Merry Christmas!!

Now what is it again?

Peace on Earth and Joy to all Men (and Women)?

Now I can't be sure but who cares?

Merry Christmas to everyone out there!

Going Away

Won't be in Singapore from the 12th to 16th.. Hong Kong here I come!!

Indulgence

Hmm. My first paper [the exam kind] is tomorrow. Indulge me ok.

Fantasy no.1: Kick back and relax in a nice cafe with a good book

Fantasy no.2: Sleep without horrid dreams relating to school work

Fantasy no.3: Watch unlimited TV/VCDs/DVDs... ...you get the picture

Fantasy no.4: NO ringing telephones or rude neighbours

Fantasy no.5: A day trip to a mysterious castle deeply secluded in unspoilt forests*

Fantasy no.6: Catching up on all my fiction reading. There is this whole list waiting to be devoured

Fantasy no.7: Movies!

Fantasy no.8: Chill out with pals without going broke

Fantasy no.9: In which Fantasy no.8 and Fantasy no.1 do not clash - but that is just a fantasy

Fantasy no.10: I can somehow accomplish all this in er. my very short break?

* This is here just for the heck of it obviously. Does Hong Kong count as a cement forest?

And...the verdict is out!

Our group got a grade worthy of that absurd overnight/24hr marathon rush to meet the project deadline! Yay! Today is a memorable day!

Pandemonia!

A Short Play by yours truly.
As opposed to a Looooong Post.

Note: The authoress delines to associate herself with the characters you will meet below. Whether they are fictional or not will be up to you.

8:48pm: The brain. There are two white armchairs facing each other across a small table, also white. The furniture is set in a square room with 3 walls, all painted gray. One of the armchair has a box, also white in colour on it. The front of the room is "open" to the audience, i.e. no wall. ficklemiss enters stage right, and sits in the empty armchair.

ficklemiss: [looks around nervously] Did you hear that?

A loud burst of crackling interference from the white box is heard, and ficklemiss jumps nervously again

The other voice in my head (hereafter known as ToViMH): No, hear what?

ficklemiss: Shh! I heard something...didn't you?

ToViMH: No...can't you see I've no ears?

ficklemiss: Ooh! I heard it again! [springs up agitatedly and runs to hide beside the armchair]

ToViMH: I REALLY don't hear anything...

ficklemiss: [peeking from the armchair to stare at ToViMH accusingly] Listen HARDER...now shh!

ToViMH: Wait! I heard something... what's that odd sound?

ficklemis: Elementary, my dear Watson - it's the voice of Hysteria! [laughs]

FIN.

Can't the weekend breeze by? I'm agonising for Monday to come. Damned 24 hr marathon. If we are going to do badly...I'm going to cry...

A Looooong Post

In honour of a friend (who asked for a post), and since it IS her b-day, it'll be a long one. So bear with me.

Thus! We shall begin with Su.Z's very first Looooong Post!!
It was a fine day, as most days are regardless of whatever you may be feeling, which as it happened, can be put simply with this facial expression: a long face. So, to cut a lengthy story short, let's just get on with this verbose post...

This morning, my train journey was delayed for some mysterious reason. Now, I run on a tight schedule trying to get to school on time, and I could not be more relieved when the train started moving after a protracted wait in the dark tunnel. Miraculously, I got to class in time, but that was after a ridiculously ardous climb up Biz Fac. What a horrible place filled with continuous flights of stairs!
So, after a drawn-out day at school, with the end finally in sight, me and a pal decided to take a bus down to Harbourfront for ice-cream. Luckily the slow journey was made better by the unusual perspective provided by us sitting on the upper-deck of the bus. Now, I've never sat on the upper-deck of Bus 10 before, and the view was amazingly different. Makes all the difference when you are tall, I suppose... ...you feel like you are towering over all that strectched out expanse of shorter shophouses before us.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any good ice-cream place at Harbourfront, so we both decided to train down to PS. Yay! Ice-cream! That sweet delight is all the more enticing after that absurdly roundabout bus/train ride. I ordered a Frosted Malt Choc (I think that's what's it's called). It has been noted that prolonged starvation makes food taste way better, and it's true when FNALLY, my sweet treat which I had yearned for appeared magically from thin air in front of me!
Of course not. Duh. What happened to thanking the waiter/waitress who served you your long-awaited meal? Too long has it been since we all indulged in a little courtesy!

We had a wordy discussion on haunted houses (halloween may be over, but it wasn't that way back ago) while waiting for the food to arrive. When it did, we spent so much time laughing that we took an extended time trying to finish our ice-cream.

Well, I got home soon after that. Now, my only desire is that I somehow wrap this post up tidily and go off to bed without typing my fingers off! What a terribly draggy day!

Murphy's Law or Plain Bad Luck

The title sums up everything about this film module I'm taking. Shoot me.

Time is EVIL

Not enough time. As usual. Who films and edits in one week? Considering we actually have absolutely no experience whatsoever with the editing programme, some really mysterious pixels and whatever other stuff that can't be put here for the sake of diplomacy. I'm supposed to be doing the immensely boring accompanying report and I hope my draft of it doesn't kill us all though if it sucks it is our fault for procrastinating. Huh. No time to yak more - here's a lovely orchre [I hate yellow] space for me to hide in, if only for a few minutes. I might even go for lunch after I leave. Hah!
Hey. Someone wanted an update. I'm ruined. But at least it's more than 2 sentences long. Only one person will get that line before this line, fortunately.

Pick Me!

These are my Lit paper questions. Pick one for me and tell me why you chose it. I think they're all horrible. That said, I still have to do them. I think I ought to watch Sympathy for Lady Vengeance for the first question. That said... I don't like Korean films...
The winner doesn't win anything obviously. Though if you like candy I'll get some for you. =D

1. Ibsen's Hedda Gabler forces us to see domestic frustration, disappointment, and fiasco as forms of violence against women in society. Discuss.

2. The title of Duras' film script, Hiroshima mon Amour [Hiroshima My Love], is equivocal about its proper subject: the address to "my love" can refer equally to an unnamed lover as well as to the proper noun 'Hiroshima', the city itself. Reflect on this ambiguity.

3. Discuss the language and attitude to the subject of love in any one of the following three poems:

Jonathan Swift's 'A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed'
T. S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'
Leong Liew Geok's 'Love Songs'

An observation and commentary (unrelated)

Today, it started raining at approximately 12.30pm. Terrible smell of smoke accompanied the rain. Everything was grey(more than usual)and if you looked clearly, you could see tendrils of smoke with the rain. Must be the first time that I saw such nasty pollution. Eyes are itching too, possibly as a reaction to the smoke which is currently also clogging up my respiratory system.

