Confessions of an Undisguised Drama Queen

Why the farmer doesn't plant potatoes

2007-02-20T14:24:00.000+08:00

It's like, you eat potatoes everyday, then one day, the farmer says, 'Oh, I'm not planting potatoes anymore. Eat tomatoes instead.' -- how K describes my disappearance from blogsphere.

So this farmer here has stopped planting her potatoes.

Why? Maybe it's because the drama queen in me has mellowed. Say hello to Missy McChill... or something like that. And I reckon, since my writing won't be very much as dramatic, it won't be right to continue on here.

The drama queen is dethroned and it's probably time to move on.

I'm not going to give up writing... but it's going to take on a more personal approach. Like some of my friends have done, the blog is likely to go private. I don't need the whole world knowing what's going on in my life - my new journal will be more of an avenue for close pals to update themselves... but of course, I'd very much prefer telling my stories over tea or ice-cream. Nothing beats the company of buddies.

If anything, I can still be contacted via email or msn: joy_shijia@msn.com

It's been a good 2.5 years... *takes a bow*

Priceless

2007-01-27T23:02:00.000+08:00

Who doesn't have a past? =P

Zonked

2007-01-21T21:06:00.000+08:00

Functioning on less than 5 hours of sleep is dangerous. Even more so when dealing with little ones.

Today was my first time at the nursery and considering that it's been eons since I last interacted (let alone cared for) little tods, I was half excited and half apprehensive. Thus the insomnia. It was almost impossible to keep the many variations of possible scenarios from flashing in my mind. I ran through the mental checklist of things to bring and things to take note of over and over again. Extra T-shirt, check. Alarm set at 5.30am, check...

All in all, after about 7 hours at the nursery, I can conclude that my fears were generally unfounded.

I didn't get puked or peed on (and thus my extra T didn't come in handy thank goodness), just a little drool here and there. I do still get a bit freaked out by the screaming tods who cry non-stop for HOURS (man, their stamina is AMAZING) but it's okay. I just have to practise singing much louder than their screams. Shouldn't be a problem, I think. (karaoke anyone?)

I know anyone who's been around young children of the tender age between 1 and 2 years old would probably gush about how adorable they are (minus the screaming and crying part), but that's really quite true. They're so tiny yet so magnificently capable of drawing the attention of the people around them. Talk about being a natural star.

Also, I find it extremely fascinating communicating with these little ones who haven't quite gotten the grasp on language yet. So it's their actions and their incoherent little code words that one has to decipher very quickly to get them what they need (or want) before the time limit of their patience is up and they start to burst out into a bawl.

My arms and back are now achy from carrying and bouncing the tods who refuse to be put down (and if you try, they start hugging and hanging on your legs which can be quite painful AND unsightly) but it's been really something, hanging with these kids. You learn to be a little more selfless; after all, their safety and well-being are your absolute responsibility.

I'm looking forward to my next session with these children - they are a precious reminder to me that I'm blessed to bless others.

Clearance Part 3: Last of the Bulk

2007-01-20T01:01:00.000+08:00

More pictures (click to enlarge) from our trip! This is the last of it... thankfully.

We're so happy in these pictures only because it's BEFORE the travel agency decided to screw up our transport.

Btw, this was taken in one of those ancient taxis that picked us up.

When we finally reached civilisation, moods were somewhat ruined but we still had to fill our empty stomachs.

I still like Singapore's better... but after the recent cockroach scare splashed in the papers, I would think that it won't be as popular now.

On our last day...

Victim of attack: K

*HOME SWEET HOME*

Then there was K's birthday:

*Mission accomplished!*

Clearance Part 2

2007-01-19T02:06:00.000+08:00

Some pictures from our Malacca/KL trip (the parts that were not sucky, that is):

Click on the pictures for their full size

The Stadhuys is one of Malacca’s most recognisable landmarks – Built in 1650, it was the Dutch administrative centre with a clock tower and painted in bright red. A Historic and Ethnography Museum with displays of traditional bridal costumes and other relics is located inside. The building itself has some great architectural details including heavy wooden doors, thick red walls and wrought-iron hinges.

The Christ Church was built in 1753 by the Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule. It still stands today in Malacca city, a landmark of fine Dutch architecture. The beams were constructed from cutting and carving a single tree and have no joints! The hand-made pews, on the other hand, date back some 200 years. Mounted on its walls are some decorative fanlights and plaques in memory of those who died of various epidemics. Yet another plaque, a wooden one, sits at the rear of the western wall remembering local planters who did not live through World War II. The church is indeed a sight for those who love fine structural design.

information abstracted from here

Really old fashioned post office... and what's Kenny doing? Trying to pick up a laydee??

The Fort was originally built as a chapel by the Portuguese but it was eventually renovated into a fort by the Dutch. Sitting on top a hill, the fort is unique in the sense that it was built to defend from inland invaders, rather than the sea. Hence, the canons are faced rather awkwardly towards inland as visitors shall see.

The Maritime Musuem (the ship-like thing). The museum is built in a replica of a Portuguese ship, the 'Flo De La Mar' that sank off the coast of Malacca while on the way to Portugal. Here, visitors can view dioramas and intricately crafted models of ships on board. There are detailed descriptions of Malacca history and a map that features actual charts used by Portuguese sailors centuries ago. Located near the tourist office, the Maritime Muzeum is a great place to visit to learn Malacca history.

After all the walking and climbing of stairs, it's time for a little break and some shopping at the nearby malls!

After the long day out, the three of us retreated back to the hotel for a takeaway dinner and a good night's rest, but not before I realised a mistake I made:

More later...

MIA

2007-01-18T00:59:00.000+08:00

Really lazy to update coz there are so many blanks to fill in and new things just keep happening.

FYI, I'm back from wintry Hongkong! Had a blast of a time there with my dear girlfriends Gracey and Bernice. I had such a good time I really dreaded coming back to the mundane waiting and unpleasant weather here.

While I'm collating and editing all my pictures (a whopping > 1GB worth from the 3 of our cameras), blogging will probably occur sporadically, manifesting at times when I've slept enough, watched enough tv, gone out enough and have simply nothing else to do.

The rest of my holiday beckons!

=)

Clearance Part 1

2007-01-10T19:44:00.000+08:00

It's less than a day before I leave the warm, humid weather behind and set off for my winter holiday with my 2 best buddies, so I thought I'd just clear off part of the owed blog entries, starting from the hellish trip to Malaysia.

The account of our very 'scary' trip:

Grace, Kenny and I were desperate for a short getaway and we thought Malaysia would be a good choice. We'd approached an agency to help us with transport arrangements as well as the hotel bookings. It was SUPPOSED to be a better way, since we were going to 2 places, Malacca and KL.

Boy were we wrong. The freaking creep of an agency* totally ruined our holiday.

Here's how everything went downhill because of the weasel agency.

Day 1: We were supposed to reach Malacca at around 1pm by coach. At about 1.30pm, we were already right outside the hotel but the guide refused to let us off. This woman was saying that we were going to stop by some chocolate factory for 15 minutes for the driver to have his lunch. Some passengers, us included, were bewildered at first, but irate later.

We were right outside the hotel, why couldn't the driver just open the door and let us out so that he could drive off to have his lunch, and we, ours? Because the darn guide was going to earn some commission by bringing us to that chocolate place. Stinky move!!

So the bus took us on a big detour and I can still remember vividly how sad my empty stomach was, seeing the hotel disappear from my view.

I want my chicken rice balls.........

At the chocolate place, Coco Story (how lame), K, G and myself were 3 very unhappy patrons. Except that we only set foot in the shop to use their loo. Buy their product?? Wait long long ah!

The place where there were many pissed travellers and where the sickening bus driver sat outside to smoke instead of have his 15 min lunch (while the rest of us starved on)

Okay I look really ghastly in these pictures... but it's not me, but my wrath, that you're looking at.

FYI, we were there waiting for what, 45 min?

Day 2: We thought it'd be a better day cos we're headed to KL for shopping! But again, we were so wrong.

Our transport vouchers stated that we should be waiting for the coach at the hotel lobby at 9.30am, and the coach should arrive by 10am. We early birds were there way before 9.30am as we got up early after a sleepless night. We waited and waited but no buses arrive at the hotel entrance even till way pass 10am.

We started to get fidgety and irritated. Each of us started to react in different ways: G started to develop an extreme sensitivity to sounds of vehicles larger than cars (ie. vans or buses) driving up the hotel entrance, turning her head at speedily at each occurrence to check if our coach had arrived; K started to walk around alot; and I started to roar.

At around 10.30am, there was still no coach, and all this time, we had been trying to call the 2 phone numbers given on the voucher for necessary contact. The numbers were either unavailable or not in use. Lagi best. So G and I had to make calls to the Singapore office at the expense of our autoroam charges (hello, not cheap hor!!!), following which this girl kept putting me on hold (I could feel a hole burning in my pocket as the stupid music played on) and finally got back to me to say that she'll check it out and call me back. WTH!!

After a long wait, she called me back to say 'Erm, I called the person, he says the coach is there already what?' There??! Where??!! There my foot!!

A long moment of unpleasant barking from my end of the line ensued.

Apologetically, the girl put me on hold again (!!!!) and then said she'll call me back.

*RRROOOOOOAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

She didn't call me back at all lor!!
Then at 11.15am, this uncle walked up to us hurriedly and asked if we were from **** ***** Tours and quickly took our bags and led us out of the hotel to a.....

old, ancient taxi (from the days of yore when backseats didn't have seatbelts) -_-"

We thought okay, maybe there was a screw up and this taxi will replace the coach and take us to our hotel in KL. Wrong again. The taxi drove us to a petrol station near KL, waited, circled around and waited somemore, for our coach that was supposed to be there. After a long wait of what, 45 min, the uncle made a call and guess what, yes, everything that could go wrong went wrong: the bus had left without us!!!!!!!

*ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!*

So rubbish can!! Then we had to wait for another bus that was on its way to KL to give us a ride but this bus only took us to another petrol station at KL, after which we got on another ancient taxi to drive us to the hotel.

By this time, not only were our plans thwarted, our moods were way low below the deepest seabed.

The damn agency ruined our holiday. Period.

Day 3: As usual, the coach was 1 hour late to pick us up to take us to the place we missed most: HOME.

Well, this is the bleaghhhh part of the whole story. The better part was the fact that I had 2 great travelling companions. We made it to hell and back together and we still managed to squeeze in little bits of fun at the parts that DID NOT INVOLVE THE SUCKY AGENCY.

Wow. This took longer than I expected. Seems like the better part of the trip and the other entries will have to wait till I get back from HK.

Till then...

A League to Join

2007-01-09T20:52:00.000+08:00

The league of the extraordinary aunts.

Case 1: I'm out with my aunt and she wants to check out a jewellery store owned by her friend's family. We walk into the hotel where the store's located and I look around while she talks to her friend. I casually browse the gems and my eyes fixate on a quiant little crucifix pendant. It is unique yet not overembellished.

Sweet and simple.

One salesman notices that my eyes were hovering over that piece of jewellery for more than one second and helpfully (or so he thinks) offers to show me the pendant.

'Which one do you like?'

'No lah. I'm just looking.' (typical line used by a window shopper who doesn't want to be harrassed by the salespeople)

The attention of my aunt and her friend is diverted to this conversation between me and the salesman.

My aunt goes, 'Which one you like? Take out and see la...'

'Errr no lah, don't have. I was just looking.'

'Never mind one... just see lor'

'Errrrrrrrrrrr.... that one there in the second row....'

The salesman reaches into the display and pulls out the pretty pendant.

(And this went on in my head: Ooh cute, not too bad. I have good taste. Okay can we go already?)

But that didn't happen. My aunt's friend started to describe the pendant while observing it under that mini spy-glass looking instrument all jewellers use and began to quote prices for it. And since he was a good friend, he slashed more than half the sale price and offered it at close to cost price.

It was the only piece.

'No lah I don't want it. I just wanted to see only.' <-- it's true!! But almost instinctively, my aunt pulled out the cash and proceeded to pay for it, saying, 'Never mind lah, I buy for you. The price so good, and only one piece. Just take it.'

O_o

This is the same aunt who's doted on me since young and taken very good care of me when my parents were MIA at home. I feel so indebted to her... especially when she lavishes on me even though she does not have much. It's love like this that shows me how much more my Heavenly Father cares for me. Because of this very selfless and extraordinary aunt, I'm well-taken care of, always doted on and now, have my first piece of real diamond.

A princess-cut diamond sitting happily in its box

Case 2:

I've got an uber-cool aunt who's extremely successful in her trade (thus making her very admirable) and is also the single parent (taking care) of my best cuz. She passes me all the chic corporate wear, making me the last person to fret over what to wear if a surprise interview or function is sprung on me without notice. I am all equipped to be an office lady!

She's also the groovy aunt to go shopping with; and sometimes, the buys are even sponsored.

Yesterday, she just demonstrated again, why I think she's so extraordinary.

Her SMS: Just had din w my x boss whoz visiting fm new york n apparently wentworth miller is his fren! when is prison break? i must watch it next time la

My reaction: *jumping around the room and yelling at the top of my voice 'OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

OMG.

My aunt knows Wentworth Miller's friend; and this means that I'm related to someone who knows someone who knows Wentworth Miller! And this would mean that we're closely connected - Wentworth Miller and I!

What I imagine he'd say:

'Hi, I know you from somewhere right? Yea! I know your aunt's ex boss!'

'I held up a bank in the show to...wait, don't I know you? You're the niece of the lady who used to work for my friend!'

I know, I know, it's wishful thinking.
I do my reality checks too.

Yeeoowwwwww

2007-01-04T00:32:00.000+08:00

My legs are aching and I can barely feel my feet.

Yawn; and I'm so tired.

All thanks to my dear friend Kenny who made me run that 3+km after our squash game - my legs were jelly less than half way thru but he kept saying,

'Reaching already! Just keep running; only 7 minutes more!'
'Oh man, this must be the WORST 7 minutes of my life', I whined.

Then, another slope and much panting later, I was already slowing down to a walk when he said,

'Only 4 more minutes!'

'What??!! Only 3 minutes have passed?? *@!£&^@&*@£!!!'

As you can guess, I'm not a very friendly person when I'm tired.

Btw, if you're reading this, that tai dee match after our run is not counted k! Best of 3!! I'm still the QUEEN!!!

One of my uni mates, Audrey-Ann, left for South Africa for her Final Year Project for the next 6 months. How cool is that? The first of my friends to explore the African terrain! The lucky girl will get to visit the game reserves and safaris there! I want!!

Anyway, the rest of the group, Von, Grace and I went to the airport to bid a fond farewell to our good friend and to wish her the best of luck in the new place! We'll miss you Audrey!

The Gang

Me and my buddy

A Very Good Year

2007-01-01T19:26:00.000+08:00

So 2006 has ended and I hope everyone had a blast celebrating New Year's Eve partying, getting drunk or something along that line that involved being with friends and loved ones.

Oh I had a blast myself. It was something that involved a comfy bed and a impossibly dashing and smart guy.

I was watching Prison Break in bed (what else were you thinking?) - it's like killing 3 birds with one stone.

1. I'm protected from the monstrous crowds.
2. I'm getting my deprived rest (after a trip from hell; details later).
3. I'm entertained and blown away by Wentworth Miller.

It feels so bizarre that 2006 is over. I'm no longer a student (which kinda makes me unemployed at the moment... hmm) and have sort of reached the end of my education. Sort of because I'm going to pursue post-graduate research which will indefinitely involve learning.

It's that time of the year when the insuppressible urge to reflect on the past 365 days emerges and I've given it a bit of thought (in between Wentworth's screen time) and I've really been blessed this year.

Both good things and not so good things have happened, but overall, the way I see it, everything's worked out for a pretty decent outcome. I've learnt alot and gained alot. Academically, socially (I've made many good friends in my last year of uni), spiritually and maybe physically too (oh drats... it's the festive fatness).

God has been so faithful throughout the entire year - my prayers were answered. I made it through University with a first class honours. Something so seemingly impossible for me (if you knew how brilliant my classmates are, you'd understand where I'm coming from) yet so possible not by my own strength but His.

Like what my pastor said, when we rest in Him, He doesn't stop working. The second half of this year would have driven me nuts with all the deadlines and tight schedules - I had 6 freaking subjects on top of my final year project. How I made it through without ever breaking down would be because of Him. My shepherd and my strength. In fact, come to think of it, I think I was actually a happier person in 2006 than all the other years!

The year ahead will be even better because He's made the way before me; I know that for sure because 2006 has already been a living testimony to that truth.

Now that 2007 is here, it's time for some to make their resolutions again. Not for me though. Somehow, resolutions are things hardly ever fulfilled because they are dependent on man's own will and strength. Thus, I'm making a list of my heart's desires that I will commit into His hands for there's always hope - a confident expectation of good things, when such desires are placed into bigger hands, like His.

You know when the holidays are over...

2006-12-27T00:01:00.000+08:00

... when you go from eating crabs

... to eating crap

My humble self-prepared dinner of leftover rice, leftover chicken stew (both of which I didn't cook) and nice butter black pepper mushrooms (which I cooked but so can anyone)

It seemed like ages since I've had a good meal. But it's only been 2 short days.
Christmas eve @ Jumbo Seafood Restaurant:

We have our own room with a plasma TV... good food and entertainment for the TV addicts. Perfecto.

Do we see fooddd??

Cheers~

Mix 'em well...

Looking through the glass

I'm getting hungry just looking at the chilli and pepper crab. Supper anyone?

Plastering D'light

2006-12-26T15:33:00.000+08:00

A brief sigh of relief that a part of the festive holidays is over. A slight bounce back to reality - not feeling as lousy that I don't seem to be getting out what people should this time of the year. You know that feeling like no one really, truly understands you? And even if they did, they are hardly ever making an effort to keep up? Well, what can I say. I'm glad that my bestest friend in the whole universe is not like that.

