Saturday, April 30, 2005

lesson #152: i refuse to move my butt off this bed

Feeling so layzeeeeee... Aaaaaah... Nnnngghhh... Hmmmm...


Supposed to go for kickboxing class soon, but feeling too lazy to prepare. And the thought of actually stepping out of the house to take the bus down and endure a boring, headache-inducing ride feels out of this world. I especially hate taking SBS buses. Not sure why, but the air inside their buses always feel so stuffy and there's this weird mouldy smell... Bleurgh.


Gonna club tonight with Jing, Mag, and PS. Probably going to Chinablack even though it's not exactly a nice place to club nowadays (heard it's infested with *horrors* JC brats waiting to go uni who are prone to epileptic fits on the dance floor!) but I can't think of any other place to go.


Was going to wear backless, but then I feel like chickening out and wear something decent like the net knitted top I've never got the chance to wear before. Funnily enough, Jing then messaged me to say she didn't feel like wearing the backless slutty top we found yesterday at Bugis Village, either. We're just big chickens, we! Boook bok bok!


So the job search has begun. Looked through the Classifieds today and found a few ads looking for... *drumrolls please* bridal shop models! Haha. And hey, don't look down on them bridal shops. As long as they don't require 'registration fees', I'm game! Yep, things have got that desperate. Will drag Jing and G too, maybe for a threesome wedding photo? Haha. There are also some temp posts which I was too lazy to enquire on, because I was too lazy to walk over to the phone. Will try again later, fingers crossed.


Actually, my dad has 'offered' (more like given me an ultimatum) to redeem my pathetic couch-potato life and told me that he'd drag me back to Jakarta with him for the coming months to work as an accountant at his workplace. Actually, the package sounds very attractive if not for the 'Jakarta' bit. If I agreed to that, I'll have totally no life. My Jakarta house is being renovated, so I haven't got any place to live. So I'd have to live across my house with my neighbour who has four sons (eh, I think it's five now), and I can't bear to think the kind of thoughts pink panties-sighting will bring them. Or else, I'd have to live with my grandma, and I don't have enough earplugs for that. Apart from the lodging problems, I'd have zero friends and zero night life, except maybe for the times when I'll get mugged.


Maybe I'll ask my dad if I could bring a friend back too? Like Ms Vvvv, who's fluent in Bahasa Indonesia?

Thursday, April 28, 2005

lesson #164: counting sheep

Dreamt a really nice dream last night. I was in this scary, gloomy and box-like hospital, right (the nice part comes later). Then I suddenly bumped into a guy who apparently was someone I liked once, and he liked me too, but nothing came out of it because I had a boyfriend so he went and got himself a girlfriend. Don't ask me how I know the background story, you just do in a dream. Anyway, he was still very very angry about what I did to him, so I had to drag him into an empty hospital room (for privacy's sake) and explain to him long and hard about how foolish I was.


I told him I'd never ever leave his side again, and then pulled him in for a kiss. It was the most fantastic kiss I've ever had, I tell you. Then I had to break off 'cos I need to use the ladies urgently. While I was running to and fro from the ladies (yeah, yeah, laugh all you want) all I could think about was the kiss. I SO wanted to get back in there and kiss him again and again and again. I had never wanted to kiss anyone else as much as I wanted to kiss him. I suppose that's why it's called a dream, huh?


If G were in the dream, I bet he'd come running after me to cut my lips off or sew them together like the House of Wax person did to the wax 'statue'. And then he'll go after my poor long-lost love, chop him into tiny pieces, and send the left hand to the police department with a riddle for them to ponder over. And then my nice dream will turn into a thriller/slash flick.


Jing and I went shopping on Monday and I found nice black heels for the gala dinner. At Suntec, we spotted La Senza bras on discount (2 for $40, the patterns were cute). We both tried it on but hers didn't fit very well 'cos they didn't have her size. But when I tried my size on it was just the perfect fit. But the thought of spending $40 for 2 bras on my own was heartwrenching so I didn't buy any. Now I'm starting to regret not buying the bras. They're quite a bargain at $20 a pop (though you HAVE to buy two). And it's hard to find bras that fit you well so when you do find them you should grab many of them. Oh damn. I hate being broke! Maybe I'll just go and get them tomorrow (gonna go Bugis Village to find a slutty top for Jing to go clubbing in, yay yay!).


