I hate to admit that I have near zero discipline when it comes to shopping (broadly defined as buying clothes, books and frivolous stuff). Set out for town early today with the good intention of returning library books, buying bday cards and attending the Topshop sale preview for members. The sale was disappointingly limited (remnants of size 12s and 14s). I managed to sieve out a top (50% off) BUT FORGOT to use my Wisma cash vouchers to pay.
En route to Taka, I couldn't resist popping into Esprit for a quick look. Instead of getting a free camera pouch (fully redeemed), I walked out with a dress! Arrgghh. Feeling extremely guilty that my trip is not turning out the way it should, I headed to Taka without further distractions. Then I discovered that Kino is having a storewide 20% discount for members! I had to buy a book. Time to burn my loyalty cards!
Agitation aside, I'm pleased that I remembered to bring my eco-friendly shopping bag out. Plastic bag count today = zero! Felt a little self-conscious when other customers gave me weird looks when I refused a carrier but at least my shopping bag is genuine (and unique) and does not bear the words "I'm Not a Plastic Bag".
Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Hankering
I'm musing over when I succumbed to blogging after resisting it for years because (1) I cannot imagine baring my soul to the public and (2) I enjoy choosing and buying paper diaries too much to give it up. I reached a happy compromise of writing P & C stuff in my diary (like Betty who has diaries with different levels of P&C in case Veronica gets hold of one of them) and blogging about irrelevant thoughts and happenings. So I started this blog to reassure family and friends that I'm well (and alive) when I went MIA in Canada in June this year.
So why the quotidian blog name? Simply cos I lust to travel! Yeah I should be lucky to have visited many places but when is it ever enough when you're blessed/cursed with this irresistible, incurable, innate desire to explore new places?
I can't stop thinking of 2 places - Venice and Machu Picchu. It's really weird how coincidentally or otherwise, a couple of unrelated incidents sort of reaffirmed my desire to visit those places.
Venice: I always wanted to visit this supposedly most romantic city in Italy after missing it on my last visit. A couple of weeks ago, I watched a documentary on floods and they did a case study on Venice and how it is doomed to drown eventually. I have to visit Venice before it is finito! A couple of days ago, I was reminded of Venice again when I saw Des's envy-inducing pics of his Italian escapade (he takes pretty good pics of the architecture and scenery). With copyright permission obtained, here are some of his pics:
Machu Picchu: When Machu Picchu was nominated as one of the new Wonders of the World, I dismissed it as one of those over-hyped, overly crowded tourist spot (think Great Wall). A couple of weeks ago again, I met ZM on the bus. While in NYC on holiday, she and her bf decided to exploit cheap airfares to South America and embarked on a 4-day hike (Though I like the thought of luxurious hols, I miss trekking in dirt and mud. really.) up Peruvian mountains to reach the sacred Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. Imagine exploring lost Inca civilizations!! Last week, Arts Central featured a documentary on Peru. Lo and behold, the clip ended with a scale up Machu Picchu which looks exactly like a mystical lost world complete with swirling mist (I am reminded of one of my fav books: City of the Beast by Isabel Allende).
Arrgh. To cast all and take flight!
So why the quotidian blog name? Simply cos I lust to travel! Yeah I should be lucky to have visited many places but when is it ever enough when you're blessed/cursed with this irresistible, incurable, innate desire to explore new places?
I can't stop thinking of 2 places - Venice and Machu Picchu. It's really weird how coincidentally or otherwise, a couple of unrelated incidents sort of reaffirmed my desire to visit those places.
Venice: I always wanted to visit this supposedly most romantic city in Italy after missing it on my last visit. A couple of weeks ago, I watched a documentary on floods and they did a case study on Venice and how it is doomed to drown eventually. I have to visit Venice before it is finito! A couple of days ago, I was reminded of Venice again when I saw Des's envy-inducing pics of his Italian escapade (he takes pretty good pics of the architecture and scenery). With copyright permission obtained, here are some of his pics:
Machu Picchu: When Machu Picchu was nominated as one of the new Wonders of the World, I dismissed it as one of those over-hyped, overly crowded tourist spot (think Great Wall). A couple of weeks ago again, I met ZM on the bus. While in NYC on holiday, she and her bf decided to exploit cheap airfares to South America and embarked on a 4-day hike (Though I like the thought of luxurious hols, I miss trekking in dirt and mud. really.) up Peruvian mountains to reach the sacred Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. Imagine exploring lost Inca civilizations!! Last week, Arts Central featured a documentary on Peru. Lo and behold, the clip ended with a scale up Machu Picchu which looks exactly like a mystical lost world complete with swirling mist (I am reminded of one of my fav books: City of the Beast by Isabel Allende).