Only maybe because He's not human and He's about the only constant in my tumultuous life.

I say, I don't know if I can ever allow myself to get close enough to another human. I sometimes look at myself from a third person's view and what I see is this girl who's pushing everyone away almost instinctively, whenever there are telling signs that things are getting too cosy and that it's approaching danger zone or something. Or she just gets uncomfortable with the lack of distance and starts to retreat into her shell. Pretty much like how anti-socials are. Twisted, ain't it.

This lack of work is going to do some serious damage sooner or later.

Anyhow, for temporary relief, there's always some drama escapism to take the mind of things. Like how I've been slow in jumping on fad bandwagons, I've been JUST starting to follow the series, 'Prison Break'.

Whoa ho.

Talk about pain relief when you've got hottie, Wentworth Miller, on the show.

Right, we all have seen cuter guys... but this guy exudes spicy pepper!
Look at those intense eyes... !!
AND the most important thing of all... he's a smart ass! This lad graduated from PRINCETON with a degree in English Lit. Looks like someone could be quite the poet.

Mmmmm...

It's so much easier to live in virtual reality. That's part of the reason why I like sleeping so much.

2006-12-25T22:54:00.000+08:00

Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with family and friends. But never have I wished so much that I was living somewhere else.

Happy Birthday Jesus.
Sorry that I'm such a gloom on your special day.

Lunacy

2006-12-22T13:03:00.000+08:00

Main Entry: lu·na·cy
Pronunciation: 'lü-n&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: lunatic
1 a :Insanity b : intermittent insanity once believed to be related to phases of the moon
2 : wild foolishness ; extravagant folly
3 : a foolish act
Extracted from: Merriam-Webster Online e

Act of Lunacy 1:
3 girls, decked in their finest, were spotted taking photos incessantly on the late night of 20th Dec, Wednesday, at the recently opened St. James Power Station. Initially mistaken to be members of the relentless paparazzi eager to capture shots of celebrities partying, they were almost shown the exit by security. However, when it was found out that these girls were merely taking pictures of their pretty selves, they were let off with a stern warning that the flashes of light could be damaging to the eyesight of bystanders. Hoping to avoid getting into trouble again, the girls retreated to the spacious and spotless Ladies to continue their photography.

View from the outside and inside.
Right pictures: What the chimney-like tower thing looks like from the inside
Imagine, this is probably what Sadako sees all day while she is down that dirty, smelly well.

Waiting outside
The photo-taking starts ALREADY.
Notice how the walkway looks deceivingly like those at HDB flats.

Proof to show that we, indeed, were at St. James PS
Here, signs of lunacy are just about to emerge (especially from our dear Bern)

Possible cause of loss of mental stability and judgement
Alcohol... what else?

Seeking solace in the loo
We girls continue snapping away... and how wonderful it is to have such lovely, endless mirrors!

Act of Lunacy 2,3,4...... (countless):

The Curse of the Golden Flower

Met up with my uni buddies Von, Grace and Kenny for dinner and a movie yesterday night. As far as dinner was concerned, the food at Pizza Hut was greatly disappointing (the soup sucked, the pizzas sucked... the only thing that was probably up to standards was the Pepsi, which I'm pretty sure they didn't make themselves) but the yakking over the dinner was not. Sometimes I realise that when I'm in good company especially among friends I haven't seen in a while, I start to yak on and on and on... it's like suddenly, I have this vast collection of stories to tell. Sadly, this time, I didn't manage to complete telling Von all my stories; it used to be so much easier when we were in school coz I'd see her everyday for more than 5 hours. I am starting to miss school a little now.

After dinner was the Curse of the Golden Flower.

Mad I tell you. Practically everyone in this show is a loony. Let me show you how:

1. The palace maids (many young girls): wah, the way they bind their boobs so that they look like they're spilling over the top, that's crazy I tell you. How to breathe? They still need to kneel and bow to the royal family - I'm surprised that they can even bend their backs. All that cleavage is just super distracting throughout the movie. Shouldn't these girls be a bit more modest? I actually thought the maids were concubines.

2. The King (Chow Yun Fatt): I think he's antisocial and cannot stand having people close to him.
He killed the mother of this first son (supposedly the love of his life); attempts to drive the Queen to insanity; watch his youngest son kill the Crown Prince, his favourite son, and then proceeds to beat the rebellious son (who, by the way, is just a kid!) to death. Oh man, the way he mangled his own flesh and blood with his shiny gold belt. Bloody. Totally grossed out.

3. The rebellious young prince (some young boy): as mentioned above. Was craving so much to be noticed and for power, he formed his own army (which by the way, was pathetic. I think he had less than 10 soldiers) and killed the Crown Prince, his own brother.

4. The Queen (Gong Li): Not so insane as the rest, if you ask me. At least it wasn't her fault. It was the medicine that the King ordered for her to take that was driving her a bit nuts. She may be having an affair with her own stepson which is kinda demented, but what's worse is, the guy's ugly, wimpy and just a little on the paranoid side.

5. The Crown Prince (some ugly guy): Totally bonkers. Had an affair with his stepmother, then cheated on her with his half-sister.

6. Prince Jai (Jay Chou): Probably the most sane person in this show. Although his deep love for this mother is a bit creepy. Sometimes, when he gazes at his suffering mother, it looks more like he was looking in a romantic way than in a filial way.

The show was pretty intense and exciting, and the performance by Chow Yun Fatt and Gong Li were unsurpassed. Totally convincing. Jay however, probably needs to work a little harder. You know an actor really isn't that good when you start laughing while he's acting in an emotional scene. That's what happened to Von and I when Jay started to cry when he found out that his mother was viciously poisoned day after day by the King. He tried to quiver his lower lip to make the scene more convincing, but that ended up making us want to laugh more.

Impaired Senses

2006-12-21T13:58:00.000+08:00

Zonked.

It's been AGES since I last went clubbing cos I thought I've outgrown the deafening music, the achy dancing feet and the toxic drinking.

Now, I can assuredly say that what I thought is so true.

Went to the raved St. James Power Station last night with my darlings last night. It was a rather eye-opening experience at first, well, given that I haven't been there before. I was so drawn by the music at Movida, a live room featuring world music and with some people dancing salsa and twirling on the dance floor while others sit around and enjoy the music. But unfortunately we didn't stay long enough to enjoy the happening beats. Then we passed the Bellini Room as we made our way to the Gallery Bar. The Bellini Room is a live music bar playing......

SWING, BIG BAND AND JAZZ music!!!!

Very unfortunately AGAIN, was coaxed into the R&B club, the Powerhouse, to rub shoulders with minors and be made deaf by the booming music, and by the time I managed to convince the rest to take a break and retreat to the jazz bar, the band had already left. Boohoo...

To be honest, it was a pretty mortifying experience.

For one, I learnt that my threshold for alcohol has dipped drastically and thus ended up puking in the toilet after a few drinks. Two, I REALLY don't like clubbing. Though I enjoyed being with 2 of my best mates, I felt really bummed that I wasn't really enjoying the dancing and R&B music as much as they did. Clubbing with them was so much fun 3 years ago when I actually enjoyed the activity. Three, all I can think about now is how I missed the swing band.

But to be fair, I had my share of fun, ie, the silly photo-taking antics we girls never get enough of. And of course, the socially-enriching experience of people-watching and observing... plus, I must add that the service there tops. Or maybe it's because it helps to have friends who know people who have friends in high places. This really nice waiter took us to the Powerhouse when he heard that we wanted to drop by, and even led us all the way to the dance floor.

The Gallery bar is so cool. This lounge overlooks some of the clubs like Dragonfly and Movida.
Think the viewing gallery at the airport. Clear, unobstructed view but fully sound-proof. I liked this place because the music wasn't so loud that I had to shout my conversation to my friends. Oh at Bellini's too. And did I mention the first-class service already?

Dragonfly is this Cantopop club with singers belting out numbers and crooning ballads on stage like a real pop concert. Except that it's not. I thought I saw Sylvester Sim doing his usual 'stylo-milo' actions while on stage but I could be wrong cos I only got a clear view of the back of his head. But I'm pretty sure it's him... I saw the singer do some 'rock-on' sign after he finished his song.

The crowd at Dragonfly was a rowdy bunch and reminded me vividly of those kind of nightspots in the HK dramas of triads and gangstas. The staff even had to break up a fight between two men in druken stupor who were shouting words to each other I can't make out because the music is too loud and I don't understand dialect.

Will I go to St. James Power Station again? I seriously don't know. Unless the occasion calls for it, I think I'm happy staying home, hanging out at Timbre, Wala or Jazz at Southbridge. Afterall, I do need to think a little for my poor ears. They're still ringing.

Boredom and then some

2006-12-19T22:36:00.000+08:00

This is what went on while the rain deprived me of my going out and having fun taking pictures of the Christmas lights:

I took pictures of myself.

I know... narcissism, a sign of emotional insecurity, whatever.

I also entertained myself by watching 'Girls Out Loud' on youtube.com. The hosts, DJ Roslyn and blogger Wendy aka Xiaxue, are hilarious together. I noticed Wendy getting alot of flak from viewers about her english and more. I don't think she's the perfect angel either, but who is? Give the lass a break lah. At least she does have some sarcastic humour and that does make the show more endearing. Ros is such a darling to watch, I must say. She's classy, poised and eloquent. And the way she handled the blind date? Kudos to her being so sporting and gracious even though her date was far from impressive.

The dreadful rain stopped for a wee while this evening, just as I was going out (such perfect timing!) to meet my darlings Grace and Bern. We've finally settled the payment for our HK trip... soon we'll have to start planning our itinerary! Shopping, eating, scouring famous tourist spots like the Peak, Ocean Park, Disneyland, Madame Tussaud's, and of course, to have a grand and pompous celebratory birthday dinner for my darling Grace!

It's nice even just thinking of getting out of the country.

For dinner, we went to Vivocity AGAIN and had the Jia Xiang Kolo Mee AGAIN (by my personal request, since the girls couldn't decide what to have for dinner). YUMMY. I don't think I will ever get sick of it - maybe if I eat it everyday... but then again, they have so many other variations which I must try the next time I go there AGAIN.

Congratulations to our darling Bern who did so well in her exams - evil Grace and I demanded that she share her joy with us: "We want TREAT, we want TREAT!" And know what, the nice and pretty girl kindly obliged: we had a sweet one at Ben & Jerry's!

We good enough to be Ben & Jerry's spokespeople????
C'mon man, give us some free ice-creeeaaaammmmm...

Pitter Patter

2006-12-19T13:38:00.000+08:00

... more like BRRSHHHHHH actually.

When is the rain EVER going to stop?

I want to go out and do stuff!!!

Caught Wicker Park yesterday while chilling out at home because the rain totally thwarted my evening plans.

The trailer

Wasn't that enticed by the show initially - Josh Hartnett is not my kind of guy and Diane Kruger isn't that gorgeous (I really don't see how her face could have launched a thousand ships in Troy... and really, that head of Maggi Mee hair? Not so good). Okay fine. I'm a superficial movie-goer. But sometimes I do overlook the fact that there are no good-looking people in the movie! It would be a different issue altogether though; the plot, script and direction have to be ALOT more impressive.

Which is why I was surprised.

I didn't think much of this movie but the continuous back and forth transitions in time got me to piece the flow of events as the movie progressed. Either the director's really smart at this, or he copied it from Chris Nolan's 'Memento' (which again, I have yet to watch. Dammit), which was supposedly a masterpiece of this kind.

Anyway, this show was a remake of a French movie, L’Appartement, starring Monica Belluci! I'm so gonna rent this movie. But it probably won't be as interesting since I know what exactly happened in the story already.

Why I'm so glad...

2006-12-18T15:28:00.000+08:00

... that I've got my Daddy God watching after me.

Coz these days, you really can't depend on helpful passerbys in times of danger.

Even in sunny Singapore.

Read more here.

Quiz

2006-12-18T00:06:00.000+08:00

Humdrum humdrum

2006-12-17T12:02:00.002+08:00

Life feels increasingly boring without work to do. And no, I'm not kidding. Yeah I can sleep all I want, watch all the shows I want, and probably do everything I want (anything that doesn't cost much $$ that is)... but I'm still not quite satisfied.

Maybe it's because a 'certain something' still owes me 'big time'.

Never mind.

Shall blog about happy times!

11th Dec, Monday
Met up with my buddies Grace and Bern to watch 'The Holiday' and we girls felt that it was surprisingly good. Well somehow after 'Love Actually', none of the other Christmas movies seemed to be able to match up with the same level of humour and romance (actually, more like none of them were able to knock us into the silly 'Where's my *insert leading actor's name*' dreamy state). So you can imagine how after watching the Holiday, the three of us were left secretly pining for Jude Law's sensitive character ('cept Bern of course, who was openly pining for him hee...).

Kate Winslet's performance was stellar. I love how she portrayed the woman who every friend thinks is pathetic because she can't help but keep crawling back to the man who betrayed her AND is about to marry a woman that is not her. Like Grace said, it's something very real - the girl who keeps falling back into that toxic relationship and can't climb out of it because she is constantly drowning in lack of self-worth and sweet lies from the ex/boyfriend. I was practically rejoicing in my seat at the point where she FINALLY realised that her ex was never going to leave his fiancee for her and decided she did not deserve to play second fiddle. Victory, I say! You go girl... but if only every other girl in the same situation can find the same release. Flush these stinking men out of your lives people!

The Pink Tree @ the Cathay

12th Dec, Tuesday
I'm a big sua ku cos' it was my FIRST time at VIVOcity!!

Fwah so BIG! *10 points!*
But so crowded *minus 10 points*

This must be my favourite shop of all. It felt like the entire shop was spinning around me when I entered!! Gimme more chocs and candy!

I tried the Kuching-must try Kolo Mee for the first time at Jia Xiang Kuching Restaurant (B2-38) and boy was it good... Mmm...
You know, for someone who really loves her mee pok over mee kia (yuk...) it's quite a feat for me to rave about noodles that seem alot like mee kia. It's SO much better. Very QQ! And how much do I love the crunchy and fresh ingredients, topped with fried onions and char siew oil? A whole lot!! *salivating* But be warned, with all the fried onions, better to arm yourselves with a breath mint.

Read more about the kolo mee here:
Kolo Players - The Sunday Times
Hooked after eating it - The Sunday Times
Singapore Jia Xiang Kolo Mee vs Authentic Kuching Kolo Mee - kennysia.com

13th Dec, Wednesday

Happy Birthday Mummy!

That, by the way, is an impossibly thick chocolate pistachio cake from Cedele Depot, which was described :
Chocolate Pistachio
This chocolate truffle is layered with almond, pistachio sponge that is made of egg white only, is a great treat for serious chocolate lovers.

Honestly it should be rewritten: for chocolate lovers with a seriously-impaired sense of taste.

The cake was so darn sweet!!!! (and I'm not saying it in a good way) See, this is why I don't like chocolate cakes. Chocolate should always taste a little bitter! Cacao beans naturally taste bitter, so if you have chocolate that's 100% sweet, you know all you're eating is sugar.

Bleaghh..

Cakes aside, we had a nice Thai dinner at Thai Express. Thumbs up to the very friendly and service-orientated staff at the Marina Square outlet. They made our dinner so pleasant it felt like we were throwing a birthday dinner in our own home.

Mango Salad

...with soft shell crab and some fried tofu thingy

Deceivingly harmless Tom Yum Soup... lethal!!

Love their green curry...
(was too busy digging in when the rest of the food came so that's about it!)

15th Dec, Friday
Went for the first interview for a graduate scholarship; am hoping to hear good news soon!
(I need to start doing something before I rot away)

16th Dec, Saturday
Took Kenny out after 2 long weeks of him being stuck in school with lab work and sucky school food. We went to catch 'Eragon' and it was okay I guess. The plot seemed a bit rushed through and it definitely pales in comparison to the big budget LOTR trilogy. Their monsters aren't even half as scary/ disgusting as the orcs.

The movie trailer

An interesting observation though, is it just me or is Jeremy Irons more appealing than newcomer Ed Speelers? Even Garrett Hedlund seems hotter than the lead actor. And I didn't know this guy acted as Brad Pitt's cousin in Troy! What a difference hair colour makes. Pretty boy look with the blonde hair and bad boy look (a bit like a rock singer/ vampire) with the dark hair. Amazing...

After the show, we headed to Pastamania for lunch.

Aww, look how happy he is with the Marinara pasta!

Me and my fungus, erm I mean, Al Fungi Pasta

Our salmon pizza which was once so good - but after the one at Spageddies, nothing is ever good enough

Look at him go!

I'm beginning to think that this grin looks kinda scary.

We're stuffed. Big time.

After all that, you'd think I would take a break from eating and go run on the treadmill or something, but I didn't.

There was still dinner.

My aunt and I went to this new Japanese restaurant, Nihon Mura, at the Revenue House (which is part of the Suki Sushi chain, I think. Cos their wet paper towels had 'Suki Sushi' on them). There was a special promo going on - with this cut out from some magazine, you could have each plate of sushi for only $0.10 (when you spend above $10)! How cheap is that!

Very fresh and smmoooottthhh salmon sashimi (not for 10 cents tho)

For only 10 cents a plate, you can imagine how stuffed I was after dinner.
This is very bad.

Food aside, I got this on my way home

Project Room Makeover shall commence next week: goodbye powder pink *yikes* furniture!

Tested out the spray paint on my innocent, unfinished IKEA picture frame and the black looks good! (but the smell of the paint is totally yuk)

Will post up pictures of the room when it's done.

The ghost that still haunts...

