Lengthy Grumbles

Things Done Today:

• Bought random presents from MPH to donate as Christmas gifts for the underpriviliged.
• Visited the new Tesco at Ampang - large and cheap
• Went walking at GE Mall
• Had a roti pisang/kaya made by friendly neighbourhood roti man
• Bought 3 for rm 10 earrings
• Watched Thank You For Smoking - again.

Signs of too much free time? Maybe...
Anyway, I was thinking... *gasp* My oldest bro is choosing wedding dates, my youngest bro is unemployed. My parents seem slightly desperate for me to get a boyfriend with comments like "Oh, it's alright, normally third year only get hor?"
How different the reaction would be if I actually brought a guy home. Haha.. Yeah, i've seen both my bros go through/ continue to go through it. Such a scary process. But then again, it's sort of a preparation thing. Less things faze my parents now that the boys have weathered them.
Anyway, sidetracking. I realise that next year i am 20. Two decades old.
My taiko is getting married at 30. (as a side fact... the average age of marriage for women is 27 years and 29 for men)

You can buy your Lego cake from here

My second bro is still between jobs at 27.
I have neither a stable relationship nor a definitive career. Should i be afraid?
I guess talking to the high school friends kind of was a kick in the head too. The mandatory : "So what's up with your love life?" and "What are you gonna do once you graduate?" questions inevitably popped up. Inevitably, i answered "I dunno.." before responding with the same question.
But there was a difference this time. I spilt the beans on the relationship - the noncommitant nature, the nonexistent future, the feeling of immorality of it all.

Rather than being labeled a slut (although maybe,quietly, in their minds) my case was met with sympathy. As i like to call it, a bad habit. It's probably the same kind of sympathy you offer someone trying to quit an addictive drug.

If tit is for tat, then i should be getting a brutal telling off.

Maybe it's time i also thought about a serious career. I wonder how far you can get by with thinking that things will work themselves out. That the right job will crop up at the right time, and i took the right degree after all. I wonder if it IS true that your degree is only worth as much as the paper it's typed on - fancy, decorative and completely irrelevant in terms of the different words written on it. Then again, I probably made that statement up myself. When I mentioned event management Sujen seemed to jump a mile high. "Don't! It's a waste of time! You don't need a degree you know..." Oh dear god he's right.

Is it worth it all in the end?

Maybe i can be a bitchy English teacher instead. The kind that makes stark markings with her red Kilometrico that she probably gets free from some stuffy teacher's conference in some cavernous school hall. The kind that makes you stand pulling your ears through the whole period if you forget to bring your textbook. The kind who makes the naughty kids wipe the board after she's done explaining the difference between nouns and pronouns, verbs and adverbs and prefixes and suffixes. Engrish.com sure as hell shows we're not lacking in need of better teachers...

(-_-') wtf....

Feel the atrocity of the Engrish...

I've thought too much about this, haven't i?
The long and the short of it - my future is uncertain and I'm disgruntled about the status of my love life. No quick and easy solutions? Jeannie says just shut up and enjoy your holiday.
Ne-yo says: Why can't I turn off the radio?

Musings of Time

I realise blogs have the most meaning when you are procrastinating from something. Now that I have all the time in the world to write something meaningful, I don't. Figure that's how life passes us by. Don't set your heart to something and you just won't be bothered - til something forces you to anyway. (e.g. resume-writing/updating... haha.. thanks tish, i did it today!)
I remember there were things i wanted to write about... what i can't remember is what they are. *sigh*
How about how Wednesdays are the middle day of the week. If you're working and have the weekend to look forward to, Wednesdays seem to be greeted with a "Oh dear, is it ONLY the middle of the week? So far to go to the weekend"
But if (like me most times) you have a deadline to meet on the following Monday (i.e. essays), Wednesdays are greeted with a "Oh Crap! It's already the middle of the week! Shit shit shit!"
Sound familiar? We're all guilty of it... Glass half-full/half-empty syndrome.
It's like how time passes really slow when you want it to go fast, and vice versa.. Why!?!?
It's a mental perception thing, right? But even if, by some strange inexplicable science fiction-esque fact of life, a second lasts longer at some moments than it does in others, but is recorded as the same nonetheless - we'd never know! Just depends on how much you trust your watch i suppose.
Mmmmm.... Time - immortal, endless, forever running - too fast and too slow and not at all - and something that damien seems to have too much of. Haha.. That wasn't the climax of this post... But it's true though. All pondering (and rambling) ends in friends. =)
Logic ends at 3 am. 'Tis now close to 4. To bed with me... thank goodness.

Think outside the Box...

