Khwaish

What's so new about a new year?

2012-01-02T14:31:00.003+08:00

It's the new year! Honestly, I'm not all that excited about it. I don't quite get what all the hoopla is about the first day of the year. It's not as if things are gong to change all that much. I'm still stuck in a job I detest, the economy is still making a slow and steady slide into the pits, the mercury is still rising everywhere, and Americans still think that they rule the world.

What's there to be excited about?

Hello again!

2011-08-12T19:35:00.003+08:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted. So long in fact that I had forgotten that I had a blog! I happened to check out my own Facebook profile today and I came across the link to my blog. Why it's still up there stumps me, but I figured that I may as well drop by since I was in the vicinity. I don't know if my posting is going to get any more regular (I highly doubt so...I lack patience and that much needed exhibitionist streak needed to make a successful blog), but I thought I'd say hello anyway.

Life's been good to me. Have gotten my share of lemons thrown at me, but lemonade tastes pretty good on a hot day. I've just got to make the most of it i guess. I'll serve my sentence here and leave, and go to cooking school. Coz that's all I want to do really...cook. Maybe open my own bakery someday...but basically cook.

I want to make people happy, and what can be happier than watching someone close their eyes in pleasure, and moan in satisfaction as they bite into a luscious red velvet cupcake with creamy white chocolate icing? or plunge their spoon through the hard shell of a creme brulee, hearing the crack of the crust followed by the smooth creaminess of the ivory-white interior?

Heaven.

Oh happiness!

2009-04-04T14:32:00.004+08:00

I'm almost done with FYP!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!! The last draft was a nightmare to prepare, and I handed it in a day late, but Brian didnt say anything about that, and the best part is that he APPROVED IT FOR SUBMISSION!! which means that all i have left is a little bit of tweaking here and there and i'm done!

can't wait to hand it in on monday!

six months of work on a paper is honestly the longest i've ever worked on a project. i think the last time was the project work thinggie in JC, but even that wasnt this much work. I throughly enjoyed every minute of it (except maybe the last 3 weeks) and i hope that my grade will reflect all those sleepless nights. i'm going to miss it though...all the stress and tension.

Kit was right...there is a sense of loss now. More like a sense of closing. 7th April marks the end of uni life for most of us. it's been 4 years of up and downs, and much insanity, and although I feel ready to move on, i'm not entirely sure I want to. Will I still be able to keep in touch with all the wild and wonderful people I've met? Or will we all move in ways too separate to ever come together again? We're so close as a class...the first ever English Class, will we stay this close as the years pass and when our lives take separtate courses?

I hope from the very deepest recesses of my heart, that we do.

Burn Out

2009-03-27T14:27:00.002+08:00

So I finally found my demolition ball, but now it seems to have completely sapped my energy. My supervisor told me this week that he wants me to re-write 20 odd pages of my FYP and I'm already so drained I don't quite know how I'm going to do it. As it turns out, my introduction is apparantly "genius" and the rest of it is merely "adequate". I have to somehow turn the adequate into genius. And my brain is fried.

I'm feeling so tired right now that all i want is to crawl into bed and sleep. But i can't, because the final submission is on MONDAY! and it's FRIDAY today. yeah...i've got to submit it one full day early. Help?

The worst part is that it's not my body that's tired; it's my mind. I'm feeling so drained. I want to cry but no tears come. I know what I want to do, I know what I have to do, and I know how to do it; I just don't have the energy to do it.

On work

2009-03-13T17:44:00.001+08:00

After that ridiculously cryptic last post, it seems that I have neglected this little blog of mine. Not that anyone reads it anyway so I don't think it matters much. I think it's got something to do with my erratic posting. I have a tendeny to post only when I'm stressed, and I post for no one other than myself. It's a stress buster for me, and for some reason writing (even writing nonsense) seems to relax me and help me think better. What am I thinking of now? well FYP deadlines (30 March / 7 April), NIE admissions (22 June), buying a house (June - September), and marriage (December). Lots to think about.

Yup...I'm getting married! Haha...it's extremely exciting, and also very scary. But Ive never been happier, and I hope this happiness is only a trailer of whats to come :)

I've gone and joined the long list of English Literature graduates who have become teachers. I wanted to prove the world wrong and do something else other than teach, and I almost did. I probably would have if I'd just pushed a little harder, but with the economic slump and my fiance and my decision to buy a house, I decided that I needed a stable job with a stable income. so MOE here I come! I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm going to become a teacher when for the last two years I've been imagining myself as a high profile PR rep in some hot shot company. Looks like what my mum says is coming true...don't fight too hard for what you think you want, beacuse at the end of the day, you'll get only what's destined for you. As it turns out, half the English cohort in NTU is going to be enrolling in NIE this June. All those of you who are still looking for jobs and refuse to teach...good for you! Go out there and prove to the world that English graduates don't have to become teachers; they are capable of doing almost anything they want!

FYP is sapping my energy. I seem to have hit a brick wall, and I dont know where to go from here. My supervisor isn't really helping cos he always ends up cancelling meetings. Oh well..does anyone have a demolition ball i could borrow?

Happy :)

2008-11-10T22:58:00.002+08:00

I finally feel at peace :) the thing i was most worried about has now been settled, and settled very well i must say :)

There are of course the nitty gritty details to sort out, but thats for the Parents to worry about.

I am so happy i'm ready to burst! And the sad thing is that i can't share my happiness with too many people yet!

Argh!