2006-12-15T11:19:00.000+08:00

To all the kids out there who are going to sit for their A levels, a word of advice: ace your General Paper.

It's what, 4 years since I last sat for my A level examinations and till now, I'm still getting the 'Why did you do so badly for your GP?'

Why people, why??

FYI, I got a C5.

Seriously, you can ask me again and again and my answer will remain - I don't know. For someone who was doing consistently well in the school examinations, who loves writing and who really isn't that bad with the language (other than a rather minuscule command of vocabulary), the only explanation I can come up with is... I was unlucky. Or the examiner hated my work. Or...... there was some kinda mistake.

Anyhow, I've moved on and shouldn't everyone too?

It's frustrating that this black mark refuses budge in spite of time and other achievements.

Bleaghh..

The Holiday Trailer

2006-12-12T22:54:00.001+08:00

In writer/director Nancy Meyers' (Something's Gotta Give, What Women Want) The Holiday, two women on opposite sides of the globe, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) find themselves in a similar predicament. Desperate for a change of scenery, the two women meet on the internet and swap houses for the Christmas holiday discovering that a change of address really can change your life. Now in theatres.

Another good one from Sony Ericsson

2006-12-12T10:35:00.000+08:00

Entry Overload

2006-12-11T01:20:00.000+08:00

It's funny how even though the mugging days are over, the writer's block, or more like the unwilling writer's inclination still remains rather deeply rooted. I just have a gazillion things lined up to do including the important (like churning out a poster for an anticipated presentation); the not-so-important (like moving out of my 3.5 yrs of 'private' residency, chucking out as much as possible and hauling the rest home to my tiny room which I have to share, very unfortunately); and the seemingly unimportant things (but they actually mean a whole lot to me) like CLEANING and WASHING.

I must have my spick and span.

And of course, there's the desperate attempt to sleep in... especially when I've got a cold to nurse. All in all, I have had about 10 days of holiday so far, of which 7 days I've been battling the horrid virus. Talk about taking a break. However, I must say that in spite of the cold, there's no stopping me from having my bit of fun and food.

My BFF has been back for quite a while but I haven't had the chance to meet up with her because of the dreadful exams (which seemed to be taking forever at one moment, and then seemed to finish in a flash at the next moment) and with the hustle and bustle to settle... but we finally reunited with a celebration of food! (what else....)

Dressing up is one of the best parts of going out...

...narcissistic shots too

We headed to the library to source out the GRE prep books for me but they were all out on loan. Anyway, after reading Sunday's article on the Ugly Singaporean @ the libraries, I am seriously reconsidering revisiting these places EVER again. How gross can these people get??!! Scratching their toes?! Digging their noses and ears for worthless gold?!! Grooming their stubble??!!

OH. MY. FREAKIN. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS. ME

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THESE PEOPLE SHOULD SERIOUSLY BE QUARANTINED OR SOMETHING!!

PERSONAL HYGIENE PEOPLE!!!

Seriously.

And one would think that these people would have learnt something after the SARS outbreak and all. *shakes head in disdain*

Okay... I didn't mean to spoil the yummy food mood with the disgusting description but it was something I had to say out or I won't be able to sleep well tonight. Blame it on my 'Monica-like' neuroticism.

So the national libraries aside, Gracey & I headed for a little medical text hunting at Bras Basah Complex (love the old school feel there) before a refreshing stop for bubble tea!

I've been cut out of the picture!
It's tough taking a picture of the both of us when we're sitting across each other.

So Gracey moved over to my side and voila!
The passerby effect behind us is kinda picturesque, no?

Don't be deceived by our smiley faces... the bubble tea wasn't that fantastic. I actually felt like I was drinking syrup with chewy sugar balls. Bleaghh.

For dinner, we had company. Grace's classmate from NZ popped by Singapore for a visit before heading home to Indonesia and we took her to Newton to sample the local fare. Honestly, it was a rather appealing thought being able to indulge in all the savoury sambal dishes but had we not been around the town area, Serangoon Gardens would be a much better place with its much better food... but oh well... better some sambal than none.

Grace's friend is overwhelmed by the food... and she's probably annoyed by me for delaying the meal with my incessant demands in picture-taking!

Aww... don't we look pretty together? ;P
Best Friends Forever!

Grace's favourite oyster omelette

...with satay and char kway teow

... and sambal lala (clams), sambal kangkong, sambal stingray!

Man... after that meal, there was a definite need to de-grease myself.

I don't remember if I managed to de-grease successfully, but 2 days later, I was out and about again, and this time, I headed across the Causeway to JB with my mum and sibs for a little shopping. But before that, I badly needed to recharge (by eating... how else??) so off we were the Secret Recipe @ City Square, JB. Needless to say, we were extravagant with our ordering; given the fact that
1. The cakes are ABSOLUTELY terrific
2. The prices are the same as that in Singapore BUT in Ringgit; meaning it's half the price!!

We ended up ordering 6 cakes (amongst 5 people) and we ate and ate till I was DEFINITELY ready to hit the shops to burn off all that food for energy.

If I recall correctly, we had the

i) Baked cheesecake (my personal fave)

ii) Cheeze-choc cake

iii) Choc Mud Cake

iv) Chocolate Banana cake

v) Chocolate Fudge cake

and finally...

vi) Lemon (instead of orange) cheesecake

and on top of all the cakes, I had an ENORMOUS shank of a lamb chop.

Me and my 'finished job' (with a little help from my sis)

Okay this looks kinda gross... I should have taken the 'Before' look but I was too hungry... sorry that you folks have to see this.

And what's a good meal without a little horsing around?

She's playing with the garnish!

We just love making ourselves look ugly... yes?

Her 'super happy' pose

Her 'super sad' pose

Her 'superbly loony' pose

I don't quite remember what this pose is supposed to be.

And this is my 'freaked out' pose (I'd think)

With so much bingeing, there'd be a need to balance all that calorie intake by increasing my physical activity, and I did just that when I headed to the NTU softball pitch for the interschool games. It was such an amazing day - for the fact that there was no blazing sun, there was ample cloud cover (yay!!!!) and it didn't rain throughout our game! But of course, something had to come along to mar my perfect little afternoon. I got bludgeoned by the very hard softball. Now I have a fake bulging right bicep where the ball hit and if you look at it from far, it's almost like I tatooed a bluish butterfly or flower smear on that fake bicep.

The last of this entry: my belated birthday dinner treat from a good friend of mine.

Jordan and I headed to Chinatown for the apparently very famous XO Fish Head Bee Hoon ('cept that we ordered the fish bee hoon w/o the fish head)

Want to know what my reaction was after my first spoonful?
FWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....

Seriously, it's THAT good.
I so want to go back and just order a bowl of the soup and down it like how those swordsmen drank wine in those epics.

Yum Yum Yum... with sliced fish hor fun and stir-fried kangkong to go with

Jordan can't decide where to start... I'd say 'the SOUP!!!!'

It's too bad we over-ordered, or we'll have some space to check out the string of shops selling sweet desserts to hunt down the best ones.

Next time then!

After Exams Pig Out

2006-12-05T19:38:00.000+08:00

Finally got 2 major tasks completed and thus the little spare time on my hands while nursing a neckache and a scratchy throat *croak*. So here's another of my PHOOD adventure - dated 1st December 2006: the LAST DAY OF OUR EXAMS and MY LAST DAY AS AN UNDERGRAD!

The bunch of us who were eager to embrace all fun and freedom met up for a late dinner (thus leaving me and K to be reduced to close to skin and bones while pretending to be interested in shopping while waiting). It's really a tough decision to make for a place for dinner, because every restaurant and eatery looks so darn good in comparison to the canteen food we've been chowing down everyday (whether we like it or not). But we eventually settled on Spageddies cos K was intrigued by this hot pan thingy he saw while drooling at their patrons' food.

And that choice was SO RIGHT.

Check out our meal and our delightful faces after our poor, mistreated tummies were regaled with a spread of splendid PHOOD! (click for the full sizes images)

When bread replaced wine...

....and loads of crappy pictures...!

Okay that's quite a bit of pictures uploaded... I need to get my well deserved rest... it's a busy week ahead!

Till the next time..

End of an Era

2006-12-03T02:03:00.000+08:00

Welcome me back from the long exam hiatus.

It feels weird thinking about how I no longer have to mug like crazy in a month's time and sit for exams in another 4 months like I used to.

I've unofficially graduated and am now a full-fledged homemaker... until I get news on my post-grad studies, that is.

Anyway, here are the pictures that I was supposed to upload earlier but simply didn't have the time to; in chronological order:

4th Nov; my birthday

Had dim sum and dim sum for lunch and for the post-lunch activity.

It was a lovely lunch treat from my aunt at Ma Fu Yuan before my cousin and I headed to Victoria Theatre to catch the Dim Sum Dollies in action.

The Dim Sum Foodies

and the Dim Sum Dollies in the Little Shop of Horrors

The musical was darn hilarious! And it helped that I was in the first row with the best view. It's the first time I've watched the Dim Sum Dollies and they are really good. My cousin and I were practically rolling in our seats with laughter. They made the musical so Singaporean and I was pretty impressed with the effects... real rainwater and a motorcycle on stage! I enjoyed every bit of it despite the fact that the man-eating flower was a little ghastly looking.

The cast being swamped by fans

Dinner was with my dad, my younger brother and sister at Long Beach. I was craving for seafood.. it's been a long long time since I had good seafood. I was reminiscing the days when we used to eat at Jumbo, East Coast when we were much younger... oh how I love those dinners. Unfortunately, despite how good the food looked, the fare at Long Beach was a tad disappointing... it wasn't good enough to bring me back to those good old days. But at least there was good company... it's always nice to be with family. And I had a special guest that night too - my older brother's girlfriend joined us for dinner sans my brother who was busy at work that night.

November School Days

The hardest part of leaving school would be not seeing your good friends around you everyday, to hang out, to have lunches together, to chat, to complain about school with and to do crappy stuff like this:

The New Paris and Nicole

I will miss all my friends in school and lab so much... man, I hate growing up sometimes. But there's no room for crying and regrets, there's alot to look forward and prepare for... what lies ahead is going to be real exciting!

Got another batch of photos for the End of Exams Celebration coming up soon.

I can't remember the title...

2006-11-21T00:54:00.001+08:00

You take my hand
And lead me to Your side
Your warm embrace
Sets my heart on fire
You are my shelter
God of all wonders
You are the hero of my life

I live for You
The Saviour of my life
Your love for me
Is wider than the skies
You are my shelter
God of all wonders
You are the hero of my life

You came for me
Your life for mine
When I couldn't save myself
You bore my pain
My sin my shame
Jesus my Lord my life

Beautiful Song

2006-11-19T21:31:00.000+08:00

At the Cross
by Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan

Oh Lord You've searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me

Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me

At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now

You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done

And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me

What was he thinking?

2006-11-10T22:40:00.000+08:00

Brit burns bum with firecracker

Thu Nov 9, 9:37 PM ET

LONDON - A 22-year-old man suffered internal injuries after lighting a small firecracker he had inserted into his buttocks, paramedics said Thursday. The incident took place Sunday, when Britain celebrated Bonfire Night, traditionally marked with fireworks to celebrate the Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot to blow up Parliament in the 17th century.

The man suffered burns and other unspecified internal injuries in the incident in Sunderland, 275 miles north of London.

Katherine Shenton, a spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service, said a caller had phoned in that the victim was bleeding after the firecracker exploded.

Several of the man's friends recorded the incident on a mobile phone. The blurry images show a man bent over with his pants down and a white flash as the firecracker explodes.

The Times newspaper reported the man is a soldier who recently returned from Iraq.

Mercedes Benz Advert

2006-11-10T19:59:00.000+08:00

A new advertisement by Borneo Motors for Mercedes Benz

"The Ten Commandments, the Top 40, the 20 best cinema kisses, the 50 greatest athletes in history, 100 places you should visit before you die, the 5 world's wealthiest men, and 3 things you'd take to a desert island. There are guest lists, shopping lists, blacklists, exam pass list, a list best not to be on. Humans love lists. It's a desperate attempt by man to make order out of chaos. There are thousands of different lists, and all with something in common. On a list, there is always a first. The rest follow behind. New Mercedes Benz S-Class. One Step Further."

Brilliant!

Weekend Celebrations (II)

2006-11-09T00:32:00.000+08:00

For the 2nd part of Friday night, G, K, and myself headed to the usual drinking and chill out joint @ Armenian St: Timbre

Just a personal opinion - the refreshing ice-cold beers would have gone down better if there was quality music playing. Oh well... it's just my point of view.

But I must say, it didn't really matter that we three didn't fancy the band playing that night. We had the liberty of entertaining ourselves silly taking photos.

Here's us girls trying to do a Kenny:

And when we decided to get more serious, we discussed the possibility of starring in our own blockbuster:

Ultimately, there was no stopping the horsing around. Seems like alcohol reduces us to mere 5 yr olds.

More photos for Saturday's events next...

Dove Advert

2006-11-08T20:26:00.000+08:00

When ephemeral beauty is just an illusion.

Weekend Celebrations (I)

2006-11-06T23:14:00.000+08:00

I've got loads of pictures to share coz it was my birthday last weekend! Was meaning to put up some yesterday but was kinda in a moody fit with some gnawing irritations. But anyway, there's too much worth being cheerful about to stay sullen for long so I'm back with the account of my weekend. It was a pretty eventful weekend with a gazillion of photos but I only have so much time (blame the stupid exams... bah I so hate school!) so I'm gonna have to do this in parts.

There was ALOT of eating, so much that I feel that I'm worthy of my own food variety show. Fiona Xie has 'Coffee Talk and Hawker Walks', mine could be something like this

presenting....

yah right =)

On Friday night was dinner with Grace and Kenny.

I tried out the goth look. Scary?

Okay back to my food adventure. I met up with K first who decided on the place for dinner; where we were going to eat was supposed to be a surprise but guess who was in for mock horror when I casually exclaimed that I was rather full from a late lunch...

We were going to DONG DONG KUISHIN BO!

A very long-awaited trip there indeed... we've been planning to do the Japanese buffet for months but have never made it.

In spite of the rather filled tummy, when I saw the spread of food laid out before me, I immediately felt my stomach expand to make way for the delightful cuisine. So much food, so little space!

The three of us each have our distinct ways of dealing with that much food: (click on the pictures for an enlarged view)

The freshest, most slippery and juicy salmon sashimi... oiishi desu yo!

Then we get a little cranky with the photo-taking

And there was dessert - my favourite part of the every meal!

We're not good at concealing our excitement, are we?

Ultimate satisfaction!

Watch out for part II when we went for beers at Timbre!

Questions I don't want the answers to

2006-11-05T23:39:00.000+08:00

Am I invisible to you, is my presence insignificant?
Am I just an obligation, a liability to bear?
Why question things you never meant to know?
Why don't you listen when I speak?

Is going about your work all that matters?

I wonder if I'm a part of your world.
I peer into your circle but I don't see myself.
Would you notice if one day I wasn't anymore?
Would you even turn to look if I walked away?

I've been living with these questions for years
I'm not sure I want to hear the answers to them.
You don't even know that you've left me with such doubt.

Sometimes I just want you to know how I really feel,
but how can I do that if I'm invisible to you?

I thought I've learnt to live with it, to accept it as part of life
But it just keeps coming back to haunt, to eat me up inside
I don't want to face this anymore, please stop making me feel this way
Can't you just cut me off and let me freely walk away?

I wish I was someone else.

C'est Finis

2006-10-30T18:31:00.000+08:00

It's been 6 months.

6 months isn't a very long time, but it isn't short either.

I've finished my FYP - submitted my thesis, held a poster presentation, just gave an oral presentation to the examiners a few hours ago, and now I've finally fulfilled all my responsibilities and tasks for the 16 AUs.

It's a relief.

Jesus has been my wonderful guide - my source of strength and wisdom. I would never have made it through the many failed experiments, late nights in the lab and coming back early the next day only to get negative results.

Because of Him, I believe that I am deeply loved, highly favoured and greatly blessed. How else is it possible that I was not given the project of my choice only to be allocated another project that worked out so fine?

I have the best supervisor (to me lah...) who gives me the space and freedom to question and experiment in my research, is forgiving to my mistakes, guides me along the way, and is extremely approachable to seek advice or even to grouse about the little irritations in life.

And being someone who needs a friendly and warm working environment, He has blessed me with a great bunch of colleagues whom I've had so much fun to get to know and have learnt so much from.

It was intimidating just thinking of the requirements I had to fulfill for my FYP. Writing a thesis, presentating a poster, giving an oral presentation of my work - all these are totally new to me. Not forgetting that I would be presenting my 6 months work to full-fledged scientists who have a well of knowledge that is far greater than mine AND I would have to answer questions from these professors who've had donkey years more of experience than me. How do I go about overcoming these challenges? How am I going to get through this?

I prayed for God to give me these mountains - each and everyone of these challenges, and He has faithfully delivered me from them.

I may be incompetent and incapable, but my Jesus is a big God. His grace, wisdom and power is more than enough for me.

Now as I prepare for my final exams, I know that I won't have to worry because He's taking the exams with me =)

Counting down the days till I can say 'Sayonara' and finally graduate from uni!

Click here for pictures of my poster presentation

Recent Pictures Uploaded

2006-10-24T20:46:00.000+08:00

Imagine our surprise when we found out that we were selected for the NTU-BPC semifinals.
What I said so unknowingly appeared to be quite true: our business plan thingy had a knack for haunting us...

Untimely

2006-10-24T11:48:00.000+08:00

It's less than a month to the exams and here I am stuck on my laptop, watching episodes after episodes of 'Princess Hours (Goong)' on youtube.com

The cute pair

The guy that has lotsa girls are going gaga over...
Another pretty boy with an impossibly sensitive and nice character in the show.
Actually he reminds me of an even more boyish version of Kim Tak.