And i thought it was only the Japanese who could come up with things like Chindogu

Noodle cooling chopsticks

The Germans want in on it too. Check this site out.

Bottle attachment for salad dressing made from a rubber glove

I guess the world needs more alternate solutions to battle all this overconsumption. Too bad some chindogu take more effort and resources to accomplish one simple task than the conventional method would.
This post is to thinking laterally.
Be creative!

Stupid Heroes... =(

Bugger ass Heroes..
Why every episode also To Be Continued wan?
GGGgGRRrrr!!!
okay, discipline, cannot watch anymore.. need to sleep d! But WhY!?!??!
GgGRRRr...
on an aside, the petrelli younger bro is cute, the painter isaac is kinda good looking and a bad habit *hhmmm* and the japanese dude reminds me of kee win! haha.. so cute..
Haroe?!?! Yasa!!
p.s: Kee win, it's a compliment.. haha.. CuTe! oklah, maybe you're better looking =D
For the guys, i think the girls are pretty hot too, especially mirror lady and simone and rachel bilson lookalike.... maybe the cheerleader girl a bit young lah. more suitable for paedophiles (i.e: Kenny) haha.. kidding!
SLEEP! Stupid Heroes...

Same same but different

So i'm back.
In the last day i've eaten more good coffee shop food than I have in a year in Melbourne. Good stuff.
Anyhow, the driving skills are a tad unsteady but i'm getting there.. My reverse parking currently sits at a measly H3. haha...
Stuff has changed a bit, you see the familiar sights, and suddenly something's there, or gone, or renovated, and you know... as some (indubitably) Ah Beng once said:

Same Same, But Different

In academic news, I've been accepted into a Public Affairs Internship for second semester. I know little about it too, so i'll find out more. It does have a tinge of Jessica Simpson in the name though. *cringe*

The first thing that appears when you Google Image search Public Affair. *sigh*

I feel like I have a lot of people to meet in the next week. Lee and Kee Win are going off to England and Shanghai respectively.
Why?!?!? Just when I come back. At least can see once I hope.
A belated Thank You and Happy New House-ing to CC and Ken. Thanks cos I got you to do so many last minute things as my packing was awfully late and Happy House-ing even though I really wish we were living together again. Miss you and will see you when you get back (Hurry!)
Oh, and my disappointment for the day... THEY'VE SOLD OUT ON LIVERPOOL HOME JERSEYS IN ADIDAS!! the guy at the store said pretty much every adidas and even on the LFC website.. WHAT!??!?! I WAAAAAAANT.... somemore my aunty can get 20% discount.. *sniffle* lousy Kee Hong got.. haha.. oklah... enough for now.

Second Last night in the Land of 301

I don't know if anyone else is feeling it, but i've got the moving out/moving on blues.
I realise that the lack of packing til now is not so much laziness (well maybe) but more reluctance.
A delay of the inevitable.
Inevitably, people move out of your life.
Inevitably, they find other things to revolve around.
Inevitably, you move on too.
Inevitable facts of life.
But still reluctant to take that as the truth.
It seems like only yesterday I entered 301 by myself, an empty shell of an apartment with a spooky aura that induced me to spend the first night alone on the sofa fortress in the living room.
How much it has changed since then. The warmth, the mess, the love (of all sorts!)
Take at least one thing with me? The memories. But i'd take more if i could.
I have a great fondness for this place, and I suppose it's best to leave on a high.
Still i'm left to wonder if that should've been said for ih.

Exams Over

Short post. Nothing to say.
Post - exam = Hangover.
Packing = Undone.
Me = Don't wanna do it.

Day Before Freedom

Hhhmm.. Maybe that should really read day before exam. I'm in such a lazy/relaxed mood it's ridiculous. I know i feel fairly confident I know my stuff, the problem is it's not structured in an argument. It's like knowing everything but not knowing how to say anything. Bleah. Hopefully this revision read through will help.
In any case, day before freedom makes me think of prison. More specifically, PrisonBreak. It's kind of like saying Day Before Freedom on the eve of your execution. Haha.. whatever you see as freedom, mate.

I can't believe Damien finished his exams. He's been the one person stressing with me when all these other jokers have been enjoying the end of exams. And now i've lost that one rock. NoOOoO!!!!! I guess it's only 24 hours difference between us. But still it's made me lose all motivation. Or maybe it's post-concert trauma. Haha... Makes you realise that there are definitely better things out there that you could be doing. Like becoming a U2 Groupie.

i bet equally large jugs would guarantee my groupie-dom success...

Or not.

Anyhoo... last gripe about exams for a while... til the results probably.

