Silent · Solipsism

I really do solemnly miss my friends and family here. There's this inexplicable familiarity that I had grown so comfortable with and yet have taken advantage of. Studying overseas taught me that lesson. I suppose like Juno, you don't know how much you've missed home until you've been somewhere very different for awhile.

So I am typing this, all red eyed and tired after just coming back from Kenneth's 21st birthday party at Sentosa. I feel bad that I did next to nothing when it came to his birthday preparations. I had personal agendas I had to take care of but I know that it is not a good enough excuse.

Great party though.

I suppose I should write this down before I forget. There is this spot in Singapore where I really love to walk through. It's right next to Bukit Timah Plaza and only reveals itself truly when I return home late at night when nobody's there. Just the long paved road and street lamps. My sleep-desired state of mind cannot articulate it into coherent words but it is the only road that I feel ...well...cliche and lame as it sounds... feels mine.....

ah well. till the next post. a plus tard.

i hope nobody comes here anymore. yes, so i'm back and alive. i really miss the friends i have in singapore so it was good to finally be able to see them. Been busy meeting up with them, and I realise that one can indeed spend close to S$20 on public transport in 3 days! shocking, but oh-so true.

Food, glorious food. No more slurry-ed victuals or grossly over-priced fried rice. I'll miss the hawker centres.

Random thought: was on the mrt today and saw the hackneyed video about a suspicious looking big, black bulky bag that allegedly contains C4 explosives. At the risk of getting apprehended for disturbing the peace/terrorist thoughts, etc.. I believe there is a lesson to be learned from this. If you want to bomb something, use a white, dainty Prada bag lined with C4 instead of the suspicious black bulky bag. And lose the hat, they know who you are anyway, prepare to die. Unless you're mas selamat.

well happy new year everyone.

people have commented my style of writing is offensive, so i shall try something a little different. i don't want to offend anyone.

cny was a little different this year with my sister and everyone reacting to my german bro-in-law. made friends with a few of my cousins, finally. had the messiest lao yusheng ever.

time these days have been spent between meeting up with friends and packing. met up with various ppl but the highlight has got to be me and zy being impromptu tour guides to lyn's jap friends, ayumi and fumi nohara. we had tonnes of fun esp with my halting japanese and lynnette insulting me being the source of laughter.

today i met with the band geeks for a final batch outing. i finally realise after all the presents and well-wishes, that that was the final time i'm going to see these guys, who have been pretty much most of what my social circle consists of. watched juno and well it's true isn't it: "I never realize how much I like being home unless I've been somewhere really different for a while." and it is soon and i do want it to go well.

really liked juno. it's a chronicle of a pregnant teen. i like the fact that they did not attempt to gain the audience's sympathy by showing how victimised the girl is and starting the water works. it's quirky and yet sick and happy and thoughtful all at once.

blah.i don't know what i'm typing anymore. till then. cya.

p.s. is that how you see it? an immature brat who gave you hope and on a whim decide to destroy it? how can you even say that...

I realise that the office computer doesn't support as many text formats as my home one does so if you're reading this in Comic Sans font and not Garamond (i believe that was the font i chose) then you probably spend too much time in the office. Coincidentally I do and have that much leisure time to blog in the office.

Had Golden Pillow for lunch, a name I've never associated with victuals but with the really old ch8 drama. A fact that amused my colleagues greatly. Also admist the chatter about korean dramas and their associate hunks, have found out the external auditor everyone was gushing about is Mikail, indonesian chinese and works for KPMG.

Right but that isn't the point of this entry. The thing is I went for the UWA pre-departure seminar yesterday. I realise there are 857463590159 kewl ppl there and I wonder if I'll fit in. Spoke to a few people that paul introduced me too. Well, just one: David of the Muscles, with the perfectly set teeth, charming wide grin and puppy dog eyes and the strong firm handshake with the sinewed forearms. He was like a homo-sapien Autobot from transformers and me a teletubby whose only cogent form of speech is "again! again! again!" like a broken tape recorder. Plus the fact that he was from ACJC says it all, or more than a geeky RJC kid with a fat content of 50% and absolutely no sex appeal. Plus he was the guy who took a photo with FELICIA CHIN!!! The famous photo that circulated so wildy over OA when she filmed godknowswhat show. I could only stand to watch the first 10min of it, afterwhich I made my escape when the Marigold commercial played featuring the dancing cow with a crown of bananas on its head. Yes, I do have a huge inferiority complex issue going on here. And it didn't help when Qi'en popped in and I didn't have anything much to say except, "have you packed?"