Call me crazy but I prefer Shin Goon for his aloofness and attitude in this series.. Hehe.. I have this thing for bad boys.

Arghh!! Someone please stop me; I'm glued.

The Korean drama wave is higher than ever and it's drowning me now. This is seriously not the time -_-"

This is a classic case of poor timing. Dang. They shouldn't have started broadcasting the series so early. Just wait another 2 more months mah, then I'd have all the time in the world to watch all the shows I want. Yeah... that's the big problem. Plus my really weak self-control which I must really work on.

Bleah.

No more TV!!!

Grey's anatomy

2006-10-20T23:10:00.000+08:00

The Prestige

2006-10-18T23:49:00.000+08:00

"Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn"; The magician makes his ordinary some thing do something extraordinary. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before."

The Nolan brothers are superb screenwriters; Jackman's a prince to look at; Bale is alluringly brooding; and Chris Nolan is a genius.

Loved his work on 'Batman Begins' and this movie was close behind, although not better.

Finally a good movie this season after all the shoddy and disappointing ones. It's gripping and captivatingly convoluted that it keeps you thinking as the story unfolds. It leaves alot to imagine and to decipher - which event comes first, and whether the scenes were chronologically ordered or if they were in retrospect.

Great plot, great development, and great acting (and not to forget, great hunks too =P ).

I think I've just scored a brilliant summer movie.

Reverie

2006-10-18T14:55:00.000+08:00

Just a little introspection if dreams were ever meant to mean anything. Things of my past have a knack of springing up on me in the dark of the night in a sporadic manner. Actually, it's more of the people from my past.

It's not as if I've been holding onto some things that were not meant to be. Or have I? In secret, in my psyche?

It's funny though, how these dreams seem to influence my conscious self.

Now I'm lost in thought when I'm really supposed to be fantasizing of being a top class graduate.

Teeth talk

2006-10-18T01:02:00.000+08:00

Dropped by the dentist today to get the teeth cleaned after years of avoidance.

School appointed dentists didn't leave a very memorable impression on me those years in primary and secondary school. When I think of the dentist, I think of mostly pain and blood, more pain, and then being reprimanded for not flossing or brushing the right way. I can still remember how they'd take out this set of teeth and drone on about brushing each side 10 times 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Okay next side now. One, two....'

Apparently those dentists didn't only think that I couldn't clean my teeth well, they thought I couldn't count. And that fake set of teeth. Freaky. I mean, teeth without a mouth? It was like right out of some cheap horror movie.

So anyway, was a little apprehensive about today's visit. Partly cos of the long interval since my last dental appointment and partly because I needed to get an expert opinion on my sprouting wisdom tooth that's giving me a sore gum.

My dentist ended up being a nice middle-aged lady who chatted with me about school and my future plans, and she wasn't the least bit tyrannical like the other dentists I've encountered. She even commented that my teeth were in a good condition (no decay! yay!) and just needed some cleaning. The only horrific part of the whole experience was trying to answer her in our conversation while she had that noisy polishing tool in my mouth, with water from it shooting everywhere. It was rather amazing how she managed to even make out what I was saying.

Anyway, after the short visit, other than the fact that my teeth feel a little tender (that super-sensitive sensation), it's so clean that I can't stop brushing my tongue over the set of pearlies. I'm even determined not to succumb to my recent sweet cravings to maintain my teeth's cleanliness. This mean less calories too.

I really should do this more often. Visiting the dentist.

Back... for good?

2006-10-14T23:53:00.002+08:00

So right, I've been away from a really long time.

Partly because I've been dealing with the demands of my final semester of education (demands that are horrifically unreasonable sometimes, especially when those demands come from a certain someone who's voice and actions everyone absolutely abhors), trying to get good sleep in between despite the haunting nightmares, and basically doing everything except blogging.

Plus, there wasn't much I felt like writing about anyway.

Not about myself, not about how I felt, not about what was going on in the world.

It's as if this passive mode was turned on; I say what I have to say, when I have to say it and that's it. Anything more would be like a waste of my energy.

Maybe it's an indication of weariness.

I'm not depressed. Just weary of some things. Like how you never know if you can trust some people, like how time seems to sprint while you can only move in slow motion, like how you are on the brink of giving up yet you can't, and like how you have to deal with the loss of a friend.

JJ died.

And she was like a friend to me. Others may think it's silly, that she's just a hamster. But my pets mean so much to me. At least they don't put on pretences and they know how to love unconditionally. And that makes it so much easier to love them back.

I miss her a whole lot. She was such a special little Roborovski. Most are extremely timid and shy and will hide at the slightest attempt to approach them... but JJ was above the diffidence. Her bright eyes, her cute nose, the ticklish feel of her feet on my palms when she climbed onto my hand, her exuberant running on the creaky wheel - all the little things she did has never failed me to make me smile.

Looking at her limp, dead body was the hardest. All of me wished that she didn't suffer before she finally went. She's too precious. If animals had emotions and feelings, I sincerely hope that I was a good enough owner for her and that she had the happiest hamster life she could ever have.

Now I have one less thing to look forward to when I come home on weekends. It's mostly going to be coming back to emptiness from now.

Bummer

2006-09-25T21:31:00.000+08:00

The votes are in and Singapore has chosen HADY MIRZA to be the new Singapore Idol.

What can I say?

I'm disappointed.

Oh well, call me sour grapes but the title doesn't mean much anyway. It doesn't determine how far a singer one becomes - just look at the American Idols. Only Kelly Clarkson has really made it big. The rest just died down after a while.

Anyway, still think Jon has what it takes... hope he gets a lucky break soon.

Meanwhile, I really need to focus on my work.

Till then...

Sparkle

2006-09-24T21:40:00.000+08:00

Retarded by a slow start, I've finally got on the IDOL bandwagon.
It's about time anyway - all the other hopefuls who were far from the making the cut are finally out of the competition (thus sparing my poor ears from their..... errr singing?), leaving us with two very talented singers wannabe that are so impressive in their own way, I'm just about as confused as the next person about who I want to be the ultimate idol.

Was.

I WAS confused. Here's a look at the last two standing and why I chose who I did:

HARDY MIRZA
He's your regular neighbourly bloke with the puppy eyes that screams innocence but put him on a stage with a mike and you better be prepared to be blown away with his amazing vocals. To up the thrill, try closing your eyes. Why? He may be the best vocalist so far with the most consistent performance and the most breathtaking range, but he still wears that 'I'm your friendly neighbourhood lad' brand on his sleeve. It's all over him and he can't seem to break out of that to become the shining star. Personally, I think he's got a great voice and spectacular talent... but when it comes to being an idol, I'm not sure he's there yet.

Or am I being biased?

JONATHAN LEONG
Here's the other guy. The girl-magnet. I can understand why, coz once he opens his mouth to sing that deep, rich and emotive voice emerges to melt you like M&Ms in your mouth. (PS: I don't get it how girls think he's CUTE though. I actually see a striking resemblance to Cavin Su from Dreamz FM... must be the small eyes... but I must say that even so, Jonathan's much better looking)

If voting for the next Singapore Idol is based on mere listening to the voices, Jonathan must accept that Hady WILL win hands down. Not that Jon can't sing, he's just not AS good. But since everyone's WATCHing them perform, Jon gets extra points for his showmanship and stage presence. I don't know about the rest but I'm pretty sure he has what it takes. Best of all, you can actually feel his appreciation for his family and supporters; his sincerity really shines through and it's one rare quality to find in young men who have catapulted to fame in a matter of months.

I mean, look at Sly.

I just read about him in an interview the newspaper did with him and boy was I disgusted. I mean, what kinda decent guy offers the photographs of his current and ex-squeeze to be splashed in the papers? To think that people are comparing Jon with Sly. Oh please... Sly is far behind in terms of class and poise. Sly went on to say that the first batch of Idols were OBVIOUSLY better than the current and he OBVIOUSLY hasn't heard himself sing. Bleaghh.

Anyway, back to the two lads. Both great in what they do but I still prefer Jon's candor and deep tone.

VOTE for JON!

Just another

2006-09-20T20:55:00.000+08:00

It's hard to pen down my thoughts in this blog nowadays.

For one, it's a sudden lost for words - been spewing too much on never-ending assignments and my thesis that when I open my mouth to speak, no more words come out. 'Tis the same with blogging.

Then there are the detractors out there who insist that bloggers are a narcissistic lot who only write about themselves and post up shitloads of their pretty pictures. Me, myself and I.

Here's what I have to say to these people - if it displeases you so much to read about other people's lives, then don't. And if you don't read about it, don't comment on it either. Cos' like movie critics, they only dish the dirt on movies they're WATCHED, so in the same way, if you're not reading every blog on the net, don't be too quick to judge and place a label on every one who keeps a blog. Besides, what business do you have poking your nose into what other people want to say or show on their own pages? Freedom of expression dude.

Do I sound offended? I'm not. I just felt like I had to say a little something for those who blog but are NOT narcissistic and are actually really nice sweet people. <-- my friends, not me.

P/S: no personal attack was made on me or anyone, just read an article in a magazine that spurred this little perspective here

Anyway,

I think I've said this before, but you're now looking at the world's cutest hamster. To me, that is.

?

2006-09-15T00:23:00.000+08:00

Why
Wei She Me
Pourquoi
Doshite desu ka...

do I get 6 missed calls on the day I forget to bring my phone out and not even an sms on the other days?

does it rain when I have piles of work and am freezing in an airconditioned office but stops raining to give me scorching and humid weather when I need some sleep with no airconditioning?

does it pour whenever I'm contemplating to go outdoors for a run (okay, most of the time, I'm just imagining the rain here...)

am I terribly exhausted even though I try to get my 8 hours of sleep but am up and going on only 5 (but with eyebags tho)?

do I have so much to do and so little time to complete them?

Boo... life's difficult questions

Random

2006-09-14T16:43:00.000+08:00

As what my neurobiology lecturer would say - this is stochastic.

Just some photos to unload from my camera:

I miss my dearie Gracey; photos from our dinner at Azabu Sabo HERE

Karaoke Queens! Get the rest of the photos HERE

Weekend with the girls. Pictures HERE.

My clean and neat dorm

Ideal living space

The chaos that greeted me at home

Who's the cause of this mess?

Treasure among the heaps of stuff; an air-flown present!

Chic black cardi from FCUK

My primary school bestie still remembers me!!

Lovable, adorable and absolutely squishable JJ!

Contemplating...

Scientist's Deliberations

2006-09-13T00:15:00.000+08:00

THE HOST (2006)

It has garnered rave reviews. "Finally, a good asian monster movie, " everyone is exclaiming. A good monster movie in fact. This show beats godzilla and what-have-you-in-hollywood movies hands down.

At least it does in my opinion.

Other than the could-be-better-and-more-realistic CG effects, the actors' performances were really refined. But then a superficial person like me will still complain that there were no good-looking people in the show. Terribly unfortunate. There was no suave hero to steal the thunder from the foul-looking mutant/ Loch Ness copycat/ monster/ thing. Was one smart move from the casting director if you ask me - a hot hunk or babe would definitely captivate at least a fraction of the audience's attention, and without full focus on the ghastly fish monster, we probably wouldn't think it was THAT gross.

All in all, a pretty intense movie with one little tiny problem. One small blip in the storyline.

Tons of formaldehyde down the drain is supposed to cause a mutation that created that hell of a monster that took the Han river and its banks by storm, breaking loose like a mad dog and going on a killing spree.

In a span of 6 years.

HAHA.

Everyone who takes science should laugh along with me. How the heck does formaldehyde cause a mutation (fine, maybe SOME mutations) so drastic that it could CREATE a monster?
It's not even a mutagen in the first place. And besides, for natural selection to take place such that a new species like this evolves from a fish probably take millions of years. Which by then, I expect, the entire human race would be wiped out by cancer and the poor newly evolved monster would die of extreme hunger.

I'm such a wet blanket.

Untitled

2006-09-11T22:05:00.000+08:00

Rainy nights like these have an indescribable and inexplicable influence.

Like deja vu.

Memories so faint yet so clear.

What was it again?

I can't find the right song.

You know how songs, like scents, can magically teleport you back to that exact time. You remember how you felt, you remember what went through your mind, everything.

I can't find that song.

Maybe when I find it, I will remember what is it that I've forgotten. About that rainy night.

Twin Reviews - One valley, one peak

2006-09-03T13:19:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a long-awaited day out.

After homing in NTU for weeks and returning home during the weekends only to do more work and sleep a little more, I finally took some time off the do something I like. Albeit the hefty price of weekend movie tickets, I caught 2 shows in one day.

Snakes on a Plane

The movie title was big enough a clue that we were going to be taken on a ride of lameness. We girls decided not to be so discriminating against the name of the show and cut it some slack... afterall, we had legions of friends who've had watched the show and claimed that it was good. Besides, the person who came up with the corny title couldn't have possibly wrote the script as well, right?

WRONG.

Peppered with tacky lines ('Listen to me, and you live' <-- classic example of L Jackson trying to act James Bond), synthetic computer animations of the supposedly lethal snakes on board, and lotsa of gory parts that make you wanna squirm and yelp in pain. If I had to say something good about the show, it'd be that at least at no one point did I feel like dozing off. It wasn't a great show, but it wasn't terribly bad either. However, if they had worked on the script a bit more and used some witty comments instead of the cheesy ones, this show would probably garner a more positive review from moi.

Umizaru 2: Test of Trust/ Limit of Love

Other than the fact that the movie people can't decide on a title for the sequel of the 'Seamonkeys' (there are two variations), the movie did pretty well on my score cards. At least for this movie, there's an eyecandy to swoon over (Jackson on Snakes? No thank you.) - the yummilicious Hideaki Ito.

Hunkiness aside, this sequel is much more intense compared to the first one (Click here for the first review). Slightly toned down on the emotional part (no buddies dying in rescue action) but definitely gripping. Even in spite of the fact that the plot was uncannily similar to the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic. Well, at least there was no lame 'You jump, I jump' scenes.

The show's so good I can't wait for the third instalment... if there's going be any.

Grievances

2006-08-26T13:24:00.000+08:00

Maybe this is why I'd like to be a researcher. Despite the fact that I'd like to think of myself as a cooperative teamplayer, I almost loathe doing groupwork. Even my prof said it's a sign that I'm becoming more like a scientist. Right.

It's my need for speed and efficiency, the high expectations and the penchant for all things perfect. I get impatient when things are dwindling and in the wait, I get horribly snappy when I don't see others putting in much effort while I slog away. This is not a personal attack of any sort but an accumulated frustration. I know everyone in the groups I've been in have put in their best effort (I sincerely hope so) but it's just that sometimes the best that others give is just not good enough.

So, I prefer to work alone. Or maybe with a good friend. Like they say, "Two's company but three's a crowd." And I say, anything more than 3 is total chaos.

To me at least. Maybe I just being a bitchy complainer.

Bah humbug.

Theme

2006-08-25T02:03:00.000+08:00

The theme was 'Midweek Chase The Blues Away'.

I got the food, K and G got the drinks, Channel 5 got Project Runway and Daniel V got all the cuteness.

Doing something like that once in a while is good because at least we all remember how to have a bit of fun and forget about the schoolwork for a while. For those few hours, we morph into carefree and jolly kids who watch tv, play computer games, crap and laugh alot.

Let the pictures do the talking...

Pizza and some booze

Which is nicer? The wall pictures or his hair?
We all know the correct answer, don't we?

J & G in front of a wall of science...

People, this is the mitochondria. The energy generating........ wait, I thought we said no schoolwork??!!

Kenny, I know where you got this and I'm gonna tell!

Wait, how come there's a missing pizza slice?

Pizza thief...

... and the tattle tale!

Chivas and Absolut

The gang of 3

Attempting a tune

Hey stop laughing at me!

Wahh look so 'sey' from the back

Err... should have just faced the back to the camera

Look at his 'feelers'. A good impression of what Kenny would look like as Xiaoqiang

2 monkeys

Weekend Tag Game

2006-08-19T23:34:00.000+08:00

I should have stuck to minding my own business instead of poking my nose into my friends' blogs. Then I would be safe in my own ignorance coz I just found out that I've been tagged by David.

Since it's the weekend and I am seeking some time off from my work, here goes, 7 things you might not know about me:

(i) I have a secret crush on... no one. Seriously the only thing that has my attention is my work. How nice.

(ii) I have never really fallen in love. I always pull out before things get too deep. Maybe it's a self-defence mechanism, maybe just a fear of commitment.

(iii) I've always wished that I could be born a boy. Guys just have it better.

(iv) To clarify things if points ii and iii were misleading, I'm not lesbian.

(v) Aspiring to do research was only a recent calling. I remember saying when I first entered uni that I'll never dabble in research work. Looks like I'll have to eat my own words.

(vi) The furthest I've been out of Singapore is Down Under. Boohoo.

(vi) I used to have a secret dream to become a singer. Now, I can only croak.

(vii) I've always wanted to learn ballet when I was a kid but my mum refused to let me coz she said I would neglect my piano playing. Ended up, I never got to learn to dance and I quit piano halfway. Boo.

Next in line are:
Jordie, Kenny, Fifi, Tresa, Chris, SK and TY.

Have fun folks!

Lyrical

2006-08-19T23:12:00.000+08:00

The changing
Of sunlight to moonlight
Reflections of my life
Oh how they fill my eyes
The greetings
Of people in trouble
Reflections of my life
Oh how they fill my eyes
All my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home
All my cryings
Feel I'm dying, dying
Take me back to my own home
I'm changing, arranging
I'm changing, I'm changing everything
Oh, everything around me
The world is a bad place
A bad place, a terrible place to live
Oh, but I don't wanna die
All my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home
All my cryings
Feel I'm dying, dying
Take me back to my own home
All my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home
All my cryings...
Reflection of My Life - Marmalade

Getting hung up on my dad's old CDs and this oldie was particularly likeable with it's catchy melody. Then I saw the lyrics. If the songwriter really felt this way when he penned down the song, gosh, it must have been real terrible. Poor dude.