Speaking of being broke... I REALLY need to get a job. Argh. REALLY. I'm so desperate, I'll take any that's available. Except maybe tuition jobs (I hate getting frustrated) or roadshow jobs (not quite ready to face annoying customers again). Puh-lease somebody give me a job! I need the money!

Monday, April 25, 2005

lesson #150: a song that's sad yet sweet

Every time I feel alone
I can blame it on you
And I do, oh
You got me like a loaded gun
Golden sun and sky so blue, oh


We both know that we want it
But we both know you left me no choice


Chaque fois que tu t'en vas
You just bring me down
Je prétends que tout va bien
So I'm countin' my tears
Till I get over you


Boo hoo! Supposed to look for happy songs but stumbled upon this one instead. Michelle Branch - 'Til I Get Over You. At first I thought the French lyrics were dumb, but now it's starting to sound poignant.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

lesson #154: back from the cruise

Pardon the previous angsty entry about nyu. It wasn't that bad, really. Only that I wrote it when feeling super emo. The start of the night was kinda sucky, but towards the middle it got really great. I love my dance babes! The end of the night was kinda bad because I missed dancing to 1,2 Step because I was waiting for someone who allegedly was in the first floor toilet when in fact he was still upstairs in the club. And then I was just so tired and wanted to go home and sleep but had to go for supper with practical strangers, squeezed into a car with 9 people in it, with my feet and joints hurting. So yup. That wasn't the fault of the bash.


Anyway, I'm back from my cruise! It was fun, fun, fun. The short couple of days spent on board just flew by in a whirl of activities! G and I went to see a ventriloquist show on the first night, where I got picked to come on stage and got made fun of (bah - all because we were sitting on the front row). The second day was spent suntanning, gorging on good food, playing giant chess, bashing away at the video arcade, watching the sunset, attending a magic class, having an utterly posh dinner, drinking our bottle of champagne til the wee hours, watching a dance / acrobat show, and then watching a topless dance show.


On the last day, which was yesterday, we went suntanning again after a dim sum breakfast, had another posh lunch, played some more arcade, and then checked out. Booh!


What better way to retell the cruise story than with pictures?



Getting ready for the cruise...



Haha! Look at that tuft of hair over there!



Omg. We're HERE! Lovely, comfy room.



The bathroom's super clean, I tell you!



Isn't the corridor gorgeous?



This yummy seafood salad with vermicelli and diced smoked beef is aaaaaall miiiine.



Night view of the jacuzzi.



Called 'I Love You', this cocktail is a delish mix of Amaretto, Bailey's, and milk.



Breakfast @ Bella Vista. I look totally gross without makeup.



Suntanning! Have you seen my new bikini?



Loving the jacuzzi.



Inside the ship!



Here comes our yummy Chinese lunch...



Even the elevator looks nice!



Changed for our posh dinner.



Are we chic enough?



Waiting for the sunset which came very very slowly.



So we occupied ourself with giant chess. And I lost! Wth.



Ahh... Finally. Can we have our dinner now?



My appetizer, crab and shrimp salad.



This hot babe's called Ms Cruise. G insisted that it's a he, called Mr Cruise (full name Tom Cruise) but he clearly can't see her femininity.



Cheers to us! I love the champagne, Asti Martini.



Later on, at the theatre.



Back to our cabin for a bubbly!



Dim sum, didn't taste as good as expected, so I've still got a dim sum craving now!



My lunch, pasta with spinach and mushroom with chunky tomato sauce.



G's lunch. Beef with avocado sauce (but he got the waitress to get him tomato ketchup instead).



Okay, we've reached dessert heaven. Coconut mousse with banana filling and marmalade on the side.



One last cheer... Goodbye, cruise! It's time to go home now!

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

lesson #166: thou shalt not...