I dunno, I suppose I'll find my niche somewhere out there and if not I'll probably get used to watching porn in my dorm and fantasize about my non-existent social life. Egad. So I thought paul meant,"it's better to be a dog than a jock" when he actually said,"it's better to be a dork than a jock" the latter making more sense to me. And yeah I agree it's better to be a "dork" than a "dog" when compared to a "jock". If that's how I am then so be it. "Cool" is definitely not an adjective I'd associate myself with. And while I think it's only right to compromise myself for social recognition, it must also be said that beyond a certain point, me wouldn't be me anymore and that's more important to me than having the right to be associated with some fraternity. I probably would never be happy with myself if I constantly rely on others for a responsibility that should only be mine. However, it's also equally wrong to be a total social outcast either. It will only lead to suicides, madcap shooting sprees and online videos full of angsty vitriol with a guerilla inspired theme. So in essence, it's finding the healthy balance that matters...

Because a certain entity I shall not name has raised concerns about the irregularity of my posts, I shall do so at his behest. Although it was only 3 weeks since I last posted and I don't find that irregular.

Anyway, certain events have made me reach the conclusion that no matter how tiresome, irritating and utterly bothersome other people's personal lives are, it is not up to me to want to try to do something about it. It is certainly not welcome and very unwanted even if it gnaws at my senses and vexes me to no end. It must also be said that it isn't within my personal juridiction to be at all affected by it especially when it has little if not none at all to do with me. So the conclusion reached is actually (ipso facto) to just...chill. Let me however, have a last word in this matter before I put the proverbial swan to sleep and its song in the bin (frankly I think I've used swan song in a context far removed from its original)

Sometimes I think it's more appropriate to choose hate, if not just intense dislike than to have a long drawn out battle of emotions that I can never hope to win. The repurcussions, time and all other associated effects are too high a price to pay for the effort needed to sustain it, and foolish if you ask me. I guess there exists within others than myself a primordial and carnal process that I can never hope to understand. And saying thus, should not expect others to possess similar opinions about it as me even if I think it makes the most sense and appeals most to common logic faculties. In lieu of that however, I'm glad you chose to come to hate me instead of pining for a friendship that was but can no longer be. I really believe it's healthier for the both of us when a firm, cohesive conclusion is reached although it probably isn't the most ideal outcome we both would have hoped. Of course there'll be regrets for what I did and how things turned out but nevertheless we both have moved on in our own ways. And though we'll probably reminisce (I know I will) and sigh wistful prayers, some things are best left where they've gone. So thank you and I still really hope your own prayers are answered.

Okay, now that that emotional BULLSHIT has been dealt with, I've been recently bombarded with depressing comments about my choice location of study (what's with the emo dude...) and well all I can say is I have to take this one step at a time. I have well...come to far to turn back now.

Nigel's birthday party today and his parents are probably the only pair of adult figures of mother and fatherhood I would label as cool. Giving him a STUDIO and a BMW for his 21st birthday all the while socialising with all his friends and dishing out commentaries that well... did not land too well with me. THAT aside, is totally cool with nigel mentioning about himself getting pissed drunk two nights prior and then subsequently plying him with ALCOHOL through a baby-feed bottle! Gosh, my parents would practically disown me if I had his lifestyle. BUT that doesn't mean what he's been doing is anti-social and bad, in fact he's shown that with good sensibilities, it is possible to be wild without going astray. Kudos to him for that.

I realise updating one's details of one's life requires a certain fortitude that I find lacking in this self.

So 2007 has gone and 2008 is here. While everyone is taking stock of the year that is gone, I think I should too. (grammar be damned) I spent half a day at work, amusedly listening to office bitchings and gossip. Then it was Thai Lunch with my brother and followed by Les Miserables with TSF. Travelling to woodlands is like a journey to hell. There are always so many people carrying a huge assortment of plastic bags blocking your way, then the air-con is never quite cool enough. In fact I found it lukewarm, which made me wonder what's the point of having an airconditioner if all I breathed was recycled bus-cabin air. In fact I believce if I stayed longer than the 45min it took to get to woodlands, I'd have turned blue and comatosed.