I went to the library yesterday. With the opening of the Bishan Library (YES!) a significant number of books have been left on the shelf for the newer facilities down the road. Hence, I had a field day picking my way through full shelves. Execellent if not for the fact that I have several papers to write, a number of non paper projects and no time to spare for some of the really good finds (in a damn long time I tell you) that have mysteriously turned up despite the abject mess of the shelves. What is Tom Holt (HOL) doing on an M shelf I ask?
In any case must put that list of books to be read/reread/completed somewhere and it might as well be here. The holidays never seemed so far away. Actually, it isn't, just that I'm procrastinating quite successfully and feel that while i require more time to get assignments done, I also don't want to be kept away from a nice long break.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (or is the other way round?)
The Prestige, which popped up from nowhere like Magic!
I am a Cat
Anansi Boys
Ender's series (don't remember exact title)
Onion Girl, which makes the list not because I'm dying to read it but because in all my time at that library, it's the first time I've seen it - and it's not new.
(The list seemed longer yesterday)

In retrospection

A few days ago, I went to return VCDs which I had borrowed for schoolwork. I was in one of those on-the-go moods, feeling as if nothing could disturb my sense of finaly broken through procrastinating and getting down to work at last. With such determination to get SOMETHING right for once, I walked into the one VCD shop that I frequent in the jolly, bustling heartland.

Looking back from where I am now, i.e. in the present, it was all some absurd nightmare. I happily breezed into the shop, saw that no one was at the counter for me to return my VCD to and decided I'll browse around. It was really a half-hearted attempt to waste time, because I had somewhere else to go, and better things to do than browse around. So, in boredom, I puttered around the shelves wondering why no one was appearing at the cashier.

On my way in, I recalled having seen a couple of slackers smoking at the door. Assuming these were the staff taking a break, I civilly decided to wait, being empathetic about work dissatisfaction. Looking up from browsing, I saw that one of the fellows that worked there staring at me. Since I possess a natural dislike for being stared at, I huffily wondered why the slacker was staring at customers while obviously slacking. It wasn't any business of his to examine what I was looking at. It didn't matter if I'll gone to the shop 3 days consecutively. I had to borrow the discs on my 1st day, returned one that I'll watched on the second and was now back on the 3rd to the same. In the end, glancing at my handphone which I'll fished out of my bag to look at the time, I decided to approach the cashier who was standing outside the shop.
I held out the VCD and said "I want to return this." He took it back, and said, "Where's the other one?" Thinking that he had an amazingly short memory, I reminded him that I had returned it the day before. Looking back, it was ridiculous.
He said I had another in my bag. Amazingly, I who had frequented this shop had been accused of being a petty thief! Insulted, I threw him my bag for him to look through. He clearly believed in the existence of 'The Invisble VCD' because he made me remove my jacket as well, so that no large objects would be obstructing his view. (I dimly wondered how I could be accused of stealing anything when I'll asked him 2 days before if they had a VCD I had wanted, but they didn't have.) He couldn't find anything (duh), and gave me back my bag and went to get my real VCD which I was returning, scanned. When he was done, I icily retorted if I could leave, and left fuming silently to myself.

Looking back, it was funny. I was browsing half-heartedly (I've been there 3 times), fidgety (hey I was bored) and possibly must look guilty-stricken to smog covered eyes. There it was, a polite customer here to return borrowed goods, and an over eager sales assistant. Thinking about it now, I can't seem to find it funny. Isn't it strange that one can have dual feelings about something that has happened? I find it strange that while I can review that unfortunate episode with a good deal of bemusement, I can't help but feel angry the instant I pass the shop, while cursing it smugly- Ha! Not only has competition just opened across the road, your once valued customer is GOING there too!

Interlude: The Jumbled Mind of Me

Just had lunch in school. Will be going for second lunch in half an hour's time. Whoopee! While waiting, I decided to go print notes in the library, but there was a long queue, so decided to read notes using laptop instead, with notes magnified to 120% for easy reading. I intend to maintain my 6/6 vision (though it could be 9/9 by now).

I've made a discovery: someone has been keeping secrets from Me! The fact is: it's a conspiracy that no one has informed me that Marmite n Cream Cheese Toast is an absolute and fabulous gourmet creation. Perks include: cheap. easy to make. tastes heavenly. I'm obessed by it.

Apart from that, I'm reading Kafka as my Lit text. Bureaucracy? It's all a conspiracy too - of a cosmic size in this case. My Marmite n Cheese Toast pales in comparison with this delectable text. You should read it - it's brilliant. Why is it brilliant? I don't exactly know yet, but it appears to deal with Life, the Universe and Everything, in particular, bureaucracies, which we all have dealt with now and then.
Ok. Time's up. Lunch is beckoning enticingly.

Blogging from the Far Side

Far and away!! Every morning, it takes me approximately one and a half hrs to get to school. I know, I know, quit complaining, yadda yadda, in other countries, it's a blessing if u can make it to sch in 2hrs, that sort of thing. Unfair comparisons aside, I can't help but be just a little envious of those who live near university. Two years of walking to school must have softened me. Shopping sprees do not count. I used to wonder what it felt like getting up really early to get to school. Well, now I know it. Not really, I just wonder how they wake up early and have no complains, unlike whiny old me.

As it is, shall we go on to lighter matters then? The food is nice in NUS. As in, what I've tried so far anyway. There are also many stairs in NUS. Some of the stairwells are dark. The place can get creepy at night. My bus has no aircon. The stuff in NUS are cheap. Isn't the last one cool?? Campus is huge though. I've been spacing out lots during lectures. Why is that? During lectures, when I'm not paying attention, my head feels really buoyant and happy, like it's about to float away on fluffy white clouds if I forget to hold on to it...

Life at the edge.

First Day Blues

School started proper today, meaning lectures. Woke up early, caught the bus early, and made good time to school. Upon reaching NUS, I decided to drop at the library, which seemed to be closer to the lt that I was headed for. At least, I recalled that it had appeared closer on the map.

Since it was the first day of school and all, there were lots of people walking around, and most of them were moving at a sort of half-jog, half-walk hybrid pace. The woes of rushing from lecture to lecture. To prevent myself from being squashed by incoming students, I had to walk at that odd pace too, and got to the lt with 20 minutes to spare. Sat around then, and did a little people watching. Then, it when it was about time, I went in to lecture. Sat around somemore, while waiting for p.y. to appear.

Then. I find out that I'm in a Soci lecture. Hahaha. Wrong place. Whoopie.
Rushed to the correct lt. Mercifully, I had not missed anything in particular. What a way to start my 3 years at NUS. Joy to me.
As a side, I realised that somehow, my wonderful module combi is such that I have a lecture EVERY SINGLE DAY of a working week. So that means that I've got to go to school everyday. Way to go miss. Must remind myself to arrange a better schedule the next time round.

Bargains!

Went to the library used book sale today. Everything is going from about $2. Reached the expo at about 0830, and there was already a sizeable crowd waiting there. Most of them had come prepared with newspapers to while the time away waiting for the sale to open at 0930... Some came even more prepared, with huge backpacks and market trolleys.

Then the sale started. At first, we could approach the carts of books with ease, but within minutes, you had to fight increasing numbers of bargain hunters that had absolutle no scruples when it came to pushing, shoving and/or scratching. Don't forget the elbowing too. If you can withstand the maniacal crowd, it's really worth a visit. Of course, we didn't stay long. Got in at about 0930 and we were out by 1100. Honestly, the crowd was unbearable by then, and most the er. hunters had by then settled down amongst the crowd to peruse their trophies. We left the place exhausted. And to think it had been less than 2hrs!

