Friday, August 31, 2007
CB visits CBD

The buildings in that area overshadowed us, making us seem so insignificant. It was tough trying to differentiate one building from another, with all looking almost similar. But nonetheless, we managed to locate our offices. BY's view from her workplace is incredible. It oversees the entire Singapore river. Oh man.. what a magnificent sight!

At Bugis, Stephie and i met up with Soonie. Brought her to recce her workplace as well, then after strolled over to MS to catch Hairspray.

Hairspray was awesome, with fries and drinks to accompany the show, made it all the better. Downright hilarious and entertaining. Not only that, the audience was wild! Especially the girls sitted to our right and back. Screamed as if their idols just walked into the pitch dark theatre when Zac kissed Nikky. Most of the time, we giggled only because the girls around us were bursting into laughter like nobody's business.

The movie was catchy with well composed songs accompanying the show, entering at the right moments in the movie. The artistes had beautiful vocals especially Queen Latifah and Nikky Blonsky. Loved their singing. Weaving in and out of the movie were specks of comical actions, cracking up the entire audience.

Hairspray just glued my eyes to the screen throughout the movie. It brought a smile to my lips as i paid full attention to it. Nikky, casting as Tracy, was gutsy and spunky. Her stout and short appearance didn't discourage her from pursuing her dream to dance. Also, she stood by the Negros to protest against a separated country between the Whites and the Blacks. Her boldness is admirable.

It casts a rainbow in your sky after watching it. Made my day today. =)

Since there was time to spare after the movie, we crossed over to Suntec to view the IT Fair [Comex]. iPods were so tempting yet... i know mummy wouldn't let me have them. Creative's Zen is CHEAP. Just $99 for a 2GB size MP3 player. Had that strong urge to make the purchase on the spot but the consequences, undesirable. Haha, so might as well put off that thought of getting iPods and MP3 players for the moment. Perhaps some other time. Not in a hurry anyway. =)

Thursday, August 30, 2007
Further Updates

Afterwhich, we shopped around and Daddy was more than willing to get me a pair of Converse shoes but Mummy forbade. Should have seen the way Mummy tugged at my arm, dragging me past the Converse shop and Daddy stood in front of the Converse shop, reluctant to move. >.<

Walked past Charles & Keith and spotted several nice bags. Within minutes, i had a new bag in hand. Since it was for attachment purposes, it was to be paid by me. Hmmm... take it as a long term investment then.

Bought dinner and lots of food. Never once we went out without buying food home. Hands are always packed with them. Oh, and do try the Bali Thai jellies. $1 each but quite yummy. Loved the honeydew jelly best. ;)

Wednesday:
Rain poured heavily, stopping us from playing tennis. Took shelter at the nearest void deck and played Uno until the rain relented. Soon, the sun was out and glaring brightly at us. All of us sustained some sunburn, with mine being the worst. I was thus labelled as pink pig. Lol.

Having decided to catch Bourne Ultimatum at AMK Hub, we took our lunch at Bukit Timah Food Centre and proceeded straight to AMK Hub. Bought the tickets at $6 each. Cheap huh? Pay by NETS and get a discount. =)

Bourne Ultimatum is an action-pack movie. Lots of hide and chase involved. But most of the time, i had my eyes shut. Just listened to the voices rambling on, shattering of glasses, crashing of cars...

If you have motion sickness, better not watch it. It casts dizzy spells on you and leaving you in a state of nausea. The only thought you would have in mind is to escape from the theatre. The camera shifted from one angle to the next in split seconds. Scenes switched at lightning speed. It was horrible. Just ten minutes into the screening of the movie, i was queasy and felt like puking.

My dizzy spell hasn't let up till now, even after taking medicine. So, a word of caution, give it a miss rather than putting yourself through undue discomfort. Well, for some, it was like a roller coaster ride, as what Dave put it.

Back to the movie, David Webb better known as Jason Bourne, was a CIA assassin. He was engaged by the CIA top officials to become part of Operations Blackbriar, which he agreed to. Therefore, he had to have his identity changed, from David Webb to Jason Bourne.

