In the eyes of a nerd...

Hey, how've you been? So, are you teaching now?

2009-07-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

That must be the most overused line I heard over the weekend. Mostly used on me of course.

Thankfully, my answer was a "No."

But then again, who's heard of DOS, right??? Heh.

There must be a way how I can describe my job in one single line. Shucks.

Its like, "I'm a teacher, and rascals are my specialty."

"I'm a lawyer, and I bullshit a lot."

"I'm a surgeon, and I try not to kill patients while cutting them up."

I still have no clue for my own case.

PS: The last part about teacher, lawyer and surgeon is purely fictional. Hmm... Yeah right.

Sentiments of An Office Hours Worker

2009-06-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

My Facebook status said, "When you don't work office hours, and have a so-called long holiday, don't assume everyone else will accomodate to your schedule."

Lest you think that I am taking a dig at Singapore's educators, you are, well, almost correct.

Truthfully, I was responding to a friend's complaint on how she felt forced and got really irritated when she was confronted with incessant pestering from two of her teacher friends.

I've been down that road before, but I've always viewed this as a sensitive topic due to my close friendship with people in this profession. Don't get me wrong, I respect them a lot.

I also respect the fact that they can reach their workplace (aka respective schools) before the sun is up when I'm still having my warm shower after snoozing my alarm.

I also respect that they have started preparing for their morning lessons while I'm still applying on my makeup and sculpting lotion on my hair, and if I do so a bit earlier, I'd get to enjoy my morning cup of tea and light reading of the newspaper.

I also respect their ability to talk for long hours in front of immature kids while I either stone in front of my desktop, enjoying breakfast amidst the light gossiping on MSN with fellow colleagues, or, the worst case scenario, seeing my Lotus Notes get all explosive on me.

Which reminds me, shit, I need to archive by tomorrow. :p

Coming back, I also respect these teachers for being able to add their students on their social networking platforms whilst carefully deciding which photos to upload, and what kind of language to use should they decide on situations where expletives would be an understatement to what they wish to express.

Lastly, I respect them for giving up their Sundays for marking while I would be going for movies, picnics and doing leisure activities. Oh, enjoying my night soccer games when EPL is in season. Yeaps.

See, I respect them a lot.

I understand their profession. A lot. I was once a relief teacher (on full-time teacher duties minus CCA and admin work) so I had been in their shoes.

Unfortunately, there isn't quite a two-way understanding between teachers and office hours workers.

For some reason, many (not all) teachers choose to glorify things like:

1) their paycheck because they are amongst the highest paid in civil service (I think they're also paid for the Saturdays CCA days and Sundays for marking at home)

2) their annual IT allowance (weird part is many of them remains more "illiterate" to applications compared to the office workers)

3) the so-called long holidays during June and December where many of them would be summoned back for work in the first and last week of those holidays

and many more.

Once again, I do not hate teachers.

But I wish for everyone to have mutual respect for each other's profession, no matter how different your schedules may be.

If you do have some tiny ounce of respect, you would consider:

1) Not hounding your friend to go karaoke with you on a Wednesday night in June when the friend has already stated she really got loads of work to clear.

2) Giving up a weekend day with boyfriend/fiance/fiancee to meet up with your other regular office hours mates who are also actually sacrificing their time with their loved ones to meet up with you.

3) Thinking twice that your other friends are too busy to meet up with you during your curricular time when the actual fact is that we understand you have to be home by probably 9pm as you might have things to prepare for the next day. So we just choose to meet up on our own without you.

4) Not talking about work when you meet with friends who aren't teachers. Work is office hours (plus paid/unpaid overtime) for us, it stays there. We don't want to hear how some kids irritate you because they didn't bring their homework as we deal with adult-management, and prefer it that way also.

The list goes on, but you get what I mean. ;p

No worries, I don't harbour any grudges against teachers. Its just that I wish this line of distinction of behaviour would just become blurrer and soon, everyone will just respect each other's profession, whether you are in the education sector, regular office hours workers or even in shift-dominating industries.

Because no matter how much you earn, or how much freedom you get in your work, every job comes with pros and cons.

You don't have to cover everything up. ;)

Hype: Good and Bad

2009-05-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

There was once someone told me, "I used to listen to Britney. But then the hype was all created after that and I totally stopped supporting her. I hate hype."

I've been known to listen to a range of music, with diverse interests all the way from the emo rock to sappy love songs.

I wouldn't say I have a good judgement of music as taste of music differs from one individual to another.

But I've always felt that the friend's comments were a little too... exaggerated.

Not drawing attention to the singer, Britney, in question, I would describe such remarks or opinions as skewed and judgemental of any singers in general.

My opinion is simple: I enjoy good vocals. Those that definitely can sing live (I reserve an exception for Britney as I've been adoring her as simply Britney). I enjoy good music, whether they are well-known or not, though most of the time I don't take much effort to find out the indie bands. Technically, if I like their vocals and music, I don't care whether they're hyped up (except Rihanna, who obviously sings through her nose and whom I still don't find attractive despite the changes).

This is mirrored in my ultimate disappointment for American Idol.

Every week, I have been looking forward to watching this season's, a stark contrast to all the previous seasons.

I believed in just hearing one person sing everytime.

Adam Lambert.

He was the gift to American Idol after such flops in previous seasons' winners (except Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson).

He provided the different bandwidth of entertainment for AI by creating his own sense of originality in performances.

And not to mention breathtaking vocals.

No offence to Kris' supporters now if I'm slamming them now.

I mean, I know you guys are perfectly fine with being grouped together with the TWEENAGERS out there.

Its fine that you guys chose to be deaf to immaculate vocalisations and choose a strumming guitarist who will definitely need ALL the help to make the records anyway.

Well, hype or not, Adam Lambert has definitely stood out from any previous season of AI. In any way possible. The judges had no choice but to tell the truth: That he is THAT good.

Oh well, we'll just see the name "Kris Allen" fade into obscurity in a year's time. :ppppp

PS: The writer does not think Kris was a bad singer; in fact, she loved his "Heartless" rendition. Its just his technicalities that would not stand out in the cut-throat world of America's entertainment that has made him undeserving of this win. Congrats anyway...

PPS: The writer's mood has been redeemed by the Liverpool tickets she's getting and the Blum & Co tops she just bought.

25 Random Things About Me -- Facebook-Inspired

2009-02-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, been a freaking looooong time since I actually wrote here. School's been great, assignments pretty much ok, life's been blessed and I've more jumping pictures than before (previously zero, so having 1 is a 100% increase...).

Facebook has people tagging their friends in their 25 random things about themselves, and I was a recent victim of such a nonsensical move (can be quite funny reading others' at times).

The list I'm going to reveal soon wouldn't be the same list I had in Facebook. Though some are pretty much inspired by certain fateful comments dropped by friends' or friends' of theirs.

Alright now, here it goes.

1) I just finished reading up on 4-5 newsletters of SATS for relevance of my essay due in 2 days time. Which means I have not typed a single word of the 2000-word criteria. Great.

2) Some people probably need to see the phrase "pun intended" to get jokes. I think they don't watch enough Russell Peters, Whose Line Is It Anyway, The Daily Show, Colbert Report etc. Sad boring life heh.

3) I like acting bimbotic and stupid so that people underestimate my level of intelligence. Some do get adverse reactions after they found out I did Mathematics in university. And then they kept blinking their eyes in disbelief, and then they stopped talking to me as much after that.

4) I eat creamy peanut butter with butter on my bread. Butter, not margarine, brings out the real taste of its counterparts. Its just that its extremely fatty.

5) I don't like the smell of perfumed talc. Dettol menthol powder provides me the most refreshing morning feel on my skin.

6) I am often than not, too lazy to reapply my makeup. I have this mentality that I can save up on more things when I don't reapply as much including makeup remover and cotton pads.

7) Liverpool's re-match with Everton in the FA Cup at Goodison Park is starting in like 5 min and I have not woken up my dad who always make me promise to do so for such early morning matches.

8) My graduation gown needs to be dry-cleaned for photo-taking on 14 February (due to brother's and sister's graduation). So troublesome. And expensive. :p

9) Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel and Living are among my favourite documentary channels. I love Mythbusters, they're hilarious. And nerdy. Like me. :D

10) I think I am a funny person.

11) I secretly feel extremely flattered when people ask me whether I pluck my eyebrows. For the record, I don't. Au naturel.

12) I sometimes talk like I'm over the top. But most of the time I'm just joking actually.

13) I still can't believe that some people really literally need the "pun intended" phrase as a preventive measure for them to act smart and make me look stupid.

14) Its really freezing in my house right now.

15) I think my proper handwriting is nice. The downside is that the way I hold my pen to achieve such nice font is painful when writing essays.

16) I don't like keeping soft toys. They're suffocating to me actually. I give them (mostly presents) to my youngest sister.

17) Yesterday, I practised my (horrendous) cycling at the void deck and those banglas were staring and sniggering at me. Idiotic.

18) I'm not a neat freak. And I can't live with one probably because my whole family is just not. But we get by with things as it is...

19) I'm still harping on the fact that I can't find this particular skirt of mine that I've been wanting to wear. For years. Almost giving up now.

20) I feel flattered when people tell me I have good skin. Its 90% attributed to genes, 10% for my effort to try out skincare products that work best for my skin. As I am a lazy person in general, I usually tend to give up on 3-step skincare.

21) I have only celebrated Valentine's Day once. Last year, that is. Not planning to celebrate it anymore as my anniversary date is near anyway. Pointless.

22) I read a book titled "Catstrology" at Times just now. My void deck stray cat that went missing and which I loved and missed dearly, was probably a Libran cat.

23) Liverpool's match is into its 4th minute now. I need to hurry and finish this up.

24) I have a male best friend whom I think is a good catch. Any single ladies who wants to date a business owner??

25) I hope my Fernando Torres will score tonight.

Maturity Is...

2009-01-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Being aware of your own's actions
and the repercussions of your impulsiveness

Having the ability to judge
what is ought and what is not

Putting your tiny self in others' shoes
Their emotions and perceptions thereof

Knowing when to place
other people in front of yourself

Placing the right priorities
who to please first and such

Knowing nothing is an easy way out
Nothing is ever a shortcut...

I'm not perfect, I don't fulfil all of these myself.

But at the very most, I try.

Its not easy initially, but if you set your mind upon growing up, the way we all should be, it would all fall to place.

Without you knowing it.

Because I know I'm constantly loved.

And so are you.

My Bonnie

2008-12-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

My bonnie lies over the ocean,
My bonnie lies over the sea,
My bonnie lies over the ocean,
Oh bring back my bonnie to me

Bring back, oh, bring back,
Oh, bring back my bonnie to me,
To me
Bring back, oh, bring back,
Oh, bring back my bonnie to me

I miss her so much,
Her smell on the bed that stained her pillow,
I'd sleep on her side to get a whiff of that,
She's my bonnie,
My little cute bonnie,
And she took away her 2 bonnies,
That I always needed to supplement her absence
6 more days to go without her
To irritate me and for me to irritate
Gonna be lonely till then...

My 16-Year-Old Baby Sister

Torn

2008-12-11T01:28:00.000-08:00

"Nothing's fine, I'm torn
I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel"

-- Natalie Imbruglia

A recent photo of a dear girlfriend sent the whole clique in bitchy mode. Her holiday pictures that she put up on her profile had shown a certain significant weight gain and naturally, girls being girls, friends being friends, bitchings was started by yours-truly.

Actually, I do admit I was surprised by her "new look" (although I know unflattering angles played a part too) but I wasn't shocked.

Basically, its the holidays.

Everyone eats.

Including me.

My previous post is already a testament to that.

Of course, I admit, I need the exercise badly, be it weight-lifting (for strengthening of the leg) or cardio (for weight-loss).

But it is the food too that's causing the weight gain.

I was just reading up on how celebrities maintained their bodies on the tight exercise and eating regime. I was thinking, wow, must be good, all that pilates would do much justice for my fats now.

And then I saw their food.

Jessica Biel follows a routine that involves 5 small meals a day, mostly comprising of lean meats and vegetables while staying away from sugar, dairy (eggs!!!) and flour. Actually, I love eggs a lot, there was a time I could eat up to 5 in a day. Nowadays I cut it down to maximum 2, occasionally 3, as I know my favourite egg yolk has the highest cholestrol content. So I went thinking, hmm, Jessica Biel's diet probably could do for me, since I love meat and vegetables.

I pondered and came to this conclusion.

If anyone in this house goes on a diet, its at the expense of hurting my mother's feelings. There she had cooked something after rushing home from work and all I do is tell her I'm not eating her food, sad isn't it?

Now of course, what she would cook would usually taste so good (except for things I really don't eat especially cockles, yucks) that it would make me feel TORN to not eat those calories-rich food.

Especially when I am broke and have no means to choose my meals (free meals are "sponsored" by parents who definitely don't practise any strict diet, hence including cholestrol-bursting foods, cheap meals are mostly plain unhealthy).

These factors do not leave me with much choice, do they?

Damn it, I can't diet at all.

HEEEEEEELP!!!

Heavenly

2008-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Heavenly is...

When you had toast with cheese and fresh milk to go along...

For supper at 1am.

When you already ate nasi sambal goreng at 9pm,

Had fried rice at 4.30pm for lunch,

And turkey bacon, egg and mayo with bread at 11.50am.

Seriously, you don't have to remind me of the calories I've taken the whole day. FYI, ladies, I don't really have that enviable figure (anymore), no thanks to this kind of eating at the most nonsensical times of the day. Oh, did I mention that I would have cooked maggi if there was any?

SIGHZZZZZZZZZ...

Of Reel and Real Life

2008-11-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Many a time, I had previously lamented on my Sex and the City (SATC) entries on how I could truly relate to Carrie Bradshaw. On her love for dresses, shoes, fashion but most importantly of all, of her love life in all 6 seasons.

Those who have watched the series would know how her relationships were like: doomed to fail then seemingly got alive then became nowhere (read: Big), doomed to fail from the very start (read: Aleksandr Petrovsky), deemed to succeed but failed in the end (read: Aidan), and the list goes on.

A girlfriend recently asked me a supposedly sensitive question.

"What if Big wants you back?"

The "Big" she was talking about was not the same guy in the series, of course. Rather, a more delicate manner of me putting it across in this public domain instead of naming the party. And "Big", as she had realised, hasn't dated anyone since... well, the last time he dated me. Which makes it 3 whole years. :p

It has come even to her attention that, in reality, I could really become a Carrie. But instead of me lamenting further on my previous posts, I stopped to even think about doing the series in my real life.

So I replied, "I'd tell him to walk away."

I have come to a realisation, many many times, that I do have an Aidan in my life now: the Mr Nice Guy, gentle, sweet, respectful, and most importantly of all, whom Carrie stupidly cheated on with Big, the biggest jackass who never quite treated her the way she should be. The guy who never told her of his plans. Or rather, never had plans for her until the end of Season 6.

Reality, unlike reel life, should be separated by a clear thick line from the latter.

Thus, reality will remain as reality, and reelity should stay behind the screens. Permanently.

Ps: The last line includes the disgustingly numerous gorgeous shoes, bags, dresses, outfits that they feature in EVERY single episode of the show...

Sepi (Loneliness)...

