T_T

I don’t wanna go for training later! *rolls around in agony* I’ve been thinking up excuses... but like J said... once I closed off the escape route, the idea of training won’t seem terminally bad... just very bad... T_T

I can do this. =_=

A FUCKING WASTE OF MY TIME… PART II

Oh well...one would have thought that I’d have learnt from past mistakes. It’s not a good idea to get one whole series of books at one time simply coz of a whim. It’s stupid... no... make that FUCKING stupid! As with the Christopher Golden series, I repeated the same mistake with another series. This time round, it’s a little beyond weird. The back cover talked about politics, intrigues and fairly interesting characters. In truth, it’s about a whore who likes pain. My god! It’s porn masquerading as fantasy all over again. =_= This time round, it’s weird porn masquerading as fantasy. =_=

Ahhhhhhhhhhh........the amount of money I spent on this series is obscene! But I’ve learnt from my earlier mistake. I shall simply not attempt to torture myself with the second and third book. I shall not compound my wastage of money with wastage of time and emotional torture. =_=

ps: did I mention that the books' are in first person narration? oh god... I hate, hate, hate, HATE books using first person narration. argh...horrid to say the least. oh! robin hobb books excluded of course.

Wants

Mp3 player (ho ho ho... it’s pretty much in the pockets I think.)
LV wallet (J... I swear after all these time, it still whispers to me at night. =_=)
The Magic Ring Vol 1
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JOHNNY DEPP

I think I’m obsessed with Johnny Depp…

I used to joke around with my friends that I like old men. I really think it’s not a joke anymore man. Haha... I find myself totally obsessed with Johnny Depp recently. Heh. I liked Johnny Depp for AGES! But recently, it has morphed into obsession! =_=

I just saw the trailer of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… heh. Johnny Depp looks soooooo nerdy! But he’s adorable all the same! =P

Lean Mean Fighting Machine.... NOT!

Haha... Here I thought the kendo camp will put me right back into shape. Well... guess not. My muscles are still aching from the brutal three days. Especially Thursday’s combined training. T_T
I'm still as soft and useless as ever. blah.

Practice what you preach

I came across this letter in the New York Times regarding the dichotomy between “pro-life” and “pro-choice”. Actually, it’s more of a grouse about the hypocrisy of the actions of the government under the banner of “pro-life”. Admittedly, this debate seems more at home in America then here. Where we don’t have much choice to begin with anyway. But I can’t help but reflect upon my own views, which had undergone a massive change throughout the years. Perhaps, I do have to factor in my bias against the current administration in America. But biases aside, I do find that my views are leaning towards “pro-choice” these days. “Pro-lifers” always gave me this bad vibe, like the “holier than thou” attitude some people have. Perhaps I’m being unfair in my assessment but that’s the impression that they projected. Besides, what’s the use of having a baby if you cannot love it? The kid will be the one to suffer in the future. I guess adoption would be a solution. But how many kids can be adopted? What about those kids with disabilities? If their parents can’t love them, can anyone expect society to? If every kid can be adopted, there wouldn’t be so many orphans and deserted kids in the streets ya?

I guess my main grouse would be that people do not practice what they preach. If you’re a “pro-lifer”, then by all means take some of these kids in when they don’t have a home, or take care of some of the disabled kids or something. =_= Instead of wasting time picketing and protesting, being a nuisance to others. I think I know myself pretty well. I’m judgmental and tend to be too self-righteous sometimes. Haha... so I might not be the right person to say this, but I really do feel that one should think about what you’d do in the same situation before criticizing and judging. It’s so easy to moralize and preach when you are not faced with the same problems.

A day of contradictions

Today started off shitty and progressively turned out ok... well, it’s a mixture of good and bad I guess.

1)Waking up sick and tired –bad
2)Committed hair suicide –very bad
3)Movie was cancelled coz timing was mixed up –bad
4)Had ice-cream with waffles –good
5)Was greedy, ordered a large waffle and can’t finish it in the end. –bad
6)Shopping with the girls –good
7)Bought a new pair of jeans to console myself bout the haircut –very good
8)Hendri laughing at my hair –bad or should I say... evil!
9)Dinner with hen, ra, nat and kitty, the silly old bunch of good friends –good
10)Kitty admitting that he wants to be a monster with tentacles (in the context of hentai anime) –well...can’t say it’s good... but it sure as well is funny lah!
11)Mummy agreeing to sponsor cost of jeans. –very very good!
12)Still sick –very very bad

Over and done with!!! Now back to kendo…

Done with school for the year. What a semester! It has been hectic, stressful, frenzied yet enjoyable. I know that I really like studying... especially after the exams. Haha... even if I file for early graduation, this will be the semester that I enjoyed the most.

Heh. It’s back to kendo for me now. Argh…not that I don’t want to go back to training...but I’m kinda dreading it lah. I’m so unfit now. T_T Thursday will be my first training in a long long while! I sure hope I’ll make it through all right. Hehe...

=_= not looking forward to kendo camp leh...

A FUCKING WASTE OF MY TIME!!

Blah. Just wasted an entire day and almost 50 bucks on a lousy fantasy series. I know I know... it’s supposed to be a FANTASY series but the premise is fucking ridiculous man! I don’t like the story, which stars Jesus as the first vampire...(Ha.Ha.Ha), I don’t like the female lead, who I think is a opinionated bitch who don’t fucking know what she’s talking about, and I think the author has a fascination with lesbian sex. It’s almost porn masquerading as fantasy. I wonder why a lot of the vampire books ended up this way. =_= Well, this series was not as bad as a certain vampire slayer series that I read quite a long while back, which was real bad lah.

But still, this series totally not worth my money and time. I only continued reading coz I can’t stand the thought of my money going to waste. In the end, I only inflicted more emotional torture on myself. Ahhhhh....... I should have studied my military history today. In the end, I only got through 5 miserly presentations. Totally not acceptable! I was initially toying with the idea of going down to SKC to support my juniors taking grading tomorrow but now I don’t think I’ll go down. Will be going to school straight to mug! Yeah! NERD POWER!

Paper in the bin…

Embarrassing moment of the day: Dr Avenell walking pass the table and shaking his finger at me for making him ‘dive’ into the bin to search for my exam script. =P but he was nice bout it la. hehe...

Found out that the “some girl” who threw her exam script in the bin was I. =_= My exam script was the one that ended up in the bin, resulting in my fellow course-mates and some other various students leaving the exam hall late coz the invigilators were all frantically counting scripts to account for the missing one. Apparently, they even called the dean. Haha...oh well, it’s nothing so serious coz they found my paper in the end.
Gomenasai! I really did not throw my paper away. I passed it to the lady invigilator who THREW it into the bin!! Ok... so I was at fault too for passing her my paper but hey, I was tired lah. =_=

Just thinking bout it gives me the chills. I could have gotten an F for the module if they can’t find my paper. =_=”” So I guess enduring the friendly ribbing from my friends of “Oh! So you are the ONE!” or more abusive ones like “You idiot lah wens!” don’t really matter that much... hehe... as long as my paper was found.

of life and bratty brothers...

And so…life does go on. Regardless of papers, proposals, book reviews, presentations, inquiries, exams and trainings or the lack of which. And despite people thinking I’m a cold unfeeling bitch. =_= (Which I’m not... to say the least. Haha...)

I’ve been feelin’ stressed and frustrated for the last couple of weeks and if I’ve been grumpy or moody, please don’t take it to heart. I’m like that to most people. And if I’ve not called or returned sms, I’m just really busy and stressed... Not coz I’m an unfeeling bitch. =_= But I’m feeling much better now. Straightened out some of my contorted thoughts and realized that life is too short to be spent agonizing about irrelevant stuff and feelings. I still don’t know much bout life in general but I do know something about my life. Good friends, good books, good animes and good food pretty much sum everything up. I am lucky in my own way. Hmmm... did I mention bratty brothers? God deliver me from my bratty brother. =_= Sometimes he’s adorable, more often than not, he’s a bigger brat than me. And that’s a feat... you people who know me can attest to that fact.

Feeling weird

What used to charm me now sort of turns me off. A person’s independence used to attract me, but now his nonchalance just turns me off. It’s amazing how the differently I feel about the same quality in different times.

