uncensored.

The new week started miserably with sore throat and fever. And coming to the title of this post- Pessaries which looked the colour of piss. I failed miserably. Dammit.
This week promises hectic schedules with IBG and SNDCC around the corner too. Til the next post!

Bye Gwen

2007-08-09T17:41:00.000+08:00

*MOPES* the Gwen Stefani concert tix worth $88 are almost sold out!!! Left with the extreme side only >B17 (bottom left corner) BAH!

Was moping the whole way on the train back.
Consoled myself by listening to her songs.
And 90 dollars saved means 90 more dollars to spend! =p

Hell's Kitchen

2007-07-25T01:55:00.000+08:00

I just recently started watching this reality TV series (I think its quite an old show though, 2005) which features Brit foul mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay to select an apprentice to be given his/her own restaurant. Just to see what abject humiliation participants are willing to subject themselves to. So far, 3 episodes after, he's shut down his restaurant 3 times! lol. i wonder how come it takes so long for the contestants to prepare meals though. let's see, 3 hours and the Blue team, with 5 people, came up with 7 dishes whereas the red team fared better, with 4 people since an idiot walked out on them, with 15 dishes. Oh my, but still, that averaged 5 dishes an hour. No wonder the previous episode the patrons sick of waiting go order pizza! LOL! It's a real side splitter this one, especially with comments like:
Chef: Why isn't the water boiling? Did you top it up with cold water?
Wendy: Yes. I thought cold water will boil faster than hot water.
OMG Please don't throw the face of Chinese! Luckily she's fired.

The final tome

2007-07-22T23:59:00.000+08:00

Seeing that it was the last book of the heptology (?), it sparked a bout of previously dormant mania to go to The Curve Damansara at 4.30am. We had armed ourselves with the knowledge that the carpark was 24 hrs and that the mall will open at 6.45am. So now we wait.

Our main purpose was to try to get one of the 7 free copies of The Deathly Hallows given away by The Sun. But alas, there were already 3 groups of people totalling 15 fans ahead of us at that unearthly hour. One wonders how long they had been waiting.

So near yet so far.
We had to deal with a sadistic security guard who probably just loved being in the position that he was IN the mall and the rest of us were stuck outside.
And we eyed the people who came later than us but were crowded in front of the entrance already. There were 3 partitions, and the effing guard said he will only open the middle one. We were at the side. But we had already lost hope, there's the backup plan of Tesco's opposite anyway.
When 6.45am came, and the shutters went up, people crawled under it and started running to Borders, which was still closed of course, since the book goes on sale at 7.01am

The snaking line outside Borders pre 7am. There was this boy in a stroller, who was missing his left foot, standing in front of the bookstore too, he's featured in today's(Sunday) paper. An 'uncle' was trying to help him get ahead of the line but the former was told off by some people in the queue already. This auntie who was talking to us said, "the poor boy" and we nodded, yeah but said it was rather unfair to use handicap to get in front of the line, then she agreed with us, and went to pull the uncle away rather vehemently, which shocked us a little. We thought the uncle was related to the boy at first but turned out he just wanted to help, and the auntie was probably his wife, admonishing, "Dont bother". She sure changed her mind fast though, after we voiced our opinion.
Having said that, I suppose it was unfair for him in the sense that people started charging before the shutters went fully up (which was what the security guard told us as the signal to head to Borders), since he can't possibly crouch through the shutters with his stroller.

When Borders opened, their manager was shouting that the line formed was for purchase of book and the Sun contest was at the Information Counter, that inspired another mad stampede for it, especially people out of the line. My first reaction? I took the photo above, instead of rushing with the others. My mum laughed when I told her this and said I had the journalist instinct. Hah!

What was disheartening was that there was absolutely no person to organise the lines and everything, and my heart went out to those who were rightfully in front of the mall entrance first, but were nowhere near the head of the line. However, a group of three brothers who were ahead of us managed to get 2 copies of the free book given out by The Sun. Selfish, eh.
There was also this Malay man who shouted at the bookstore people for allowing the mad rush to happen, like "THIS IS THE KIND OF PUBLICITY YOU WANT FOR YOUR STORE IS IT?? I WANT TO COMPLAIN TO YOUR MANAGER" which ironically he was probably shouting at the manager herself.
I was rather pleased at this man, but I suppose like Dharsh said, it was near impossible to organise mad kiasu people, since ropes were little barrier to them.

Our consolation prize at Tesco's. I bought the kiddie cover one coz I thought it looked nice and colourful. =) Notice that the first four books, Harry's scar was skewed more to the left of his forehead but since the movie was the opposite, this book was more to his right instead. Then of course, there was the boycott by MPH, Popular and Times which I think is just silly, because they were against the price cut by Tesco's and Carrefour to Rm69.90 while they were selling it at RM109.90. C'mon, in UK it went as low as 5 pounds! I was rather surprised that inside the cover of the book the retail price was printed as 17.99 pounds though.

So as of 9.50pm 21 July 2007, I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I enjoyed the throwbacks and references to adventures and minor details in previous books, and of course the final showdown, and lamented the deaths of some, but I didn't like the rather cliched ending, just the last chapter actually. That's all I'm going to say. Moment of silence for those who perished.

triathlon

2007-07-18T00:40:00.000+08:00

I jogged, rock climbed and swam in a grand total of three consecutive days!! Hehe good things come in threes.. You didn't think I could do all those in just a day right?? I have rather an addiction to rock climbing now though.