Arrgh. To cast all and take flight!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Windy heights
I love the smell of rain or rather, the smell that rain brings with it. The earthy, grassy scent of the natural flora. I imagine living in a meadow will smell like that. I wonder why such scents are only revealed when it rains (For an amazingly vivid and lush description of sensory pleasures, read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind).
Living on the highest floor sometimes feels like I'm living in a wind funnel cos we get so much wind blowing through the house (which is why I can smell the rain before it comes). And when it rains and we shut the windows, the howling outside intensifies. It gets quite creepy at night and I used to worry whether our house will get blown down. But since dust comes with the wind, we get alot of it too. Despite sweeping the floor everyday, I realize that battling dust is futile. Which is probably why I get so sneezy and hivey indoors.
Living on the highest floor sometimes feels like I'm living in a wind funnel cos we get so much wind blowing through the house (which is why I can smell the rain before it comes). And when it rains and we shut the windows, the howling outside intensifies. It gets quite creepy at night and I used to worry whether our house will get blown down. But since dust comes with the wind, we get alot of it too. Despite sweeping the floor everyday, I realize that battling dust is futile. Which is probably why I get so sneezy and hivey indoors.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The general and the specific
If I took away anything from my legal anthropology class, it was the reminder not to generalize about people and their cultures since (1) I'm not an anthropologist and (2) I have not done any fieldwork to validate my generalizations. But it's unrealistically impossible for people not to generalize about others. And usually there's a spark of truth in generalizations.
Offhand, I can think of many instances where we generalize and stereotype: Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars; little girls are sugar and spice and all things nice and what are little boys made of? snipes and snails and puppy dogs tails; Singaporeans are kiasu and speak bad English; only cannot-make-it guys get mail order brides; law students are snooty etc etc etc.
On the way home, a Philippino man (very few foreign workers speak English and he sounded Philippino) asked me to figure out how to make an overseas call at a public phone. I was obviously clueless so I tried calling all the helplines listed on the card and endured the annoying automated phone directions. Finally, I saw the instructions glaring at me on the board in front and yay the guy managed to call home.
He was elated, shook my hand (his was very clammy) and thanked me profusely (seldom see a stranger behave like that). I walked off, bought something and walked past him again. Heard him whisper "hold on" and then he turned to me and started bowing and thanking me again.
Of course I felt the usual warm and fuzzy feeling after being thanked so much. I did my Good Deed of the day. Ok so I can't help but generalize (after hearing other testimonies) that Philippinos are a friendly bunch of people.
Offhand, I can think of many instances where we generalize and stereotype: Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars; little girls are sugar and spice and all things nice and what are little boys made of? snipes and snails and puppy dogs tails; Singaporeans are kiasu and speak bad English; only cannot-make-it guys get mail order brides; law students are snooty etc etc etc.
On the way home, a Philippino man (very few foreign workers speak English and he sounded Philippino) asked me to figure out how to make an overseas call at a public phone. I was obviously clueless so I tried calling all the helplines listed on the card and endured the annoying automated phone directions. Finally, I saw the instructions glaring at me on the board in front and yay the guy managed to call home.
He was elated, shook my hand (his was very clammy) and thanked me profusely (seldom see a stranger behave like that). I walked off, bought something and walked past him again. Heard him whisper "hold on" and then he turned to me and started bowing and thanking me again.
Of course I felt the usual warm and fuzzy feeling after being thanked so much. I did my Good Deed of the day. Ok so I can't help but generalize (after hearing other testimonies) that Philippinos are a friendly bunch of people.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Tech attack
Blog update has been infrequent because I (1) discovered the addictiveness of Facebook (2) am buried oceans deep in my IT Law research which coincidentally deals with blog content regulation. There's simply too much technology in my life these days.
Not that I'm anti-modernity/technology. Facebook is a gem for digging out skeletons in your closet. A friend who left for Texas in P2 actually found me and we started this "Oh my goodness it's been so long! Do you remember..." conversation. I smell a primary school reunion some time soon. And I just discovered that my dad's print subscription to the Economist allows me to access thousands of archived articles online which is TOTALLY cool for research.
