just another blogspot

it's official.

2008-09-04T20:55:00.001+08:00

I've moved.

last post

2008-04-20T08:59:00.002+08:00

It's exactly as what the title says.. To all the dear friends I've made in blog-world, thank you for faithfully coming here once in awhile to check for updates: you won't have to anymore. Nevertheless, let me assure you that you have not seen the last from me.

The truth of the matter

2008-04-20T07:59:00.001+08:00

I am here,
and You are there,
and this great chasm between us
is all that exists
in this reality.

That is the truth of the matter,
the very real actuality --
just two fools looking
everywhere else but
at each other.

For a little while I tried
to shout and scream at you --
"Look here!" -- I wanted to say.
But when I opened my mouth, my vocal chords
constrict
and nothing,
nothing,
comes out
but just hot, stale, air.

So maybe you did turn
and glanced my way
but the glare of the sun
blinded my sight and I didn't notice
those precious,
precious seconds.
And maybe you did
call back from there across
the void
but I was lost in the chase
of my own thoughts.
Am lost.

And I thought --
I am here,
and You are there,
and this great chasm between us
is the reality.

---- 20th April 2008

requiem

2008-02-23T16:53:00.004+08:00

I can't really say that I love my job completely but there are moments when I feel so blessed to be where I am right now, despite the long hours at work and the many sleepless nights spent finishing up my "homework".

However, when I return home everyday, and those long minutes in my room before I close my eyes and surrender to the uncomfortable dreams I've been having lately, I feel dissatisfied somehow. As if something is still missing from my life; without which, the inside of me is hollow and there is nothing behind my eyes. No spark, no soul.

Now, if only I could put my finger on what it is...

hate column

2007-12-29T18:59:00.000+08:00

I am irked by

- people who unabashedly and persistently ask for (cash) loans, without apologies for past loans which are still outstanding.

- people who humbly ask for loans and makes sincere promises to return them, only to conveniently forget remembering they ever begged/pleaded assistance from you.

- people who have barely enough cash to survive for the month due to low wages but have the gall to spend their money on exorbitant, unnecessary things like expensive toiletries, liquor in clubs, latest technological gadgets, branded clothes and accessories, etc, and those that do not bother to curb unprofitable bad habits like excessive smoking and dining at pricey restaurants.

Not that I'm not willing to help when a friend is in need, but seriously, ingratitude is a major turn-off.

My mother used to say, friends and money is a bad mix. She's right.

imagine

2007-12-29T16:59:00.000+08:00

Imagine: If a person smokes a cigarette after each meal, that would sum up to three sticks of cigarettes per day, one after each major meal i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner. My guess is, that's the bare minimum number of cigarettes for a smoker smokes in a day.

But I'm sure there are other "smoke" breaks during a day, for instance, between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner. And maybe one stick before supper and one more stick after or before bedtime. That makes it another 4 sticks of ciggies (as some smokers affectionately call their cigarettes) and brings us to a grand total of 7 sticks per day for this imaginary average smoker.

Is he considered a heavy smoker? Maybe not, as the time interval between each stick isn't exactly very brief.

7 sticks per day works out to 2555 in a year. And THAT works out to approximately 128 packs of cigarettes.

If this imaginary smoker were to buy Pall Mall red pack ciggies, which costs $9.50 (estimated value) per pack of twenty sticks, then he would need to spend $1216 in a year.

That's around a hundred bucks a month.

On cancer-inducing cigarettes.

Is it worth it?

Takhta Hatiku

2007-12-21T17:59:00.000+08:00

Masihku ingat dari masa ke masa
Akan kau bertanya kenapa aku amat mencintaimu
Apa yang ada pada dirimu yang buatku terpukau
selama ini...

Boleh ku fikirkan seribu jawapan
Boleh ku lafazkan seribu helah
mengapa ku amat menyanyangimu

Yang benar aku tidak dapat melafazkan apa perasan ini
Yang hanya ku tahu kurasa amat gembira bila berada disisimu
Akanku tersenyum bersendirian pabila teringat
masa yang kita berlalu bersama
Akanku bersedih pabila kerumitan antara kita berdua melanda

Dapatku mengembara setiap perasaan dalam diriku
sepanjang perjalanan kita
tidak pernah ku merasa puas hanya melafazkan
Aku cinta padamu

Aku senantiasa ingin melihat kau bahagia walau
apa jua caranya
Maka ku rasa itulah cinta...
Itulah takhta hatiku

Dariku kepadamu, sayangku, luahan sanubariku.

predictably

2007-12-08T12:59:00.000+08:00

The inevitable has happened. I've caught a cold!

I'd like to blame it on the dismal weather but what most probably accelerated my inexorable slide to "sickness" is the frantic spring-clean of my room yesterday. After spending an indefinite amount of time putting it off, I finally managed to grab a duster and dusted every single inch of my room, especially those spots which haven't seen the light of day for close to a year (I must confess that I didn't bother to do much to my room for the previous Hari Raya. I just wasn't in the mood!). And I also dug up all the stuff in my wardrobe and folded them nicely in neat stacks, in matching colors even~! I was surprised to find many items which I'd forgotten the existence of! Haha.

Unfortunately, I know that everything will simply go back to their messy state in a week's time, at most. Typical...

when will the sun shine again

2007-12-06T00:59:00.000+08:00

It has been raining alot recently. Yesterday was quite bad; it rained from afternoon 'til late evening, non-stop. Must really carry a brolly everywhere I go lest I may get caught in the rain and consequently, be at the mercy of a very nasty cold/flu.

Not only do we have gloomy skies, the news on the telly are pretty gloomy too. After being overwhelmed by the tragic dragon-boat accident last week (NewPaper headlines practically had it as their cover story for almost a week!), I suspect the next big deal would be the Omaha mall shoot-out which claimed the lives of eight innocent people. And the killer had the cheek to shoot himself at the end of it all too! The nerve!!!

And just moments ago, my (rarely) observant eye caught another tragedy on Yahoo! news, but this time in China; at least 70 people have died in a gas blast in a mine located within the Shanxi province, with 26 others still trapped. Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure the NewPaper wouldn't bother to feature this piece of news on their cover for even a day.

Tragedies happen. People die. Families deal with the loss of their loved ones. Life goes on.

For the rest of us bystanders, such moments are when we should take stock of our lives, and start counting our blessings. It's the intangible that matters.

Of the future, stress, & babies...

2007-12-05T09:59:00.000+08:00

Lately, I've been in a rather foul mood. It's mostly because I feel that I've stagnated, like a pool of dirty water infested with mosquito larvae. The last week of my school is finally, and officially over, and I'm suddenly faced with lots of free time, but instead of being out there, pursuing my interests or just meandering about carefree and enjoying every bit of what's left of my innocent youth (yeah, rite!), I spend the days confined within the four walls of my home and on several evenings, you may find me occupying myself at the gym. (note: I've recently picked up the latter in an effort to lead a healthier lifestyle since my family has a history of hypertension. I've had nightmares of dying from a stroke!!)

I'm also more than abit apprehensive about the new year which is just looming around the corner. New work responsibilities, long hours, insurmountable stress levels, "burnt" weekends, hard-to-please superiors, indifferent colleagues -- seriously, the list of things that I worry about is endless! I guess that's just me; leave me alone too long by myself-ish and I start worrying about heaps of things.

But the one thing in the world that could truly soften me up and make me instantaneously glad to be alive is... babies!! Cute, adorable, rosy-cheeked babies, God's miraculous creations, little bundles of unfulfilled potential. Tiny fingers and toes as fragile and soft as flower petals and delectable lips, scrumptiously making little baby noises. When they smile and laugh, my heart melts like an ice-cube on a sweltering Sunday afternoon. I love babies!!! (Do you hear my biological clock ticking?? NOT!)

sometimes

2007-12-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

Something happened on the weekend before last (that weekend I wrote the previous entry) which was, I thought, rather nightmarish in nature but too personal to be detailed in these blog-pages. It was altogether very trivial (just a misunderstanding really) yet impacted me far too much for it to be excluded from mention completely. Although apologies were exchanged and all is forgiven, I'm afraid I shall always remember the incident -- its memory is like a stubborn splinter caught in the thick calluses of one's feet...

*********************************************************************

Sometimes, I feel like I'm invisible. Or that I'm like some colour-shifting chameleon that could blend with the walls or its surroundings. Why do I say so? Because people just don't seem to know I'm around. Sometimes. On occasion, it is certainly fun to be invisible of course; you see things which you are not likely to see at other times (when people can see you). But then again, it is not a very nice feeling to know that you are as good as invisible. When in fact, you're not.

old friend

2007-11-24T12:59:00.000+08:00

I have known Shidah for a very long time.. since secondary one, in fact. We were both in 1-5, supposedly the best class in school back then, and there were only three of us Malay kids: Shidah, Aishah (whose 272 PSLE aggregate placed her as the top Malay scorer then, but surprisingly, she chose to go to a neighbourhood school) and myself. As expected, we grew pretty close (it was us against the cheenas!!! haha) but after our 'O' Level exams, everyone went their separate ways, never looking back. Those were the days when unlimited broadband and cable were still unimaginable and mobile phones were a luxury, not the norm. Pagers were still in, I believe.

Then, through another ex-school mate, Siti, who I bumped into at uni, Shidah and I got in touch with each other again and on occasion, we'd meet with a couple of other old alums of our secondary school, to reminisce about the good old days when students never talked back to their teachers.

This evening, Shidah will be flying off to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam with her beloved family. I pray that she will complete her pilgrimage safely, with no untoward events to mar her memories of her sacred journey.

"Nanti sampi sana, doakanlah, biar saya jadi millionaire soon..." I told her in jest, at our meeting yesterday.

"Insyaallah; tapi kalau tak beriman, apa gunanya kekayaan?" she responded with that knowing twinkle in her eye.

****************************************************************
It's funny how all of us just keeps growing in different directions. Ex-school chums committing themselves to marriage, having babies, embracing parenthood, etc. There are even some others, who have passed on, charting their lives no longer.

"We are the captains of our own ships" -- Chuatee used to say (it's amazing the number of times she has appeared within these blogpages! Has she really affected me that much??) and I gravely suspect, there is a lot more truth in those words than I'd dare to admit. Frankly, there have been some years in my life when I've been living in darkness and total uncertainty. Now, with God's will, there is some light in the gloom, and I could see that the path ahead of me is rather meandering, with sharp bends and some not-too-easy obstacles.

Looking back, not once in my entire, innocent, teenage life did I expect to traverse by this path. I must confess that as a youth, I've secretly longed for a career in writing, where there'd be plenty of opportunities for me to touch lives with the power and craft of the written word. Even back in uni, I was the only idiot probably who chose cross-faculty modules from the English lit department; following my heart, not my brain. Thankfully, I managed to obtain decent enough grades but due to a marked lack of background in the relevant subjects, I was mostly like a cripple in those classes.

My love of writing, I finally realized, can only manifest itself as a personal interest, not a livelihood. Of course, this revelation disheartened me somewhat, but on the other hand, I was also determined not to spend the rest of my life cooped up in some laboratory, examining microscopic organisms, finding the next cure for cancer, HIV or SARS or avian-flu or other human-life-threatening disease. I don't have such heroic pretensions. Haha.

So here I am.
****************************************************************
"Saya doakan kamu dilimpahkan rezeki yang banyak semoga kamu pula yang pergi haji nanti..." read Shidah's last text message last night.

Insyaallah. Where my path leads me to, only God knows.

cemerlang

2007-11-23T15:59:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to Natasha Nabila Muhammad Nasir, from St. Hilda's Primary, who is not only the top Malay scorer for this year's PSLE, but with her amazing aggregate of 294, is also the top scorer nation-wide. Her triumph is even sweeter because she has also broken a 17-year old record held previously by another student in 1993 (aggregate 292).

Everytime I think about her achievement and that score of hers, I get goosebumps! I can just imagine the joy and pride her parents must feel.. or her teachers, for that matter. She has indeed, done the Malay community proud!

a message to the newly-weds

2007-11-21T18:22:00.001+08:00

Dearest Juzmoi & Ms. E,

I'd like to wish the both of you all the best in your future lives (or should it be in the singular since both of you are now considered "One"??) as husband and wife. Tying the knot, I can imagine, is a huge responsibility and a major step in one's adult life; but I'm glad that the both of you have decided to spend the rest of your lives together because, after all is said & done, you guys are rather compatible! =)

Although this belated wedding message is probably to make up for that really lame and cliched one which I wrote on the card I gave the other day (seriously I had meant to write something so much more meaningful but as usual, my words always seem to fail me right at the moment when I need them the most), it still comes from the bottom of my heart. For I've come to cherish our friendship -- forged through the last few years, over coffee at starbucks/coffeebean, suppers at Al-Azhar's, or the late-night shopping trips to Mustafa -- and I pray that as husband and wife, the both of you will, with steadfast love and unyielding fortitude, find conjugal and marital bliss.

I am almost envious of your newfound happiness as a duo, but I am more elated at the thought that the both of you, have found some semblance of heaven (on earth) in each other.

Love,
duan

apologies

2007-11-16T14:28:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month since I last blogged proper. I sincerely apologize to those few friends who have faithfully visited this site only to be greeted by cobwebs, congealed dust and old, stale entries. Probably, I'm now a forgotten name under the "links" or "blogs I read" portion of those whose blogs I used to frequent for juicy tidbits of their everyday lives.

This past year, my writings have been sporadic and not very consistent, despite promises to write regularly. In fact, there were a number of occasions when I could have afforded the time to blog but... I just somehow lacked the strength or will-power to do so. No volition. ChuaTee will be quite disappointed in me. LOL.

But I've submitted my final essay a couple of weeks ago and I will see no more of ChuaTee and her eccentric ways, and I think I've passed her module (she had convinced us, anyway, that it's impossible to fail). With only a couple of non-gradeable, mini-modules left, life has become a comfortable but dull, monotonous cycle of late nights (due to insomnia) and late mornings.

By the way, I'm totally in lurrve with Heroes.

Save the cheerleader, save the world!!!

memory

2007-11-16T13:18:00.000+08:00

I was reading an article out of National Geographic the other day about human memory. There was this lady who could recall the exact detail of every single day of her life from age eight onwards, by date! She could tell you, for instance, what she did on the afternoon of March 8th ten years ago, no matter how insignificant the event was, even if it was just looking out of the window whilst having a Hershey bar, etc. And then, there was this man, in his seventies, who have lost the ability to form new memories (ala Guy Pearce in Memento) due to a disease that had affected his brain; thus he might remember asking a total stranger for his name one minute and then after awhile, forget that he ever asked and ask him again!

Human memory is indeed a miraculous thing. How can we forget the most important facts or details which SHOULD be remembered (like how I totally forgot that the deadline for my essay was due until only a couple of days before) and yet, sometimes we can recall with vivid clarity and ease, the most embarrassing, hurtful or emotionally traumatic events we've ever experienced?

Last saturday was the anniversary of my father's death. I needn't try too hard to think about how that fateful day went, years ago, when I received word from my older brother at the hospital about his sudden passing. I remember, it was the day after I completed my last exam paper (something about ecology) and I had just awoken from a long and deep sleep because I was up all night at the hospital studying while simultaneously looking out for father. I practically reeled from the shock. There are so many other things I could remember too -- Like how I tore the right bottom pocket of my baju kurung. How muddy it was at the cemetery that afternoon. How mild the sun was. Or how everyone laughed in the hearse, after the burial was over, at a joke one of my cousins recounted...

It's almost amazing how life has slipped back into normality since then, as if nothing momentous, or life-changing, had ever happened. I was, myself, out having an outrageously hilarious supper with my friends. But I was, at every second of the night, thinking about father. And nobody knew.

I prayed to God last night; to never let me forget that day. Never let me forget him.

parting shot

2007-10-03T18:29:00.000+08:00

duan --

[adjective]:

Banshee-like

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I'm NOT happy with this. Seriously!

volition

2007-10-03T16:59:00.000+08:00

There are times when I know better than to be wasting precious time doing absolutely nothing when I could be doing something productive on my laptop. But rather than follow my rational, left-brain-inclined principles, I've decided to be the divergent, rebellious, slacker. So what's new??? LOL. Anywayz, I found out today that I'm pretty much a balanced person (equal parts the logical thinker and a creative thinker) although ChuaTee is convinced that the guys in my class are generally creative people because all of us have stick-out ears!!!! (something about right-brain thinkers tend to sleep with their backs flat on the bed, hence leading to ears sticking out).

But let me tell you all about Chua Tee. She's an unmarried, thirty-something (or so she claimed) professor with plenty of experience teaching abroad, specialising in gifted kids (which is really a euphemism for being too smart for their own good!). Despite her impressive credentials, I think she's abit of a wacko. Scatter-brained and flighty and not very together, if you know what I mean. Her classes are indubitably very interesting, interspersed with many comic moments (flighty people are rather entertaining, you see) but on the whole, her teaching points are not very coherent and comprehensive. How did I ever land myself with this this damned, pointless elective!!! Looks like I gotta just grin and bear it for the next few weeks. *Sigh* But I'd better remind her again next week that my name does NOT have a "z" in it!!! grrrrr...

So what am I doing online at this hour of day, which erstwhile has never been an opportune time for me to be blogging?? Well actually, I'm now at the National Library reference section, seventh floor, pretending to do some research or other, (which was what I had initially intended to do) when in fact, I'm happily surfing the internet. And I'm not even abit guilty about it. As you can see from the picture, there's a big thick volume open right in front of me but I haven't read a single word of it.