Touched

Today, I rediscovered a birthday gift from a few years back. It was a CD with a flash program inside. Coz I couldn’t view it when I first got it, I just chucked it together with the rest of my CDs and promptly forgotten all about it. Today, I finally watched it. It’s two years plus late but I’m glad I finally watched it. =)

*Touched*

Yippee!!

What’s done!
2 response papers for my Japan module
1 term paper for Asian business
2 largely stressful Farrell presentations
1 Asian business group presentation
1 SEA rubbish proposal
1 SEA mid-term essay

What to do next!
1 simulation (a mock trial?)
1 battle essay
1 Asian business essay presentation
1 book review

Hmmmm... put it that way, I’m not really that free yet ya. =_=

But unimportant things aside, I can finally go back to training!! I cringe at all the trainings I’ve missed. At first, I was kinda relaxed and relatively stress-free at the thought of stopping trainings. Then... I started feeling real weird lah. It’s like an addiction. =_= Heh. The Sunday ones should be no problems from now on! Yay!! But I’m so going to die this Sunday... I have absolutely no stamina left!

so dead....

it's killing me....make it all go away.....

Stress

Feeling today is as stated above... stressed beyond belief. Shaoyun’s group’s presentation was unbelievably good. Oh man... I don’t expect anything less than fantastic from Shaoyun’s group lah. But it’s still really stressful to be the next group after his. T_T
Ahhhhhhh...... I really hope our presentation goes well next week…

History Comrades

Realized that I’ve been kinda fixated on kendo and the people in kendo for the past 3 years. Not that it’s that bad... but I’ve realized that it sort of inhibited my interaction with others. I’ve only got that few friends outside kendo. With J, kitty, hen, ichaya making up the bulk of my “outside kendo” friends. J being the closest of the lot.

Since after the fieldtrip to Malaya, I’ve gotten to know a lot of my classmates better and it’s all been good. I’ve always thought that some of them are too smart for their own good. Haha... maybe I’m just jealous. But these people turned out to be smart as well as nice! Damn it! I can’t even dislike them now since they’re so nice and funny. It’s good that I’ve gotten to know my classmates better and I guess a lot of it must be attributed to the fact that we went thru (and is still going through) termpapers/presentation hell together. =_=

Thank god for these wacky, fun, not to mention nice people… else classes will be a chore. Not that they aren’t already of course... just that they’ll be more of a chore than they are already. Heh.

Ps: looking forward to training on Sunday... though I think I’m so going to die coz I’ve got no stamina no more. T_T

the past few weeks or so...

Bogged down...

I’ve been going to school most everyday these past few weeks. Hmmm... actually just the past week or so. =P I have piles of work just waiting for me to clear but I can’t seem to finish them. Or rather, I’ll spend my time in the library staring at nothing or listening to music. T_T I’ve not been going for training much these days. Applied for a leave of absence. But frankly speaking, I miss training so much... not the stress of course. Just the training... ah... I’m looking forward to Sunday’s training! =) I just hope I can make it. But I should be able to if I work really hard on sat! hehe.

JB and New shoes!

Bought a pair of converse shoes from JB a few days ago. It’s black with red trimmings. Oooooooh. I love it! I even bought red laces to go with it! Ended up wearing red laces on one side, white on the other. Totally weird. Haha... but I like it. I totally did not plan to buy anything from JB. It’s all hendri’s fault! He went and bought a pair of red converse shoes and made me want to buy a pair too! Hehe…in the end, both raaha and nat bought a pair each. The trip to JB was totally relaxing! Made me forget bout school for 1 day. Hehe…well worth the money I guess. And despite kitty and J’s warning that JB was the crime capital, nothing really remarkable happened. Hehe... guess we were really lucky! Or we look too poor to be bothered with. =P

Some photos from operation driving charge

Nat sent me some photos today and I thought I'll post em on me blog since I dun feel like doing any real work at the moment. =P

hen and me
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nat, me and raaha
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the beach was fantastic....but the sun's too hot. T_T
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yongkai loves chips ahoy!
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taken from some random bridge at Mersing
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the gang!
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raaha, me and nat
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me and nat
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the kangkong gals
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Posing with Kangkongs
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Another view of Mersing. this time from behind the huge mersing sign we went up to. oh gosh...how tiny those houses look. T_T
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my friend took this one while we were standing on the bridge listening to Farrell giving a lecture. the view was fantastic...but the sun was HOT!
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This was taken at Mersing. we had to climb damn high up. getting up was alright....it's the getting down part that freaked me out. T_T
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Mission Accomplished!! Force 4207 is BACK!

I’m back! After a week in the “wilderness” of Malaya, I’m finally back! It has been a really fantastic trip! The trip was great and the company was even better. The whole group was fantastic but Raaha (the guniang), Hendri (handy hen), Yongkai (stiffy) and Natasha (AJ) were the perfect traveling kakis! I’m supposed to be the “midget”... but I resent that. =P We had so much fun just laughing bout nothing in the bus. Haha...

The trip was fun but tiring. The long treks down the rubber and oil palm plantations... the high and scary climbs up the high ridges... the pouring rain and the scalding sun... I thought I’d turn into a baked potato walking down the long railway road in the sun!! I think the worst of the lot would have to be the mosquitoes. The sheer amount of bug spray and sun block I put on was unbelievable! But the bugs just kept on coming! =_=
So! Two things I absolutely cannot stand on this trip would be the mosquitoes and the smell of the insect repellent! God…even now, I feel like puking when I think of that smell. I honestly don’t know which was worse…. the bugs, or the bugs’ spray. =_=

Learning bout the “driving charge” of the Japanese as we did on this trip, we really ought to admire the Japanese for their initiative and daring... their tank division was awe-inspiring! Esp Watanabe! As prof Farrell said, it’s “Tempo! Tempo! Tempo!” the Brits and the Allied soldiers couldn’t keep up and things just started falling apart. It’s amazing how a few bad decisions of the commanders on the British side made matters so much worse than it could have been. =_=

I really have the utmost respect for the Aussies! The ambush they set up at Trolak was fantastic to say the least. They were really great fighters! Esp Colonel Anderson. Charging through at least 7 roadblocks by the Japanese with heavy artillery, equipments, and wounded. Though he failed in the end to escape to friendly territory with all of his wounded and equipments, he was still an extraordinary leader/fighter. *Salute*

Frustrated

I should have been happy. I’ve just finished my term paper due today. But for some reason or the other, I can’t seem to feel happy bout it. Other than the fact that my paper is CRAP, it’s got something to do with the fact that I’ve realized the intellectual gap that exists between me and the other people in the honours year. I kinda know I’m in trouble when I don’t fucking understand what the question is asking me to write about and Hendri can easily explain the gist of it to me in a few sentences. =_=

Hendri, thanx for explaining the question to me!

early morning adventures

Warm air along the expressway at 4plus am can really put one to sleep. But I think it’s darn dangerous when one is on a bike. =_= I nearly fell asleep twice on dot’s bike last night!! So dangerous!! If I’m asleep, I may very well fall off the bike! I think I prefer the teeth-chattering cold winds than the comfy warm air currents coz at the very least I’ll be alive to feel the cold. But I’ll be smarter next time. Bring a jacket along if I’m going to be biking with dot.

Supper with J and dot was hardly exciting. But excitement is highly over-rated. Sometimes, just being with people you like is enough. Just a quiet get-together, makan some food, watch some anime, read a book... The simple pleasures in life are sometimes just so simple.

I think life shouldn't be so complicated.

Eye-opener

I’m not a person who’s big on details. But it had been an eventful and emotional trip to say the least. I experienced much and can honestly say is the better for it. I guess the saying that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger is really true. Going through the trip and experiencing all the happy as well as unhappy incidents only increases my desire to improve. Team B really tried their best but their best just wasn’t good enough this time round. But all this is going to change by the next tourney! We might not be in the same team in future but I’m sure each and everyone of us will be better than what we are now.

We're all going to hell....

