Tuesday, October 31, 2006

lesson #046: second chances

Wrote a blog entry a few hours ago but decided to scrap it, mostly because it's full of crap. In this one rare ponderous moment of my life, I suddenly feel dissatisfaction in my own writings. They're alternatively adorned with utter gibberish and / or giddy shopaholic raves. So I question myself: Where is the LIFE in these few lines I typed? What is the point of writing forgettable words?

I feel that my life consists of a whole bunch of recurring imageries. If I were a book (which I obviously am not, books don't gobble down half a packet of jam creams in one go) (they were yummy) (scrubbedeedodee-delicious) ... Erm sorry where was I. Oh yes. If I were a book, the gist of my story would be The Eternal Wait.

I'm always waiting for something to happen. Hardly the case that I'm satisfied with whatever I've been given. I'm continously waiting for the next big thing. I need to feel the rush, the excitement, the adrenaline. I can't stand still yet the world isn't moving fast enough. It's like you're listening to an orchestra (imagine one that sounds pleasant enough for you not to drool / snore over) and you find yourself leaning more and more forward, expecting the climax, the high jump in the note that seemingly never comes.

When you hear it, you feel a deep rush. You feel the palpitations of your heart, the soaring whoosh! from the bottom of your stomach, the split-second when you stop breathing, and the giddiness overtaking you. And yet... it was over all too soon. Addicted, you need to hear it more, within shorter and shorter intervals, until you've worked yourself up and broken yourself down; shifting, jittering, a restless soul.

But what climax am I waiting for? (OK that sounds rather wrong, but you get what I mean) What is it that I'm ultimately searching for? I remembered questioning myself before today. And yet, until now, I have no idea. Right now, I have a whole bunch of things that need taking care of. Laundry, homework, presentation, project, readings. Accounts, cleaning up, tidying down. But I tell myself, no. There's something much more important that I need to wait for. I can't get on with the persnicketies, I need to wait until this big moment pass.

But the big moment never did come.

Never will?

It's time for a slap. I can't live life forever waiting.

I can't; I shouldn't; and I won't.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

lesson #045: megalomania personified

Aleksey Vayner... My goodness. There's a Wikipedia article on him too!

Background: This guy sent an 11-page CV to UBS to apply for a job. Plus he made the video above, which has since been circulated around. Will YOU hire him?? Like, really??

Thursday, October 26, 2006

lesson #044: the orchestra inside my nose goes, 'sniff, sniff, atchoo!'

Still plagued by mild cold. I say mild because I'm not exactly lying on my death bed screaming in agony. But it's irritating enough to make me not feel like doing anything significant, such as writing my essay on English poetry. Which I'd made a bet I'd finish in two hours today. F-a-r-k.

List of Things That Would Be The Death of Me:
1. Online shopping
2. Neuroticisim
3. My Big Mouth

Actually supposed to go Sainsbury now (scheduled the day such that can postpone writing essay to the late afternoon, heh heh) but it is farking raining!!! So would have to go later when the weather's better which may mean the late afternoon, which means... I have to write NOW. ARGH. Can't write it at night because am going to the Theatre Royal for a play called Entertaining Angels, which should be good. Am going in a romantic group date of 20-odd people from my Lit class, most of them female, with the exceptions of a few males being either loud, ugly, or both.

Head spinning. Can't breathe. Need - to - sneeze!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

lesson #043: a day in the life

Typical schedule for a Monday:
0700: Wake up, turn off alarm, go back to sleep
0715: Wake up, laze around in bed, go back to sleep
0730: Wake up, realize don't have much time to prepare, think some more, fall asleep
0745: Jolt awake, rush around getting dressed
0820: Topple out of room when Zhi knocks on door repeatedly
0835: Reach bus stop, wait for bus, bus never comes on time
0925: Reach school, late for class
1015: Break, eat muffin
1115: Class
1215: Another class
1415: Another class
1515: Another class
1615: Take bus to Sainsbury's, buy groceries
1745: Reach home, laze around, cook
2000: Watch Scrubs episodes back to back, forgetting completely about laundry
2100: Curse laundry piling up, do laundry but have to wait in queue
2200: Play poker with Norwegian, German, French housemates
0030: Go back to room, MSN
0130: MSN, but try to read Great Expectations text
0230: MSN, but convince self will read Treasury Management notes soon
0245: Bathe
0330: Try to read Great Expectations, eat McVitie's digestives
0335: Give up, do sit-ups
0350: Sleep