2008-11-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

Bisik ku pada bulan,
Kembalikan temanku
Kekasihku, syurgaku

Tanpa dia malam menemaniku
Sepi memelukku

Bulan jangan biar siang
Biar alam ini kelam
Biar ia sepi sepertiku

I whisper to the moon
Return to me, my companion
My lover, my heaven

Without him only the night accompanies me
Loneliness engulfs me

O moon, don't let it be day
Leave the world in twilight
Let it be lonely, like me

I am cursing and swearing at Ain now for lending me this DVD. I didn't remember crying this much as I had for Korean shows.

This movie is a must-watch for any sadistically sad people out there. Not that I'm saying I am one (I just have a soft spot for sadistically horror and sad movies), but the beautiful cinematography just allures one to enjoy the pace of the movie.

The above poem, with its English translation (from as far as I can remember from the subtitles, plus cracking the boyfriend's head at the same time), is woven perfectly inside the 3rd and final story of the movie with its full meaning only revealed towards the ending.

That was what actually got my eyes swollen. Not to mention how many pieces of tissue paper I used up or attempted to wipe away my tears that kept rolling on and on.

Much has been said about the cinematography and script, which was amazingly untypical Malaysian (think Nana Tanjung, Duyung etc), but I think what glued the movie together was the music.

Melancholy has been known to be Indonesia's forte in music, hence the decision for the collaboration between Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Primeworks Studios was a stroke of ingenuity. With singers like Yuni Shara and Gita Gutawa, plus Melly Goeslaw as composer and a bonus, the music would take you to such that you could just feel the emotions deeper than you could imagine.

I have one critic on the music though. Not that I am against Malaysian songs (I am still a CT fan), but I think the cover version of Rossa's "Aku Bukan Untukmu" by Zaf and Lah VE was horrible.

But overall, the movie's perfect, aside from the dramatic plot. But hey, I was knocked down by a car too, I mean, shit happens man.

Never ever think getting knocked down by the car is unreal and dramatic.

Pause and let yourself immerse on the reason it happened. :)

Ps: I do watch Nana Tanjung and Duyung for the spastic lame humour. O well...

She, With The Real Scar

2008-10-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

There was anxiety in me, being wheeled into a room of 3 other elderly patients. It would be the first hospitalization for me, and my first experience first-hand with the medical staff. As I bore with the pain that poked through the pelvic region as the nurses transferred me from the A&E bed to the ward's bed, I felt unsure of the kind of experience I was going to go through.

I never quite understood the difference of a B1 and a B2 ward. I had heard of so many complaints of inefficient nurses in the subsidised wards of Changi General Hospital. I thought a B1 ward would be similar, despite the much lower subsidy rates.

.............................................................................................................................................

"Good morning, sayang. Do you want to have a bath before your breakfast or eat first and wait for the doctor to make his rounds?"

Despite the informal address, Shireen never really smiled while waking me up to take my blood pressure in the morning. But I knew there was genuine warmth and sincerity in her voice.

"Hmm, I'll mandi first lah."

"You want a scrub or you want to try sitting on the chair? You dah boleh bangun tak (can get up already or not)?" She was concerned whether I could withstand the pain of getting out of the bed, knowing I was squirming with pain everytime they transferred me to the X-Ray table.

"I want to duduk. I want to try mandi on my own..."

She wheeled me immediately the toilet wheelchair, the one with the hole in the middle of the seat (for ease of business).

"Careful... Yes, you get her on the chair like this, and then you put her leg like that with the towel, you just hold it as I wheel her into the toilet..." giving instructions to another nurse who was helping me hold up my fractured leg and pushed me to the shower room.

...............................................................................................................................................

I pressed the call button and waited for any nurse to "rescue" me and help me get dressed. The moment might have seemed forever as I was clutching myself to the towel although it wasn't exactly that long before Shireen opened the door.

"Dah abis (Done already), sayang? Got someone here to see you. Its Ustad Sallim Jasman..." she trailed off as she buttoned my blouse for me.

"Oh yah, Tok Wan...," knowing well why he came to see me so early in the morning.

"You're related to him eh?"

"Hmm, yah, he's my granduncle."

"Oh, he was supposed to be my Tok Kadi (Muslim marital priest) for my wedding. But my tunang (fiance) died of a motorcycle accident 2 weeks before our wedding. That's why I keep telling you, God loves you, He's given you another chance to live, unlike my tunang..."

A poignant silence filled the air. I couldn't say anything. If I had remembered correctly, I just looked at her and smiled.

She never broke down, she never looked at me in the eye. And that was when I knew she could never quite muster a smile. Yet, the expressionless face that greeted me was probably crying her heart out every single time she was alone.

If I could count on the movers and shakers of my world, she'd have to be one of them. Shireen, the one with the real scar.

When Kids Grow Up Oh-So-Fast

2008-09-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Syarah Adlina.

This 7-year-old cousin of mine actually has set up her own multiply.

Tell me, how scary it is that kids nowadays just grow up at such a rapid rate...

Yes, I'll be linking her Multiply from here from now on. Its on the list at the side there.

...............

Its Like FINALLY...

2008-09-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

I was utterly emotional when I got to know the timing for the clash of the Reds. I had signed up as a participant in the NUS Mitsubishi Challenge by which the event had been confirmed to end after 9pm. Knowing there was no way my team would entirely miss the match since we were all soccer freaks, we hatched up plans to leave the dinner/prize presentation ceremony as earliest as we could. Our race might have ended at 5.30pm earlier, but we still had one last race to run for: to be able to watch even the last dying minutes of the game, for our team of four consisted of die-hard supporters of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal (ABU).

We even stooped to recce-ing Yishun before the dinner for the place to watch at since the ceremony was to be held at Orchidville Mandai Rd and that we were mostly from the East and were not familiar with the area.

That morning, I decided to carry my Liverpool bag from Adidas, probably hoping this would somehow bring in the luck that the team had sorely been missing all this while. It is true that we lost to United for the last 6 games, but I remembered 2 fateful games where United was totally outplayed by Pool throughout the match, only to win 1-0 by a corner kick that happened in the dying minutes of the game. That I knew, my team just didn't have their Lady Luck shining on them then. But with the amounting luck that Liverpool has been riding on this season so far, I somehow knew this season would have a turning point at some point of time.

Throughout the dinner, I was dependent on the updates by my brother who was watching the game at home. When he told me Tevez had hit the net in the 3rd minute, those hopes I had diminished, consoling myself of the "jinx" Liverpool seemed to always have with United. The second update came with me almost screaming my head off in the middle of the dinner and possibly disrupting the event: Liverpool had equalised!! An own goal by Wes Brown! Hope is all but not lost yet!

By the time the runner-ups of the race were announced, we were all edging by our seats, ready to leave. With no due disrespect to the rally's winners, it was not because we were sore losers or anything, but it was just the match that proved too much to be missed. We left right after the winner was announced, with some other teams also eager like us to make their way out, either having the same agenda as us or just trying to avoid the possible bottleneck problem of the cars later on.

It was the 72nd minute when we reached the coffee shop. Gerrard and Babel had just come on and Liverpool were definitely stronger than United in the midfield. The anticipation for something big was probably bigger than that of the GMax Extreme Swing before our teammate released the lever. And true enough, it came as a perfect pass from Kuyt to Babel before the latter fired home in perfect motion!

I was almost in tears. The feeling came almost as surreal as to how I felt for Istanbul. This was Manchester United, our arch-rival, the team that could dethrone us of the most number of league wins in history if they pick up as champions again for this season, the team we had been struggling against for 4 seasons. And we won it. Finally. Really, I can't even describe my delirium at that point of time.

As gracious as he could be (probably forced to be so due to 3 ABU fans against only him), our United fan shook our hands, admitting to the defeat.

Being a Liverpool fanatic, I really do not wish to jinx anything by saying that we would win the league this season and it is still too early in the season to conclude anything. But I do feel something different about my team this season. Maybe they just need to run around for a few matches like headless chickens before deciding on a common direction. And that common direction, I saw it when they won United.

And that is why, being headless chickens as they were, they still would never walk alone. Never.

Britney's Rewards

2008-09-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

BRITNEY SPEARS SWEPT THE 2008 VMA WITH 3 AWARDS FOR BEST FEMALE VIDEO, BEST POP VIDEO AND VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

I believe, amidst all the bad press that she has been getting over the years alongside with the bad decisions of hers, good things come to those who wait.

Like her fans.

We truly support her, despite knowing she lip-syncs, she's our beautiful entertainer who achieved that overnight success with Baby One More Time.

Presenting one of the VMA's best moments of all time...

And lastly, the video that made all her comeback this year, click to watch it (embedding for all of this video has been disabled).

I LOVE YOU, BRITNEY!!!

Why I Love Living in the East

2008-09-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

My family have always been easterners in Singapore ever since they settled in this country from Java. My parents grew up in the villages near Geylang Serai and were relocated to the estates in Bedok (father) and Geylang Bahru, aptly known as Kallang Bahru (mother).

They got married and shifted to Tampines, on the very day I was born. The first 8 years of my life, I slept at Bedok North on weekdays as my granny took care of me and my siblings, plus my kindergarten school was a few blocks away, and returned to my Tampines home on weekends. Then we shifted to Bedok South, about 15 min walking distance from the Bedok North house till I was 16, and currently, to my Bedok Reservoir home.

Needless to say, the East is like a bubble for me that I can't just seem to imagine to live out of. My Singapore roots are here, and there are just so many other reasons why I love and am proud of this part of Singapore. These are some of them, in no order of preference:

1) The hip and trendy East Coast Park, the classic Changi Beach and the up and coming home of the Downtown East, Pasir Ris Beach. Highlights of these beaches include at least 5 resorts, 2 bowling alleys at East Coast (undergoing renovations still?) and Pasir Ris, cinema at EHub, many many barbeque pits and campings etc. For the brave hearts, you can even add the Old Changi Hospital a distance away from the beach to check it out at night. Hehehe.

2) Its a food haven for the Muslims plus great 24hr supper chillout places. Ambience of Simpang Bedok with the TVs fixed on soccer on weekends and movies on weekday nights alongside with the best (so far as yet) Spaghetti Aglio Olio at Spize, seafood and authentic halal char kuey teow at Bedok Corner, Geylang Serai Mr Teh Tarik and Zain Cafe, Changi Village nasi lemak, and the list goes on. And on. I cannot list them all here, seriously. Its like I feel that I'm spoilt for choice.

3) Shopping malls like Tampines Mall and Parkway Parade boast of strong Isetan following. Basically you can find brands like Mango and Topshop easily in the heartlands without ever needing to step in town. Oh yes, there was even one year that Tampines came second to Orchard for being the most crowded in Singapore. The draw is there, for sure.

4) The gigantic Ikea, Giant and Courts. All next to each other. How convenient.

5) Expo. An alternative to Suntec City, it is less crowded although it is clearly not so during mega sales by Isetan, the now-defunct Metro, Popular and the numerous exhibitions ranging from cars to weddings.

6) The East-West line of the MRT. Most stations are very close to each other, making it only a 20 min journey from Bedok to City Hall. Plus, fares are definitely cheaper than the NEL. Yes, I care about that.

7) The Changi Airport. World-class, with restaurants like Popeye's and Earl Swensens, and cheap but good food in the canteens, the studying environment there, the viewing gallery, feeling close to flying by being up close with the cabin crews of various airlines...

8) Being connected with 3 major expressways; PIE, ECP and TPE. Despite the neverending traffic jams, the Easterners can save money on ERP with this network of roads. Plus, ECP is probably one of the most beautifully decorated expressways I've ever seen. Really, don't take things for granted, the ones at LA are nowhere near as nice.

9) The people themselves. There is an Eastern lingo in us, that we somehow love to identify ourselves as the East People. Its like, we're brothers and sisters and can connect with each other better because we all live in the same part of Singapore. Its a little hard to explain, but the East people would get it. Somehow.

10) Last but not least...

Its not exactly a good picture, and it was taken yonks ago. But this is the very scenery (well, part of it) that my balcony boasts of. At this time, Bedok Reservoir was clearly quiet. However, over the 8 years, water sports like canoeing, banana boating, dragon-boating, water skiing competitions (we were cheering for the participants from our window) have landed here. Plus, a Dutch theatre crew even staged an act as the closing ceremony of the Singapore Arts Festival here!! :p

I cannot envision living anywhere else. :)

Kentalan buah laici!!!

2008-08-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, somebody tell me, how the hell did that phrase come about???

How in the world did the lychee fruit even get into the picture?

Someone enlighten me.

The Bad Bad Month of August

2008-08-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

I conclude...

That our people love Singapore sooooo much...

That they love our nation's birthday to death...

That they decide to conceive their children such that their children's birthdays fall in conjuction with this nation's celebration...

Because they just WANT it to be August...

OR...

The parents simply conceive them in the December due to some 2nd/3rd/4th (whatever lah) honeymoon getaway during the school holidays such that their babies would be born in August.

Whatever the theories are.

I'm really shouting out loud.

Due to the overwhelming number of August birthdays I have in my list, I am going really really broke at just the thought of how many gifts.

No I'm not insincere.

But I'm not kidding when I said OVERWHELMING.

And of all people, they have to include my girlfriendssssssss (check out the plural form) and yes, DEAREST MOMMY.

Of course that's not all.

I'm on the verge of fainting.

Don't blame me if you get your present one month late, rather, take pity on me.

Damn you all, August babies.

Mustafa Centre and Its Treasures

2008-08-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Before I get to my main topic, I wish to make it clear that, the Penang Laksa, would be a delicacy that I will savour only in Malaysia, by very renowned/reputable restaurants or foodstalls (some stalls at the perhentians sell rubbish Penang Laksa). This delicacy should NEVER be eaten in Singapore, where the chef probably has no faintest idea on how the dish should taste like. This, coming from a Spize fan myself, I can conclude that the shop is not good in cooking everything as compared to its "power" Spaghetti Aglio Olio and Bangers and Mash.

Nevertheless, I really don't wanna give up on Singapore's food. If someone knows where I can find really good Penang Laksa, let me know.

Anyway for some reason, I was drawn to Mustafa Centre on a Wednesday night and managed to tag DH along (he's in town till Sunday).

Mustafa Centre is a place to love and hate at the same time.

While you can get some really good bargains there, you have to compromise with the lack of walking space and the crowd that just never seems to die down. It was probably apt that the owner decided to make it 24 hrs as he saw the big potential that the store could draw even in the wee hours of the night. And boy, did he make the right move.

So yes, I was checking out Liverpool's jerseys there, which sent both of us into confusion why there were 2 very very similar-looking jerseys, of the same size, yet of a $10 difference. It turned out that the cheaper one, of $78.90 in price, was for the youngsters and the $88.90 jersey was of the women's size. Now, like I said, there was hardly any noticeable difference. Only when I scrutinized it, and placed the shoulders of both jerseys against each other that we saw the shoulders were different. Still, I think getting the cheaper would be a bargain though; like I said, there was no noticeable difference. ;p

Ok, I decided not to purchase it.

But these are what I bought eventually.

This comprises of weights that I can strap onto my left ankle so that I can strengthen back my left knee. $23.40 for this.

Woohoo!! A PINK yoga mat! For 27 bucks!! It was the second cheapest (the cheapest was a yellow $26 one) and since I needed a source of motivation, I decided to get myself a bimbotic colour (I prefer red still, but this was the closest to that) to make myself happy while working out my legs! YAY!!!

And last but not least...