It took us forever to find a suitable power point to plug my charger in and when we did, got chased out as Javert rose into an operatic aria about stars and law and justice. The venue was changed to Macs where I felt the environs insulted the musical to such a degree that I wondered if anyone other than the both of us knew what was playing on the laptop's lcd screen as we MASTICATED our fries in an effor to make them last. (yes i'm an elitist bastard, get out of my elitist uncaring face) Nevertheless, it was good to see TSF after so long (it also didn't hurt that she dished out compliments. heh.)

Dinner and come beer time at Olio in Holland V with paul, yy and jon gan. It was an interesting discussion of certain personalities we're all acquainted. As the crowed rose to a ruckus, we sorta realised that 2008 is here together with our Hoegaarden. At this point, waiting for my hair to dry, with exhaustion bleeding from my eyes, I can't think of a single thing to say. Except, happy new year and I wish everyone a great 2008.

P.S. Sisters are coming back today/tomorrow. I wonder how it'll be like from now on. I've gotten quite used to living without one of them.

Ok. So this entry is a little late, but whatever.

I went to watch the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) with osh last sunday at the esplanarrd. The repertoire that night consisted of: Mendelssohn's Overture to a Midsummer's night dream. Beethoven's piano concerto no. 1 and Rachmaninov's symphony no. 2 in E Minor. First surprise of the evening was that they bumped up our tickets from Cat2 to Cat1. Seems like Cat 1 was too expensive and the hall would otherwise be empty. But hooray for us- that was a lesson learnt: never get the most expensive concert ticket, get the next most expensive one. Singaporeans are too philistine to go for such concerts and esplanade or rather the sun festival gets desperate enough to throw tickets out to any tom dick and harry. Osh was convinced that an event as classy as this one would bring the audience in with suits and tailored pants so he made the both of us wear at least a pair of proper pants and a long-sleeved shirt (which i refused to wear down and buttoned at the sleeves). But lo and behold, we spied an uncle who came in sandals with be-socked feet. haha. And of course we saw Mr.bravoandhiphiphooray but that's a story for another time.

The overture was a very neatly presented opening piece and although the pianist was brilliant who made short work of the cadenza, I found the concerto a tad bland, that Beethoven still had not matured in his concerto compositions. The interval came after that and we chatted with Brandon and fiancee for abit before we got seated for the main course, the symphony.

By jove, when I heard the opening bars I was totally unprepared. I mean I heard the piece over and over before the concert so I would be prepared to expect certain things. I was literally blown away. I loved how the brooding and mysterious-like lower strings wove into the melody. But the third movement was the one I love the most. The repeated theme of this symphony's motif was re-textured into a beautifully rendered romantic-style melody. And it's in this movement when the whole symphony reached its climactic moment. It's so wonderfully saccharine it was a great musical orgasm to me. I felt like I could be there all day, night, everyday. A pity about the clarinet though, it was so reedy. Nevertheless, it was excellently interpreted and played. The whole orchestra was incredibly balanced in musical overtones, every part weaved seamlessly into each other. The result was a very pristine, accurate, an almost overt flourish but yet so deftly controlled that you know the orchestra got its head screwed on right. I felt the double bass were the champions of the whole symphony, providing the sonority and resonance of it's notes and yet never overpowering the higher strings. In short I now know what a professional orchestra is supposed to sound like. It's like the whole orchestra was one and yet whole, not an assortment of parts I've come to associate other concerts that I've been to with. There was a standing ovation of course, but I was just so moved I sat there and hoped to recollect all the euphony that just occurred an hour before. Brilliant. I don't see why anyone would be hyped up over trashy metal bands like megadeath or black sabbath. As far as I'm concerned, they're relegated to the deepest depths of the musical equivalent of a garbage landfill.

Stayed over at Jon's house after that in Tanah Merah where I lost $15.80 at the Mahjong table. =(

Oh and today when I was chilling with jon and yy after frustratingly collecting 2 measly clearance signatures, this guy approached me. Allegedly he was from some modelling agency and thought I had "potential" so proceeded to take down my contact number and gave me his name card. Well since this was the THIRD time anyone has done it to me in the past year, I figured I shall just indulge myself this once. I know I'll probably be asked to pay 54136846 bucks for some dumb portfolio but then I'll know they're just out to get my money. Haha.

P.S. I ORD in less than 12h. Finally. 'Nuff said.