2008-11-06T23:46:00.002+08:00

So much is happening in my life right now. and all of it directly affects the rest of my life. i wish to death i could tell someone about it, but i can't. only those people directly involved in the matter know whats going on, and even they're sworn to secrecy.

i'm bursting to tell, someone, anyone who will listen, but i fear they won't understand. i fear they will judge, not me, but the ones i love.

but i feel a strange calm inside. i am surprised. i know deep down that things will be alright. God will make them alright. lately i've been feeling as if i have a guardian angel watching over me. he kept me from breaking down today when the stress and anxiety levels were at their highest.

thank you.

please pray for me, for us.

The Devil was an Angel too

2008-09-22T13:48:00.000+08:00

So she’s finally done it; placed that last straw that broke the camel’s back, or in this case, poked that last pin that finally shattered my patience. By not getting our email addresses renewed, she helpfully gave me a reason not to attend a gathering I’ve been looking forward to for two weeks. Thanks. I appreciate not getting the chance to get to know our successors better. Really, I do.
Yes, part of the blame lies with the organisers for not making sure that everyone on their guest list got the message, but they didn’t know that the email address they were emailing me at is invalid. And why is it invalid? Well because the person who was supposed to get them renewed didn’t do it. Why? Only she knows.
I could still attend this little party now that I know about it. I could still skip my evening class and go for it. But I’m not going to. I feel unwanted. I don’t see why I should attend a party when no one wants me there.
But it’s not the first time is it? How many times have I felt unwanted in this Society in the past? More times than I care to count.

And in the end it almost always turns out to be the fault (if not in whole, then in part) of that same person.

And in the end, it doesn't really matter

2008-09-11T17:13:00.005+08:00

And it's finally over.

I thought I'd have a helluva lot to say but surprisingly I dont.

I dont feel like bitching about the people who made me miserable over the past year.

It just seems pointless to.

It's over now, and although I can't bring myself to forgive, I can bring myself to forget.

Just one last thing to do before I leave. Just a few more reports to complete and then I'll be truly free.

One song comes to mind that sums it all up: Linkin Park's In The End

It starts with one thing I don't know why It doesn't even matter how hard you try
keep that in mind I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn’t even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme, to explain in due time
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me (in the end)
You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when

Chorus

I’ve put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know

(2x) Chorus

Goodbye...

Food Review - Ambrosia

2008-08-31T16:54:00.004+08:00

So Sunny and I thought we’d go to Arab Street for dinner last night. Having never been in the vicinity of Arab Street after dark (I usually go there in the day with my mum to buy cloth), I was more than a little surprised to see how shady the place really is at night. I felt like I had stepped out Singapore and into a little street somewhere in India.

Arab Street becomes a little bohemian enclave after dark, where graffiti artists and drug pedlars thrive among the sheesha bars and family-run cafes. Groups of young people sit along the street on carpets on the floor smoking sheeshas with fillings much stronger than apple flavoured tobacco. Judging by their zoned-out expressions, they’re probably smoking weed.

All that aside, it was quite an experience to see a bit of the underbelly of such a whitewashed country. Arab Street takes you away from the Singapore you know today and plants you back in time to when high-rise buildings were a luxury and when children would be in bed by 9. Despite its relative shadiness, the area exudes a kind of warmth and authenticity that Holland Village tried to create but failed miserably at.

Anyway, after walking around a bit, Sunny and I finally landed up at this little restaurant called Ambrosia in Baghdad Street. The restaurant had a lounge upstairs where they made you take off your shoes and sit on the floor, and a normal table-chair concept on the lower level. As the upper level was full (I attribute it to the belly dancer), we sat downstairs. And we had the place to ourselves. We were the only customers sitting downstairs, and that made Sunny uncomfortable. I was wondering why myself, but a quick check of their website today revealed all: they’re open till 5am which means that they probably cater to late eaters. And sure enough, two groups of people walked in just as we were getting done with dinner.

And what a dinner it was. I don’t mean that in the good way either. The food was palatable at best, and the service staff was…confused. When we first inquired if we could sit upstairs (its weird sitting in an empty restaurant) our waiter told us that only people who ordered a sheesha were allowed upstairs. Since neither of us like sheeshas, we thought that was the end of that. Then we asked another waiter the same question, and he said we could go up, but it was full at the moment. That got us wondering. Then later, when a group of 6 people came in, another waiter told them that there was a wine tasting session upstairs, but the place was currently full so they wouldn’t be able to go up. So much for consistency.

The menu at Ambrosia was Mediterranean. Now, I’ve eaten some Mediterranean cuisine and it is one of my favourites. But this was downright ridiculous. For starters, we ordered escargot in garlic sauce and lamb shish kebabs with a mixed bread basket. Neither of us had ever eaten escargot before this and we were pleasantly surprised to realise that it is neither slimy nor gooey. It actually has the texture of rubbery chicken and it is quite meaty. That ended up being the best dish of the night. The garlic sauce was creamy and rich, and the escargot had been marinated in spices so the flavour was actually quite nice. What ruined it for me was when I bit into one snail and came up with a mouthful of sand. That’s what you get when you don’t clean them properly. That's a picture of the escargots.

The shish kebabs take the prize for being the worst shish kebabs either of us has ever eaten. They had no flavour, and had the texture of untreated leather. They were tough to chew, and most of it ended up as a ball on the side of my plate as I couldn’t bring myself to swallow. The breads were nice, but then its pretty hard to ruin pita and baguette. They went pretty well with the sauce from the escargot.

For the main course, I ordered Moroccan Chicken and Sunny ordered Turkish Perde Pilavi. Mine turned out to be some kind of chicken cooked in a tomato-based gravy served with couscous, and his was a different take on my mum’s chicken pulau (chicken cooked with basmati rice in a clay pot). My mum’s is better. The main courses were alright to begin with. But after a few bites, they started tasting bland and uninspired. I never though I’d use this word to describe food, but the main courses tasted boring after four bites. Yep, boring. My couscous was lumpy and hard, and his Pilavi had too many bay leaves and peppercorns for him to pick out.