And I was just telling my colleagues earlier today how I should really be starting on that 2000-word essay which is due for submission in a week or so... According to Chua Tee, that thing which is between your mind's eye and your goals, ie. your volition, is what is helping you to complete your tasks. Well, looks like I haven't got much of it. =)

eh wait; kena tagged lah!

2007-09-28T00:59:00.000+08:00

Was just about to log off and call it a night when I realized that miss asfa had tagged yours truly! Three days ago! HAhha.. Well, I've heard it said that I'm abit slow on the uptake...;)

5 things.

5 things in my bag:

Pencilcase bursting with stationery; a pack of tissues; 1gb thumbdrive; cleaning-cloth for my lappie; some scrap paper (Hey, it's my work bag!)

5 things that are in my wallet...

cash; coins; cards (atm, et. al); bunch of old receipts; some plasters!

5 favorite things in my bedroom

my lappie; my ipod; my O2; my smelly pillows; my nightmare-before-xmas alarm clock!

5 things i wish to do

go ktv soon; go on sushi buffet; go on shopping spree; go & master a 3rd language; go travelling to see the world!

5 things that i am doing now

typing on my lappie whilst doing this tag...??? does that constitute 5 things???

5 people i would like to tag

you. You. you. You. YOU!

messy

2007-09-28T00:31:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I think my life is just a pile of mess. Like the work table in my room, pictured here. Papers, books and files simply accumulate over time and before you knew it, it's a veritable mountain of mess, or fondly abbreviated as MOM. No matter how much I tidy it up and put away stuff, lo and behold a few days later, MOM would be back. As if I never tried to clean it up in the first place!

And after some great effort, my work space looks more... er.. livable! LOL. On another note, it's already the 16th day of the fasting month or Ramadhan and there're just tonnes and tonnes of stuff around the house to do! My mom was just saying after iftar tonight, why can't we just go on fasting, and skip Hari Raya because she just dreads all the springcleaning which has to be done. But I was like, why can't we just skip the fasting and get on with Hari Raya???

I may sound like a twelve-year-old kid again, all bright-eyed and expectant, can't hardly wait to get my hands on those green packets of money and the yummy dishes mummy always cooks for raya; In reality though, I'm not too glad at the prospect of doling out cash to damn pesky kids and having to serve fizzy drinks and festive cookies to a bunch of noisy, nosy relatives whom I only see once a year! BAH, HUmbug!

under the weather

2007-09-26T23:53:00.000+08:00

I haven't been feeling too well these last few days. Perhaps, the rigour of the fasting month, of which I'm unaccustomed to, has finally taken its toll on me. Perhaps, its the peculiar weather. Or perhaps, its the accumulated stress this past week due to an impending deadline (which is over and done with, thank goodness!). Whatever the case, when I met up with my project mates last Sunday for our discussion, I was fine but as the day progressed, my head started to throb.. until it became a splitting headache later on in the evening.

Things improved abit after iftar but come Monday morning, I had the worst cough and sore throat I've ever had (this year) and a slight cold and a temperature. By some miracle, I managed to wrap up my project and reached home just in the nick of time for iftar.

Tuesday was pretty bad. I went through tuition with a bad bad headache and that irritating cough; My kid wanted to go through some Chemistry but Acids, Bases & Salts was relatively easy, so I managed to scrape through rather decently.

This morning though, I lost my voice. When I tried to speak, a noise like the crackling and rustling of dry leaves seemed to emanate from my voice box. Moreover, it felt like someone had jammed a handful of needles down my throat! It was excruciatingly painful...

I feel much better now after drinking lots of water. And I think my cough has subsided. I really hope I'll be back in the pink of health by Friday...

i miss my caffeine

2007-09-15T12:59:00.000+08:00

I am 46% Addicted to Coffee

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

______________________________________________

The "bad" thing about the fasting month is that I can't have my coffee. As a result, my brain gets a little fuzzy sometimes during the day. Like now.

And later I'll have to bear TWO hours of E-Maths (tuition lah) withOUT my usual fix. I'm doomed! HAha. Thank God it isn't A-Maths...

in the dark of the night

2007-09-14T00:59:00.000+08:00

I'm abit miffed because:

1) my bittorrent hasn't been working lately, thus cannot download any new albums (Yeah, I'm a pirate!! har har!)

2) just spent 400 bucks on a new laptop battery because mine died on me just a couple of weeks ago... & my laptop isn't even a year old yet! Damn Sony warranty doesn't cover "accessories"! Feel so cheated!

3) my tuition fees haven't been paid & I don't feel good asking for it. Why can't these people just pay me punctually instead of having me remind them??? Is that too much to ask???

4) Hari Raya is coming; will inevitably need to spend alot... really ALOT! And I haven't even cleared my credit card bill yet! *Sigh*

5) my room is in a constant mess because I can't seem to find the space to store my stuff. Seriously need a couple of bookshelves. BUT there's no place in my room for them!!! HOW???

6) upcoming project involves working with a bunch of strangers from other disciplines. Why am I always the odd one out who gotta work with people I don't know???

7) I think I'm feeling lonely.

tagged

2007-09-03T10:59:00.000+08:00

List out your top 5 birthday presents you wish for:

1. World peace
2. Everlasting happiness for my friends, family & loved ones
3. To be a better person OUTSIDE as well as WITHIN
4. An unlimited budget shopping spree
5. the black 8GIgabyte IPOD nano!

Answer the following questions:

1. The person who tag you is?
- Eeeks~!

2. Your relationship with him is?
- friends

3. Your 5 impressions of him:
- friendly
- cute
- intelligent
- stylish
- talented

4. The most memorable thing he had done for you:
- hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

5. The most memorable words he had said to you:
- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

6. if he becomes your lover, you will:
- be gay

7. if he becomes your lover, things he has to improve on will be:
- >nothing<

8. if he becomes your enemy, you will:
- turn him back into a friend

9. if he becomes your enemy, the reason will be:
- he's not being himself

10. the most desire thing you want to do for him now is:
- something to make him happy? =)

11. your overall impression of him is:
- friendly
- cute
- intelligent
- stylish
- talented ... haven't we gone through this before??

12. how you think people around you will feel about you?
- that I'm Sugar & Spice & everything Nice! LOL!

13. the character you love of yourself are:
- I have too many characters inside of me. Cannot choose favorites. =p

14. on the contrary, the characters you hate of yourself are:
Procrastinate too much.

15. the most ideal person you want to be is:
- An inspiration to others.

16.for people that care and like you, say something to them:
- Thank you all! WORLD PEACE!!!

17. pass this quiz to 10 persons that you wish to know how they feel about you -
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

who is no.6 having relationship with?

Is no.9 a male or female?

If no.7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing?

How bout no.8 and 5?

What is no.2 studying about?

When was the last time you had a chat with no.3?

What kind of music band does no.8 like?

Does no.1 has any siblings?

Will you woo no.3 ?

How about no.7 ?

Is no.4 single?

What is the surname of no.5?

What is the nickname of no.10?

What is the hobby of no.4?

Do no.5 and 9 get along well?

Where is no.2 studying at?

Talk something casually about no.1?

Have you try developing feelings for no.8?

Where does no.9 live at?

What color does no.4 like?

Are no.5 and 1 best friends?

Does no.7 likes no.2?

How do you get to know no.2?

Does no.1 have any pets?

Is no.7 the sexiest person in the world?
_____________________________________________________________
I sort of gave up on this tag after question 17... Too many questions lah!

blogthing!

2007-09-03T09:59:00.000+08:00

Your Birthdate: December 20

You may watch someone from afar before you finally decide to make your move.

It takes a long time for you to develop an attraction to someone.

Generally, you prefer to pick who you love. Anyone who tries to rush you is in for some heartache.

Number of True Loves You'll Have: 4

Number of Times You'll Have Your Heart Broken: 4

You are most compatible with people born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th, and 29th of the month.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean For Your Love Life?

my bad

2007-08-14T11:59:00.000+08:00

As expected, didn't finish my paperwork over the weekend and now have to burn the midnight oil weekday nights trying to catch up.

Of course, it's all my fault for underestimating the nature of the work at hand, letting myself be deceived by the non-threatening quantity of it instead. Giving me a migraine just thinking about it. WHATEVER. I just cannot wait until the end of this month when it all ends. With a blast. Sort of.

Was talking to one of my colleagues earlier today about the coming Ramadhan, which will be due in a few weeks. Both of us agree that housekeeping will definitely be one of the top priorities on our list of things-to-do. Yucks.

And was watching the news earlier. Overturned bus killing twenty in Malaysia, flood in Korea, another suicide bombing in Iraq, unresolved Taliban hostage crisis, collapsed bridge in China, impending hurricane in Hawaii, train derailed by bomb blast in St. Petersburg.... Seriously, current affairs have never looked more dismal.

No wonder I've been feeling abit down lately. LOL.

muse

2007-08-09T01:59:00.000+08:00

For the first time in many weeks, I'll be sleeping tonight with the alarm clock switched off. Which therefore means that I can sleep in as late as I want tomorrow, without worrying about what time I need to wake up just because I've got something to do or somewhere to go, etc, etc.

It's the eve of a public holiday and the start of a very long weekend but already, there's a to-do list at the back of my mind that I know I should attend to very soon or risk not completing much by the time work resumes this coming Monday. Included on aforesaid list is the pile of paperwork I've brought back home and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I could set aside a few hours or so completing it.

I know, I know.. basically I'm just whining and grumbling; and perhaps it's nothing compared to the workload some of my blog readers might have. But though I come across as a laid-back, carefree individual to my personal friends, I'm actually a closet pessimist and worrier. I worry about the most inconsequential things sometimes. And the most maddening thing is that I'm a slow worker and a wanna-be perfectionist to boot. *Sigh*

Personal. Does a blog need photos of oneself or one's friends and family before it can be labeled as "personal"? A picture paints a thousand words -- or so the song goes and perhaps, it's true. But some of the most memorable events in history is set into motion because of a photograph, or a misconstrued one. Case in point: wasn't it photos, published without context for free interpretation by the public, that sparked the Maria Hertogh riots of the 1950s? And anyone who've watched Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers would know that people would believe anything -- even something completely untrue -- as long as there's a good photograph or picture that accompanies it.

The point I'm trying to make here is that, though photos and pictures are scarce here, I do consider this blog to be a personal one. If it wasn't, why would I bother keeping it for FOUR years already??? LOL. FOUR years!! That's certainly quite an achievement for someone who can't seem to stick to a certain activity for very long.

Which brings me to the issue of writing. I really love writing. I find comfort in expressing myself in the written word and indeed, I've always imagined carving some sort of career out of this interest or passion.. But a few years ago, I discovered that it wasn't my calling. I tried but somehow I couldn't. I think I'm just not a very emotionally expressive person by nature, or even when I try to be, it all comes out muddled, almost riddle-like or abstract and vague. So... poems are my kind-of-thing really; nevertheless, it's been ages since I last tried my hand at it.

I think I've lost my muse.

losing track of time & other one-minute thoughts...

2007-07-24T22:59:00.000+08:00

"Love means losing track of time..."

Or so one of the songs on my mp3 playlist goes. Actually, work is a more culpable reason in my case.

Just a week or so ago, one of my colleagues remarked that blogs, for most people, are just a passing fad; when you first start them, the drive and enthusiasm to post regular entries are unmistakable. But weeks or months later, the flagging energy and motivation becomes evident by the sporadic or short-but-sweet blog entries. Soon after such a pattern establishes itself, the blog itself sort of dies off. Fades into oblivion. Forgotten...

Will such a thing ever happen to this blog? To my blog??? It's hard to say at this point, especially judging by the less than plentiful number of entries that has made it past the "Publish Post" button within the last few months. Of course, I'm more than willing to blame it on my busy schedule and tight weekends, that leaves scant time left for me to spend on blogging. Indeed, for me, time has become such a precious commodity that anything (or anyone) that makes me "waste" even a moment or second of it, whether intentionally or not, could upset me or cause much discomfiture to my very frayed (due to my frenzied workload probably) nerves.

***************************************
A lot of things have happened of late, which would, at a more convenient time, have found their way as fodder for my blogging but right now, I have neither the heart nor the strength to commit myself to framing those memories and associated thoughts into readable, lucid words.
***************************************
These last couple of days, there's a song stuck in my head. The maddeningly catchy chorus has wormed its way inside my brain somehow...

"Don't waste your time trying to fix
What I want to erase
What I need to forget
Don't waste your time on me my friend
Friend, what does that even mean
I don't want your hand
You'll only pull me down
So save your breath
Don't waste your song
On me,
Don't waste your time... "

***************************************
I wish I could go on rambling... but time does not permit.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

2007-06-27T23:59:00.000+08:00

This film review is long overdue. Last Thursday, I went down to Cathay Cineleisure in the afternoon with a friend, expecting to catch Michael Bay's Transformers. Yours truly, however, had apparently mixed up its opening day and suddenly found myself at a loss in front of the cinema box office counter. It was between Nancy Drew, Ocean's Thirteen, and an unknown Japanese anime which was dubiously entitled, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. My friend and I, being neither fans of the former two, decided to take a chance on the latter.

Bespectacled Chinese girl behind the counter: "Is this a good film?"

Me: "I've got no idea! How long has this film been out?"

Girl: "Today is it's first day! But I heard it's a good film... "

In fact, it wasn't really much of a gamble since I've always enjoyed watching Japanese anime, especially those directed by Hayao Miyazaki. However, five minutes into the film, I realised that this was not going to be anything like the films by Miyazaki. For starters, the artwork/ animation of the characters are rather dull, with a feel much like anime characters created in the seventies or eighties. There are no wild, fantastical, out-of-this-world background scenes and no striking colour palettes or impeccably drawn images, which are typical in Miyazaki's films. But then again, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is NOT a Miyazaki film.

While some background work has been CGI-ed to look realistic, the director and animators maintained the "retro", two-dimensional look of the characters throughout the film. What really breathed life into the animation though, was the sparkling dialogue, the engaging storyline and wonderful light humour which kept grinning from ear to ear from start to rolling of the end credits.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time's story about a ditzy but plucky schoolgirl who accidentally discovered the ability to timetravel is riddled with loopholes, like myself, you will come to ignore these flaws in continuity and end up being sold by the irrepressible charm and wit of the film. Seriously, it exceeded my expectations beyond all measures. And did I mention that this film won the Best Animation Award at the Awards of the Japanese Academy this year???

my ratings -- 4/5 Stars!!!

the one about the weekend getaway

2007-06-20T01:59:00.000+08:00

I don't think my recent weekend getaway was as enjoyable as I had expected. Firstly, like all getaways are wont to be, it was much too brief. I felt like I was rushing from place to place to absorb and relish the many wonders Kuala Lumpur has to offer. (By "wonders", I'm referring to the humongous malls and sprawling shopping districts there of course. =p )

It didn't help that it rained heavily and sporadically on Saturday, thereby extinguishing the fun out of our walk-abouts. Nevertheless, I DID manage to eat like a pig during the whole trip, though incidentally, my friends and I totally forgot to try the local roadside/hawker/street foodies. Guess we were too busy enjoying our MarryBrown, A&W, Dunkin' Donuts, Breadtalk, etc, etc....

But unlike my dear friends however, I wasn't enticed enough by the faux stuff on Petaling or any of the other stuff I encountered at the KL malls to make personal purchases. Probably, my mind kept thinking about the Great Sale we're having here in Sg and how much I've already spent within the short couple of weeks since the advent of GSS! (My UOB bill finally arrived Monday; Realized now the folly of my relentless bouts of shopping. But instead of worrying about clearing bills, I'm anticipating another round at the malls soon. I'm NUTS!!!)

I almost forgot to mention; A homemade bomb exploded at the Puduraya bus terminal last Thursday evening, which injured a little girl. (Read about it here.) When my friends heard it on the local news Friday evening (which was our first night in KL), they almost freaked out -- our hotel was just across the road from Puduraya! But thankfully, our short holiday was not marred by any rampaging terrorists or exploding homemade bombs. In fact, by Saturday morn, all paranoia from the night before were totally forgotten. We're such fickle Singaporeans!!! LOL.

Frankly speaking, I was terribly afraid that the recent KL floods was going to spoil our trip. As is evident from this picture on the left (taken from a forwarded email), the flooding looked pretty bad. I was mentally prepared to get my sneakered feet soaked in dirty rainwater... My expectations were exacerbated by my mom's dour warnings about the bird-flu outbreak in Selangor. Sometimes I think, mothers are great experts at dampening one's adventurous spirit. That's why we love them so much I guess...

Yet again and thankfully, despite the intermittent rainfall, I hardly got myself soaked to the bone like I feared. And there wasn't much of a puddle too (see pic on the right, snapped by yours truly, of the same general location as previous pic). Ok ok... I admit that my trip didn't turn out as badly as my mom's most negative predictions but it still wasn't as fun as I had wished it could be. I suppose, however, that one must be grateful for all the small stuff that could have been alot worse and learn to overlook the insignificant disappointments of life. But next time I go on a hiatus away from Sg, please remind me to take a longer trip! LOL

FF2: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-19T13:59:00.000+08:00

I really liked the first Fantastic Four movie; it wasn't anywhere close to the standards set by other successful comic-book-turned films such as Spiderman, the X-Men or even Superman, but it was entertaining and mildly engaging as all good summer flicks are supposed to be. The same may be said of FF2: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I'm not an avid FF fan but I'm aware of the Silver Surfer/ Galactus storyline in the Marvel universe and believe me, it would have been near impossible to re-create the latter believably on the silver screen. I mean, HOW do you make a guy the size of the Empire State Building and wearing a goofy purple helmet look realistic??? Well anyway, representing him as a gigantic storm cloud was fine by me only that the ending of the film was a little too anti-climatic. In my honest opinion, the whole film itself, running at 92 minutes, was much too brief.