I'm really tired... Like so exhausted my eyeballs are just going to drop out of their sockets and grow nipples. Great then i'll have four erogenous zones on my torso. ("torso"... has a very...masculine ring to it doesn't it eh, hawt stufff?)

Anyway for some reason I just can't sleep. Went out today with the OA/geek gang to chill around (can you really chill "around"?) Collected my ray-bans which according to Osh makes me look uncl-ish. I think it was an insult along with all the other insults and pseudo-compliments and various variegated (now it's a leaf. did i even spell that correctly?) references that I now associate -okay i don't really know what to say now so i'll just leave it blank for now. i.e: forever-.

So on my way to collect my sneakers which I left at Jaben network which uncle wilson so nicely kept safe for me which he reminded me on the forum I signed up and posted on where I gushed about how good his I.E.Ms are, while on the MRT (forgive the bad sentence structure, i mean it) some concerned passenger paged the driver and exclaimed (in a manner more befitting the term "orgasmic" than "fearful") "hello! hello?!!! here got suspicious parcel...!" to which the driver replied "ok" in between what seemed like the driver's incompetence to correctly adjust his PA settings so that only the said carriage heard it; which resulted in crackles over the communications system in my carriage and for a while I believed what transpired was "I...hello...suspenis... fucksel". It was all very exciting, the door was still open and the air-con was all going out but people still rushed and squeezed through the doors like their lives depended on it but in actual fact if something exploded, their lives won't count for much. Excluding the insurance payout, which of course require its application being extant as a prerequisite first. So two uniformed people trotted and fussed about for awhile and yes, we were on our way. This time Mr. Driver got his buttons correct when he said, "dear passengers, there was a slight delay. sorry any inconvenient" I almost sobbed when I heard it, I'll miss my regulars. I jest, I laughed out loud actually.

Met up with the OA/geek gang after that to bum around again and followed darryl to the wheelock ishop to get a silver bag and lust over their iTouch whilst he looked for his iPod FM transmitter.

On my way home, I saw an accident site near SMU. There were paramedics, an ambulance and a motorcycle and what I believe to be red crimson blood under the amber lighting of the street lights. Unless of course it's actually motor fuel but thinking it's blood makes it more fun doesn't it? The blood was a pool (hence the hackneyed expression) and if taken out of context, probably looks very pretty. No I didn't see the poor dude/gal/whatever body part was left of him/or rather none at all (which isn't very possible unless the motorbike's name was Howard and no, I don't know who the biker is). The funny thing was this taxi parked nearby with uncles milling about. I guess they were just there for their coffee break. The taxi looked perfectly serviceable to me.

Just downloaded Le Festin (which on hindsight reads like "the festering"... ew), the Ratoutille song composed by Michael Giacchino and sung by Camille. It's strangely...erotic. What I wouldn't give to have a voice like that.

I've discovered the joys of retail therapy. All the squeezing and auntie-like grabbing were totally worth it. Got 7 shirts, a pair of shoes, 2 pairs of cufflinks and 2 belts which would have had a total retail value of S$1300 but i got them at under S$250. Ahh... and after a week of off and with the knowledge of having another 2 weeks of off which will lead to my ord. What an excellent way to spend one's time. Here's a toast to life. -clink!-

So last friday, a couple of my friends and I plus a cousin of a friend among of my friends- all from my camp mind you- decided to traipse along geylang in search of food and "food". I've never been in geylang before, so I thought it'd be a good idea to sample the... victuals (for lack of a more definitive word) before I fly off for 6 years. With Seah's less than excellent recommendation, we had dinner at this shop that is famed-allegedly- for its frog legs and crab. But as Seah somehow mysteriously refused to help us order especially when he recommended us the place in the first place, I ordered instead. Had some silly crocodile meat which tasted all of ligament and fish and cost us $58. Had, of course the frog legs too, which led to the $228 bill. It was a relatively good thing we split the bill among us.

After dinner, we went towards the main event. Alas, at 1030pm, the streets were empty in the even lorongs. So we kinda ambled about till midnight when the streets got... crowded. We started with lorong 8 where it's reputed according to weipng's gangster cousin (not the one we had with us that night) the prettiest china girls are there. They are also the most expensive at $100 (an hour, session, per orgasm?! i've no idea) Lorong 10, the cheaper, not so pretty china ones. Lorong 12 an assorted mix. Lorong 14..i've no idea, probably a mix too. Lorong 16 and 18 were the ones that were legal. i.e. fish tanks.