By the end of the meal we were too scared and bored of the food to bother with desert, so we skipped it. I’m surprised that our waiter didn’t even ask if we wanted any. This was my first time in a restaurant where the waiter didn’t ask if I wanted desert.

The saving grace of the whole meal was the iced mint tea that we ordered. We ordered the jug ($10.20 per jug as opposed to $5.70 per glass. There are about 4 glasses of tea in the jug once the ice starts melting. Do the math, does it make any sense?) which turned out to be full of ice. But that’s ok, at least the tea was chilled. The tea was good, but I didn’t see a single mint leaf. If I order mint tea, I expect to see mint leaves. How do I know they didn’t make it out of mint flavouring (it tasted authentic, but still)?

Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing a single leaf on any of the food. When I showed my sister a picture of the escargot later, the first thing she asked me was “why is there no garnishing?” There was no garnishing on any of the food. I don’t think coriander and parsley is all that expensive that the restaurant has to cut back on garnishing to cut costs. If I’m paying $45 per head, I do expect my food to be presented well.

We spent about $90 on a meal for two with no desert. And it pinched. The price can be overlooked if the food is good, but in this case both the food and the service were mediocre. Sales staff didn’t give us any privacy (they stood at the front of the restaurant and stared at us), the food was terrible, and the ambiance was so-so. To top it all off, none of the food appeared as what was described in the menu. The escargots were supposed to come in pastry shells; they didn't. Before dinner was up, we decided that we weren’t going to be back, unless maybe if you paid us.

Our verdict? 2 stars out of 5.

Looking Back

2008-08-31T14:45:00.002+08:00

Remember this post?

Well this minister is the same one who's been caught up in the whole Table Tennis saga lately. Heeheehee...One look at her the last time and i thought she was a rigid sort. She's just proven herself.

Missing you

2008-08-29T16:18:00.006+08:00

School started awhile back but it still feels like vacation. That's what its like when you've got just 2 subjects and a 3-day week. It's great coz now I've got all the time in the world to do everything I've wanted to but havent had the time for.

But the downside of having just 2 subjects is that I never get to see any of my English classmates. And I miss them. I'm not doing any Lit subjects this semester, and I hate to say this, but I'm actually feeling kindda lonely. I miss my girls. It's tough not having any of them around. I hate having to walk into a classroom knowing that I'm going to spend the next two hours or so looking at strange faces who are going to go their separate ways after class. Vera got it spot on when she made a comment at the FYP briefing on Wednesday: This feels so right. There we were again, a bunch of crazy final year students who cant seem to get enough of each other. Nobody wanted to leave the room after the briefing, and we only left when Dr Scott's class came in and chased us out.

I miss trooping down to the canteen for lunch after class, or gossiping during the breaks. I miss being cheeky with the profs. I miss our inside jokes. I miss seeing all of you everyday. School just isnt the same without you all. I really treasure the moments when I meet some of you in school for lunch or whatever.

I dont know how much I'm going to remember about college when I finally get dont with it, but the one thing I am going to remember is all you girls and the good times we've had. I love you all. I'm going to stop writing now coz I'm tearing up and I dont want to cry right now :)

Damned

2008-08-06T23:49:00.005+08:00

Why did I expect that something like this would happen? The minute she told him 'later' when he asked to discuss things with her after the meeting, I knew it would be damned. Things always are that way with her. Left to the last minute and hurridely done; it's her trademark.

It's supposed to be the last most important thing someone in her position does before she leaves, but her SMS tells me that she "totally forgot about it". I'm not surprised. She has a tendency to forget a lot of important things.

I don't blame him for ranting to me about her, but the least he could do was offer to help me when I said I'd do it. He was the one that the job was assigned to after all. The least he could do was try. Never done something like this before? Nevermind, learn from someone who has. There is no need to be so rigid, saying that "i never signed up for this". I never signed up for this either. All I signed up for was counting money. Why then am I doing it?

In the end...

2008-07-18T09:59:00.004+08:00

It's finally my last day of work! I've been picturing this day in my mind for the last 3 weeks, and its always been a very pretty picture: lunch with the other interns (who are stuck here for another 2 weeks) at a nice restaurant, lots of laughter and smiles throughout the day, and goodbye hugs in the evening before I board the bus home. Oh, and there's a durian party (yuck!) sponsored by the office to look forward (?) to.

The reality? A throbbing headache, eyes that struggle to stay open, the worst mug of coffee ever (haven't had a decent cup of coffee in months. I'm deprived. This awful concoction is of the local variety made by the dear pantry aunty. it's overly strong, bitter, thick, and tastes burnt and leaves a sour aftertaste) lunch with the other (extremely tired) interns in Jurong Point (nice restaurant may still come true, but doesnt look like it), and a department that can't be bothered that I'm leaving. Come to think about it they couldn't be bothered when I joined them. I still don't know half their names. But they have asked me to stay with them and work on an ad-hoc basis. Works for me, since I can work from home.

And Eunice isnt here yet :( She's been my sanity support since I got here, just like I've been hers. Poor thing had to go all the way to AMK Hub to meet her boss who didnt wanna come into the office today. From bathroom buddy to sanity support, what would I do without you woman? Honestly, if it wasnt for you showing me all your designer screw-ups and laughing over retarted authors and illustrators, I think I would have gone mad in the past weeks!

I have to be fair and say that Company P has been good to me (in it's own funny way). The environment may be pretty dead and boring, but the people are nice if you can get them to speak in English, when you can get them to speak. I think on some level I can understand why they're so close lipped and unwilling to talk: they've got so may interns and temps running in and out all the time who they never see once they leave, it's impossible to keep up with all of them. They don't seem to think it makes sense to get to know a person, only to have them disappear from their lives a couple of months later.