Fear of electrostaticity

2007-07-17T16:43:00.000+08:00

Ooh I can't believe I forgot to blog about this horrid phobia when I wrote about Vegas. It so gripped me and resulted in paranoid actions around Vegas.
1. My family members had to open doors for me, coz the handle is often metal.
2. I used the arm of my jacket which was wrapped around my waist (you CANNOT be wearing sleeves in the Vegas heat!) to open the door.
3. I was afraid of the locks on toilet doors
4. I was afraid of opening hotel room doors too.
5. Once I thought I should be rid of the fear and gingerly stuck a finger out to prod a door handle, AND i have been discharged just like 10 seconds ago then, and bloody hell I got zapped!

This fear has been evolving since the road trip in Australia.

And to think I used to be the girl who loved to place her head near a just-switched-off-TV-screen to feel my hair flying up. Or hear the crackle of electrostatic.

Day 8: San Francisco

2007-07-17T12:28:00.000+08:00

May 31, Thurs

I've become rather lazy to blog heh

Nevertheless, I shall persevere til this trip is done!

San Fran was an amazingly beautiful city. There was just so much to see, and again too little time.

The weather there was unbearably windy and cold most of the time, as cloudy skies hung over our heads since morning.

The steep streets of San Fran. It's so recognisable in movies.

Our first stop was Lombard Street, the world's most crooked street.

And we walked all the way up... Saw a tram letting off a bunch of old geezers..

Ah I wanted to go on the tram!

Whose shoes got strung up there.

Coming down Lombard Street.

Trying to be 90 degrees to the street.

Had a nice breakfast at the cafe below, and got sheperded to the Palace of Fine Arts

Architecture of Panaman origin. The goddesses are faced inwards, crying for lost sons due to war, and their tears resulted in the lake beyond.

I love reflections

HUGSSSS

Pro dog walker! count them!

Some of the carvings at Palace of Fine Arts

It was the famous Golden Gate Bridge next!

Artist impression of the beautiful scenery.

The bridge looks senget here

The skies turned so blue for our visit to Napa Valley

I love this picture.

The villa where we didn't have permission to go. But just act like dumb tourists and take pics anyway.

We went to a less posh place for wine tasting and had sandwiches for lunch.

Pseudo-arty shot. Nothing to do when people went wine tasting

Pier 39 was a wonderful wharf, probably a bit of a tourist trap, but there were sooo many shops to see, and there were some buskers around, with the loud yapping of seals... we didn't have the luxury to walk around coz we opted for the cruise.

I tried to get a shot where the words wasn't on backwards but the winds weren't in my favour

The sunny skies betrayed the coldness that permeated.

Pier 39, home to seals!

These seals dont need a bronzer

This sign was hilarious!
We had some fish and chips at one of the shops here. But it wasnt as nice as the one in Hobart. Wrong shop maybe.

Ice cream + Hot chocolate! YuMmy!

Fruit stalls with amazingly big juicy looking fruits

Lovely sweet cherries!

Huge strawberries! Pity we didn't get to try any.

Posing with the ship that'll take us near the golden gate bridge

View of the city from the ship, isn't it charming that the buildings are so squat? It's coz they are often hit by earthquakes hence the buildings are short and wide. The only exception is that white slender tower sticking out there.

Coolness!

Can't get a shot without so many people in the background. what to do? popular postcard shot

Looking cool/cold?

The many pictures of the Bridge combined in one. Note the cloudy skies.

Alcatraz against sunny skies, what a contrast to Golden Gate Bridge. You can even see San Fran city in the background. What torment it must've been for the prisoners then, so near yet so far!

I've stopped my obsession with gulls this trip, this was taken by mum
After the cruise, we opted for the additional tour which would take us to City Hall, some hill to have an aerial view of the city, and to the city of Castro.

Outside City Hall

Acting cute

The one embellished with 24Karat gold

A monument just outside City Hall, which oddly enough attracted quite a number of hobos, can see one at the bottom right corner of this shot. Didn't dare to take close-up in case a hobo beat me up!

My sis' expression just look so funny here somewhat. Again, freezing like anything, I could hardly stand 5 mins outside to look at the skyline.

On the streets of Castro, home to a significant gay population. I dunno why the tour guide was sooo excited over seeing two men kiss and announcing amongst giggles to the passengers who missed it. ah well, guess she hasn't seen brokeback

Golden Gate bridge at night. Absolutely freezing when I took this picture

The lesser known sister, Bay Bridge but no less important as it ferries 10,000 motorists across its lanes a day compared to the glamorous Golden Gate Bridge's 3,000.