Seriously, why are some of the nicest songs those that sing of utter heartbreak and misery?
Or is it just me having a penchant for such heart-wrenching tunes?

Anyhow, as long as the songs don't rub off any of the negativity on my mood, I'll be fine... it's going to be an exciting week ahead... lotsa deadlines, presentations and assignments to keep me moving along. And the best thing? I don't have to worry bout a thing because my Rock is rock solid. *woot*

Revelation

2006-08-12T13:48:00.000+08:00

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.

Isaiah 58:8

I think I may have the answer to my quandary.

No Gravity

2006-08-11T23:44:00.000+08:00

One of the fundamental forces of nature.
Described by Newton in terms of the masses of the objects experiencing the force and the distance of separation of the objects.
Einstein described it as a distortion of space and time.

In simple words, gravity is the force that pulls you down and makes you feel like you're trapped (distortion of space) and pressed for time.

Isn't that just another word for pressure?

Unfortunately, stress, like gravity, is all part of nature. There's no hiding from it but what's vital is how it is dealt with. You can hide from it for some time but you'd eventually have to come back to Earth. Man can't live on the Moon forever.

Just rambling because I felt horribly cheated by the new silver staining kit that was supposed to give me pretty protein bands on my gel. Lousy cheater robbed me 8 hours of my time doing the whole procedure freaking twice, only to get nothing. Oh well, shit happens, even when you follow the protocol word for word. I just don't get how this doesn't work when it's supposed to. What went wrong?

Bleagh.

I should just try the DIY protocol instead.

Q is for...

2006-08-10T21:01:00.000+08:00

Q is for quack quack.

Q is for quandary.

I'm feeling somewhat like a lost duckling in a large pond.

Decision-making.

Force 180 students to do a fixed number and type of subjects for 3 years consecutively, then throw them into the deep end, making them choose 5 prescribed electives out of 8 shitty ones, and you get 180 very confused and squirrelly students who simply cannot make up their mind which modules are best (since all are equally bad anyhow).

These 180 students end up being horrifying kan chiong spiders who irritate the shit out of lecturers who then complain that we have too many unreasonable demands. Then the 180 students fuss back that the lecturers are vomiting an incredibly vast amount of research papers on us to read and digest, and the lecturers would reply that it's nothing compared to the regurgitation from us they've had to bear with the past 3 years of exams.

Sigh.

Why is it we have school again?

That's not the source of my quandary though. It's something else that is bugging me. So many factors to consider... I really need God's wisdom here.

We complain when we lack choices, we complain when we have choices to make.

Maybe we complain too much.

Third Home

2006-08-09T12:07:00.000+08:00

If my first home's where my family is, and my second home is my cosy comfortable hostel room, my third home must be in the lab.

I'm not kidding.

I've been in the lab at least 5 days a week, every week for the past 3 months.

I live and I breathe lab aircon air, which is, by the way, very cold.

Not that I'm complaining.

I am really enjoying my time here, working on my FYP. Surely there are days when I just wish I could strangle my cells/ expts (not very possible, however) for not giving me the results I need, making me want to just plonk down at my table and whine all day.

But those days are rare and far in between. On most days I'm actually happy to come to lab to do what I have to do. Maybe it's the fact that I've got a great boss who's like a friend. Or maybe it's because my colleagues are super helpful and nice. Or maybe it's because I have good friends like QY, Kenny and Soakie around, ensuring that there's no dull moment through the day.

If this was a permanent job, I would have attained the impossible - 100% job satisfaction!

God is really graceful.

But now that school's started, my time in the lab is getting shorter and shorter. I'm going to sound pansy when I say I'll miss the people and working here when I graduate at the end of the year, but I do.

If only school was all research work and no lessons or exams.

Boo.

Just to lighten things up a little, here's a few shots at a recent dinner with some of my professors and labmates.

Location: By the riverside.

Hideout: Cafe Iguana. Viva la Mexique~!

Yafen, Me and Liu Yang; they're like my big sisters in lab.

Soakie and Me (hey that rhymes)

My professors. Pretty cool and hip for PhD holders.

Cheesy Nachos

Don't try this grilled err... DRIED chicken.

But try this New York Steak... simply heavenly. Almost.

More FOooD!

And we got high on the margaritas.

Eulogy for a Little One

2006-08-06T23:40:00.000+08:00

The 6th of August, 2006, will be remembered as the day that a little one close to my heart passed on to be with the Lord.

20 months by any human standard would have been considered an extremely short time on earth, but to a little hamster, it's a great number of days.

It is with sadness that I was not able to spend the last days with Shasha. There are regrets but at least I know she is happy where she is now.

A place where there is no more fear; I will always remember how her timid little spirit made her hide away whenever I tried to play with her.

Shy as she may be, she had character.

If I were to persistently attempt to stroke her, she would sneak by my intrusive hands and plant a warning bite right on my fingers.

She was a bold little one in her own way.

She was strong. The squeaky wheel noises were the loudest from her cage.

Most importantly, she was loved.

She will always be a part of my family, no matter how insignificant her grandmother (aka my mum) thinks she is.

May she rest in eternal peace and may the Lord bless her little soul.

A dearly missed pet

The good old times

Silent prayer

2006-08-05T23:19:00.000+08:00

Other than the scratchy throat, a half blocked nose and a really weary mental state of mind, I'm doing well.

Not.

I'm tired. Tired of working. Tired of being tired.

It's just human nature to want to grab onto everything and make it work. But how can I overlook the fact that it's all in my Jesus' hands?

I came across this song on Grace's blog and it seemed so much like the tune of my inner spirit. I'm like this crazy cow, no, sheep, that's butting around aimlessly, baa-ing and desperate to find my green grass, without realising that my shepherd is right there, ever ready to carry me to where there is rest and food aplenty.

Dear Jesus, help me to let go of my problems, worries, woes and concerns. Take over the reigns. Teach me to trust in Your faithfulness and seek your righteousness above all things.
You are my shepherd and I am your sheep. Guide me and carry me through this, Lord.

Amen.

Time flies...

2006-08-02T17:08:00.000+08:00

The expression so commonly used when one feels that everything is happening too quickly.

Just wondering: so has anyone found out how many seconds it takes for those little pesky bugs to complete a 100m flight?

Pardon my lameness.

The past weekend/week/weeks/months have passed so quickly that it seemed like only yesterday that I finished my exams and started on my FYP.

It's been close to 3 months. 90 days. 2160 freaking hours. And guess what, school is going to start soon.

Bugger.

I've been caught up with moving the past week. Carrying stuff up and down 5 storeys left me with tiny blood clots and bruises on my arms. Menial work is abusive. Literally. But at least I am now back in my old and comfy room that's clean and neat with a shiny varnished floor. What's best is the toilets. They practically tore it down and rebuilt it. Oh how I love clean and nice toilets! Now shower time will be much more of a luxury.

Then on Sunday, I was invited to a McDonald's birthday party. Thank goodness it was tucked away comfortably somewhere I probably will never set foot in. The whole bunch of us were treated like little kids and were made to play silly games. We had to wash our hands TOGETHER before eating, and make our way to the toilet in a choochoo train (WITH the sound effect). Even dinner was kid-size.

And did I mention that the birthday girl is 23?

Lyd decided she wanted to relive her childhood days and we were all invited to join in the kiddy amusement. Honestly, embarrassing as it may be being called 'boys and girls' by someone plausibly much younger and being ordered to do silly things that we're supposed to look like we enjoy doing, it was all good because we had fun.

It's rather uncanny, isn't it, that it is actually possible to derive pleasure from acting all loopy and ditzy (that's how I think kids act anyway)? I guess we all have some void that can only be filled when you act like a child.

The photos will certainly be entertaining to view; I will upload them soon once I get them from the birthday girl and friends.

Meanwhile, it's all back to being grown-up.

We Live in a Contaminated World

2006-07-31T12:22:00.000+08:00

Cute plush toys? Think again...
This is what they REALLY are;

Mr. Common Cold

Little Flu Bug

Mr. Scratch-your-Throat

Ms. Gives-You-The-Runs

Ms. Ulceration w/ Funky Hair

Mr. Bad Breath aka Listerine's nemesis

Ms. Deadly Ebola Virus

Little Yeast

Ms. Kissing Disease Bacteria (??)

Martian Life (????)

Bookworm (??!!!)

Talk about microbial infections.

Sympathy for the life of bacteria

If you were bacteria:

* You have 0.001 times as much DNA as a eukaryotic cell.

* You live in a medium which has a viscosity about equal to asphalt.

* You have a wonderful "motor" for swimming. Unfortunately, your motor can only run in two directions and at one speed. In forward, you are propelled in one direction at 30 mph. In reverse your motor makes you turn flips or tumble. You can only do one or the other. You cannot stop.

* While you can "learn", you divide every twenty minutes and have to restart your education.

* You can have sex, with males possessing a sexual apparatus for transferring genetic information to receptive females. However, since you are both going 30 mph it is difficult to find each other. Furthermore, if you are male, nature gave you a severe problem. Everytime you mate with a female, she turns into a male. In bacteria, "maleness" is an infective venereal disease.

* Also, at fairly high frequencies, spontaneous mutations cause you to turn into a female.

* Eukaryotes have enslaved some of your "brethren" to use as energy generating mitochondria and chloroplasts. They are also using you as a tool in a massive effort to understand genetics. The method of recombinant DNA is designed to exploit you for their own good. There is no SPCA to protect you.

* The last laugh may be yours. You have spent three and a half billion years practicing chemical warfare. Humans thought that antibiotics would end infectious diseases, but the overuse of drugs has resulted in the selection of drug resistant bacteria. They didn't realize that this was only the first battle, and now the war is ready to begin.

* Humans think this is their era.
A more truthful statement would be that we all live in the age of bacteria.

Restored

2006-07-29T01:31:00.000+08:00

'You're quite the worrier, you know.'

'I think they're scared of you leh. Really.'

Two separate comments from friends of mine.

So does that make me a scary worrywart?

It's true that I've been quite the jittery mouse lately. The business plan, my FYP, post-grad plans... all occuring just about the same time. There's only so much a girl can take at one time you know; and I haven't got THAT BIG a pair of hands.

But in the midst of my squirming and fretting, I forgot one important truth.

My God has got hands so big, He could spin the earth on one finger.

It was simply wonderful to just enjoy His presence and remember what it's like to rest in Him. In the heart of worship, all the problems, all the worries, just shrunk. Or maybe it was He that was magnified in me. I literally felt like I was standing atop a mountain and looking down at the things that have been bugging me.

They looked so tiny I could flick them off like flies.

It's comforting to know that He's always there, watching out for me.

No need to worry anymore; I just have to let His grace and favour flow.

Jesus, You're the BEST!

Bounce

2006-07-27T00:11:00.000+08:00

I feel a little spring in my step and a bounce in my walk.

Must be the fact that come tomorrow, 5pm, I will be released from shackles of woe and fuss.
When that time comes, I will be free free freeeeee.

We are handing in our business plan tomorrow and I just can't wait.

It's been a total hell of a week - science students forced to sit through 6 x 8 hours of intensive lectures and class activities for a module in Entrepreneurship.

Yes, E-N-T-R-E-P-R-E-N-E-U-R-S-H-I-P.

If we were the least bit interested in business and that sort, I don't think we'd be doing an honours course in BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES right? Duh. And we don't even have the liberty of choice. Pui.

It's been tiring and bothersome and boy am I glad that it is ALMOST over.

At least I've had Von to be with throughout this period. And at least most of my group mates have been really sweet and nice. Well, I've got something good out of a whole load of shit so maybe I shouldn't complain so much.

Dinner with QY at JP today. T'was good taking time off to get outta campus, even if it was only for a few hours. We had a good time laughing at our embarrassing moments over a very delectable and VERY generous 5 scoops of ice-cream @ Scoopz.

Good company and good food never fails to brighten my day, err night.

Then there was Project Runway.

My only TV indulgence in 7 days. The only TV programme that captures my full attention for 1 hour nowadays. The only show I look forward to and absolutely cannot miss.

And of course there's the charming Daniel V. too.

That's him, always putting his heart and soul into his work.

It's a pity he likes men too.

Oh Daniel... whyyy?

Still here, as always.

2006-07-26T11:47:00.000+08:00

Work is here to stay, as always.

Not-so nice-people you're forced to work with still exist, as always.

Sleepless nights with never-ending bugging dreams continue to bug, as always.

And then, at the other side of the coin;

Getting to know acquaintances at a deeper level, though through trying times, still brings a smile, as always.

Steadfast friends who have always been there, showering me with care and sincere thoughts still brings me warmth and comfort, as always.

I'm missing my bestest friend, who is far so away, but hearing her voice just closes up the distance, as always.

I noticed that through the many years of ups and downs, there's one thing in this world that is my only constant. My friends' and their support. It's true how some of us grow apart and lose that close contact we used to have, but that doesn't change the friendship between us. It doesn't make me love them any less, and I know it's the same on their part. We have but walked in different directions as we moved on but it doesn't make us any less friends.

To all my bosom buddies whom I haven't had the chance to hang out with and share crazy times together like we used to, I still love you.

Ahh... getting all emotional.

Oh Bugger!

2006-07-15T18:41:00.000+08:00

'Bugger Bugger Bugger BUGGER!'

That's Capt. Jack Sparrow's favourite line in Pirates of the Caribbean - The Dead Man's Chest.

I absolutely ADORE Johnny Depp and his character in Pirates! What utter pleasure than to watch him resume his zany role in this laudable Disney production (we haven't had many since don't know when!).

Pirates 2 is a definite must-watch summer movie. Finally something good comes along after a string of mediocre B-grade movies (or so they all seem like). The plot is not hundred percent cogent, but with Depp, there's never a dull moment.

Scriptwriters responsible for Capt. Sparrow's dialogue deserve much credit as well - the wit, the humour, the charm. Simply irresistable. Call me biased but Orlando Bloom's performance clearly paled in the mighty presence of Depp.

WARNING: Movie spoiler ahead!

Some of the Funny Quotes From the Movie

1. Jack Sparrow: Is this a dream?
'Bootstrap' Bill Turner: No, no, it is not a dream.
Jack Sparrow: Thought not. 'Cause if this were a dream... there'd be rum.

2. [Jack shows him a cloth containing a picture of a key which he has just risked his life for]
Gibbs: A key!
Jack Sparrow: No. Much more better... It's a drawing of a key!

3. Jack Sparrow: [to Norrington] What are you doing here? You look bloody awful.
Norrington: You hired me. I can't help it if your standards are lax.
Jack Sparrow: You smell funny.

4. Jack Sparrow: [to Elizabeth] You know, these clothes do not fancy you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin.

5. Elizabeth Swann: It's real!
Norrington: My God. You actually were telling the truth.
Jack Sparrow: I do that quite a lot. Yet people are always surprised.
Will Turner: And with good reason.

6. Jack Sparrow: Dirt? This is a jar of dirt. How is this going to help me?
Tia Dalma: If you don't want it, you can always give it back.
Jack Sparrow: No.
Tia Dalma: Then it helps.

7. Jack Sparrow: Guard the boat, mind the tide... don't touch my dirt.

8. Jack Sparrow: [sing-song] I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt! And guess what's inside it?

9. Jack Sparrow: How did you get here?
Will Turner: Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them strapped to my feet.
Jack Sparrow: Not so easy is it?

10. Jack Sparrow: Why fight when you can negotiate?

11. Jack Sparrow: My incredibly intuitive sense of the female mind tells me you're troubled.

12. Davey Jones: Can you live with yourself Jack? Can you live with condemning an innocent man - a friend - to a life of solitude?
Jack Sparrow: Yep, I'm good with it.

13. Elizabeth Swann: There will come a moment when you have the chance to do the right thing.
Jack Sparrow: I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.

Hoho, this is such a good show! So feel like catching it AGAIN!

Contest of the Iron Heads

2006-07-11T10:49:00.000+08:00

By now, news of Portugal losing 3-1 to Germany has faded into oblivion as the Italy-France finals hog the headlines. Head-lines, to be precise.

Everyone's buzzing about the chest-butting furor that Zidane executed and speculating what caused the otherwise ice-cool soccer legend to do something that would mar the end of his career with such controversy and disparagement.

Some say it's about being called a terrorist, some say it's vindictive insults towards his family. We don't really know the real reason but it's definitely something hurtful. For all we know, it was something hair-raising. Probably Materazzi passed some comment about his hair loss problem and Zizou got really mad and lost his head. Men can get rather sensitive about balding.

Or maybe, just maybe, they were actually competing to see who has the harder skull. Materazzi boasting of his strong head that scored the crucial equaliser earlier in the match yada yada yada and that pissed Zizou off because of the tension that late in the game...

Materazzi: Me head is zee most powerful! Deed you see zee beeeauteeful header of mine? Oh it was magnificent! I am so veryyy proud of meself. T'was terrrrific, no? Did you not admire zee beeeeauty of me goal? No? Oh mee goodness gracious, no?? You should have seen it! Learn from zee maestro! Mee!

Zizou: Oh shut up. I'll SHOW you what a strong head can do. *butts Materazzi in the chest*

Alright. Enough of my crap.

The Germany-Portugal match was a big disappointment.
I stayed up late on Saturday just to see the team I supported lose the third place to the clinical German players (clinical = boring).
Portugal has so much potential and talent. It's a pity they haven't made full use of it for the last few matches. It's probably expected, considering the amount of energy used to roll around the field, wail and squeeze tears out of their tear ducts. But I must admit though, their sneakiness does add alot more excitement to the games.

