Bipolar

One of those bipolar days. (don't get me wrong I'm not.)


Days are good when you get paid - at least that works for me towards the end of the month. My mood peaks around the start and end of each month, and hits a low by the third week, just like the amount in my account. It's hard to get by when you're saving for so many things at once - it feels like I don't even have enough eggs to fill all the baskets I have. And this struggle with moolah will never cease, will it?

Lunch with Jack, however late it is, is never a bad thing. Who can resist a lunch date who would wait with a hungry stomach just to have lunch with you, even when it means just fishball noodles at 3pm? Plus I got some egg tarts for my granddads, Mum's favourite kaya cake and sis' favourite cheese tarts. Yes, I'm guilty for my sis' current, urm, state.

Oh yes, and if you have a heart strong enough to spare, feel free to watch a few episodes of Destination Truth on Youtube. Even the non-supernatural ones scared the crap out of me. Which means no more of that for me.

(Sidenote: I only reserve my time for people who are worth me spending time with. Some people, unfortunately, are at the bottom of my list. I'd rather work on my assignments or read James Patterson than to spend a single moment with them. Period.)

Less talk, more love

You do realise... that it's the 27th today?

*Big smile*

Happy 30th month, my huggy darling.

See you in 11 hours' time. I miss you already.

----

I had a really long talk with Aunt over dinner (3 hours, in fact) about everything that's going on in and out of the house, which made me realise how much I miss having a proper conversation with ANYONE in my extended family. Which is kind of sad. Everyone's basically missing family dinners, prayer sessions and drifting apart. I miss those boisterous Saturday dinners with loads of food, talk and wine. I miss those times we fought over the remote control. I miss watching Grandma shuffling around in the house and asking her dozen of grandchildren to tuck in. And I'm so afraid that such moments will continue to dwindle and disintergrate someday. The victim of a progressively successful country, I'm afraid, is the family.

Listen and roar

My sister baffles me to no end; doesn't she know a better troubleshooter than me? I find it hard to believe that she's can be so inept at solving even the smallest problems herself. If your computer crashes, kindly bring it to the technician. Do you have the slightest idea how much of a technical idiot I am? Do I look anything like a Dell technical services personnel to you? Or your printing solution? Or your NUS verbal map? Or someone you can conveniently take it out on when you're frustrated with technology? Do I look like Graham Bell? Or William Gibson? Wake up your idea.


We finally caught a YOG game after days of contemplation! By now, you should have heard about how people are complaining about sold-out games with empty seats. That explains why today's Men's diving preliminaries at Toa Payoh stadium could sell more tickets even after it has been declared that the tickets were sold out. SOLD OUT. Big fat words plastered outside the ticketing booth. 5 minutes after the first competitor hit the water, they opened more seats up for public sales. This is prolly one of the biggest sales disasters I've ever encountered.

And the students. Gosh, the students DO make alot of noise, don't they? But I wasn't prepared for the incessant din created by the running up and down of stairs and the yelling even though the commentator has issued the reminder repeatedly to "remain silent until the competitor has hit the water" in perfect Queen's English. I'm not questioning the decision to bring students in to hype up the atmosphere; wouldn't it be better if these seats could be taken up by people who can appreciate the sport and abide by the rules and display proper etiquette?

Anyway, it was an exhilarating experience to watch athletes from around the world put up a world-class performance of sportsmanship and professionalism despite their age. A pity I probably won't have the chance to catch another YOG event because of the clash with my timetable and tuition schedule; it's an experience of a lifetime.

Big RAH

... And I lapse into yet another night of deep melancholy.

I should be happy to live a warm and fulfilling life, and blessed to be swarmed by the love of those whom I treasure so much. I should thank my fate for allowing me a homestead so safe and secure, and free from calamities and major tragedies like that shoot-out drama in the Philippines yesterday. I should lay my blessings out on a huge table and count them in utter disbelief. I should chug my engines hard to fight for what I've always been materialising only in wisps of dreams.

... But I have no idea what the f**k I'm doing to myself.

Good night, you horrible nemesis.

Ultimate facepalms

I hate it when I get bombarded with questions people actually have answers to, or could have found the answers out themselves.

"Eh, what time are we supposed to go out tomorrow ah?"

"Eh, how much must we pay Big Aunt ah?"

"Eh, you know how to drive there meh?"
- How about you take your own transport there while I drive there. Saves your doubt in my ability.

"Eh, why you never wash the car?"
- In the first place, even our beloved domestic help doesn't wash the car. Plus I remember that I'm just the chauffeur, your chauffeur. Then you'll come and argue that I'm the one driving so I should also be the one who should upkeep the car. Then you know what?


I'd rather cut up my driving license, if that can shut you up.

Irrelevance

Cyberpolicing just got more stringent.

'Friending' students disallowed

MIAMI - A FLORIDA school district has told teachers not to be 'friends' with students on social networking sites and to be very careful in using electronic communication to avoid legal and workplace problems.