Remind me to never go to a school bash again? If I'm ever tempted to go, just say the magic words ('gotham penthouse'). Please. Save me.


The first of many wrong things which happened was the bag counter. There wasn't a bag counter. Or lockers. Or pigeon holes, or even a freaking IKEA shoe rack where you can just dump your bags. WTH? They organized a bash and they didn't even think of the availability of a locker service??? Or at least, do tell us ladies that there won't be any lockers available in advance. So that at least we'd know before hand.


Secondly, the organizers were darn rude. I know when you're stressed out, you tend to be quickly short-tempered and attitude-y and the only thing you care about is to just do the job and make sure everything runs smoothly. I know! I've been freaking there. And because I know, I also know that politeness goes along way. Being nice makes both you and the person you're interacting with feel TONS better. When you're gruff and abrupt it leaves a very bad impression. G was pissed too, so I know I'm not the only one being rubbed the wrong way.


Thirdly, this one freaking bartender didn't even know how to serve freaking kahlua. At first I ordered Brown Cow and he said he didn't know. So okay, let's change to an easier one. Just serve me a freaking kahlua on the rocks. Then HE got frustrated, because he still didn't know. He didn't even know how to mix Baileys with milk! Oh God! Please, if you can't serve, get off the freaking bar! Or tell us straight away that you're not familiar with the drinks, and fetch another guy over. Hey, it's not as if the bar was crowded during the order. It was around 2 to 3 am and only a few people were sitting round the bar.


It was nice dancing with Maggie again (who now has curly hair!), dancing with the dance girls, Zhi, Yang, etc. Chang Qi was hilarious. And I'm not sure if Andri was floating in clouds half of the time I see him, he was just swaying around like a drunken master.


But oh, those little highlights couldn't make up for the general pissy-offness that I felt. I definitely had had better nights before. Ugh. Couldn't even avoid seeing people I don't like.


Jing - NEXT WEEK! Me gonna wear the black top.

Monday, April 18, 2005

lesson #149: in search of the perfect outfit

After endless walking and flipping through racks of clothes along Orchard, I have finally found the most fitting outfit for nyu from... my own wardrobe. Irony is not funny. Kinda feel dumb that I didn't think of matching the top with the bottom before, but overall I'm just relieved now that I know I've got something to wear.


As I was walking, I somehow ended up in Forever 21... Tried on 4 tops in the hope of finding something nice to wear for nyu / the dumb Assoc gala dinner.



Nice colour but it's itchy.



Cute but nope...



I look like I have saggy boobs, which I DON'T!



Bingo! I know it's a little on the skimpy side... But at least it will catch a bit of attention during gala dinner.

Saturday, April 16, 2005

lesson #141: hairy story

Retouched my roots just now, after a bohh-ring hip-hop Amore session. The instructor totally repeated the moves he used last year, which is kinda sucky. I didn't pay close to fifty bucks for a second screening! Bah. Will just go to kickboxing classes from now on and improve my stance (that's the only bit I learn from kickboxing - the perfect stance. I hope to cower enemies and get them to run away before they find out that my bark's worse than my bite).


So yeah, let's talk about hair, people. I've never been one of those girls who can look pretty with their hair all au naturel. I simply look bleak in black, and my strands suffered an ever-lasting dryness before I discovered the magic of treatments. As a result, I have to cough up on average $200 every half-year for coloring, treatments, perms, and straightening. Thing is, everytime after I've done my hair, I'd start worrying that the roots will grow out in mere days and it'll look ugly at the blink of an eye. Then I'd calculate in how many months' time I'd have to go back to the salon to do it all over again. And then I'd think, should I keep it as it is or change the colour or re-do the texture by perming or whatnot.


Have I mentioned that I'm very bad at making decisions? So this hairy issue'll keep giving me a headache, just like a vicious cycle which never stops.


Am excited to go for the sports bash next Tue, but at the same time it's also quite worrying because I don't know what to wear. The bash being my virgin foray into the clubbing world (sorta, since it's been so long since I club I probably had forgotten all about clubbing) I want my outfit to be just perfect. And I want my hair and make-up to be just perfect too. But being a perfectionist sucks, because then you question every single detail and everything always seems not good enough.