Because of this, probably, there wasn't much of a story, and much less of a script -- but what the film lacked in, director Tim Story tried to make amends with his action sequences and plenty of CGI which topped those we saw in the first film. Personally, I thought all the male actors in the FF, ie. Ioan Gruffurd (as Mr Fantastic), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm) and even Chris Evans (Johnny Storm) were perfectly cast. Jessica Alba however, do NOT make a credible Sue Storm. And seriously, she should never ever blonde her hair again. Never ever! (Although I must admit, she still looked pretty hot in her tight little blue spandex outfit with hair tied back in irresistibly cute ponytail =p )

The one moment which I thought was truly funny was when the FF's creator (and comic-book legend) Stan Lee made a cameo as himself during the wedding scene in the film's first-half. Seriously though, Rise of the Silver Surfer may not be a heavyweight sequel with noble intentions but it sure is fun while it lasted.

My ratings --- 3.2/5 Stars!!!

fyi...

2007-06-15T01:59:00.000+08:00

I'll be spending my weekend in KL. Borrowing the (very cliched) words of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator, I'll Be Back! ~ :p

By Sunday night, to be precise.

Shrek The Third

2007-06-09T00:59:00.000+08:00

Our favorite green Ogre and his lovely but equally green wife are back. So are the irrepressible Donkey and the debonair but fluffily cute, Puss In Boots. In my honest opinion, Shrek the Third is the weakest amongst the three Shrek movies that Dreamworks Animation has assailed us with and the least funny (my personal fave is Shrek 2, actually).

While the first Shrek was a revelation and an inspired laugh-fest, its sequel took it a step further by being smart and witty in its myriad inferences to well-known fairytale characters and stories. This third installment however, feels abit tired and old; the pacing was rather dull and dreary in the beginning and the film only picked up momentum after the first half. Even so, the really laugh-out-loud moments were few and far between. However, this could be due to my exceedingly high expectations and my own warped definition of what is funny and what is not (attributable to my wry sense of humour, I suppose).

On the positive side, the animation is top-notch. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eddie Murphy and even Justin Timberlake (though I couldn't make out his whiny voice at first); the cast list IS impressive and equally talented. I just feel, however, Shrek the Third should have been better and funnier than it is. Perhaps I simply miss Jennifer Saunders' Fairy Godmother character?? The latter was one of the reasons why Shrek 2 was downright hilarious...

Despite its shortcomings, Shrek the Third is undoubtedly one of the better THIRD installments of a film trilogy to be released during this June period. At the very least, I was still able to understand what's going on...

my ratings: 3.5/5 stars!!!

show & tell (part II)

2007-06-08T23:59:00.000+08:00

My converse shoes have been with me for a good couple of years now but I think it's almost time for me to bid them a forlorn farewell. Though the soles are still intact, signs of wear and tear are plain obvious everywhere else -- from the ragged insoles which are virtually disintegrating and the many holes along the sides. In fact, there are a couple of holes large enough for me to slide in at least three of my fingers with relative ease. That my shoes will fall apart on me as I'm wearing them during one of my regular exploits in town is inevitable. It's just a matter of when.

Thus, it is time for a change indeed but like all things which you eventually grow into, growing out of them is not so easy. They've become more than just part of my habiliments; every inch of them, from the fraying threads, the holes, the unwashable grime and dirt, seem to have become an extension of my character and personality... Heck, those shoes were COMFORTABLE. Like VERY COMFORTABLE. I'm really going to miss wearing them. If shoes could talk, I'm sure they'd have quite a tale to tell!! LOL

But after all is said and done, I just lurrrrrrve my new Onitsuka Tiger to bits! =p

show & tell

2007-06-08T01:59:00.000+08:00

The one on the left is my old frames but with new lenses while the green one on the right is my (completely) new pair of glasses.

I became potek (the politically correct term is myopic, I believe) very early during my secondary One days, but I never liked wearing my glasses; somehow, I've always thought that they made me look more geeky and square than I already was and this sentiment was echoed by my siblings and friends, further making me resent the need to wear them. However, my reading habits were pretty atrocious and my eyesight worsened considerably each year until it reached around 400plus degrees by the time I was in sec 4.

It was that same year, however, that I discovered and learnt how to use contact lenses -- it was like nothing was impeding my vision anymore; my eyes were no longer peering through vision-restricting rectangular frames. I sometimes even forgot that I was ever myopic. Nevertheless, my newfound liberty was rather short-lived; when I enlisted into National Service after JC, I depended once again on my glasses more out of convenience than anything else. Back then, I had a pair of black plastic frames which gained me the moniker "Mickey Mouse" amongst less-than-kind army superiors. Looking back on old photos however, I must admit that my little stick-out ears coupled with my shaven head did make me look rather mousy... =p PLUS, I Was (and AM) rather vertically challenged I suppose, so...

Well anyway, ever since I completed NS, I had chucked my glasses aside and depended solely on my contacts. As far as I can remember, I haven't bought a new pair of the former at all within the last five years or so! For those who find the thought of poking a piece of flimsy plastic onto their eyeball disgusting and unbearable, it isn't all that bad actually. After awhile, you'll forget that it is even there!

While it seems that I've made quite a splurge on glasses alone, I think (and hope) that it will be a good investment.

So what's the whole point of this entry?? It's just an excuse to post that pic of my glasses lah and to avoid those pangs of quilt I normally get when I post an entry with very little words (like in previous), I thought a brief recollection of my history of short-sightedness would be appropriate.

I think this is the part when you'll mumble, "Whatever, Duan!" =)

sleeping

2007-06-05T14:59:00.000+08:00

Just exactly what I feel like doing at the moment.

Pirates of the Caribbean; at World's End

2007-06-04T23:59:00.000+08:00

I've always enjoyed watching Johnny Depp hamming it up as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and in this final part in the trilogy, he was no exception. Unfortunately, he was the only really good thing about the film which is, in my opinion, a convoluted, confusing and disappointing mess.

Sure, we have the amusing Singapore reference in the first half hour, with Chow Yun Fatt as a rather disgusting-looking (and sadly one-dimensional) Captain Sao Feng; Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom reprise their roles as the star-crossed lovers Elisabeth and Will respectively and I must admit, their characters have been fleshed out considerably than when we last saw them in the second installment of the trilogy.

However, the villains in this film, if there were meant to be any at all, were rather unmenacing; I know that a positive ending for the good guys would be inevitable but a good film always draws cinema-goers into the illusion that a negative outcome might be possible. In this case though, there was never a point in the show when I ever doubted that Captain Jack Sparrow and his merry company would win and live happily ever after in the end. But what ticked me off the most was the superbly draggy first half of the film, with barely intelligible plot twists and pointless meanderings that would test the patience of all but the most ardent fans of the Pirates franchise; the film is definitely at least half-an-hour too long!

Thank god then for the faster-paced last half-hour or so when things kicked up into high gear and the special effects come in full force. Still, for a film which had been claimed as having the second highest box-office weekend opening ever at the time of its release in the US (right behind Spiderman 3), I was expecting something a tad more entertaining, and engaging. If it weren't for Depp's hilarious (though this time around, his character seem to have mellowed down somewhat) turn as Captain Jack, Pirates 3 would have been an epic disaster.

my rating: 3/5 stars!!!

impulse

2007-05-30T01:59:00.000+08:00

I was out earlier today at Queensway. Had planned to change only the lens of my spectacles but ended up getting a new pair as well because I've always wanted to get a pair of swanky plastic frames as some sort of "weekend" glasses kinda thing. So of course, when it comes down to assisting customers to spend their money, shop assistants can be VERY helpful and encouraging... Therefore, before I knew it, I parted with slightly more than 200 bucks at one silly optical shop alone -- for a new pair of frames and new lenses for my old one. Super thin high index or something like that for the latter... it's no wonder then my pockets are suddenly feeling kinda light. *Sigh*

Hope it wasn't a spur of the moment thing. However, I think I'll feel much better after I go down to fetch them this Friday. Can hardly wait~!

I bought a running wheel for my new pair of hamsters a couple of days ago but due to my inexpert clumsiness, I accidentally broke the knob-thingy which attaches it to the hamster cage. Therefore, I dropped by the huge pet store at Vivocity to hunt for a replacement but the cheapest one I saw cost around 9 bucks!!! That's daylight robbery for you... In the end, simply decided to use superglue to fix the broken part and hope it'll work. My little darlings really do need a good workout, you know -- at the very least, the running wheel will spare them the agony of running around the cage in hopeless circles.

Talking about circles, I was at the zoo a while back and saw Inuka, the polar bear, doing exactly that, i.e. swimming around in hopeless circles in his small watery enclosure. Can't blame the poor chap; I'd probably become a bit loony too if someone were to lock me up in a tiny place with no TV or computer. LOL. Perhaps someone should get Inuka a really humongous running wheel. Or a treadmill. Running pointlessly in one spot ought to be less stressful than running around in dizzying circles. Aha.

All MY running around these last few months in the name of work and career ought to be taking me somewhere though. Somewhere that's green, hopefully. I like the feeling of being occupied in productive work, and using the knowledge I've accumulated through years of slogging in schools (primary to university) whilst in the process. Of course, there are many a time when I still question the very essence of what I'm doing but I'm mostly too exhausted to spend sleepless nights pondering over my destiny and going over the what-ifs of my life like I used to just a year plus ago...

Am I happy then? Perhaps. Though of course, happiness is a relative term. I'm definitely grateful I'm not a hamster in a cage though, with just a running wheel as a distraction...

limbo

2007-05-29T12:14:00.000+08:00

well, I know that my blog has been in limbo for a couple of months now. Or has it been longer than that?? Thus, I can't blame anyone for removing my blog-addy from their links or read-lists... not that I have so many readers anyway. But here's my heartfelt apologies to those who have regularly visited this site only to come away disappointed.

I've been occupied with work mostly, and what precious little time I could spare was NOT meaningfully spent on blogging, like what it should have. I guess I wasn't entirely ready to blog again. Til NOW.

A lot of stuff have happened since I've been away from my blog. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. There's probably too much to say, and not much, unfortunately, which I could share publicly. But hopefully, my routine won't be so hectic anymore and there are a couple of things which I'd be looking forward to for the next few weeks, namely, 1) blogging! and, 2) shopping! (great singapore sale is here again, mah~!) LOL.

10 things weird about me

2007-03-11T10:59:00.000+08:00

Incidentally, I was tagged by Jay to do this. Let's make this quick and painless, shall we... ?

RULES

Player of this game with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself. Tag six others to do the same and list them at the end. No tagbacks.

1) my glasses degrees: 500 each eye! I'm blind as a bat without my contacts..

2) I will NOT watch horror films. Die, die will not watch. Call me a scare-dy cat if u want, I don't give a hoot.

3) I can't go through life without coffee. When I abstain from it for more than a day, I get withdrawal symptoms -- go figure!

4) I don't like Long John Silver fries very much. Too crunchy. Gimme the big fat juicy ones from MOS burger any day!

5) I don't like to watch films with either Tom Cruise or Leonardo DiCaprio in them.

6) I have a love-hate relationship with chocolates.

7) I like anything with strawberries in them... tangy and sweet stuff are soooo tantalizing!

8) I don't like durians. But peeling those spiky skins off to get at the yellow stuff inside gives me a kick..

9) I have a soft spot for sushi.

10) I really love McDonald's big breakfast meal but hardly ever gets the chance to eat it because I'm not much of a breakfast person.

This time, I'm not tagging anyone to do this. Too pointless.

the day my chocolate died on me

2007-03-08T23:59:00.000+08:00

Something quite funny happened last sunday which I think I just can't keep to myself much longer..

I was on my way to CityHall for a last minute shopping appointment with a friend (having completed my assignment earlier than expected) and as usual, I was running a little late.

I told my friend to walk around Raffles City first, i.e. whilst waiting for me, and would give him a buzz once I'd reached. When I arrived at my destination however, my handphone's reception went totally blank -- my lousy phone has an annoying tendency to go bonkers at subterranean places. And whenever that happens, I have this habit of switching my hp 'off' and then 'on' again, to sort of "reboot" it to its normal functioning state (or something like that; I know my rationale is abit crappy though~).

Consequently, I proceeded to do just that but with one exception -- my hp couldN'T switch back on! IT had practically, and literally, DIED on me!!

I almost had an anxiety attack because;-
i) I'm not very good at memorising phone numbers and out of the measly handful that I could recall, my friend's was not one of them!
ii) Raffles City is a huge place and the throng of Sunday shoppers there did not help.. Looking for someone randomly without any aid or guide could be like looking for a needle in a haystack!

I spent a protracted five minutes sitting down on one of the benches within Raffles City (at that big open square on level one) trying to calm my nerves and thinking about what to do next.. I decided that the best course of action was to look for a public phone and start punching out some familiar numbers. That sure seemed like a good idea at the time; I was too agitated to think of better alternatives.

I headed for the public phones at the mrt station, (the ones near station control) rather than those within the mall itself, and it turned out to be a lucky impulse -- As I was nearing those aforementioned phones, lo and behold, I saw my old dear, dear friend standing right next to them! What a sight for sore eyes he was!!!

My hp was out of commission for the last few days and I had to rely on my sister's antiquated Samsung clamshell hp with faulty keypad, no less, as a means of communication.. not that I had alot of callers or peepz text-messaging me anyway.

Fortunately, I managed to squeeze some time this last Tuesday to send my poor LG chocolate for servicing at the LG center near Redhill, and as of this afternoon, it's officially fixed and functioning again! Thank God!

I really hope I won't get myself into another foolish misadventure anytime soon; my nerves are ragged enough this week as it is...

Dreamgirls

2007-03-03T17:59:00.000+08:00

oscars: 2 wins out of 8 nominations:
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (won)
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing (won)
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Costume Design
3 nominations for Best Original Song: Patience, Listen, Love You I Do
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy

my one-sentence synopsis:
Fat girl with super pipes is passed over in favour of skinny, gorgeous girl with not-so super pipes to become lead singer of rising soul/RnB girl group but the former emerges victorious in the end afterall.

You should watch this film because:
i) since Jennifer Hudson won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for her performance, she must be worth watching... right?
ii) you like it when actors break into emotional songs in between dialogue and it's the (only) movie musical worth watching this year anyway.
iii) you are a diva-wannabe and seeing girls singing onstage in flashy, revealing, retro gowns make you wanna do the same too.
iv) Eddie Murphy is not frolicking around in a fat suit and irritating the hell out of you.
v) For once in her blessed life, Beyonce is not just an emotionless, singing robot.
vi) Seriously, the acting is good all around, cinematography is great and the music/songs are accessible even by modern day standards. Think Moulin Rouge or Chicago, but more contemporary.

You should NOT watch this film because:
You hate it when actors break into emotional songs in between dialogue and hence, you hate movie musicals. Period.

oscar-winning moment:
Seeing (and listening to) Jennifer Hudson in character telling (or is it yelling??) us that she is not going and that you're gonna love her. LOOOOOOOOVE her. =p

my ratings: 4/5 stars!!!

end of the week

2007-03-03T09:59:00.000+08:00

I just woke up from a twelve-hour slumber. No, I'm not a sloth -- I think it was to make up for all the late nights I've had this past week; I only had, on average, 4 hours of sleep per night. And of course, that is grossly insufficient when compared to the 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep the average human needs to function at maximum efficiency. (However, one of my friends, who was in nursing, ever told me that 5 hours is enough for those whose careers do not need them to exert themselves physically. Sure or not???)

I'm feeling abit smug because I have been on time (and even as much as fifteen minutes early!) for all my lessons eversince Monday. Some may think that's really nothing to be amazed about but those who know me better will know that it's quite an accomplishment on my part -- I'm seldom, if ever, punctual for my social appointments. LOL. I'm not sure how long it (i.e. my sudden streak of goodness!) will last though. Nevertheless, to keep my conscience clear, I have to admit that I cheated on Wednesday -- I took cab~! :p

Unfortunately, there are tonnes of group assignments to be completed, with a couple of deadlines just looming around the corner. Being a typical social pariah and misfit, I really dread group-work with all my might and main, and whenever one of my professors says "For this assignment, you need to find your own group...", I would feel a shiver down my spine and my mind would be gripped with the icy fear that I'd be the one left miserably groupless, only to be saved eventually by a group generous enough to let me join them.

Thank God, for my wry sense of humour -- it has saved me from mental breakdown on numerous occasions. =)

Just for the record, there were some moments when my humour did not particularly work in my favour; like that time when I thought the lecturer said something hilarious and I chuckled out loud on impulse, only to discover that no one else thought it was in the remotest bit funny!

Recently, one of friends commented "You're always so busy nowadays..." I've forgotten what my verbal reply was but I do remember what my inner voice said... Yah right. Either really busy or act busy only.

But in all honesty, I do have a lot things that keep me occupied.