Haha...I kinda realised that I'm not a very nice person. Was talking with J bout how one of my friends said something really cruel to another friend but was so fucking hilarious that we can't stop laughing bout it. Then we proceeded to spend the night bitching bout this or that person. I think we'll all going to hell... If it exists or whatever alternatives there are lah. Haha... but it sure was fun! And being nice is boring anyways. =P

Public Transport... =_=

I was standing in the mrt, watching the people around me; this woman standing next to me was reading a book. Out of curiosity, I took a tiny peek at her book and it turned out to be a book about Christ. I was like, “Ah.” And returned to staring at people around me and forgot all bout the woman with the Christ book. It was bugis I think when some seats were opened up and the woman immediately snatched one of the seats with lightning speed. Nah... I got no problems with her snatching up the seat. I only had a few more stops to go anyways, so it’s not a problem to me. BUT, at that very stop, a very very very old lady came onto the mrt and stood near the bible woman. And the bible woman saw the old lady. I’m positive that the bible woman saw the old lady since I’m like right in front of the bible woman. But did she stand up and offer her seat? Haha… instead of doing that, she looked up; saw the old lady (probably thought she saw the devil or something), so panicked was the look in her eyes! And then bent down even lower to bury her head deeper into the book. I was absolutely DISGUSTED. I mean, I have no way of proving that that bible woman was actually a Christian or not. But I’m guessing that she’s one.

As a rule, I hate people who preach to me. As in, I hate it with a passion. So, if you are my friend (and a follower of ANY organize religion), please do not preach to me. I especially detest those with the “holier than thou” attitude. I've been approached by people trying to preach to me far too many times for my comfort! I’ve seen this phrase around. “I have no problems with God, it’s his fan club I’ve a problem with”. I guess I do have a problem with some of God’s fan club. They’re getting on my nerves... =_=

Am i not adorable?? hehe
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Eh??
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Chey...
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Tired...
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Peek a boo!
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A Night Of Pigging Out

Akers meet up! Well, first off, we went to the chocolate buffet at Fullerton. Para couldn't make it so there were only 5, as seen by the pic of the 5 cups of hot chocolate. Heh. Of course we had more than 1 cup each! If we don't factor in the cost, the chocolate buffet was truly an enjoyable experience. The hot chocolate there was FANSTASTIC. But my fav was surprisingly bread and butter pudding. Haha...as J would have said, I have a weakness for cheap food sold expensively.

After stuffing our faces with chocolates and more chocolates, washed down by humongous amount of water, we headed off to eat more stuff! Went to Cafe Cartel this time for some salty food! The Carbonara was good...it was a good thing me and J shared it though, coz eating becomes a chore when there's too much of it. But heck, salty stuff's always good. Then we had chicken wings....hahaha...it was just food and more food. Damn I feel bloated now. T_T

strawberries in chocolate sauce...yum yum!!
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hot chocolate was yummilicious
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Dissatisfied

I’ve been feeling rather dissatisfied recently. Dissatisfied with myself, dissatisfied with the beginner batch, dissatisfied with lessons. I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s something I want to do, I need to do; yet I just don’t know what that “something” is! The feeling of something left undone is almost always with me and it feels pretty bad. I guess stress is getting to me. Tomorrow is Thursday and the thought of training leaves me shaking... Not with excitement but with stress. I always thought it should be something I really enjoy but recently, it’s just all very stressful. A certain amount of stress is useful me thinks...even desirable but too much would be detrimental. Shall try to calm down for tomorrow’s training... ah... I think I’ll relax by watching more anime!

Ps: thinking bout it, I guess the “something” left undone could be the readings for me modules... shall endeavor to read em soon I guess. =_=

Hooked on ABBA's songs...

I'm hooked... I mean, I've listened to them before but I've never found them so compelling. Hahaha... their songs are just so nice!

I just wanna give thanks for the vast network of mp3 piracy. =)

Hungry...

Haha...I seem to be complaining of hunger alot these days.

But I'm just so hungry now! I want bbq chicken wings with lime... I want corn muffins... I want Mrs Field's cheesecake muffins... I want...

no means in sight of getting any...

Ignorance and Discrimination

Beijing hotels, schools turn away 'AIDS orphans'

Beijing's hotels and schools have turned away a group of 71 "AIDS orphans" who came to the Chinese capital for a five-day summer camp, state media said Tuesday, blasting the move as discriminatory.
Some 40 schools, hotels and rest houses refused to offer lodgings to the children, whose parent or parents died from AIDS after selling blood in unhygienic blood collection stations in central China.

The children are not infected, but the schools and hotels worried that their students or guests would feel uncomfortable knowing that their facilities had been used by AIDS orphans, the official China Daily said.

"These justifications are illogical and heartbreaking," the newspaper said in an editorial. A hotel far from the city center, in the western outskirts of Beijing, later accepted the children, the report said.

This is just so absolutely disgusting. Hotels I can imagine since they are after all profit driven. I mean yeah, the discrimination is nauseating as well, but when push comes to the shove, it’s profits and their guests that matter to them more. But schools?? How can schools discriminate against those children as well? Those Hotels and Schools ought to be named and publicly shamed! =_=

Equivalent Trade?

The theory of equivalent trade... is it applicable in relationships? Haha...I guess not. But I think to a certain extent, this theory applies everywhere. Recently I’ve been giving this matter thought. In all relationships, there’s a subtle balance of give and take. There’s no such thing as a one-sided relationship. Well... not for long anyway. Humans being the self-centered, selfish creatures that we are. =P

I think that at certain points in my life, either consciously or sub-consciously, I’ve neglected/alienated some of my very old, very dear friends. Well, while some of them are not so dear anymore, others still are. =P I’m not the most “giving” of creatures and I’m about as capricious as can be. So I guess majority of the fault is to be found with me.

My priorities changed and their priorities changed. It’s unrealistic and unfair to expect things to stay the same when I’ve done little or nothing to sustain the relationship. It’s also unfair for me to begrudge them their new priorities and new friends. I can hardly continue "taking" when I no longer "give" to the relationship in question. =_=

bleah...I guess the theory of equivalent trade really does apply in relationships. =_=

Bleah...

Timetable for intellectual property was changed from monday 6-9 to friday 6-9. =_= While that means I can go for mondays' practices, it also means that from a 3-day week, I now have a school week with no free day. Bleah... =_=

Wants!!

-money
-money
-money
-money
-money

yeah... I guess that’s bout it. =_=

Chicken Rice Ball

Chicken Rice Ball at jalan besar.... *drools*
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T_T
I'm hungry...and craving for chicken rice balls....

Attitude

Sometimes in life, certain attitude of certain individuals just pisses you off. Today was the start of the matriculation fair and frankly speaking, it was not as “exciting” as it was the last few years. Maybe I’m getting old and cynical but it’s just not fun anymore. Add a dash of some nussu people who think they’re so high and mighty. Oh god... It’s disgusting! I was talking to kitty around lunchtime near the entrance of MPSH2. Then this nussu person (I can’t tell if it’s a “he” or a “she”) came along and talked to us with this horrid condescending attitude, asking kitty if he has a pass or not... basically asking him to hurry along and get out. I was so pissed!! What’s the big goddamn about being in nussu?? He/she better not let me see her again... or I’ll show her what’s attitude! =_=

Everything but money…

I’ve realized that I’m actually really lucky in life. Most everything I want, my parents will give it to me, if it’s within their means that is. If I want a new pair of jeans, I’ll only have to ask. New pair of specs, new tee shirt, new bag, even kendo stuff etc etc... if it’s reasonable, my dad and mum will give em to me. Of course I get the occasional grousing that I’m spending too much money. But I’ve realized that they would prefer to be with me when I buy stuff that I want as opposed to giving me the money to buy them myself. Hmmmm... I don’t know but I’ll really want the feeling of having money of my own. As opposed to asking money from my parents every time I need something new. Haha… of course work is an option. Well, if I can find work, I don’t mind working... but truth be told, I’m comfortable being a bum. Oh well, time to stop whining and start looking for work I guess...

Guys, remember to tell me if there’s any lobangs for tuition ya. =)

Just Stuff...