Then again, the IT law presentation is a bitch cos less than 2 weeks before the presentation and after a consultation with the prof, we had to reformulate our topic. Hence 6 hours was spent in school today anally debating the meaning of every single word and sentence structure. But I have to admit that it's stimulating to have 2 dean-listers and a master student in my group.
The thing is, the more I research on how blog content is regulated, the more I fear that I'm blogging about inappropriate stuff. Laws on privacy, anonymity and free speech are seriously lacking here and I think we're not even constitutionally protected for free speech. So how can I be sure that my content falls within the OB markers (which I'm unaware of until I researched for this project)? And do you know that we can blog about racial and religious stuff so long as we do not incite the public? No I didn't and I will continue to be a good old citizen, play safe and abstain from the so called "taboo" topics.
Not that I'm anti-modernity/technology. Facebook is a gem for digging out skeletons in your closet. A friend who left for Texas in P2 actually found me and we started this "Oh my goodness it's been so long! Do you remember..." conversation. I smell a primary school reunion some time soon. And I just discovered that my dad's print subscription to the Economist allows me to access thousands of archived articles online which is TOTALLY cool for research.
Then again, the IT law presentation is a bitch cos less than 2 weeks before the presentation and after a consultation with the prof, we had to reformulate our topic. Hence 6 hours was spent in school today anally debating the meaning of every single word and sentence structure. But I have to admit that it's stimulating to have 2 dean-listers and a master student in my group.
The thing is, the more I research on how blog content is regulated, the more I fear that I'm blogging about inappropriate stuff. Laws on privacy, anonymity and free speech are seriously lacking here and I think we're not even constitutionally protected for free speech. So how can I be sure that my content falls within the OB markers (which I'm unaware of until I researched for this project)? And do you know that we can blog about racial and religious stuff so long as we do not incite the public? No I didn't and I will continue to be a good old citizen, play safe and abstain from the so called "taboo" topics.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Rocky Road
You know a bus is vintage when it has no air-con and rattles like an Osim iDesire at the "all-body massage" mode. You know a bus is ancient when it jerks, clanks, bounce, jolt, shake, vibrate more than the balls in a Toto prediction machine.
The ancient 151 I took home yesterday was a nightmare. Each time the driver accelerates, you can see everyone bracing themselves for another round of earth-shattering jerks. I sincerely thought that the bus was going to lose a wheel, lose 2 wheels or split in half. The vibrations got so bad that I tried to minimize contact with any part of the bus. I lifted my legs off the ground, leaned forward and sat on the tip of my bottom.
Where's our world-class public transport?
The ancient 151 I took home yesterday was a nightmare. Each time the driver accelerates, you can see everyone bracing themselves for another round of earth-shattering jerks. I sincerely thought that the bus was going to lose a wheel, lose 2 wheels or split in half. The vibrations got so bad that I tried to minimize contact with any part of the bus. I lifted my legs off the ground, leaned forward and sat on the tip of my bottom.
Where's our world-class public transport?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Unfocused
I'm terribly distracted these days doing everything but what I should be doing. Like now. Legal Anthropology is cast aside for an entirely enthralling novel. There are few books that create epiphanic moments for their readers and unfortunately (for my legal anthro grade), this is one of them.
When reading a novel halfway, I like to flip to the beginning and read the reviews. Of course they only publish good reviews but some resonate more than the others.
“Extravagant, witty and dark, Special Topics in Calamity Physics is a sprawling campus novel, an intricate murder mystery, a coming-of-age tale and a sly satire of intellectualism and academia. Her prose is…vivid, erupting in a free-fall of wordplay, wise cracks, encyclopedia tidbits and a barrage of cultural references… Her enthusiasm for language is a delight.” – The
“A frisky, smarty-pants debut… an escapist extravaganza packed with literary and pop culture allusions, mischievous characterizations, erotic intrigue, murders and unstoppable narrative energy.”- Entertainment Weekly
“Pessl not only re-creates Holden [Caulfield], she goes one step further by meshing him with Hardy Boys… enlightening entertainment.” –
“If Valdimir Nabokov had created a female Holden Caulfield, he might have written this delightful fiction debut.” – The
“There is a voice here to like, part Huck Finn, part Holden Caulfield, part Fran Leibowitz, and part Nora Ephron.” – Harper’s Magazine
Observation: I am amazed that the author, at the age of 28, could have read so many books to quote them liberally throughout the novel. Also, Holden Caulfield has been mentioned umpteen times. Whenever a story has a young adult persona, reviewers will invariably make references to him. WHY? Catcher in the Rye is good and I can see why it has become a classic. But I didn’t particularly like Holden Caulfield even though I can empathize with him.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
There's always time
Despite being bogged down with work during our oxymoronic study break, I'm touched that you guys bothered to turn up for dinner! After watching Joshua (very good creepy show which makes you never want to have kids), we trooped to Central but all the restaurants had a line (not true that Singaporeans only queue for free stuff) so we ended up at Fishermen's Wharf. It's the place for fish and chips - at least 10 kinds of fish and hand cut chips.