Day 7: Uphill journeys and breakdowns

2007-07-15T21:33:00.000+08:00

May 30, Wed
another early wake up call day for us..luckily this time we had a cheerier bus driver who checked names of the passengers he picked up unlike the previous one who ferried us to the godforsaken bravo headquarters. for the former, WE had to approach him to ask him if he was our bus driver! bloody lazy ass chain smoker
so anyhow merrily we went along with the new jovial bus driver until we reached the Bravo HQ and as expected, mayhem ensued again. the whole place was so disorganised with three buses of passengers having to switch here and there, prob more than an hour's delay that couldve been spent sleeping in. pah!
again, the cheena tour guide didn't check in well with us.
the journey was pretty uneventful since it was a looong ride to san francisco with little to do in between, except when we reached yosemite national park in the afternoon.

past a tunnel, there emerged the lookout point

a glorious portrait of mountains, evergreens and majestic falls

pity the sky was a bit cloudy but mum said this looks like a studio shot, haha

another family pic!

the lower falls of yosemite

squirrel by the river

indicating how tall the trees are compared to the pint sized sisters

woodpecker? looks like a face in the bark

then on the way back, all set to go to san francisco, the bus trundled to a halt by the roadside!

there's an ex car repairman on the bus, but he can't help much except diagnose the problem

some rock broke some pipe and some brake fluid leaked out. im no mechanic, all i know is i dun wanna hurtle down some gorge. and i want someone to come fix the bloody bus!

there were a few cars who passed us by, and i wanted to curse at the people who just slowed down, looked and drove away, we're not some bloody zoo animals!
the bus stopped at this curve by the road, which is kinda an extra patch from the main road, if u know what i mean, like for the lookout point, and those bloody kaypoh people actually drove onto that curve to look at us! luckily for every kaypoh person there were kind samaritans too.

everyone was glad to see the park ranger.

Initially we were told that the company had sent a bus from san fran to come take us, the journey there is 4 hours! and then later some mechanic came to fix the bus but couldn't do it so went off somewhere to get more equipment, then came the notification that the company is NOT sending a bus, this is 2 hours after the bus broke down, instead, when we get down from the mountain, then only will they send a bus to get us. ridiculous right?? luckily the mechanic managed to get it done and we were on our way after squandering 2 and a half hours, we arrived at our hotel past 1am! tiring day

Growing up faster

2007-07-10T18:32:00.000+08:00

And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table -Anna Nalick

The other day, when I went swimming at Bukit Kiara, I realised how everything seems smaller than I remembered. Perhaps this is because I've visited this clubhouse since I was 7 years old? The last time we've been back here is 2001/2002 shown by the expiry date. The place held a lot of memories for me. Shooting down the slides and getting kicked for not moving away sooner, doing the backstroke with 60 degree inclination to the other end of the pool (still do), racing with my mum using freestyle while she breaststroked, diving in the jacuzzi to look for pebbles thrown by my dad...and it always ended with a hearty lunch at the coffee shop (which has unfortunately deteriorated in service)

Anyway, while I was in the changing room, I heard a chatter of pseudo-American accents. I exitted and found they belonged to four international school kids around the ages of nine. They were yakking on top of their voices about how they wouldn't like a friend who likes their crushes more than they like their own best friends. This reminded me of a certain someone's sister, aged 9, who's so popular with the boys and nowadays kids own handphones in lower primary whereas I only got mine when I was 17. Back to the changing room girls, they started chatting about Emma Roberts(who?) being Julia Roberts' daughter and
"My mum has 2 bottles of Dior perfume"
"I don't like Louis Vuitton (complete with impeccable pronunciation), it's so ugly)
"Oh, I love Chanel"
The horrors of brand consumption has contaminated them!

This is not new actually, but it still startles me a little, to see 11 year olds dressed in halters and high heels, 12 year olds holding hands in public, 13 year olds wearing makeup
Call me old fashioned but I only wore my first halter at 17, held hands when I was 18 and now I still don't wear makeup on a regular basis.
When I was 11, I wore unfashionable elastic banded jeans and mickey mouse t shirts; when I was 13 I started reading entertainment mags but never those female cosmetics/fashion mags; I only went out to malls without parents at the age of 14, nowadays I see 9-10year olds running amok in shopping malls with their friends.

Kids are growing up faster and faster, and this change is rather inevitable I suppose, what with the fast pace of life, everything else seem sped up too.
Where has the innocence of childhood vanished to?

[edit: do i sound like our parents? like how they only ate KFC when they were in secondary school, or how they only had a computer in university age?]

Day 5+6: Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon/Vegas/California

2007-07-10T15:40:00.000+08:00

28 May, Monday

I just realised the contradiction when if I had put California at the head of my post title coz Vegas is in Nevada! and Hoover Dam is in Colorado whereas Grand Canyon in Arizona.. whew, 3 states in a day!

aka the Fufu dam, courtesy of cheenglish supplied by our tour guide

When we were on the way back from Vegas the next day, it's really pretty when it's lit up but since the bus was crawling (bad jam), we didn't manage to get a decent picture outside.

The incredible heat from the desert sun

Grand Canyon trail- we chose the non fenced in one, being so adventurous - fatalities have occured from falls you know!

Rocks. And the many layers through the ages

I used some function on the camera to produce a warmer colour. I think it was the fluorescent effect

Missed!

Gotcha!

(i didn't find the Grand Canyon particularly interesting. Watch the IMAX though. Some amazing sweeping photography although I didn't get the storyline at all)

Family pic moment!

Desert flower. (Sting's ye-eh-eh-eh-eh-eah-eh-eh in my head)

Looking for variation among the rocky landscape

Drink Dejablue every half hour for good hydration (ala the Vitagen tagline)

I was doing a literal impression of Seymour (Happy Feet's) "I'm too close to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head" Like I said, there wasn't much to do

As luck would have it, we were there aroung 2pm, the least interesting piece of scenery to capture.

Sunset on the way back to Vegas

Fake Arc de Triomphe

The speed of light. Dad taught me to take this shot, shutter speed of one second.