The Notebook Hunt

Got my laptop today. Yay! First of all, I really must recount [yet again] the process of getting my laptop collected and processed. Amusing actually. Sort of like a treasure hunt you know. Walked all over NUS while lugging said notebook to search for the Staff Club where it was to be processed. Map was inaccurate, even if it featured only 3 places - the IT- Co op, an overhead bridge and the opposite end of the bridge. Lost lost lost. What a fun game. Embarrassed myself walking back to the IT shop to ask for directions. lol... what a sight.

After getting the laptop, decided to take cab home. Only.
The one available cab in sight zoomed into the distance before I could stick out a hand to flag it down, being weighted down with heavy tech stuff. So took a bus back instead. Never ever do that. It's heavy, inconvenient, and the bus ride was LONG. Mercifully, both buses were quite empty, and they would have been emptier still if swarms of student fresh from a day of doing good had not chose that precise moment to enter the bus. But I guess I can't really blame them, since it's a hoilday, and they are naturally excited. I remember loving the National Day holidays. Red all round. Actually, I prefered having the whole day off. Besides. I like white better. Red on the other hand, entails a trace of bloodshed.

Now, I'm at home, waiting for the laptop to finish charging or whatever it is that it has to do. Apparently, the plug from the charger came loose, and I've wasted one perfectly good day for charging it. Huh. Well. At least I'll get to play with it tomorrow. Whee! My own laptop!

Skool's In!

School's in again. I'm not an organised person, and at times like this, really wish I were. The bulky stack of forms I received through the mail gives the illusion that I'll be signing a million forms. Actually, it's only 4 for local students, but a lot more for foreign students. Then, I go online and download this stack of instructions that is a disheartening 20 pages long. The modules list goes on forever too, not to mention the time table.... Ugh. Then, there are 3 different kinds of modules...? Not sure how this is gonna work out.

Then I still have to fit in tuition, which is frankly disastrous, and am now opting for a way out... Then, there is all those things to do...I feel kinda queasy thinking dealing with the admin, and a new, strange environment. A new beginning. Again.

Anticipation

OK. I'm sitting around at home avoiding the TV because Idol is on and I don't watch that show. Right now, I'm just fidgeting about online feeling vaguely unhappy and impatient and edgy. The neighbour who has just beaten her son because he kicked up a big fuss about not being allowed to go play badminton since he has to take care of his kid sis is making an even larger anount of noise, which is adding to my headache. I'm sad to say my neighbour is loud (which isn't doing her justice) and has contributed much headaches, present and past. Ah well.

The only reason why I'm rooting about round here is because. I'm bored. Duh. Life has come to a stand still again after my Malaysian trip, and the only highlights have been eating out with friends and packing cupboards (again), which aren't much as highlights go. Umm. Been pacing about, trying to distract myself. I have all the time right now to bolt out there and watch Pirates, which I really want to, only I said I'll go with my sister who is currently having her exams, but is't putting in any effort to revise. This means going to the movies with her isn't exactly wasting her time since she is already wasting it. Someone tell me restraining my impulses for that twit's sake is worth it. I'm losing it right now.

Not Here

Will be in Malaysia from tonight till Thurs. So don't bother calling me. You can drop a message via my hp or this blog though. I'll read it when I get home Thursday night.

Skeletons in my cupboard

Finished cleaning up one of the 2 cupboards that I had planned to clean. But!
That is merely a third of the war won. You wouldn't believe the amount of junk I threw out. Actually it is believable if I describe them to you. Some of the stuff date back to the time when my age consisted of single digits.
They really had to go.
I mean, it is dead embarrassing for a 18 going on 19 girl to be caught storing pink and white party hats and a huge doll won from a lucky draw in her cupboard... not to mention all those numerous nameless thingys. So, I tidied up of course, peeled down my doll display which I had been so proud of when I was like... 12? I can't even remember when I did that, though I'm still proud of the now gone display.

Now, the upper shelf is devoted to clothes and some books. I'm considering transferring some more clothes from my 2nd cupboard over as the latter is threatening to smoulder me in a T-shirt-jeans-underwear-skirts avalanche one of these days. OK. Consider that done. haha. Eh. I'm so lame.
I think I'm never throwing out my Phy/Chem books. Though I've already disposed of my upper secondary Geog text since it is virtually useless, even as toilet paper. If you geog electives out there can still recall, that geog textbook was made of the shittiest (no pun intended) paper ever. You can't doodle on it. You most certainly can't use it for toilet paper. And most importantly, it wasn't a very good textbook. How frustrating could it get?

Certified Fun

Went back to school to eat fishball noodles. Ironically, there weren't any fishballs in my soup noodles. It was very nice though. The school is very quiet - because they are HAVING EXAMS!!! Hahahaha. Was called crazy. Well, I can't deny that it wasn't a very sane thing to do. But I have my excuses:
A) I've quit my job. So I don't have anymore pocket $$ and where better to get a cheap meal than gd ol' sch?
B) I've quit my job and it's time to do something odd.
C) I need to collect my A Level Certificate. I happen to know that many of you haven't collected it yet! Mwahaha.

In any case, it's good to be back in school. Such a lovely feeling. You should do it more often too. I've never felt like I missed school so much. And teachers turn stalkers!!!
Drama is holding elections next week, which means we actually got juniors of juniors or mini mimions! I didn't think we would get enough to hold an election... not meaning any offence of course.

Just remembered that I won't be able to go... =( Going to Malaysia next week. So if any of you out there see this, do pass on the info to all ex drama sorts.

Off Line of Duty to Customers n such

You cannot imagine what it feels like to finally leave your part-time job behind you. For instance, I decided to finally risk looking at the damage that nearly half a year's worth of washing up did to my fingers. I think I can safely say that my right finger knuckles have thickened, and it looks wider than those of my left hand, which has led a sheltered life since Fate decreed that I was going to be right-handed. Ok. Actually, I'm taking it better than what it looks here.

On the other hand, the day after I quit, my mummy descends on me with a long forgotten list of cleaning that had been pushed back due to my job. One type of cleaning up to another. Frankly I don't know which is worse. It's not that I'm dirty or like living in a hovel (as my mum likes to call the room that I and my sis share) but that I am incapable of tidying up, and more importantly, maintaining the level of neatness that my mum can tolerate. Books have a mysterious habit of spilling out by themselves. I wish I can attribute it to my neighbour who screams at her children everyday and I can hear her even when I'm sleeping in my room. It must have terrified my books seeing as they and their owner share a remarkably low level of patience for people who scream at their children be it to fetch their school things, correcting homework errors or to settle petty sibling squabbles. I actually HEAR what they are saying. Hah. I'm digressing again aren't I?

But seriously, now that I'm off work there isn't anything for me to do. One wonders if I should take up that offer from a hotel manager that I got last Sunday and pick up part-time work again. Nah. I'm hapy to bum around at home, and there is still two cupboards and a shelf to clean up, and possibly my secondary school stuff to throw out if I happen to be in the mood. I'm a sentimentalist and I can't bear to throw away that stupid Physics/Chem TYS.