The work here is good, not like the last time when i was doing pretty much nothing for 10 whole weeks. And much unlike the last time, I really did have to use my brain this time! Constantly! For the first time I can say that my brain has not degenerated into sponge in the holidays! My Swiss Cheese has no holes in it! And I have too many exclamation marks in this paragraph!

The Boss just came over and passed me a recommendation letter. It's short, sweet, and to the point. And she said some nice things about me. I'm a bit more cheery now but the sour taste in my mouth from the coffee and the headache make it hard to appreciate my day here.

Oh well...will update you with what happens after lunch...

Questions

2008-07-09T14:57:00.002+08:00

Why does scotch tape on the roll not stick to itself when the manufacturers claim that it sticks on any surface?

Why are strawberries called “straw”berries? They don’t contain straw (blueberries are blue, and raspberries leave the tongue feeling raspy. Come to think of it…gooseberries as well. Why?)

Why can’t I write on magazine paper?

Why can’t they come up with newspaper ink that doesn’t stain?

Why does my dog insist on sitting on top of the newspaper when I’m trying to read it?

How does bubblegum bubble?

Who thought of sticking candy on a stick and calling it “lollipop”?

Why are butterflies called “butter”flies? They’re not made from nor do they look anything like butter.

Why do the Chinese insist on making duplicates of everything?

Why do young children try and act like adults?

The colour Pink

2008-07-08T09:55:00.005+08:00

My mother has officially prohibited me from purchasing any garment in the colours pink and red.

I went bra shopping yesterday and purchased two bras: one pink and one purple.

She just said garments, not undergarments right? Then why did she still roll her eyes at me? And when she was in India a while back, she bought me a shocking pink sari! What, I'm not allowed to purchase pink garments for myself but its alright if they're gifted?

[I've got a couple of half written posts...will put them up when I get a bit of a break from work. A week and a half to go!!]

Am I a High Maintenance Woman?

2008-07-03T09:12:00.005+08:00

Its nice to know that some personality quizzes get it down pat!

You Are Low Maintenance

Otherwise known as "too good to be true"
You're one laid back chica - and men love that!
Just remember that no good guy likes a doormat.
So if you find your self going along to get along...
Stop yourself and put up a little bit of a fight.

Are You A High Maintenance Woman?

But no...i dont find myself going along to get along...

And I think The Boy can attest to that.

And What is my Vocabulary Score?

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary!

You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

WHOO!!

Benny Lava

2008-07-02T15:10:00.002+08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thanks Tanu!

P.S.: Be sure to visit You Tube (search for Benny Lava) and click on the other links with this video...they're equally good!

Minister

2008-07-01T09:27:00.001+08:00

So…my family had a bit of excitement a week ago. Let me correct that, the family who can’t really be bothered with Singapore politics had a bit of excitement last night in the form of a Minister making a house call. Now, politicians are rather like salesmen: they’re never around when you need them and they come to you when you couldn’t care less.

The doorbell rang at 9.20 and since I was the nearest to the door (dad had run into his room the minute the bell rang, mum couldn’t be bothered to get off the couch, sis was on the phone in her room, and Houseguest was in the shower) I had to answer it. So I bent sideways and took hold of Doggy’s collar with one hand (he always gets there first to bark himself silly. Sometimes he thinks he’s a Doberman) and the doorknob in the other and opened the door only to find a very sweaty, very flustered looking man standing outside.

“Ministerupstairsshecomingdownopenthedoorwelcomehertakephoto”

“Huh?”

Thankfully mum got off the sofa just then and I could pick a very angry Doggy up and dump him in Sister’s room. By the time I came outside mum was frantically trying to tidy up the living room.

“What happened mum? Who was that man?”

“The Minister’s coming here. Tell Dad to change his clothes and come here”

Ah yes, the Minister. For weeks now there’s been this huge banner hanging outside the condo announcing her visit. And that’s in addition to the number of mailers that have been appearing in our letterbox. I think I could wallpaper one wall in my room with them by now.

Now, we were all lounging around in our pyjamas, enjoying chilled mango, and were basically in no mood to entertain a Minister we had never seen before. We’ve been living here for 15 years and this was the first time any minister had ever entered the condo! Apparently the management wants to buy a bit of land that’s just outside the condo. Its state land, and they had invited the minister to plead their case. The government doesn’t want to sell, and the management is convinced that the land is too small and oddly shaped to do anything with so please sell it to us. The management wants to include that in the gross area in the hopes that someone will want to buy the whole condo en-bloc. I don’t see that happening.

But I went and told Dad anyway, who just rolled his eyes and disappeared into the bathroom. I went to tell Sister to change, but she rolled her eyes as well and said she couldn’t be bothered and then locked herself in her room. I changed (take photo with the Minister! Oh my God! Have to look good!), and promptly shut myself up in my room. The Minister may not need an invitation to come to our house, but I sure wanted a special one to see her!

I heard a bit of commotion outside and a while later Mum poked her head into my room, asking me to come out; the Minister wanted a photo (OMG! Photo!). I went out, and Minister, who was talking to Dad about the condo’s en-bloc attempts, promptly forgot about him and turned her attention to me.

“Hello, you are…?

Hello, I’m Richa.

Which school are you in?

Do I look like I’m still in school?

I’m studying in NTU.

(surprised) Oh! NTU! What course are you studying?

I’m doing English Literature.

Oh that’s nice. I was from NTU myself, a long time ago.

Oh, what course did you take?

I did Civil Engineering. I was from the first batch. Class of 85’”

At this point mum dragged Sister out of her room and Minister forgot about me.

“Hello, you are…?

Hello, I’m Juhi.