Caesar's Palace, it's not very well lit, so the impressive sculptures didn't turn out very nicely

we stayed for 4 songs in a row, just taking pictures and just cooling ourselves down with the majestic Bellagio fountain sprays

Lovely background but unlit foreground

The flash couldn't reach the background

Voila- the wonders of photoshop- although there's that sliver of shadow on my right arm. Anyway, the easier solution, which we worked out later, is to put slow shutter speed and set flash as well. The only problem was getting people out of the way

This is how it's done, uh-huh

Night lights

All that glitters

The Venetian, I made my family trek all the way across town here but the gondolas were not operating by that time, it was around midnight. Neither was the Tussauds wax museum open. Ah well. At least there were some pictures to take.

Serene waters outside Venetian

The clock tower just before we boarded the bus back to our hotel

29 May, Tuesday

In the morning we were brought around to visit more extravagant hotels before going back to LA.

I wanted to show the irony of New York in Vegas =)

Supposedly artistic shot

We were informed that originally the entrance to MGM was the actual lion's mouth instead, puts a twist to the proverb 'into the lion's den' eh. It would've been so cool.. but oddly enough Americans are also superstitious to bad feng shui or bad luck to walk through the lion's mouth coz it signified money going in and never coming out. I suppose thats good for the proprietors right, but since they're losing customers they changed it to a more sedate lion statue. (oh a quick check on Wiki revealed they were losing Asian customers. Figured)

Mandalay Bay and Luxor on a lovely morning

Inside Luxor, also a lil shunned coz of it's dark interior, like being encased in a tomb. It's windows are all slanting at a certain angle coz of the pyramid shape. and the lifts ascend in that angle too, instead of rising vertically! Too bad we couldn't find a lift to get on.

Luxor so reminds me of Sunway Pyramid, albeit grander of course.

Outside Luxor

Ooh I love playing arounf with reflections. Showing off my rm25 sunglasses =) I realise when you buy something, instead of being satisfied with it you look around more for alternatives. Like for sis and I, we were looking around US for more sunnies, even though there is not much necessity for them, either to gloat 'hah! I bought them for cheaper' or muse 'hmm this is SOO cheap, should I get another one?' Sigh, the insatiable human wants. Speaking of, on the way back to LA, we stopped by yet another factory outlet with over 90 stores supposedly? I cant really remember, but again, the lack of time plagued us but I managed to get a Levi's cap for US$5 =)

The aftermath of paintball

2007-07-05T01:59:00.000+08:00

on June 27th, we ventured out into the wild (that is the streets of Subang lol) and took each other out like animals.

too bad we didnt take a photo of us in our gas masks.

in a heated battle, my team lost but we had to give it to the birthday boy. Injuries sustained among members include giant bruises on shoulders, lovebites on chests and angry cuts on forearms.

A well deserved lunch after

Do i look like the oldest there?

These are all people two years my junior. Seriously I was quite happy they accepted me so readily into their little circle. They're lovely friendly people and I'm glad my sis is not as selfish as I sometimes can be. At times, I was a bit hesitant/reluctant to share my friends with others, in fear that the former will find a greater replacement in the latter. Insecurities abound when what I thought was close friendship have faded into hi-bye category. Ah well, whatever it is, it's really been a pleasure knowing these people. And the toasts later in the night was just such a touching experience, especially when the birthday boy's best friend had tears from making a toast to the former. It was the ultimate sweetness!

I dunno if u can see, but theres this small ring where the paintball hit, and a bigger circle of blackish yellow bruise. taken june 28th

better lighting in the morning. taken june 29th

my poor phone/rock climbing

2007-07-02T01:44:00.000+08:00

aiks blurry pic but see... there's this black spot (pui pui pui.. turn circles. from POTC 2 anyway bwaha) on the bottom right corner of my screen and two wide cracks going upwards. and lines across.. i was trying to read sms with this for one day when i went out rock climbing man!

closer look at the lcd screen

ps rock climbing was so darn tiring!!! but super fun..we went to nomad adventure at summit climbing gym since i got free vouchers from watsons. beginners rock climbing session for 2 worth rm65.. for unlimited climb. after learning how to tie a figure 8 knot and certified a belayer, *im such a lousy belayer tho, when ppl fall i get thrown off balance and dragged forward a bit.. gah.* i climbed the 5C route twice. the easiest route i saw was 5B+ then it goes on to 5C and so on. i think the most difficult i saw was 7c+ probs. i was so glad i could climb up the 5C+ route with 21 footholds... at my second attempt.. woo..! i was stuck up there for a good 5 minutes i reckon.. between resting and exerting myself again, torture...but a great feeling to touch the topmost hold! definitely going again before my hols end!

Father's Day pics

2007-07-01T02:04:00.000+08:00

Just transfered these pics to my laptop hence the delay.
Decided to make popiah from the Nonya cookbook we had. One of the easiest. All you need to do is:
Buy popiah skin, 150g each carrots and mengkuang

Fry the grated carrots and mengkuang, add in lightly beaten egg, then drain them.

Fold the popiah skin anyway you like, just seal it with starch water. Mum's the expert. mine resulted in misshapened popiahs

We made 18 i think

Just deep fry... and...

Voila!

Nah...

More realistic looking eh?

Garnished and chilli sauce mixed with tomato sauce and lime, ready for eating!