I've searched high and low for this ball, specifically red in colour (most of them are sold with the Champions League logo so it's white in colour). Finally, I managed to get the last of this ball for $27 at Mustafa. *in ultimate delirium*

Now, I finally can be at peace. :)

Ps: If you are wondering why I wanted the ball so much, it was 40% of "I really want to train my kicks" and 60% of "just for collection purposes". :p

My 4x4x4 Rubik's cube got accidentally broken

2008-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

I vividly remembered the harsh exchange of words, with due sarcasm and rudeness peppered in almost every reply.

True enough, it was inconsistency on the person's behaviour, as I had expected.

The next moment, everything was, via the same channel of conversation, all nice and friendly.

To think that some people think that a broken relationship could be as irreparable as my cube's broken piece.

Well, cracks are there of course.

But the cube still turns just as fine.

Probably, that's what we should all focus on; the parts of the cube that can still turn, which is any other way except for where the broken piece is.

Only then would we realise the beauty of the cube itself, that its function does not change, even with the broken piece.

In any case, even with this analogy, people still grieve over the moment a relationship is broken.
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I am still inconsolable as to how my clumsiness caused my cube this despair.

Weekends, right back to what they should be.

2008-08-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

When I was a swinging single lady, life was not at all bad, in fact, it was kind of a silent bliss.

Weekdays was more or less preoccupied with work and tuition, with occasional dinner with friends.

Weekends, more aptly, weekend nights, were mostly packed.

While girls like Buttercup hook a 'date' with their Korean hunks in dramas, my night reservations were purely for eleven men in red, whether I would be gushing over my favourite three or cursing and swearing at the whole team.

Even when DH came into the picture, although he took a little (not that much actually) higher priority over Fernando, Steven and Xabi, at times I made him compromise to watching his rival team together with me at Simpang Bedok.

The departure of DH to work in KL did not exactly come at the right time.

It was right when the Premier League ended.

Both my weekend dosage of Liverpool and the beloved were like luxury items, with me watching replays on those weekend nights that DH was not returning home.

My luck was that this year, it was the Euro at least. And thankfully, my hearthrob scored the winning Euro goal in addition to that.

Next year, I would be hopeful for other forms of distractions, in whatever form they would come in. Anything to help me tide over the drought of football.

Thankfully, for now, the season is starting soon.

I had just finished watching Glasgow Rangers vs Liverpool, while video-conferencing with DH (I try to balance both in my life, its tough, but its doable definitely as I had demonstrated :p).

I look forward to this new season. Really really relinquishing the challenge of the title.

The pre-season match against the Rangers has proven that the team is all gelled up, unlike other seasons.

Rafa has shown that he now knows the exact style of what Liverpool should be and the players he had gotten through the transfer window are what that can be to just add to the reliability of the formation, since last season showed how vulnerable Pool was in some components.

Technically, they are still lacking of a right winger now, since Pennant was some sort of the weak link there and he has not exactly performed to his best ability since his arrival at Anfield.

But the current team is now better.

With the addition of Robbie Keane, he demonstrated how much of a threat he possessed just now with his partnership with the league's star striker, Torres.

He hasn't scored any goal, but he's tough.

Liverpool is undoubtedly, stronger than the previous season. By which I hope that they really would be serious contenders for this season's title.

18 YEARS!!!!!!!!!

Even the second team, led by Xabi Alonso (thankfully and hopefully, he really isn't going to Juventus, Barry is NOT better than him!!!), was rock-solid in midfield, with Alonso possessing leadership, professionalism and strength in keeping and passing the ball. He was afterall, arguably the best passer in the league, with beautiful own-half strikes, one against Luton Town that made a fan rich with a betting gone right.

This will be my weekends. Back to "singlehood" by which one weekend every month would be reserved for the man himself on his coming-home days.

That makes it 3 other weekends on Liverpool.

Talk about prioritising. :p

But yes, weekends, right back to what they should be. Full of soccer.

For now, let's sing to The Kop's Torres chant!

His armband proved he was a Red,
Torres, Torres
You'll never walk alone, it said,
Torres, Torres,
We bought the lad from sunny Spain,
He gets the ball, he scores again,
Fernando Torres, Liverpool's number nine

Na na na na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
Fernando Torres, Liverpool's number nine

The Lovers

2008-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

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I grew up watching the Hong Kong movies on Saturday nights at 10.30-12.30pm.

Too many for me to remember every single one of them.

But I can vividly recall the movie, "The Lovers", adapted by the famous Chinese novel, The Butterfly Lovers, that I almost switched off my television set, thinking it was some boring "dynasty" show.
Thankfully, I didn't.

It has remained to be one of my favourite movies of all time.

Charlie Young, the saccharine-sweet face, pretending to be a boy in college to study, and Nicky Wu, gorgeous with a hot bod who fell for her, thinking that he was gay but eventually knew she was a girl. Their on-screen chemistry was perfect, alongside with the fact that they were dating for real at that time.

Movies that remain on my favourite list have the extremes. Firstly, those that made me cry buckets over and over again. Secondly, those that have made me wonder why I still laugh with tears even though I knew those jokes were coming. Lastly, those with plots that struck an indefinite chord in me such that I can never forget them.

The Lovers fell into all three categories.

I knew those teary moments were coming, but I still could not hold back my tears.

Blame it on missing the other half too much maybe, but this classic tragic love story is one that ANY SUCKERS FOR ROMANCE should watch.

Technically, I am not really one. Yet I still bothered to load the whole movie on Crunchyroll.

And cry through the 3rd hour in the morning.
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Yes, I probably am missing someone that much now.

Ps: If you are thinking why my first line is so, please watch The Lovers on www.crunchyroll.com.

When Cats Wear Socks

2008-07-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

I had the urge to draw. So I took my sister's pillow of Baby Sylvester.

Not bad, considering the last time I drew was... err... seriously, can't remember at all.

But what was different this time, was the attention from my brother that I got when I showed him this picture.

"Eh, kau tengok, Sylvester betul-betul macam Stokin. Kau tengok, kaki dengan tangan dia putih, badan dia hitam. Kenapa kau draw dia? Sedih ah!!!"
(Look at Sylvester, he is really like Socks. You see, his feet and hands are white, and his body is black. Why did you draw him? SAD!!!")

A brief introduction to Stokin aka Socks.

He is our favourite neighbourhood stray cat, a male cat that somehow captured our hearts with his errant headbutting and lovable stroking against our legs.

He's been missing.

Its been 2-3 weeks since I last saw him.

He responds to the name we gave him, Stokin, which we thought was apt due to his white paws.

We don't take care of him, nor do we feed him (the last time I tried giving something for him to eat, he refused it, probably the 2nd floor neighbours gave him cat food regularly).

But the reason for his existence is to be loved by us.

We don't know what fate he has met, whether he was finally brought home by some kind neighbour, or the worst possibility, whether he was culled or run down by a car.

No matter what his fate is now, I'd like to share of my brother's and my grievances towards him being missing.

He was there when I was happy and he loved me when I was sad. Stroking him whilst enjoying the cool breeze at the void deck was something therapeutic that I became dependent on.

He even followed me and DH like a dog to a flat 2 blocks away despite that not being his territory (that was Brownie's territory and that's another story). Snarling and guarding us from Brownie was practically his self-declared job scope that night while we both were chatting away.

And it is depressing me that he's not been around for weeks now.

Whatever your fate is, I'll always remember you.

I love you always, Stokin.

When It Starts To Hit Me

2008-07-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

To date, long-distance relationships (LDR) are nothing new in this world, what not with the presence of the internet. While it may seem unconvincing for some to work, there are many others which are grappled by the hope of the best to work out in time to come.

Personally, I'd never thought of myself going through the exact situation. Until my partner was posted to work in KL three months ago.

And personally, I'd appreciate it if people stop telling me, "KL is so near, not so bad what..."

Well, you can try being in my situation.

Even in the saddest case scenario, I found myself joking that he's now my part-time lover. One whom I'd date 12 times a year.

12 times in 365 days. 21 times in 21 more months to go.

Doing the maths has never gotten more demoralising than this.

For three months, I've been contented with irregular internet chats, being unable to Skype (due to some security reasons on his side), lagging video chats on Yahoo, 5-minute phonecalls every 2-3 days or so and even lesser smses.

For three months, I've been spending my free time mostly at home, sending CVs, watching Korean shows online, saving up my money and occasionally going out with the few friends I have whom I feel lucky enough if they were to have the time to meet me.

And during these three months, I have learnt some things on how to cope with LDRs:

1) Having a personal blog for each other. Decorating the blog with one's own pictures would be a bonus, although that would not exactly be viable if the couple have not taken enough pictures, or rather, could not be bothered to. Anyway, this personal blog would be a private channel of emotions between the parties, hence the link to connect each other through this portal. And a blog isn't enough actually. Sending e-mails constantly would help too.

2) Attributing an album for the partner on public websites like Facebook. Even though I like the idea of privacy for photos (no, stop thinking Edison Chen), uploading these pictures of some moments with him would somehow portray my crying out loud as to how much I badly miss him.

3) No matter how bad the connection is, having video-conferencing takes a partial load off missing the other party. I admit, I do not have to deal with time-difference, but since its so difficult for him to get online, its like a battle won when I got to see his face on the screen once every week.

4) Being busy would help a lot. So I'd hope to land a time-consuming job soon to get me not to be too absorbed in missing him too much.

5) Telling myself constantly, writing it everywhere such that I face the words all the time, everything would be for the better of the both of us in time to come, hence, carrying the hope of delayed gratification.

There are definitely other ways on how to cope with this LDR, but so far, these have been all that I've been relying on to cope with his absence. I was reading on tips online that they provide to cope with LDRs and there are definitely some which are worth trying out.

Like, having a shared moment everyday (having both parties to do the same thing at the same time that remind both of each other) and as simple as having a framed picture of us (as much as I can be a camera whore, I do not like the idea of displaying pictures of me and boyfriend, so I have to start embracing this idea).

Well, its not only I who have to stay strong, but he himself too.

So, for all those couples in an LDR now, hopefully, we'll get by it in no time.

"And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." -- Kahlil Gibran

Its a Girl!!!

2008-07-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

I got this from an article online.

"Is my Turtle a Boy or a Girl?"

This is difficult to tell is most turtles, until they are older. The males of all turtles will have a longer, thicker tail, with the cloaca located closer to the tip of the tail, whereas females with have a smaller, thinner tail with the vent closer to the main part of the body. In some of the more commonly kept turtles (Sliders, some Maps, Painteds, Cooters), males will also have exceptionally long foreclaws; the females having smaller ones. Males in some species will also display a concave or dented-in plastron. This is to allow the male to better mount the female when mating. Adult females which have laid a clutch of eggs will have a semi-pliable anal section of the plastron.

MALES		FEMALES

The females, however, in most species of turtles, will be larger...sometimes 4 x larger...than the males. And just be on the look-out - if you have a male, he might just prove it to you one day. This is called Fanning. This is completely normal, however, sometimes this fanning can lead to health issues - especially if tankmates believe it to be something edible and bite it.

Guess what?

I just realised, that Jazz, my fat terrapin, is a GIRL.
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After MORE THAN ONE YEAR.

The Power of Words

2008-07-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

The virtual world hails its name for the main reason that there is no need for two to see each other face-to-face or hear each other's voice like over the telephone. When chatting on mIRC became rampant, many schools demanded the students to write essays on how this could cause some detrimental effects on the new generation who were over-reliant on these tools. Not touching on virtual identities, the second most widely discussed effect was how words in the virtual world could cause misconstrued intentions or some breakdown in communication, such power of words.

In any case, I admit on having a larger exposure to the virtual world compared to some of my peers. Its harder to avoid such things if one is addicted to Facebook, has an auto-log-in to Windows Messenger and writes her opinion on a blog. While so, there have been a few instances where I encountered certain experiences that have since left me thinking, "Huh?"

I have an obnoxious reputation to do self-appraisal and sarcastic humour, but only reserving that to people whom I generally know well enough to take a few punches of that. No, in case you're wondering, my level of bitchiness has not gone overboard others' I know of, but that's besides the point here.

What kept me thinking, was how some people, who could claim to talk with such "humour", could take certain topics into an entirely different outlook. And what I've analysed is that syntax plays a whole load of difference when it comes to getting intentions or meanings across.

For example, we come across situations when some guy boasts that he could clear the pool table in less than a minute.

For someone who knows that he was just plain bullshitting, there are 2 possible approaches to that:

1) Please lah!! I know you better. So full of crap.

2) So, are you implying that you are good then?

Notice the different syntax in both sentences. The Singlish lah actually softens the first approach, whilst the incomplete sentences sends a message of a joking comment. Now, looking at the second approach, the complete (and correct) structure actually indicates rudeness or an emotion of dislike for the intended person, even if it is not intended that way. No doubt, everything is grammatically correct, but that's what I mainly reserve for my topics in my blog (with exceptions of correcting my friends' grammar while talking, plus making my own mistakes too, hey, I'm not perfect). Topics that I write as articles. Understandable, isn't it?

You could argue, maybe it is just me being sensitive to some people's so-called satire. But then again, was there such a need to use such language in a very public and non-threatening environment? Unless they bear a grudge against me, that is.

In these few instances, I cannot conclude everything to be true. Everyone has the right to say anything in the virtual reality. But many a time, there are more common situations where things are misinterpreted as easily as over the SMS, another virtual domain. You know, couple fights over unknown emotions that was meant to be sent across in those messages but was not perceived as so to the other party, I mean, how many times could those things happen to any of us?

I could only conclude that syntax and usage of words could either add to or weaken the power that words have. To add to the power of words in this context is to add to the sarcasm level such that there is a blurred line between enjoying humour or plainly being rude, whilst to weaken the power of words is to soften the meaning in the name of fun. By all means, choose either if that is your intentions, though bearing in mind, there is always a fine line that separates satire and rudeness.

Ps: The above example of guy who boasts about playing pool is purely fictional whereas the personal experience is true.

Flowerpot

2008-07-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

My plans since the past week has gone a bit haywire.

First of all, TORRES scored the Euro 08 winner. Oh my darling, I think you and I are just made in heaven, El Nino and La Nina. Perfect.

And I've gotten hooked to a Korean variety show, no thanks to No-Rain.

No, no, I don't mean that Korean singer Rain. Its my friend, she's had that nick even before that Rain thought of raining.

Anyway, this show is a must-watch.

Titled "We Just Married" (in some translations, "We Got Married"), it arrows in in 4 celebrity "couples" who are actually paired up for this show to depict a real marriage life.

Of course, its impossible to say the whole show is not scripted. But these celebrities are acting based on their real personalities so in some parts, you can witness the awkwardness between the couples as they struggle to get to know each other.

Call it a commercialized matchmaking service, maybe.

The title of this entry is actually a song that was featured in a very moving episode for a certain couple.

Alex and Shin Ae, the almost-impossible-to-exist couple. Not only they look good individually and together, their personalities are also almost the "match made in heaven" kind. Guy takes the main initiative for everything, guy cooks and sings for the girl, and be patient to her extreme shyness and introverted ways.

Like I've said, almost impossible to exist, maybe not the girl, but definitely the guy. Which real guy does that now?!!!

*suddenly remembering DH singing continuously in the car, everywhere and thought that I was partly lucky until I realised that he does not dedicate those meaningless songs to me. Plus he can't bloody cook nor takes the main initiatives most of the time.

But anyways, here is a video of the no.1 couple in Korea with a song I can only dedicate to the beloved who is working hard in KL with the translated lyrics.

And I'll always look forward to the fortnightly weekends like a flowerpot at the window still...