Which school are you in?

I’m in ********** Junior College.

Come, lets take a photo.”

She seems to have a standard template when it comes to making conversation. She also seems to have the need of an entourage when she moves around. Her PA, secretary, plainclothes bodyguard, photographer, and PR manager were travelling with her. And there was one other man who was hanging around. I couldn’t figure out what he did though, except for go to the next house that the minister was going to visit and warn them beforehand (yes, it’s the same guy as above).

Anyway, we took the photo, with fake grins pasted on our faces. I swear Sister looked constipated. Minister then spent the next 5 mins trying to convince Sister and I to take part in the political party’s youth wing, and to volunteer for the meet-the-minister sessions. Um…thanks but no thanks.

She finally left at 9.35, after handing us a fridge magnet twice the size of a business card, but designed like one. Kindda cool actually, but not something I’d want on my fridge. But that’s for mum to decide. I think she stuck it up, but as with all the other magnets up there, its already covered with paper.

Heeheehee…

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly

2008-06-22T15:55:00.000+08:00

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the following poem:

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,

That wriggled and wiggled and tiggled inside her;

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;

How absurd to swallow a bird.

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;

Fancy that to swallow a cat!

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady that swallowed a dog;

What a hog, to swallow a dog;

She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow,

I don't know how she swallowed a cow;

She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,

She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...

She's dead, of course!

I remember learning this poem when I was in primary school. The teacher had a big book, and the rest of the class had little versions of the big book and the teacher would read it out with the class. The book had these funny illustrations, something like what Quentin Blake does for Roald Dahl. I remember being amazed at this old lady who managed to swallow all these animals, and I could never help laughing at the poem. It seemed awfully funny at that time, but now it just feels sadistic.

Teaching children to speculate about someone’s death and sounding excited when the old woman finally burst open and died? Um…not exactly something I would expect to be a part of the recommended teaching syllabus in schools.

Sure, the Grimm Brother’s Tales are nothing short of gory, and they were once recited to children as well, but those stories are meant to describe the kind of life that people in early Europe lived: hard, harsh, and unforgiving. The Grimm tales are based on what the two brothers saw around them during their travels through Europe. They turned them into fairy tales to take the bite out of them but the stories are essentially based in the reality of 17th Century Europe.

Modern day poems of the above kind try and turn issues as serious as death into a laughing matter. I honestly don’t know why somebody would want to do something like that, but I don’t think it’s funny. Children should know about death, but there are much better ways to introduce them to matters like this without having to make a mockery of it.

If the teaching syllabus is using this poem to teach children about the relative sizes of animals, all I’ve got to say is “go find a better way to do that. Children don’t need to be jaded from the age of 6; the rest of their education will take care of that”.

Take a trip down Imagination Lane

2008-06-17T10:25:00.003+08:00

I’ve been reading a lot of children’s books lately (not for fun, it’s part of the job description of being an intern at a publishing house) and there’s something I realised: they’re all pretty much the same. And they’re all pretty dull. This particular series of books is at least. The series is called Aussie Bites, Aussie Nibbles, and Aussie Chomps from Australia (duh) and they’re meant for primary school children. And they’re all the same.

Don’t get me wrong, the books are interesting (I’m not in primary school and even I find them fascinating). But after a while, you see the same pattern emerging. Most of the books talk about children being bullied, moving to a new city without any friends, getting into trouble, being a hero or about wanting to become the most popular boy/girl in school. It makes me wonder: won’t kids get bored reading the same type of thing over and over again? How many times can a child read about the same things? I’ve read close to forty (yes, forty, 40) of these books and frankly, I’m bored.

The books deal with children in very practical situations that take place around the home or in school: kids playing pranks on teachers and getting caught and punished, kids fighting peer pressure and jealousy, kids wanting a pet that their parents wont get them, and the most common of all, kids moving to a new city or town, feeling detached and lonely, and finally making new friends via some incident or another. There is nothing anywhere about monsters, talking animals (okay, there was one book about a singing lungfish), or magical creatures. Most of the books sound like reports on situations that children would be facing anyway: why would they want to read about their lives at home as well? Sure, the books allow children to relate to the experiences of the characters, but do children want that all the time?

I think my main problem with the books is that by drawing on practical experiences of the authors, illustrators, and children, the books leave very little to the child’s imagination. The authors of the Aussie series limit their writing to what they see, and do not let their imaginations take flight. This means that children are left with something that resembles their own lives and allows them no escape from the empirical existence they are forced to live. They live their lives, and are forced to read about them too (and now that Company P is planning to market these books to Singapore schools, I foresee the next generation becoming even more robotic and unimaginative than the current one. Good luck to all you primary school students. Between the new English syllabus and these books, I don’t know what will become of you. I don’t think I want to).

I’ve always believed that literature should take you away from what you know and introduce you to worlds that you probably never even dreamt of. Fiction should stretch the imagination, or at the very least, tickle it. It should take it to places that are new and unfamiliar, or at the very least make you look at the familiar in a new way. Children’s literature should take the young reader on an adventure that excites his (or her) senses.

Authors like Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, and Lewis Carroll forced children to run away with their imaginations and made them think about worlds that were unfamiliar. These writers made children think of alternate realities, and made them question the world they live in. I’ll admit that Dahl’s and Carroll’s books may not be as child-oriented as they seem (what’s with the torturing of children in Chocolate Factory?), but they still make some of the best children’s literature ever written. Anyone who was deprived a childhood of Blyton, Dahl, Lewis, and Carroll deserves be paid a visit by The Witches and locked in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory with Alice, Matilda, and The B.F.G. for company. I’m sure if you ask nicely L. Frank Baum will let you join Dorothy, Toto, The Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow and The Tin Man on their quest for the Wizard of Oz. Unless the Wicked Witch of the West whisks you away to a land of talking toadstools, pixies, goblins, talking animals, enchanted woods and elfs, The Famous Five will find you…eventually.