Will probably get the moss-green mini skirt from Zara to go with my plunging green halter, but then I'd have to buy new heels too because... well, that's just too complicated to explain. Looking at my wardrobe, I've got many tube tops and / or party tops which I technically could wear but probably won't wear because they're just not good enough. Purple tube, black tube, white flowery tube, cropped green tube, all of them are not good enough. Black netted top, brown halter, off-shoulder top... not good enough. I've got a shimmery pink halter which is beyond lovely, but I don't want to soil it in case some smelly drunk idiot spills beer all over it, so that top is out. Everything else is not good enough. God help my fickle mind!

lesson #153: utopic, paradisic, edenic

*WARNING: A SUPER LONG ENTRY*


FINALLY! Exams are over. Over. Wow, lemme hear that again. O-V-E-R. Man, what beautiful music that word suddenly makes. Finance was my last paper. The strange thing is, even after going through the paper, even after feeling capable of doing most of the questions, if you were to ask me whether an increase in the risk-free rate of return will result in an increase in the WACC of a firm, I'd still give you a blank stare. Behold the wonder that is Finance taught by Justin Chan (who is a Nice Guy but should polish up his teaching skills).


Yixin and I were sitting side-by-side during the exam, and along with Jialing and Wei Na, we'd had to start the exam around 10 minutes later than everyone else. Because the invigilator didn't have enough question papers to go around. And she happily let everyone else start first. When she said, "You may start", I answered, "What the fuck?". It's so not fair! Even though she told us that we'd be given extra time, when everybody else finish and hand up their papers, they're gonna make a whole lot of noise. How's that fair for us who'd still be doing the friggin' paper? She seemed really inexperienced and didn't exude much authority. Finance paper was so screwed in its execution. I pity Justin Chan to have that @^%!#* woman run the show.


Anyway, couldn't care less about exam matters now. After the paper, G and I had dinner at my house, after which we rushed to Stadium Waterfront to catch Dance Dance Baby. I couldn't find any other words to describe the show except for 'it sucked'. Honestly. The dance competion was ongoing for only less than a half hour, and the contestants weren't very good, except for one. So we left in the middle of Honey.


Next destination - Indochine. But first we made a pitstop at Kinokuniya to grab his Drop The Pink Elephant communications-improving book ($17.80). I also found Howl's Moving Castle at last ($13.10) and impulsively got a girly notebook from the stationery section ($3.00). You should go and check it out too! The notebook design's really nice (drawings of babe shopping / having coffee / with make-ups and clothes) and not too bulky to carry around. Plus it's really cheap. It's an investment for three bucks. Highly recommended!


So then we went to Indochine and the live band there was not bad! Except the vocalist sang with this funny accent. He pronounced 'you' as 'yee'. Maybe he thinks it sounds cool? *shrugs* I drank chocolate martini (yummy) and a Bailey's shake (!!!) and then something weird happened when we left Indochine. We were just walking, right, then my head suddenly started thumping and before I knew it, I had this blacking-out sensation. My sense of hearing was fading, and I could only see dark spots. I totally slumped and had to lie down to recover. When I tried to walk again, the same thing happened. I don't know what the hell caused it, but it wasn't a very pleasant experience. It's weird because I only drank two cocktails and definitely wasn't drunkenly hee-hawing. But it got all right in the end after a quick snooze in G's car.


Looking back, so many things happened today. OUR DANCE SHOES HAVE ARRIVED! I'm so excited and definitely can't wait to try them on. Can't wait to do turns, jumps, splits, tip-toes... Am just so glad that they're here! Hopefully the size won't be too small or too big.


Holiday to-do list:
1. Find a job
2. Dance
3. Party
4. Shop & hang out with my babes
5. Ditch my bf for PS2
6. Get into a fitness regime
7. Register for basic theory test

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

lesson #146: nice guys

"So-and-so said that he's a nice guy." You must've heard that line before. I've heard it countless of times, I'm also guilty of having said it once in a while. But really. What does it really tell you about the guy when somebody says that he is 'nice'?