Randomness

2008-06-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

I could've sworn I saw a cat crossing the road using an overhead bridge. Talk about road safety.
A bride-to-be in a month's time was just a few inches away from being sliced by a gantry if not for the screams of her friend that she stopped moving. Now if it ever happened, that would top off my "How to become a bimbo" list already.
I am contemplating on dating my boyfriend in KL.
Ex-boyfriends are always deadly and sarcastic, waiting to pounce on you anytime on every single mistake you make, no matter whether the guy is supposed to bear grudges against the girl, or vice versa. Short to say, its always the girl being blamed no matter whose fault.
I need to lose at least 2 inches off my waist by August.
Between Fernando Torres and Sergio Ramos, I found myself unknowingly ogling at Ramos' ripping biceps. Yes, they were ripping that jersey of his.
Grammar mistakes CAN affect some people badly till they lay awake at night.
Snapple gives the best random facts on the underside of the bottle cap, like, a mosquito has teeth. So does the removable paper from the sticker of Libra's sanitary napkins. Yes, random facts are printed on those paper. Changing napkins has never been more interesting.
I wish I can draw like Yan.
I want to have a Persian kitten for a pet.
I am not so searchable on Google unless you really type in my pen name. Oh ya, I'm the fourth in the list.
By the way, my pen name, Ryu Arashi, is an anagram of my real name, just to justify the fact that I don't belong to people who have Japanese nicknames. I use this name for ambiguity purposes, and also to create a writing identity.

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By the way, Bumblebee has been found, safe and sound but a little traumatized.

It decided to be more intellectual and fashion-savvy this time.

It was found underneath a pile of newspapers and magazines.

Depressing Things That Keep Coming

2008-06-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

MISSING:
BUMBLEBEE
(again)

Last seen/played with on Thursday morning, 26 June 2008

Likes being covered under pillows, especially big cushions like above.
Toilet-trained.
Fussy about food; does not eat turtle pellets, only eats ikan bilis, carnivorous.
Did a prison break before; was found trying to make a U-turn outside neighbour's house.
Likes to drink water the unconventional way; tries to drink from splashes of water instead of gulping down in whole.
Moves by dragging its shell against the floor.
Moves very fast for a terrapin. Yes, it runs.
Always being bullied/bitten by Jazz (terrapin twice its size).

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DH: So, what's your plans tomorrow?
Me: Nope, nothing on tomorrow.
DH: Yeah, me too...
Me: Well, we could go out, only that we're both in different countries...

A long-distance relationship.

Necessary, unavoidable, but always having its downsides.

2008-06-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

N'SYNC - Gone

I've been sitting here
Can't get you off my mind
I've tried my best to be a man and be strong
I've drove myself insane
Wishing I could touch your face
But the truth remains..

You're gone..
You're gone..
Baby you're gone
Girl you're gone, baby girl, you're gone..
You're gone..
You're...

I don't wanna make excuses, baby
Won't change the fact that you're gone
But if there's something that I could do
Won't you please let me know?
Time is passing so slowly now
Guess that's my life without you
and maybe I could change my every day
But baby I don't want to

So I'll just hang around
and find some things to do
To take my mind off missing you
and I know in my heart
You can't say that you don't love me too
Please say you do

Yeeaah....

I've been sitting here
Can't get you off my mind
I've tried my best to be a man and be strong
I Drove myself insane
Wishing I could touch your face
But the truth remains

You're gone..
You're gone..
You're gone
You're gone...you're gone.. you're....
Gone

Ohhh...

Oh what'll I do
If I can't be with you
Tell me where will I turn to
Baby where will I be
Now that we are apart
Am I still in your heart?
Baby why don't you see?
That I need you here with me
Oohhh...

I've been sitting here
Can't get you off my mind
I've tried my best to be a man and be strong
I've drove myself insane
Wishing I could touch your face
But the truth remains

Been sitting here
Can't get you off my mind
I've tried my best to be a man and be strong
I drove myself insane
Wishing I could touch your face
But the truth remains

You're gone..
You're gone..
You're gone
You're gone
Gone
You're gone..

But the truth remains
You're....

Something for you to ponder about:

What if you were Justin, who's regretting everything and just wants the girl back? To be selfish then, and now to try turning back what is never the same again?

-- I am sure you know JT is a very egoistic guy, what not from his previous breakups with Britney and Cameron Diaz (bless Jessica Biel...)

Now, what if you're that girl whom Justin is pining for? Who has a new lease of life, and has moved on to other things, leaving no room for him? Who feels that its all too late for the guy to do just about anything because she's given him all the time and chances all this while?

I'm not implying anything... Am I? Hmmm...

My Desk

2008-06-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

(From left to right)
1. Red mini Mini Cooper: My dream car.

2. Photo frame: Picture of me and the Glitter girls.

3. Tower of colours: The 3 Rubik's cubes I own; 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4. I haven't quite solved the 4x4x4, a little lazy to explore for now.

4. Red Clock: Liverpool to tell me the time. :D

5. Body Shop Shower Gels: Reminds me of my Body Shop membership that I always use in the excuse of overspending, to not be cruel against animals, to conserve more than I usually do (they provide biodegradable bags), and how nice I'd smell after the shower. :D:D:D

6. Calendar: Its hidden at the back, that's why I can tell you the time but not what the date is today. I am never good with birthdays, that's why. :p

Winning Entry

2008-06-12T00:09:00.000-07:00

My love for writing was mainly spawned off by inspirations of my personal experiences.

Not everyone can be a good writer. I'm not saying I am a good one, nor a bad one. But I realised that it takes a whole load of wit and humour to put across a personal encounter and make it sound more endearing and funny than it originally was.

I would have to give it up to Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and The City for inspiring the mannerisms of my writing style. Ok, not exactly her, but the writer of the show itself, Amy B. Harris.

An insight of her interview and how she developed her writing, click here.

I do wait for the time when I finally would have my own column.

It'd be a dream come true.

But for now, winning entries in TNPPostwoman would self-suffice.

Thus, presenting, my winning entry of the Newpaper Postwoman.

Yes, its Sex and The City-related. :D

"Being a huge fan of Sex and The City, I was appalled by the fact that Parker was dubiously named “Unsexiest Woman Alive” by Maxim.

Forget about bad fashion line, look at even Kate Moss by Topshop which received a lot of flak. Yet Moss still maintains as one of the best-dressed women in Britain hence a bad clothing line does not exactly equate to being unsexy.

Parker may not be the most good-looking actress around but she exudes class and personality in almost anything she wears from head to toe, be it bohemian or cocktail-wear. She is one true fashion icon who could easily overshadow Anne Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada anytime, of course, with the help of Patricia Field. But then again, which well-dressed celebrity do not have any fashion consultant?

It is truly amazing that Maxim readers prefer Amy Winehouse to Parker. I vote Winehouse anytime for being the Unsexiest Woman alive. In my opinion, bad reputation precedes the dressing factor in being unsexy. The dramatic kohl and overdone beehive hair with all those tattoos just add to the unglamorous reality that she is just another drug abuser who happens to make good music."

Ps: The above entry won the writer a pathetic $50 Borders voucher. But her most memorable entry was her published comments on TNPPostman where Torres was the subject.

Wry Humour

2008-06-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

Satirical humour always rules my world.

It is probably why I get along well with people who love to fill their words with sarcasm, well, more or less in a nonsensical way.

My ex-colleague, Bean, is one such example.

To illustrate her wry wit, she drew a picture (please bear with badly-drawn objects) as a representation of our workplace.

(Please click for a larger/clearer image.)

The story goes like this:

Once upon a time, there was a cave with a group of cavemen living in it. Being a group of cave people, they were, of course, oblivious to anything that was outside of their surroundings. Unknown to them, a garden was growing outside their cave. Since the weather has been of hot and cold lately, they are optimal conditions for the patch of land to grow. Slowly, the Tree became bigger for the Tarzan to hang upon, the Flowers increase in numbers under the care of the Gardener and the grass became plentiful. Among these, stood the Crow, the symbol of omen, that overlooked the jungle, waiting to give any form of suspicious information to the ruler of the Forest. Above all, they had Superman to protect them from any other harm, with the Scarecrow to shoo off any small predators away. What they always never noticed was that Toad croaking among those tall grasses.

Now, of course, the rightful humans, aka B&B, were diminished in power with the intimidating presence of the Forest. Hence, B&B was not even drawn in the picture.

It is ok if you don't get the story above. It is just to illustrate how lame my group can be.
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Ok, coming back to my main topic.

Ex-boyfriends/girlfriends can provide one with the greatest ironies.

It would definitely hurt if one was to know her ex-lover was getting hitched with the very same girl he cheated on her.

The irony: Its most probably a shotgun. A 90% chance there.

Another irony also just happened to me recently.

Courtesy of an old friend aka ex-boyfriend.

A brief summary of the old friend's background is that he plays Scrabulous with me and we drop lame comments on each other's wall on Facebook. He is currently touring the world, at the end of some school competition he was involved in.

So he happened to put up a picture of the fast food outlet, The White Castle.

Now, I am very sure you guys are extremely familiar with what is mainly associated with the White Castle.

Just to give you an idea of how swords of words were somehow yielded, I will give you a group of "copied and pasted" comments of the picture.

Me: Wow, so where's Harold and Kumar? Or did you become Kumar? Hmm.

Him: its just a movie u know.... there really isn't a Harold or Kumar at every white castle in US u know... ok... hope u understand... dont be misled by hollywood...

Me (extremely annoyed, of course): Never mind lah... Some things get through to people, some things just don't...

Him: some pple jus don noe how to articulate their words... some pple do...

Most friends of mine have come up with a common analogy. Lets not go there, ok? But if you do want to analyse, please leave them in the comments, because I do want to know yours.

But I will end this post with my own satire.

Some men make you a part of their dreams. Others don't bother to because they see you as a hindrance. And its for the best that you stay away from the latter.

Obviously, I've found my former. :)

Batam Spa Villa

2008-05-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

It was unanimously decided to book the day spa at Batam after chancing upon the website. We'd have a 180 min spa, with lunch provided, ferry tickets booked, land transfer to fetch us from the ferry terminal and A COCONUT DRINK each.

The caps for the phrase above would illustrate the expense we went through to get that. Ok, exaggerating.

Coming back to this, I think we paid a comparably higher price than other spas on the island. But since we were all Batam virgins, we decided to not take the risk on being lost for directions so this package was just apt for us.

Putting on our stickers that said, "KTM Resort", a man holding up a similar sign greeted us and guided us to the private van that brought us to the resort. Ah, the feeling of privilege.

The journey through the hilly area was fruitful. As to how one of us put it, "Its a one-and-a-half lane. ANYTHING can happen with the half." But it was nonetheless exciting "like the F1", the occasional view of the sea from the road we took and the bends the driver manouvered through.

The lady at the reception greeted me by name. Yes, by name.

Telling us of our schedule, she gave us the directions to walk to the Spa Villa, with a map, reassuring us that we could use the umbrellas at the counter in case it rained later (it did).

We proceeded on to our package lunch.

We had tom yam, hotplate beancurd, chap chye, black pepper fish and deep fried squid (similar to calamari rings). Food was good, and we were all wondering if we would end up vomiting during the spa later due to overeating.

After resting for about 45 min or so, we headed to our scheduled 2-5pm spa, with no prior expectations in our minds.

This was the holding spa villa for our group.

Heaven was about to start soon, with me volunteering to be the lone ranger among everyone.

1. The foot scrub started first, with the ocean in full view. Exhilarating.

2. The body scrub followed, with coffee powder being used.

3. Then she applied the body mask, as I lay asleep and fully relaxed, not thinking of the lifestyle I had left for the day.

4. After wiping away the body mask, I proceeded on to the jacuzzi bath filled with some essential oils, for about 30 minutes.

5. Finally, what was arguably* the best part, the traditional massage.

Overall, I'd give the spa package itself 4 stars out of 5. Money well-spent, I suppose, with me feeling much lighter after the traditional massage. The only drawback was the weather itself, which was a little cold for us. This spa has the features of a romantic getaway, with the light music in the background , coupled with a beautiful setting of the sea as a backdrop. Too bad, DH was stuck in KL. :(

But the resort lacks in after-hours entertainment, being in a remote part of the island. What it offers are only billiard, karaoke and cycling. The swimming pool is a scarily-green-looking pool which no one, I suppose, dared to swim in it. As a result, I think a day trip was enough, despite the beautiful villas calling out to me. But I suppose the resort might provide coach services to bring us to the shopping areas, since the lady at the reception told us that it was just a little late for them to bring us around.

If I were to book the spa again, I'd go for the morning's schedule. Then I could spend my afternoon shopping!!! Hehe!

PS: The most essential things to leave Batam with are those black plastic bags, filled with kerupuk and other local items. The plastic bags MUST be black, and NOT emborsing any tinges of Singaporean logos.

*The massage was like a duel between Li and the masseuse, with all the "hard-thumping actions and noises", but no worries, she was all still in one piece and enjoyed the massage overall. Angel fell sick due to to unforeseen circumstances.

Tao Kae Noi

2008-05-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

The addiction came from the first packet.

And it has been a love affair ever since, for me, Penny and Bean.

Thinking it is just seaweed, something healthy, with "ONLY 8%" fat content, the trap was there for us to fall into.

Obviously, if you eat 10 times the recommended intake, you're basically taking in 10 times of that 8%.

And this article came out in Asiaone: The Trigger Food

Currently depressed over the kilos I have been gaining, I have started on a new regime.
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OTO Slimming Belt every night.

That Majority

2008-04-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

She prepped herself in a long flowing dress, haltered around the neck. Choosing sandals over pumps was what she opted for to make the look more casual so that she could blend in well with the crowd she was consoling herself to be with later.

The sweltering heat was expected, though she definitely was outnumbered by the red jerseys and shirts that were clouding the atmosphere. Being in turquoise was partly showing off her rebellion of not supporting the majority (in no other situation will you ever see her supporting that majority).

It was jittery alright. The match was action-packed as expected. Ballack's header gave her the hope that Chelsea could give an unexpected twist to Manchester United's security of the title.

Much to her chagrin, groin-injured Rooney scored from a Carvalho's mistake. How stupid. So stupid. And the cheers around her, including the boyfriend's. Oh how irritating. :p

Bittersweet revenge comes in at the most unexpected moments. Carrick's handball?? Even she, the anti-Manchester-United-fan did not fathom it. But then again, it was to Chelsea's favour, what had she to complain.

It was the arrogance of those majority that pretty much could annoy anyone else on earth. Those young people, aptly known as YP, who have pledged their undying support for the football club, were definitely ignorant of an experienced German's penalty kick, what not with the taunts and such.

The goal shut them up, and the girl in the bun and flowing dress stood out even more by screaming in happiness, much to the dismay of the boyfriend beside her.

Although he was not from that majority which obviously puts arrogance as a threshold of excellence.

The loss clearly affected him.

She was sitting by the river, awaiting for his disappointed friends, when he whispered to her.

"Dear, as much as you look so sweet tonight... I still hate you."

Magazines in the Eyes of a Reptile

2008-04-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

I believe that animals are smarter than we think they are.

Enjoy the short clip below.

The Connection Between Bumblebee and Mas Selamat

2008-03-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Its been close to a month of searching and yet there is no new leads of where the most wanted man of SE Asia is.

The whole idea of how he escaped is a definite cock-up on Singapore's security system and stamps humiliation on our country.

I saw glimpses of the news of the escape in our neighbour's newspaper, each time peppered with a certain smirk that our so-called best system has been ridiculed by the fact that Selamat escaped whilst on a toilet break.