Typical schedule for any other day:
0700: Wake up, curse alarm for being on, go back to sleep
1000: Wake up, go back to sleep
1230: Wake up, walk to kitchen with eyes half-closed, cook lunch
1400: MSN, get dressed to go out
1445: Walk to town to shop / take a bus to school for class / dance
1800: Reach home, cook dinner, laze around
1900: MSN, try to do essay on Frankenstein and poetry
1905: MSN, online poker
2000: Laze around in bed
2100: MSN, try to read Treasury Management notes
2130: MSN, watch Scrubs back-to-back
2230: Get ready for party
2330: P-A-R-T-Y!!!!!!!
0230: Reach home, supper
0300: Bathe
0330: Sleep

Sunday, October 22, 2006

lesson #042: being without you is making me ill

You fulfill my every desire


We cooked this black pepper beef. Chewy and spicy. And just now I cooked scrambled eggs with pork! (OK so I intended it to be an omelette but the shape was destroyed 'cuz couldn't flip it over properly...)

I can't seem to find the way to escape how I feel

Had dinner at Wetherspoon's with Lucas and his friend Ryan, then we joined their gang for some drinks at All Bar One, this pretty decent pub which was pretty decent mostly because it doesn't have the typical pub smell.

You're the - only -

I got kinda ill today tho. Guess been staying up late way too much. Felt something funny at the back of my throat and my head feels so heavy... Feels like it'll loll right off me, roll across the floor and down the corridor. Maybe shouldn't have slept at 4 yesterday... But I couldn't sleep after the supper that Chris (Italian guy) cooked for us. He's an amazing cook btw.

I'm tired of running let's walk for a bit

Think gonna go for dinner at Bombay Night(s?) with yesterday's pub gang. After which there *may* be poker which I've been looking forward to, but not a peep from Jerome and Quentin who're supposed to organise it! BAHHH. Must I prompt them again? V lazy.

Where are you when I need you the most?

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

lesson #041: can you take the distance, the miles

So two days ago myself, Yang and Zhi went to play tournament poker with Jerome and Manuel. The two girls with J got to the finals round where we played for money and not for survival. Girls rule! And I won 1 pound. But that's not the point of this entry. The point of this entry is about long-distance relationships.

There was once a time when I'd have recoiled at the prospect of having a long-distance relationship. It'll just never work out. I had little faith that both parties will keep their eyes firmly on the long-distance partners and not succumb to the convenience of 'oh, she/he's here and my gf/bf isn't. Let's just make babies now, and let me dump my gf/bf later'.

Life always has a way of hitting the irony nail right on the head. I'm in UK now and Uncle Gary's in Singapore. We've been separated for 1 and a half months so far. And it'll only get worse...

- Uncle G intends on pursuing a Hong Kong internship in December, just when I'm flying back to Singapore.
- I'm also seriously considering a summer internship in New York for at least 10 weeks.
- In 2007/08 Term I, Uncle G would like to go for an overseas exchange.

In short, we may get separated for at least 9 months in total. Now, that may not seem like a long time to most people 'cos it's not even a year. But... just imagine yourself as a pregnant lady. Then it'll really feel very very long indeed.

Bah. I won't find an easy answer to the dilemma. The dilemma being should we quit while we're ahead knowing it's gonna be a futile attempt, or should we shuffle through it and hope against all hopes that we won't get tired and weary along the way.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

lesson #040: great expectations (edited)

but reality, more often than not, falls short. Very disappointed.

Went to a pub called Porters with some French people. Unbeknownst to Zhi and I, the French peeps knew 2 rather attractive Norwegian exchange students who they've invited along as well. Hullooo! Anyhow. At first, Zhi and I felt rather awkward because we don't really know anyone well. But the night turned out pretty good. Went home early though because both Zhi and I felt hungry. I boiled some tortellinis and she cooked omelette and instant noodle.

Edited: Photos of Pubbing Outing


Anders on the left, Henrik on the right (face distorted 'cos he's blowing into his empty test tube baby).


Henrik with Jerome. Earlier in the afternoon we went to watch a hockey match which Jerome played in. Bath won 1-0! Yippeee!


Zhi with Anders. Lucky biatch got to sit next to the Norwegian boys. Sob.


Me, with Bernal and Leila, who are 'French' but not French. They study in a French Uni but Bernal's Spanish, and Leila's Moroccan.


Another group pic with Zhi.