For instance, I have TWO tuition sessions later in the afternoon.. one after another. Four hours wasted just like that. And that's why, for me, the weekend only begins on saturday evening... *sigh*

the fine line between truths and generalities

2007-03-02T00:19:00.000+08:00

I am supposed to be doing my readings right now (which I have loads to do by tomorrow morn!) but instead, made a quick visit to alyn's bloggy; I almost wish I hadn't because I immediately got hooked on one of the links she gave in her latest entry. It's a horoscope site, and a darn good one, I might add! Thank You, alyn!

Just fyi; I concur with the view of certain skeptics that the horoscope is simply a whole lot of bull and thus, as a rule, I don't trust them at all. Nevertheless, I'm a sucker for zodiac write-ups, and will inevitably read them -- just for the fun of it... of course.

Being a mature young adult, one must always think sensibly and logically. With that said, coincidental truths stated in general terms does not a revelation make (no matter how much you may believe otherwise!).

A brief sample below -- the underlined bits are sooooo true about me!

HOW TO ATTRACT SAGITTARIUS

You won't have trouble striking up a conversation. Sagittarians are interested in almost anything. When they've talked themselves out on their favorite subjects, they'll decide you're a fascinating conversationalist! ....

..... They usually avoid large parties or too-close quarters because they cannot bear to be hedged in or confined. Never infringe on their freedom. Never let your emotional needs intrude on their private lives. And you'd be wise not to put too much stock in their promises. Their words are writ on water.

Enjoy being with Sagittarius but don't think you've signed a lifelong contract, because Sagittarius doesn't think so. And don't look back with regret when it's over. Sagittarius won't.

tgif and tgfb -- thank god for babies!

2007-03-02T00:01:00.000+08:00

It's been a week filled with mixed-up emotions -- I feel much like learning how to swim again after a long time of not being in deep water, or that kind-of-thing.

Amid my anxiety and stress (and a little excitement too) however, I'd like to make a quick shout-out to a dear, dear old friend in Taiwan who just gave birth to a baby girl. Alhamdulillah! I really miss her alot and though she might not be reading this, it's really such a relief to know that somewhere out there, a pair of happy and proud parents are celebrating the purest gift God could bestow upon us mortals -- the gift of life!

I'm just abit miffed that I won't be able to fly down for a visit anytime soon and consequently, would have no idea when I'd be able to get my hands on that teensy-weensy-cutesy thing and tell her, "Say hello to Uncle Duan!!" LOL~

the shuffle-your-music tag???

2007-02-27T00:59:00.000+08:00

In response to Fai's tag --

Instructions:
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. NO CHEATING!
4. Tag 10 people to play this game too.
5. Bold the questions and answers that swack. (<-- btw, what's a "swack"???)

How are you feeling today?
Feels Like Home to Me, Chantal Kreviazuk

Will you get far in life?
Walking Away, Craig David

How do your friends see you?
Hujan Di Tengah Hari, Farhan AF4

Will you get married?
What A Wonderful World, Guy Sebastian

What is your best friend's theme song?
Candak, Syura

What is the story of your life?
Memory, Tanya Chua

What was high school like?
Kasihku, Amy Mastura

How can you get ahead in life?
Destiny, Jordan Hill & Billy Potter

What is the best thing about your friends?
In My Pocket, Mandy Moore

What is in store for this weekend?
Pujaan Hatiku - Dayang Nurfaizah

What song describes you?
Angel, Kelly Clarkson

To describe your grandparents?
Brown Eyes, Destiny's Child

How is your life going?
Don't Make Me Love You ('til I'm Ready), Christina Aguilera

What song will they play at your funeral?
Nothing Can Stop Us Now, Rick Price

How does the world see you?
So Amazing, Beyonce & Stevie Wonder

Will you have a happy life?
Don't Miss You At All, Norah Jones

What do your friends really think of you?
So Far Away, Staind

Do people secretly lust after you?
Perfect, Regine Velasquez

How can I make myself happy?
Bukan Milikmu Lagi, Agnes Monica

Will you ever have children?
How Can I Not Love You, Joy Enriquez

Tagging..
1. Jay
2. Naser
3. Alyn
4. Asfa
5. Eeeks
6. Sugarpie
7. Hani
8. Vodka
9. Bing
10. Anyone else reading this and would like to try this weird tag.

***********************************************************
Despite possessing over 10 gigabytes worth of songs on my lappy, my bloody foobar kept choosing all the sappy, slow songs at random, as opposed to the more uptempo tracks. I think there's something seriously wrong with it. Maybe I should switch back to musicmatch/jetaudio/winamp. Then again, I really love my foobar to bits lah...

oscarbuzz: Babel

2007-02-23T17:59:00.000+08:00

BABEL -- Definition:
1. [n] (Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
2. [n] a confusion of voices and other sounds

Oscar nominations:
i) Performance by an Actress in a Supporting role: Adriana Barraza
ii) Performance by an Actress in a Supporting role: Rinko Kikuchi
iii) Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez
iv) Best Motion Picture of the Year
v) Best Original Screenplay
vi) Achievement in film editing
vii) Best Original Score

My one sentence synopsis: There are four stories, each akin to a gigantic puzzle piece, to look out for -- a Morroccan shepherd and his two sons, a pair of American tourists, a Mexican nanny and her two young charges, and a deaf mute Japanese teenager -- and part of the fun (and intrigue) of the film is figuring out, by film's end, where each of the puzzle pieces fit in the overall narrative.

You should watch it because:
i) the ensemble cast is excellent throughout -- A-listers Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are true to form, delivering subtle yet believable performances while the relative unknowns are also gifted thespians in their own right. Of the latter bunch, Barraza and Kikuchi really shine, as they were able to successfully engage and move audiences with their effective emotive performances despite their comparatively short on-screen times with which to build their characters.

ii) Despite being essentially four stories taking place in diverse locations, there is nothing fragmented about the film; the disparate scenes form a cohesive and harmonious whole that conveys its central message of miscommunication (like its namesake) very strongly and intelligently. With such an epic scale (locations span three continents) and theme, brilliant acting, directing and overall execution, the film is a veritable shoo-in for Best Picture. But of course, the final verdict at the Oscars may surprise us yet...

You should NOT watch it because --
You're an idiot and thought-provoking films bore you to death.

Oscar moment:
That last bit when Barraza was left stranded in the desert and watching her mounting hysteria was like... wow! Kikuchi, has a defining moment when her character realizes eventually that even by using her sex appeal (which she has aplenty!), she could not attain the intimate companionship and affection she craves.

my ratings: 4.5 stars!!!

oscarbuzz: Little Children

2007-02-23T16:59:00.000+08:00

Oscar nominations:
i) Performance by an Actor in a supporting role: Jackie Earle Haley
ii) Performance by an Actress in a Leading role: Kate Winslet
iii) Adapted Screenplay

My one sentence synopsis: Like an episode from Desperate Housewives but minus the humour, a desperate, lonely housewife, Sarah (Winslet) strikes up a conversation with desperate, lonely house-husband, Brad (Patrick Wilson) one day at the playground and plenty of romance and hot sex(!!!) ensues.

You should watch it because --
i) The ever talented and beautiful Winslet (her fifth oscar nomination!) once again shows why she is entirely deserving of an Oscar. Every nuance of voice, facial expression and little gesture, reverberates with sheer power of emotion and feeling... the actresses on Desperate Housewives ought to be ashamed of themselves!

ii) there's a couple of side stories involving Ronnie (Haley), a sex offender previously convicted of flashing his privates to a minor and an ex-cop, Larry (Noah Emmerich), who is still dealing with the trauma of forced early retirement. Their paths, with that of the principle characters, intersect at some points of the film, resulting in a series of momentous events. Moreover, the interweaving plot strands give the film such a rich and vibrant whole that audiences will leave the cinema with a sense of having witnessed a great film of substance. No kidding!

iii) Jackie Earle Haley is sooooo convincing as a sex pervert but he also manages to imbue his character with an air of melancholic gravity and placidity. It's not often you'd root for a "bad guy" but by film's end, you will definitely grow to empathise with his character.

iv) And if all the aforementioned points do not motivate you, then how about a couple of lurid love scenes involving the two main leads? LOL. Winslet has never been too shy to bare all in her films, and she and Patrick shared a few scenes together sans their clothes. Exciting, huh? :p

You should NOT watch it because --
At over two hours, the film unfolds at a pretty languid pace. But it's all worth it!

Oscar moments: There's quite a handful so I shall only mention a couple which I like best; the scene where Winslet's character, Sarah, analyses the protagonist in Gustav Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary at a book-club reading. And the climatic finale when Ronnie breaks down in anguish after realising finally that he has lost the only person in the world who had cared about him.

my ratings: 4.5 stars!!!

oscarbuzz: Half Nelson

2007-02-23T14:59:00.000+08:00

oscar noms: Performance by an Actor in a leading role: Ryan Gosling

My one sentence synopsis: Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling), an inspiration-to-his-students-because-of-unorthodox-methods teacher type, is in fact a hopeless junkie on the sly, but unwittingly becomes a surrogate elder brother of sorts for latchkey kid and precocious-teen-of-few-words, Drey (Shareeka Epps).

You should watch it because --
i) of Ryan Gosling, whose roles on the big screen have been pretty lightweight thus far (probably you last saw him in The Notebook), gets to flex his acting chops abit as the morally inflicted teacher. The story is pretty weak and patchy in spots but Gosling fills in those gaping holes nicely with his nuanced acting. However, don't expect any big, dramatic or overwrought emotions. This is all about subtlety...
ii) of Shareeka Epps, a relative unknown holds her own as a twelve-year old with the maturity of a thiry-year old. Though her character is one of few words and relatively hard to read, Epps manages to deliver a credible performance, balancing moments of unguarded vulnerability with flashes of strong insight and determination.

You shoud NOT watch it because --
Despite clocking in at under two hours in running time, Half Nelson still feels abit draggy in parts and if you're the sort who likes their weekend movies with alot of wham-bang or flash-dash or laugh-a-minute kind, then this would be a tremendous bore for you.

Oscar moment: Really hard to say, the film plods along with such a measured pace and with nary an "up" moment. Probably the best scene is when Dan, in his semi-sober state, confronts drug-pusher Frank, Drey's self-appointed guardian, and tries to get him to stay away from the latter. Ended up with the both of them sharing some drinks together. Hah!

my ratings: 3.7 stars!!!

(*this film is exclusive to the Picturehouse.)

PS: I was wondering why this show is titled Half Nelson when none of the characters are actually named Nelson! Well, here's the reason...

HALF NELSON -- Definition: [n] a wrestling hold in which the holder puts an arm under the opponent's arm and exerts press on the back of the neck

Those who've watched the film will understand. ;)

art of seduction quiz

2007-02-19T15:59:00.000+08:00

I know valentine's day is long over but I saw this on alyn's blog and I just couldn't resist taking a shot. Very cute.

happy cny

2007-02-19T01:59:00.000+08:00

This pretty much sums up my chinese new year wishes. Happy holidays everyone!

relief

2007-02-17T17:39:00.000+08:00

The past couple of weeks have been pretty rough. Had tonnes of research and read-up to do because there were a few assignments to be completed. Unfortunately, their deadlines were within a couple of days of each other so you can imagine how dreadful it was. On top of that, this week culminated in two exam papers for a couple of modules I've been doing.. and I regret to say that they were bloody difficult and I think I've made a major mess out of them. It's really pissing me off because I KNOW I could have done better.. if only I had been given more time to study!!

IF! But I guess regrets are useless. Should have had better time management lah.

So now, with the prospect of a super long weekend ahead, must really really make full use of the time and do something productive/constructive... NOT! =p

my baby

2007-02-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

... has grown up! She's no longer the rosy-cheeked toddler with irresistible little curls framing her angelic face. Today, a precocious school girl forever bursting with questions and perpetual chatter. For my baby now is in primary One and as of last week, she has turned all of 7 years of age!

Yes -- it is the time for me to once again sigh heavily and exclaim "How fast time has flown!" It seemed like only yesterday, I was carrying my little baby in my arms and pointing out to her the various animals at the zoo... Even 'til today, when I go about the house looking for her, I always instinctively call out "Baby? Baby! Where are you??" only to find her in some little corner either playing schoolteacher with her stuffed toys, attempting to read aloud a book by herself or simply drawing pictures on one of her many scrapbooks. And simply looking at her engaged in either one of these activities fills me with awe and amazement. Is this the same baby who could barely speak or walk just a few years ago???

Anyway, enough of me being sickeningly sentimental! Being a believer that good habits have to be cultivated when young, I bought a couple of Dr Seuss books as birthday gifts (must turn her into a bookworm! grrr!), and of course, the obligatory chocolate cake. I haven't the heart to deprive a seven-year-old little girl the pleasure of blowing out candles on a cake on her birthday! So here's to my little baby... with the hope that she'll grow up into a strong, intelligent and pretty individual who will have a meaningful and happy life! AMIN! ;)

PS: Isn't she just too cute for words!??

Carebears, Stare!

2007-02-05T11:59:00.000+08:00

Found this delightful little quiz over at Jay's blog. So sue me. I'm in love with anything retro or vintage (though my love doesn't run deep enough for me to go out and actually buy those stuff~!) and retro cartoons just make me flip! Smurfs, Transformers (not the new CGI series), GI Joe, Voltron, Galaxy Rangers, SilverHawk, Visionaries, etc, etc.. and CAREBEARS!

	Tenderheart Bear You are thinker, organizer, peacekeeper, and leader all in one. You have a power to command attention and people listen to you. However, you are often so concerned about not hurting others' feelings that you don't tell them what they need to hear and this gets you both into trouble. But you always have loyal friends to help you out.
*Take the Which Care Bear Are You?* Quiz!**

what happened to...

2007-02-03T11:59:00.000+08:00

my new year resolution about keeping my bloggy regularly updated???

yeah, well.. looks like it was just a load of crap on my part.

But I've been busy. Most of the time. The rest of it, I was simply moping about in my room, uninspired and unmotivated to blog. Yeah.. it had come to a point where I thought about quitting (blog) altogether and just stop minding all this blog-nonsense. And then, I start remembering the years I've been doing this and the amount of time, effort and self that I've poured into this blog and then I decided somehow to gather up whatever remaining resolve I have to give it another shot. And then, I thought -- haven't I been through all of this before??? Dejavu! LOL.

One more thing; I actually haven't been officially "working" since January. Instead, I'm now back at school for courses, trying to get a post-grad diploma, but that would only last for a year at most, or even less. I tell you, it's really a great relief to be back in "student-mode" and only worrying about being punctual for labs and lectures, and whether I'd be able to finish my assignments and tutorials on time, rather than be at the workplace and feeling the hot breaths of my superiors at my neck all the time... Thus, don't be surprised if you see me at peculiar hours on msn. =)

So that's the great revelation for today, and after months of once-a-week entries and half-spirited writings, I really wonder if this time, I'll see through my resolution, like finally! Now where did my muse run off to??

PS: I'd like to state for the record that I had promised Asfa last night I'd update my blog by today. So THere!! =p

sinned

2007-01-18T10:59:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, my friends and I were having a conversation (what about, I've forgotten) over supper at Gluttons Bay when suddenly someone amongst us asked which of the seven deadly sins are we most guilty of. After awhile, it occurred to me that no one was actually 100% certain about what exactly are the seven sins! I promised myself I'd google it before the new week began but as usual, I didn't. Doesn't that happen to you sometime? -- You make a mental note to find out about something because it was bugging you like crazy at that point in time, only to forget all about it the moment you reach home! Well, as I went about my usual morning routine today, it hit me out of the blue, to finally get that aforementioned googling done...

Thus, according to Wikipedia online encyclopaedia, the seven sins (as listed by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century A.D!!) are: luxuria (extravagance, later known as lust), gula (gluttony), avaritia (avarice/greed), acedia (sloth), ira (wrath), invidia (envy), and superbia (pride/hubris). After a quick search on quizzilla (it's been ages since I last had fun with online quizzes!), I found a couple which I thought I'd share, just for a laugh...

Which Of The Seven Deadly Sins Are You?

You are Sloth!Lazy huh ?? You're a bit slow in getting going - and tend not to do anything unless it is absolutely necessary. You'd rather sit around, watch TV/Sleep then go out and about with friends, or take part in a sporting event. On the positive side, you tend to be quite smart, as you spend a lot of time watching the News (!!) or on the computer, Also by conserving your energy, it's right there waiting for you when it's vitally important to get going.Consider possibly moving out of the room once in a while - and perhaps once a week trade watching TV for half an hour with a walk - and you'll be back on track. However, Congratulations on being the most intelligent of the 7 deadly sins...
Take this quiz!

Quizilla|Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Which of the 7 Deadly Sins Are You Most Guilty of?

Pride: "In almost every list Pride is considered the original or most serious sin, and the ultimate source of all other sins. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self." Source of all other sins? That sounds a little extreme...I mean I highly doubt that pride could make someone wanna eat more...
Take this quiz!

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| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

PS: I guess the results have some truth in them. I AM amongst the laziest bugger I know (therefore explaining how irregular my blogging is nowadays!) and I AM a little egoistic.. (a synonym for Pride?) cuz' as they say, short men have large egos. ~LOL

apprehensive

2007-01-11T09:59:00.000+08:00

In the blink of an eye, a whole week has gone by since my last entry. It seems that I've already defaulted on one of my resolutions, i.e. to blog more often and regularly.