Question: What to do post freedom? Chocolate? Drink? Shop? *groan* Pack...
hahaha.. i'll mix it all together somehow. Like a big cocktail. Mmmm... cocktail... haha..
I detract. For now, Rising China, US as Hegemon, North Korean Security Threat, Japan as a Normal Power, Asian Economic Crisis and the iMF Bastards and the prospects of Regional Groupings. See.. told you i know my stuff.
Jeannie's Study Tip for the few unlucky people that still have them : Milk and cookies. Trust me.

U2 - i watched a legend

Hours after the concert and i'm still reeling from being starstruck.
Then again, maybe it's cos i'm listening to the recordings again.
I have to admit I was more hyped up about John Mayer, (as evidenced from the lack of U2 build up) but it was definitely AWESOME. If i had high hopes, they wouldn't have been dashed.
But i do wish i was in the mosh pit (and i do wish i was at least 6 feet then) i cannot convey to you the stage, the music, the crowd, the solidarity, the atmosphere...
He sang all the best:
Vertigo, Elevation, With or Without You, Beautiful Day, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Where the Streets Have No Name, Mysterious Ways, Sometimes You Can't Make It On You Own..
Just know it was worth the 60 dollar ticket, 2.60 tram fare and the 90 dollar mandatory concert shirt.
Definitely a great night out.Like Bono says, Muslim, Jew, Christian... we can all live together. =)

Cheated

Reading in the dining hall from after lunch til 10 pm and only getting 3 weeks done .... Cheated
Anticipating a really yummy Christmas dinner and getting shitter than normal food .... Cheated
Coming back to the apartment lured by cards and drinking .... Cheated
Listening to other people drinking upstairs and making me grumpy (and also no invite!) .... Cheated
Actually don't have any reason to be but feel .... Cheated.

Oh well, end with corny X-mas cracker joke, Why shouldn't you play in the jungle?

Because there are cheatahs...

La la la...

11 out of 25 of my most played songs are by John Mayer. 4 of them are from the new Continuum album released 2 months ago.
One word.
Obession.

it's hailing.... in the middle of spring.

global warming my ass.p.s: this character is guu from hare nochi guu. if you haven't seen the anime, check it out.. it's super funny. in a weird way. as are lots of anime, i guess.

Rumsfeld the Poet?!?!?

I guess i really should cut him some slack, now that the man's out of the House (in the least rap way of saying that as possible) and, well, probably getting a good deal sitting on the board of some defence-based company somewhere. However, a news article just caught my eye: Rumsfeld MAY face war crim charges. The beauty of it this time?

Mr Rumsfeld's resignation, on November 8, meant he could no longer claim the immunity sovereign officials enjoyed from international prosecution for war crimes, the CCR said. (taken from here)

Sweet justice, mummy would say. In any case, this post didn't start off wanting to put Rumsfeld in jail. It was actually to expose the romantic side of him, the side noone really sees. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Donald Rumsfeld is a poet. Taken from the official transcripts of the Defence website, i bring you:

The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

taken from here
*claps all round*
Gosh... all it needed was a guy on the bongos, a black beret, snazzy goatee and a pair of john-lennonesque sun glasses. Actually, there's something in the repeating of phrases that is somewhat reminiscent of George W. Bush. I couldn't resist, i decided to see if he was a poet too.

MAKE THE PIE HIGHER

I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
And potential mental losses.

Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet
Become more few?

How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.

I know that the human being
And the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope, where our wings take dream.

Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
Make the pie higher!

taken from here
*clap*
Well, so maybe not as profound, and maybe someone had to string all those quotes together. But fair effort still.

Moving on from George W. Bush, if you've ever wondered if humans can mate with other animals, the answer is here

Do you wanna know? wanna know? i'm warning you... i'm gonna write about it.. if you rather not know, stop reading.

The answer is..... a resounding NO. Apparently once you've drifted too far off the evolutionary scale, you're on your own... I guess some people might use that to justify racism in the past. "Oh, he doesn't look anything like me.. Maybe i can't mate with him. Better kill him then. " okay, so maybe not. In any case, pig-man and ape-man are scientifically impossible. (Not that scientifically impossible things have not been done before) I mean, you can still have sex with the animal, just that you won't have viable offspring.

Haha.. my mind is filled with useful information today. =)

Always bad timing...

So i handed in my last essay for the year. Whoo dee doo!
Went to check out Harvard's art exhibition, reminded me a lot of my brother's one back in England. Bunch of artsy looking people ( including one HOT bronze looking model guy... haha.. was so tempted to take a picture of him on my phone ) but he looked too tan for my liking... like fake tan. haha.. make that a glowing fake tan.
Anyhoo, had a great time laughing at the spasticity that is me, Parky and Sarah combined (oh dear lord.) and had a laugh watching the bogan stuff muffins into her bag. *shy* but i guess us cheering for harvard and screaming i love you was embarrassing enough already.