Recently I've been feeling rather aloof to my dad, i think its especially since the day my grandma lamented how life is tougher for girls, like what she pointed out about how my mum needed to rush back from work to prepare dinner when grandma was away. How true, the second shift and all..albeit putting in almost equal amount of effort in the working world. Females' share of household chores are the daily or more frequent ones like washing dishes; cooking dinner; washing, hanging, folding, ironing clothes; sweeping and mopping floors. Whereas males expertise in DIY is hardly put to use. Changing lightbulbs, unclogging drains, what else really? In this age, why isn't there equality in the households? We used to take turns washing dishes and at recent times I brattishly resent my dad for not doing his part. I wonder if the situation will be better with our generation of future husbands. Or perhaps I should just be thankful my dad is supporting our household, and step up to my role as a female in lightening my mum and grandma's household burden.

California Day 4: Vegas!

2007-06-25T18:22:00.000+08:00

27 May Sun

There was an abominably early pickup time of 630am today, which was not necessary as the highway was devoid of early morning traffic during the weekend. Thus, we were left stranded at the BRAVO TRAVEL headquarters waiting for other passengers (who got to sleep in) to come. And I warn you less than one hand can count readers out there, this tour agency SUCKS big time. They have no sense of customer satisfaction, big delays here and there, bus break down (I suppose thats not really their fault) and the bane, sometimes source of amusement, but grating bane of my journey: the CHEENA tour guides with horrigible engrish. It was lucky that I could understand Chinese, I pity the Indian and Malay families which were among the tour members. Key examples are like ahmahgah (oh my god), alala (a lotta), coraraorier (colorado river). One wonders whether they are just lazy to enunciate properly. it's like speaking with an open mouth.
However, our Vegas tour guide redeemed herself by knowing the back routes and short cuts of getting around Vegas, which is really essential coz we're SO pressed for time. This is one of the main reasons i dont like tours.

We had a long journey ahead of us. about 6 hours or more. The road to Vegas-- deserted desert.. barren land and more barren land. Oh but we stopped over at some factory outlet stores tho! Cheap Quiksilver shirts! 2 for US$19.90 sans tax

A piece of Singapore in Vegas too. Vegas has a bit of everything. New York, Paris, Venice, Rome...

Wynn.. looks like a yummy chocolate! Steve Wynn, owner of this resort, billionaire creator of Mirage and Bellagio also. (or rather MI-RAH-JEE and BELLALIO)

Oooh the sun was unbearable! But for the sake of a photo... Desert temperatures were about 38 degrees celcius i think! The heat was just draining! And irritatingly US hotels don't seem to have kettle to boil water. You think water very cheap is it?

The lavishly delightful ornaments in Wynn

The flash doesn't reach the flowery balls

The ubiquitous essential. Didn't try out tho all the penny slots!

Ooh a stretch limo!

There's the Paris I was talking about!

Caesar's Palace. In awe of the majestic columns

Rio- supposedly have a club with younger clientele

Prancing pony

Sexed up dancers- not my kinda scene

Ooh-er... ch-ch-ch-chip and dale: rescue rangers! makes u wonder about subliminal messages by Disney

One of my fave hotels for its mock Venice design

Dreamy sky painting over our heads in the Venetian

Pseudo venice- complete with gondolas!

Wonder what this is for. Escaping the smoky confines of casinoes

Coloured oxygen?

So little time when we rushed around can only eat pretzel for dinner

This, was the climax of the show. Not much eh?

Lights always look serene against reflections of water

Highlight of Vegas: Bellagio fountains

Goodbye my Nikes

2007-06-23T12:55:00.000+08:00

I never thought my Nike shoes were nice enough to warrant a pic on its own, so this is a cropped one hence the grainy quality.

Like they say, "You ain't gonna miss your water till your well runs dry"

I never thought some MOFing dickhead will come steal my shoes (and socks!) from my front porch in the wee hours of the morning! Some more my sis was awake FF8-ing til 4am.. and grandparents woke up before 6am.

Goodbye my Nikes who followed me to Korea, China, Australia, US...
Goodbye my Nikes who went thru the 2nd half of JC, NAPFA with me, my dance practices, my few attempts of running up and down NUS slopes.

For a moment there I was in favour of the hudud law of cutting off a thieving criminal's hand.

But I'll let byGONEs be bygones. This is an opportunity to shop for new shoes!

California Day 3: Undah tah SEA

2007-06-19T22:41:00.000+08:00

26 May, Sat

Nightmare Memorial Day crowd
I start the post again with crowd pics but Seaworld is nowhere near Disneyland's efficiency methinks

Ruffled after more than 3 hours journey to get to Sea World. Traffic was THAT bad

Look at the people at the famous Shamu show

Believe-Sea World's Shamu show

Magnificent jumps and huge splashes

Shamu shamu!

Mama and baby shamu

Shivering after the Shipwreck Rapids ride.

Flamingo Lagoon

sleeping flamingos.. their slender necks look like snakes tho. shudder

mama duck and ickle cute duckling!

The ducks are quite naughty at times.. pecking the poor flamingos' stick thin legs

Washed out.. did someone bleach them.. i expected flamingoes to be pink!