Making a resolution (by definition, a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner) is simple enough. The difficult part is keeping to that decision. That's where I suppose the word resolute comes in.

resolute [adj] : to be firm, unyielding or determined in purpose or belief.

Unfortunately, I am someone with many inspired ideas and ideals, but scant resolve to go through with them to the end. Blame it on the star which I was born under -- At my worst, I am flighty, fickle, indecisive, and restless.

But I have been very busy of late. A whole new chapter of my life is unfurling before me... revealing a future that is filled with a seemingly endless plethora of new challenges and experiences. I guess that is also a good enough analogy to describe how one would feel about a brand new year.

Seriously speaking, I was more than a little amused by friends and acquaintances who made quite a big deal about their new year's, especially all their fretting about how to spend their last night of 2006. It's not that I care little for the past year, or am blisfully ignorant of the significance of the passing years... Truthfully, I think, my mind had been occupied by more personal matters, thus crowding out all thoughts on the looming stretch of 2007. Nevertheless, after the auld lang synes and festive merrymaking (amid nostalgic reminiscing of yesteryears) were over, it did hit me -- a year has passed, all 365 days of it, and another has begun but what have I achieved thus far? Have I become a better person? And what does the future hold for me? These questions, and many others, can only hang in the air, unanswered.

I've never been a cock-eyed optimist, so-to-speak, but here's to 2007; may it bring many joys and happiness to all my friends, loved-ones and family... and to YOU too, my fellow bloggers. Cheers!

long overdue

2007-01-04T01:59:00.000+08:00

Apologies to Jay who tagged me a few days ago but I haven't had the opportunity to respond. I've been rather busy lately (not really sure what exactly I had been doing... LOL) and looks like I've missed quite a number of all-too-important occasions (Christmas, Aidiladha, New Year's).

Asfa is right though; to blog more frequently is certainly top on my list of resolutions for this year. =) With that said, here's the tag I mentioned earlier --

31 Questions

1. What’s your name spelled backwards?
Naud

2. Have you ever licked a 9-volt battery?
Obviously not. I'm not that crazy.

3. Last time you swam in a pool?
Sometime during the first or second week of December 2006. I forgot exactly when.

4. Type of music you dislike most?
Metal

5. Do you have cable?
Nope. On singnet broadband lah.

6. Ever made a prank phone call?
Once. A lonnnnnnnng time ago.

7. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Sure; if I was given a million bucks for it.

8. Chips or popcorn?
Popcorn

9. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
???

10. Orange juice or apple?
Apple

11. Have you ever won a trophy?
I think so. Once. A lonnnnnnng time ago.

12. Ever ordered from an infomercial?
Nope

13. Ever thrown up in public?
Sadly, yes. Several times and vowed never to do it again. If I can help it, of course.

14. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?
The former. Money makes the world go round, babe. Ask Donald Trump.

15. Where would you like to go right now?
To sleep.

16. Ever spin around in circles until you got so dizzy you fell?
Oh yeah, sure.. Just did that a few days ago. I think.

17. What's the most comfortable thing you own?
My bolster

18. Have you ever stolen a sign from a street?
Nope.

19. What was the last thing you were thinking about?
I really, really SHOULD be in bed by now.

20. Is the moon out right now?
No idea. Can't be bothered to check.

21. What's one of your weird quirks that nobody really understands?
Too many to mention here. =)

22. Ever thought about why grass is green?
Oh yeah.. during those days before I studied Science.

23. Can you build a detailed sand castle?
Nope.

24. What's one of your favorite possessions?
My ipod nano.

25. Do you like to sleep?
That goes without saying!

26. Is your bed comfortable?
Sometimes. My sofa bed is abit temperamental.

27. What's the most awkward thing that happened to you in public?
I really cannot recall right now. Such memories are best left forgotten...

28. Who's the last person that freaked you out?
hmmmmm...

29. How come macaroni and cheese is so good?
Because they're so bad for your health.

30. Is pink the new black?
To some mentally deranged people.

31. What thought made you cry last?
The thought that I'll have something real crappy to do at work next Monday.

******************************
There's really no point in me assigning this tag to other people right?? It's so... meaningless... LOL!

koff-koff!

2006-12-18T23:59:00.000+08:00

Last wednesday morning, I woke up with the most aggravating sore throat, a racking cough, a cold, and a hoarse voice. It has been quite a terrible week... It's most discomforting to be unwell, yet not really that unwell (the lie-in-bed kind). I refuse to visit the nearby clinic/polyclinic on the basis that they're a luxury to be afforded only as a last resort or when I'm in need of an MC.

I know the drill pretty well by now -- syrup and lozenges for the cough and sore throat, chlorpheniramine/piriton for the cold, and a couple of slabs of paracetamol just for assurance. Since I can get all the above at the nearby pharmacy/supermarket, why should I go see a doctor who will prescribe the same stuff and on top of which, charge me exorbitant consultation charges??

Anyway, I'm an expert on self-medication, thanks to my NS stint as a medic. LOL.

Nevertheless, despite all my efforts, the cough just refuses to go away, although thankfully, it has gotten a little better. The most irksome thing about being sick is that I've got to force myself to abstain from drinking coffee (my number one addiction) because of its diuretic properties (prevents the body from retaining fluids, and thus not good for someone who is trying to get rid of his very-very stubborn cough!) and have switched temporarily, to drinking tea. Lots of it.

Oh well; we can't always be in the pink of health all the time, rite?

pest (part II)

2006-12-13T23:59:00.000+08:00

Hemidactylus frenatus or also known in layman terms as the common house gecko -- my number one nemesis or arch-enemy.

I was in the kitchen the other day trying to scare up something for a late night supper when I spotted this HUGE slimy creature high up on the wall near the kitchen's entryway. Armed with a can of insecticide in one hand (chemical warfare) and mom's trusty penyapu (hand-to-hand combat) I waited for it to crawl within reach (because I'm quite vertically-challenged, you know).

A few minutes later (seemed like an eternity) the damned reptile made a mad dash for the dark crevices of the kitchen cabinet but I gave it a good dose of Baygone (to stun him?) before giving it a good whack with the aforementioned penyapu.

Amazingly, a couple more forceful whacks were needed before the bloordy thing finally stopped wriggling (in the throes of death??). Here's a photo (courtesy of my LG Chocolate's cam.) of that dreadful creature with its tail gone and the lower half of its body smashed to smithereens...

What can I say? I just HATE lizards. Period.

the gift

2006-12-08T15:59:00.000+08:00

A couple of days ago, I met a very old friend of mine for dinner. It had been ages since we last caught up with each other and I felt a tad guilty for not doing so... We have been pretty close friends eversince our army days and even after that, continued to hang out together frequently, on weekdays after my lectures/tutorials at the uni were over and on weekends after I knock off from my part-time job. After graduation, I sort of lost touch with him and I keep telling myself it was because we were both busy with our "careers" and personal lives, and circumstances were much exacerbated by the fact that we stay on opposite sides of the island (me in Jurong whilst he in Tampiness).

But I guess that's how things are as we grow older and "adult" matters and concerns begin to occupy our daily lives -- Friends start to drift apart and we find (or fabricate) excuses for not making enough efforts to prevent it from happening.

Well anyway, since our birthdays this month are only a week apart, we decided it would be a splendid idea, and a most christmassy thing to do, to exchange gifts (despite our several years of friendship, we seldom bought presents for each other -- I guess guys tend to let things like that slip.. :p ). So I bought him a snazzy new name-card holder (which he picked himself!) and he got for me a new planner (which I chose, of course) from Prints at Raffles City. Its brown and has a leather-ish cover... I know it might look a little dowdy but hey, I think I'm all about chic and cool understatement! (as if..)

Honestly, I'm not sure if I would really use that thing but I think I shall try my best... I've resolved that 2007 will be a very organized year for me. Hehe. Hmmm.. In fact, I was originally thinking of getting for myself an Ipaq or Dopod early next year but if I do, it would make my lovely new planner rather redundant, wouldn't it?? But just look at those pristine white pages that are just waiting to be filled up with numerous important notes, appointments, meetings and notices! I feel like a primary one kid who had been given a wonderful new notebook (one of those blue-covered little things that used to cost only 20 or 30cents) to scribble in!

It's mind-boggling to think how the year is coming to an end without you even noticing it and a whole new year is just around the corner. The thought is making me feel so OLD!! Sigh..

pest

2006-12-08T01:59:00.000+08:00

I saw him
from the corner of my eye,
flitting this way
and that way,
scampering on its tiny
disgusting feet.
My arm reached out
quickly
for the nearest thing
(last Saturday's Classified)
and then
in one decisive
SWAT
... he died.

PS: This was not meant to be poetic. LOL

Battle Of Wits (Muk Kong)

2006-12-06T23:59:00.000+08:00

What is it about? -- This US$16 million epic production is a China-Korea-Japan collaboration and supposedly took the director 11 years to prepare and make. Based on a 90s' Japanese manga, it portrays how one lone man, Ge Li (Andy Lau), a Mo Tzu disciple, rallies the townspeople of the (small) city of Liang to defend themselves against the overwhelming might of the Zhao army, who coincidentally, are just passing through to invade another kingdom. Its literally a battle of wits (hence the title) between Ge Li and the Zhao general and they try to outwit each other with their war strategies for the entire duration of this film!

Who's in it? -- As is obvious from the film posters, this is basically a one-man show by Andy Lau but his supporting cast consists of some reliable actors from China and Korea.

You should watch it if you're --
1. A fan of big-budget, epic, Chinese films.
2. A fan of war-movies. Per se.
3. down to your last ten bucks for the weekend, secretly loves seeing people getting dismembered and cannot tahan films that consist of animated talking animals. ;p

You should NOT watch it if you're --
1. thinking this will be another Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, The Banquet, etc. There are no flying swordsmen in this film!
2. not Chinese, don't understand Mandarin and don't like to read subtitles.
3. a girl and war-films just bore you to death! (unless u're a die-hard Andy Lau fan lah..)

In a nutshell -- Battle Of Wits reminded me of those times (long,long ago!) when I used to play Romance of the Three Kingdoms on my old Sega gaming console. Frankly speaking, the CGI effects are not impressive, there are no lush scenes of beautiful countryside to distract you, and there isn't much of a storyline. On top of that, the romantic subplot involving Ge Li and a calvary officer (played by the beautiful but unconvincing Fan BingBing) is too superficial to be credible. Notwithstanding these flaws, I was still captivated by the battle scenes and the depicted "strategies" were quite engaging in their execution, so much so that I quite lost track of the time!

my ratings -- 3.3/5 Stars!!!

Happy Feet

2006-12-04T11:59:00.000+08:00

What is it about? -- A tap-dancing penguin (voiced by Elijah Wood) is alienated by his community because of his inability to "sing" like the rest of them, goes on a do-it-or-die mission to rescue his race from food-depletion, and ends up a hero and converts every other penguin into die-hard tap-dancers too. I'm not kidding.

Who's in it? -- If you can discern their voices, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams and Hugo Weaving are the big-names involved in this animated feature. They also do their own singing. Ms Murphy, especially, has a mean set of pipes!

Why you should/shouldn't watch it -- This is probably the most hyped-about animated film to hit cinemas this Christmas/Holiday season and also one of those which actually delivers. Or almost, anyway. (On a sidenote, I don't think there'd ever be a "cartoon" film which could top the greatness of Finding Nemo or The Incredibles).

The CGI animation is top-notch and the first half of the film zooms by with plenty of laughs and enjoyable song and dance routines to engage both the kiddies and adults alike. By the second half though, the film gets bogged down abit by the politically-correct and eco-friendly undertones, and climaxes to a finish which, in my opinion, was too convenient and unbelievable even by movie-cartoon standards. Nevertheless, most people would find it more than satisfactory. It's just a film, what! Cartoon some-more...

For those of you who are disinclined toward animated films but are willing to give Happy Feet a try, then let me list 3 factors which I thought were the show's distinctive strengths:
1) As mentioned earlier, the top-notch animation.
2) The tap-dancing penguins. Either be blown away by the choreography (the movements are of real dancers in motion-capture suits) or the overwhelming cuteness of those fluffy penguins.
3) The irrepressible Robin Williams, providing fantastic voice-over work for no less than THREE penguin characters. I don't think the film would be half as entertaining without him.

In a nutshell -- If you thoroughly enjoyed watching March of the Penguins, or have a penchant for cutesy animals, or if you're simply a media-design student who wants to be inspired by excellent CGI work, then Happy Feet would cater to all your needs/expectations.

However, if you're the sort who gets vomitting-spasms from saccharine cutesy-ness or would rather watch something with a little more edge, then you should have caught Aardman Animations' Flushed Away instead (from the same people responsible for the wickedly humorous Wallace & Gromit).

my ratings: 3/5 stars!
But 3.8/5 stars because of Robin Williams!!!

jiwang

2006-12-04T11:58:00.000+08:00

When I was a kid still in primary school, the type of music I was exposed to was that which my elder brother and elder sister were listening to at the moment. So it was that their favourite tunes became mine as well. Gersang, HeadWind, Wings, Search, Exists, etc; these Malay rock bands (immensely successful back then in the 1980s) were the staple on the radio-cassette player at home and I can vividly recall how crazy I was over such songs like Exists' Untukmu Ibu, Search's Isabella and Gersang's Masih Aku Terasa, even to the point of memorising their emotionally over-wrought lyrics so that I could wail them out in the bathroom whilst having my shower.

Those were the days!

Today, such songs rarely make it to the playlist of my media player of my pc or my mp3 player and even when they do, I have trouble appreciating the music or even understanding the "depth" of the lyrics. Case in point;

Sewaktu kau melangkah
Meninggalkan diriku
Sebaknya rasa di dalam dadaku
Menahan titis air mata

Ingin aku berpesan
Kepadamu kekasih
Sekiranya engkau merinduiku
Hubungilah aku di sini

Jika ada kesilapanku
Maafkanlah diriku oh sayang
Dan izinkan aku bertanya
Mengapa kau berubah hati

Kiranya kau ada penggantiku
Tetapi hidupmu tak bahagia
Relaku memaafkanmu
Dan menerimamu sayang...

--- Spring - Pesanan Buat Kekasih

The simple corniness of the lyrics, sung in a plaintive but banal tune, against a mercilessly conventional guitars-with-drums melody... My senses immediately switch off and I cannot "feel" the song at all.

However, jiwang songs do possess a certain appeal, I guess. It is, afterall, still music and in the words of Victor Hugo, music is something which...

expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.

on lunch

2006-12-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

I was walking past the neighbourhood shopping center (or "area" rather since it's not really anyone's idea of a shopping center along the likes of Jurong Point, Westmall etc..) earlier today when I noticed a huge, striking, yellow banner. I couldn't resist taking a picture using my hp's camera.

American Idol Season 5 reviews - Complete Archives

2006-12-01T17:59:00.000+08:00

Finals:

Top 9
Top 8: Country night
Top 7: The songs of Queen
Top 6: The great american songbook -- songs by Rod Stewart
Top 5: Love Songs
Top 4: The music of Elvis
Top 3: Final 3
Top 2: Finale

PGL the musical

2006-11-29T23:59:00.000+08:00

Puteri Gunung Ledang the musical is without a doubt, the highlight of this year's Pesta Raya festival, and without which, frankly speaking, the latter would have been a snooze-fest unworthy of our attention. Moreover, this year's festival line-up is such a paltry affair that it made me wonder if the organisers had pumped in so much money to bring PGL here that scant little was left to beef up this year's Pesta Raya programme.

My gripings aside, I'm happy to say that PGL the musical lived up to all the hype that had been generated around it eversince the local media started its publicity blitz a couple of months ago. All the glowing reviews from critics across the causeway, which had seemed like exaggerations, were not exaggerated at all. Like the film of its namesake, PGL the musical is an epic story told in epic proportions, and whose epic scale is overtly emphasized by the lavish set, magnificent costumes and lush score by our very own Dick Lee.

Dick Lee's compositions, with its use of distinct leitmotifs, is reminiscent of music I've heard when I watched the Forbidden City a few months ago, but I think it was something coincidental (as all works by the same composer usually do have striking similarities) and not just some flagrant recycling on Mr Lee's part.

Comparisons between these two musicals, I suppose, would be inevitable, considering the epicness of both productions and how both had been staged at the same venue, ie. the Esplanade Theater. Since the scores of both shows have been (beautifully) composed by the same person, there is nothing more to be said of the music/song department. However, in terms of story and richness of characters, I would say that the Forbidden City is the more fulfilling watch, probably due to the fact that it was based on definite "historical" events. Moreover, out of the two leading ladies, Kit Chan is the one more equipped for the musical stage in contrast to Tiara Jacquelina, mainly because the former is an established singer whereas the latter is an accomplished actress.

Nevertheless, where set-pieces and stage-props are concerned, PGL the musical simply dazzles and inspires awe even more so than the Forbidden City ever could. Case in point -- six massive boulder-like monuments were arranged and re-arranged in various ways to depict different scenes; from the craggy surfaces of the Majapahit palace to a humongous cliff-wall facing the ocean. A breath-taking set-piece involved a curtain of white cloth falling away to form the waves of an ocean, as a figurative "ship" of warriors, replete with billowing sails, carry the Princess to the Malaccan shore.