Right, after that introduction to The Red Light District, we started of course with lorong 8. It was really dark and I couldn't make out any of the girls' features but I could figure out what they wore. There were many uncles there too chatting up the girls. All of a sudden, one of them screamed, "zao!" and they all trotted on their too-high heels into a sleazy hotel to hide. We then realised that there was a police raid. The uncles didn't seemed too fazed by this fact and continued loitering about smoking their cigarettes and talking amongst themselves, obviously waiting for the police to leave so they could resume their... profligate activities. True veterans in the sense of the word.

Off to lorong 10 where it was pretty much the same, never rated how ugly they were. Lorong 12 you could see the racial profile changing, thai, burmese and amusingly, an ang moh circus troupe of sorts who said, "ni hao" to me. Was weirded out a moment.

Lorongs 16 and 18 were the famed fish tanks we all came for. Weipng brought me in (apparently you need to be tactical, i.e. not be in a group or with a girl) and the pimp welcomed us in. We stood in the living room of a house, with a glass wall separating us from the prostitutes (there i finally said it). The moment we entered they stood up and went behind the glass wall and started to make cat calls at us. They were all dressed in a bra and a short skirt and a number tag and nothing else. I was too embarrassed to look at them and averted my gaze to the floor, to the irritation of the pimp. FYI, nothing happened, I just saw how a prostitution parlour was set up and I left. No contact at all with any of the girls. Neither did weipng have anything to do with them. We're really decent guys after all. Kenneth's cousin wanted very badly to see the fish tank, but to no avail, with our best efforts and my best beng accented mandarin. They just didn't allow girls who aren't prostitutes in.

I think what struck me most about them was not the fact that the non-fish tank girls were all touchy feely with us, but I saw one prostitute carrying food and walking and talking to one of the pimps like he was an old pal. To them, all these cat-calling, skimpy outfits, wantoness and debauchery meant nothing to them at all. It was a business transaction, one service rendered, one bill paid. They probably didn't have (or if they did they don't now) scruples and any moral high grounds that the common plebian (i.e. me) have with regards to this problem. I half expected them to cry in shame and hate themselves after their shifts. I suspect that their shame took a back seat to survival. This fact impressed me more than a Special Ops guy who drank water from dung in a jungle just so he could prove that he can survive without almost anything in the wild.

Changed layout. I prefer this minimalist layout.

Was glancing through my entries and realise that the last entry was in august. Well, it's nearing the end of September and many events have happened since the august affair. Of course, the most notable among them would be my acceptance into UWA med. I didn't really feel the sort of gut-dropping orgasmic elation that one ought to have after all the harrowing interviews, anxious waiting and harried preparations. It was just a lukewarm relief (I really should stop using weird adjectives, they're what gave me lousy english grades my whole life) when I got a call in camp from my counsellor. Perhaps it's the feeling that all that I've strived for FINALLY amounted to something. Or perhaps it was just NSDC with its depressing work environs. Either way, the deposit's been paid (all 22.109k AUD of it O.o) and now there's no turning back.

I was calculating the expenses with my family and have come to the conclusion that it's reasonable to assume the 6 long years is going to cost whopping SGD 500,000; to which Paul said if he had that amount of money, he'd get someone to mother his child immediately. haha... But the sum of money is worrying. Accompanied with this worry is the creeping unease of my medical studies/career. I've worked so hard and so much for this result but for some reason I cannot muster the excitement I had begun with. I'm not really sure what it is: the loss of family, friends, being stranded penniless and defenceless in an unknown continent or maybe the inkling feeling that this path just isn't meant for me to walk.

Anyway, such depressing conundrums of the mind aside, I crashed Med 1 lecture last thursday (210907) with Est. TheSunFlower and Zhaoyi were our chaperones that day. I can't say the lectures were interesting but I've not had a lot of experience with engaging 2h long lectures. I think we had more fun afterwards, doing our own thing in munchie monkeys. Made a few observations worthy of a korean drama serial script too. Hurr hurr...

Trimmed eyebrows the day before when I met Tzehui and Novella one final time before she left with Benji. haha. Tzehui wanted to get her eyebrows trimmed and since I was curious and it was my first time, we went to browhaus. It was a painful first time. As the thread scraped across my eyebrows, I could distinctly feel and hear the hairs ripped out. Each follicle led to a flash searing hot pain and en masse, like someone pushed a hot brander onto your face. It was so bad I teared. The kind lady dabbed my eyes for me. The $16 was not worth it. Now it looks too neat.