Modules = Headache

My modules are more or less settled I guess. Unless NUS decides to fuck with me and don’t give the stuff I want. Oh well, hopefully NUS will be nice to their honours students. Haha... I’m not so worried about my major modules coz I’m pretty sure I’ll get em. It’s the CFMs that worry me. I’ve decided to take a module from Law with J. The only drawback to this module is that it clashes with my kendo on Monday. I’m sad and feel damn bad but I guess grades come first this semester. T_T

Kendo

Today was good training. I like the pace and the intensity of the training. Takeuchi Sensei was angry today. But the words he said made sense. No matter how tired you are or how much pain you are feeling, it’s not appropriate to show weakness within the dojo. Everyone else is as tired as you. If everyone else can do it, why can’t you? The one who loses to herself/himself cannot hope to defeat her/his opponent. That made sense I guess.

Cold!

Bike rides at night are super duper COLD. Esp along the expressways... T_T
When dot bent down and the wind blew at me....I thought I'll turn into an icicle.
Definitely not the most pleasant experience... but that's not to say I'm not grateful for all the rides dot gave me! =) Thanx friend! I appreciate all the rides!

Funny...

My brother sent me the url for this advert. Apparently, it won some award at the asia pacific ad festival. Hehe...I found it pretty funny lah.

Primary School Reunion Photos

Heh. Thanx Dinah for sending the pictures! I did say that I'll post some of the photos on the blog when I get them. For my own gratification if nothing else. =p
But gosh! It's been 10 years since I've last seen some of these people and it's really amazing how much we've changed and not change. =)


10 years later...
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The Gals
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Dinah and Nancy
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Nancy and me
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hmmm....there are some more pics but I'm too tired to upload them liao. Heh. It's really scary though... another 10 years, we'll be 32! Man...I don't know if we'll have another gathering in 10 years' time. But it sure was fun this time round.

Jiyang and me
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Courage

Heh. I've always like the New York Times... 
 

A Pause for Hindsight
Published: July 16, 2004

Over the last few months, this page has repeatedly demanded that President Bush acknowledge the mistakes his administration made when it came to the war in Iraq, particularly its role in misleading the American people about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and links with Al Qaeda. If we want Mr. Bush to be candid about his mistakes, we should be equally open about our own.

During the run-up to the war, The Times ran dozens of editorials on Iraq, and our insistence that any invasion be backed by "broad international support" became a kind of mantra. It was the administration's failure to get that kind of consensus that ultimately led us to oppose the war.

But we agreed with the president on one critical point: that Saddam Hussein was concealing a large weapons program that could pose a threat to the United States or its allies. We repeatedly urged the United Nations Security Council to join with Mr. Bush and force Iraq to disarm.
As we've noted in several editorials since the fall of Baghdad, we were wrong about the weapons. And we should have been more aggressive in helping our readers understand that there was always a possibility that no large stockpiles existed.

At the time, we believed that Saddam Hussein was hiding large quantities of chemical and biological weapons because we assumed that he would have behaved differently if he wasn't. If there were no weapons, we thought, Iraq would surely have cooperated fully with weapons inspectors to avoid the pain of years under an international embargo and, in the end, a war that it was certain to lose.

That was a reasonable theory, one almost universally accepted in Washington and widely credited by diplomats all around the world. But it was only a theory. American intelligence had not received any on-the-ground reports from Iraq since the Clinton administration resorted to punitive airstrikes in 1998 and the U.N. weapons inspectors were withdrawn. The weapons inspectors who returned in 2002 found Iraq's records far from transparent, and their job was never made easy. But they did not find any evidence of new weapons programs or stocks of prohibited old ones. When American intelligence agencies began providing them tips on where to look, they came up empty.

It may be that Saddam Hussein destroyed his stockpiles of banned weapons under the assumption that he could restart his program at a later date. His cat-and-mouse game with the weapons inspectors may have been the result of paranoia, or an attempt to flaunt his toughness before the Iraqi people. But we're not blaming ourselves for failing to understand the thought process of an unpredictable dictator. Even if we had been aware before the war of the total bankruptcy of the American intelligence estimates on Iraq, we could not have argued with any certainty that there were no chemical and biological weapons.

But we do fault ourselves for failing to deconstruct the W.M.D. issue with the kind of thoroughness we directed at the question of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, or even tax cuts in time of war. We did not listen carefully to the people who disagreed with us. Our certainty flowed from the fact that such an overwhelming majority of government officials, past and present, top intelligence officials and other experts were sure that the weapons were there. We had a groupthink of our own.

By the time the nation was on the brink of war, we did conclude that whatever the risk of Iraq's weaponry, it was outweighed by the damage that could be done by a pre-emptive strike against a Middle Eastern nation that was carried out in the face of wide international opposition. If we had known that there were probably no unconventional weapons, we would have argued earlier and harder that invading Iraq made no sense.

Saddam Hussein was indisputably a violent and vicious tyrant, but an unprovoked attack that antagonized the Muslim world and fractured the international community of peaceful nations was not the solution. There were, and are, equally brutal and potentially more dangerous dictators in power elsewhere. Saddam Hussein and his rotting army were not a threat even to the region, never mind to the United States.

Now that we are in Iraq, we must do everything possible to see that the country is stabilized before American forces are withdrawn. But that commitment should be based on honesty. Just as we cannot undo the invasion, we cannot pretend that it was a good idea — even if it had been well carried out.

Congress would never have given President Bush a blank check for military action if it had known that there was no real evidence that Iraq was likely to provide aid to terrorists or was capable of inflicting grave damage on our country or our allies. Many politicians who voted to authorize the war still refuse to admit that they made a mistake. But they did. And even though this page came down against the invasion, we regret now that we didn't do more to challenge the president's assumptions.

The Massage From HELL!!

Oh man... it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a Chinese Sinseh. After training on Sunday, my ankles hurt like the very devil. After being stubborn for 4 days, I went to see a Sinseh today. OMG! I’d forgotten how painful it is when the Sinseh massage the affected area. I had a lady Sinseh and she is strong even though she does not look it! At all! Oh man... it really is the massage from hell! She kept pushing my head down and asked me to “fang4 song1, fang4 song1” What the hell! How to relax when it’s so goddamned painful?? But she’s good! As in really really good. Coz when she finished with the massage from hell, and I got off the bed, I found that my ankles actually felt much better! And she allowed me to train on Sunday! Which is really good news coz I don’t like the idea of missing too many trainings. A fear of mine is that I’ll be drop from the team if I missed too many trainings! I don’t want to be drop from the team! *Wails*

So I’ll take disgusting Chinese medicine and go back for as many repeated massages from hell as needed just so my ankles will recover and I won’t miss any more training.

hmmmm...but massages from hell costs money....hopefully I don't have to go back too many times. =_=

Various Stuff...

Reunion –
Had a primary school reunion a few days back. It was nice, but also weird.... Weird coz some of these people, I’ve not seen for 10 years. Some I’ve met a couple of times but it’s sort of the hi-bye kind of meetings. Just a smile and a nod before we go our separate ways. This reunion was different. On certain levels, it seems as though we just picked up from 10 years ago and continued as we left off. On other levels, there’s a certain amount of awkwardness and discomfort. But all in all, it’s been pretty fun. Seeing old friends yet again and finding out that they’re doing well in their lives. I want to put up some pictures, will do so when I got em’ from me friends. =)

Kendo –
Sat out Monday’s training coz me legs hurt. Found out that sitting out during trainings might not have been such a bad thing if one pays attention to the training as opposed to dozing off. Haha... I took lots of notes bout stuff not to do and stuff to take note of etc etc. Maybe I needed a time to think about things I’ve been doing or not doing. =_= oh! Something nice happened on Monday though. Renata sensei came for training! Coz she’s moving and stuff and there’s not enough place to put all her do-gis. She’s giving me one of her old ones! Yay! It’s thin (that’s super impt in horrid west coast stuffy dojo) and it’s white! Well! I’ve always wanted a white do-gi but always plagued by the problem of a lack of funds. Heh. Problem solved! Thanx Renata sensei! =)

Present...