Bourne lost his memory of what happened three years ago - why his identity changed and why the police were hot at his heels. So he decided to find the source to his questions. Along the way, assassinations took place, CIA assassins trying to kill Bourne. Quite ironic huh? Ya.. Didn't really catch the movie since i was asleep half the time. In the end, Bourne remembered everything but was shot by a CIA assassin. He fell from the roof of a building into a river but survived. Good guy never dies... The CIA deputy director was arrested along with the mastermind behind this entire Operations Blackbriar. ~THE END~

After what seemed like an eternity, the movie ended. Shivered out of the mall and placed my focus on putting one foot in front of the other without falling or tripping. Lost my appetite for dinner but settled for a hot drink. I looked like i was pregnant or something, having the tendency to puke so many times during dinner. The guys looked at me with such great pity. LOL.

Dinner was superbly hilarious, talks about Dave's antics during his China trip. Laughed till i ached. God damn funny. Shall not embarrass him here. Ahem. Haha..

Night has already fallen long ago. Time to go home. Slept like a dead log...

Monday, August 27, 2007
Osaifu Keitai

Still clueless about it? Well, this gadget is one of the latest technology invented by the Japanese. Not only does it serve the functions of a normal mobile phone, it also allows users to make purchases and payments via the use of osaifu keitai (OK). In other words, it acts as electronic money for users.

Take for example having a meal at Mac before taking a flight to America. Pass your OK to the waiter behind the Mac counter and have your account debited. Rushing to catch your flight after that meal? Get your air ticket from the counter through the same process and you are ready to take your flight. All of which happen within seconds, both time efficient and convenient. No hassle in digging for loose change or standing in long queues. Similar to our Ez-link system for boarding trains and buses.

Wouldn't it be great if Singapore introduces such a system? A hefty sum of money will definitely be required to install this system which stretches across the island. Perhaps a possibility in the future but certainly not under this current generation.

Advanced a country Singapore may be, but in terms of technology, she is still a far cry from Japan. And to introduce this system, will the growing 4.5 million population agree unanimously? Without doubt, not. Unless the government is autocratic in this matter, it will not push forward with the current society still preferring the use of paper money.

Talking about all the pros of osaifu keitai, i believe there are some cons to it as well. Since it is has become a basic necessity for the people, what happens if they misplace it? What happens if the system has been tampered with? What happens if they exceed their spending limit? All the burning questions raving in my mind... So is this piece of technology actually that good and will it be accepted by Singapore in the future?

Sunday, August 26, 2007
Post Exam Period

Saturday:
Out to celebrate Daddy and Bel's birthdays at Sakae Sushi. Simple fare but definitely pleasant and engaging, especially Mummy. I had my fair share of sushi and sashimi, leaving me terribly full afterwhich.
Bought Bel's a birthday present and home we went. Cake!! Finally had a birthday cake after several years. It was great to sit down as a family and chit chat for hours as we savoured the taste of our slices of cake. YumS~ Family togetherness rocks!

HAPPY BRITHDAY DADDY AND BABE!!!

Thursday, August 23, 2007
Lost

A conversation with Dickson last night had him asking me how i felt after completing my final exams in poly. Stunned for a while, i realised that i'm nearing the end of my poly days. No longer seeing Ngee Ann, struggling in the corporate world for 6 months.

The thought of working makes me exhilarated, lifts my spirit but i will definitely miss the days in Ngee Ann. They had been so much fun and friends were great. Memories will never fade.

Here i am, having another 14 hours to kill before the day ends, lost and not knowing what to do. That's the problem when exams complete. So carefree to the point that i feel as if i'm not utilising my time well, in fact, wasting it. Ironically, there are many activities awaiting me these few days before attachment actually starts. Almost out everyday but days at home are ultimately boring. Haha...

But a good break before attachment commences. Time to trim some fats and cut down the pounds. Time to get myself connected with the world again. It's been looooooooong...

Saturday, August 18, 2007
They had me crumbling...

The papers i sat for were twice as challenging and tricky as the previous semesters' papers. You've got it. I did horribly and way below my expectations for both papers.

My hopes pinned high on today's paper came crashing down. Aims no longer achievable, all squashed and i foresee my GPA dropping drastically. Perhaps the worst among all my semesters. Who knows?

I detest myself for allowing all of that to happen. But they already did, which i can do nothing about now.

I would very much like to sit for my remaining papers and get them over and done with. But i know the outcome will be undesirable. Sad to say, it was never once desirable in the first place.