With everyone leaving one by one, and seeing their eagerness to depart, it makes me want to just fly away at once too. Somehow after a year of living by themselves, everyone can't seem to get enough of it.

ORD is clearly around the corner. I can't wait. 'Nuff said.

The august affair was amazing. It was like a mini prom with a few intimate friends that made it feel much grander and a whole lot better than the RJC prom I had 2 years ago. Kudos to Nicole and LiuRui for organising this. The setting was nice and the decorations were much more perfect than I had expected for a DIY party. A night of laughter, champagne, rose wine, pizza sushi and chocolate fondue and Pimms (the angmoh liang cha according to kenny and nicole who kept extolling its virtues and rarity in singapore). It was oddly eclectic but all the more endearing in its oddness.

The whole first half of the paulom segment was a horrible failure though, paul and i felt like fools. After a panicky 10min break with planning, things got better. Haha. Especially with the MAT presentations. Somehow in times of crisis, racism works to bring out the laughs. Then we indulged ourselves in celtic dances led by Xinyi and Kenny, which were frankly, quite exhausting. I've no idea how the girls can continue to want to dance. =X

 
 
The champagne reception with my Rose wine (pronounced rosae. haha.) and the hostesses!

 
 

 
 

 
 It was a very special evening and I really hope that RJCSB'05 can bring itself to the next millennium haha.

So I had dinner with 62FMD peeps yesterday that have ORD-ed or nearing their ORD date. Of course, my ORD was the latest among them. But it's still NEAR. hoho.

At Brewerkz yesterday when Bryan complained about my lousy camera and how these are photos that are too tourist-y. That's a Bryan I know. haha.

I went to watch the fireworks festival at marina square's foodloft yesterday with the oa gang plus jon plus anmin. Was late again coz I went shopping at zara to exchange the woolen sweater (which i bought on an impulse buy) for a white shirt and a black tee. This gave me hell of course and served to already boost my already bad resume for being late. Anyhow, we were chilling around from 7pm, desperately trying to hang on to our seats after we ate in anticipation for the display when other people were hanging around our table waiting for us to leave. hehe. When the fireworks began, we were stuck behind the glass panel from the alfresoco dining area inasmuch as the outdoor area was really packed like a can of sardines together with nonexistent lettuce. So we only saw the sights and didn't get to hear the sounds, which kinda made us look like idiots commenting and ooh-ing and ahh-ing in full audio reception of everyone. So it was a good thing our faces were plastered on to the glass. At certain points, I actually felt the glass tremble from the boom of the fireworks. The fireworks team that night was from Spain. There was even one point when the fireworks took the shape of read glowing hearts! Which was pretty cool if you ask me. Haha.

I really love fireworks, no matter how badly it pollutes the air, or how it's in fact all rather superficial and expensive. They are like choreographed manmade stars/comets/any other celestial body you can think of that gives off any semblence of light in the nightsky minus the huge hubble telescope. It's in those 12 to 15 min of overt, almost gaudy display of gunpowder that enraptures you, keeping you thoroughly fixated on something so meaningless that on retrospect, makes me feel ashamed I was that impressed and amazed. Haha. Anyway, it was all just so beautiful, with the kaleidosope of colours, shimmering showers and that huge sense of awe. I think when I die, I want to be hurled hundreds of metres into the stratosphere and explode in glowing light like some higher narcissistic being instead of being kept in an ugly urn and thrown into the dirty waters off east coast park. See? Perfect use of firepower if you ask me. The chinese got it right when they first found out that some black icky stuff could explode and potentially kill people would be useful to instead explode into nothingness. It's almost like an orgasm, without the messy bits and the horrendous foreplay with the pupil dilation, panting and racing heartbeat. Yes. It's a spiritual orgasm. Yeah,I took a video of it with my camera phone but I think this video I grabbed off youtube does it more justice than my crummy video.



Right..I have a party to go to later. The August Affair, quite excited about it. I hope paul and I don't make us look like huge fools later. Hoho.

Haha.. that's some evil alliterating pun for you there. I've gotten used to the whole put-your-photos-on-your-blog-like-a-camwhore thing. It takes away the tiresome task of typing and explains events more lucidly than ever could. I guess it marks the dearth of narrative writing for me.