I got a very very very belated birthday gift today. It’s a bokken with my name on it. Can't really say I was totally surprised because tiff dropped very subtle hints quite some time back. So I know there’ll be something from da jie. And it’s got to be something related to kendo. But still, it was a very nice surprise indeed. I love it and if I pass my second dan end of the year(haha...not very likely...but oh well...), I'll give you guys a treat! Cheap one that is. =P

Well, the present’s from da jie, er jie and zhixian but I guess da jie’s the one who came up with the idea. Thanx da jie!! Thanx er jie! Thanx zhixian! I appreciate it man. =)

Drool.....

Ah. At 4.33am in the morning, I crave meat...
J mentioned a few items and these caught my attention...
Beef kway tiao...
BBQ chicken wings with lime and chili sauce...
Yoshinoya beef...

MEAT MEAT MEAT!!!

Well, there's no meat in my house that I know how to cook...so no meat for me unless I'll consider Toby's "Beef and Vegetable" salami roll. hahahahaha....

I do have brownie in my fridge...but I want something salty...not sweet. T_T

Suicide

I came across this article at the kendoworld forum quite a few days ago. Since then, I’ve been thinking bout it quite a bit. Suicide is never a pleasant thing to contemplate but sometimes it really does seem like the easy way out. But one thing I read about quite some time back stuck in my mind.

“Death is always less painful and easier than life! You speak true. And yet we do not, day to day, choose death. Because ultimately, death is not the opposite of life, but the opposite of choice. Death is what you get when there are no choices left to make. Am I right?”

Yes, those bullies are detestable but that kid had a choice and he choose to end his own life. That I think is a damn shame. =_= He had his whole life ahead of him. He didn't die because he had no choices left to make. He died because he choose to end it before it really begun.

Good Books

I think good books are books that you can read and re-read when the mood strikes you. You just take them off the bookshelves and once again, you are sucked right into the story, even though you have read the book umpteenth times before. It’s particularly hard to find such books nowadays. One such series in my opinion would be the sequel trilogy to The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. The Tawny Man Trilogy –Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool and Fool’s Fate. This is one of the rare cases where the sequel outshines the original trilogy. Set 15 years after the end of Assassin’s Quest, the Tawny Man Trilogy is a good read because we all want to know what happens to Fitz. The ending of the Assassin’s Quest just doesn’t cut it. There are just too many loose strings left untied, leaving one feeling most unsatisfactory. Even though the ending of Fool’s Fate also doesn’t sit quite well with me, but I guess it’s better than nothing.

Of the 3 books, Fool’s Errand remains my favorite!

An excerpt from FOOL’S ERRAND –pp 87-88.

“Fool?” I called aloud in the darkened room.
“What?” He did not open his eyes but his ready reply showed he had not yet slipped toward sleep.
“You are not the Fool anymore. What do they call you these days?”
A slow smile curved his lips in profile. “What does who call me when?”
He spoke in the baiting tone of the jester he had been. If I tried to sort out that question, he would tumble me in verbal acrobatics until I gave up hoping for an answer. I refused to be drawn into his game. I re-phrased my question. “I should not call you Fool anymore. What do you want me to call you?”
“Ah, what do I want you to call me now? I see. An entirely different question.” Mockery made music in his voice.
I drew a breath and made my question as plain as possible. “What is your name, your real name?”
“Ah.” His manner was suddenly grave. He took a slow breath. “My name. As in what my mother called me at birth?”
“Yes.” And then I held my breath. He spoke seldom of his childhood. I suddenly realized the immensity of what I had asked him. It was the old naming magic: if I know how you are truly named, I have power over you. If I tell you my name, I grant you that power. Like all direct questions I had ever asked the Fool, I both dreaded and longed for the answer.
“And if I tell you, you would call me by that name?” His inflection told me to weigh my answer.
That gave me pause. His name was his, and not for me to bandy about. But, “In private, only. And only if you wished me to,” I offered solemnly. I considered the words as binding as a vow.
“Ah.” He turned to face me. His face lit with delight. “Oh, but I would,” he assured me.
“Then?” I asked again. I was suddenly uneasy, certain that somehow he had bested me yet again.
“The name my mother gave me, I give now to you, to call me by in private.” He took a breath and turned back to the fire. He closed his eyes again and his grin grew even wider. “Beloved. She called me only ‘Beloved.’”
“Fool!” I protested.
He laughed, a deep rich chuckle of pure enjoyment, completely pleased with himself. “She did,” he insisted.
“Fool, I’m serious.” The room had begun to revolve slowly around me. if I did not go to sleep soon, I would be sick.
“And you think I am not?” He gave a theatrical sigh. “Well, if you cannot call me ‘Beloved,’ then I suppose you should continue to call me ‘Fool.’ For I am ever the Fool to your Fitz.”
“Tom Badgerlock.”
“What?”
“I am Tom Badgerlock now. It is how I am known.”
He was silent for a time. Then, “Not by me,” he replied decisively. “If you insist we must both take different names now, then I shall call you ‘Beloved.’ And whenever I call you that, you may call me ‘Fool.’ He opened his eyes and rolled his head to look at me. He simpered a lovesick smile, then heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Good night, Beloved. We have been apart far too long.”
I capitulated. Conversation was hopeless when he got into these moods. “Good night. Fool.” I rolled over in my bed and closed my eyes. If he made any response, I was asleep before he uttered it.

Traditions... when do they cross the line?

I came across this article about female circumcision in Africa. It kind of got me thinking about all the so-called traditions that women have had to go through in the past. Bound feet, circumcision, it all sounds super barbaric and painful. I think it’s worse when they use religion as an excuse. =_=

About 15 percent of those who undergo genital mutilation, mainly women in the Horn of Africa, suffer the most dangerous and extreme version, infibulation. Isnino Shuriye, who was also at the Nairobi meeting, performed infibulations among the Somali community in northern Kenya. She would cut off the clitoris and all the labia of 7-year-old girls. She would sew up the girls to be totally smooth, with a pencil eraser-sized opening for menses and urine. Each girl's legs were bound together for weeks so scars could form. Ms. Shuriye used no anesthetic.

All types of female circumcision have huge psychological and physical dangers. Some girls bleed to death during the operation, or die of tetanus or infection shortly after. But for infibulated women, the dangers are even greater. Many infibulated women suffer constant infections and other health problems because urine and blood back up. Their husbands must bring a knife to their wedding night to cut them open. Childbirth often is fatal for infibulated women and their babies, and their wounds make them much more vulnerable to the AIDS virus.

I wonder why women in the past went through with it. It’s just unimaginable for me. And the fact that things like that is still happening in the present is shocking to say the least. I was cringing in pain when I read the article... thank goodness I was not born in Africa! >_<

The End of Euro 2004

Ah. The end of the Euro 2004. The Greeks won in the end... I’m disappointed but I’ll live. Guess I’ll stop betting on football for a while. Maybe this would give me a chance to pay back all my debts and save up enough for a digital camera of me very own! Hehe...

I feel damn bad bout not making it for training in NUS for so long... esp. when I can’t go down for Thursdays’ trainings in NUS till after the Asean. I’ve realized that I shouldn’t tease Da Jie too much bout his health... or rather, the lack of which. *grin* Coz there’s such a thing called retribution. I guess I’m feeling the effects of it now, and it’s not fun. =_=

The Black Hole Strikes Again

The mighty Czechs lost!! The Greeks scored in extra time! This is unbelievable... Ahhhhhhhhhh........I can't believe it!! I was rolling around on my bed in agony and disbelief when the game ended in a draw at full-time. Was on the phone with J this morning after the match... and she said that the mighty Czechs were brought down by the power of the black hole. =_=

The Black Hole Revisited

Ah. Perhaps I really don't have the luck. Out of three options, Holland, Portugal and Draw, I bought two of them, Holland and Draw, and Portugal won. =_=

Maybe I really should take a break from Euro... T_T Well, perhaps it's a good thing as J said that I didn't buy from the Bookie last night. Or else I'd have lost LOTS more. =_=

Whine whine whine…

I’m sick...give me sympathy... right now, I feel totally and utterly miserable and wretched, not to mention antagonistic. I’ve been having the runs and vomiting the entire last night and now I feel like I’m going to kneel over anytime soon. Even typing becomes a chore when my head aches and my stomach feels bloated and uncomfortable. I even felt resentful of my doctor coz the medicine he gave me don’t really seem to relieve my discomfort. Thus the 48 bucks I spent was totally not worth it! I could have used the money to bet on Holland! T_T But I feel better after puking my guts out. Although there’s nothing left in my stomach to vomit anymore...