Whenever Tiara Jacquelina fell short in her solos and arias, she compensated with her sizzling charisma and engaging portrayal of her character. And although I still think Stephen Rahman Hughes is a "salah" choice to play the legendary Hang Tuah (his stiff enunciation and a couple of "pelat" renderings were a major turn-off), his impressive Broadway baritone was a fitting complement to the pomp and grandeur of the staging. AC Mizal seemed to be having such a ball playing the villainous Adipati; it was such a waste that he hardly appeared at all in the second act. Adlin Aman Ramlie reprises his role from the film (as the Sultan) but he deserved plaudits not only for his performance but also for his commendable efforts as the show's lyricist.

In addition to the less-than-perfect casting and perfunctory "love-story" plot, there are other flaws which marred my full enjoyment of the show. I feel that the second act seemed abit truncated and rushed, and the climatic face-off between the Princess and the Sultan could have been depicted in a more believable way. Furthemore, while the music as a whole had a certain modern and Broadway-ish universal appeal, it could have been made more authentic and "ethnic" sounding by the use of traditional Indon musical instruments such as the gamelan. Perhaps the show's creators should have used M.Nasir's composition, Bagaikan Sakti as a recurring theme; I'm sure it would have enhanced the show's "ethnic" atmosphere.

Still, with its sweeping romantic score, stunning choreography, energetic cast and extravagant sets, here is indeed, a majestic spectacle well-suited to be the pinnacle of Pesta Raya 2006. (On another note, it would have been interesting to see the leading alternates i.e. the understudies for Hang Tuah and the Princess, perform in their respective roles; I've heard rumors that they were vocally more competent!)

PS: Picture above is the show's programme and my ticket stub. Didn't manage to take any photos during the show (which is not allowed anyway) or of the cast members lah. The other picture is taken from the official PGL the musical website.

Eka, the Belting Diva

2006-11-27T23:59:00.000+08:00

I was fortunate enough to have caught Eka Mairina in concert at the Esplanade Recital Studio the friday before last, i.e. 17th November 2006. Whoa! That was like TEN whole days ago!! I know I should have mentioned this so much earlier but...

Well anyway, I was rather disappointed by the lukewarm response to the concert; for a relatively small venue (according to the Esplanade official website, the total seating capacity of the studio is 245), it was only four-fifths occupied and there wasn't a single malay celeb in the audience. Talk about supporting your fellow peers in the industry, huh.

However, that didn't really mar my enjoyment of Eka's concert, which was aptly named Eka's Story as she narrated her days as a singer (thru' song of course), from whence she first started participating in talent competitions in her home country, right down to the launch and establishment of her singing career in Singapore. If you could call a mere couple of years in the industry as a "career" that is... Eka herself disclosed that it was her first and final concert in Singapore, owing to future plans to return to Indonesia permanently.

As some discerning readers may remember, I've already waxed lyrical about Eka's singing prowess during my accounts of the 2003 Anugerah competition, in which she emerged the winner. That night was no exception -- Eka was definitely in fine form, belting each and every song with the seasoned air of someone who has been performing in concerts for years. As expected, she performed most/all of the songs from her debut album, Untukmu Selamanya, and the (overplayed & overhyped) Cinta Q anthem, Cipta Kasih.

The real treat was hearing her sing in English, putting her stamp on classics like The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Making Love Out Of Nothing at All. However, the most inspiring moments (for me) that evening were her restrained delivery of Ruth Sahanaya's Mengertilah Kasih, the guitars-only version of Kata Hati, and the finale, a heart-wrenching (and almost explosive) take of Why Does It Hurt So Bad, which in my honest opinion, blew the original Whitney's version clear out of the water.

Mayuni Omar provided excellent piano accompaniment and even sang a whole song -- solo! (I couldn't help thinking, however, that he should just stick to what he does best -- composing!) Hazrul Nizam may not have been the likely substitute for Iskandar Ismail on Cinta Abadi, but his smooth vocal stylings was pretty impressive. It's a pity that there wasn't a "live" band though; the minus-one music didn't do justice to Eka's vocals...

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed myself that night and although Fauzie Laily was scheduled to perform but didn't, his presence was not sorely missed. =)

2 Zulkaedah 1427: reflections

2006-11-23T08:59:00.000+08:00

I didn't intentionally leave my blog "unupdated" for a whole month -- believe me, it was more like an unconscious effort on my part. I've been moderately busy these past few weeks and kept putting off blogging, preferring instead to spend whatever free time I had at home either indulging in leisurely reading or watching tonnes of TV. Then before I knew it, raya season is over. It would seem abit odd right now to write about the many events that transpired during the first couple of weeks of Syawal; and thus, I shan't.

But thank god now, I no longer have to tolerate the sight of groups of noisy malay teenagers walking about in their best traditional malay dress -- the minahs in their glittering kebayas and stilettos and the mats in their shimmering kurungs.

On top of that, I think I still have around $30 worth of two-dollar notes left-over, unused, with some still in their zakat packets. I feel rich already. LOL

I like my coffee a little sweet

2006-11-23T01:59:00.000+08:00

... and as a result, it more often than not, becomes an irresistible magnet for ants. And as I sit here at my study table, typing away at my keyboard, I can see three or four of them (ants!) wending their way up my mug, determined to get to its savoury contents. Its rather ironic then, that when they finally reach their destination (i.e. the coffee in the mug), they will never make it out alive; inevitably, they will drown in the dark milky-brown depths.

I think, we are a little like ants.

Sometimes, we endeavour to successfully overcome life's impediments, only to find ourselves sinking ever deeper into the cesspool of life.

new skin

2006-11-21T01:59:00.000+08:00

I've given up trying to figure out the wonderful new features of beta blogger and instead, have revamped my old template. There's nothing like a splash of colour to liven things up abit.

A proper blogger entry will be coming up soon. Watch this space! LOL

beta blogger

2006-11-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

am finally testing out beta blogger. Cudn't resist the urge to try out the new templates provided and the new editing function. However, stupidly forgot to save my previous template, thus lost quite abit of html frm that.

Also, haven't figured out how to include my tag-board and haloscan into this new template. Yet.

The Cupboard

2006-10-23T02:59:00.000+08:00

Opening these old plywood doors
is like stepping --
into a time machine -- and stepping
into a past when you were still around;
everyday, shuttling from home to work, and home again,
on your beloved green Vespa;
and Saturday nights, in front of the TV,
in one of your old sarongs, watching
British Bulldog and Undertaker beat the crap
out of each other.

Now, congealed dust coat the surface of your things
(which have hardly been touched eversince you left)
and the saturated reek of mothballs and stale minyak attar
stubbornly fill this confined space,
making my nose twitch and my eyes
water.

Mom says, I should take
some of your clothes and use them,
but how could I --
Wear shirts, tinged with yellow from long un-use, and pants,
at least two sizes too small?
These dated habiliments -- and many others -- I can only
fold away
and put away into boxes,
for storage in a corner of the room, where they can
be conveniently Forgotten.

So heavy, these hands, as I run them over
your old socks -- their elastic long gone -- and your
precious few baju kurungs;
But heavier still is the heart.
Each garment that I touch
invokes a slice of memory -- Memory after memory,
re-lived, and then
packed and stacked on top of each other.
No wonder, that it took some years before
someone went around to do this. . .

Make way! Make way for those still living!
Someone else's things will be placed here tomorrow --
here, behind these old plywood doors --
because Life goes on, and all that jazz.

it's monday morning

2006-10-16T08:59:00.000+08:00

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my Fun-day
My I-don't-have-to-runday
It's just another manic Monday...

Not more than half an hour at work and I'm already wishing that I'm back at home right now, curled up on my mattress, fast asleep. Then again, that's what I think about every morning at work. LOlx. Anyway, the first line of aforesaid chorus and some semblance of its melody kept popping up in my head but I just can't recall who actually sang it. So, instead of doing something productive or relevant to work, I decided to google it up and then, lo and behold, I've discovered that it was sung by the Bangles in their debut album waaaaaaaaaaay back in 1984! FYI, the Bangles were also the original artistes for two other familiar works, namely, Eternal Flame and Walk Like An Egyption.

It's simply amazing what you can find out using google. Heck, I hardly read newspapers anymore, prefering instead to "google it up" whenever I need to update myself on current affairs. Need information fast and you think it could be found online? Simply google it and like magic, the info is yours within a few clicks. A quick check with hyperdictionary.com revealed the word "google" is used as a noun but seriously, I think it can be a verb as well. Googling. Googled. Going to google. Have you googled. (You get the picture...) However, the word does sound like it could mean something unpleasant or doing something unpleasant. Like you know how ogling isn't such a nice thing for you to be doing. Or drooling. But then, gurgling isn't exactly a negative activity -- i.e. gurgling mouthwash is a hygienic thing to do. And I'm being nonsensical.

As of this moment, I'm feeling sleepy and tired. Sleepy because I had less than four hours of sleep last night (if I add up the hours of sleep before sahur and after). Tired because.. erm.. at the thought of having so many chores to complete by Hari Raya, which is only EIGHT days away! Cleaning, cleaning, cleanning and MORE cleaning! It's making me cringe... (tapi blom buat pape dah penat seh.. LOL!)

How time flies. When Ramadhan started, I was whining about how unused I was to fasting and how lethargic I felt all the time. Now, with the fasting month ending soon, I almost wish that it wouldn't (end so soon, I mean), probably so that I won't have to start doing the gazillion things on my to-do list. *sigh*

Humans are such contradictory creatures, aren't they?

Scoop

2006-10-15T23:59:00.000+08:00

What's it about? -- An American student journalist, Sondra Pranski (Scarlett Johansson), gets the scoop of the century from the spectre of a deceased journo (Ian McShane). With the aid of third-rate magician and fellow-American-in-London, Sid Waterman aka. Splendini (Woody Allen), she attempts to find out whether the amiable and handsome aristocrat, Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), is the man really responsible for a spate of murders known as the Tarot Card killings.

Who's in it? -- Johannson and Jackman are the Hollywood A-listers to look out for and they do make a very watchable pair. Woody Allen, who wrote and directed this film, also co-stars (with plenty of screen-time) as a befuddled and doddering septuagenarian. I can't help thinking that he's merely being himself rather than acting per se.

Why you should/shouldn't watch it -- I've seen the perpetually gorgeous Johansson in a couple of other films and she is a very talented actress. Pensive young women, with expressive eyes, displaying a silent maturity far beyond her youthful years -- these roles are her forte. As a bumbling, neurotic, geeky, novice journalist who goes about like she's Sherlock Holmes, Johansson seemed like a square peg in a round hole. Though her performance started out rather awkward and affected initially, it thankfully grew from strength to strength as the film moved along.

Story-wise, the plot is paper-thin and the mystery which was to be solved, didn't seem mysterious at all. Even Jackman's talents as a character actor is grossly under-utilized. However, what made the film really work for me was the witty script, and the delicious one-liners that Woody Allen had written for himself (he got almost all the best lines). It's a good thing that he and Johansson did had some kind of chemistry together (like father-and-daughter but not quite) because the film would have fallen completely flat if they didn't, seeing how we see so much of them throughout the film.

In a nutshell -- Critics have been pretty harsh on this film; most consider it a weak mish-mash of ideas from past Woody Allen films, and some are of the opinion that Johansson and Jackman, have delivered their most uninspired performances to date. Frankly, I've never seen Allen's other works (except the reasonably-good Matchpoint last year) and therefore, did not expect anything too much from this renowned and respected writer-director. Nevertheless, even if the story sucked, I was still bowled over by the entertaining banter between Allen and Johansson's characters.

my ratings -- 3.5/5 stars!!

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-10-12T09:47:00.000+08:00

What is it about? -- A typical dysfunctional American family goes on a road trip (a 700-mile drive in a decrepit van, no less) after seven year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) becomes a fluke finalist for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. What ensues is, of course, a series of mishaps and incidents which are guaranteed to either tickle your funny bone or touch your emotional core (in a good way, of course).

Who's in it? -- Greg Kinnear and Toni Collete play the oft bickering husband and wife; Alan Arkin, Steve Carell and hitherto unknown Paul Dano round off the rest of the family, as grandpa, brother and son respectively. However, it is really Abigail Breslin who steals scenes with her bespectacled, wide-eyed intensity, albeit lacking the dramatic solemnity of Dakota Fanning. Still, part of Breslin's charm (apart from her slightly ungainly figure and "ugly-duckling" look) is that her portrayal of Olive is never too cute, too sweet or too adorable.

Why you should/shouldn't watch it -- Although the film is beset with characters which are indie-movie stereotypes (foul-mouthed grandpa, angst-ridden teen, success-obsessed dad, suicidal gay, etc) and a couple of loopholes in the storyline, what makes this film so endearing is the excellent ensemble cast that delivers strong and unaffected performances throughout, and the dark, satirical (but atrociously humorous) script.

In a nutshell -- Balancing comedy and drama with great panache, this film is indeed a substantial watch that would make you leave the cinema feeling uplifted and warm (without feeling overtly cheesy).

my ratings: 4.2/5 stars!!!

The Beat That My Heart Skipped

2006-10-06T11:43:00.000+08:00

What is it about? -- Helmed by critically acclaimed French director, Jacques Audiard, this film (which is in French, no less) is actually a remake of American writer-director, James Toback's 1978 film, Fingers. Both films share the same theme: a thug/gangster tries to balance his more aggressive lifestyle whilst reaching for his dream of becoming a concert pianist (sounds nonsensical, but it really isn't!). Though the original version gained respectable reviews back then, it did rather poorly both in the US and in the UK, probably due to its inaccesible & violent content (or so I've read).

Who's in it? -- Nobody recoqnizable at all. However, the main actor, Romain Duris, delivers a fantastic performance as the main protagonist of the story, Thomas Seyr; there's such a raw and "dangerous" element to his onscreen energy, even in those scenes where he is simply alone playing on the piano. The rest of the cast is excellent too, with everyone filling their roles perfectly even right down to the Chinese piano teacher who doesn't speak French.

Why should/shouldn't you watch it? -- Four reasons why this film could possibly be NOT an enjoyable watch for the average Joe. Firstly, it is entirely in French. Second, it's not a comedy. Third, there's a certain film-noir-ish quality about it -- i.e. it belongs to the genre of films with relatively an unsympathetic way of looking at its subject matter. Moreover, the ambivalent ending leaves much unresolved. Nevertheless, if these aforesaid factors do not turn you off, then this film could make a very fulfilling watch.

In a nutshell -- Since it won the BAFTA award (the British version of the Oscar) for best foreign film this year, it must be somewhat worth watching, right?? Anyway, I like films that successfully portray such abstract issues (in this case, man's dual nature, artist vs animal) without resorting to melodrama ala Steven Spielberg.

my ratings -- 4.0/5 stars!!!

ps: The Beat That My Heart Skipped is only available for viewing at the Picturehouse.

Must-see Tuesdays..

2006-10-03T22:59:00.000+08:00

Was home abit earlier than usual today and slept all the way (a couple of hours, perhaps?) until it was time for iftar. After that, managed to zone out in front of the television... Caught up with local sitcoms Maggie & Me and My Sassy Neighbour, after which I channel-surfed to ArtsCentral to watch Material World, an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the working lives of some of the most sought-after interior designers in the US; from whence they derive their inspiration, how they transform their creative visions into reality, and how they suck up to their filthy rich clients. Very, VERY interesting show. Then, I caught abit of Little Britain whilst doing my routine ironing -- that show never fails to crack me up everytime with its wildly imaginative set-ups and zany out-of-this-world humour. It's like the British version of Malaysia's Senario (starring Ah-pek and friends), only much more risque. LOL. Seriously, Brit comedies are in a different league from their US counterparts. Everybody Hates Chris is also becoming a Tuesday night staple but Chris Rock's voice-overs are sometimes so ridiculously upbeat, they're starting to become unfunny.

Recently, one of my friends commented that "Any show or film made in Singapore must not be very good" after he heard I was considering to watch Singapore Dreaming at the cinemas. Eventually, I didn't get to watch the film afterall but I was quite perturbed by that remark. It was probably a sweeping statement delivered for comedic impact but I believe there are many Singaporeans out there who de-value made-in-Singapore programmes. And who can blame them??

My nieces are great fans of the local sitcoms on Tuesday nights and I'm beginning to see why. Maggie & Me has a very original premise (An amnesiac ghost in the form of aggravatingly cutesy Fiona Xie?) and works reasonably well despite a plodding script and unsteady humour, mainly because of the comic talents of Adrian Pang. That guy deserves an award for his valiant efforts! =p

Already into its sophomore season, My Sassy Neighbour is probably one of the best local sitcoms to hit the English medium channel in a long while. Patricia Mok, as the overwhelmingly surreal do-gooder Mdm Tan, is such a scream -- she has the amazing knack of making even the lamest and most corny lines sound genuinely sincere. Cassandra See, Chua En Lai and the rest of the supporting cast are pretty good too and plaudits to the scriptwriters who pepper the show with bits of moralistic messages; certainly more welcome than the preachy-goodness of any of Jack Neo's stuff.

The standards of English-medium sitcoms have definitely improved over the years but I think the new (and much hyped) Yang Sisters airing on Thursdays is quite a step-back, judging from what I've seen. Although Hongkong actress Cheng Pei-Pei headlines the show, the scene-stealer is really Kym Ng but other than that, the debut episode last week was pretty lacklustre.