The possibility of my entrance into NTU seem more distant and obscured. Now, the only worry is the likelihood of me securing a place in a local university. A diploma is never enough, at least to me.

Perhaps the only path i have left to take is to strive and give my best shot during attachment. Achieving an A with an above average GPA at the very least. I don't wish to see my current cumulative GPA taking a massive slide after all the hard work i had put in for the past 2 years. It's depressing. Fortunately or unfortunately, i'm very result oriented which greatly upset me when i do not perform well...

Why can't i ever feel numb to the dreadful outcome of every exam paper?! ARGH!!!

Soul... He Speaks

"I left him. Roaming from place to place, i took in the peace and serenity of the dimly lit streets, just like every other nights.

Dawn was nearing. It was time to return. I sailed back to the place where i started out the night.

However, i was no longer able to recognise the mask of his face. I scooted around, in search of the rightful owner but none seemed to fit.

Dawn approached. Reluctantly, i gave up hopes on searching for him for i knew his end was here; his time was up..."

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Battling Against Insomnia

Somehow, my mind was subconsciously awake all the time. Since it was beyond my control, i stared at the ceiling till i gradually fell asleep. However, less than four hours later, my mind was yearning to function yet again as the daylight drew closer.

Close to 6am, i was once again adjusting my positions on the bed, unable to fall back to sleep. I could hear the sounds of bro preparing to go to work, mummy in the kitchen washing the clothes and dishes... Sigh~

Before i knew it, i dozed off again. At slightly past 8am, i woke up again. This time round, i gave up after many failed attempts on getting to sleep. I lazed on bed till mummy screamed at me.

It has been a long while since i was last granted an undisturbed, good night's sleep. Even during afternoon naps, i was denied some good rest. More often than not, i was aware of all that was happening around me.

So here i am, lethargic and all, but can't get myself to sleep. Sleeping supposedly a pleasure, turned into something dreadful and unwanted.

Any cure or recommendations? I'm badly in need of some. >.<

Sunday, August 12, 2007
Malay Ritual

One of the men donned in casual wear held on to what people called, the herbal instant sambrani, which emitted a fragrant scent. He walked around the abovementioned prop but unfortunately, rain followed.

By the time my family was done with lunch, the rain had stopped. We stood by the window and watched the rituals. Accompanied by the monotonous music, which sounded like those in a taoist ritual, eight men, all clad in black, slinged the hard wooden cardboard horses, painted with a mixture of black, yellow, red and white over them. As for the ladies, they smeared some red and black eye shadow, which made them look demonic.

They danced to the beat of the music and upon taking in the scent from the sambrani, they behaved like animals. With what seemed as if they were possessed. Running around like mad horses, they constantly dipped their heads into the pails of water, stepped on shattered pieces of broken glass, ate flowers, fruits, glass and even ripped off the husk of the coconut using their bare teeth. In addition, the more extreme ones banged their heads against lamp posts and signboards.

There was this other guy who would be whipping them with a horse whip. Each lashing was thunderous. And this went on for an hour or so before he subdued all of them.

One of the onlookers even video-ed it midway through the second ritual. A total of three rituals were carried out from late morning till the evening. [Deprived me of my afternoon nap. >.<]

Nevertheless, it was something unusual, something which people don't really get to see in their everyday lives.

Somehow, i thought that was all fake. They didn't seem to be really possessed, neither were they convincing in their acts. Perhaps i do not understand their culture well enough to criticise. But to me, the actions carried out by them were too exaggerating to the extent that they were merely inflicting pain on themselves rather than being convincing.

Saturday, August 04, 2007
IAP

Glad there's company during lunch breaks and office hours. Gotta orientate to familiarise with the place, for this country bumpkin will definitely be lost in the crowd.

Looking forward to attachment. Don't really know what to expect. Mixture of anxiety and excitement. Hopefully it's not too much of a culture shock to me.

But right now, i've to conquer the exams before worrying about attachment. However, with the condition that i am in, i guess it's not exactly possible to concentrate on my studies. Suddenly felt sick and am extremely lethargic. Shall get some rest.

Oh, welcome back bro! Finally you are home. It's been a long six-month period. Time to catch up. =)

Meanwhile, so long folks!

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