And how many do you think can be stopped, given the fact that you're treating professionals, and adults for that matter, like primary school kids? While it is agreeable that, because of the nature of their profession, teachers should exercise greater degree of awareness of their online behavior. That, however, doesn't mean that we should, because of their profession, deny them of social networking. You mean our teachers are supposed to be old stick-in-the-mud fogeys who are absolutely inept at Facebook, Twitter and MySpace?

'It is inappropriate for employees to communicate, regardless of the reason, with current students enrolled in the district on any public social networking website,' the guidelines said. 'This includes becoming 'friends' or allowing students access to personal web pages for communication reasons,' it said.

Why is it deemed "inappropriate"? Because educators will be stupid enough to divulge examination questions and answers? Because educators are sick-in-the-mind perverts who prey on their students? Because educators will rant openly about their discontented jobs on Facebook? Why not, for a start, trust your educators? Trust that they will have enough discipline to moderate their own thoughts before digitalising them. That they still have a professional code to adhere to and will, therefore, draw a clear distinction between what can and cannot be done. And if there are misdemeanors, I believe that should be where the authorities can then step in to interfere. Or else, what's the difference between stopping teachers from logging in to Facebook and stopping teachers from talking to their students face-to-face?

Please do whatever is NEEDED, not how everyone should adhere to irrelevant rules. Wake up, it's Web 2.0 for you.

Movie: Inception

Welcome to the new era of corporate espionage, where your enemies are armed, not just with semi-automatics and rocket launchers, but also the ability to delve into your subconscious and steal information from you.

I'll admit it; I was doubtful whether this film would end up in my A*list of must-watch movies, which was one of the main reasons why I kept putting off this movie despite Jack's repeated pleas. Firstly, I ain't a Leonardo DiCaprio fan. And secondly, sci-fi thrillers have a bad reputation in my books. I'm sorry love, I should have known better. And I was glad there was no sense of regret washing over me after stepping out of the theatre. Inception was a beautifully crafted piece of a mind twister. By introducing the concept of dream-mining, it brought logic to a whole new level; I haven't thought so much during a movie than I had today, and it left me mentally drained and still thinking about it hours after. If you had been impressed by The Dark Knight, then this work of Christopher Nolan's should cast the same magical effect on you as well. No spoilers, so please go watch it.

End of the first week of school, and I'm already playing a mental tug-of-war with myself; half of me wants to continue its droning state of apathy while the other half is dying to jump on all the readings and devour them from introduction to conclusion.


Anyone heard the fantabulously disastrous YOG song with the bad catchphrases? This may serve as a painful reminder to all aspiring singer-songwriters - if you have absolutely NO inspiration to write a song, DON'T EVEN TRY. Not even when it's commissioned and it puts your name into the record books, because it'll just be a can of worms people will pop on you over and over again, right until your very last breath.

And I was wondering if it was a blessing in disguise that we couldn't get YOG opening ceremony tickets - we could still be stuck in the Marina human traffic at 11pm if we had actually been there. Plus we saved that 60 bucks. Not a bad deal for cash-strapped us. But it would be an experience of a lifetime, isn't it? I'm looking forward to attending some of the events, though. :)

The Last Airbender and Salt

Movie makers seemed to have added a new element into their concoctions - at least that's what seemed apparent in Salt and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Something called "to be continued".

Irritating to the max.

Who is Salt? Salt is an overrated film, in my opinion. Everyone woo-ed and ahh-ed when the trailer with Angelina Jolie kicking badasses screened in the cinemas. I came out of the cinema with a million question marks all over my face, and a nagging feeling that I've been conned into watching the movie, and a worse feeling that I'm being forced at invisible gunpoint to watch the sequel. So what if you had Liev Schreiber (Wolverine) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (2012)? It's pure unethical, in my opinion, to black out the screen on your audience.

Second movie we caught within the day was Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it had to play the sequel card as well. But give it up to the producers; they could turn the original plot around and reshuffle whatever they like. When was the Avatar Aang ever a kungfu-kicking Caucasian? Why were the supporting actors and actresses also Caucasians when they came from a village which comprised mainly of Asian faces? Can't their wise old grandmother be an Asian? Then the little voice in my head rang : who were you expecting then? Zhang Zhiyi? Jackie Chan? Jet Li? I guess I have to give M. Night Shyamalan credit for the graphical effects used in the film. I guess I'll just have to stop lamenting and wait for the next parter or two.

Cast away on Tioman [Tioman 7 - 9 Aug 2010]

What better way to spend the last 3 days of freedom than to crash at one of the most beautiful places on Earth? But last year's Batam trip had created an inevitable sphere of doubt in the quality of this trip, and we were so afraid that we'll be disappointed once again.

Well, let's just say Batam was, perhaps, an exception.

Thanks to the double Gs, we've learnt to become extremely critical travellers, especially when it comes to establishing standards for our vacation spots. So it came naturally to us to feel pissed when we had to keep waiting and waiting throughout the trip, either to clear the customs or waiting for impossibly idiotic T****s in our group to board the tour bus.