Goodbye Figo

C. Ronaldo will never be half the player Figo is if he keeps wasting energy on diving

The finals was the total opposite. The game was exciting and the atmosphere was fanatical.For once, I watched the game in public; and for once, the team that I support didn't lose! I was beginning to suspect that it was some kinda hex but nnnoooo.... coz ITALY'S the FIFA 2006 Champions!

I wasn't on either side before the match started. I was 100% neutral - 50% for Les Bleus; 50% for the Azzurri. I was planning to cheer for the losing team just for excitement but what pushed me off the fence was the nutsy Les Bleus fans at CHIJMES.

'Ole Les Bleus! Ole Les Bleus! Ole Les Bleus!' Ok ok I get it already! Quit yelling in my ears! One deranged fan even attempted to climb and remove an Italy flag that was put up. That was the ultimatum - my allegiance was pledged to the Azzurri.

I think this was the most exciting match of the few I managed to catch, not only because my team won, but because both sides played really hard AND there was a whole lot of drama going on.

C'est parfait!

Will miss the WC hullabaloo though I won't suffer from withdrawal as bad as the hardcore soccer fans. I've got a whole string of experiments to keep me occupied anyway, no time to mourn over the end of the WC. Which is why I took a whole 3 days just to finish this blog entry.

So readers should be extra patient with me with the updating of my blog. My project beckons...

E words

2006-07-08T17:56:00.000+08:00

I've been in the lab since 9.15am. It's now 7.03pm.

That's more than 8 hours of being a lab-rat. And it's a Saturday!

Oh well, I have no prior appointments anyway so it's good to be spending my time productively. Minus the net-surfing and blogging part that is.

All I have eaten all day is a Sausage McMuffin meal in the morning. Which brings me to my first E word;

Excrutiating hunger.

I'm soooooo hungry and I'm craving for some good dinner now. Unfortunately there is NOTHING to eat in school. None of the canteens nearby are open and the access card reader to the lab is wonky today. If I were to leave to find food, I won't be able to get back in to continue with my work.

Which leaves me to ration for anything edible.

Here's what I have to keep me alive while I wait in pain, for my experiments to finish:
ONE dark chocolate with Jack Daniel's Whiskey
ONE packet of McDonald's FANCY KETCHUP (it says so on the packaging)
ONE packet of McDonald's Garlic Chilli Sauce

I'm saving the chocolate for later, when I am really unable to bear with the hunger. As for the Ketchup, it's not so fancy without anything to go with and garlic chilli? Yuk. I don't want to kill my cells with garlic breath.

Then there's always plain water.

*stomach growling*

Excitement.
It's the match for the 3rd and 4th placings of the FIFA World Cup tonight/tomorrow early morning! Portugal VS Germany. Go Portugal... show us something more than pained expressions and roll-overs please! And Ronaldo, I beg you, just concentrate on playing the game well and skip the acting. We have HBO and what not for that. If the team just gets itself together, I'm sure they'll be able to beat Germany without a bat of an eyelid.

Enchantment

The Lake House

An upcoming movie that looks so darn enticing! Despite the fact that this movie has a plot somewhat similar to that of Frequency. But look:
Keanu Reeves looks so yummy.

I can't wait!

Musings in the midst of crankiness

2006-07-06T14:06:00.000+08:00

I had no idea that my new blog layout was a total mess on IE.

It's rather sucky how if the html fits Firefox, it looks like shit on IE and vice versa. Well, I've made some adjustments to my template using IE so it's presentable now. Sadly for us Firefox users, the layout looks kinda sloppy.

Dang. Can't have the best of both worlds.

Cranky today.

< 4 hours of sleep -> headache + dry eyes -> cannot wear contacts -> wearing glasses -> headache -> CRANKY

Late night out -> FUN -> stayed up late -> watched WC -> rooting for Portugal -> beaten by Frenchmates -> loss of sleep + no victory -> CRANKY

Was out at Timbre with Lydia, Mokkie and their friends to celebrate Lydia's birthday - it was hilarious just watching Lyd and Cecelia's banter cos they're such drama-mamas when put together! For once, we all condoned Lyd's DIVA behaviour and we must have made such a racket at the bistro. Hope Danny didn't mind us being so boisterous - singing the birthday song at decibels enough for the world to hear. Well, girls do get carried away sometimes when there's booze and the mood is right.

I should have skipped the latte and downed more beer had I known that France would kick Portugal's ass so hard (to drown my sorrows mah...). I'm not an ardent fan but I was rooting for them to win. I thought they'd be the dark horse that would take the World Cup title while the rest of the world stood with their mouths gaping and in supreme shock. What a pleasant sight that would be.

Bleah. I would have to wait another 4 years to anticipate a reaction like that again.

Anyway, with both Brazil and Portugal out, I have no preference for the winning team. I just hope that both the Italian and the French players will put up a good fight in the finals and not allow me to endure an excrutiatingly BORING match (like the Germany-Argentina quarters. i can just yawn thinking about it).

More cool tricks! More goals! More drama! More excitement!

Meanwhile, need to space out and rest my tired eyes.

Got the WCSDS - world cup sleep deprived syndrome.

A matter of perspective

2006-07-05T11:46:00.000+08:00

I've been scouring the net for something relevant that might ease my slight dubiety but have come up with nothing. Apparently H1299 cells are not so popular with researchers. Everyone loves Henrietta Lack's cervical cancer cells but not this random Caucasian guy who magnanimously donated his NSCLC adenocarcimona cells.

Poor thing.

Me, I mean. So if anyone out there happens to work with this cell line, can you kindly tell me what its doubling time is like? Cos my cells seem to be progressing through the cell cycle at snail speed... maybe I should give them Red Bull or something? Or sing to them? Then again, that might just make them grow even slower.

Since there's tons of waiting time while waiting for my darlings to multiply, I thought a bit about my dad and I. Especially since it was his birthday just yesterday.

I used to be alot closer to my dad a few years back. I was Daddy's girl. I remember vividly that I would have multiple clashes with my mum - she would work long hours, we barely talked, and when we did, the similarity in both our characters was the perfect formula for disagreements and arguments.

Then things at home got a little messy. My parents stopped talking, accusations were made, denial, denial and more denial. They were never upfront about what was going on, so what I gather was based on my own assumptions and observations. Then they tried confrontation but it fell through and everything got swept under the carpet and never to be brought up.

It wasn't easy growing up in a situation like that. There was stress at school, the pressure of fitting in, adolescence, rebellion and on top of that the burden of being Daddy's girl. I was the only one present at home and naturally became my dad's Aunt Agony. Having to deal with that gave immense pressure and thus, slowly, I started to pull away, for my own sake. Anyway, I wouldn't be able to do anything to make things any better no matter how much I listened to his woes. Or so I thought.

Thinking back, I do feel bad that I wasn't able to give my dad the support he needed at that time. But to be fair, I probably wasn't even mature enough to handle it all.

As years pass, dust covers and the facts become blurry. No one really knows what happened exactly. We don't talk about it either. It's like taboo. Although I don't feel estranged from my family or anything like that, the shady past seems to have an subtle stirring effect on us. Maybe no one notices it but me. Point is, I'm no longer Daddy's girl. I love my dad, of course. But the closeness we used to share, the friendship, has become mere courtesy and respect.

Relationships are all about working things out together. Like they say, it takes two to tango. Nothing matters more than family, this I am still learning. I'm glad I took the initiative yesterday to have a celebratory dinner for my dad. It sort of reminded me how things used to be. There is still hope for us yet...

Solemn thought asides, I had a swishing good time yesterday on my brother's new old bike!

The road back to NTU was super long (plus the fact that we lost our way trying to find PIE) and exciting! Almost all senses are heightened when riding, as compared to driving. You can smell the exhaust, hear the other riders' conversations at traffic stops, feel the wind in your face and taste the... err humidity of the air?

The only impaired sense would be that of sight. Frankly, I must have been a pretty hilarious sight for the adjacent drivers and riders - I had half-closed eyes with a scrunched up face. Wind too strong mah...

When I finally get over the fear, I will take up riding lessons and get my own bike! One fine day... I think.

Just a dream?

Monkey Opinion

2006-07-04T13:39:00.000+08:00

The monkey rates my life and here's what it says:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.5
Mind:	7.9
Body:	8.9
Spirit:	9.2
Friends/Family:	5.3
Love:	1.5
Finance:	6.5
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Life's pretty rosy from the scores given, except for the love part that is. Not that it bothers me, but here's what they said -

Love: Your love rating is a measure of your current romantic situation. --> ie. non-existent Sharing your heart with another person is one of life's most glorious, terrifying --> couldn't have put it in a better way, rewarding experiences.
Your love score is very low --> YES i can SEE that,
indicating trouble --> really? that's funny cos it's otherwise for me... no boyfriend blues or relationship woes... whee hoo!
There is love out there for you. --> can this be any more cliche?
Seek the advice of wise people on how to go about finding it.
Do not lose hope. --> so what, now i'm hopeless??

Here's what I think. I'm NOT anti-love/relationships but I'm definitely pro-singlehood. For now at least. Recently, I got wind of some girls gossiping and it incurred my wrath. A little. If they'd known what I just said about me being pro-singlehood, they'd probably shut their mouths and think twice about gossiping about someone they don't even know. Seriously.

Anyway, back to the point. Now's really not the time for me to be on the prowl for love. I'm cramming a year's course in 6 months, getting entangled in a love-love (by right should be love-hate lah, but I don't hate working on my FYP at all, amazingly) relationship with my cells and research, planning for further studies..... the list goes on inevitably. My life rocks at the moment!! It's full of changes and plans - scary yet exciting. Exactly how I like it.

So no, there's no room nor time for a special someone. Of course, this won't be a permanent arrangement. Someday I will welcome the new excitement but only when I'm mentally ready and when I meet someone worth sharing my life with (the checklist is another issue altogether).

I have no complaints and neither should anyone.

Broken

2006-07-02T19:33:00.000+08:00

The news dropped like a pin in total silence. Time stopped and everything came to a standstill.

Heart sank. Mouth opened in shock. Eyes watered. Fever broken.

When I found out that Brazil's out of the World Cup , I was more than disappointed. I was devastated. The excitement of watching the World Cup matches just flushed down the toilet. It was World Cup Fever no more. And it doesn't help that I barely got to catch the matches because of the bloody cable and lofty charges to subscribe.

And not only do I want to kick the French for beating the Brazilians (so what if they played well and deserved to win?? I'm a sore loser, cannot ah), I want to kick myself even more - for not waking up when my alarm sounded at 3am.

I had just finished watching the dark house, Portugal, beat the daylights out of hot favourite, England, by penalty kicks, and decided to take a short nap to recharge before Brazil played. 1 hour was enough for me to fall into deep sleep and by the time it was 3, I decided to give the match a miss. 'I'll get to watch them play in the finals anyway... ' I thought optimistically.

I even went back to lala-land dreaming that Brazil trashed France 3-0.

Unfortunately, that will remain a dream.

Goodbye Brazil, please don't disappoint in 2010.

Best Butts Unite!

2006-06-30T00:28:00.001+08:00

It's our first date since Gracey came back from NZ for a short vacation and we decided to go Jap coz both of us were craving for that. We changed our routine a little and skipped the usual Sakae. Instead, we dropped by Azabu Sabo at Marina to check what the rave about their desserts were all about.

'So what's nice here?'

The main courses were not too bad;

Grace had a Tempura Bento

while I tried the Sabo Cold Ramen with Sesame.

Wth's a Sabo Ramen??

Anyway, sabo or not, the ramen was bouncy and QQ,as they would say in Mandarin... bery nice! The sesame oil made it all the more fragrant and delectable. They were pretty generous with the ingredients too.

Then, it's dessert time!

Don't know why, but I've been craving for sweet stuff alot recently.

You can almost suspect an addiction from my reaction to the desserts.
But then Grace also looks very happy what right?

Tickling our taste buds were these:

Green Tea ice-cream with red bean and rice balls.
Oiishi ah!! Definitely MUST try- it's super good(I'm already about to drool thinking about it)!

The other one is a warm dessert, Japanese rice cakes sprinkled with golden flour (is there such a thing?). Served with red bean and a ~~sweet~~ sickeningly sweet sauce. As you can guess... it's VERY sweet.

But all in all, it was still a good dinner to catch up over!

Being a biatch

2006-06-27T21:01:00.001+08:00

Well every dog has its day, so does every biatch. Opps I meant, everyone has their bitchy day.

Not that I'm in a terribly malicious mood, but I've developed an interesting study subject (other than my darling cells) while working at the research lab - salesgirls.

Of course not all the sales people who come by the office are women, but at least 90% of them are. And there's no wonder why - 90% of researchers are male.

So as any kid would know, the north pole attracts the south and so does the female, male. I'm guessing that this is why we see the above-mentioned demographic. My assumption is not merely based on the simple fact, there are obvious tell-tale signs.

One way to tell that a salesgirl (let's just call them SG for convenience) has invaded the office even with your eyes glues to your work/ computer screen: the distinct 'kok-kok' sound of their high heels and the overpowering whiff of parfum.

Males, be warned if you are prompted to look away from your work. Although some of these SGs are at least pleasant looking, the cement-thick make up may shock.

Probably it's something that the men like, but I totally abhor the fake-and-super-frilly-sweet voices these SGs wield to try to push their products. It's worse when they throw in a little girly giggle or twirling-their-hair gesture.

Okay, maybe I'm just being sardonic and judgemental. You can argue that these people are just PR-ing and forging business relations. If so, wouldn't it be absolutely critical that they at least speak proper English? It irks me to hear someone speak in a forced accent to cover up the poor grammar and pronunciation.

It's unfair to say that all SGs are like that. A handful are professional SGs who promote their products with poise and dignity. But then again, it's just a handful.

A Tribute to F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2006-06-26T18:43:00.000+08:00

Weekend Catch-up

2006-06-26T09:58:00.000+08:00

Okay folks, here's another weekend review (before little Kenny nags me to deafness to update my blog) of attaining absolute piggyness - eating and sleeping.

Before a retrograde account of my escapade, here's to my darling best friend who's back from NZ! *fireworks and celebrations*

Just as she is happy to be out of the icebox and back in sunny Singapore, so am I to have her here to share my whims and fancies! Yay, more girls' night out!

Met up with PC and Von yesterday to celebrate dear PC's 22nd birthday.

We brought her to a piggy feast @ Hotel Phoenix. It was their weekend high tea at the Garden Terrace and it was SUPPOSED to be good. According to reviews and hearsay that is.

(Yeah we eat rather little for a buffet but at least we eat with dignity and don't stuff ourselves silly)

But boo-ooo. It was mediocre.

I give it only 2 stars out of 5.

Even the famous roti prata was blah and tasteless. Can't even match up to the one from a stall near my place somewhere among the HDB flats' market place. And that stall isn't even as famous.

The only draw is probably the rather fragrant nasi lemak (the chilli was yummy), the succulent satay, the little chocolate fountain and the DIY rojak corner I had so much fun making a mess at. But other than that, every thing else was probably below regular food court standards. Even the ice-cream looked like the cheap supermarket kind.

Not-so-great food aside, it was wonderful hanging out with two of my best buds. At least the company was gratifying, even though the feast wasn't! =P

More pictures at multiply

The whole Saturday was spent sleeping and indulging in my mum's scrumptious chicken curry. 'Nuff ~~said~~ snorted.

Friday night was spent at Iniavan's at Little India. Back from the US with my loot
(yay more chocolates and sweet stuff!)
, Jordan was craving for local food after the not-so-palatable crappy food in the US. We ended up bingeing on cheap and good South Indian food while listening to his travel stories.

In the hope of making up for the heavy Indian meal just last Saturday, Nardev, little Kenny and I smashed some squash balls into the walls on Thursday to lose that targeted 500 calories. Sadly, right after our game, I was so hungry that I downed a bowl of piping hot laksa. -_-"

It was also at that coffeeshop where I saw my first and only snippet of the World Cup. A header by the Italian team, scoring their first goal against the Czech R. I'm SO deprived of the World Cup action!! Why no cable in hall? *sulk*

Realization

2006-06-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4

It dawned upon me that my Jesus never forgets despite the fact that I have long forgotten what I've once asked.

He remembers and He answered.

Even though it wasn't the remedy to my problem then, I knew it was something that would make me feel better. I cried out time and time again for Him to give me the 'anaesthetic' that would numb the pain but I never got it. He only had one thing for me to do - to trust in Him and let Him carry me through the trying times.

It wasn't easy.

I struggled to focus on the good stuff and to keep my eyes on Him. There were many times when I just felt like breaking down but I reminded myself of how much He loves me and is always with me.

Now that I've overcome the problem (without even realizing it!), it occurred to me that, had He given me what I asked for then, I'd never have come to terms with the issue. The anaesthetic would divert my attention and I'd be happier for a while but the problem will still exist. I wasn't able to see the root of the problem and what I asked for wasn't actually the solution. It was merely something that could only remove the symptoms and hide the disease.

But He still remembers my heart's desire.

My Jesus loves me and He does grant my desires - but only when I'm ready for them.

Burp

2006-06-18T23:18:00.000+08:00

Excusez moi. I think it's the food.

I must have overeaten AGAIN this weekend. Gosh. Weekend outings are EVIL and detrimental to my fitting jeans man!

Met up with a couple of my schoolmates for an Indian feast on Saturday and we were in for an almost neverending meal. For one, the rice was free flow and each person was served like one pail of rice. At least it seemed like it! But we were spoilt for good - the food was really yummy

and the fish head curry... MMMmmm lipsmacking!

Shiok lah, almost every dish was served in curry and spices (i lurve spicy food...HOT!) but that makes it all the more fattening. I shouldn't even think of the amount of coconut milk consumed.