Yes, I'm a regular couch potato... and I think I lead a very sad life outside of work-hours. *Sigh*

here's the gist --

2006-10-03T13:59:00.000+08:00

last Friday:
Had to rush down to Bukit Panjang after work for tuition. The 'N' levels are here!!! Very stressed out. Then, after iftar at JEC's KFC (where were the free dates???), went down to the Suria Raya Carnival at Bugis for a look-see. I've heard rumours that it was a let-down but I didn't realise it was THAT crappy! What a waste of my time...

last Saturday:
Tuition in the afternoon -- prepped my kid for his upcoming streaming exams and was told by his mom that he would need A-maths and Physics lessons starting next year. A-maths and Physics!!! Well, A-maths isn't too bad actually but the prospect of having to teach these two dreadful subjects is certainly very unappealing. Am very tempted to quit tuition especially since the kid's mom is waayyyyy behind on payment (and I'm grossly underpaid!!!) but really, I've been doing this more for the kid's benefit rather than for the money... or perhaps I've just been deluding myself??? Whatever!

Went down to Orchard afterwards and caught Little Miss Sunshine at Lido after iftar. Excellent film! Loved it to bits... but Lido 4 seats were cramped worse than sardines in a can. Spent remainder of night wandering aimlessly in town, mostly window-shopping. Ended up buying the XMenIII DVD and (on impulse) the Grinch vcd at Carrefour. Came home tired and worn-out, but more importantly, I've got my XMEN!!! Review coming up soon...

last Sunday:
Off to Geylang with my family in the early afternoon. So much more happening than Kampong Glam. However, I decided to get my baju kurung some other day instead. Then, made a solo side-trip to Bras Basah Complex where I spent a bomb on some books at the Popular Bookshop outlet there. Also window-shopped again, but this time at Citilink Mall and Marina Square (fast becoming my fave shopping destination) -- got for myself a couple of new t-shirts. VERY happy. Will probably stay happy as long as I don't check my bank account. LOL.

Predictably, came home very tired from all the day's walking.

Monday (yesterday):
SUPER long day. Was on my feet most of the time... felt like I could just keel over unconscious from exhaustion at any time but of course, it didn't happen. Too bad lah. Rushed home and managed to squeeze an hour's worth of much-needed sleep before iftar. After that, rushed down to BP by cab for tuition. By the time I got back, it was a quarter to midnight and I still had some bloody ironing to do!!! On top of all the rushing here and there and yonder, can't help worrying about how well my kid will do for his N levels exams. Or how badly. I don't like to be too optimistic...

Right now:
I need sleep. LOADS of it....

tgif!

2006-09-29T11:59:00.000+08:00

Today is already the sixth day of Ramadhan but I must confess that it hasn't exactly been an easy six days. I guess my (unhealthy) body is still not used to going without food and water for long periods. I know its unethical (and sacrilegious, perhaps?) but there are moments during the day, whilst at work, when I find myself daydreaming (unintentionally, of course) about my favorite foodies.

Physically restraining yourself to comply to fasting requirements are simple enough; it is trying to abstain from thinking "improper" thoughts -- that is the hard part. =p

Isn't it a wonder that most of us Muslims get the oddest (and sometimes rather unreasonable) surges of desire for certain foodies during the fasting month? And more so than at any other time of the year? And the great lengths some of us go to in order to satiate our appetites during iftar (i.e. break-fast) can be rather amusing. It's ironic then that though Ramadhan is supposed to be a sacred month of restraint and religious observance, so many of us engage in unnecessary excesses (especially in expenditure) the moment the sun sets and our fasting ends.

However, I am in no position to be sermonizing for I, myself, am guilty of such transgressions... ;)

But I digress.

The point is, being still unaccustomed to the rigours of fasting, I feel tired and lethargic all the time, even after iftar. As a result, very little gets done and frankly, this unproductiveness is getting annoying. If there's a state of being I hate the most, it is the feeling of being useless or obsolete.

Well anyway, thank god for the weekend. Perhaps a little R&R time will help my body adapt faster... I have yet to visit the Raya carnival or bazaar raya at Geylang Serai and I'm itching to go down and get me some dengdeng!!! Moreover, I haven't bought this year's baju kurung yet (I buy mine off the shelf instead of having it tailored) and intend to get it at least a full week before Raya in order to secure the right size (FYI, sizes for petite individuals such as myself tend to run out pretty fast).

What color kurung, you might ask? All shall be revealed in due time...

PS: I hope I didn't make it seem like it's my first time fasting -- it isn't. It's just that last year's Ramadhan seemed so distant now; I've almost forgotten what it was like! LOL

Singapore Idol finale

2006-09-26T08:59:00.000+08:00

According to the Singapore Idol website, Hady Mirza's victory at the indoor stadium last night was a landslide "marked by 70 per cent of some one million votes." If you ask me, that's a pretty impressive statistic even when compared to season one's 62:38 percent win by Taufik Batisah against Sylvester Sim. I can volunteer a number of conjectures why the winning margin is that wide but I think I'll only mention the most plausible ones here... ;)

1) Most Sg-Idol viewers had finally recovered from the "tone-deaf" syndrome (remember those intolerable weeks when Joakim Gomez was still around??) and could distinguish good-quality singing from not-so-good quality singing. Although Jonathan Leong's deliveries have always been cool, steady and "epic" (as judge Jacintha had once commented) in style, his vocals simply cannot match Hady's superb range and amazing control. Hady is the better singer by a mile.

2) If you're choosing someone who could excel in the mainstream genres of pop and R&B (which are evidently the more popular and commercialised genres), then Hady Mirza is definitely the more qualified singer. He can pull-off maudlin ballads, groovy uptempo numbers and retro tunes with equal ease. Versatility -- I believe -- is a prereqisite to becoming a true Idol.

3) No matter how corny the Idol song is apt to be, we are doomed to hear it ceaselessly on local radio stations for the next few weeks or more, depending on how long Mediacorp is able to sustain the "idol fever". Despite Jon's competent renditions of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars and Dreamz FM's Should I Stay (very suitable choices of song, for his limited vocals, I might add), his version of You Give Me Wings was predominantly shaky and uninspiring. Jon's lobbyists might counter that what he lacked in the vocal pyrotechnics department, he made up for it with oodles of emoting, sincerity and stage presence but if one was only listening to the song on radio, then oodles of emoting, sincerity and stage presence just won't cut it. With that said, I think Hady's flashy and awe-inspiring rendition (evoking R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly, Michael Bolton's Go The Distance, Taufik's I Dream, and other similar mush-fests) is what eventually nailed his win for him.

4) Finally, no Idol would be complete without his league of devoted and impassioned fans who die-die are determined to see their Idol win. Not only did Hady have the minority vote, he also had the support of thousands in Singapore who would rather not see a long-haired, skinny, rocker-wannabe become the nation's Idol representative (reminiscent of first season of SI, isn't it?). Oh, and have I mentioned that the Malay race, though not a very dependable bunch in general, can actually demonstrate an amazing sense of solidarity when they really put their minds to it?? =D

As a whole, I quite enjoyed the performance show on Sunday but the line-up of performances on Monday's results show was a disappointment. For one, it is NOT a thrill to watch the other ten finalists make a come-back by lip-synching through a medley of current radio hits. It was sooooo obvious lor...

After weeks of only hearing about Rahimah Rahim, the evergreen singer of yore, we finally got to see her 'live' on SI. However, her appearance I felt, was simply a token to off-set the very Cheena presence of Taiwanese boyband, Energy, whose merciless butchering of Stand By Me was alleviated only when Jon and Hady joined in the second half of the song. In addition, Tanya Chua's usual charisma seemed rather muted during her take of the thoroughly insipid Wake Me Up When September Ends.

Fortunately, the evening was saved by Electrico's highly-charged performance (they were awesome!), and Taufik's suave presence. He was definitely still in fine voice, proving once again that his Idol win a couple of years was a deserved one. Sadly however, there was no word about his new, upcoming album or current career developments. In fact, he hardly said anything at all! Very weird...

Well anyway, with the wrap up of SI, the next local reality series to look forward to would be The Dancefloor but goodness knows when they'll start airing it. So until then, I guess we'll just have to be content with re-runs of Happy Belly, Phua Chu Kang, Living With Lydia et al. How dull!

... and a new idol is crowned

2006-09-26T00:59:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to Hady Mirza, the new Singapore Idol! It was a tough fight but there has to be only one winner... But seriously, You Give Me Wings as a song title is waaaaaaaaaaay cheesier than Taufik's I Dream. Can't the lyricists come up with something less hackneyed??!?

choked up

2006-09-16T01:59:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, I feel like there is an excruciatingly tight knot in chest -- making it difficult for me to breathe properly. It's as if an incredibly long string of words has tangled up into a ball and gotten caught inside my windpipe, and no matter what I try to do, I just can't seem to dislodge it. Sometimes I'd even imagine myself suffocating to death. What is it like to be choking on words??

I guess I've always been very good at bottling up my emotions. In fact, it has been something which I've been practicing at eversince I was old enough to realise the significance of keeping secrets. It is not that I want to keep secrets per se, but because it is just so very VERY hard for me to express those little "thinks" that I "think" so openly -- there must be something wrong with me.

every day a little death

2006-09-06T17:59:00.000+08:00

Probably this little rat ate something disagreeable. VERY disagreeable. Well, that's one less rodent in this world...

rant, rant, rant

2006-08-29T11:59:00.000+08:00

I didn't do anything much during the weekend. Of course, I had my regular couple hours of tuition on Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening but other than that, it was a stay-at-home-in-front-of-the-tv-and-pc kind of weekend. Actually, I don't get much of those so it's not such a bad thing but I can't help feeling rather glum and gloomy when I'm indoors for too long. Maybe I'm a clautrophobic?? LOL

Anyway, I've realized that I haven't blogged very much (not sure if I've ever mentioned them at all!) about my tuition kids. There's two of them; one is a sec. 2 express student while the other is from sec. 4 normal acad. The former is essentially a pretty bright boy but he's extremely lazy. His exam results are often rather decent but his math grade fluctuates wildly from D to B -- depending on the number of careless mistakes he is wont to commit at that point in time. So my job basically is to remind him, ceaselessly, NOT to commit those avoidable errors and to assist him in his understanding of the more complex math problems.

The latter is a different kettle of fish altogether. The first impression I had of him was that he was a diligent and an eager learner who only had problems with his studies due to his relatively weak command of English. However, after two months of tutoring him in Chemistry and Math, I've discovered that the real impediment I must overcome is his attitude (or lack of it) towards his studies, especially those subjects which he has grown to despise i.e. Chem & Math. The only time he makes any significant effort in those two subjects is when I'm around; in other words, during his tuition lessons. He had even openly admittedly (without any remorse, I might add) that he didn't think he would do too well for the 'N' level prelim exams he took recently. I shudder at the thought...

With the real 'N' level exams barely a month away, I have recently stressed upon him again the need to revise his Chemistry and practice his Math especially during those days in-between our tuition sessions. Very emphatically, I had reminded him to focus on his weaker topics and even offered to hold extra sessions to help him with his revision. What is the point, I reiterated, of being able to understand so much by the end of a couple of hours of tuition, but not being able to retain that understanding long enough to apply it in his assignments, tests or exams? I'm of the opinion, however, that my words had fallen on deaf ears.

What is it with the majority of today's Malay youths? They fail -- no; they refuse -- to see that this is the time to give their best, when they are still in secondary school; Not at a later time, two or three years down the road in ITE. I'm not even asking them to think about their future career prospects, but simply to give it their best shot while they still can, to improve in their studies not for their parents or teachers, but for themselves. Where is that desire to better themselves as individuals? When will they stop deluding themselves with the belief that it is ok to put in mediocre efforts, that mere pass grades are acceptable? When will they learn that dreams and aspirations need sheer effort and commitment before they could turn into reality?

When will they, finally, wake up? (Perhaps, when it's too late..?)

all things Idol

2006-08-23T23:59:00.000+08:00

I'm very sorry to say that I have ZERO interest in the current season of Singapore Idol. It's not as if the show is bereft of true talent; but simply because talent is wasted on the show. Take for instance, the way the judges picked their top 24 finalists. Some of them couldn't carry a tune to save their lives; which made me wonder, was there really a shortage of singers during the auditions?? I don't suppose so... Out of the thousands who auditioned, surely, there were more than a dozen who were much, much better singers than that wat-zis-name actor from past-sitcom Living With Lydia?

The majority of Sg-idol audiences, themselves, cannot recoqnize talent when it is right under their noses, choosing instead to flood the voting-lines of the baby-faced contestants with the least singing potential. In my honest opinion, only three female contestants amongst the top 12 had any credibility as competitors (i.e. Gayle Nerva, Rahimah Rahim and Mathilda D'Silva) but they had all been eliminated from the show. Fortunately, their male counterparts fared slightly better. Jay Lim was actually pretty decent and that made his departure even more tragic. Now I'm hoping that the two most deserving contestants (the two whom I believe could wear the SgIdol crown most convincingly); namely Hady Mirza and Jonathan Leong, manage to get to the top 3 spots, at the very least.

What with Jacintha muttering incomprehensibly and looking as dazed as a lost rabbit most of the time, and Ken Lim's outrageous (and baseless) remarks, watching Singapore Idol is a cringe-worthy experience which I'm not too hard-pressed to miss. And have I mentioned Gurmit's bad habit of flubbing his lines and his efforts to appear hip and cool, which are to no avail???

With that said, good luck to Hady Mirza. I can't believe that my older sis thought that he was "sumbang" on Sheila Majid's Lagenda. Thank God she's not one of the judges!!! LOL

frozen

2006-08-23T12:59:00.000+08:00

Selamatkanlah dirimu selagi masih kau terdaya
tak mungkin cair hatiku walau wajahmu bercahaya
seumur hidup aku hanya menanti
cinta yang panas, hati ke hati...

It's funny how time flies. Funny too, how within such a short space of time, things and people may change. I guess, change, to a certain extent, is inevitable -- and some would say, a necessity -- during a passage of time. Change would be a sign that one has moved on, grown or evolved from one's old self. To remain stagnant/stationary is not progressive and regrettably, not a very Singaporean trait -- The need to change and evolve in order to stay relevant to rapidly changing demands of our society is a pressure that helps to ensure that we progress, at best. But at its worse, such a pressure, if it is overwhelming enough, has serious repercussions upon one's physical and mental well-being.

I think I am one of those people who find great comfort in the things that seem to defy change. Like how my mother's sambal telur tastes the same way now as it did back when I was a tiny tot in kindergarten. How the same Chinese auntie I remember as a child is still serving behind the same cash register at the nearby NTUC. The shrubs that line the pathway that leads to my block are probably the same ones that I saw more than fifteen years ago when I first moved into this neighbourhood. Familiarity breeds comfort... as they say.

Perhaps, my attraction to all things ageless stems from my innate fear of change; not of change per se, but its implications and what it might entail. Like how our lives change sometimes imperceptibly but definitely irrevocably, when someone very dear to us passes on. Or the changes we have to get accustomed to when we graduate from the safety of our academic institutions and find ourselves thrust (often-times unwillingly) into the so-called real life -- that world of money-making, office back-stabbing and corporate greed.

I believe, however, that fear is a good thing; it keeps me on my toes.

two more days left...

2006-07-26T11:59:00.000+08:00

...before the week ends. I can't wait!

I hate writing those sort of entries where you'd write in vague sentences like some obscure code without properly clarifying anything.

Blog entries that describe feelings without mention of the cause/causes of aforesaid emotion, especially, are definitely not amongst my favorites. For instance, "I'm very upset with you. If you only knew how I'd feel... Why did u do this to me????"

Unfortunately, this is going to be one of them.

A new phase of my life has started. Barely... but I'm already super-stressed out. Sometimes you have to throw your ideals out of the window and develop something more practical for the long run. Or else, find a comfortable balance between the two. May God help me find the strength to see all of this through...

selenger bacin lah!! (a.k.a. smelly nerd?)

2006-07-22T18:59:00.000+08:00

I haven't been online for the last few days because of an apparent connection "problem." It turned out that the problem wasn't much of a problem afterall and here's the gist of the story... further testament that I can be very sotong at times.

Tuesday night
Discovered that couldn't surf the Internet, although able to log on using username and password as per normal. Didn't think much about it. Too tired to think about anything, actually.

Wednesday
Still couldn't surf. Contacted technical helpdesk. Nice gentleman guided me using step by step instructions to reset internet settings. When that didn't work, modem was re-installed. But to no avail. Determined that source of problem could be with resident phone line; appointment made for servicing of line on Friday morning.

Thursday
Still couldn't surf. Felt very despondent and restless.

Friday (yesterday)
Technician arrived and inspected phone line. Concluded that the latter wasn't the problem at all. This was illustrated most emphatically when he was able to surf the net using test laptop and modem. My current modem's functionality and computer settings are the subsequent suspects. Suddenly felt very stressed cuz' had to face prospect of heading to Sim Lim Sq to hunt down new modem during the weekend.

Wee hours of Saturday (0100hrs or thereabouts..)
Light dawned upon yours truly -- Anti-virus software uninstalled and re-installed. Configuration problem lah... Suddenly felt like most stewpid person in whole universe.