Candid. (Zhi: indeed I know the concept of candid! Tsk. Do you too doubt me? ... But don't try it on me! Haha.)


To end off, Zhi and I!

......

Hmm... ha... he... I don't really know what else to say! What a pointless blog entry. I'm just writing because I'm bored. I was bored earlier on and Zhi asked me why I didn't just update my blog. Well, I guess it's because if I do update my blog, it'll be with a meaningless entry such as this one.

I want to sleep but I can't because I need to bathe first to rinse the pub smell off me. And I'm feeling a bit too chilly to be bathing. So I'm stuck.

"The future seems better than the present

The end of the horrendous muggalicious term
A desired internship which I enjoy doing
Doing finance mod in summer term
Having fun in an exchange programme"

Where do I fit in your future? Now when I look at Ducky, I feel like squeezing him flat.

Edited:
OK, so now I know where I fit. When I woke up this morning tho, Ducky's ass was on my face. What an obnoxious little bird.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

lesson #039: dirge of cerberus

Fark! I SO want this game.

Anyways. I think I'm falling ill - my throat feels a bit funny.

Possible Causes of Why I Am Falling Ill:
1. Staying up & showering late at 1 - 2 am every night
2. Going to the Spanish party yesterday night and inhaling too much smoke
3. Shouting "You are a BITCH!" at random French guys too much at the aforementioned Spanish party
3. Going home from the party without wearing my coat, in tube and skirt
4. The diet of 1 pack/day of McVite's digestives in milk chocolate
5. The diet of 2 packs/week of various chips
6. The diet of stir-fries (NB: I cooked my own lunch all by myself today! Stir-fried pork and mushrooms with soya sauce, butter, pepper and sugar)
7. The diet of bread with dollops of Nutella
8. Walking around the vicinity of Thornbank in a spaghetti top
9. Eating yoghurt near to its expiry date
10. All of the above.

Hokay. Besides falling ill NOW, when I eventually come back to Singapore, I will be a fat pig as well! AAAARGH!!!

On the other hand...

Good Domestic Things That I Have Learned:
1. Grocery shopping
2. Cooking
3. Doing laundry
4. Cleaning rubbish bin
5. Financial rigidity

...

*long pause*

OK, maybe not the last one.

Things Bought In The UK Out of Impulse:
1. Dance sneakers
2. Purple sweats from Topshop fire sale (the Topshop branch in Bath had a fire and they were selling all their stuff at 40% off!!!)
3. Mary Jane's from Topshop fire sale
4. Blue hairband and necklace from Topshop fire sale
5. Blue batwing top from Topshop fire sale
6. Black long-sleeve cotton tee from Topshop fire sale
7. 2 books bought online from Amazon.co.uk
8. Bath conditioning body wash from Roman Baths Shop

The most frightening thing is all of the above purchases were made within 3 days. GAAAH!

That's it. No more shopping for me. I shall enforce my financial rigidity from now on, and it shall be a barrier that can NOT be broken down at all costs. Not even... by the sight of H&M footless tights *fidgets*. In sheer purple or black *squirms*.

To be continued...

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

lesson #038: listening to fergie makes me wanna

My second Monday in Bath. Had a day full of lessons today and, as usual, our English Lit lecturer gave us a large dollop of poems to digest. In fact, all the poems we've discussed in class today have inspired me to write one of my own as well:

I Am No Poet

I am No Poet,
the science of stringing words together
to make them sound like songs
is lost on me.

I am No Poet,
couldn't tell my Hughes from my Heaneys,
isn't Woodsworth
a giant grocery chain?

I am No Poet,
I know not the power of alliterations,
are they something like juxtapositions?

Correct me if I'm wrong
when I say that the iambic pentameter
is some kind of measuring tool
like the scala Richter.

I am No Poet,
not sure what I'm doing
in a class full of intellectuals.

Clever, clever, name-throwers -
Rosseau. Dante
(I thought that was a brand of chocolate).

Bluffing my way through, I wonder
when'll I be caught out?

------------------------------------------------------------

Totally Irrelevant to The Above: Photos of London


At Changi Airport with Jing and Mike, the first brave souls to reach.


They were even earlier than me and my family!


The proud and sleepy authors of the MONICA cards.


Do Mi Re.


Me with my Uncle Gary.


Bleak transit in Bangkok airport. NOTE: Looking for Bangkok khakis for next year!!! Mid-term break!


Photowhoring can be done anywhere, even on a plane.


Yang's hair was incredibly short then!