After much thinking, I've come into the conclusion that 'nice guy' can have three different meanings:
1. Nice = Literal Mr Nice Guy, carries books around for damsels in distress, pulls out your seat for you and opens doors, lets you go down the stairs first so he can't see up your skirt, and after a pouring rain he will take off his shirt and lay it down on the ground so you can step on it and avoid walking around a flooded patch.
2. Nice = Nice, just a bit insane.
3. Nice = He's nice because he's so boring I can't think of any other adjective to describe him.


Note: Based on field research findings, it has been concluded that Mr Nice Guy No. 1 is an urban legend.


Oh yes. Today the plan was to finish revising all Biz Law chapters but ended up slacking around. It's as if one part of my brain has fast-forwarded a couple of days and thinks it is already the holidays. YAAAAAAAY! Oh wait. Still have two more exams to go. Biz Law on Thursday morning and Finance on Friday afternoon. Gaargh.


Partying plans (possibles):
1. This Fri, either Cocco or Zouk
2. Next Tue, SSU bash, nyu
3. Next Fri, Chinablack / Cocco / Zouk / Attica / Equinox (if not too tired from cruise)
4. Next next Wed, Mambo
5. Next next Fri, list of venues see no. 3 above
6. Next next next Wed
7. Next next next Fri
8. ... (to be continued)

Sunday, April 10, 2005

lesson #147: OH MY GOD!

I've lost my hairstylist. AGAIN.


Fel wanted to cut her hair so I recommended Yess on Cineleisure level 3 to her. I've been going there since last year, and I've always asked for this guy called Lancelot (... let's just call him L) because he's good. He's awesome! He did my current hair color by mixing two tones, so that the result will be exactly the color of the fake-hair sample which I pointed out to him. And the result was fantabulous. Sadly, when Fel went there, the people told her that L has upped and left the company.


OH MY GOD!


I've lost my hair color. Forever. How on earth will anyone else be able to figure out which two tones he mixed together, and in what proportions? Argh! And I planned on retouching the roots just a week from now! Argh! This is so screwed!


It's the THIRD time I've lost my hairstylist in 2 years. The first good hairstylist I had was from Mexxis, a guy called Frank. He lost his life in a bike accident. The second good one, I only had for a short while because he went back to Malaysia. And now L has gone too. I don't know if he's still working in another place somewhere, or he's quit the styling career forever.


Options now:
1. Track down L. And become a stalker in the process?
2. Stay with Yess, and hope the guy who assisted L in retouching my roots the last time still remember the mix.
3. Look for other good hairstylist(s) in other salon(s)........ ACKKK! How the hell am I gonna manage to do that?? Do a survey? A field research? Call them one by one and ask whether they suck??


SOB.

Saturday, April 09, 2005

lesson #145: serenade

We've got the afternoon
You've got this room for two
One thing I've left to do
Discover me discovering you


One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue


And if you want love, we'll make it
Swim in the deep sea of blankets
I'll take all your big plans and break 'em
This is bound to be a while


Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder, I'll use my hands
Your body is a wonderland


John Mayer, Your Body Is A Wonderland. These lyrics never fail to make me swoon. Don't you wish that real-life guys could write like that. The love poems guys come up with are more likely to be of this variety:


Roses are red
Violets are blue
Candies are sweet
And so are YOU!


Haha. No offense to the boys reading this. Anyway, G and I went to Holland V for dinner after a half-day of studying. Ate at NYDC. I couldn't finish my food so I decided to make an art piece out of it.

Say hello to Mr Meatball! Alo! Como esta Mr Meatball!


Or do you prefer vegetables? Did this in Swensen some time ago.

Hello, Mr Carrot!

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

lesson #138: back to nj - a blast from the past

My period is weird. Instead of having a 4-week cycle like a normal person with a feminine inclination would have, mine's on a 6-week cycle. Not that I'm complaining, the less frequent I have it the better. It just gets a wee bit irritating sometimes when it comes to timing for it. The mood swings I have a couple of days beforehand are also rather depressing. Will get upset just by taking notice of some random stuff. For example, the time now is close to 11 pm. There's only one more hour left to this day. I'd suddenly get pangs of sadness because it's just sad that the day will end. Thinking that with every second that ticks by, the end of the day will come closer... *pang of sadness*.