But a lot of children these days won’t be able to catch any of the references I made, for they would have probably never have even heard of those books let alone read them. The only books they would be familiar with are textbooks and assessment books. Children these days are too serious for their own good. They spend so much of their time in school and at tuitions that they hardly have any time to play. Why primary school students need tuition is beyond me. Can’t their parents handle it? Primary school work is not that hard. Besides, children that age should be running around and playing; they shouldn’t be stuck at home studying all the time. They get enough of that at school.

What they also get enough of at school is peer pressure, bullying, and competition. Do they really need that in their literature? I don’t think so. I’d like to see someone writing good literature for children (Mr Midnight does NOT qualify as good literature. That is trash). Good literature should make you think, make you uncomfortable, but at the same time grip you so tightly you’d rather fall of the bed reading it than let go of the book (this happened to me when reading The Witches for the first time, and more recently when reading Through the Looking Glass), and it should make you want to read it over and over again.

Is it any wonder then that some of the best and most popular children’s books are based in complete fiction and have no semblance of reality as we know it? All the authors I mentioned above (and many more than I didn’t, all who write fantasy) made it to Amazon.com’s list of 50 Greatest Children’s Books of the World. I’m not surprised really, and you shouldn’t be either. Let children be children, don’t make them grow up too fast. Slow down and stop to take a bite of the giant peach, and you’ll realise what a wonderful place the imagination is.

So click your heels three times, turn on the spot, and brace yourselves for a trip down the rabbit hole; The Great Glass Elevator is waiting to whisk you away to Never Never Land.

I'm an English major, and proud of it

2008-06-09T16:41:00.003+08:00

I was at the college Career Fair some time back, when I was still looking for internships. It seems that the general (un)educated* public still has an ancient stigma about English Literature majors. They seem to think that we aren't capable of doing anything other than teaching. They also seem to think that all we do is read Shakespeare and other such writers and basically have a blast in uni.

Traditionally most English students ended up as teachers (in schools, colleges, institutions of higher learning etc...), but that’s because there were very limited job options at that time. You either became a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, all of which require very specific training and skills. But just in case you haven’t already realised, all that has changed.

Wake up and smell the freshly printed books; English students are everywhere. We're creeping into the mainstream workforce right under your nose and you didn't even know. That director of the finance department that you look up to so much? Yep...he took English in college. What does English have to do with Finance? Nothing. But it has a lot to do with learning to become a people-person, and hence a good manager. What about that hot-shot PR rep that your company just hired? She wouldn’t be able to write those power packed press releases and reports with anything less than the level of writing expertise of an English student.

There are more English majors amongst you in the workforce than you care to admit. We're everywhere. We edit your newspapers, write your articles, educate your children, entertain you on stage, write your novels, conduct your training courses, ensure your companies run effectively (yes…there are lots of us in management positions), make sure you don't make fools of yourself by printing grammatically incoherent publicity material, ensure effective corporate communication, organize your events, and do hoards of other things that you could probably do, but we just do better.

You’ll never hear an English major saying that an Engineering, Finance, or Science degree is useless. They why do you say that about us? We know that you guys are important, that you contribute greatly to whatever industry you join, but then so are and so do we. You don’t realise what an asset we are. English students bring a set of skills to the workforce that students from other disciplines don’t. We may not be great at math, but that doesn’t mean we’re not logical thinkers. Nor does it mean that we are unable to solve practical problems or that our heads are perpetually in the clouds. English students have very analytical minds. We’re capable of looking at things from every possible angle; simply because that’s the way we’ve been trained. We look at things from one angle, then another, and if we still can’t figure it out, we’ll turn the whole thing inside out. Literature teaches us to be flexible, that not every problem will find its solution in a tried and tested formula, and to appreciate that sometimes, the more quirky the idea, the more practically applicable it could be. Life isn’t all facts and figures, and we appreciate that.

The (un)educated still say that people who study the Arts only do so because they can’t handle the Sciences. That’s not true. Try giving the average Science student a copy of Othello or Waiting for Godot and see what they make of it. It will look to them similar to what Quantum Physics looks to us. It’s not fair to say that Arts students are only in Arts because they couldn’t get anywhere else. Many of us in fact are top students who chose to come here when we could have done almost anything else. Different people are good at different things. Some people are good at Science, so they do Science. Others are good at Arts, so they do Arts. It is as simple as that really. An Arts student could just as easily say that the only people who study Science are those who find the Arts too hot to handle. Go figure.

I know for a fact that Arts students detest Science students for being too narrow minded (which they might be) and Science students don’t really know what to make of the Arts people (which could be a deliberate attempt on our part). You guys see us sitting in coffee houses reading all the time, but that’s because it’s what we do…we read. We read a lot. My record is close to 25 books in one semester. If I need to finish that much reading, you’ll see me reading pretty much all the time. You also see us having fun most of the time, and you’re surprised why we don’t always look as stressed as you do, and why we spend so little time on campus when you’re stuck in the lab for hours at a stretch. Well simply because we are having fun. Most of us love what we do, and so we have fun doing it. Also, if you have fun studying, it won’t stress you out. And that’s why we don’t look as stressed out as you do. Unless of course it’s assignment crunch time (dare anyone bug me at this time, you’ll get a red hot poker in your eyeball).