Nankin said we should play poker tonight, but everyone seems to be busy.
My liberation's on the wrong day. *sigh*

Rainbow of Emotions

I really love this song 'cos of John Mayer, eager to hear the original by Jimi Hendrix, but anyway, the guitar is excellent and the lyrics are so poetically beautiful. I wanted to sing actual words rather than mumble along, and i really like what i found:

Bold As Love

Anger he smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armour
Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand
Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready,
But wonder why the fight is on

But they're all bold as love, yes, they're all bold as love
Yeah, they're all bold as love
Just ask the axis

My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war and
Ribbons of euphoria
Orange is young, full of daring,
But very unsteady for the first go round
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
In fact I'm trying to say its frightened like me
And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from, eh,
Giving my life to a rainbow like you
But, I'm eh , yeah, Im bold as love
Yeah, yeah
Well I'm bold, bold as love (hear me talking, girl)
I'm bold as love
Just ask the axis (he knows everything)
Yeah, yeah, yeah

rainbow of emotions =) sing along here....

Conflict is Mind-Numbing

I really don't understand the Israel-Palestine conflict.
I really really really don't.
I don't know who i side
I don't know who is right.
I don't think there's a right. Right is what the winners call their own actions - but there's no winner in this war.
Rights are what make people believe that they can claim land for themselves.
Our holy right. Our birth right. Meh.
I suppose territory is biological, I suppose its welded into the testosterone, or adrenaline, or whatever hormones cause us to be aggressive.
It's just.....
I don't understand conflict.
Maybe it's a middle-class syndrome. You don't see the need for something you don't need.
For all the forgotten deaths in the Israel-Palestine conflict, because we don't think enough of the mothers, fathers, children and friends dying everyday.

Israel. Palestine. Essay. Dunno.

I'm roughly 500 words/2000. yay. 25%.
Writing is kinda difficult. I keep getting distracted. haha.. spent most of the last hour converting videos for my ipod. Blame Kai for asking me to get more John Mayer videos. It's becoming an obsession! Anyway, for people who have net quota to burn ( or no net quota at all ), go check out the John Mayer VH1 videos. He's CRAAAAZY one man on a (guitar) mission.
I just realised i haven't done any proper physical activity for about a month. Not even playing soccer or basketball. Why? 'Cos i'm always in the library or writing my essay. GGgGGRRR!! haha.. i bet the gym instructor will freak when i go home. Haiyor. Dun wanna think of his scary face, just think of the food.
Btw, i'm really sad i won't be back home for CNY! No gambling! No family meal! No collecting angpow! No annoying CNY songs! (actually, nvm about this one) Haih... The things i do for ih. *snort*
Procrastinating.... last few thoughts:
Stitched Up by John Mayer and Herbie Hancock is awesome
Jazz and big band are forever
I want the new Liverpool jersey.

What if?

For some reason or other, the question seems to pose itself to me. Isn't it funny, how one can go about life, and at every turn, reflect and ask, What If?
How different my life would be had i taken a different IF when it mattered.
What if i had chosen not to come back from England?
What if i had started college as soon as i got back rather than waited an extra half year?
What if i had gone to SAM or A-Levels instead of CPU?
What if i had decided to move in with Nat straight away, rather than stay in IH?
What if i had chosen engineering? or Science? or Commerce? or even Psych?
What if he wasn't so far away?
What if there was a chance, maybe?
Too many What Ifs... Yet the only way you can dispel them is by asking Why Not?
so.. Why Not take the chance?
haha.. i just might.

Big *SiGh*

Just been thinking about being alone...

10 hours in the library...

and i'm not even studying. WHAT THE HECK!?!?
anyway, i was actually working. reading up and taking notes about the Palestinian Intifada for my next essay due Tuesday. I wonder if it was wise choosing a subject i know absolutely nothing about.
Anyway, i've been trying to read up more of the Palestinian's point of view so maybe i've formed a bias opinion, but does the whole Israel marching in and imposing martial law thing sound a little undemocratic to you at all? i mean, isn't that really a dictatorship, or bullying?
They've only got tanks and an army as opposed to the stones and families of the Palestinians.
*sigh*
the world's unfair. so some people have bigger things to worry about than essays.
but i can't do anything about it right now... except write an essay.
and keep going to the library so i can read their 2 hour loan books. frustrating.