Suddenly, we're at Portobello Market in London.


Overjoyed by the first shopping experience in London.


As I said, overjoyed by the first shopping experience in London. Yang with Victor, our generous London host!


At a garden.


On zee bus.


The cleanest part of the London underground.


Big Ben is watching!


Couldn't see the tip.


Some church.


London Eye!


At Pret A Manger, a delish and healthy sandwich franchise that pops out in every corner of London.


Yirong (Zhi's twin) with Yang.


London shopping! (That's H&M by the way)


The Odeon theatre.


The three travellers.


The twins and I.


Leicester Square in the evening.


Victor with Daniel. One of those pictures that doesn't need a caption!

Monday, October 09, 2006

lesson #037: 21 years. my goodness. has it really been that long?

How does it feel turning 21? Eh... nothing too different. There was no sudden growth spurt, no radical change in my way of thinking, no variance to the way I speak.

------------------------------------------------------------

How I Found Out I Turned 21:

We were queuing in the freezing wind, trying to get into a Funkyguppy party. It was a one-in-one-out queue, a crap concept if you ask me! Yang took out his phone, checked the display, and pocketed it again. He then turned to me and offered his hand. He said, "Happy birthday Monnie! You're now 21." I paused for a while and replied, "Whaaat? It's already midnight?" A pregnant pause. "Oh my God. I'm 21. I can't believe I turned 21 in a queue."

------------------------------------------------------------

But the night ended happily ever after. We got into the party, got plastered, and went home at 3 am with Yang bullcrapping all the way in a faux English accent.

The next day was my birthday proper. The birthday troop consisted of myself, Yang, Zhi, Marc and Isa. We first visited the Roman Baths, and lingered there for a short while, well 3 hours really, because Isa was taking down notes for his presentation. After that went up to the Bath Abbey for some more sight-seeing, and I took the opportunity to be a good Catholic for once and pray for good health etc etc.

We then headed up to Sally Lunn's house, which is the oldest house in Bath, and it is a restaurant slash museum. Ate a 10 GBP early-dinner meal which consists of the starter, Sally Lunn's bun either with soup or toasted with garlic, and then the main. I chose the lamb with rosemary and red wine sauce and it is absolutely delish. They served it with another slab of the famous bun (called the 'trencher' style of serving food), and drenched in the lamb sauce, it tasted heavenly.

After the dinner, we went to see a play at the Theatre Royal. It's called Amy's View and was pretty good. Way more engaging than what I thought it'd be. We bought tickets earlier in the day at a reduced price of 5 GBP each, that's pretty cheap for theatre. We then retired to our hostel and as it was Marc's last night in Bath, decided to celebrate it with gambling. Poker with 1 GBP buy-in and 1/2 pence stakes. Cheap cheap!


An e-card from my Mum and Dad. I like the 'Dance. Dream.' part!


Photowhoring as I prepared for the party.


We stumbled upon a set of Jane Austen's Persuasion right here in Bath! This was while walking towards the Roman Baths. The boys were excited about the prospect of seeing Keira Knightley, but she was nowhere in sight.


The set with the extras. It's so cute! Look at that wagon of cheese.


And a carriage! With horses! There was a smaller carriage with just 1 dark horse. That horse peed right in front of us! Ewwwww. Then it shat and stepped on the shit several times! Ewwwww.


The Roman Baths. This particular one is the Great Bath.


Moshi moshi? Playing a fool with the audio guide.


The flag on top is the flag of England! Not UK!


The sacred spring with natural hot water. It's got bubbles bubbling up and smoke smoking out of it.


Some random gorgonhead wanted to photowhore.


In the olden days, people threw curses into the baths, 'cos the baths were also the site of a temple for Athena/Sulis/Minerva (a rose by another name...) so people came to wish for the demise of their wrongdoer.


The Bath Abbey. Or at least the tip of it.


Sally Lunn's House!


Yummy croutons. I ate Sally Lunn's bun! Whee! (But it didn't taste all that special, just fluffy and fresh.)


Cheers!


The delicious lamb that no doubt added 5 kg to my weight.

Today, woke up at half past noon, slacked around while attempting to do some coursework, went to Sainsbury's with Zhi, cooked dinner with Zhi, ate the edible and pretty good dinner with Zhi, retreated to room, slacked a bit more, got down to reading poems & Frankenstein, and then got freaked out with images of Frankenstein's monster while showering in the bathroom.


Proof that we cooked: fried rice with sausages and peas.