We work hard, but we have fun doing it, and that’s what makes working so hard that much bearable. We work because we like it; not because we don’t understand what we’re doing and therefore have to put in the extra hours understanding it. All that reading we do in the semester is never nearly enough to satisfy our ravenous appetites when it comes to books. We read throughout the holidays, and we read all the books our professors mentioned in class but we didn’t have time or energy to read in the semester. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ve got a little library at home that is fast running out of space. I need to get more bookshelves soon for all the books I’m planning to buy. Just in case you’re wondering…I actually do read all the books I buy. Maybe not immediately, but I get round to reading them sometime.

Some of these (un)educated people are also of the impression that English is an easy course. It’s not. English is every bit as challenging as any other course that you care to name; only in a different way. We make it look easy. We don’t memorise formulas and concepts, but we do need to contextualise and understand the texts that we read (texts may also include theory, criticism, film, music, art, poetry, and plays. It is not limited to the novel and short story). We read on average three books a week and believe me when I say that it’s a feat not getting all the characters and plots mixed up. Add to that two to four films a week and you have the potential for the greatest blunder ever made by a human. You can only imagine out confusion when it comes to exam time, when we have four English modules, 25 books, and any number of films to study. All in one week. That’s because our assignments don’t usually end till the week before exams start. Assignments in plural because most of the time, all our assignments are due within the same week. And since most of us are working part time (tuition, coaching, or editing), I’m sure you can imagine the organisational skill it takes us to orchestrate our time so that everything runs smoothly and we still perform reasonably well for the exams. Easy? Hah!

But sadly, the English student is underappreciated. We still get stigmatised and sidelined. The job market still favours more “marketable” degrees, whatever that means. But it looks like that perception is changing. Slowly…but at least its happening. We bring a set of soft skills to the market that students from other disciplines don’t.

And in that our value lies.

*The (un)educated person likes to think that he/she has the best education their money can buy. Sadly, they ignore the kind of education that money can’t buy: the kind that comes from reading widely and being aware of what goes on in the world around them. These people are aware of very little other than what goes on right in front of their eyes or under their noses. Many a time, they miss that out as well. These people tend to walk around with their eyes and ears tightly shut for fear that they may become slightly more intelligent/educated than they feel they can handle. This characterises most Singaporeans.

Edit: minor typo and formatting changes

Freedom in a box

2008-06-06T00:00:00.000+08:00

Singtel recently launched a marketing campaign targeted at tertiary level students in Singapore. Their slogan was "Exercise Your Right to Free Speech". Of course that was a pun, and was aimed at selling their student plans which have free incoming calls. It doesn't mean that you are literally allowed to speak your mind. You are not.

A little while ago, a Singapore blogger was arrested for doing just that: putting his views on the web. This blogger apparently made some comments on his blog that the prudish Singapore society thought were racist.

Free Speech?
Yes.
Exercised?
Yes.
Right?
Yes.
Repercussion?
Jail, hefty fine, and social ruin.
Worth it?
No.

Funny how both Singtel's campaign and the charges against the poor boy came from the government. It seems like they're having a bit of a hard time making up their minds.

Free speech in Singapore does not exist. It just doesn't. People are too scared to say anything for fear of offending some government body or the other and landing up in the same situation as that blogger.

But it's not like the government doesn't try to get its citizens to speak up. They do have a Speaker's Corner. And they do encourage people to use it. Provided you submit a copy of your speech to the authorities beforehand and let them snip it up for you. As with everything else in Singapore, you have the right to free speech, provided you keep it in a box.

And then there's the issue of audience. If you somehow manage to get your speech through the authorities and get yourself up there on the speaker's box, will there be anyone to hear you? Most likely not. Some years ago, a certain defamed politician went up there to protest against what he felt were injustices done against him by certain other political parties in the country. The New Paper ran a photo and article on that speech the next day. As it turns out, the only person who was there to listen to him was the photographer who took the picture. And I don't think he stuck around for very long either. The public was apparently too scared to turn up, for they were afraid that they would be implicated for being in cahoots with that character up there and would get into trouble for just listening to him.

The same is the case with bloggers. More and more bloggers are getting into trouble for making comments on their blogs that are supposedly racist/sexist/overly biased/politically incorrect and goodness knows what else. Wasn't a blog supposed to be free for all? Why can a blogger not express his or her own views on their personal space on the web? Why must everything a person says be held against them?

Singapore tends to pay special attention to race issues. I'm sure that's the case with most countries that have multicultural populations. But has anyone realised that headlines like "Chinese Blogger Fined for Comments Against Malay Society" and "More Malay Children Qualify for Local Universities" are pretty darn racist as well? Legal documents have mentions of race on them, but you will find a disclaimer stating that a person's race will not be taken into account when reviewing his application or whatever it is. It makes me wonder then why there are there no Malays in the Air Force and very few in the Navy, and why it is hard to find a high-level civil servant who is not Chinese.

Segregating the races only emphasizes the difference between them because it makes people more aware that the distinction exists. That leads to feelings of superiority, hence acts of racism.

I don't know whether that blogger made comments that were really racist or not for I have not seen that post. But I would like to say that I don't think the right to punish belongs with the government. The community that took offence at his writing should punish him, for it is not an issue serious enough to warrant government intervention. Maybe he did say something insulting. Okay, but doesn't he have a right to?

I've seen...an Epiphany

2008-06-02T14:17:00.005+08:00

It's still driving me up the wall.

The last time I wrote on this subject was this time last year. So much has happened since then. Some good, some bad, all tellable. But none of which I can talk about until my term of service is over.

I can't wait for it to end. Just a few more months. I've got a few loose strings to tie till then and then it'll be over! It's been one helluva roller coaster ride. I just want it to end now. I know I'm not alone in my sentiments; there are lots of people who want nothing to do with the club again. Enough is enough. Really.