I shall probably think of something to do. Like read some more. Currently, Sense & Sensibility is sitting at home trying its best to catch my eye. My quest to understand why Jane Austen is so good at what she does (and what exactly it is that she is so good at) is still an ongoing one. Various people have tried to explain to me why it is so good, but I like to read more and find out for myself. There are 6 other books at home, and the only one that I've completed is 'Notes form an Even Smaller Island' by Neil Humphreys. It is quite funny. It is also the thinnest. Makes me apreciate home a little more eh? Maybe you would too if you read it... Try the libraries. They stock an astonishing number of that book.

Well. You'll probably see more of me. I mean seeing as I am bored enough oops. I mean have more time to blog from now on. Do remember to leave a message. I might actually reply.

Simple Things in life

Simple things in life are the best. Whoever came up with that notion must be under appreciated.

Simple things like laughing together over how every good eating place for miles around are closed.

Simple things like des[s]ert.

Simple things like a walk at night and looking at the pretty lights round the Esplanade and Fullerton Hotel.

Even simpler things like nearly geting lost. If it's not a desperate situation, it is funny. Really.
The company is important of course.

The simply nice cool breeze and mildly warm sunshine at work.

A smile and thanks would be nice from customers. It's a simple gesture. Really.
Please don't make things difficult for me. I'll hate you since I still have to smile.

Please don't renovate/demolish/"spruce up" any more of our nation's treasured past, if we value our identity. Clifford Pier looks awfully lost under the white glare of construction work; and the red string tied acros its wide entrance is worse. Let's just restore it and liven it up instead. Or is that too difficult?

A Simple Life. And I don't mean Paris Hilton and whats-her-name.

When reality is this ridiculous you actually start believing crap

It wasn't Friday the 13th. 06/06/06 was 2 weeks ago.
So, it was I assume, an appropriate time for all these to happen since I wasn't going to expect anything out of the blue. Was happily locked in yesterday and found out 2 minutes before I was due to leave the house for work. What happended you see was that my mum took her house keys and MINE out with her when she left earlier to meet her gal pals.

You can imagine what I did to the gate to get out. Of course, the next thing to happen would be that the bus would take an unusually LONG time to come, and then conveniently stop at every traffic light between my home and Tanglin Mall. That by the way is a lot of red lights even though part of the bus route involved an express way. Upon cursing everything there could possibly be to curse in this situation, I rushed out of the bus and to my work place. Dramatic entrance was quite ruined seeing as I was 5 mins early. Then I broke a Snapple bottle.

I decided to research on Murphy's Law which took on some interesting routes like how: what we usually refer to as Murphy's Law is actually known as Finagle's Law (whatever that is). Truly, what can go wrong will, including the fact that people will actually mistake what your Law is named for... which is bad.

BUT!
Here is an interesting sample of dear ol Murphy's Law:

When you need an item that is in a heap, it will always be the one at the bottom.

Buses take ages to arrive, but when they do they always arrive in sets of three (in Britain "you wait ages for a bus, then two come along at once!"). There actually is a logical explanation for this: the first bus is slowed down because of the time needed to let passengers get on and off. The subsequent busses are (typically) not allowed to pass the first bus, so you tend to end up with a full bus followed by a line of empty ones.

Everything takes longer than you think, or twice as long as it should. Except that which appears easy, which takes three times as long.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.

If something simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

All small objects of value will disappear when set down.

Airline Travel Variation: The time you have to catch a flight is inversely proportional to the distance to the gate.

There is even a military variation known as Murphy's Law of Combat operations:

Friendly fire - isn't.
Interchangeable parts - aren't.
You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.

Full list is available at Wikipedia's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law
That in case u don't know, is also where I got the sample list from. Duh.

Watch with Me: an update

My aunt's taking me to watch Cabaret! And I didn't even ask her! So long as she doesn't suddenly change her mind, Yay for me!! Hahahaha

Watch with me

Is anyone interested in watching Cabaret (a musical) with me?? Please say yes!

Summer Movie Report Card

Hello.

And hello again! It's your friendly blogger pal Ms Fickle again!!

Now, having exhausted verbally abusing X-Men: The Last Stand to all those long suffering souls out there, let's just say that while it was a really cool movie and all that, I do really really wish that the director focused more on developing the characters and their relationships rather than exhibiting his prowness with pyrotechnics. What with blazing cars that sail above the protagonists and collapsing iconic American bridges, I think we KNOW what Mr. Ratner is capable of... Wait! Did I mention that those scenes in which Jean Grey uses her awesome psychic powers are really cool too? Hah.

I think X-Men was one of those early comic hero adaptations that actually worked. No one really wants to see them as perfect. It was always their imperfections, being flawed and very human that connected me to them. It's so much easier to relate to a flawed character than sleek fighting machines. At least that is so for me. Depth? What happened to depth??? All ths same, it was a jolly good summer blockbuster. It just wasn't a good enough ending to a well loved movie trilogy, though kappa IS right in saying that there is no way they could continue this even if the whole world begged for a sequel. Well, if you ask me they can always go backwards like Star Wars.
Ha. ha.
Action? Check.
Romance? Check.
Epic-scale fight? Check.
Comic bits? Check.
A-List actors/actresses? Check.
Optional: Really angsty, tragic and tough issues? Umm.

Movie Mania May

Well well, the month of May seems to be providing a bumper crop of summer flicks. As it is, there is MI3, Da Vinci Code and XMen: The Last Stand... and of course all manner of kiddie run-of-the-mill shows like "Over the Hedge" (sounds like what Aunt Petunia likes to do or a really watered down Desperate Housewife-y thing). Frankly, is suburbia this interesting? and some Disney thing that looks like Madagascar... However, this post is not to throw nasty and uncalled for insults at the movie industry... rather we should forge ahead and hope for the best.

Woohoo!

Someone said that the Da Vinci Code is all bull****. That all those rants about finding mysterious codes are all fictitious. (Well ofcourse they are! That is my point see for here onwards) Hmm. Has that someone been quoting the friendly newspaper?? I know for a fact that the person has not touched anything as intellectual as a novel for well, a very long time.

Obviously.

Since when did Xmen, MI3 or any other popcorn worthy movie had to suffer from bouts of reality checks? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Men with claws and pyschic abilities - the future of super beings are here. We must squash em!! Or well... there is this conspiracy see, where there are secret organisations of spies that are NEVER seen rapelling down HUGE skyscrapers in the heart of the CBD.

Likewise...
There is really no cause to raise such a brouhaha over what is clearly a piece of fiction no different from other pieces of fiction. Jeez. The characters Robert Langdon and Sophie Nevue are essentially non existent*. The Mona Lisa does of course, but so do guns, skyscrapers, spies, and human genome research. So er? Why the big fuss? Just because it claims to debunk centuries of belief doesn't mean it has to be true. Or even taken seriously. Latey, religion HAS become an even more touchy subject(think 9/11) but treating popular fiction in such a defensive mode isn't going to help. I recall reading this last year and what a phenomenon it was. So many who thought it was real ( i was one of them until i realised that all his books follow the same basic plot line so it couldn't be anything except a tool to make sensational news and therefore greater book sales) So. I do wish people would stop making a big fuss over the show and just go enjoy it as a summer movie (i.e. plain entertainment). Worldview shattering symbols and clues? A thriller and an adventure awaits...