Girls before the meal: 0.5kg lighter?

Then we headed to town coz Kenny needed to shop at Mango (??!! - he actually went to buy a voucher for a fren) and walked a bit before sitting our fat bums down again at TCC where we met up with David and indulged in some caffeine. The indulging part, maybe not for Nardev coz the adventurous dude ordered some soy coffee which was apparently quite sucky (I didn't have the guts to try it but based on the facial expressions of everyone else who took a sip, it must be really horrid).

The boy is eyeing my frappe...

Repercussion of calling me an ol' granny? Getting treated like a kid =P

We love mint-choc!

The whole gang

Need to hit the gym tomorrow!

Bloopers!

2006-06-17T18:42:00.000+08:00

Man, do I miss FRIENDS... (do be patient with the loading of the videos - it'll take a while)

Wild time @ the ZOO

2006-06-16T23:33:00.000+08:00

'We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you
You can come too, too, too
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!'

No, wait.

Make that : we've gone to the zoo and you can't come too coz we've already went and returned. Too bad! ;P

Had a ball of a time at the zoo today with the girls and Andy. We walked almost non-stop from 10am till about 5pm and my legs are aching terribly from the intense workout. This is far better than doing the GSS - at least my bank account doesn't shrink with increasing distance!

God is really wonderful. He blessed us with wonderful weather. Though the skies looked significantly threatening and overcast in the morning but the rain reduced to a slight drizzle just as we bought our tickets. Then it stopped and drizzled a little again only while we were at lunch. By the time lunch (fatty bom bom KFC. i've been eating too much fast food this week!!) was done, the rain stopped and we strolled along in a cool weather.

Okay enough talk - pictures!

Roaring Tiger!

Smooooochhh...

Three girls and a grand white beauty

Big Bird

What were you expecting? Something BIG and YELLOW and sang ABCs?

You wouldn't want to mess with this birdie

Endangered species

No... I don't wanna gooooooooo!!

What am I now? A Ra-ion? Li-bit?

Welcome to our tribe OMMM MEEE NOOMMM

Beethoven (bei duo fen)

Poodle??

No resemblance I hope?

No feeding of the animals please!

Lady elephants

My favourite - polar bears! The mighty Inuka.

Once upon an Inuka...

Mum, when will I be as tall as that??

Awww... he loves me!

We thought architects were so innovative to come up with the open bathroom/bedroom concept but they actually ripped the idea from these rhinos.

Look Ma, no head!

Who needs cotton buds when you have cotton growing out of your ears?

Vicious snake acting all coy

The ladies

BS clique of 4!

Oh look, it's JOEY!

How can anyone resist that look?

Lovely but stinky doggy

More pictures will be uploaded @ multiply soon.

X-men + Spiderman = Marvel Heroes?

2006-06-15T23:36:00.000+08:00

When hottie Hugh Jackman decided to play a prank on the rest.

M3; more midweek musings

2006-06-15T23:02:00.000+08:00

It's my fourth (or is it fifth?) time doing the same experiment but each time, I get something different somewhere in my Western results. And I haven't got a clue where's the problem. At least not for sure. It gets a little dispiriting; so much so, each time when I wait for the film to develop, I almost expect to get negative results.

It's tiring when we let things of the world take priority in our lives.

We were never meant to carry the weariness the world brings with it. It was all taken on the cross when my Jesus laid down His life, that I may have a restful life and not one to slog and slave. My Lord reminded me gently, 'Don't put your hopes in the experiments, in your technique or in the apparatus. Put your hope in Me.'

I thank God for His grace. I know that even though things don't appear rosy, it's just a passing mist.

I also thank God for blessing me with a good friend where I work.

Come to think of it, had QY not asked me along for lunch one regular afternoon, we would probably remain "Hi-Bye" friends who saw each other in the lab on weekdays! Especially so with me being so passive and lacking the initiative to make first moves.

We caught a Korean romantic comedy last night and had lots of fun chatting over ice-cream like a typical girls' night out.

It's a really nice feeling to have someone to talk to, share juicy gossip and bitch with... haha... (QY, thanks for being an amazing listener and such an encouraging friend whenever I seem sullen coz my stupid westerns keep misbehaving!)

more pictures @ multiply

Mid-week affairs

2006-06-15T11:02:00.000+08:00

It's just one more day to the weekend and I'm glad I've made it thus far.

The week didn't start out on a pretty note when I've been beleaguered by vivid and stirring dreams at night and in the day, minor setbacks just seem to pepper my ongoing project.

Today, I had to sit in at another interview session for a scholarship. Friends who've stuck with me long enough would know that I haven't had many good interviews; interviewers not prepared, unfair and irrelevant questions arrowed at me, and once, a mad rush cos the bus was delayed.

With such memories sitting at the back of my mind, nerves got a bit quivery and I started the day with a stomachache and several visits to the restroom.

Well, with a silent prayer and trust in my Big Boss that He'll take me through every and any obstacle, I went in, and 10 minutes later, emerged in one piece.

I'm glad it's over and honestly, I think it's one of the better interviews I've been through. Other than a rather sullen professor who seemed to have woken up at the wrong side of the bed this morning, I was able to converse somewhat coherently (though my words came out at machine gun speed) with the other two professors.

Now it's back to the lab and to my 'baby'.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Athletic intentions

2006-06-13T18:55:00.000+08:00

In a valiant attempt to be healthier lab rats, QY and I made a purposeful visit to the gym during the lunch time today.

After an hour of brisk walking on the treadmill, 'rowing' on a mechanical canoe (or what the machine was supposed to simulate), climbing an endless flight of steps, cycling, leg raises and crunches, we left the gym with sore and achy muscles.

At least I did.

All the fitness and stamina built up during those squash-playing days have long gone with the unending snacking, pigging out and lack of inactivity especially so during the exam period.

It's time to make a positive change! We're determined to hit the gym at least twice a week and probably an occasional swim...

Now I need to rest my sore limbs and recuperate before my first squash session in donkey months this Friday. I just hope that the guys will be more benevolent during the game.

Why I love Sundays

2006-06-11T14:35:00.000+08:00

1. It's the day of rest!
2. It's the day to drop by Daddy's house to learn more about Him and be blessed.
3. I'm free to do as I please. Chores or catch up on my sleep, it's all up to me.
4. Sunday brunches - let the pictures speak for themselves:

Amazing Love

2006-06-11T01:00:00.000+08:00

The world is full of wonders and beauty, but none can compare to your boundless and unfading love.

I don't have to ask you how much you love me because it's so great that even if you did tell me, I wouldn't be able to fathom its intensity with my human imagination.

Your amazing love has carried me through the darkest of valleys and the deepest of pits, I know I have nothing to fear in spite of the circumstances life hurls at me.

"When life throws lemons at you, Jesus makes lemonade out of it."

I am flawed and have little faith - though there were times I turned my back and walked away in disbelief, not once have you condemned me. You covered me with your grace and favour, keeping me safe even when I was oblivious.

Your tender love has shown me that life is indeed worth every moment of living and as long as I have you, Jesus, I know I will worry and fret no more. Your love is more than sufficient.

I am the child whom Jesus loves.

Shark Attack... again

2006-06-08T12:47:00.000+08:00

One of my worst fears came to live yesterday, in the late of the night, killing off almost every bit of joy that was stimulated during my grandma's birthday celebration.

I broke out in rash.

I just don't get it. I was fine when I had shark's fins during reunion dinner earlier this year. And now, another 5 months later, I indulge in 'Premium' shark's fins at a restaurant and I break out in allergy.

It's been 10 years since I was able to savour the delicacy without having to suffer the health complications thereafter. I really can't think of reasons why, only after my 1oth birthday or so, I've developed intense sensitivity to the fish.

I think the reason is plain and simple. The sharks hate me.

Bleah.

If environmental/wildlife activists are laughing at my misfortune, please be kind and remember that I didn't order the delicacy, and not eating doesn't mean one less bowl is prepared, but just one person getting more fins.

So anyway, other than the rashes part, I had a wonderful time with my extended family. Although not everyone came, it's a rare occasion that we get to meet up, have dinner and catch up with each other.

As usual, when I got together with my best cousin, Becca, we ended up doing silly things like this:

And all the days when we used to 'compose songs' and play with dolls just came flooding back...

I didn't manage to take any good group pictures (mainly because I wasn't the photographer; it really takes some skill and steady hands to use my tiny camera) so I'll upload them a little later once I get them from my dad and cousin's cameras.

Meanwhile, here's to my amazing grandma who's still super sharp and quick-witted (kudos to the mahjong sessions!) - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AH MA!

Serendipity

2006-06-03T21:32:00.000+08:00

Seems like blogging will be reduced to a weekly affair for now. I'm simply too negligent during the week to sit at my laptop and leave my thoughts in a string of words. I prefer the simple and effortless indulgence in expressing my sub/unconscious in dreaming.

On a scale of one to ten, the past week can be ranked at 8.5. Here's why:

My buddy, Grace, is BAACCK from Phoenix (the place)! Whee hoo! Although we haven't been able to meet up as yet but serendipity was on my side and she found me among the bustling crowd at the Suntec PC fair where Von and I were squishing among the hurried weekend mob.

Talk about perfect timing!

We girls did what we do best - multi-task; hitting the stores, window shopping and catching up all at the same time. Then Grace accompanied me to get the next good thing that happened to me this week.

My 'Swingin' Box' - a spanking new ipod video!

Goodbye lousy 128MB flash drive who's always dying on me. Good luck to my sister with that modest player now that I've got my wow wee white dude!

But sigh, uploading songs are such a pain. If only I could just zap them in by blinking or something. Well I probably could, if I had as much power as Phoenix (the person).

Caught X-men: The Last Stand with Von and PC and it was the perfect final instalment for the trilogy. It kept me at the edge of my seat throughout the film and man, I really hope they change their minds about this being the last X-men movie. With all the hype and the amount of money they'll make at the box office, they really should make another one coz I'm definitely gonna miss watching all the mutant action.

A few gripes about the movie though;
1. What's with the hair?

Jean Grey looks like some trashy porn star with those endless locks

Storm's new hairdo wasn't as impressive as everyone makes it out to be. In fact, looks quite like a bowl-cut, no?

Was also disappointed to see a raven-haired Mystique when she lost her mutant powers? She didn't look half as hot as she did with the blond locks in X-men 2. Pity.

2.Why no Gambit?

He's the coolest character in X-men! *sound of cards swishing*
This dude's actually the long-time beau of Rogue (according to the comic series). I just don't get why they got the dorky Iceman to take his place. Boo. They probably can't find anyone befitting this amazing mutant role.

3. What was going on between Bobby Iceman and Kitty Pryde? He seemed like he was ALMOST going to cheat on Rogue with that little girl. Yikes.

4. No more X-men 4.
=(

About bumping into people; I actually ran into a couple of my professors and my FYP supervisor at Orchard. It's surprising to bump into professors around town and they were actually about to catch a movie together.

Wow.

I guess we sometimes tend to forget that PhD holders are still regular people afterall. Almost.

One last good thing... I may be flying off for a holiday this Christmas! Details are still in the talks so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Yippee..

For photos, check out multiply.

Been a while...

2006-05-30T22:24:00.000+08:00

When I'm not blogging the past week, I'm at the lab working on my FYP and doing the little things that I like in between - that is, bumming, spending time with loved ones and visiting lala-land.

The whole week was pretty packed with experiments to carry out and reading up to do, and when I was more or less done with my weekly checklist, I only had half of Saturday and Sunday to myself.

The non-lab rat J:
Met up with TNT on Friday night and we ate ourselves silly after the long starvation (we were all busy and could only meet for dinner late).

First up was sushi, which ended on a not so pretty note coz the scallop Tresa ordered turned out to be pretty RAW and unappetizing. There they were: 4 cold, slippery, whitish and gooey glops sitting in otherwise rather pretty shells. It felt like Fear Factor/Extreme Gourmet. *shrudder*

Tresa tried to trick me into eating two of those glops even though I insisted that I'd eat some while she eats more when we were placing our order. Maybe it was her bad throat; cos she didn't argue much with me over who should eat how many globs, and she downed all 3 of them. *applaud for being so gungho!*

Then piggy us headed to NYDC for the heavenly desserts, and we ate and ate till we were so full, we wanted to do some shopping to digest the food but it was so late, all the shops were already closed =(

Spent the whole Saturday evening at home, bumming, watching DVDs and resting my tired out legs, while the entire Sunday was spent out.

Did some shopping with my little sister after church, had a steamboat dinner at Marina with my cousins and aunts and to wrap up the wonderful day, relived my childhood days by invading the nearby arcade!

Wish I had some pictures to share, but I've been scuttling here and there that I forgot to carry my camera along.

Lala-J.

Lala-J spends a good amount of time in lala-land. Almost every second with her eyes closed is time spent in lala-land/fantasy world/dreamscape.

Been having rather weird dreams lately. Dreams that hardly reflect my conscious self. For instance, the waking J has a pretty assertive stand about the no-kids policy but lala-J has been having dreams about children and babies. MY children, to be exact. A friend tells me it's maternal instincts kicking in and I wonder if it's true.

There was this one vivid dream; I was married and had two boys (yikes). But I wasn't happy because I was married to someone I didn't love (double yikes). There was even this part in my dream where I actually confided to my little boys that 'Mummy doesn't love Daddy but Mummy will stay on because Mummy loves her children' <-- yikes yikes yikes. And that's not all, I was actually in love with someone else (incidently someone I know in real life *gulp* but not on a personal level though) but we couldn't be together because I was already married. A zillion yikes.

How sucky is that??!!

Horrible dream.

Then last night, I had this amusing dream about Dr. Derek Shepherd (watching too much Grey's Anatomy, must be) trying to seduce me with his dreamy eyes but I was yelling at him to stay away from me if he didn't intend to marry me.

Gosh. Marriage and kids seem to be flooding my unconscious.

Maybe it really IS the biological clock ticking.

Freaky.

Update!

2006-05-20T21:11:00.000+08:00

Haven't dropped an entry for quite a while due to several factors, mostly being preoccupied with my FYP, among other little things like chores, sleeping,

reading the James Herriot's 'All Creatures Great and Small' and smiling to myself cos he's such an amazing writer with a wonderful sense of humour.

Anyone who has the time, loves animals and has that unfulfilled dream of being a vet (like yours truly), should really get his/her hands on his books. If you can't live it out in reality, the closest you can get is to live the fantasy life of being a country vet through the first hand account of Dr. Herriot. Brilliant guy he is.

My FYP.

I've been spending all 5 days of this week hanging out in a pseudo-North Pole (my lab at school). Sometimes I get to follow a grad student around, observe her every move and learn the different techniques that I'd be using in the weeks to come. But most of the time, I'm sitting around the office and devouring research papers. Literally. So much so I was really itching for some labwork of my own to do, but sadly, my professor was still AWOL and I had to wait for his instructions before I embark on my own lab adventure.

My mentor (the graduate student) is a really nice, sweet girl who's patient and helpful but there's still a small problem.

She's from China.

Not that I have anything against the Chinese but the thing is, my spoken Mandarin is almost hopeless now. Really. It's so rusty and jerky that I'm sure if my JC tutor heard me attempt to converse entirely in Mandarin, he would definitely regret commenting that I was 'effectively bilingual' in my testimonial.

So that makes communicating with her a little tricky.

Honestly, I have never felt so handicapped in expressing myself, but I guess with some time, all the forgotten vocabulary would eventually return to me, marking the end of my woes.

Hopefully.

My professor was finally back on Thurs and for a professor with a PhD in science research, he's a funky professor!

The first thing I noticed when I entered his office to discuss about my project, was two shining ELECTRIC GUITARS.

I know what you're thinking: It could be for show only what... you know, display?

But no. That very evening, I swear I heard some blues-a-playin' from his office. Impressive lah...

Shopping.

After months of abstaining (partly because of the exams) from retail therapy, I've finally released some of my pent-up shopping hankerings and bought myself some stuff. Whee!

Biting off more than I can chew?

Vainty pot me and my beauty buys, L-R: MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil (for the smudge-free smokey look), Ettusais Concealer (for those pesky blemishes), Shu Uemera UV Under Base (for sun protection and setting the makeup), MAC eyeshadow pots in Knight Divine and Mulch (for colour... d'uh)

Finally found the shade I've been scouring for - dark purplish plum

Done up nails

And I also got a new pair of sneakers with a long story behind it.

And here's the long story behind my new shoes:
I was searching for a new pair of sneakers for casual wear since my old pair of LA Gears (who ever wears LA Gear now right? that's how OLD it is) have worn off so bad that I'm practically sliding everywhere I go in them. Once, I couldn't even stand up from a bus seat because my shoes were too slippery. An obvious sign to get a new pair.

So when Von and I was out shopping today, I decided to put the vouchers she gave me last Xmas to use and get myself the needed shoes. We went to Stadium at Ngee Ann City and a pair of PUMAs caught my eye.

A striking vintage colour combination of blue and orange.

I tried on several sizes and finally found the right size, but only to wonder if the other colours suited me better. Thus I grabbed the seapink (wth is seapink anyway? i mean, there's rose pink, pale pink, neon pink, and maybe grapefruit pink but SEApink?)

and the golden-beige ones from the display and started to ponder a bit.

I decided that the pink pair actually looks better on me and asked the salesperson if I could have the pink one instead. He went and came back empty-handed, telling me that they didn't have the stock in my size for the pink and gold shoes.

He was very helpful and called several branches around the area to check if they had the shoes I wanted but to no avail. Being quite a nuisance already and with no shoes, Von and I left and decided to check out the store at Marina Square (which the guy didn't manage to call for me).