Like these!

fake flamingo- contraptiona elweirdo

Me getting all my family in the shot. We were waiting to get into some RL Stine 4D show.. which was really lame btw

El cheapo trick no2: Seaworld photos more expensive than Disneyland i think! Journey to the Atlantis ride was not bad actually.. there's this huge drop downwards, and i tot it was over so soon.. coz the wait was horrendous.. i was so bloody cold! my teeth couldnt stop chattering and i was shaking so much i felt like pooping! but anyways the ride took us into this tunnel afterwards, sorta like a lift to elevate us, then whoooooshhhh... the exhilarating rush on the way downnnnn

Manatees- I think they're more known to us as dugongs.. So adorable la.. the guide said they have scars on their tails coz they are too slow, as in when they hear boats coming, they flip to avoid their heads getting banged, but they move too slowly so the propellors hit their tails instead.. ooh.. thats gotta hurt!

Only clear shot we can get is with fake manatee

Milk got, hmmm?

posing with the pic of the otter my sis loved so much.. didnt see any live ones around

Altogether now.--- aaawwww

Clueless? The directions are pretty confusing in Sea World..

Took a lot of shots of the seals i dunno why.. oh oh.. Do you know what's the diff between a seal and a sea lion? contrary to popular belief, the black sleek ones u see performing at the zoo? Those are called sea lions! (look at the bottom left photo-the one at the left!) whereas seals are the brown, more spotty ones. Sea lions have long flippers which they use to push them forward when they move about whereas seals have shorter ones so they move around by rumbling on their bellies!
Look at the bottom right photo.. seals also like to pose hor?

Seaworld wouldve been much nicer if it were sunny that day! And less crowded of course. Don't miss the pet show though! It's one of the nicest part of Seaworld! Sadly, I was too busy enjoying the show instead of thru a lens

A lotta roast/grilled stuff here.. warm on a cold day but dont like the smokiness

It was soooo late when we finally had dinner at TGIF just a stone's throw away from our hotel.. and dinner was goooood..

California Day 2: When You Wish Upon A Star

2007-06-17T14:37:00.000+08:00

25 May Fri

Look at the crowd! But Disneyland, being a corporate place, is extremely efficient. Damn impressed with how they handle snaking lines. Each ride has the estimated waiting time displayed at the entrance and most rides divide themselves to two segments at the end.

I couldn't find a land called Yesterday though

The famous Walt and his mouse

Love the castle

We hit Adventureland first, one of the 4 main lands (Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland) in Disneyland

This ride was rather a letdown. It's just real shaky

Hi Winnie! This pic is for Niths haha

HUgs all round!

Mum looks so cute here.. sis just looks blur.. lol

Bimbo wannabes

Getting ready to work those (non-existent) arm muscles!

The el-cheapo way of taking keepsakes. US$12.99 and above for a picture!

Tomorrowland- Space Mountain was exhilirating--- I'm seeing stars!

Unflattering pic.. but this ride (Astro Blasters) was damn fun haha.. shooting aliens.. and the photo is free! Yay i got the highest score out of my family.. which still aint much..

Totally cashing in on the pirates hype. We spotted 'Jack Sparrow' running away. There were tons of ahem, kids

in pirate gear and swords. Shiver me timbers!

me and sis gave the Parade of Dreams a miss since we wanted to check out Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. Yes yes, pirates hype

I dont look scary/scared enough

A model after the skull cage in POTC2: Dead Man's Chest

Will Turner's Shop!

I can't rmb where i saw this in Disneyland but a dedication to my friends doing RAG!

Notice the Disney logo? I had this shirt ages ago, since I was 12 maybe. Found it in some cheap bargain bin from World of Cartoons, haha. It was like less than RM10 i remember. An elderly couple remarked on what a nice shirt i have when I was at the pirate island. So cute. The two of them had Disney tags around their necks where they spent 10years collecting the shiny pins on them. It's quite heartwarming to see Disneyland being a place for people of all ages. Supposedly the happiest place on earth. =)

Epitome of enterprise

super fat and squashy Donald!

Disney castle at night.. too bad we didnt manage to get a spot in front of the castle to see the fireworks coz it was so freeaking crowded!.. there was some story going on in the background too. We settled for a spot near a closed cafe where some of the fireworks were hidden by the foliage. The fireworks were amazing! There's another day where we went to disney downtown to see them again.

I found this sign so amusing.. LOST parents??

Sad to leave Disneyland but tired after a whole day of walking

SJ 10km run not happening

2007-06-15T18:26:00.001+08:00

We took all the trouble to drive to Menara Star (and paid RM2 parking!) and this is what happened.

Walk into lobby: (white sign) Please note that the date of the Subang Jaya run has been changed to 26 August 2007

WTF!

Update your website la dammit http://thestar.com.my/subangjaya/

Of course there's gonna be people who can't make it when you change the date at such late notice. Today was supposed to be the closing date. Bah! Good luck in sending back RM10 registration fee for those non-procrastinators who can't make it at the new date.

Housewifely

2007-06-15T09:34:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I was being such a good housewife. I jogged in the morning (like Gabrielle haha), I swept the house clean, and my sis mopped (but later dusty feet occurences proved not so clean). After that, I ironed my dad's shirts and slacks and mum's skirts (like a normal houswife) AND in the afternoon til evening I helped bake cookies (like Bree.. except she didn't have so many fiascos like adding in too much sugar, milk and forgetting to preheat the oven for the second batch thus spending more than 40 mins on that but thank heavens it turned out alright, crunchy albeit too dark brown)

Voila- peanut butter lemon milk cookies with rainbow sprinkles!

Like my sis said, our cookies all have a signature taste no matter what ingredients we put in.