* By the way. Wolverine and Agent Ethan Hunt don't exist either.

Exam Fever... or not?

How do you make some one worry about their exams when their own school apparently doesn't care??? I mean... seriously, which school has their sports day the weekend before their exams??? Ok, so maybe primary students don't need as much time as us to study (is this even true?) seeing as they have a lot less t er...study? I'm certain that when you were in Primary 3, it probably took more than a weekend to stuff everything you've learnt back into your heads...

Perhaps I'm taking this from the wrong viewpoint... perhaps the school wants their students to take a well-deserved break before their exams, and sports day is the best for students to just take a break and partake in good wholesome fun and forget their studies for a few hours. I approve of that, but honestly, I do wonder...

Things to be desired

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantmentit is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Max Ehrmann, Copyright 1952.

Different kinds of Exhaustion

There is physical exhaustion, and then there is mental burnout. These are the two most common ailments of youth today. A further inspection will reveal that there are in actual, a variety of "exhaustion" and sub-categories.

For instance - Exhaustion to the point of boredom, and boredom to the point of feeling a general sense of lethargy aka GcE (Gradual change to Exhaustion)...

Also there is frustration, a lack of goal in life which also results in a slightly nastier version known as "I'm so sick of my life"... (usually mentioned in accordance to work life) which brings about the said physical exhaustion and/or mental burnout.

Of course there are also that blessed few which are happily exhausted which is usually brought about by physically and intellectually challenging things like projects, school and cca.

These are just some of the things in life that are currently bugging me. Get me haribo anyday (it's one of those sweets u can eat regularly without being sick of them), or failing that, werther's original (which u can get sick of soon) or even that, ricola's elderflower lozenges and then again... how about one of those imaginary chocolate confectionary from "Chocolat"?? Actually beard papa's is just fine. Or was it bread papa's?? Funny how candy makes u feel so much better emotionally. I suppose it's the after effect of reading PY's blog. All that talk about candy there. Skool's fun. Lucky all those who relief teach or are still in an educational instituition.

Drama Nite 2006

IMPORTANT

Dear interested persons esp. ex NY drama club members or otherwise:

Required: 6-8 persons to usher, particularly on Opening night, i.e. 5th May
Assuming that you all would also like to watch our juniors (and their juniors) in action on the second night.

Pls leave a note in the tagboard if you are interested, or email me...
I am also assuming that you all would luv the opportunity to er...dress up..like what our seniors did last year...
Suggestions are welcome of course. Please do spread the message... thanks.

Reminiscences

Sometimes, I wonder where those thoughts pop out from, but that I suppose is a matter for another time. Having just woke up, I was sitting in the living room stoning when I realised that with a little more than a month to go, the drama juniors will be working at a frantic pace towards their big night. Well. Like last year... and the year before that. To have a goal in the near future aand to be working towards it. Thinking that they have something to work towards brings back some memorable moments. I suppose that that is the difference between them and me now. Just last year, I'll have been doing the same as them, but now, work seems such a monotonous thing. There isn't a goal anymore. No big production, no rehearsals to work towards that, no planning, just work. There doesn't seem to be a point in serving people, smiling and smiling and cursing inwardly after that. That polite service smile. Day after day. Washing washing and more washing. And then what? To what purpose? I suppose you can say that the only thing I can look forward to is my pay at the end of the month. Thankfully, no one day at that place is the same. If it were, I think I might just crack. Now I see why people portray work as a dull, endless cycle that crawls snail pace everyday. To get over one day seems like such a momentous relief.

Dungeons & Dragons

There is a new Studio Ghibli film in progress. Although the film may never be released in cinemas in Singapore, I have come across a trailer for the film online. It looks promising, though knowing how they have a tendency to twist source material to their own themes and interpretation, I hope it'll still be good. A trailer does not reflect the film in it's entirety after all.

Entitled 'Gedo Senki", it is based on Ursula le Guin's Earthsea series. Those were entertaining books which were also mercifully short for something so obviously on an epic scale. Recall Lord Of the Rings, only more condensed, though the action is no less grand or vivid as Tolkein's Middle-earth. I think that if I were 12 when I read the Earthsea series, I would have been blown away by it...

In any case, the trailer certainly seems to indicate a film that deviates from the latest Miyazaki fare involving grandiose flights of fancy; of spirits, wizards, and mechanical contraptions. Of course, the Earthsea world isn't as filled with pretty elegance as Kingsbury or bureaucrats in suits, which might explain the more sparse and natural scenery. The director has also made it a point to keep the background and action simple so as to focus on the characters. Set in an archipelago setting, le Guin's Earthsea books are really a cross between LOTR and jedi lore. Sort of. As it is, being Goro Miyazaki's debut film, he has a lot to live up to, especially with a father who is already established as a master of animated films...

Needing & Wanting - a guide to Nanny McPhee

I watched this film yesterday. Heck, IF I had KNOWN earlier, we would have been watching V for Vendetta. However, Nanny McPhee wasn't so bad. Of course, being a Friday and all, Lido was packed with screaming bratty kids. You would think that Nanny Mcphee with her 5 lessons and knobbly stick would have struck terror into little bratty hearts but no... Most of them were giggling away, though I do admit that the film's appeal lay in how childish it was. Humour was mostly slapstick, punctuated with typical British dry wit.

Most of the characters were quite obviously stock types, from an overbearing aunt with hideous hat in tow, to a nasty vindictive stepmother in even more ridiculous dressing (it HAD to be the sort that revealed cleavage). As I said - these were Fairy Tales stereotypes. One must recall that the target audience of the film was children. Still, I think parents and young kids would have enjoyed it. At least, the audience at Lido were screaming with laughter.
Still, the film set was very pretty. The house where the children live in in the movie had a blue staircase. How cool is that?? A wooden country house staircase.... Walls were red and blue. Very pretty. Had the feel of children living in it - children with rather unorthodox tastes, at least it looked like a fairy tale house... very ideal for a film with typical fairy tale conventions, including a happily everafter of course.

Almost the only intriguing thing about the film is Nanny McPhee herself. Emma Thompson slips into the role of strict nanny with all apparent ease, to the extent that she seemed to have enjoyed herself immensely. A mysterious character that pops up whenever she is NEEDED, be it by the adults who run the house or the children themselves, her ending in the film is equally shrouded in ambiguity. Who is she? What IS she? I guess the answer is something we can only speculate about.

Have you been to the ACM?

It's creepy, costs only 2 bucks, and I enjoyed myself though by 1830h I was begging my aunts to get out quick! Before the place closes at 7pm. Other than tht, I enjoyed myself. It's cool to learn abt the poweer play in ancient China. The robes that officials wear actually shows their ranking. Different kinds of birds for civil officials since birds are a symbol of wisdom or something like that. It was really dim in there though, and the robes looked kinda scary, since it reminded me of the kimono room in Fatal Frame. eeee...