Yes Des, your absence was felt by all of us! Anyway you can see that we all look pretty much the same (WH joined us for once!).
And I got my fav choc cake from Rive Gauche. You all do know me quite well. Thanks for the tunic too!
We had a hilariously difficult time lighting the candles. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the cake. Choco craving!!
And I finally got my wish of seeing some lanterns before the Mid-Autumn Festival ends. But those by the Singapore River were nothing impressive. SY and Yilynn involved in fishy affairs.
Group pic by one old uncle who gamely agreed to use my digital cam.
Standing in front of Chang-Er who looks like she can't wait to return to the moon after being gawked at by nosy passers-by.
Daryl and I looking like ghosts (ok just me in my white sack).
I like the whimsical lamp XX gave me very much. It has this cool contraption that allows you to adjust the brightness simply by tapping the rim of the lamp. Thanks!
Just watched the President Star Charity and it's one of the more enjoyable ones. A musical! Same old performers but I note a multi-racial cast and greater involvement of non-actors : Woffles Wu jiggling to Saturday Night Fever, socialites sashaying across the "ballroom", Dick Lee singing Fried Rice Paradise, Jonathan Leong attempting a Chinese song (commendable effort but pls stick to Chasing Cars), Singapore Idol contestants doing a High School Musical, Dr William Tan and Gurmit grooving to Grease Lightning and our President reciting Desiderata (according to my dad) - a poem by Max Ehrmann about attaining happiness in life. Sweet.
Yes Des, your absence was felt by all of us! Anyway you can see that we all look pretty much the same (WH joined us for once!).
And I got my fav choc cake from Rive Gauche. You all do know me quite well. Thanks for the tunic too!
We had a hilariously difficult time lighting the candles. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the cake. Choco craving!!
And I finally got my wish of seeing some lanterns before the Mid-Autumn Festival ends. But those by the Singapore River were nothing impressive. SY and Yilynn involved in fishy affairs.
Group pic by one old uncle who gamely agreed to use my digital cam.
Standing in front of Chang-Er who looks like she can't wait to return to the moon after being gawked at by nosy passers-by.
Daryl and I looking like ghosts (ok just me in my white sack).
I like the whimsical lamp XX gave me very much. It has this cool contraption that allows you to adjust the brightness simply by tapping the rim of the lamp. Thanks!
Just watched the President Star Charity and it's one of the more enjoyable ones. A musical! Same old performers but I note a multi-racial cast and greater involvement of non-actors : Woffles Wu jiggling to Saturday Night Fever, socialites sashaying across the "ballroom", Dick Lee singing Fried Rice Paradise, Jonathan Leong attempting a Chinese song (commendable effort but pls stick to Chasing Cars), Singapore Idol contestants doing a High School Musical, Dr William Tan and Gurmit grooving to Grease Lightning and our President reciting Desiderata (according to my dad) - a poem by Max Ehrmann about attaining happiness in life. Sweet.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Too helpful
Drove again today for the 7th/8th time since i passed 2 years ago. Easy, breezy glide through the drizzle.
Reached home and got ready to reverse into the lot. Saw somebody gesturing, grinning and giving me the thumbs up in front. My neighbour, my driving instructor. It was probably the first time he saw me drive a car other than his. I on the other hand was not so thrilled to see him and disappoint him with my atrocious parking skills.
Fate has it that his car was parked directly opposite me. So Very-Nice-Uncle wasted half a min standing there, gesturing to me to turn the steering wheel left/right while I struggled to park under his scrutiny. Stress/nervousness won and I waved frantically for him to drive away first before I moved an inch further.
Embarrassing ordeal's not over. While everything was happening, a guy happened to walk past and decided to observe the little scene before him. I saw the amused look on his face as he turned his head left (me) and right (Uncle). Uncle drove off but random stranger (ok he stays in my block) stood there and took upon himself to be my traffic controller No. 2.
