Wednesday, September 05, 2007

the bloody chamber and other stories

The Bloody Chamber



Held rapt by the tale 'The Bloody Chamber' written by Angela Carter. Her power with words is amazing. So powerful they're almost vulgar. Before long I found myself flipping page after page until I'm almost at the end of the story - page 42. Carter invoked mixed emotions in me - curiosity, shock, guilt. Guilt, because it felt almost wrong to read the words she's written. It felt as if you're delving into someone's mind, reading her innermost thoughts. Thoughts so embarrassing that you embarrass yourself with knowing them. Voyeuristic... That's a good word to describe how it felt reading the story.



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Spicy



Can't ever resist the aroma of spicy Korean instant noodles. It's like having a Hong Kong cafe noodles for a fraction of the price, at the comfort of your own home, catered to your preferred taste. Ever since I started eating the spicy noodles, I can never go back to eating the comparatively bland-flavored ones (ie. the ones with no MSG). I know, I know, I know. They are bad for me. But as Zhi would testify, nothing beats instant noodles when you've got the craving. Gotta cook the noodles just so such that they retain their springy-ness. Each slurp, mixed with the soup, is heaven.



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Work-life balance



Who says Investment Banking doesn't offer you work-life balance? It's purely a matter of perspective. The balance will be as such: work 100%, life 0%. Heh. So many mixed reviews about that career path. Some think it's THE career to snatch, some think it's punishment from the devil. Hardly anyone is neutral about it. OK, scratch that, I'm neutral. Can't decide whether I should apply for it. I don't want to worship IB along with the crowd. It feels kinda weird, I guess because I always want to be different. Unique. Yes, me and my best buddy Megalomania. Just want to rebel and try something else. Maybe I could grow a garden, sell sweet potatoes and onions?

Breed dolphins?


Go into specialized trading selling exotic poppies?

Perform the incredible feat of building a castle with turrets out of banana peels, thus gaining copious media coverage and turning into a mini celebrity?


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SMS Flirtation Etiquette

I never knew how quickly you have to respond to an SMS sent by someone whom you thought you could like. Do you reply him immediately? That will seem too eager. Do you wait? If so, how long is the appropriate waiting time? It can't be too long that he starts to think you're not interested in him. Yet it has to be long enough to make him think you're not that interested, making him all the more eager and interested.

What if you waited 15 minutes, replied, and then he took 5 hours to reply? What does that mean? That he was otherwise occupied and couldn't steal a moment to reply? That he was too nervous and couldn't compose the perfect reply? That he's simply not that into you?

After he took so long to reply, do you then reply again within 15 minutes, or do you similarly wait 5 hours to reply to seem just as aloof?

Normally if I wait I'd end up forgetting to reply, and then that could be disastrous for any potential love interests. So I either reply straight away or if I'm occupied at that moment, I'd reply the moment I remember that there's a text to reply to. But then because of the speed with which I reply I usually don't have time to compose nice flirtatious messages, and with SMS that can end up sounding curt and disinterested.

Oh how, oh how, oh how. What headache!