A New Start

It has been a week and a day since we all got our A Level results. Some of us would have jumped for joy, others feeling a little (or a lot) less bubbly. I guess we all have some idea of where we would like to go from now on. It seems like I've been living in limbo for the past few weeks till last Wednesday, worrying on the path that my future would take, everything that could happen hinging so much on that little piece of paper. Now that that is over, I can look forward to a new beginning.

Some of us will be going to NS, others working. And then what? I'll always miss my NY days. My secondary school days. Primary school, sad to say, I was too happy to leave behind. I would never have anticipated some of the paths chosen by my friends, and I am only glad that despite our irritatingly different timetables, we still keep in touch. I hope I can do the same with my jc mates. We are all walking to different tunes now. Some of course are marching to them. Heh. That was lame. Sorry. I hope that wherever we plan to go from now on, we'll still be able to keep in touch.

Doomsday

No matter what, my stupid body clock insisted that I get up at 0730h this morning. So there I was, awake in bed listening to strains of the national anthem coming from 3 different schools, the loudest which comes from the JC, since it is the nearest, and they are blasting it from the quadrangle/parade square, so even I can hear it. Seems like today of all days, my old sch wants me to wake up early. Oh, I know it's not on purpose. Usually, at 730 I'm dead to the world, and therefore don't hear anything. Funny how it is that on days that you don't ever want to wake up to, you wake up earlier and more awake than anything. Guess that's how the world works - in mysterious ways.
Or it's just a sadist who wants to torture you as long as possible so it wakes you up earlier to prolong the pain...

I should be scared.

A levels are out next week. There is a horrible feeling of well... suspense. I guess I'm just freaking out. Or not. I keep thinking of how, if I do horribly and get the most absymal results... I'll have wasted 2 years. Or not. Sometimes I wonder if I could choose again, would I have made a different choice on where to go, and from there, if I did JC, what life would be like if I knew how the A levels were going to be. I remember how Mr Ng said on our first day back as J2s, that time was running out. I thought he was being overly paranoid, but with exams appraoching I had wondered if 2 years were actually enough to let us prepare for the A Levels.

I guess that even if I do get horrible results, I don't regret how I spent those two years. I only wish that I knew exactly what it was I was getting into. However, that is only wishful thinking, Like what that Tom Hanks character, Forest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you don't know what you'll get." (Or something like that - it was a long time since I heard that quote.) One can say the same about exams.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Yesterday, me and a couple of friends went out for dinner. We went to Pepper Lunch, which had nice food. However, if you like your bean sprouts well done, please skip that place, or else order something without bean sprouts. While we were queueing at Swensen's after wandering around Taka, the talk wound its way round to the topic of ghosts. Do you believe in them? My two friends go by numbers - look at the amount of ghost stories and retellings of encounters with 'them'. While I wonder how many of them are seriously true, and are not hallucinations mistaken for ghosts, or simply creepy tales to scare an audience, I'm not a non believer in ghosts. On the contrary, I want to believe that some inexplicable mystery still exists in our practical, tech oriented world. But I've never seen a ghost. Why is it that we all choose to believe in something that has no scientific proof. Very possibly, ghosts are the one thing that most people sort of believe in, and crosses linguistic, cultural and religious borders. It is also something we don't often talk about.
So are there ghosts in the world? You tell me.

By the way, if you've walked past HMV recently...they are having a clearout sale. Some really good cheap deals. VCDs from slightly below 8 bucks. I still feel ripped off. Don't ask why.

Did you know?

Terrapins can sneeze. It's true! It sounds like a yap, the kind that those irritating small dogs sound when they bark, only more dragged out. (It is after all, a sneeze.)

Work. Food. Me.

I'm too tired to really blog properly. I just felt I needed to properly thank all those who came down the day I started work at the cafe for dinner, especially poor ill-used someone who trudged ALL THE WAY from Grand-Copthorn without first collecting his pay. The work is seriously back breaking. I hate washing up because your back really hurts after that. Other than that, dishwashing is fine - almost therapeutic because it means you don't have to deal with all those customers. I still have trouble opening beer bottles. By the way, people do order the weirdest things....

Oh and one more thing. Don't EVER tell me my work isn't tough, particularly when you have NO job experience whatsoever. I'll throw something at you if you dare say so. My sis got a crab claw thrown at her for being preachy. So. There.

Good ol' days

Today, I met up with you. Again, in the space of two days, I'm reminded so much of our days in NY together. Heck... I truly miss those days, and that tale you told me, about the secret admirer is just so funny. Never did I think that he would be such a brilliant actor. But that is not surprising right? All those times in drama club. (Allow me to boast about my cca will you) As I said, if I had been there, I would not have stopped laughing too. I miss the way you always laugh, even when things weren't that funny - but lame things are funny too. We NY geog students ought to know.

We got lost, embarrassingly enough. Thank goodness we found our way back. No thanks to me. I do not envy your job - after all, I'm no musician and I'm disorganized. But I do envy your workplace. The environment is enviable, and the surroundings are so quiet and peaceful. VCH brings back so many fond memories too - I even saw (Mr) G. Singh standing there, right where I saw him the last time my Project Work group went to interview him at his workplace. That was two years ago. Yup. That corner of the concert hall fencing where we first spotted him. Dear members... if only u lot were reading this. That scene of him brought back a great sense of deja vu.

This week seems to have given me lots of opportunities to reminisce. It has been a sort of relief to talk about the good ol' days. Never did I think I would miss it this MUCH. I do not have so many good memories of my Secondary school days, and definitely ten times less good days in Primary school. May we all ace our A's and complete our A Level education with even more sweet memories!

Memories and much more

I miss NY. That was the first thought I had when me and Jane made it past the security guard at the front gate. Seeing our juniors... the canteen vendor (whoi gave us a free drink each)... the stupid canteen which was more often than not overly crowded... our tutors... even the building itself brought back wonderful memories of my time there. Now do I truly grasp the feeling that those two years were far too short. 4-30 has been completely revamped of course. Stages to one side, new green and orange bean bags, new wooden desks... and far cleaner than anything we were used to.

Strange then, that the room still contains the same atmosphere. I felt perfectly comfortable on the floor, but at the same time, am aware that I don’t belong there anymore. I’m only a visitor now. It is too easy to fall once again into the life of NYEDC. Already, though I'm at home now typing this out, I instinctively started thinking about the publicity. Poster ideas flow into my mind naturally; the problems faced by the set construction, the logistics, the overall performance, the cast all slip into my mind so easily. But though I want to be a part of it again, and experience the sheer nightmare, the sense of purpose, the camaraderie, I have to remind myself that hey... they are the new ones, and I've to let them do it their way. It's hard. My fingers itch to interfere. I have to constantly remind myself that I'm responsible now for my new job, my tuition, that Primary 3 girl that needs eye opening to the world, and that drama is something I need to think twice about before committing. Well. Look on the bright side (or the good side) - with new obligations, hopefully, I can't interfere too much.
Like 4-30, I've got to let go, and make way for the new masters of this place.