There are too many conspiracy theories behind this escape.

Some people said that the authorities deliberately let him escape because they had implanted Selamat with some chip that could lead them to his nest of terrorists.

Others came up with an imaginative idea that he performed black magic such that his disappearance went unnoticed.

If that is the case, I believe that my family's turtle, Bumblebee, might have practised that same magic too.

I am pretty sure that some of you know very well that I have 2 dysfunctional terrapins that pretty much acknowledge each own's presence.

Once they start banging and standing at the corners of the tank (they have destroyed the first pump in this process), its a sign that they want to roam about the house.

We let them walk around, initially taking extremely careful measures, watching their every move, preventing them from going into corners that we might not be able to get them out of.

But as time goes by, we relaxed on our security, probably like Singapore's, letting them roam about on their own and explore the house at their own expense of being flipping over their shells after trying to climb on the wall's side ceramic tiles (they are absolutely ignorant of the fact that they don't have the lizard's limbs) and getting stuck at some dark corners, with no idea of how to get out of the situation themselves.

But Bumblebee, being the smaller one, was feeling adventurous one fine day.

It slipped out of the house's gate and was found crawling in front of the neighbour's house (which I believe Mas Selamat is already in Indonesia by now).

That incident pretty much forced us to keep a closer eye on especially Bumblebee, hence closing our door when it was up and about around the house.

Yesterday, due to a slight carelessness on our security measures, Bumblebee was nowhere to be found.

We were panicking, finger-pointing each other and after an hour's search, left devastated even before the whole devastating Liverpool's match.

I even knocked on the neighbour's door, asking whether anyone had seen a stray turtle, and my sister and brother went up and down the stairs, looking out for a possibly overturned traumatised turtle.

The night ended in conclusion that we had lost it, that someone had found it and either kept it or released it to the bigger home it might have always dreamed of, the reservoir.

Surprise surprise, in the morning, my dad found the quiet but still traumatised terrapin underneath the spot we all overlooked.

The prayer mats at the balcony.

It was probably telling us how much it wanted to pray.

So Sally's

2008-03-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

Warning: The entry you are about to read is not for the imaginative-deficients. Please ensure you have tissue to wipe your salivating lips in case you are not aware of yourself drooling.

The popiah, being one of my favourite food, is one of the delicacies that I would eye for when I dine out.

Just to give a rough idea of how I rate the dish, I give Qiji's a 7.5/10. The thickness of the sauce absolutely puts it above Banquet's easily, of which I grade the latter a 6/10 or less.

The worst of Banquet's popiah that I have ever eaten is apparently at the Simei's outlet. It was not properly rolled, and in addition to that, the sauce was practically non-existent (I had requested for chilli, which probably fell on deaf ears). The vegetables were also too soggy and tasteless and those peanuts simply made the generally bad taste even worse. That was my 1/10 popiah.

But I would like to share the popiah I rate as at least an 8/10.

My mum's.

I am not being biased, but I am going to share a little bit on what separates hers from the others.

She makes the sambal chilli as her primary sauce, unlike the black sauce in most. Whilst some Malay versions have this same idea, what they can't beat is the rich and sweet taste.

I can assure you the turnip and carrot remain crunchy even after a few hours of being "rolled in" as they are fried, rather than boiled.

And she includes a generous supply of cut up prawns.

For the more health-conscious people, my mum uses fresh turnips and carrots and uses mayonaisse (this is definitely not so healthy already) and chilli sauce instead. Equally delicious.

Now, saying all these only would get me nowhere. Humans are, after all, visual creatures by nature.

Presenting the popiahs my mum and I painstakingly made (of course I could only roll it) for an NTU function.

This is actually the famous popiah of Changi Superhub 2. If any of your family members work there under SATS or SIA (or any other airlines there), they probably would have heard of or even tasted it.

People there do bug my mum at times, requesting for her to make them the popiah or nasi lemak (the other one she's also known for), which she conveniently ignores due to the lack of time she has on her hands.

But currently, we're going to start selling the popiah on a small scale. Just some occasional weekend orders only, because my mother is still a full-time working lady.

Any interested parties, please drop a comment on this blog or email me at glamgerl11@gmail.com. Thank you! :)

Obsession

2008-02-26T06:45:00.000-08:00

For whoever in love now, especially my beloved friends and relatives, and anyone who could be reading this post.

Chris Brown's "With You" as my current obsession.

No, DH has NOT dedicated this song to me (or any other song that people had firmly believed he had probably crooned me with such that I had fallen in love with his voice instead).

And now, the video, capturing some of Brown's best footwork. So if you're not in love, don't fret. Take your time to master Brown's amazing steps.

Enjoy.

Bliss

2008-02-18T00:03:00.001-08:00

My virgin experience of being a WAG was as blissful as I had pictured it to be.

All the bantering in one of my previous posts about wanting to be one has not gone on deaf ears.

I finally could appreciate seeing the lucky man playing his soccer and even scoring his first goal for the team (it must have been my presence, so magical that he was inspired to half-volley that ball in).

In addition to that, it must be to my credit that I asked him to pick no.9 (read: Torres) and I told him of Gerrard's words for Adidas "Don't visualize beating the keeper, visualize destroying the keeper." So apt for the poor keeper.

By the way, DH is a Man United fan. Those words of mine must had been music to his ears.

Now, I just have to wait for Newpaper to take notice of me and feature me in their long-gone section of the WAGs.

Ok, I am kidding alright, I don't think I'll have the guts to compete against those air-soccerheads.

But truly, I felt like true blue WAG.

I was watching the game, with a mat spread out, and a big umbrella sheltering me from the setting sun, just short of shades to complete the look.

Valent Time's Day

2008-02-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

First of all, there is absolutely no typo error in the title above.

I wish to review Sofra Restaurant located at Beach Road Shaw Towers for giving me a hell of time wasted just waiting for the main course.

First of all, mispelling of my name on the reservation. Is my handwriting that awful?? I know it isn't. Bloody hell.

The setting was romantic, no doubt, with all the rose petals on the table. Don't mind my camera's flash; the lighting was dim, nice ambience no doubt.

Initial prompt service was given. My lentin soup, along with his cream of mushroom soup (one wonders why some people choose to stick to a Campbell soup taste when we're obviously dining in such style).

The heart-shaped bread that came with our soups, cliche I know. But cute nonetheless.

His lamb and beef kofte came a good 50 minutes after we actually asked the waiter to clear our soup and serve us the main course.

And then, came my burnt fried dory fish with cream sauce. Obviously, I couldn't finish it; not only the serving was huge, it came too late for my stomach, and yes, with that burnt taste to add.

Dessert called rowani (or revani) was then served 20-25 minutes later. By now, you can say it was already 9.15pm (and our reservation technically started from 7.45pm) so you could try to imagine our frustrations then.

Oh yes, while we had requested for our tea to come together with dessert, coming at a much anticipated period of 15 minutes after dessert came, the Turkish tea was probably really brewed from the country itself. No pictures by now.

I am only thankful that DH saved the whole day, by not turning up in some bouquet of overpriced roses.

Last, but not least, as a form of my random thoughts and personal encounter of February 14 2008...

I would never see road barriers in the same light again.

Ps: For more information of the road barrier, kindly get the details from the writer directly.

The Day of Cynical Love

2008-02-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

February 14 comes as the day for businesses to bank in on some highly insensible consumers.

Set meals come at super-high inflated prices that you could never think of paying for some grilled dory fish.

A la carte menus are scrapped off the menu, leaving these poor couples with no choice but to indulge in the 3-course meals that would probably go to waste, bearing in mind that the ladies probably do not wish for their tummies to bulge under that gorgeous attire they spent so much effort in.

And of course, the newspapers on Friday will probably be brimming with radiant-looking couples who would have proposed to each other the night before.

And did you hear about the dinner on the tram ride at the Night Safari? I'll give those couples a standing ovation if they manage to keep the food and wine in their stomach by the time the ride ends.

Which brings to mind, just why the hell do people still celebrate such a cliched day for... love??

Everyday should be a Valentine's Day for these couples.

Why bother spending a bomb on all those roses when they are going to wilt and die anyway.

Red will turn brown anyway.

As if you don't know how much money even the market florists would make.

That's why, singles out there should enjoy their singlehood during this day.

Its a day when they can save up on their retail therapy.

Although they may start singing to Celine Dion's "All By Myself", its ok.

You're saving yourself another heartache of smashing your piggy bank.

No, I am not reassuring myself.

In fact, for this year, for the first ever freaking time, I've already decided on joining the inflation period with an already deflated wallet.

And should you ask how much effort I've put in so far, oh you definitely have no idea.

What a freaking lucky guy.

The Closure, The Beginning

2008-02-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, you spend years trying to figure out those dreams you have of your past.

Most of the time, doing that only holds you back from what is ahead of you.

You just know that, deep down in you, those dreams happen because the other party also still have not let go.

It must have had been very difficult, I suppose, both parties trying to let go of each other for years.

And lastly, figuring out why both had to choose that option anyway.

But it only takes one final dream to knock the sense out of you.

The dream of a better future.

For that, I shall declare that that particular password-protected domain is no longer valid as of now onwards.

This is my new journey, and whether the road is a bumpy one, I shall embark it with my fullest dedication.

Ever Ever After

2008-02-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

My take on Walt Disney's Enchanted is simple.

Absolute brilliance.

Everything about that true love kiss is, of course, cliched.

But you'd still end up hoping that you will find that true love who could kiss you and make you wake up to the whole new world around you.

My love for this story spins from my childhood where my mother would come back from work, waving a new Walt Disney fairy tale video tape in her hand.

And my cousins, siblings and I would watch Pinocchio till the end.

We'd even prance around, singing soprano to "Be Our Guest" as that chandelier and Mrs Teapot, swaying our hips to that Hawaiian feel of "Under The Sea" in the Little Mermaid and try to imagine the carpet we sat on would fly as in Aladdin.

I love fairy tales... When the time is right. ;)

Till then, lets enjoy a happy song.

Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true 
Deep down inside we want to believe they still do 
In our secretest heart, it's our favorite part of the story 
Let's just admit we all want to make it too 

Ever ever after 
If we just don't get it our own way 
Ever ever after 
It may only be a wish away 

Start a new fashion wear your heart on your sleeve 
Sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe 
Unafraid, unashamed 
There is joy to be claimed in this world 
You even might wind up being glad to be you 

Ever ever after 
Though the world will tell you it's not smart 
Ever ever after 
The world can be yours if you let your heart 
Believe in ever after 

No wonder your heart feels it's flying 
Your head feels it's spinning 
Each happy ending's a brand new beginning 
Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through 

To ever ever after 
Forever could even start today 
Ever ever after 
Maybe it's just one wish away 
Your ever ever after 
Everever ever after 

(I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss) 

Oh, for ever ever after

That Plastic Bag

2008-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

My hate affair with trains has been extensively well-known among my closest peers. They make me stand from Bedok to virtually anywhere, whether its changing of the lines or not. Naturally, working in the CBD area came to pose a mental trauma to me due to the "die-die have to take train" thinking.

But again, I am truly blessed.

A private bus service, whether legal or not (in the words of Teh Halia), comes at 8.37am, right at the bus stop of my house and drops its passengers off at designated stops like Shenton Way, Anson Road etc at the price of $1.50.

An absolute solution of convenience for me, given that I sit all the way, aware of the 30 cents or more that I am saving, alongside with the extra time spent on my breakfast, makeup and hair.

Despite all these, I am still not blessed with one thing: Punctuality.

For 2 days straight in a row, I had to run to the bus stop, jaywalking the same road I was hit by the car before.

But again, I was greeted by positivity.

The driver actually waits for me.

Not only me, but the regular passengers that he could recognize their faces by. And he greets us as customers, not as SBS passengers.

True to amazement of this wonderful service, he came driving a different bus this morning.

I could not recognize it as it had no sign of the direction it was going.

But he honked at me and waved his hands, indicating that was my morning bus indeed.

What made this morning different was what made everyone smile as they boarded the bus.

Not the driver's enthusiastic greetings of "Good Morning!".

It was the plastic bag that he requested for the girl in the front row to hold the coins of the bus fare as there was no coin box.

Oh by the way, for the first time in my life, I received change when I put in a $2-note. Now how can that be similar to any other days...

Demise of a Talent

2008-01-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

For many news of celebrities' deaths that made the headlines, none of them actually moved me to pen down my heartfelt condolences in this public domain.

Until Heath Ledger's death was mentioned by the Flying Dutchman on the radio.

I was not in particular awe of him as much I wanted Wentworth Miller to be straight. But I do know that he definitely made one of my favourite scenes of any chick flicks in one of his breakthrough films, 10 Things I Hate About You.

This has just made me teared. It remains, to this very day, to be one of the best romantic comedies that I had ever watched. For this scene was nothing if it was not he who was clowning around the stadium and smacked the ass of the policeman.

Talking about clowns, I anticipate Batman's sequel, The Dark Knight, to be a huge success of his legacy. Here is the late Ledger in his absolute twisted form of talent, acting alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, the sister of his other half in Brokeback Mountain.

For related articles on his death, please click below:

Heath Ledger's death not suicide, says family

Hollywood in shock at Heath Ledger death

5 memorable Heath Ledger films

I am positive that there would be a tribute to him soon for the exceptional talent he had shown in the literary films that he had acted in.

And for that, I wish to offer my deepest condolences to his family and give my bow to a talent that we enjoyed for barely a decade.

P.s: This entry is dedicated to any fans of Ledger, especially EE who salutes his death at 28 and A who shares the same sentiments as the writer for 10 Things I Hate About You.

The Belated Best Birthday Gift

2008-01-17T04:05:00.000-08:00

I may be materialistic, I may be a shopaholic, but no person has ever hit the nail right when it comes to a priceless gift. Tired of waiting endlessly, I gave the hint to a close acquaintance what I would have deserved to get for the hours of coaching I had sacrificed for him.

A few books had been written about him on his heroism especially in Istanbul, but nothing beats reading everything from the horse's mouth.

My perception of English football has changed ever since I embarked on the journey of the Captain Marvel. Even the Manchester United's players, whom I used to hate like hell.

I hate to do spoilers for any Reds fans who have not read this book, but I can guarantee that 90% of you will love him to death, like I do now. The other 10% is reserved for extreme Manchester Utd and Chelsea haters of all time, where you'd probably hate Gerrard's words of respect for them.

He affectionately calls John Terry, JT, and Rooney as Wazza. They are good mates, really. No bad blood between them. Any enmity stays on the pitch and disappears once everything is over.

He admires these footballers, describing them in words as if he was a nobody. Always.

Call it humility.

There is no other words to describe a person already hailed as a hero yet admitted to "shining boots happily for Jamie and Dom", being ecstatic at just the experience of a small chat with Redknapp.

And his family that meant everything to him, everything that made him human after all, unlike the machine who steered the legendary comeback of all times in the Champions League.

And I am thankful for being given his generation to support the team for, despite not being able to see Macca's "sexy" dribbling (in the exact words of Jen, Macca's fan).

I love him to death. He's my ultimate hero, the person with no superhuman powers yet possesses the heartbeat of Anfield and fans all over the world.

P.s: Snippets of Michael Owen's life is also shown in this book so it was a 2-in-1 happiness for the writer as she still adores the Boy Wonder...

Save the Animals, Save the Planet

2008-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

Being treated to a whole shocking video of animal cruelty was definitely enough to kill my insatiable appetite to eat my supper.