Whatever, I was still a good housewife yesterday

At World's End-Take 2

2007-06-13T22:20:00.000+08:00

I went to watch POTC 3 again with sis, LH and Kev and found out how stupid I was since the latter two caught on pretty quick to the twisty plot. And the second time watching was much more enjoyable since we figured out pretty much the betrayals, bargains and ship-jumping after watching the movie the first time round so can just sit back and take in the special effects, action sequence and jokes. But still there were unnecessary scenes to be sat thru.

Top 5 scenes to be cut from POTC 3:
1. Jack Sparrow's sniffing nose
2. Jack Sparrow and the crocks (crab-rocks)
3. Tia Dalma's non explanation of why she abandoned Davy Jones and how cruel she can be.
4. Senile Bootstrap
5. Tia Dalma growing gigantic (ropes expanded with her size too), muffled something incomprehensible and dissolved into crabs (crap)

As with the first time, one of the best things of the film was the soundtrack! <3

Ca-li-for-niia!

2007-06-11T22:21:00.000+08:00

It's gonna be mainly a photo journal with some captioning and comments. I miss California already!
Departure on 24th May 0950 Cathay Pacific

Arrival Hong Kong on 24th May 1300
The clouds were hanging so low at the Hong Kong airport. Beautiful!

Arrival LAX 24th May 1630-we saved a day after 17 hours of travelling!
Ah our room at Knott's Berry Farm. I love this hotel even though its far from the city centre and we have to depend on our faithful helldriver to get us to Anaheim!

Jars and jars of jam

Reflections

Snoopy! We met the plush live one at the hotel but dont have a pic since camera was accidentally set to video mode

What an irony

Sis disgusted at the oiliness of the fried chicken at our first meal in US

So ends the first day in California

The trilogies

2007-06-09T11:39:00.000+08:00

I've completed part of my summer sequels- the last of the trilogies.
If I had to rate how the movies met up to my expectations it'd be
1) Spiderman 3
2) POTC 3: At World's End
3) Shrek 3

Spiderman 3
Left the cinema feeling: okaaayyy
Somehow I just don't really feel much after the movie, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as you'll see with Shrek 3 later. And basically I was happy aside from the movie, since I was out with friends and had a satisfying meal at Manhattan Fish Market.
As with summer blockbusters, you can count on the amazing special effects, whatever it is, I did feel sad for Harry (MAJOR SPOILER) when he died, although in the comics he died less nobly, from being poisoned by too much pukegreen gas. I didn't really like the major villain (arguably Sandman) this time though, he didn't elicit enough empathy/sympathy from me. And the Topher Grace character- Edward Brock(?), I didnt mind seeing all the shit happen to him but I did mind seeing Peter Parker trying to be a dancing ass-shaking bad boy. So awful it's funny and cringeworthy that I even thought it was funny. But I did relish him being mean to others and having more attitude than his normal clueless wimpiness. So clueless about MJ's distress! Oh I did find one scene moving though, it's been a long time so I can't really remember but it involved Aunt May.

Gist: There just seems to be a lot of nothing going on, since for a movie of 140mins I left not really feeling anything at all.

At World's End
Left the cinema feeling: Confused!
This time, it's really cashing in on the Jack hype. No doubt, Johnny still has the ability to entertain but I just think the scene with Jack Sparrow stuck in Davy Jone's locker was totally unnecessary. I mean a couple of minutes of Jack with multiple personality disorder would have sufficed but a repeat of this on Davy Jone's ship much later was bothering on aiyoh get on with it already!
And why do people keep harping on Will and Elizabeth's romance being boring. Whatever, bitches! I'm just glad they got back together. So funny where they needed Barbossa to marry them.
Will: I've made my choice. What's yours?
Elizabeth: BARBOSSA!
And of course, Will looked yummy at the end when he became *SPOILER* an eternal pirate, keeper of the Flying Dutchman.
Tia Dalma and Sao Feng could've amounted to so much more. The former became giant and collapsed into crabs or ketam batus. (I had a wisecracking Malay sitting behind me with much of his own comments throughout the movie) and the latter died too early, and not because of fighting either.
Funniest scene: Davy Jones in a bucket of water on the sand just before the face-off between EIC and pirates. I just laughed out loud in the cinema for this.
Actually, Barbossa and Davy Jones were much more enjoyable to watch than Jack this time. Barbossa for his manic cackles and Davy Jones for his accent. So fun to make fun of. *Like a bird-ah, that cannot fly-ah*
All in all it was just too convoluted and I sometimes couldnt figure out just exactly which ship they were on since they jumped ship so many times and also who betrayed who since plot twists were aplenty. And the Tia-Davy romance was rather hazy too.

Gist: A Disney flick aint supposed to be confusing! but action scenes will keep viewers entertained and gloss over the holes.