So anyway, august is really an exiciting month, with national day, the august affair, seeing friends coming all the way from many seas. First off, had a meeting with Lynette and a few close friends a day before national day which was really fun!

This was the pre-Gluttons' Bay Great Dine-in with Tze and Lyn meeting for the first time after a year and discussing about boooyyffrriieenndddsss and the futureee and love. Which made my presence totally unwarranted and intrusive. So they forced me to do silly tasks (buy oreo cheesecakes and coffee) and told each other dirty little secrets in my absence. I hope they don't read this. Hurrhurr. Post Scriptum: I just realise that they have rather nice hair! A la shampoo commercials. Intriguing.

At the Gluttons' Bay Great Dine-in with the people who bothered to be punctual! Note me among them. Yy and Darlie were late. HA.

Yy's coconut. 'Nuff said.

Food Before annndd...................................

A not so glamorous Food, or whatever's left of it; more accurately, lack thereof.

Group Photo!

Chilling out later at MarinaBay before Rush Hour 3 group + me (which in my opinion is a horrible movie). Oh yeah. I had a PQA test the morning of this day and met Jonathan there, saw noezin too! haha. After the movie we stayed over at Yy's house and chilled out to vodka and had prata the morning after where we saw a pseudo hottie...

National Day! Happy 42nd! My nationalist sentiments are high only on this day because of the fireworks and freebies. My tee is for comic relief.

Two Days after, on a Saturday. I met up with Yy and Jon to get a new tennis racquet at queensway. This was followed by the August Affair Shopping with these two lovely ladies before band prac. Oh and on the Friday before the Saturday but after National Day, I spent the day with Michele. We watched 881! It was really colourful but I think if I understood more hokkien it'd be better. Had lunch with her at Waffletown (memoriessss) and dessert at Island Creamery (I have no idea how to spell this)

All in all it has been an extremely fantastic week! And the august affair is the next big thing for me to look forward to. On a P.S note, I've been trying to pick up the guitar! -claps- today marks Day 2 of Lesson 7 from some book I bought on Gluttons' Bay day. I think the first song I'm going to learn after grasping all the evil chords is Hey there Delilah. It seems easy enough. And my hands cramped up the whole day after practising for 5h on day one... I hope it gets better today! =X

I'm amazed at how I still can remember the password to this blog especially when 1) my memory is -i forgot- 2) I can't remember either. Anyway, what's not done still isn't done and the dust has settled really well. Many things have happened so I shall leave pictures to tell the story, for are they not the media through which the proverbial 1000 words are painted?

Toured Germany and France in June this year before sis's wedding

At the wedding. With new extended family.

SYF anniversary 050507

Project 777

Duyang's farewell to aussieland at brewerkz 150707

Holland V madness

Sun With Moon.

Been busy with trying to make full use of my time with my delicious MC (and secretly praying it'll be extended further). Read Empire of The Sun, The Magical Year of Thinking. And now I'm thinking of Sunzi's art of war; was on msn a few days ago when suddenly Ethan gave me the flash of inspiration to read it. Actually I've always wanted to but never could find the time to get a good version of his thesis (does it qualify as one?).

Had an interview with UWA. They said I had deep, profound and insightful ideas. They found me humourous too and that the whole process had "light-hearted bits" in it. I don't know if I should take this from an optimist's perspective or the half-glass empty stance. But I know that I won't hope too much. Grounded expectations are less risky.

Had a great outing with fellow bandies on 050507, saturday, which was the 2nd anniversary of the fateful 050505. It was of course organised by the ultimately geeky oa mail gang.. It's really wonderful how we can just meet up and everything will be like they were...maybe even better. The stayover was really good too. *reminiscing* the moments are like deeply coated candy. Sweet but never sickening and always unforgettable. That's all I have to say. If only my camera didn't die on me that day, I'd have more pictures to tell the story.

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Sometimes when you look at certain people, you wonder why they live. As in seriously wonder what possessed them to even exist when there really isn't much reason for them to do so. And as is the tradition of these things, you start to question your own existence. Then you realise that, you in fact, don't have an answer too.

Watched Spiderman3 today with the OA mail geeks. Buying tickets online is really convenient, if not a little more expensive.