If I could have my way, I wish to wage a war to the fur farmers in China.

I don't care if dropping a bomb on them would kill the bear cubs, but at least they'd die without being skinned alive.

Being skinned alive is not exactly dying as they were being skinned.

It is that they STAY alive even after they are without that fur.

And awaits till they probably bleed to death.

For more information, visit Peta Tv .

Oh no, how can you forget that the people there eat practically anything from insects to human foetus?

But of course, the bears are simply at the mercy of their soups probably.

Don't get me wrong, I am not going vegetarian with this sudden declaration of humanity.

I love my meat, and God gives us poultry for our sustenance.

I watched my sacrificial sheep being slaughtered till it died.

And I bore in mind that that would be the sheep I would be riding on in the afterlife.

But the only reason that the throat is slit first in the korban is so that the animal dies in the fastest way without being tormented much of the pain.

I am officially anti-fur, I am pro-faux fur.

I do not give a f***ing damn if real fur is a so-called mark of prestige. To hell with JLo and her stupid fur (hopefully she would have given up the real thing by now).

Save the animals, save the planet.

Lets do our part.

P.s: The writer is a member of Body Shop which is strongly against animal testing and an animal lover who sometimes still harbours the thoughts of releasing her pet turtles to the reservoir due to eccentricity of their behaviour...

Reminiscing 2007 and Hopes of 2008

2007-12-27T01:49:00.000-08:00

The year is coming to an end and people start making those new resolutions that they probably would never fulfil even half of the list in the year to come. The year had been bittersweet for me and right now I wish to share my recollections of this year's memorable events and personal development that shaped me to what I am today:

1. I decided to do a "Matrix" on a Hyundai Accent. As much as I do not adore the brand, it was something I did try to run away from, but unsuccessfully. Hence, this led to my knee to be screwed in with a metal plate that would probably the reason why I might not pass through metal detectors again.

2. As to how Twinny 1 put it, it was the year when "Singapore Swing" was not a bash. Instead Singapore swung twice and put me in that dizzy spell for that few seconds.

3. I abandoned my deepest desire to wear a cloak at the launch of the last Harry Potter book. That affected me... for a few hours until the postman delivered my brother's copy right at our doorstep and I had to wait an agonizing 2 days to read it.

4. I decided to abstain from dating for the rest of the year since April. And I have been successful. Only 3 days left to count down. Please be proud of me. :p

5. I quitted 2 bad habits; the on-off puffing and biting my nails. The latter had been kind of tough during my recovery period, what not with the pain and absolute boredom, so... I need to kick it back again in the coming year.

6. The reminiscing of our NACLI (Sec 3) camp crushes amongst Twinny 1, Jen, A and me. Absolute stupidity for the reasons of the crushes. Shh...

7. I was forced to model for Fujifilm. Just in case you see my photo when you are looking through Fujifilm demo photos, please tell the promoter to tell Vincent (photographer) I want ALL my photos. Especially the gorgeous ones. Thanks.

8. The signing of my El Nino by Liverpool for 20 million pds. Wow. Can that guy who already scored 15 goals for the Reds get any hotter??

9. FACEBOOK. Friendster is so passe; now I can throw sheep at people and buy my naughty friends the kinkiest stuff. In addition to that, since I don't gamble, I just predict outcome of soccer matches by which I am very good at, compared to the guy friends. Oh, one of the international friends I made in there actually include a Scouser who identified me as a Reds fan from my nick. How cool is that.

10. It is the year of the missing eyeliners. My Avon and Body Shop kohls have mysteriously disappeared within weeks of buying them. To date, I bought 4 eyeliners already. That's equivalent to 80-90 bucks of eyeliners alone. Damn.

11. KARAOKE. I'm od-ing on it already due to passing on the hobby to relatives and other friends. But I have got to admit, at the very least I still have some voice left after screaming (not singing) to Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone", not bad after all...

Hopes of 2008 (in no ranking order of complications):

1. Arsenal and Chelsea (showing signs already with the 0-0 and 4-4 draw) to start losing points and Ferguson showing signs of a heart attack at the bench ala Gerard Houllier so that Manchester Utd becomes chaotic and that Ferdinand starts leaking in the defence and goals. Its a hope that can evolve in terms of imagination as long as Liverpool finally wins our first premiership title in 18 years.

2. To visit Anfield with The Cow and be cheering at the match. The real LIVE match. Lets save the money, girl.

3. To wear my heels again. Pray for my full recovery...

4. To quit my nail-biting habit. For good.

5. To be back in the dating game. Move over rivals, here comes Ryu.

6. To hear good news of my students' O-Levels results, well, they'd better give me good news.

7. To have more money (duh, who doesn't hope for this...) for shopping.

8. To go for more occasions where I can finally wear my unworn dresses.

9. To not let my eyeliners go missing. Seriously.

10. To own N81. ARGH!!!

11. To be loved by more and more people, this probably being the most easily-achieved hope of all since I am such a lovable person by nature...

Lastly, please enjoy this short video of this stray fat turtle roaming in my house...

Six Years On...

2007-12-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

The clock ticked midnight
Made one fall prey to fatigue
If not for the rat race,
It'd still be six in the screams of unison
While I glanced upon my mission,
To destroy her blacks
And never to look back,
Her mind travelled the space
As she mumbled, six years,
Six years on...
Our strength has persisted
Even beyond our own expectations
Of the friendship forged
The melody and words haunt us
For we're still keeping the ties
that bound us since the chapter began

Ps: The writer is sore about being unable to complete her mission to destroy's Glasses' black troops in Risk despite being undeniably close to ripping them apart...

Why Hady Won Asian Idol

2007-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

1. For a song that shouts triumph (Gemilang), Jaclyn sure didn't sing it as if she was in one; what Ken Lim said was true, that he felt it was like a routine for her. And seriously, just how many more times can you sit through that same song she over-performed?? It only proved one thing. She was not stretching her limits and the song was her comfort zone.

2. Abhijeet's "Look Into My Eyes" was draggy and yawning. Period.

3. Mau was purely showing off her vocals. There is a fine line that separates Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey (the latter was definitely breathless trying to reach her own notes of "We Belong Together", call it ambitious). And she lacks the X-factor. Need I say more?

4. No doubt that Vy was as sweet as candy. But as much as her powerful vocals was showcased in her English number, her Vietnamese song pulled her down, no cotton candy could save that. In addition, she probably earned the envy of too many girls who thought that she would one day run off with their boyfriends.

5. Mike, touted as the hot favourite, looked too much like an Asian Ruben Studdard. Being relatively seen as a "weaker" (I beg to differ, of course) counterpart to America, him being chosen could result in the lack of originality that Asians possess. Well, you can't blame them fully, what not with the rip-off music and films that so many Asian artistes and directors are guilty of.

6. Minahs of Indonesia and Malaysia probably was praying for this good-looking chap to come and perform in their countries. They also might hold the hopes of him choosing one of them as his wife. Hence, the majority of the 2nd votes that Hady won by. Although his choice of "Beautiful Day" was bad due to the lack of his vocal showcase, it proved one more thing. The song, previously sung by the winner of World Idol, had that good luck charm that might have been rubbed off by Bono due to his humanitarian efforts.

P.s: The writer admitted that she did not cast a single vote for Hady as she had planned to, being utterly disappointed at his choice of songs. Also, the Liverpool game (that they stupidly lost) was weighing more on her mind than Asian Idol. Nonetheless, she still feels very proud that Singapore has Hady Mirza to boast about to other countries.

Disclaimer: This entry is written with no intentions of insult to any of the idols above. Its just a more comical approach.

For Stupidity and Love

2007-12-12T23:47:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the life of Jazz and Bumblebee, where they indulge in utter stupidity, yet showing that they'd never give up once they're... stuck on doing some things.

Lo and Behold!

I shall give you a preview!

For more spastic turtle videos, please visit STUPID TURTLES .

You Sexy Thing

2007-12-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Sexy has been brought on an entirely different meaning for some fanatics.

For some 2 girls of the Kop, sexy can be subjectively defined as a bloody lip and a weave through the opponents.

It probably puts these girls in a league of their own when their Liverpool had some fantastic win in the middle of the night.

I was romancing her boyish skipper, and she was with my El Nino.

In our dreams. Literally. Make that on the same night.

Its just an undescribable telepathy.

We actually exchanged our loves temporarily.

Not that either of us is complaining.

Except for the part when we had to wake up. :p

Vocal Randomizations...

2007-12-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

SCV is like a God-send. For many movies that I have basically missed and thought I'd never watch them again, they gave me that second chance.

I started singing to Sound of Music, the movie I never could quite appreciate in my younger days (I seriously had a bad grasp of English where I could not understand British or American slangs). And so I went, opera-ishly... The hiiiiiiills are aliiiiiive, with the sound of muuuusic... I am sixteen, going on seventeen (oh yes, I wish I am)...

Oh, how about The Bodyguard? That actually stirred up my personal vocal playlist where I'd yell out "I wanna ruuuuuun to youuuuuuuu" on just some random mornings and my sister would be yelling at me from downstairs to stop the singing. Geez. Well, in the first place, I really have no idea who to run to. But hello, I ain't that bad a singer, ok? Ok, maybe Whitney Houston isn't really my cup of tea. Heh.

Its fine. Dearest brother made me organize a karaoke outing with my uncle and family and our cousins. He's paying so I don't have much problems with that except that..........

WHY MUST MY WISDOM TOOTH AFFECT ME AGAIN? AAAAAAARRRRGH!!!

Deja Vu

2007-11-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

If anyone were looking into flashes of my current life from a camera, just watch this episode of Brothers & Sisters.

Oh, somebody tell me how I can't help it but feel for Justin, his crutches and wheelchair. Oh and the attention too... :p

Dad, Mum, Brother & Sisters

2007-11-21T22:13:00.000-08:00

My latest addiction has come in the form of the Brothers & Sisters (B&S), the drama that revolves around the Walker family. Somewhat a more mature theme than Seventh Heaven as B&S pictures on mainly the complications that arose with the sudden death of William Walker, the head of the family.

I hold in great affinity of the close kinship that the Walker siblings have with each other. What I love about the cast is the great chemistry that the actors and actresses have as a family that it clearly slips off my mind that they are not even a real family.

The main thing I love about the drama is the family love it showcases.

Coming from a family of six, relatively the biggest among my paternal side, we're a noisy bunch of people.

Raising of voices to get things done and screaming at each other's throats during fights are a norm to us.

But, so too are sitting together at the dinner table, watching television shows and having discussions as a family.

Maybe I am lucky that I even share a joking relationship with my dad. Most of the time, I'd comment on his ever-growing-bulge of the tummy, and other times, I'd end up ignoring his demand of attention each time he said he wants to start bowling again. And he would still depend on me to wake him up for the 3am Liverpool matches.

My mum has a favourite daughter. But no, it isn't me alright. But I would like to think that we've all, if not, almost grown out of sibling rivalry. Every one of us would get differing amounts of attention. Technically for now, I'm the one with the biggest cut due to my current condition and although I am not complaining, I would not mind not getting the bi-hourly calls from her. Despite her quirky and bimbotic ways (which I suspect what we girls inherited from her) and her career, she still is the mother who rushes home to cook, do whatever laundry she can and prepare stuff for the family.

I am extremely excited at the future addition of a family member in the form of a sister-in-law. She is definitely someone I am very glad that my brother has chosen to be with. Anyway, I would never have thought that I could come close to being this cordial with my brother as a previous entry had stated how much bullying I was put under my brother. And as the only guy among the siblings, there are always times when there are accusations of some abuse of power. But thank God, he's still the brother who lends me his PSP to play Burnout and offer me the drive to beat his record.

My younger sister, officially the third sibling yet always mistaken as the eldest (I still maintain as the second, just that my eldest brother tends to come across as the third), acts as the biggest rebel among us. Always pouncing on some opportunity to wear my clothes despite the fact that she is 1-2 sizes larger than me, she poses as my wardrobe's wrath. No prizes for guessing that we'd usually end up screaming at each other for the same reasons. Yet, being a fellow volunteer in the same organization as I am, we're inseparable as one of the group of "volunteer sisters" where we are each other's pillars whenever we can be.

Now, coming to my mum's favourite daughter, my baby sister (ok, I know she's already going on to 16 soon but I don't care, she's still my baby) whom I am missing terribly now that she's in KL for her CCA activities. Let me correct what's in the brackets, she isn't only my baby, she's everyone's baby in the house. Everyone (except my dad) creeps up to her when she's asleep and tries to coo to her with the potential risk of her screaming in her sleep to get off her bed. But she isn't perfect. In fact, I do scream at her (I told you we're a screaming family) if I am not satisfied with her actions. Oh, I miss her so much.

I hope our kinship will stay this strong as always. Its my only wish for my family, my home.

I cannot ever imagine having to live my life without any of them.

Guilty As Charged

2007-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons why the government passed a ruling that stated family members of habitual gamblers have the right to ban them from gambling in the upcoming casinos.

They say, old habits die hard.

It works the same as paying for bills.

Some people just don't learn their lesson from the first, second or even third time. Wait, let me correct it. FOURTH &$%#ing time.

To a person whom I had dated before, I have a message for him, clear and bright, in this public domain, lest he forgets to check his email.

The handphone line he was previously using was under my name. Yes, the foolish me actually had the heart to use my particulars to apply the line for him because this person owed huge debts to Singtel, M1 and Starhub (best right??).

So 2 years later (needless to say, he was out of my life soon after I applied the contract for him), he asked me to terminate the number as the contract had already expired.

While I was doing so on the phone with Singtel, they recommended me a light usage line for me with a renewed contract as I could get a free cell. They assured me that they had updated my billing address as they needed the correct address to mail the handphone to anyway.

As months went by, I had received none of the bills. It should be the 3rd month bill coming soon.

%$#@ fact 1. I called up Singtel and I realised they had not yet updated my address. So it was actually mailed to the ex's house instead.

%$#@ fact 2. The outstanding amount read all the way from June and under the previous number 9******9, the bill had chalked up to $161 right before I changed the number.

Once a debtor, ALWAYS a debtor. Guilty as charged.

Ps: I will recover all $161 from the concerned party. Watch me.

Behind My Silence

2007-11-19T01:09:00.000-08:00

The truths behind my condition:

1) I can hop and balance on my right, uninjured leg. But only for short distances of 2 metres and periods like 10 min maximum before the right feet start hurting like mad.

2) I can bend my left knee fully (180 degrees). But I am still on a non-weight-bearing condition, which means, there is no way I can exert any form of pressure on my leg. That also constitutes to the necessity of both my crutches.

3) I don't only have a fractured knee; my broken pelvis is still not fully healed yet. So I cannot sit or stand for a long period of time.

4) My leg needs elevation all the time actually. Or else the feet will swell up like elephantitis (it once did).

5) Only God knows the pain I bear beneath my smiles (plus makeup and nice clothes.....).

Yes, I am very glad if you can detect my displeasure from above.

I do say my mind openly. But i shut my mouth and stay silent if the situation does not permit anyone to lose face.

So as to say, I was really %@#*ing pissed at a recent ceremony. At the inconsideration of certain people who probably never understood the significance of crutches.

I don't need sympathy, I just need people to be considerate of my condition.

Some people just need to grow up. Desperately.

Of 23 and 27

2007-11-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

The reason for my second entry of the day is extremely obvious: I'm dying of boredom here.

Since my previous entry was dedicated to The Cow, this shall be more of what everyone can enjoy reading about... well, not really everyone.