So. Went back to NJ today to help out with Prof Khoo's SMU talk. I thought the attendance will be bad, like say... five people'd turn up? But the class was pretty full by the time we got there (came with two ex-NJCian MA classmates - Elaine and Jialing). Knowing NJ, I'd expected that they'd keep pretty much quiet for the whole talk and I was proven right. It's just the NJ culture - silence in the face of adversity. Plus in the face of everything else. After the talk, Prof Khoo told them to approach the three babes (okay, so he didn't really say 'babes') if they had any questions. They just scurried right out of the room. Ah well. Also caught a glimpse of a bunch of people practicing a dance routine. The music they used was nice, but after Emix, their routine just looked like mass dance to me.


Well anyway, it was pouring after the talk, so went to call mum to give me a lift home. As we were leaving the NJ compound, got a call from G and he told me that he's in NJ and he wanted to pass me something. Turned out he'd waited for me for an hour, but couldn't contact me 'cos his phone was faulty. Since mum was dropping off Elaine and Jialing at Newton MRT, told him I'd meet him at the taxi stand. So his car tailed my mum's car and then when we reached Newton, he got out to give me a bouquet of baby pink tulips. The tulips looked so... breathy is the only word I can think of! As fragile and pure as babies.


To think of it, he'd acted very sweet lately. Massaging me when my hips hurt, the flowers, and then he SMS-ed me out of nowhere saying that he's thinking about me right then. Feel kinda bad because I'd told him just a couple of days ago that I'm feeling a lot of stagnancy. It's like, despite whatever upsetting stuff I said to him, he still continues loving me.


Ha. What did I tell you about them mood swings. Gets me all emotional.

Monday, April 04, 2005

lesson #148: dance shows

Movies By The Bay:
DANCE DANCE BABY


Honey and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights will be screened on April 15, and Shall We Dance? and You Got Served on April 16. Dancers will compete during the intermission to audience votes and a panel of judges. The winner from each night's dance competition will get to pit their skills at the Break! concert on May 27 to win attractive prizes and a chance to perform with the group in the United States. Break! is an internationally-acclaimed hip hop group from New York.


Date: April 15 & 16
Time: 7.30pm - 12am
Venue: Stadium Waterfront, Singapore Indoor Stadium
Tickets: $15 per night, $35 (Family Pass)
Enquiries: Call SISTIC


Any takers? I wanna go for the April 15 one, just after my last exam paper. The dance competition should be pretty fun to watch!


BUTS is on April 8-10, so will have to miss it. Booh.

Saturday, April 02, 2005

lesson #157: stalked

I'm being stalked by this fella on Friendster. It's damn annoying! He keeps sending messages, and the title is always 'hi'. Yeah yeah... How many times do you need to say 'hi'?? And he keeps asking about life in SMU. First he told me he wants to apply there. THEN he told me he's already applied... (the messaging is one-way, of course. I didn't reply to him.) Oh my gosh. What am I, his diary??


I am officially freaked. ARGH! Tell me, how do I get rid of him gently? Thinking of replying to him in a politely brisk way. But how does one sound politely brisk?


Talking to Syd right now. More than a month ago we mass-ordered dance sneakers from this online shop, discountdance.com. The delivery was supposed to take 2 weeks. The last we heard of the shoes, they were still stuck at DHL. In the US. They've been stuck there for weeks. Now I'm not sure if the 'stuck at DHL' excuse is just an excuse to cover up some lousy customer service (maybe the shoes have been misplaced, or our orders haven't been attended at all). Or maybe it's a genuine excuse, in which case DHL's the lousy one! Gosh... can't stand it. I mean, it's kinda expected that the delivery will definitely take more than 2 weeks, but it's preeeetty darn late now isn't it, even considering the normal lagginess.


I WANT MY SHOES!