And don't ever expect food to be cheap on the island, because the restaurant operators there have got you isolated from the rest of the peninsula, so be prepared to pay Singaporean prices for Tioman-standard food and expect to wait a blardy long time for your food. The only cheap thing on the island is booze.

And Jack hatched the idea of moving to Tioman should we strike it rich someday, thanks to the prestine beaches and excellent scuba sites there. The water was clear (up to 23m visibility), the weather was perfect for water activities, and the reef life there is proliferating after some laws were put in place to conserve nature sites. I have to be honest here - I'm not a huge fan of snorkelling/scuba/diving, but Tioman impressed me with all it offered. For a RM80-per-pax package offered by a private operator there, we visited 5 beautiful snorkelling locations and were provided snorkelling gear, which I considered pretty reasonable. It was a memorable first snorkelling experience for me, wrapped up beautifully with a swim and a Grasshopper at the resort pool. Oh, and thanks to Gordon and Gerlynn for their supply of boardgames on the trip.





And thanks to the brilliant sunshine we got during the trip, I currently sleep facing down to air my sunburnt shoulderblades and calves. Speak about souvenirs.

And with this trip, we end our 3-month long vacation with a bang. It's time to head back into the books and fire up those turbo engines for the next 4 months. Then I'll deem myself worthy of more snorkelling, perhaps during the next hols. :)

Yet another getaway

Julie sure has her ways of enjoying life to the maximum. :)

After a relatively long R&R trip to Shanghai, I packed myself off to a great getaway in a small corner of Singapore. Details are... private and confidential, so I'll just be sharing pictures to a great story.



The greatest sin of all is selfishness - I just had to share great food places. Was back at Shin Sapporo, for their to-die-for Miso Ramen. Of course, my Butaniku always ends up in someone else's stomach - mostly Jack's - but it doesn't reduce the various sensations derived from slurping down fresh and springy noodles loudly, relishing each spoonful of soup stock topped with sliced spring onion and wolfing down that ol' so lovely half egg in a single mouthful. I may be an idiot who scores only B- for all her Japanese Studies modules, but Japanese food is like a mother tongue to me.

Yeap. When you see Rocky Mountains, it only means one thing:

BBQ!

I think no one does BBQs like us:

Asparagus, capsicums, Portobello mushrooms, broccoli, red snapper fillet, salmon.

But I love the sweet taste of fresh garden vegetables, poached in olive oil, spices and nothing else. I don't understand why people make use of BBQ sessions as an excuse to gorge on oil-laden processed food like satay and otah when you could be enjoying a healthy get-together with grilled fresh meat and vegetables? If you actually do your rough calculations, 1 stick of chicken satay is approximately 135 kcal, which is about the same amount in a regular bowl of Tokyo Chicken Stew at the Soup Spoon. Curse the health freak in me all you want, but I sure want to live a longer and healthier life.

Darling's pride and joy - our pit fire. He probably beats that piece of beefcake who was desperately trying to stop the smoke at his pit beside ours.

Have you heard of the new boy in town?

Well, Popeyes has been around here for some time, but it isn't as well-received as other fast food outlets like KFC or MacDonalds, main factor being the higher prices at Popeyes'. But you have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW GOOD THEIR BISCUIT IS! While fried chicken from anywhere is the biggest bane of my life, Popeyes makes tasty biscuits! Not a bad start. Served hot from the oven with Smuckers strawberry jam, it's the best biscuit/cookie I've ever had. It has a light waft of cookie, and peel it open to reveal a white and fluffy biscuit core. And I have to give some credit to the Chicken Tenders Darling ordered. Unlike KFC's fried chicken, the fried batter on the outside resembles goreng pisang - light yellow and non-shiny, unlike the brown chicken pieces offered by KFC which ooze oil when you peel the chicken open. Popeyes? 100% chicken breast meat, with no hint of oil when you pry the battered pieces open. What you do get, is white and fluffy chicken strips.

Oi Popeyes. You should just make chicken tenders and biscuit.

And what better way to conclude a great getaway than brie, a bottle of 2007 Chateau Lamothe and the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy?

Next stop: The sun and sand of Tioman Islands, Malaysia! Counting down 2 days!

Had a petty tiff with Jack yesterday. I'm always the childish little girl with the stubborn temper. But we both hate long-drawn battles, so within an hour we basically kissed and made up. I hate to waste time being at odds with each other.

Anyway we spent a bomb shopping largely for our Tioman trip next weekend, and we're not even in Tioman yet. And I haven't even revamped my wardrobe for the new term.

I just need to squeeze in this album recommendation: Jane 張靚穎's Believe in Jane album. I only came to know about this songstress' power-packed vocals via Jack's recommendation, and I just had to get her latest album for the hit single 《如果這就是愛情》. I wasn't even aware of her Supergirls conpetition stint in 2005, and the dozen of languages she can sing in. But better late than never.

Sidenote: I don't have bad Photoshop skills.