Anyway, I didn't find spiderman3 anything fantastic, great or wow-i-want-to-watch-it-till-i-die. BAHHHHTTTT, it wasn't bad either. If only there weren't the cheesy gwen stacy rescuing and american flag poster scenes, it would be better. Of course the blooper (when viewed from a Singaporean's perspective) with the "peonies". Had a good laugh in the movie with paul, which irritated the couple beside us. We weren't very courteous moviegoers; but the scenes were too funny. And when tobey maguire turned into black spiderman, he became all emo with the gruff attitude, hair-covering-the-face visage and black eye-liner. We guffawed then as well: the whole thing was OVERKILL. Anyway, I think James Franco as Harry Osborn was a wonderful cast. He literally oozed sexiness on the screen. And his grin was priceless. He'll go far with his acting career I believe. Forgive me if I gush, I have this thing with anti-heroes and their battered egos, pitiful self-esteem but seemingly happy facade. Which is why batman is my favourite superhero (geek alert!).

Planned the 050505 anniversary band outing with them later, which makes this week a wonderful week to look forward to.

Went shopping after that. Got a pair of slippers that I felt I would not if I weren't in a rush to get a pair. But it's not bad. I think. Was rather dismayed when the salesperson told me I had very slender feet, which was why I couln't fit the girth of the slipper and only the size.




I suppose this was popular in 1978. The Jap influence in this series/movie/whatever it is is very strong, as seen by the huge spidey-bot thing. haha.. maybe it had blockbuster ratings in japan then... or maybe it suffered the same fate as VR man... =X

P.S. Got into SMU law. Now a choice must be made. Although it isn't much of a choice frankly...

Watched phantom yesterday at the esplanade with michele. I must say it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. When the first scene came on with the auction and the chandelier rose dramatically to the ceiling together with the theme and the pyrotechnics, I immediately knew I'd regret my $97. It was THAT excellent I wish I had spent more on getting a better seat so I could really enjoy the majesty of this andrew lloyd webber classic. We were so high up we couldn't see their faces at all and at some scences where the actors were suspended on temporary planks above the stage, all we could see were their feet. Which were rather off-putting. A few people actually had the wisdom to bring binos.. haha. yes, it was that bad. note to self, never buy circle 3 seats in the esplanade theatre.

Brad Little was amazing as the phantom. Rebecca Pitcher was not bad, but one can't help comparing her with Sarah Brightman and how she can't quite fill her shoes. And of course the sets and stage designs. It was had this real gold victorian grandeur that wow-ed me. And the famous Chandelier dropping scene, and the wonderful set of masquerade and who can go wrong with tons of dry ice? haha. The show literally blew me away, like a huge gale. One gripe I had however was whenever there was a scene that involved the unison of canons, like the prima donna scene, a few of the voices were a little masked and couldn't be heard. And the orchestra could have been more exact with their timing and intonation. Maybe it's coz they've played for so many performances already. Okay, more than one gripe then. Despite these few flaws, the magic of phantom was still there. It's really difficult to ruin such a masterpiece. I think my favourite song was...no, there can be no favourite song, they're all my favourites, they're all beautiful, powerful and moving at the same time. One thing I don't get is how the phantom disappeared from his cloak on his chair like some magic trick. The 2.5h was worth it. The cast got such an ovation they had more than three curtain rises.

I feel like watching it again, almost. haha.

Had ice-cream and frenchfries and apple pies with michele after the show at KAP coz there weren't any places open at that time but we wanted to chill out. All in all, it was a WONDERFUL night. If only I didn't get locked out of the house when I reached home at 2am. lol.

Just randomly searched RJC on youtube and look what came up? haha..who'd have known?



I thought it was Benny Tan from AVU who made the video. I witnessed him fretting about how we had too few footages and photos for practical use. Maybe it was for another video. haha. And TheSunFlower and her 2s of fame in the yellow robe!



This was rather surprising... didn't know we had a Danny. lol. Forgot the first tutor's name. I think he thought Chem though. This was a parody of some ad that was screening on Ch8 at that time. Starring Mr. Benny Lee! probably the best physics tutor I had... ever. Frankly I've never seen this video before.. I don't know why they said it was screened in 2005. I probably played truant that day...again. As you can see, the student council had already changed hands from my batch to the junior batch.



And the video that got everyone talking. Obviously she needs no introduction. But seriously, this is the first time I've viewed it... TSF had the fortune, or lack thereof, of having her as her GP tutor and PW tutor as well...