Shrek 3
To quote a certain Governor Swann: Perhaps on the rare occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself can be the right course?
Being hyped up by the Pirates hype, I watched the downloaded Shrek 3 at LH's house =p
And with good reason too, Shrek 3 is totally not worth spending cinema ticket money on!
Almost all the jokes fell flat or had me going Err.... I found Sleeping Beauty quite funny though, the way she falls asleep at anything and jerks awake, What what?
Despite being a dull watch, it had a rather short running time, especially compared to the previous blockbusters, so it wasn't too unbearable. I didn't feel anything for the movie at all. Oh I do, that it shouldn't be wasted time or money on! I do feel sad for the series though, to close with such a stinker. Normally, it's curse of the middle child, but i think for POTC 3 and Shrek 3, they're the worst of the trilogy. *I might change my mind about the former since it warrants a second watch for me though*

Gist: Unfunny, don't bother going to the cinema to catch this

Now all I'm left to conquer is Fantastic Four (2): Rise of the Silver Surfer and Harry Potter (5) and the Order of the Phoenix

jetlag and results

2007-06-05T03:54:00.000+08:00

Got back on June 4th after 14 hours of flight from LA international airport (dubbed LAX by me and sis for its sluggish and clumsy baggage handling and shoe removal at security checkpoint which resulted in nasty pong) to HK airport, during which I watched Music and Lyrics, Bridge to Terabithia (I loved the movie!) and The Painted Veil. Woozed through the 3 hour transit where mum happily bought beef jerky. Another 3 hour flight from HK to KLIA (where I watched the slowpaced Zodiac- had to read wiki transcript to understand it. It was freaking 158 minutes- had to hold my bladder to watch it duh)

All in all, June 3rd ceased to exist in my life. Left LA on June 2nd, 1150pm, Arrived HK on June 4th, 430am, KLIA on June 4th, 1230pm

Anyway like any anxious uni student, I immediately checked my results after greeting my grandparents and uncle.
I was a bit disappointed to find that my core modules fared worse than my sociology modules
But I should look on the bright side right, at least my cap is 0.04 higher than last sem's! So I should say also, positively, that I did better at my socio modules than my core. And now I know I can do sociology modules =)

The List

2007-05-22T00:19:00.000+08:00

1. California!
2. Summer blockbusters...arrr!
3. Harry Potter and other novels
4. Cross stitching
5. Cooking (hah!)
6. Subang Jaya 10km run
7. islandtripislandtripislandtrip
8. Sales! *shoes-2 pairs and counting =p*
9. Get togethers- people come back from overseas!
10. Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Heroes

Island in the Sun

2007-05-21T14:49:00.000+08:00

I want an island trip!

Sorry no cure

2007-05-19T20:53:00.000+08:00

Headline of The Star today: MPs say sorry

Nine days after they made their “bocor (leak)” remarks that led to an uproar among women’s groups, the two Members of Parliament finally made a formal apology to all Malaysian women.

Read the full article

I was disgusted when I first heard that McPs reared their ugly heads yet again but a wonky router prevented me from blogging about it.

Now reading their statements, I feel even more repulsed when the two MPs try to add on a smoke screen by saying the opposition are playing up on the issue and that they were reacting to provocation by the opposition.

"I don't deny that some of us do use disrespectful or crude words to counter the Opposition's arguments, especially when it touches on the Government's credibility"- Jasin MP

Well, it IS a fact that there are godknowshowmany leaks in the Parliament now. And what? they plan to use RM22million just for checking on the leaks?? One can only surmise how much actual renovations will cost.

Then both of them try to negate their actions by listing out instances where they help/support womens groups. That's just hypocrisy man. It's as if they're fishing for sympathy points.

McP statements

Sometimes it's just so disheartening to read the papers. The last time I came back home, I remembered the uproar caused by some bonehead filming up a journalist's skirt and another McP blaming it on the woman's dressing.
As for the bocor issue, few days ago they even refused to apologise, the damage has been done. They have sent out the message that it is okay to verbally assault and belittle women, who cares if the person is of opposition or not. Now, I agree with the opposition MP that the apology just sounds forced. Did they need to take nine freaking days to take action? In fact, I foresee this will just be a vicious cycle, unless some severe punishment is meted out to these McPs, how can they just mouth off and expect an apology will be sufficient? It's like... swearing in church then asking God to forgive your sins? I don't know, I suck at analogies.

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T15:40:00.000+08:00

Earworm: Grace Kelly~~ Mika

our plan for Mother's Day this year was to bake a cake, a depart from the usual cookies. Originally we intended to import the baking utensils and kitchenware to our house courtesy of my sister's friend Calyn, but what the heck the latter said it was better we do it in their house instead. So fabricated excuse to mum, out we drove to our first cake-baking experience!

We asked her to choose a simple recipe- Chocolate Moist Cake, when we arrived, already Calyn and her mum was taking charge of the situation. Me and sis felt like too much cooks only... =/ I helped like 10% of sieving the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sodium bicarbonate, 10% coz i spilt the powders all over and Calyn had to take over instead. heh.

This whisking machine (?) is such a cool contraption, you just pour everything in there, butter, eggs, the sieved stuff above, bit by bit though, to enhance uniform smoothness (what a pharm prac term!)
and voila u have cake batter! (no pic)

These are ingredients for the chocolate moist, corn starch, cocoa powder, evaporated milk, castor sugar, vanilla essence, water, egg yolks (though we forgot to add them til later)

Heating the chocolate moist over a steamer. Butter to be added in when the mixture turns thick. Mmmm...

Leftover from the whisking machine. Lick it!

The rising cake batter

Kinda cracked on top, when we took it out there were two holes in the bottom, the pros couldn't figure out what was wrong... **

Oooh, the chocolate moist

**... we salvaged it to become a quarter of a cake, some slices stacked on top of each other, it's kinda rich anyway so this serving is alright. The leftovers were either eaten by us or given to Kev for ready made mother's day gift. Hah!