Curiouser and Curiouser

I watched "I Not Stupid 2" today, right before I went to my very first tuition class - First lesson - that children are Not stupid. I shall try to keep that in mind. Hmm... tuition is a lot more trying than I thought it'll be. Lots of patience involved, and not to mention, logic and humor, which both left me at the front door of the girl's house. I guess expectations were too high; the girl seems to like drawing (Hey!!) but seems to be lacking in curiosity. I hope it is only in science, but chances are, I might be wrong, since she doesn't like to read.

I've made it like a sort of part-time life long mission to interest my sister in reading. The success is limited. Manga ISN'T reading, and my disapproval of comics means it wasn't even me who influenced her. I got her to FINALLY take an interest in what I read, but she doesn't bother to read it herself. The ONLY book that ever piqued her interest was Howl's Moving Castle. And it was for a short while only. LOTR - the sheer volume to be read automatically makes it a hopeless task see.

Anyway, my point is, reading widens general knowledge, builds language proficiency and heps to solve most of the girl's academic problems. That, however, is just speculation. I talked at it with Kappa (thanks for listening and being patient with batty ol' me) who thinks the child's problem is a lack of curiousity. Hah. Maybe Spirited Away will wake her up. No..just kidding. I know better than to encourage cartoon watching with her Mum just a hair's breath away.
Well. I'll end here for tonight. Plesant dreams to whoever's out there right now.

Geisha in Hollywood

Watched "Memoirs of a Geisha" yesterday. It was quite nice...er. The kimonos were gorgeous. THe scenery and cinematography can be said to rival the kimonos. The one problem is that it is all too lovely, that is, to be a real memoir. The movie is like a sort of dream, really pretty, but about as realistic as an illusion. I

It looks and sounds deceptively like a Japanese film, but it isn't. It is well, basically, Rob Marshall's idea of what a film about geishas looks like, which is hardly accurate - for one thing, geishas are not kabuki dancers (P.S. was that dance Zhang Ziyi did with a paper umbrella even remotely akin to kabuki??). In other words, they move really sedately, but gracefully, and really not much twirling about. I'm not a geisha expert, but at least I'm absolutely sure they got the hairstyles and makeup wrong (from travel guides that my mum borrowed).

This film is not meant to be taken seriously. It has umm... some beginner's tips though, like how an apprentice geisha or geiko is called a maiko. And some other itty bitty facts. The thing is, it's one of those movies where u go to enjoy as a pretty movie experience. Nothing else really. I can in some way understand why people got really upset over the film though...

Dog's Year

Speaking of Man's best friend...WHY do people dress their beloved pets like so?????? If I were a dog, I'll think that my owner must have gone crackers. Maybe I'll blame the alcohol. OK, as a pet owner myself, I can understand why indulgent owners want to dress up their pets. I HAVE tried my hamsters, but the ribbons never stay on. I just think that some of the er costumes are over the top. Poor doggies.

Now, then, lets go on to the 'Man' aspect. CNY is very fun, except for the food part. It's been only one day, and I am already sick of bak kwa and pineapple tarts. Actually, I've been sick of the latter for a few years now. Other than that, the yusheng was nice, reunion dinner was grand, and vegetarian (I think) lunch at my gran's yummy. I'm not sure what's it called actually. It's got a proper name. Now, I can hear lion dance coming from somewhere. Been hearing such things for some time now. Met up with LOTS of relatives. Funny...they ask the same questions every time I see them, but I guess I can't blame them for doing so.

Every CNY, I also end up playing with my neices and younger cousins. Played blackjack and lost handily. (Thank goodness no money was involved, but still!) Pillow fight was won easily. So was hide and seek. Hurhur. Money has never been my forte. Oh well...at least the other card game went well...sort of like improvised Uno.

Spent CNY speculating on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was very nice by the way=D. Does anyone still want to read the book??

I find that there isn't much to blog about, CNY. I guess all the excitement was in the week preceding it. Going to Chinatown...braving the crowds and aunts. Decorating, cleaning... now I'm like, at a standstill. Speaking of Chinatown - we spent an entire eveing trawling only one street. It was that bad. My aunts even spent like 20 mins picking cushion covers but eventually decided not to buy anything, much to my disgust. Hello! Who subjects themselves to smoke inhalation, and then go away empty handed? They also spent more than 1/2 hr picking jewllery at a road side stall. (I must admit being one of the culprits, but that's because I didn't want to buy anything, and had to spend time persuading myself that I needed a pair of earrings ;) )
So you see! CNY is boring. The shopping...decorating...I don't know...the air of anticipation is always more fun isn't it?

May I never see It again!!

Yesterday, I was FINALLY officially discharged from the NDC!! After more than 3 years, I can safely bid au revoir to that place!! I still have to wear my retainers at night though, to prevent my teeth from moving about too much. But that, is a personal choice, and so not counted. Woohoo!! After hearing a good year's worth of "indefinitelies" I am so happy to see the last of dentists!

It's not that I hate dentists, it's just that I'm so happy to be not trudging off to a far off clinic again. At least I had nice dentists...can't imagine facing one of those poker face strict-about-dental-hygiene kind.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! This day, the 23/01/2006 goes down in my personal history as "The Day I Got Off those Retainers Officially".

Weirdness

After receiving 2 creepy emails at night...THAT JC near my home decided to play the National Anthem in the dead of the night, at 10.17pm. It's perfectly nuts...what were they DOING??

No name - it's not like there is a logical sequence to this post

Here I am. Two weeks to CNY. I am now reading the Neverending Story. It is written by one Michael Ende. He writes in German, which means I read the translated version. First of all - kudos to translators - if they do a terrible job that, means one less good tale for the rest of the world to discover. I'll always remember reading Totto Chan, How I became Stupid and Sophie's World. Such nice books. But hey, I'm rambling, and that's not a good sign.

Now, then, on to the book. The Neverending Story is about a boy called Bastian Balthazar Bux, who is not very brave, or adventerous, and is built like a hobbit; in other words, not meant for heroics. The Puffin edition I read suggests that the book is for 10 years and up. If I were 10, I'll have found the creatures that reside in the pages of the book really scary, and I'm absolutely certain I would've not finished reading it. Well, I'm not made for heroicsm either right? The book IS meant for 10 year olds however, [isn't it that age when horror stories get a firm grip on the imagination?] if you are to go by the logic that at 10, we hit a milestone between being infantile, and growing up. Most stories feature 10 - 12 year olds that do well, things. Bastian has to learn that heros aren't what they are cut out to be, and the 3 heroes he meets up are like overenthusiastic sorts from Chaucer. Actually, maybe Sir whatshisname from Harry Potter is nearer the mark... but I can't resist making a dig at poor dead Chaucer. Haha...

But there are lots of books and even films out there where children set out to find their identitites. I don't have to name them. However, while most of them start at the age of 10, I wonder if they are still searching for themselves. I doubt their stories end where the books/films do; because the quest for identity is continuous, and changes with time. Of course, most such stories end happily [how else??] and the reader is imbued with a sense of hope for the future. As CNY looms round the corner, I see it as the second chance to get the year right. If you have had a rocky beginning this year, there's CNY. That's why I love home - celerations like this will always be a mark of hope and happiness on the calender. At the very least, it is a holiday, which means no HOMEWORK. Cheers people.