I wish to state my long-overdued complaint about the Football Channel aka Channel 27 of the SCV.

Its extremely idiotic, complete with the bad receptions that ESPN rarely had, and the worst thing ever... James Morrison and Co.

Watching Football Focus on ESPN just now, I realised how much I missed John Dykes and gang. Their discussions remain intense, objective and could keep non-fans of the mentioned teams even glued to the programme. Whilst Shebby Singh was extremely irritating last season, suddenly his irritating words came as a welcome to "normality" (this is partly due to him declaring that Liverpool would win the BPL this season). And just now, together with Ian Rush and Steve Macmahon on the show, it felt so complete. Even their non-fans would end up listening to all commentaries because of the seemingly seriousness of the whole discussion about the different teams.

Even if there isn't Football Focus, there is the Nokia Football Crazy with Kui Jien and Jamie Yeo as their hosts. The show that focuses on the wackiness of football fans who would appear wearing their teams' jersey to pledge their allegiance to and go through a series of games of fun. Sheikh Haikel has never sounded as crappy as before with his undying love and support for Liverpool.

The 2 football shows that makes me smile or laugh as always. Or bang my forehead hearing negative forecasts.

Its at this point of time that I wish to kill Starhub for making the lives of BPL fanatics miserable with the existence of Channel 27.

The stupid commentaries given by James Morrison, some irritating face of a bugger, are never strong enough to capture the fans' attention. When half-time commentaries were always welcomed, now its a time when my dad switches channels. Nothing they say would keep us glued to the channel.

Maybe its the lighting at Dubai, like what Glenn Ong said on the Morning Express.

Maybe they just can't attract the best-looking commentators like Jamie Redknapp *drrrrrrooooooooolssss*.

Maybe they just can't get legends like Ian Rush to cross over from Football Focus to Football Channel.

Or maybe, its just James Morrison who seemed too easy-going to host the show, like he's never serious enough about the whole football thing.

If this keeps up, its really not good for the newer football channels.

For the fans too. We'll keep complaining... via the Morning Express to Glenn and FD.

PS: The writer is extremely annoyed at the obvious favouritism of the Football Channel that telecasts MUTV, Chelsea TV, Barca TV and missed out on LFC TV totally. Even the Thais can afford the programme...

A Year in the Life of Steven Gerrard

2007-11-14T04:57:00.000-08:00

For my hardworking Cow when she finally has the time to watch it...

Just make sure you have something to collect your saliva, girl.

Ps: I expect a form of gratitude from you back ah... I want the same sandals by Gisele Bundchen. :D

The Reasons

2007-11-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

Many times, I run into personal comments of friends that revolve around them not reading this blog, mainly because I sound too vague in my entries.

I am known to be a person who has a reason for everything... well, almost. Which is a big cause to not pick any argument with me as I will provide any form of excuse for every bit of my actions... which boils down to me being a headstrong person.

Coming back to my vagueness in most entries, I ascertain myself as not being comfortable enough to provide the details of my life in this public domain. I'd prefer keeping my opinions as objective as possible (that does not apply to soccer anyway) and stay away from divulging too much of personal emotions.

Blame it on bad experiences. In the world of blogging, you can't win everyone's hearts; this is what you call yin and yang. For every positivity, there is the negativity to deal with.

In other words, dealing with judgements that are unjustifiable was what I have hoped to avoid with my current style of writing.

I stay away from penning down my love life. Being both a heartbreaker and getting my heart broken are enough for myself to handle. But of course, musings about the past is inevitable; its the only way to keep myself sane after everything I have gone through.

I am going to give an exception this time. I'll provide the brief reasons of the existence of my "Strike-off List".

I would hope to not date anymore ex-schoolmates. This is highlighted by the fact that any guy from my batch would know about an infamous past relationship of mine due to an ex-boyfriend who hailed from every school I went to.

I would hope to not date anyone who supports other teams than Liverpool. Being an ultra-sensitive maniac about my favourite team, I hate being taunted at for supporting the "worst team in the BPL", or so, in their own words.

I would hope to not date a guy who is shorter than 1.7m tall. It isn't about being superficial about not being able to wear my heels but I do feel extremely awkward if he isn't taller than my younger sister. By the way, sister is all of 1.69m (figures rounded down) and hence my yardstick of 1.7m.

These main 3 items of my "Strike-off List" have been provided with some kind of leeway, of course, if the guy's worth it. :p

I know I sound like a diva with these demands but I just can't seem to help it. Sorry.

Another big part of my life revolves around my friends. Maybe I've attracted some negativity that feel my friends can be too good to be true, or I just exaggerate the truths behind our friendships.

The truth of how I've maintained my undying friendship with these few people is that I simply managed to keep the backstabbers and hypocrites off my back over the years. Yes, dealing with these people isn't exactly the rosiest thing of my life and I was driven to many corners at times by their actions. But looking at the positive impact, I know whom to keep out of my inner circle. I don't really die without them, in fact, my life goes on better without them. So, what's the point of keeping them, right?

I would not deny that I have made some undesirable relationships in the process, what not, with my ever-so-upfront comments. You can partly blame my dad in passing those genes to me; I say out my displeasure the moment I get agitated with something.

Yesterday, a close friend suggested I should write a book. Its tempting but like I've said before, I am not blessed with divulging too much of my life. Even if its fiction, I am not equipped with the art of spinning tales like some backstabbers.

Yet, I hold a dream of writing a column in some magazine, hence my pen name being Ryu Arashi. That is the biggest reason for my style of writing. I wish to be like Carrie Bradshaw, except you won't read about any sexual experiences like hers.

ANYONE GOT LOBANG???

The Signature

2007-11-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

In case you think I have lost my 'signatured' touch to penning about soccer... Heh! Sorry! Too bad!

Ok, the best birthday present was definitely... Mr El Nino's goal. Oh yes, I could include an orgasm seeing the hottie snug it in between the defender's legs. There must be some form of magical chemistry between him and me that he KNEW it was my birthday so he got match-fit and scored it for me. I knew there was telepathy. :)

There you go, my favourite over-the-top paragraphs about whoever I swoon over in Liverpool. You can't really blame me, can you? After all, the Barclays Premier League has been my permanent form of entertainment on weekends.

There is an upside of being incapable of spending my weekend nights outside. I catch up with almost every other game... that doesn't bore me. Of course, that includes me leaving the tv set after seeing Ronaldo kick in 2 goals no thanks to the stupid Blackburn defence.

On another hand, I'm so happy to have made more soccer-smsing friends this season. AZ had the sudden turn of allegiance to dedicate himself to watching Liverpool when I could have sworn there was one time he was telling me to give up on them. EE, an ex-schoolmate, and a Man Utd fan, is the one who irritates me about the strength of his team. So I channel that irritation to a former student of mine, Romeo, who loves and adore Arsenal.

But of course, no Chelsea fans among this smsing thingy.

No chemistry probably. Either you have it or you don't (I'm sorry, I like stealing lines from Grey's every now and then).

By the way, I am quite irritated by the WAGs section of the Newpaper. Some of the ladies there declare their affection for whichever team their men supports (Man Utd mostly, no second guesses) and they barely know the freaking game. This only strengthens those male chauvinists' opinion that women who watch soccer only watch the guys. Yeah, whatever. Hello ladies, at least know what a penalty is. Don't drop my waterface.

And of course, that section also gives me the only reason of frustration that I am unattached. It was so made for me, my team, my favourite players, my inspirations...

I would have made a perfect WAG for the Newpaper.

The Butterfly Effect

2007-11-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.

I hold in great awe to this movie attributing to the phenomenon. It was not only about how Evan tried playing God by changing his past, but for the main reasons why he did so.

By the way, I had taken a module explaining about the chaos theory mentioned above. I slept through most lectures, complete with falling notes following slipping desks, yet only listening closely to that particular lecture about this theory.

We often ask ourselves, what would and could have happened if we were to be that butterfly.

If I were that butterfly, I'd flap my wings to knock me out of my deep thoughts that led me to my accident.

But then again, if I was never knocked down, I'd probably never known how much my family and friends love me. :)

There can only be repercussions if we were ever to alter the smallest bit of our past.

Still, it keeps you pondering over which bits you want to change for the sake of someone you love, be it a lover or family member.

But of course, like they say, everything happens for a reason.

And as to how AZ loves saying this, "That's life."

The Ultimate Motivator

2007-10-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

It was love at first sight and feel.

It demanded that extra attention in a crowd of its own kind.

And it was my biggest splurge before my timely mishap.

Meet my biggest form of motivation, my biggest current love.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Its a 3.5 inch to be exact (I just had it measured).

I am giving myself 6 months to wear this.

I just can't smile, smile without you...

2007-10-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I love that oldies song. Don't you??

For periods of downfalls when one needs guts made of iron + aluminium + copper + manganese ++ (read: alloys) that have strength, free of rust and colourful, there can only be the true friends (minus family members) to the rescue.

If you can't get what I was trying to point out, never mind. But just to note, I am not a major in Chemistry. I am just trying to share the burden of The Cow, with her taking her Masters in Applied Chemistry (please applaud together with me if you think she's insane). And don't say I didn't warn you of any geeky comments.

Ok coming back to the story, ever since my mishap, I've been overwhelmed by the attention that I got. Its absolutely astonishing to know how accurate rumours go travelling until it came to the ears of people that I am still "amazed that they are still interested to know about me". It puts a big smile on my face that I have probably made such a remarkable existence in their lives. :):):)

But of course, nothing beats the people who made it a deal to hold my leg when I had to be wheeled into the washroom, ate her lunch with me, etc etc etc.

Although the nurses were gushing as to how true friends I have in them, they replied by saying they hate me. Yeah right. :p

And one thing took the cake today.

It was a blog post dedicated to me. That, I was really moved. Thanks again, son.

Those made the iron. The aluminium was probably the unstained friendship I have maintained with all of them, whether from secondary school, college or university. And the colourful metals... Their personalities speak for themselves.

And I'd like to end this post with a quote of the day:

In any community, there is bound to be a target that people will make fun of. And it just so happens to be... her, no matter what their reasons are...

Yeah, its a strange quote. But it got me and the Glitters laughing like hyenas.

Hospital (Part I)

2007-10-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was never hospitalized in my entire life. But predestined things in life just got me magnetized there.

For starters, I am amazed at the number of needles that had spent their mere seconds to days in me. But I know now, the pain of diabetic sufferers, for example, since they have to inject the insulin themselves. Seeing the blue-black marks at my hands, arm and leg, lets just say I feel them now.

Being a patient in 2 different hospitals in 15 days also made me do the unexpected: I started comparing which hospital was better in the different ways.

I know, its bad enough I have caused a dent in my parents savings for my hospitalization and operation, but, hello, the bottomline is, they paid. And I am supposed to feel the comfort from there (that's what my dad even said to me apparently).

So I was not happy with a certain hospital's "doorbell service". Terrible enough, I could even make my way out of the restroom (with the help of a kind soul who handed me my crutches) and washed my hands when the help finally came to me. The same hospital had the typical hospital food, which I can't really complain much coz they are supposed to be hospital food anyway. But too bad, I was met with high standards at another hospital that offered probably normal restaurant-quality food. And I am still salivating at the thought of the fried chicken chop they served...

Ok ok, I am a foodie. I am naturally choosy over quality of food, wherever I am, in whatever condition I am.

Moving on, I wish to thank God for giving me a new lease of life. Of coz, no one really knows how I feel when I start imagining a bus running over me. :p

I wanna wish my dearest AZ too for putting up with my whines and demands to come to my side for 2 nights in a row and spending time with me till late then. But of course, I think he freaking owed me that time for not visiting me during the earlier hospitalization. Ok ok, baby, I'm kidding.

To my one and only Glitter who showed up, Bo-Kin-Kin, thank you my dear for showing up wearing the same of pink as the bed curtains. :):):) Ok, I shall not tease her too much, once school holidays start, I'll be at her mercy to plead with her to let me go out. Heh.

And thanks A&W for coming with a Cleo and loads of crap to pass my boredom. Although I cannot really buy those pretty stuff now, its a good good issue this month. ;p

Nah, one of my rare public thanksgiving moments just passed. So don't expect more in the near future.

Right now, diclofenac and paracetamol have clouded part of my mind. So I'll just save my best bits for tomorrow. Till then...

All Knocked Down

2007-10-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

I think many of my friends would have known by now that I am currently being warded at Changi General Hospital for being involved in a car accident. Just to avoid myself from having to repeat the same story a million times, I'll say it straight here.

Okay, I am not exactly fond of crossing at the traffic light junction in front of the flat I live in. So I jaywalk, like all the time because it is nearer to the lift landing. And so, I did my normal jaywalk route last Sunday when I was going home after tuition. It was my fault that I failed to check before crossing the lane nearer to my flat.

I'd need you to imagine The Matrix. From my point of view, I just saw everything spinning around. If you were to ask me whether I felt any pain as I landed on the car's bonnet and smashed my pelvis into the side-view mirror, everyhing was just a blur. All I remembered after that was me trying to drag myself onto the pavement at the other side. It was then I realised I could not even walk.

The Malay family in the car that knocked me down did help me. They have even visited me quite a few times at the hospital. Nice family :)

Anyway, I realised quite a few things from this accident, aside from the dangers of jaywalking. Heh.

It just wasn't my time yet. As I was lying at the left lane, the traffic lights turned red and stopped all the oncoming vehicles.

I took many things for granted, like going to the toilet. Due to my broken pelvis, I am currently on R.I.B aka Rest In Bed. No getting up. But of course, as if I could when I cannot even sit up on my own without assistance.

I wish to thank all those who have taken all the trouble to visit me. I really really appreciate your gestures. You guys have made the past 2 days an enjoyable stay here. And I wish to also thank a certain friend who made it to my ward near midnight, despite the fact that he was probably tired after work.

And my family and relatives... No words could explain how much strength I had gathered to overcome this obstacle. And for my sis, I know it always has been a love-hate thingy with her, but for staying by my side yesterday and helping me to reach for things and such, I really am thankful to God for having such a sister. And Siti, no, I did not treat you like an amah. Heh.

No worries people, I will stand up on my own soon, thank you for all your concern... Ciao!!

Ps: By the way, I am using my laptop in the hospital now. I never knew there was wireless here until my dear sister told me.

OD

2007-09-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have OD-ed my online accounts.

I just realised I have too many Internet accounts that I cannot keep track of, much less remember even the user IDs.

I remembered registering under a certain website for blogskins about 2 years ago.

Just yesterday, I found myself as a non-identifiable user on it.

No trace of any of the nicknames that I possibly had used back then.

Sheesh.

Coming back to the main subject, let me just type as many accounts as I can recall in this virtual world.

Blogger, Friendster, Facebook, Shutterfly, Photobucket, Youtube, Imeem, Neopets, ESPN/Star Sports, 2 Gmails, 2 Hotmails, 1 Yahoo...

These are the ones that I somehow manage to log on to every time despite the fact that I have to stare at the screen for at least 5 minutes when the password box comes out.

Its been proven.

I'm just an Internet geek.

EHM

2007-09-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

I refer to TNP's Adam Hashidy's column in the 1st Sept issue.

In it, he defined an EHM lady, mainly known as Emotionally High Maintenance.

And I have finally found my identity.

To sum up what it actually meant in the article, a lady who is EHM is actually a financially-independent lady who "acts all ballsy and confident. but when in private, needs all the attention she can get and that means her man must be a giant sponge."