But then, I'm so happy that I'm finally able to surf the net and blog again~!! *grins sheepishly*

PS: Have a good weekend everyone~!

the final disclosure

2006-07-18T01:59:00.000+08:00

At long last, the secret is not a secret anymore; Siti Nurhaliza is going to be married to Datok K afterall. Months of anxious speculations and all the time awaiting with bated breaths by loyal fans can now finally cease. In my honest opinion, Siti can marry whoever she wants, whenever she wants and it's nobody else's friggin' business -- indignant fans be damned. Having said all that however, I find it difficult to imagine the jubilant couple living together under the same roof in conjugal bliss; they are not exactly the living embodiment of that old adage, "bagai pinang dibelah dua"... if you get what I mean. =p

Anyhow, I've just seen the new Biarlah Rahsia music video and I think it resembles the Nokia L'amour handphone series advert; the one with the animated vines and flowers popping out everywhere. I really dig Siti's Farah Fawcett-styled coiffure in the vid but there isn't alot of activity going on (unlike Siti's mtvs from previous albums) and I feel that the overdone simplicity is rather disappointing. Overall though, the cinematography and quality of film used is excellent and anyway, Biarlah Rahsia is a song strong enough to stand on its own without an mtv.

Talking about her new single, it's an amazingly intimate piece of work with a very heartfelt delivery by Ms Siti. Although not overtly jiwang (ie. emotional), there is a glaring sense of a "message" in the lyrics -- probably an indirect way of pleading to the masses not to be too critical or judgmental with regards to her private affairs. Whateverlah -- Although I can't see Biarlah Rahsia picking up any music/song awards, it is still an excellent song and the perfect lead single to come off her new album Transkripsi.

A much belated album review

Honestly, I was expecting the songs from Transkripsi to have more Indon-pop vibes, considering the fact that Siti collaborated with the top names from the Indon music scene for the album, namely Melly Goeslaw, Erwin Gutawa, Glen Fredly, et al -- In other words, Transkripsi should have picked up at where her previous album, Prasasti Seni, left off... but it didn't. Apparently, most of the songs on Transkripsi are in an entirely different mold as compared to the stuff she had done before, but still, I'm happy to report that they did grow on me with repeated listening and are just as enjoyable as her past hits.

Worthy mentions (besides Biarlah Rahsia) include the RnB-inflected opening track, Siti Situ Sana Siti, which is like a sequel of her previous work with Too Phat, Dua Dunia; the Yasin-penned Hidup Penuh Bicara (an updated World music-type of song) though not as immediately infectious as Lagu Rindu but still pretty good; the cool bossa nova strains of Rupanya Kita Serupa; and the wholly-by-Siti song, Intrig Cinta which has a rather peculiar but likeable upbeat arrangement. Aubrey Suwito's strong melodies on Bisakah ends the album on a memorable and convincing note that Siti is still the number one pop vocalist, bar none, in Malaysia.

The controversial details of her much-publicised private life aside, I feel that Transkripsi boasts some of Siti's boldest and best works to date; therefore it's such a pity that the album's visual concept isn't as impressive as the music on the CD itself -- the former is merely adequate when it should have been drop-dead amazing. Yet, I suppose this is just a minor setback from an otherwise impeccable album.

Will Siti be sweeping up the awards at next year's AIM (Anugerah Industri Music) or will she be ousted by hot favorite-diva-of-the-moment Jaclyn Victor, who is coming up with her sophomore album quite soon? We shall just have to wait and see... LOL

smiling

2006-07-17T02:01:00.000+08:00

I know it's morally wrong to find comfort in worldly things when you're feeling down and in the dumps, but I lurrrve this --
And I lurrrve the bunch of amazing friends responsible for it! Hopefully, my heartfelt thanks are not too belated... =)

in memoriam

2006-07-17T01:59:00.000+08:00

I recently learned from my younger brother that Mr Wong Kiow, ex-mathematics teacher cum discipline master at my alma mater, Jurong Secondary School, died peacefully in his sleep late last year. He was 62. (eh, not that old leh...)

I shall always remember him as the teacher who actually twisted my ear (albeit not painfully) during a maths test as a way of telling me that one of my questions regarding logarithms was incorrect. And how could I forget those thick brows, furrowed to a frown, accompanied by a volley of fierce yells whenever he was displeased about something or other? The mere thought of having maths period used to send shivers down my spine. But probably that was mostly because I constantly had the phobia of flunking maths due to not being able to understand his lessons -- he was one of those old-school teachers who taught, half of the time, in mandarin.

And when he wasn't too busy reprimanding students, he had quite a mean sense of humour.

many, many random thoughts

2006-07-17T00:59:00.000+08:00

I must admit, the recent news of the demise of popular Suria actor/comedian Ishak Ahmat unnerved me quite abit. Frankfully speaking, I used to dislike his comedic style when he first appeared on the now-defunct Selamat Pagi Singapura programme with his own five-minute segment. However, over time, I grew to appreciate and even enjoy his dry wit and his sardonic humour and found him to be quite an indispensable character amongst the ranks of the Malay-speaking comedians here. Undoubtedly, his tremendous contributions to the entertainment industry and his amazing portfolio of work shall live on...

Less than a week ago, I read on Berita Harian about the tragic death of one of my ex-NS mates, Zulhilmi, who was involved in a motorcycle accident. The (front-page) article even stated that it was only his second/third trip on his first bike, which he bought right after he obtained his license. Zul, who was a couple of years my senior, had always been a jolly kind of guy, but truthfully, I never liked him very much last time because he was a perpetual lazybum in camp -- eating snake (ie. neglecting duties & work whenever possible) was second nature to him. Nevertheless, though it had been years since we both finished National Service and went on our separate lives, he never failed to approach me to utter his salutations if I were to see him either at heartland shopping malls or in town. We had never been on "chummy" terms during NS, and since I'm the anti-social sort who would steer clear of such "accidental" meet-ups with old schoomates/campmates/colleagues, I honestly never truly enjoyed those moments when we were saying our "hellos" and "how-have-you-beens."

Ironically, I feel a sense of loss... for an amiable "friend" who was actually nothing more than a stranger to me. Perhaps you may think I am somehow disrespecting a dead person. Or that if I really do feel bad about it, why didn't I just go down and wish condolences to his family? I guess I'm just not that much of a saint afterall.

As I was sitting in the train, on my way home from tuition just now, all these morbid thoughts, and more, were flooding my puny little brain. What if, in the not too distant future, I should meet my untimely end? Will I be just another Zul-kind-of-a-friend to those whom I know? Or will my death bring about an overwhelming sense of grief and loss like the demise of mr Ishak -- a bright spark that will be sorely missed?

I know my family might be obliged to miss me... of course. But will my adorable niece, who frequently writes me little notes to wish me good-day and i-love-yous in her amazing kindergarten-2 level scrawl (in rainbow colored script, no less) and leaves them on my study table, miss me? Will my "best" friends in secondary school, whom I've not met eversince my JC days, suddenly feel remorseful that we never kept in touch? What am I worth in the eyes of others... seriously?

Life is such a transient thing. It's like the fine, gossamer cobwebs laboriously spun in the night only to be destroyed by the morning's shower or the wayward afternoon breeze. This ephemeral quality of life should motivate us to make the best of it while we still can... but I ask myself -- have I done that? Have I made my life the best that I possibly could? Have I achieved what I truly want out of my life? And then I think of all those pretty little things that I covet -- the latest Sony gadgets. Apple gizmos. LG chocolate mobile. And the rest of those tangible stuff.

During these "moods", I will more often than not, think of my dad, and the many things he had missed since he'd been gone. Missed seeing his grandchildren grow-up. Missed seeing his wife grow grey-haired and old. Missed out on the yearly picnics at Sentosa. The zoo-trips. The lazy afternoons at Geylang and the wonderful iftars during Ramadhan.

There is so much of life that I haven't gotten enough of. I feel as if I'm still waiting for my life to begin -- but I wonder, sometimes, if these bouts of wistful musings that time and again address issues of seeking meaning from an otherwise meaningless existence, are simply just the deranged ramblings of a paranoid mind, afraid of getting old, and terribly, terribly, afraid of dying?

Perhaps I should start renewing old friendships; I want my funeral to be a crowded one.

sick

2006-07-14T23:59:00.000+08:00

I've been sick for the last couple of days. I've got all the works -- fever, runny nose, backache, migraine, etc. Last night, I had a slight temperature and my nose was so clogged that I woke up at 3 freaking am in the morning thinking that I was going to be asphyxiated to death. Fortunately, I snapped out of my momentary delirium in time to take a couple of panadols; Then I chugalugged some water and rubbed some TigerBalm ointment on my chest and smeared quite abit of it near my nostrils too. Come to think of it, the latter didn't make much sense actually, and I near expected to die from inhalation of toxic fumes, but I guess eventually, it worked the same way as VicksVaporub would.

Moreover, thank God for those little yellow pills called piriton -- I feel much better now and hopefully, will have regained my strength by tomorrow cuz' I've got quite an eventful weekend ahead!

update

2006-07-06T13:59:00.000+08:00

For those who tried leaving a tag on my tag-board but wasn't able to do so, please take note that tag-board.com is experiencing a downtime (eversince late last night, in fact). A quick check at their site disclosed the following message:

Tag-board.com Downed by a hacker
06 Jul 2006 - Tag-Board Staff: Kimberly

Hello, This is going out to all of our suscribers. Yesterday, I was sent an email through tech support "" Please ask greg contact me at *********** within next 24 hours. It's important or I will cl0se tag-b0ard.com "" I did not take that matter seriously and apparently, I should have. I am in contact with the FBI, and we are doing everything in our power to get tag-board back up and running again. I apologize for your downtime, and I assure you that the moment I know anything I will post another annoucement. Thank you for your time.

Well anyway, my nerves are a little ragged today after this morning's match -- Portugal lost to the French, 1 - 0 and no thanks to Zidane's winning penalty kick in the 33rd minute of the game. Not that it was the Portuguese keeper, Ricardo's fault; he's probably the best keeper at this WC to begin with but then... you can't be lucky all the time rite?

However, it was still a rather fierce game, especially during the second half when the desperate Portuguese made attempt after attempt to score a goal against the French -- but alas, to no avail. Seriously though, they were the underdogs of the match and their victory (IF they had won) would have been sweeter and more jubilant than that of the French. Too bad Zidane's such a good shot (that bald head, keen eyes and uber-cool attitude of his reminds me of a cobra... LOL).

How bitter the taste of defeat! And they were so close to being in the finals too! Oh well...

the hazards of watching WC...

2006-07-06T01:59:00.000+08:00

I did a double take when I saw one of Yahoo's news headlines which read:

2 Somalis killed for watching World Cup

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Radical Islamic militia fighters in Somalia shot and killed two people who were watching a banned World Cup soccer broadcast, a radio station reported Wednesday.

The hard-line Muslim fighters, who have banned watching television, opened fire after a crowd of teenagers defied their orders to leave a hall where a businessman was showing Tuesday's Germany-Italy match on satellite television, according to Shabelle Radio, an independent local station. It said the businessman and a teenage girl were killed.

Hard-line Muslim fighters, who wrested control of the Somali capital from warlords in June, have forbidden people from watching television or movies in line with their strict interpretation of Islam...

How tragic. I didn't know that it's even possible to "ban" watching tv, and what's even more horrifying, that you could get killed for it. It's like a scenario from one of those perverse comedies starring Ben Stiller with the only difference being that I don't feel like laughing at all because, heck -- this is real life!

the 24-facts-about-myself tag

2006-07-04T23:59:00.000+08:00

Firstly, a big thank you to Mr Eddie for tagging me with this.. er.. tag~. Honestly, these things are fun and cute to do at first but after awhile, they become annoyingly repetitive and rather pointless. I mean, who comes up with all those numbers anyway? For instance, in this case, why 24 facts, and not, let's say, ten? Or 30?? However, I don't like being a called a spoil-sport and so...

1. I hate the fact that I'm vertically challenged.
2. I have a love-hate relationship with my nose. Sometimes I think it's rather nice but at other times, I think it's just plain weird.
3. I was nicknamed "Mickey Mouse" by my OC back when I wore black plastic-framed glasses during my Basic Military Training (BMT) days.
4. I used to have a terrible rhinitis problem during my teenage years but thankfully, grew out of it.
5. I attended madrasah classes for five years whilst simultaneously leading a normal life in govt. school.
6. I die-die will NOT watch a horror film unless it's critically acclaimed or something...
7. I don't like visiting the doctor. Or dentist.
8. I detest crowded and noisy places.
9. I'm either punctual or late for all of my appointments. You'd catch me being early only once in a blue moon... LOL
10. I used to have the most awful "boyband" fringe back in secondary school and JC.
11. I used to collect postage stamps (!). So nerd rite??? =(
12. I went through three separate swimming courses for beginners before I finally figured out how to swim properly.
13. I don't like reading newspapers. They always make me upset... Therefore, I don't read them much.
14. I've probably gained only five kilos in the last decade of my life; am desperately trying to gain weight.
15. Hypertension is in my genes. I'm probably going to die from complications of stroke or brain haemorrhage or something like that.
16. I used to have a phobia for cats and dogs. Thank God, I grew out of that too. (But I still steer clear of poodles and bulldogs... =p )
17. I am extremely terrified of lizards. And snakes...
18. I'm terrible at taking care of pets.
19. I don't like psychologists or people who think they can read minds.
20. I just love wearing slippers or sandals wherever I go.
21. I read my horoscope every freaking day although I honestly do NOT believe in them. So why do I read them? -- To assure my pessimistic self that tomorrow won't be such a bad day afterall.
22. I hate snobs, over-confident people, and those who constantly think they're better than others.
23. I'm secretly in love with Gwyneth Paltrow and Nasha Aziz.
24. I love singing in the shower -- the bathroom has great acoustics. LOL

You've been tagged!!!
1. Bing
2. Sham
3. Sugarpie

*kalau korang rajin, buatlah benda ni, k? =p

I need a muse

2006-07-02T02:59:00.000+08:00

I've finally changed the template of my poems' blog and updated it (if you can call the addition of one previous poem "updating" that is). I opted for the simplest design available and included a couple of drop-down lists in the sidebar to make navigation simpler for other users (i.e. only useful for myself I guess, for who else would bother??? =p ).

Well, I'm not sure of the point I'm trying to make here but it seems to me that I haven't written a new poem for quite some time. Either I haven't got sufficient time to write or haven't been inspired to write anything worthwhile so far. Since the former is not entirely true, I think a lack of creative inspiration is to be blamed for my poetic drought.

Anyway, for those who've been wondering where I had gotten the idea for my email addy (and it's fyi for those who haven't been wondering~!), it is through this piece of work below which I wrote like some donkey years ago for a small-scale competition during my uni days. Well, those were the glory days lah... *sigh*

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Chasing Horizons

The blind man is standing there, playing his instrument.
Does he not see?
The men accoutered in their sharp, snazzy suits --
Their black asian hair streaked with bronze or blonde
Or red or mahogany or blue,
Slicked back with designer gel to last the entire day --
How, from him, they contrived to turn their gaze away
By looking ahead at the looming passage of the underpass
Or at the flashy ads that interchange behind the glass.
Their chins up high, briskly walking;
Does he not see they could just be pretending?
Or are they really chasing their horizons -- relentlessly pursuing
The wrong dreams, the wrong things?
Oh! But he is blind!

These slit-eyed men in their sharp, snazzy suits;
Do they not see?
There is no need to divert their glances away from him.
For his blank eyes cannot possibly judge or be prejudiced
Against people he cannot possibly see.
If he cannot look into the distance, what horizons can he pursue?
But the hope that some people with empathy -- or a dollar or two --
Would stop and listen to his (sometimes tuneless) tired song.
Is that too much to ask for? Is that wrong?
His chin up high, bravely waiting;
Do they not see, his life is still worth living?
His limited boundaries are not his undoing.
He isn't begging for fancy things.
Or are they also blind?

The blind man has stopped playing his instrument.
His song has ended.
But the men in their sharp, snazzy suits
are briskly walking --
Chasing their horizons.

Just My Luck

2006-07-01T23:59:00.000+08:00

What is it about? -- An extremely lucky girl meets extremely unlucky guy at a masquerade party. They kiss and inadvertently swopped fortunes. Now extremely unlucky, girl seeks out guy to have her extreme good luck back. Eventually, they fall in love and live happily ever after, with the moral lesson learned that it's not important to be extremely lucky all the time. (duh!)

Who's in it? -- Lindsay Lohan is our hapless heroine who falls for the bumbling Chris Pine. Lohan's role is rather pedestrian (haven't we seen her act like this in all the rest of her "teen" film comedies??) but she does have an endearing quality about her which makes her engaging (like Julia Roberts perhaps?) and not-so-annoying to watch (unlike the oft-whiney Hillary Duff). Chris Pine looks like a younger James Marsden and he admirably held his own against Lohan. Real-life UK punk-rock band, McFly, makes an appearance as a struggling band hoping to make it big in the US.

Why should/shouldn't you watch it? -- Although the plot is very predictable, Lohan and Pine have sufficient on-screen chemistry and acting chops to hold the film decently together and sustain its breeziness until the final act. The laughs may not come hard and fast all the time but there are a few gems here that are genuinely funny.

In a nutshell -- Just My Luck is the sort of date-movie that is perfect for teens (or anyone else mentally stuck at that age); Jaded adults looking for satirical undertones (like a previous Lohan vehicle, Mean Girls) or something more intelligent or original should look elsewhere. For heavens' sake, the entire premise of this film is based upon kissing! -- one shouldn't expect too much! By the way, have I mentioned that I absolutely adore Lohan and her gazillion freckles??? LOL

my ratings ---- 3.3/5 stars!!!