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Hauru no Ugoko Shiro (It's Japanese, not gibberish)

Yesterday, I watched Howl's Moving Castle. My DVD player is nuts - yesterday, the disc worked perfectly, even though we decided to skip the beginning, because we had watched it at least 5 times without getting any further due to that mysterious error in the sound.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the show far more than I did the first time watching it, which is rather strange. I really loved Spirited Away, and the film never fails to amaze, despite mine watching it several times already. The funny thing is when you watch a film and find it nicer and nicer with each watching; watching a well cherished film and lovin' it over and over again is well...nothing new.

Perhaps, one reason for this change is that watching the show from the comfort of my own home makes each scene funnier, more real and closer simply because I'm much more willing to laugh at it. It's true - I blame that horrid cinema for totally ruining my movie experience. It doesn't help if the cinema was cold, draughty and too empty, or that the sweepers were standing right next to you before the show had ended properly or that your sister kept shushing you throughout the show dampened the entire affair.
I might have to explain that last reason - since Howl's Moving Castle (the movie) is based on a book of the same title, I found myself automatically comparing novel and film, mostly directed at my sister's benefit. You see how wrong I was.

As you can also see (or might have noticed by now), there are no big capital lettered words shouting "spoiler!" or "read with caution" that usually accompany my movie reviews. That is of course because this isn't a review of the film in the first place. Go watch the show. It's fantastic; I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. Oh by the way...it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. My theory is that to appreciate this film, you'll just have to accept what's given you. Which if I may add, is a lot - everything about it is just right, right down to the perplexing bits.

Note: This would have been a proper review, but my brain has fled in terror after having to review the film in Chinese for someone who still has holiday homework. It was shitty I can tell you. Can you imagine reducing one of your favourite films to broken Chinese? Ugh.

A second Note: My brain has just decided to compromise. The film can thus be described as whimsical, sweet, dark, entirely for romantics at heart (or heartless ;) ) and really...it's quite funny too. Not ha-ha funny, but still funny.

Stemflow: Defined as precipitation (rainwater or snow) that follows the path of a tree trunk down towards the ground surface.

Thought I'll explain that to non geography students or to those have studied this but have forgotten

On days like this...

The rain never fails to amaze me. On days like this, when it pours and pours relentlessly, and the sound of rain drops thudding maks me calm, and all I want to do is watch the rain sliding off my umbrella while I walk home, nevermind that the hems of my jeans are soaked, shoes ruined. Back home, all I want to do then is listen to the rain. It's always there, this comforting sound in the background. It's not a distinct sound, but then, that's why it's so soothing I think, to hear the rain, when it is a sound that is so familiar at this time of the year, and particularly for the last couple of weeks.

Then, while all is calm and tranquil, you are all of a sudden astounded by the little everyday things that you never see normally... I don't know why it fascinated me, but watching little runnels and trickles of water flowing down the partially dry tree trunk was just...amazing to watch, especially when as you walk on, and the rain continues to pour, the trees you walk past are increasingly soaked, and the trunks turn a darker brown where the rain water has touched it.

I wonder why the rain makes me feel this way...lol. I guess I'm just weird on this point - haha. to think I'm fascinated with stemflow.

DVD players!

Turns out the fault might be my player... At least the HMV people were nice enough to give me a new DVD...

Utterly devastated

OK...not really. I am not reduced to tears of frustration and despair yet. I just bought a Howl's Moving Castle DVD from HMV (yes..yes indulgence) and there is somethig wrong with the sound. Can't HEAR a single word half way through the movie (damn it). Kicked the well...something and stubbed several toes and 1 knee. Walked drenching in the rain which by some infernal coincidence starting pouring as soon as I left the general warmth and safety of a snug home to my grandma's to borrow her DVD player and see if it's just the disc or the player's fault. Apparently Howl and gang likes my grandma's DVD player. WhenI came home from gran's... it behaved before I went for dinner, and when I came home...it died again. I feel like suing somebody.

Tomorrow, I'm going to have it changed. I think the alternative title to this post should be 'Murphy's Law strikes'. Ugh.

By the way...I read Christopher Priest's book entitled 'The Prestige'. It's a bit slow, and really complicated (or maybe my illogical brain just dun get the clues) but it is also downright creepy. I kinda liked it...a rather more intellectual read...but hey...I thought it's rather nice. I do not hog em. If you wanna borrow them you'll have to hop down to a library and stake it out or you can just borrow them from me and return it on time. =p. Does me a favour anyway - returning it for me. By the way, 'The Prestige' is Christopher Nolan's next film er...after the Batman sequel or before it I dunno, so those of you who liked Batman Begins, maybe it'll be nice to read up on his next film...

Lights...Camera...Walkway

The stage is set.

Twelve contestants will compete to be the three finalists...and the winner gets all he/she needs to start his/her own fashion label.

Yup. If you don't still get what I'm driving at...forget it. You probably don't watch Project Runway and/or you live on a planet where the words 'runway' and 'catwalk' don't exist. It doesn't really matter if the words don't exist in your sphere. They hardly registered in mine.
So...this post is rather belated as I've only started watching PR like...three days ago on Monday. I caught a glimpse of the sci-fi episode and nothing more since then till now. Well I guess what caught my attention was dear ol' Wendy. The crazy bitch. More or less. Haha. Not really...the 'special episode' where they got back all the booted out contestants (all 9 of 'em) showed that apart from possessing a generally cool and calm head, Wendy (er..can't remember last names) is remarkably composed (COULD have been scripted of course - there is no reality in reality tv) and answered questions not vindictively (as expected) but logically and fairly. It doesn't help if the fellow she had a hand in booting out kept nodding his head as if in agreement with what she said. Having said that...Austin is just weird. What's with that hat and cape ensemble??? He looked like he was getting ready for some cosplay event. Or possibly an audition for the role of Count Dracula + Edward Scissorhands, which is a role I assume he created himself.

Right...enough of all those insults (some ppl can't help being a fop right? Or a bitch for that matter...) and let's get on to the proper comments. Project Runway, like most reality tv shows...aim to get the most varied and colourful of personalities together and pit them against each other in various tasks. Oh joy. A modern day gladiator fight, without the gore of course - gore became unfashionable after WWII. Funny how they like to portray the contestants as bitter rivals underneath a veneer of encouraging smiles and camaderie. The idea is far more ancient than you think. People are merely fighting with their minds rather than brute strength, scissors instead of swords. This goes back to how everyone seems to despise Wendy. Most are convinced she got into the final 3 by sheer backstabbing and strategy, and not by talent. Admittedly, her designs are rather dull compared to Jay's flamboyance or Cara Saun's well balanced designs that mix practicality with creativity (I like Cara Saun..most steady character in final 3)

Admittedly my views may be biased since I've watched like 1 and 1/2 episodes only. Then again, even if I've watched the entire series I'll probably still be biased.

P.S. I've just finished reading the latest in the Artemis Fowl series - 'Opal Deception'. Having completed it, I think I still enjoy 'The Eternity Code' better.

Sparkle!

Cleaned the windows today (it was fun!) I can also snoop on ex-school. The council is having a field day. Poor poor 1st 3 mths intakers. The nice wind blowing in from the windows helped a lot.