Adam actually finds it a problem to deal with this type of ladies, and I actually indentified the main reason why I have been having so many failed relationships.

You see, I am known to be someone who embraces the ideas of going Dutch, burning holes in my pockets everytime I step into Zara and never fully appreciative of expensive gifts and even flowers (except faking it up front to make the guy feel better). I have this weird notion of materials' inability to make up for true delivery of emotions. But of course, if any one of you would love to sponsor my next shopping spree, it would be of great assistance.

Talking about flowers, I remembered being envious of girls who received roses for Valentine's Day in secondary school. But after receiving my first bouquet in college, I realised I didn't miss much; it was the note attached to the flowers that meant much more, from what I remembered, that is. And expensive gifts like branded watches and jewellery was never the top of my most favourite gifts either.

For Adam, I would like to remind him that in most cases, the men who can really appreciate the EHMs are mostly attached or married. The single ones are probably in a 11:1 ratio of minority. And Adam, I would not think you are included in this group of study.

So, in other words, single women like me, have to fight our claws to get into the books of the single unit ratio.

I can safely say most women are EHM. The rest are probably MHM (Materially High Maintenance). And trust me, these women burn a hell lot out of their men's pockets to buy the latest Louis Vuitton than the EHMs burning the men's energy.

I want to summon the ladies a question, who doesn't want a man who can make us laugh and be there for us when we need them?

Adam probably has never met a MHM before, I reckon.

For one thing, being an EHM, I fully appreciate the guy to double up as my best friend, just like how Zahari has been for me. If the guy can't make me smile and laugh like how he does with his sarcastic and narcissistic jokes, I'd send the guy straight out of the door. But just to set the record straight, Zahari and I are strictly platonic best friends for 9 years who date each other out of convenience since both of us are single anyway.

When I am free, I would end up messaging or calling him if I know he was free too (which is rarely), even in the middle of the night at 3am. That's one of my typical traits. So I am still bewildered as to how a guy I previously dated termed me as "possessive" in that sense when I clearly did not control his freedom nor was I jealous of every single feline who messages him. I seriously feel for his lack of command in English by which, in other words, he had proven his insufficiency in intellect.

Yes, the guy must be my Aunt Agony. Ask any happily attached or married guy out there whether they are not one to their partners.

So Adam, you just failed to realise, the EHM ladies are actually simple ladies who can buy their own diamonds and hence save you from hanging by your neck on the credit card debts that your so-called "kampung girl" would cause you if you upset her more than once a day. If you think we could be insensitive to your hectic schedules, trust me, it takes a mere sweet reply even after two hours' of meeting to put us on cloud nine. And we do expect to be your Aunt Agony too so you could vent out your daily frustrations at work on us. And there you have it, communication, the most vital part of a relationship.

In conclusion to search for your "kampung girl", you should try to go for foreign brides matchmaking agency since you probably don't see communication as much of a priority...

Ps: Much to the amusement of my friends earlier on, I mixed up EHM with EMH. I must have been thinking too much of physics e.m.f...

-- originally dated 1/9/07

The Class 'B' License

2007-09-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to propose for a new license in the making: Class 'B' license.

This license would not somehow be in demand, but it gives people their rights to act beyond traditional and acceptable behaviour, mostly girls.

You would not want to queue to pay to take the test, but you would secretly hope you'd have it at the back of your hands.

You see, this license allows the smartest girl to be an airhead yet turn into a word-welding piece of weapon.

My Glitters and Korean family happen to have this license at our fingertips. We are university-educated girls (and guy) who still experience uncontrollable fits of Bimboticity and Bitchiness.

For this license, I can assure you that I have passed it with flying colours.

I pushed a trolley of boxes, unglamorously, into the wrong office because I thought I was on the right floor. And I walked out back with my head up high despite the very obvious part where people there realised I went to the wrong floor.

When you run into situations like this, its best to have the license... At the back of your head. :)

-- originally dated 27/8/07

Like Glue

2007-09-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

If Ms Waty of St. Hilda's Secondary School happened to be reading this entry, this has no coherence of whatsoever with her no.1 idol, Sean Da Paul. Ok, maybe a little.

Songs stick to your head. Like glue.

I am a Class 95 convert. Through and through. It gives me hits of the 80's, 90's and the present (not to mention the 2 tickets I won to watch The King And I. Thank you Carol!!!).

In this case, I'd have to admit my age. Fine, I'm gonna be 23. And it also meant that I lived through the same exact generation of songs that Class 95 plays.

Be it the Spice Girls "Wannabe" or George Michael's "Freedom",it relives back the good old times. You gotta admit, as much as you wanna criticize them, you were still crooning to Backstreet Boys, right? Heh.

But I'll give you another way to revive the classics aside from being passive, just listening to the radio.

K-A-R-A-O-K-E.

Do up videos of you, stupidly singing your lungs out, to Cranberries' "Promises". Complete that with maracas and tambourines. Oh yes, ensure proper lighting. Kindly ask the counter to provide you the room with disco ball lighting.

When you sing to "Stop" by the Spice Girls, stand up and do the dance together with your buddies. Do not assume you won't be seen however; the waiter might just barge in to give you the bill while you are in the midst of prancing around.

Learn 'new' old songs. Make sure you have another friend who knows songs that you don't have any tinkering of like "The Bohemian Rhapsody" or whatever its name is. See what I mean?

It is guaranteed, that after you get out of the karaoke session, the songs will really be stuck in your head.

Like glue.

PS: No actual 80's babies has been harmed in this entry despite the utter embarrassment that the experimented people had to endure.

-- originally dated 31/7/07

Public Displays

2007-09-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

It was a close friend's question that got me questioning myself on certain shows of affection.

A.T: Ryu, how would you feel if you see your classmates openly hugging each other in front of you?

Me: Erm... I guess that's a question that you can ask... Mun?

(Ok... That was part of an inside joke. I can see some of my blog readers sniggering away already.)

Truth to be told, when is it ok to display your affections for each other publicly?

A.T's experience was such that he wanted to go up to those classmates of his to make small talk with them. But he withdrew his intentions when the couple suddenly gave themselves a BIG HUG (one that beats that of the Teletubbies'), clutching each other so tightly like there is no tomorrow. They didn't realise that their friend was too embarrassed to acknowledge his presence.

(note: it was a very crowded shopping area.)

Some people argue, its so sweet. They're in love, let them show it to the world. Embrace each other's love, what's wrong with it... Singapore's in dire need of babies. Make love, then make babies. Yeah, what you read in between the lines of those "Uniquely Singapore" commercials.

Maybe there's a thin line between envy and disgust.

Some people are just not so apt in seeing such overt displays. They believe that you can simply show too much affection not meant for other strangers' eyes. Especially in such a crowded area. We're in Singapore, with Asian cultural values. As to how Westernised we can be, you have to bear in mind that we have an ageing population here so most of this "ageing population" still bear those conservative values. Not only the elders, there are some younger adults who prefer to keep their utmost attraction to each other on a more discreet level.

(well, unless you're in Paris maybe?)

As to how discreet some levels that can be...

In a highly technological country like Singapore, most of us own internet access in our homes. Sites like Friendster, Multiply etc and blogs have been connecting people from all walks of life. You Friendster-hop, you blog-hop, and you get to know other people's lives, view their pictures and such. A highly-encouraged activity by enthusiasts of the Kaypoh industry.

The word "public" may probably be applied to the Internet world by now. As one of the inactive enthusiasts of the community mentioned above, I clicked onto a link that another (much more active member) friend had provided in her blog. She had indicated that it was highly recommended to read that blog for laughs, anyway.

What's new... A blog war. If you have Xiaxue vs Dawn Yeo (or whatever her surname is), we have the Malay community battling it out with one another via blogs.

But that entry of the blog was really witty and funny. With anagrams of real names, she hit it out at another blogger with her sarcasms lined with humour.

Again, I think of the same thin line. One that separates envy and disgust.

From the comments that she got from that entry, it seemed that the other blogger was "waiting to be blasted". I did not view that "victim's" blog but what I read was that she had put up overt displays of her seemingly perfect life. Some people backed her, saying that the witty blogger is just plain jealous of the "down-to-earth" blog. But at the same time, many more were agreeable on the fact that the other blog was written and decorated on such an exaggerating manner.

By the way, the subject of the blog war was the other blogger's birthday party for her one-year-old-son and the displays of the expensive birthday gifts her son got.

For me, its simple. I have a separate account for a blog and an online photo album (which I only give out the link exclusively to some people). I hate uploading photos on blogs itself. I mean, how long do you have to wait for probably 10 or more pictures of unimportant things* to be singularly uploaded onto your blog entry?

Of coz, I don't deny some people probably have a higher threshold of patience than I do.

So there you have it, Public Displays.

* "unimportant things" may include displays of affection (yah, the hugging, kissing etc), expensive gifts etc that you know has little relevance to the blog entry itself or nothing much to have a caption about (in other words, the pics are just there coz they're there).

PS: The writer has acknowledged herself as being one of the "more words, less pictures" bloggers. She has refused to max out the 50-pictures space in Friendster and prefer that her words express her a million than the saying of what a picture does.

-- originally dated 22/12/06

Her Gems

2007-09-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

For the years of being together,

Feeling ever so protective of each other

From giving the fiercest glares,

To being the ones who truly care

They who have kept her sane,

And the rest who kept her amused amidst her pain

Even whilst nursing a broken soul

Is where their true beauty unfolds

Unbelievable moments that give them away,

Like no other dancers could ever sway

Mistakened amongst leaves as a dead crow,

In some juveniles' uproar

Notes serving as reminders thus far,

To sit sideways on a vespa

Knowing truths never been as great,

As laughing and falling off the bed

Amongst them, existence of invisibility

Had never been a reality

Until the involvement of that signboard,

And ignoring the owner of a tagboard

How much they mean to her,

Would never compare to any diamonds or pearls

Everything they've made her smile for,

Priceless in comparison to any Christian Dior

They are her strength, her friends,

And they are forever her gems

-- originally dated 17/8/06

Childhood

2007-09-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

in a few weeks' time, blk 119 bedok north rd will juz cease to be a memory. the 4-room apartment will be sold off and my nyai will come back n live in my house instead. i may not have lived there like my cuzzins after my yayi passed away. i guess for those 2 sisters, its even worse as the attachment to dat house is even greater after staying there for 2 yrs with her.

children nowadays go to school as early as 1 1/2 yrs of age. playgroups, montessori... juz wat else do they lack of? childhood.

growing up in a grp of 5 in dat house was like a free playgroup. there we were, my bro, me n my younger sis along wif the siblings cuzzins of ours, constantly playing n watching tv. my bro was the only guy, n since he was the eldest among us, he sort of bullied the rest of us.

wen we played "masak-masak" with the cooking utensils toys, he made us serve him as he was our "boss". n he'd criticise whoever had the "worst cooking", wic often, was always his first younger sis as the 2nd one was "too young to cook".

wen i was curious bout sesame street n wanted to watch on channel 12 (dat time there wasnt anything like kids central), he snatched away the remote control n switched to G.I.Joe, wic bcoz of dat, i cld never appreciate dat cartoon till now. n also y i never really knew the characters and songs from sesame street and barney.

he'd "organise" our 50m sprints along the corridor with him having the biggest advantage coz he'd position himself in the middle so dat he had the biggest space to run. the rest of us had to endure certain detours coz there's wat u call laundries and plant pots at the sides. n not even once he lost to any of us. n my youngest sister wld always be trailing behind, to the extent of being the guinea pig to be scolded by the irritated neighbours coz the rest of us had already passed by then.

wen i wanted to play "masak-masak" on my own without the other sidekicks, he ordered dat i keep the toys. instead he took out his whole army set of figurines n made me take the soldiers. only the unarmed soldiers. n he took the army tanks n other armed soldiers. before i even figured out how to play dat, he shot all my soldiers dead.

after our "mengaji" classes, my bro would lead us to the nearest playground. the gals (inc me) wld take off our tudungs, pull up our kain-s and run towards the playground together with the other boys of the block. then we'd play hide-n-seek (wic is dumb lah coz u so can see wer whoever was) n the chasing game ("kejar-kejar") wic was the favourite. my grandma wld end up screaming at us from the 6th floor to go home n all of us got caned after dat.

he created the fact dat the elder ones had the bigger say than the younger one. he got to be the best cartoon charaters. he was "fire" in captain planet and since my elder cuzzin took "wind", i had to be contented with "water". her sister had to accept reluctantly she was "earth" and my sister... "kau amik heart sudah." for ninja turtles, i was happy being "donatello" coz he was the smartest one anw (ehem!) n while there's only 4 turtles, my sister... "kau amik april sudah." sumhow now then i feel for her. she was like the "belen-belen".

it was juz those days that wld always make me smile everytime i passed by that area. the days wen "aksi mat yoyo" instead of "hi5" filled our lives, wen i knew more super marvel heroes than the cute carebears; spiderman, x-men, ironman (wic only captured the interest of my bro), fantastic 4...

i looked around under the blocks of flats of singapore. its very rare to see such happy times that the kids enjoy nowadays. those left playing are closely supervised by their parents or maids while those who werent... well, many (not all) do not seem to balance between schwork and playtime well. wic was wat childhood was bout in the 90's. fun with responsibility. at least, for my family i guess. n for many others too.

i'd never knew wat i've learnt from having these memories until i grew up. i've learnt to share, i've learnt to be contented with not having everything dat i wanted, i've learnt dat a drawn hopskotch, chasing games, "zero-point", 5 stones and others were more fun than the most expensive toys... i've learnt dat many many things can never be bought... lessons of life in a certain 6th floor unit of blk 119 bedok north rd.

i'll probably cry wen the keys get handed over to the new owner. :p

entry dedicated to: shahril, siti, mila and kai

-- originally dated 25/7/06

A Guide On How To Become A Bimbo

2007-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

1. twist or fracture your wrist by sitting on ur own hand.

2. take a cab to a destination where the cab fare will cost you $2.40.

3. lug ur heavy laptop to sch (or anywer else) and forget about bringing the adapter or battery (do dis twice pls!)

4. trip in the most clumsiest fashion, face flat, in front of a gd-looking guy, a junior to be exact.

5. insist on pushing the door wen it clearly states, "PULL".

6. set up a group wif a sec sch-ish stupid name and ensure the members consist of overaged gals.

7. print the how-to-change-passwd manual, and be proud of it.

8. install and use msn messenger yrs after everyone else has it and show off dat u have a display pic.

9. coo while reporting strength to ur mum wen u reach sch, finish class, gg for lunch, setting off from sch.......

10. have ur backpack stuck in between train doors in an empty carriage.

11. tell ur prospective bf dat the only thing u noe bout soccer is dat there are 10 men in the team.

12. depend on ur frenz to open ur canned drinks for u.

13. be 100% unaware dat there is ice-skating in singapore.

14. give ur soft-toys or pillows dat u sleep wif stupid names like fifi and bebe.

15. send a mushy msg meant for ur bf to ur father whom u are on ur way fetching.

16. type an sms talking bout a particular person, mention the name in it and send the msg to the person himself.

ps: dis entry is based on the writer's personal encounters and her frenz'. no bimbos have been harmed in the making of dis entry.

-- originally dated 28/3/06

Welcome!!

2007-09-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

For my readers of my Friendster blog,

I would like to say a BIG BIG HIII to all of you.

I think this blog will be easier to go to and also comment.

Feel free to say your opinions!

P.s: I will be moving some memorable entries from the Friendster blog to here. See ya all!!