Another round of gesturing began. I bet he didn't know that Uncle is my driving instructor who will probably ALWAYS correct his students whenever, wherever (like how I correct my tuition kids outside class). I bet he thought that he should take up the unfinished act of neighbourly kindness where it stopped (when Uncle drove off).
It is time to remove the P-Plate (expired lifespan + 1).
Reached home and got ready to reverse into the lot. Saw somebody gesturing, grinning and giving me the thumbs up in front. My neighbour, my driving instructor. It was probably the first time he saw me drive a car other than his. I on the other hand was not so thrilled to see him and disappoint him with my atrocious parking skills.
Fate has it that his car was parked directly opposite me. So Very-Nice-Uncle wasted half a min standing there, gesturing to me to turn the steering wheel left/right while I struggled to park under his scrutiny. Stress/nervousness won and I waved frantically for him to drive away first before I moved an inch further.
Embarrassing ordeal's not over. While everything was happening, a guy happened to walk past and decided to observe the little scene before him. I saw the amused look on his face as he turned his head left (me) and right (Uncle). Uncle drove off but random stranger (ok he stays in my block) stood there and took upon himself to be my traffic controller No. 2.
Another round of gesturing began. I bet he didn't know that Uncle is my driving instructor who will probably ALWAYS correct his students whenever, wherever (like how I correct my tuition kids outside class). I bet he thought that he should take up the unfinished act of neighbourly kindness where it stopped (when Uncle drove off).
It is time to remove the P-Plate (expired lifespan + 1).
Monday, September 24, 2007
Kopi Shop really Rocks!
My mom is sulky because I didn't ask her to go for our Law IV production - Kopi Shop Rocks. Dunno why I just didn't think of asking her. I'm regretting now cos our musical is FANTASTIC and everybody should go and see it! Though Law IV is supposedly the graduating batch's performance, only half of the cohort is involved (hey they also need an audience).
Yixian and I arrived kiasuly early and we managed to get good seats despite holding the cheapest tickets. Cass looks extra pretty (right HM?) so I'm putting up a close-up pic of her haha.
I'm very proud of my friends/classmates for putting up a musical from scratch! The vintage props were great, retro costumes were very cool, music and lyrics were catchy and I guess the most enjoyable part was just watching people you know act, dance and sing.
It suddenly dawned on me that law people are musically inclined (they should have a Law School's Got Talent). Nearly everyone I know plays one or more musical instruments. Yixian for eg has mastered the piano, keyboard, drums, guitar and saxophone. I feel totally depressed and un-gifted with my half-baked, no, fully uncooked organ skills. Arrgh.
ZQ was so uncharacteristically grumpy and curt that I couldn't help chuckling each time his Mr Kwan comes on stage. I finally had the chance to hear him croon (Yixian says he has perfect pitch!) but didn't video his solo because it was at a romantic part and I was distracted. Here's him looking his usual cheery self:
Here's a clip from the Cabaret scene. Julia has a (surprisingly) pleasant singing voice!
Excellent finale!
JH on the other hand was in his element as a half-naked bawdy gangster. (Cui if you're reading this, he is the guy we met on the bus) Here's a clip on his antics:
Yixian and I arrived kiasuly early and we managed to get good seats despite holding the cheapest tickets. Cass looks extra pretty (right HM?) so I'm putting up a close-up pic of her haha.
I'm very proud of my friends/classmates for putting up a musical from scratch! The vintage props were great, retro costumes were very cool, music and lyrics were catchy and I guess the most enjoyable part was just watching people you know act, dance and sing.
It suddenly dawned on me that law people are musically inclined (they should have a Law School's Got Talent). Nearly everyone I know plays one or more musical instruments. Yixian for eg has mastered the piano, keyboard, drums, guitar and saxophone. I feel totally depressed and un-gifted with my half-baked, no, fully uncooked organ skills. Arrgh.
ZQ was so uncharacteristically grumpy and curt that I couldn't help chuckling each time his Mr Kwan comes on stage. I finally had the chance to hear him croon (Yixian says he has perfect pitch!) but didn't video his solo because it was at a romantic part and I was distracted. Here's him looking his usual cheery self:
Here's a clip from the Cabaret scene. Julia has a (surprisingly) pleasant singing voice!
Excellent finale!
JH on the other hand was in his element as a half-naked bawdy gangster. (Cui if you're reading this, he is the guy we met on the bus) Here's a clip on his antics:
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