Supposed to meet J later at orchard... but in the condition I’m at the present. I don’t think it’s very possible. T_T Ah. *Sad* I want to meet J... I also want the One Piece CD she’s going to pass me... T_T

Side note:
I got the teaching job. MOE sent me a letter of acceptance yesterday. The money’s good and I can tell that my Dad’s pretty keen on me taking the job now. My brother on the other hand feels that I should continue with my studies. Myself, I’ve been feeling pretty ambivalent about it. But I think that I’m going to reject the offer to pursue my honours and try my luck again next year when I graduate.

i, LUCIFER by glen duncan

This one is pretty interesting. A biography of sort, written in first person mode. Old Nick is given a second chance at redemption, provided he can live out a reasonably blameless life on earth –in the body of Declan Gunn (a not very subtle anagram of Glen Duncan), a depressed writer interrupted mid-suicide. Even then, he’ll remain a human soul until the old chap decides otherwise. That is, no guarantee of rank. Old Luce has no intentions of following through with the deal, but decided that a trial run (one month in the body) wouldn’t hurt. Luce then takes this opportunity to tell his version of the story.

It’s really a pretty funny book although at times it is rather confusing. One moment, he’ll be talking about what it’s like to be human, and then he’ll lapsed back into memories of what it’s like in heaven “kissing the old man’s ass”(his words, not mine *grin*). Overall, the style of the book is very stream of consciousness-like. At times rambling, at times clear. His relationship with Raphael is another interesting aspect in the book. Heh. Maybe for those of us who like yaoi lah. But the relationship between Luce and Raphael is pretty interesting. =)

Old Luce becomes increasingly “human” towards the end of the book and the ending, though expected, is surprisingly bittersweet. Overall, not a bad read, though not my favorite genre.

Jinxed no more!

Haha...I finally won! Thanks to the Czechs! It's still kinda of a novelty to me considering the fact that I've only won one other time before this.

Oh well! Let’s hope my luck will last through the remaining matches! >_<

Jinxed!!

Damn it! England lost!! Am I a jinx?? J was even trying to persuade me not to bet on Czech Republic. T_T Maybe in future, I should just bet on the opposite side of the country I support! That way, I’ll be ensuring their victory! =_=

Why? Oh why must they lose in the penalty shootout!!?? T_T

Rev Moonie Crowned "Messiah"...

Remember the Moonies? Well, this time round, Rev Moon is honored at Hill Reception and crowned with the “crown of peace”!! Hahaha... talk bout being ridiculous... He claims to be a Messiah, even said that his teachings helped Hitler and Stalin to be “reborn as new persons”

Moon has claimed to have spoken in "the spirit world" with all deceased U.S. presidents, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and others. At the March 23 event, he said: "The founders of five great religions and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even Communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin . . . and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons."

This paragraph cracks me up no matter how many times I read it! Hehehe... It never fails to amaze me how people actually believe his teachings...=_=

Sistas Reunion

It was good. The last time the four of us went out was before Er Jie went to Scotland last year. Since then, it’s always been 4 minus 1. I’m glad all four of us can make it today.

Er Jie complained that I was cringing the moment I sat on his bike and he was not even moving yet. Haha... I have to admit that I’m a scaredy-cat. But his penchant for speed and squeezing in-between vehicles doesn’t help! >_< But Er Jie, I have to admit that you’re a skilled rider lah. I did mention to Xiao Si that I trusted your riding skills! =)

Spent the rest of the evening at Da Jie’s place, stoning, channel surfing, basically making fun of him while taking silly pictures of him and Mdm Wong with Xiao Si’s camera while we wait for Er Jie to collect his baby monster. Pretty uneventful though it was fun in an uneventful sort of way... haha...

I think I’ll go buy 4D with Er Jie’s baby monster’s license plate number. If I strike 1st prize, I’ll treat the whole kai......at S11. Hahahaha...

Hungry...

I’m hungry... hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry... T_T

Saw a roll of sponge (I think it’s for the fish tank filter) out on the dining table and thought it was a roll of bread. Ah. Something must be really wrong if I’m having such weird hallucinations... =_=

Can’t stop thinking of:
-Mrs Field’s cheesecake muffins
-Kenny Roger’s corn muffins

But now I crave for something salty...

*Goes off to cook noodles*

Internet Junkie

I’ve never realized how much of an Internet junkie I am. The past week when my baby was down was one of the most excruciating weeks I’ve ever experienced... J called, asking for the NUS dial-up number but ending up giving it to me instead. It was the light at the end of the tunnel for me man!

J!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Heh. If the Greeks do their jobs tonight, I’ll treat you to drinks! =)

I never thought I'll ever say this but...THANK YOU NUS!!

Hungarian Suicide Anthem

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy Sunday - the notorious 'Hungarian Suicide Song' - was written in 1933. Its melody and original lyrics were the creation of Rezsô Seress, a self-taught pianist and composer born in Hungary in 1899.

Interesting to note, Rezsô Seress himself committed suicide by jumping from his flat in 1968. Anyway, the song is something of a urban legend in the music industry.

Gloom, depression and suicide seem to be part and parcel of Hungarian culture. "You can hardly meet with a Hungarian who wouldn't have relatives or friends who really committed suicide - it's a kind of national disease, it's a kind of sickness," says Peter Muller, a Hungarian playwright who has written a play about Gloomy Sunday and has studied the suicide phenomenon.

So I guess cannot really blame the song ya?
Besides, I like the song...esp the Sarah McLachlan version.

Of waxy palms and sweaty knees

Dot gave me a lift home today and I had my first long bike ride through the expressway...the back of the aprilia was slopping downwards and frankly speaking, ridiculous though it sounds, I was scared of sliding off.

Dot just waxed the bike. My palms were gripping the tank so tightly that they felt waxy... Even my knees were sweating coz I was so afraid of sliding off the bike...but I have to admit that dot is skilled. Went damn fast on the expressway =_= but it was fun. haha...*weak laugh*

Call me the Black Hole!!

Woohoo!! Every single match I bought in the Euro 2004, I lost! Is it bad luck or what? Every match J bought, will win except for the ones bought with me! Hahahaha... is it ironic or what? =_=

Note to peeps out there: Give me a call to find out what matches I'm betting on. You guys can bet opposite me...just give me a cut of 10%. Your luck can't be worse than mine...

The Comeback Kid!!

France beat England
It's really incredulous... when France scored the first goal in the 91st minute, I was staring at the screen in disbelief! Then I went back to my room to mope and call J up to share the bad news. But when I heard my dad say "shit!", and found out that France won the match with another goal in the 93rd minute, my jaw just dropped! How can this be???

Zidane's really a world class player (according to me dad since I know nuts bout football). With a freekick and a penalty, he really shattered English dreams... Oh those poor English fans. I bet they felt as shellshock as I did...

T_T

Toby...part II

Heh. Decided to post more pictures of my baby...


On the way to West Coast dog run...


His fav sleeping position

Underdogs...

Ah. Greece won!! I was hoping for a draw... with an eventual Portugal win. But guess that didn't materialised. T_T

I lost $5 but will get a free drink from J so it all evens out I guess. haha...

But I really feel sorry for the Portugal team. Their fans looked so disappointed...
Oh well! I'll be rooting for Portugal in future matches!!

For now, I'm more interested in the Switzerland-Croatia and France-England matches tomorrow!

Go Croatia!!!

Glutinous Rice, Euro 2004, Air-conditioners…

Did a lot of walking today. I heard somewhere that the ideal number of steps a normal adult should take every day is 10,000. I wonder how true that is. But I think I really did hit 10,000 today. If not, it sure as hell feels like it! >_< Walking around in the humid weather, it made me realized the wisdom our Senior Minister Lee... he once said that the air-conditioner is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. I applaud the wisdom of this guy. =_=

Met up with J and went to eat Khoa Niew Mamuang at Thai Express just now. It’s just not as good as the one sold at Yhing Thai Palace though...*feels disappointed*
Argh... but the glutinous rice really expands once it’s eaten man... I feel damn bloated right now…. all the walking we did in search of a betting booth just now did nothing to digest the glutinous rice. I’m definitely not a football fan...but the excitement of the football match is sharpened by the prospect of either winning or losing money and I find myself watching the match avidly, even though I only bet a miserly $5.