Like on a compelling shoe hunt, we made our way to City Hall MRT and finally to Marina Square. With much good fortune, they had one LAST pair of the seapinks. I thought the search had ended and I would go home happily with my buy, but no. Being a woman, and being the sometimes indecisive person I am, I thought maybe the golden-beige one would be nice too. So I asked the salesperson if I could try the golden ones instead. I wanted to be absolutely sure the seapinks look best on me. But again, due to popular demand, no stock for my size.

I paid for the seapinks and left.

On my way home, I had that gnawing feeling that I've made a wrong choice getting the seapinks. Pink is girly and young. Gold is classy and versatile, and would match dark jeans better. Plus, I don't want to look any younger than people think I am, so... I decided to change the shoes.

I forgot that the Orchard branch didn't have the golden beige ones in my size and called them up only to be told the bad news again - no stock. It was the same for the Compass Point, Junction 8 and Suntec branches.

I took a deep breath and made my final attempt to change my shoe fate.

I called up Raffles City.

They have my shoes!

Thus I got on the train again from Dhoby Ghaut back to City Hall to collect my prize.

And now I'm content.

The end of the beginning... or not?

2006-05-14T21:21:00.000+08:00

Come tomorrow, I will embark on the journey to complete my final undergraduate year. So, that marks the beginning of the end.

Or the end of the beginning?

Whatever it is, it means that my one week of nuaing and bumming is O.V.E.R.

Not that I've been bumming all week.

But I guess it's good that I start work tomorrow; my eyes do need a break from the tv/movie/laptop glare. Been watching a couple of movies and catching up on Grey's . Did I mention that Chris O' Donnell plays a rugged and handsome vet??? Oh I have... I beg your pardon. I'm feeling a bit woozy. Too much TV.

Come to think of it, I haven't been to the cinemas for months and I feel completely out of touch with what's on the big screen now. But then again, no matter how much like a mountain turtle I've become, I would never have been able to hide from the bombastic promos and brazen pictures of Tom Cruise ( and sometimes with his still-dopey missus) sprawled across the papers and magazines.

A replacement for company while the missus is on maternity leave?

My point is, I caught MI:3. While I'd like to give a full review on how good/bad the movie was in comparison with the other first two instalments, I can't because :

1. The first MI was so long ago, I really don't remember much of it except the infamous scene that had us tethering at the edge of our couches.

PS: check out this cute parody of the same scene!

2. I didn't watch MI:2 (and I know some people will boo me here but... whatever)

All in all, it was pretty much your typical blockbuster - the flying bullets, blasting bombs and what have you. The director even tried to make it more 'artistic' by doing the backwards storytelling thing, you know when they show a scene from somewhere near the end of the story before jumping to the beginning. Something we've all seen before. Nothing new.

Von did make an interesting observation though. She commented that the reel-life missus looked alot like Mr. Cruise's real-life missus. At least, it seemed that the stylists put in quite a bit of effort to make Michelle Monaghan look like Kate Holmes. The hair, the wardrobe....we wonder if it was all intentional.

The fake missus

The real McCoy (any resemblance?)

Then I went a little off-centre to catch a Palestinian film 'Paradise Now'.

Strapping up for what they believe to be a greater cause

It's a refreshing change from the trashy, feel-good movies I so often indulge in (read: no brain activity involved; just watch and laugh/ cry); the film captures a short part of the lives of 2 Palestinian best friends who have been given the honour (in their perspective) to sacrifice everything they have for what they believe is the greater good in the prolonged war between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinian Arabs.

While the humour is rarely blatant, its subtle flavour in between the morbid theme of violence as a subversion to oppression does make the 1.5 hours more endearing. Not that it was necessary though.

The film does give an interesting insight to suicide bombing - an account far more intimate than covered in news reports and it would be probably fair to say that this is more of an educational than entertaining movie to catch.

Snip snap chop chop

2006-05-10T23:39:00.000+08:00

The four words that will presumptively outline my holiday of one short week. 7 days. That's all I've got left of my uni days. A one week holiday. And I'm stuck here in freakingly hot Singapore.

And it's already Wednesday (which also happens to be my good friend, Grace's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!).

Monday night was spent with the girls and we had a looooong chat over dinner at Santa Fe's Grill Restaurant (or something along that line; it's an open air restaurant just outside Far East Plaza). We were supposed to be out celebrating our dear Carol's birthday but the birthday girl was MIA! Poor girl had to do OT at the last minute and missed our dinner date... interns are so overworked and underpaid!

Haven't met up them for almost half a year, and I realised I haven't been to town for the same length of time. Gasp. Orchard Rd's almost foreign already. Anyway, the food was good (serving's a bit too LARGE though; even Bernice with the stomach of the bottomless pit could only manage HALF of her grilled mushroom burger!!) and conversation was good too. I smell romance in the air and wedding bells very soon! Girls, hurry up and drop your red bomb on me so I can be a pretty bridesmaid!

Tuesday, I met up with my high-flying gal pal (literally high-flying; in the pretty kerbaya ensemble and the dazzling smile) Joanne and we thought of being a little more adventurous than usual - we headed to East Coast to blade! (Not THAT adventurous... but compared to the usual shopping routine, it's a fresh change!)

It was her first attempt and she got the hang of it pretty quickly... really puts me to shame. I must have started blading since I was 10 but with the on-off relationship between me and my brother's giant sized blades, up till now, I'm still barely wheeling along comfortably. But anyway, point is, we tried something different and got a good workout! And I can proudly say that after the two hours, we've both improved by a notch.

Joanne is now aiming to get the hang of the sport so she can hao lian like this guy in yellow we saw at the BEGINNERS' corner. I'm not very proud of the fact that we were stuck there but I need to emphasize that the corner's exclusively for BEGINNERS, and it's not just because I say so. There was a large sign there clearly indicating this. So this guy, obviously not a beginner, was so blatantly showing off his stupid stunts, zipping here and there at 200km/h directly in our paths, threatening to knock us off our feet/blades if not for our stopping in time. Show off!

We had dinner at a quaint little Japanese restaurant, ZEN, at Marine Cove and I really like the place! It's a tad tiny, but it's cosy and the staff there are so friendly and warm. Brownie points for the yummy food too!

Pretty Joanne in the pretty restaurant

Tucking into fresh sashimi
more pics @ multiply

Wednesday; dragged myself outta bed at 8.30am after a long night of Grey's Anatomy (Chris O'Donnell has decided to ditch his latex Robin outfit to play Meredith's new love interest - yummy McVet) to find out more about my FYP to prepare myself for the next 3+ months of intensive research work. Having a wild mix of emotions; excited yet a tad apprehensive. But I'm sure everything will work out fine... after all, I've got a big God backing me up ;)

Then I spent the entire afternoon climbing up and down 5 storeys, moving my stuff to my relocated hostel room cos my block's gonna undergo some renovation works. Why must they choose to renovate it now of all times??!! Sheesh... all the inconvenience and time wasted.

When I first entered my new-OLD room, I got a horrible fright. Other than the fact that it's old, it was so DIRTY. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and probably almost everywhere. *shrudder*

It took alot of cringing to finally spruce up the place to some decency and I hope the spiders go find somewhere else to play and leave my room alone.

For now, I need sleep.

Muted deliberations

2006-05-07T13:55:00.000+08:00

apathetic
Main Entry: ap·a·thet·ic
Pronunciation: "a-p&-'the-tik
Function: adjective
1 : having or showing little or no feeling or emotion : SPIRITLESS
2 : having little or no interest or concern : INDIFFERENT
synonym see IMPASSIVE

It has happened more than once, that the youths of today are accused of being plain apathetic and disinterested in important matters of our modern society. Put simply, the younger generation doesn't give two hoots about politics. I don't pretend that I'm an exception and am able to ride along effortlessly on political waves - in fact, it is probably fair to say that I don't even know enough for my own good... but one there's thing I know: if politics is about what we've seen, read or heard these past 2 weeks, I'd rather be labeled indifferent than be caught following a messy ball of yarn that threatens to reduce the most respectable of men to mere kittens who scratch and hiss for that extra length of fibre.

Of course I don't deny that there are the few good souls who deserve support and due regard, and these are those who demonstrate passion and sincerity to serve the people, EVEN IF they fail to garner the complete support of the people. But on the other end of the spectrum, it is beyond doubt, that despite the almost naturalistic facade, some are just out for power and total control.

We all know that it's arguable and we will probably never know the real agenda behind each individual because
1. they are really know how to conceal their thoughts behind those Darlie-white commercial smiles and
2. even after years of rallying for the freedom of expression and press, we still see a distinct bias in the media reports;

And then there are the sore losers.

After failing to sway the people by dangling millions worth of incentives in front of them, a resolute statement was made in the papers that since 'the people have made their choice' (to support the opposition parties), they will be left at the back of the queue for the upgrading of their quarters. The statement is continued with an argument that resources are scarce and to maintain the credibility of the party, the portion of the tiny pie will be and should be bestowed upon those who have stood behind them.

Talk about equality and social fairness?

Firstly, when the majority (in the 2 constituencies) 'made their choice' and voted for the opposition, I doubt that they were implying, "We don't want the upgrading." Isn't this general election not just about upgrading and what have you?

Isn't it about rallying support to ensure that capable leaders have a seat in the parliament so that they can debate over consequential issues like mature adults and make informed decisions as a team so as to secure the rosy future for our nation? Why then, do they take it so personally that if they don't get the certain number of votes, the people are not supportive of them? I think it's called looking at the bigger picture. In fact, we should all feel proud that the people of our nation are thinkers who are not easily moved by the lure of a more comfortable abode.

Credibililty.

Giving the incentive to those who showed support. Favouring those who favour you. That is credibility? Is that the credibility we so yearn to see in our leaders? Is it not easy even for a layman to love those who loves him? It is disappointing to know that even with the constant 'preaching' that our nation stands by equality and fairness, the unequal distribution of the pie is blatant.

Don't those who voted for the opposition not pay their taxes and abide by the law like every good citizen? Why then, are they treated differently? Just because they have an alternative perspective? Even if it is so, that our resources are so limited, shouldn't it go to those who need it more first? Rather than those who deserves it more? And who is to judge who deserves it more in the first place? Everyone contributes to that resource.

It's an unfair deal, if you ask me. But who am I to complain? I am but an apathetic person who don't know what I'm saying. Right?

And then...

2006-05-04T22:58:00.000+08:00

... my exams are over.

Finally.

After 3 gruelling weeks (okay, maybe not gruelling but still less than comfy) of spending alone time with my notes, it's time for us to go our separate ways and pursue our own happiness - enjoying a one week break for me, and for the notes, eternal rest in cardboard boxes.

Time is ticking as I'm thinking of what I'm going to do with my one week. But before that, one last lab report to complete. Being a student is never easy. And no one gets to argue with that.

Finding tranquility

2006-04-29T12:24:00.000+08:00

It's not about the mood or the music. It's not about aromatherapy and burning sweet-smelling oils. It's not about the fresh air or the closeness to nature.

It's about having a rooted, unfaltering heart, a sound mind, and a well of faith that no matter what the circumstances are, good things will follow.

Psalms 23
vs 4: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

vs 6: Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It's never easy having to deal with the exams among other things (like the freak shock I had for a moment when I thought I didn't get the FYP of my choice, but thank God it's still not yet finalised), and when you think it can't get any more complicated, you have to deal with adults who act like kids. Literally.

Seriously, I've heard of quarrels over bills, responsibilities, infidelity etc etc. but who has heard of screaming and arguing over a tin of biscuits that apparently went missing?

Author's note: It is with deep regret to divulge that till now, there is still no trace of the missing Mr. Tin-of-Biscuits. Interviewed parties have claimed to have no clue about his whereabouts. Sources speculate that he was not kidnapped, but instead walked out on the family as it buckled under the pressure of having to deal with neglect and the ongoing insanity. It remains a baffling mystery and every member in the household shall be held accountable for the safety of Mr. Tin-of-Biscuits. We plead guilty to our irreponsible actions against Mr. Tin-of-Biscuits and petition for him to come back home to us so that peace can be restored.

Think this sounds silly? Imagine what it was like being caught in the middle of an open-air firing session that circled on this subject.

Sometimes I really don't know how to react to certain issues. It's hard to keep silent the deep urge to say how I feel, to debate and assert my position but how can I? How can I converse like an adult if everything that I say will just seem like disrespect to you?

It's probably not my position to say anything anyway.

After all, giving a piece of my mind probably won't make the situation any better. It's just an avenue for me to release the pent up frustrations. I'll just leave it to God. He's a worker of miracles. Who better to salvage the situation than the Helper himself?

I just wanna...

2006-04-25T05:38:00.000+08:00

Right now, I just wanna climb back into my comfy, warm bed and sleep.

Even if it means continuing the bad dream from just now.

It's not even daybreak yet and I'm out of bed. Need to make up for lost time yesterday when I zonked out before 10pm because I was exhausted from the 307 exam. It was super draining cos the stupid subject coordinator, also the guy who can't speak pwoperr ingweesh (and thus the bulk of us are not getting what he's been teaching all semester), decided to make us do a whole lot of questions, in the same amount of time.

For 2.5 hours I was writing non-stop at 200km/h. Bless the person who invented correction tape.

I left the examination hall with a limp left hand and a woozy vision with nothing but my untidy (yes, for once) handwriting swimming in front of me.

I still have 3 more papers to go. Gosh, I can't seem to ever reach the end!!!

Dear God, help me stay strong and not crawl back into bed. For now.

A Whole New Chapter

2006-04-21T20:22:00.000+08:00

A tiny storm of excitement was stirred up recently and it has its good points and bad. For one, I'm in the midst of my exams and any news big enough to get me excited is really not good for my concentration.

God is faithful and He answered my prayers; my application for the accelerated BSc(Hon) programme was approved and...

I will graduate by the end of this year!

How cool is that! It's amazing, when I think back, it seemed like only yesterday that I started uni life. 3 years have zoomed by and in a way, its a blessing that I'm leaving before the uni sucks the students dry with all the sickening fees. That, of course, is another issue.

There are suddenly so many possibilities, all the ideals that used to cross my mind are moving closer - soon they'll be within reach. It's the chapter of life when I will become more proactive , exploring my options, going out into the world beyond academics and experience the vast opportunities and so much more. I can almost smell the thrilling road ahead and I know I will be taken care of no matter what cos my Jesus is my shepherd and He will carry me through every step of the way.

I'm bouncing with enthusiasm and elation at the thought of this major change but right now, I must focus, and concentrate on acing my papers. Focus, J, focus!!

Before that, some handphone pics to unload:

Another thing that makes me happy - a big cup of bubble tea with pearls for cheap cheap $1.80 only! Gone are the days when we had to fork out $2.50 per cup in JC...

One good thing about staying home - I can make my own yummy breakfast!

Garlic cheese and tomato omelette. Oishii!

Okay, back to the books.... *whimpers*

Of snot and special treatment

2006-04-18T14:01:00.000+08:00

It's just a day away to my first paper and it's just unfortunate that the flu bug caught up with me. I've been downing loads of fluids and vitamin C and am entrusting my health and my exams into God's hands. I know He will take me through this. With or without the snot!

I've been home everyday trying to beat the snooze to prepare for the exams. I'm itching for it to be over quickly so I can go out and play and stop looking like an ah-soh. You see, I can't really be bothered with appearances since I'm home all the time, plus the late nights are showing pretty noticeably under my eyes.

<-- see what I mean? So anyway, I was minding my own business with the lecture notes and all when the doorbell rang and a postman stood at the door with a parcel. 'Ooh is that for me?' 'Joy Chua.' <-- He didn't sound very friendly. (Probably taken aback at my unkempt appearance. Oops.)

And there sat the box.

The handwriting on the box was so neat that my mum asked me, "You wrote that yourself?"

Erm...why would I do that??

Anyway, with beautiful handwriting and the 'airmail' sticker from New Zealand, there can only by one sender....

My Darling Grace!!

She sent a box full of love and sweet well-wishes, literally!
A whole load of munchies to keep me on a sugar high throughout the exams.

I'm going to get well soon so I can indulge and enjoy these little pieces of heaven.

*blessed*

Crossing lines

2006-04-13T17:40:00.000+08:00

My darling of a professor just made me love him even more when he sent an email to tell me that my 3 pages of hard work and sweat (aka my lab report) was MISSING. Did I just say love? Oops, I meant hate.

Oh well, it IS a thin line between love and hate.

What a joke. I handed in the report together with Von into the allocated box (where we slot in all our assignments) months ago (on the 3rd of March, to be precise) and now, when I'm strangling myself to study harder and faster for the exams, he tells me that my report is M.I.S.S.I.N.G. How convenient.

He really know how to choose his timing ah!!

To think I was cutting him some slack when I told Grace that he wasn't that bad this semester... not as mean as before... but disappointingly, he is still a prick.

And the tag 'Hitler' shall remain on him for as long as... as long as I'm on the right side of the line.

Solitude

2006-04-13T17:04:00.000+08:00

It's such a relief to be back at home.

The mess doesn't even bother me that much anymore. It's funny how circumstances change people.

I never wanted it to be this way though.

I want to be strong, to believe that in spite of my situation, my God is still with me. But at the end of it, no matter how I was comforted that His presence was with me, I still knew that humans were not created to live in isolation. Even Adam had Eve.

I have no one.

That's basically what the past few days have been for me. And it's enough to drive me a little over the edge. I feel so deprived from human contact that the lack of emotional support was overbearing. I didn't even feel hungry enough to eat.

Does the problem lie with me then?

My sister asked me if I'm anti-social.

I hope not...

I'm hard to get to know and I don't like wearing my heart on my sleeve. I don't open up to people easily but aren't most people like that too? At least I save putting up a front with a big wide grin to please the masses.

So does this make me anymore unpleasant as a person as anyone else?