The odds of Greece winning is 1:8.7...
I thought the Greeks can't play football... as it turns out, they actually topped their group in the qualifying run, even with Spain in the same group...and now, they are up one goal against Portugal.
Come on Portugal!! Fight back!!

Moonchild and Gackt sama!!

Just watched Moonchild...it's pretty rubbishy in my opinion...the plot is nothing to brag about nor was the acting anything spectacular... and you got to put up lousy Chinese pronunciation by the Japanese actors. Gackt was the only one of the Japanese actors who can pronounce Chinese perfectly. Wah! Gackt super impressed me. Not to forget the fact that Gackt was gorgeous!! And all the yaoi-ness in the movie is undeniable!! The combination of Hyde as the vampire Kei and our gorgeous Geckt as the street kid Sho was yummy...



One thing to recommend the Moodchild vcd was that the subtitles are in English!! And the subtitles are actually up to a certain standard this time round! *tears of bliss* Haha...J would be so happy to learn that the subs are in English this time round. =)

heh. Pictures of Gackt...I really think i have a weakness for pretty boys...

GAME

GAME
Posted by Hello

Heh. J said that this movie is described as an erotic psycho thriller...I WANT!!
Plus the fact that Fujiki Naohito is the lead!! No reason not to get it I guess...now the only thing left is for me to find it first! T_T

Khoa Niew Mamuang

I first ate this dessert at Yhing Thai Palace. Was reminded of it 2 days ago when I was at Suntac with J and saw a picture of it at some Thai restaurant. I can’t find any nice pictures so I guess I’ll have to settle for posting the recipe. T_T

Glutinous Rice With Mango
1-2 large mango (ripe)
250 grams glutinous rice (soaked over night or at least 4 hrs)
To boil, pour and steep in cooked rice
¾ cup coconut milk
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
To serve with cooked glutinous and mango
¾ cup coconut milk +1tspflour (cook over low heat to thicken, remove keep aside)
Method:
Steam soaked glutinous rice until cook, in steamer for 30 mins (cook but not to soft). Blend coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a pot and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove steamed glutinous rice into a pot and pour coconut mixture and stir well. Cover pot and leave for 20-25 mins. To serve arrange mangoes one side of plate, and glutinous rice. Pour a little coconut milk on top.

*cries* I wanna eat it now!!!! T_T

Dislike

I think we all feel the need to lash out at others. I know I do. Sometimes in malice and sometimes in ignorance. I’m not proud of myself at these times but I guess it's human nature. The ugly side of human nature. When you don’t like someone, it’s kinda hard to hide your feelings. I found it difficult. I still do. Though I think I can control my emotions rather well these days. But I still feel the need to lash out sometimes, to hurt and to show my dislike. I wouldn’t want to spend more time than necessary with the person (sometimes, that’s something I can’t avoid) and when I see him/her, I just feel really antagonistic and go into my “black saizou” mode. Totally unlike my sweet normal self. Haha... it makes the group uncomfortable. It's not their fault that I'm an antagonistic little harridan. And I feel bad about making the group uncomfortable for something that's totally not their fault.

The heart of the question would be “why”. Why do I dislike some people and not others? I like to think that it’s a clash of personalities. But I have to admit that biasness and prejudice do come into the picture as well. I have a rather fixed set of social values, and I fear that I’m somewhat rigid in my attitude. Maybe the problem lies with me and not the other person. Whatever the case, I fear that my dislike of certain individuals won’t just go away, and I have no intentions of reversing my opinions. So, I guess I’ll just have to learn to mask it better from now on. I shall endeavor to be a diplomat! >_<

Justified??

Now, this is just too fucked up to be believed.

In August 2002, the Justice Department advised the White House that torturing al Qaeda terrorists in captivity abroad "may be justified," and that international laws against torture "may be unconstitutional if applied to interrogations" conducted in President Bush's war on terrorism, according to a newly obtained memo.

So what does it all mean? Is America immune to International laws just because of claims that it might, just might be unconstitutional to the American constitution? So the international laws are for everyone else other than the Americans? Hmmmm... what a strange concept...

"necessity and self-defense could provide justifications that would eliminate any criminal liability"

R.i.g.h.t. Of course it’s necessary to torture prisoners and of course it’s self-defense to torture prisoners who cannot fight back. =_=

What bullshit!

Pentagon officials said the group examined at least 35 interrogation techniques, and Rumsfeld later approved using 24 of them in a classified directive on April 16, 2003, that governed all activities at Guantanamo Bay. The Pentagon has refused to make public the 24 interrogation procedures.

Hmmm....I wonder what the 24 interrogation procedures are...*ponders*

Klutz

Wanted to go for training, but realized that Tita took my one and only hakama and washed it.

Scenario:
Wallet –checked!
Handphone –checked!
Keys –checked!
MD player –checked!
Bougu –checked!
Shinais –checked!
Kendo Gi –checked!
Tenuguis –checked!
Hakama –not there...

Me: eh? Where’s my hakama?? Tita... did u see my hakama?? I put it on top of the bag leh...
Tita: eh? So dirty! I wash already lah!
Me: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........

Lesson of the day: buy an extra hakama for days like these. Not that there’s going to be a second time mind you! =_=

Mindhunters

Mindhunters
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PREMISE:
FBI psychological profilers, also known as Mindhunters, train seven of their newest members to track serial killers on a remote island. When a killer surfaces in their own ranks, their new skills are put to the test.

“The Point is, they’re isolated, alone and forgotten. That’s what it’s like to be inside the mind of a sociopath”.

Mindhunters was pretty entertaining in my opinion. It’s a bloody roller-coaster ride. The cast was all right… but do not, I repeat, DO NOT be fooled by the “big” names on the cover. I don’t think Val Kilmer’s screen time was even more than 5-10 minutes. So much for having his name slashed right across the bloody poster. Still, his presence was felt. Overall, gruesome and gory images aside, it was pretty entertaining. Definitely a show to watch if you’re bored out of your wits...

Alrighty! Time for yet another DVD.

In Pain

Ah. I must be getting old. There’s no other reason why I am reacting this way after yesterday’s training. Back in my teens, I can bounce back with no apparent effects the very next day. Ah...the vestige of time...

*sigh*

Toby!!

Silly Face!
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I just felt gripped by the urge to post this picture of Toby...hehe...isn't he adorable? A different kind of adorable from Johnny Depp, but just as adorable!

oh well...maybe I really am bias. *grinz*

Illusions

J sent me an illusion from ebaumsworld quite a while back. I was bored and went to check out the rest recently. =_=
this two are my favs!!


Eye Examination Chart 

Secret Window

Secret Window 

Just finished watching Secret Window. Always thought that it’d be a rather boring flick, but I’m watching it anyway coz it’s got Johnny Depp in it. But surprisingly, it was very much to my liking. The twist in the plot sort of reminded me a little of the Korean movie “A Tale of Two Sisters”, while the ending reminded me of a short story by Roald Dahl –“Lamb to the Slaughter”.
Guess I have a soft spot for unbalanced lunatics and morbid endings. Haha...

Alrighty now...time to start on another DVD.

Expectations kills...

Ah. Was kinda disappointed by the new Harry Potter movie. It just feels incomplete somehow. Like huge chunks were missing from the storyline and not adequately explained to the audiences. And the casting...=_= I’d always thought that Sirius would be more manly and Lupin would be more dashing, more Johnny Deppish. Or perhaps “raffish” as J said, would be a better word. But...that Lupin looks like a backcountry farmer with a weak chin!!! Oh what I'd give to see Johnny Depp cast as Lupin. Though that's not really very possible. =_=


Isn't he just adorable?? 

The folly of trusting the ads in the newspapers

=_= Blk 438 was a bloody HDB residential blk...nor was it anywhere near the bloody industrial park. J and myself walked around that area like 2 bloody idiots but couldn't find the place. Pansing should really check their ads before publishing em'...

Oh well, no harm's done, just got a bit more exercise than we bargained for. bleah...

My Darling Pig!

Saizou!! 


hehe...my first attempt at posting pics....quite a feat if i may say so meself. hahahaha.....

An Angsty Saizou Fic...

Ah. I found it rather hard to imagine there would be a angsty saizou fic around. But it can be found here.

I actually like it quite a bit. haha...who wouldn't? Saizou's adorable!

Walloon...

J looked it up on dictionary.com.

Walloon1. One of a French-speaking people of Celtic descent inhabiting southern and southeast Belgium and adjacent regions of France.
2. The dialect of French spoken by this people.

*enlightened*

The Phobia List...

Saw this site at Dude's blog. Heh. Found it pretty interesting.

I guess Cinderella has Novercaphobia- Fear of your step-mother
A few other interesting ones are:

Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
(so scary... =_=)
Walloonphobia- Fear of the Walloons
(What on earth are Walloons?)
Syngenesophobia- Fear of relatives
(They are pretty scary sometimes ya?)
Peladophobia- Fear of bald people
(Ian Gordon anyone?)
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words
(I'm scared of the word itself!)
Geniophobia- Fear of chins
(lol! I would suggest growing a beard)
Dextrophobia- Fear of objects at the right side of the body
(This is weird.....let's take object A for example. If said object is taken to the left side of the body, would the person still be afraid of object A?)

Feeling Voyeuristic?

The Urban Dream Capsule.

In a world where privacy is vanishing see whats in-store. Sealed into a shop window for a fortnight, four intrepid
art-stronauts will transfer their entire lives to the high street in a 24 hours a day, non-stop incubation event.

Without a curtain in sight, watch them eat, wash, cook, sleep and entertain..No one would have thought that life could be so interesting. Find out what its like to go beyond the pane barrier and speak to them each day by phone, fax, email or web site, the addresses and numbers are on the windows.

And we can see them now in Singapore. Performing for the first time in Asia, The Urban Dream Capsule will be in cityhall for 15 days. It should be pretty interesting. heh. =)
Coz Starhub's one of the sponser, you can gain access to them via e-mail or fax at this website.

Almost Equal Rights??

Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives

I think I had a discussion with J over the icq over the issue of same sex marriages quite a long time back. I was undecided then but gradually found myself drifting towards the proponent camp.

As in the case of Brown Vs Board of Education, the movement against same sex marriages is another case of discrimination and segregation. In my opinion, religious stuff aside, it’s a civil rights issue.

Another article in the Economist: The case for gay marriage also talked about the issue of civil rights.

Mr Bush says that he is acting to protect “the most fundamental institution of civilisation” from what he sees as “activist judges” who in Massachusetts early this month confirmed an earlier ruling that banning gay marriage is contrary to their state constitution.

Why should two consenting loving adults be denied this "most fundamental institution of civilisation"? Why should they settle for "almost-equal rights"?

Lousy internet connection....

=_= ah...the agony of having extremely pathetic internet connection...coz of the multiple log ins and outs, i can't log on to icq anymore...

oh what i would give to have a stable connection...T_T

Corn Muffins...

I have a craving for corn muffins...

J mentioned Aunt Jemima's buttermilk waffles...I linked that to Kenny Roger's corn muffins. T_T

corn muffins....
buttermilk waffles....
cheesecake muffins....
strawberry cheesecake ice-cream....

the list goes on...

ah. suffering... =_=

Censorship??

Channel 2 Japan -Total Anonymity

I think I heard bout this website quite a long while back. Can't really remember how I came upon it. Just found it rather fascinating...
Some say that it's become a magnet for the malcontents of Japan, who'll announce their intentions on the website before committing the crimes. On any given day you can read messages about users' schemes to assault their bosses, murder their teachers or blow up a neighborhood kindergarten. Most are just hot air but a few actually carried out the acts they talked about in the website. The reason that it's so open's coz there's total anonymity in the website. Users does not even have a username. But the website's not just a site for the ravings of weirdos...

The bulletin board wasn't meant to be a soapbox for deranged malcontents but rather a rare haven for Japanese to discuss normally taboo subjects, like the yakuza, the royal family and discrimination against Koreans—topics the mainstream media either sanitizes or simply won't touch. "The Emperor is a war criminal. How is it that we haven't yet done away with the Imperial system?" asks an outspoken visitor to the history page. "In Japan, the press has had a monopoly over information," says Tomofumi Akiyama, a lawyer who specializes in multimedia law. "The Internet has opened the door for everyone to gather and transmit information."

Another interesting fact to consider would be the effect the website have on journalism in Japan.
Interview with Nishimura

"We once could only get information through mass media filters, such as newspaper companies or TV stations. We could send a letter with some kind of information disclosure to a newspaper, but whether they would pick it up in the papers depended on the editor's decisions. It can be said that only the information convenient to the media was reported.

However, there is a lot of interesting news that the mass media won't pick up. Let's say there is a person who wants to tell certain information, and then he posts it on Channel 2. If the news is really interesting, there should be people who are intrigued by it, then they will respond to it, getting more attention. It's the users who decide the value of the news on Channel 2.

There have been quite a few stories that the mass media picked up (from Channel 2) that became big stories. At the same time, Channel 2 has a role as an ombudsman, investigating mass media's reports. For example, some people objected to touching stories that TV stations reported, like "a female high school student started a social welfare business as a CEO," and "a brain-damaged boy developed an unusual talent, publishing books and poetry." They proved that mass media could make a mistake."

I think this website's rather interesting eh? Too bad i can't understand Japanese...
-_-

State Assisted Suicide??

Florida executes man who wanted death sentence

Anyways, this guy, he’s pretty twisted... Strangled a fellow prisoner to force the state of Florida to execute him. Granted, the fellow prisoner in question was no saint either. -_- Ah...I’m not an opponent of capital punishment but still...

"Death penalty opponents said executing Blackwell would send a dangerous message to all prisoners serving life sentences.
"The message goes out to every lifer in the state," said Abe Bonowitz, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "If you don't like your life in prison, kill a prison worker or kill a fellow inmate and the state will assist in your suicide."

The issue of capital punishment is always such a controversial one. Is it better to be executed? Or to spend the rest of one’s life rotting in prison? I honestly don’t know which would be a more useful deterrent.

Shopping!!

got myself a pair of pink shoes!
oh...and some office clothes. -_- so expensive...

Wants!
-a new bag!
-FCUK t-shirt!
-Coolmax white kendo gi
-a pair of new kote

no means in sight of getting anything....T_T

Bushido??

I'll have to admit it was the word Bushido that first caught my attention. But the parallels made by the author about the Iraqis and the Samurais who refused to change with the times really made me think about the meaning of "Bushido" and how people interpret it.

"Meanwhile, when the five Japanese hostages were finally released, what awaited them at home was harsh criticism, instead of a warm reception. What moved the critics to bash them seems to be the belief that the freed hostages sympathized more with their captives rather than with the United States or the Japanese government.

What was the case with ``The Last Samurai''? Capt. Algren, who was captured by Japanese militants, not only sympathized but assimilated with them. He even worked out a war plan and attacked the Japanese government army together with his captives. What he did was much more outrageous than the case of the Japanese hostages in Iraq.

But Japanese audiences cheered and applauded the hero, despite his behavior. How erratic and arbitrary human sentiments can be."

I just find it all so ironic about the way people can so easily change their feelings about a single ideal in different situations. Indeed…human sentiments can be so erratic and arbitrary. -_-

worried

why am i always regretting my decisions after i made them? now i really don't want to do honours anymore. is there ANY way at all for me to file for graduation? ahhh...fuck it lah. -_-

ah. no point antagonizing bout it here. going to e-mail the office to ask bout it now.

PISSED!!

my dog pissed on my bed....AGAIN....>_<

i once told a friend that it'll be a cold day in hell before i'll allow toby back into my room (after the first time he pissed on my bed).
well...wat can i say? Old Nick must be dancing in winterwonderland now. -_-

test test

this should be fun... *leaves paw print*