It's interesting how you only really get to know people by working with them. I've seen shades and sides on certain people that I would have probably never seen otherwise. I've seen people make some bad judgements, and I've seen some bad sides on some people. I've seen Power, or the quest for it, bring out the worst in some people, and the best in others. Hitler was very nearly re-born. I've seen conspiracy theories, and I've seen politics. I've seen friendships die, and I've seen alliances being born. I've realised who I can trust, and who I can't. I've seen a dictatorship, and I've seen a resistance movement.

I wonder what we'll all feel like when we leave the club. Will we be able to leave completely? Will we be able to fully trust the people to whom we leave it? Or will we keep coming back, trying to run the club even though it is no longer in our authority to? It's going to be a bit of both I feel. Some people will walk away and never look back. Some people will not be able to let go.

No ECA has ever given me negative vibe. But there are exceptions to every rule aren't there? And it looks like I've found that exception. I'm glad I'm leaving.

Chronicles of a Madwoman

2008-05-16T09:09:00.003+08:00

Pavin asked me a question yesterday...one that's been on my mind for the longest time. I didn't really get a chance to give her a proper answer yesterday, so I thot I'd answer her question here.

She asked me how I manage to handle so many things at one time; work/school, the diploma course, ECA, boyfriend, and family. All that coupled with the fact that my parents aren't too keen on me seeing anyone right now.

Pavin to tell you the truth, I really don't know :)

I guess it all boils down to commitment, faith, and time management. With a lot of sacrifice thrown in for good measure.

I've had to sacrifice quite a few things in the past months. My social life, for example, is practically non-existent. My friends complain that I'm never around, that every time they ask me to go out with them I can never make it, because I'm running around somewhere or I've got to be home or I've got something or the other to do. I've neglected them quite a bit, and that hurts not just them but me as well. But they understand...sometimes. I'm not denying that friendships haven't been lost because I'm never there...they have...and its hard to deal with. I do get a little lonely sometimes, but then I know that my boyfriend and my family are just one phone call away.

That's another big sacrifice I've had to make: my boyfriend. He's the kindest, most supportive, most understanding soul in the world. I feel terrible for not being able to give him the time and attention that I should be giving him. I only get to see him once or twice a week, for half an hour at a stretch, in really, really, really, crowded places. And if we're lucky we see each other for a longer time over the weekend. But that's rare. It's even more rare that we get any time alone. We've always got people around us, so that makes it difficult to have any kind of private conversation. My hand phone is my best friend.

It's hard on me but especially hard on him. But he's been so understanding and supportive so far, and that's really much more than I could have ever asked for. We try and squeeze in whatever time we can get together, but it's usually him who ends up going out of his way for me. He drops me home after class just so we can spend some time together. And thats when he stays on the other end of the country from me. I stay in Yio Chu Kang; he stays in Jurong East. And he doesn't drive either.

My boyfriend is a blessing. He's the first person I turn to when I've got something to complain about, or something to celebrate. And unfortunately he's also the first one to bear the brunt of my anger, annoyance, or mood swings. On the days that I break down, he's the one who helps me pick up the pieces and put me back together. He's one of the only things that keeps me anchored and keeps me sane, and although he knows that, he's never once tried to take advantage of it.

The PR diploma? Well it wasn't my choice to take it. That choice was made for me by my father. I wanted to do it at some point of time, but I wasn't ready for it now. I wanted to start the course just after I graduate, but Dad insisted that I have more than just a BA(Hons) in English Literature and a Minor in Psychology when I graduate. Thats an added burden on my shoulders. I'm thoroughly enjoying the course, don't get me wrong...I just wished it had happened later.

As for ECAs...well...Lets just say that its not all that hard to keep up with something you've lost interest in long ago. I'm just sticking around because it's part of a dream that I once helped build, and now that it's being realised I don't want it to (literally) go to the dogs. I'm just waiting to hand over so I can get certain things off my chest and certain people out of my life. The ECA has its own problems, but those are not something I want to share at this point in time.

I'll admit...it's not easy juggling so many things and trying to please so many people at the same time. Sometimes it feels like I'm trying to juggle with bowling balls. When one ball falls it really hurts, but I've learnt how to keep my balls in the air over time.

I said that it boils down to faith. It honestly does. Faith in yourself, and the faith your loved ones have in you. If I didn't believe in myself and in what I'm doing, I don't think I'd be able to handle everything I have on my plate. I'd go nuts...and I do sometimes, and that when the faith my loved ones have in me helps me.

Time management helps as well. I've learned to prioritize, and to simply ignore things that I can afford to ignore. I may end up not doing certain things, but at least I get to keep my sanity.

So Pavin, there you have it...the chronicles of a madwoman :) It's hard keeping pace with my life, but I've learned to take everything that comes my way in my stride. I don't let stress get to me.

That's all there is

S.H.I.T.

2008-05-15T14:48:00.003+08:00

I'm soooooo tired. And it's only Thursday. My biological clock has been totally out of whack and getting it back in tune has NOT been easy. I have to get up at 6 and leave home at 7 so I can reach work on time at 8.30. Why oh why did I go and pick a company that has its office in Tuas of all godforsaken places??!!

I'm feeling so dazed right now...I think its got something to do with staring at a computer screen all day and reading too much (yeah ok sure...reading a pile of books meant for 8-11 year olds isn't exactly reading...but when you have to analyse them its really brain bending!). And it doesn't help that I've got class later in the evening.

I feel like I'm in an aeroplane...weird beeping noises all around me and I'm strapped in a chair for 9 hours straight. Did I mention that I'm not a big fan of flying? I can't sit in one place for extended periods of time.

I don't want to go for class later!!! Its fun but all I want to do is go home and sleep! I never get any sleep! Nobody lets me! My parents wake m up early on most weekends, and I don't get to sleep till really late at night. I'm really really waiting for the weekend now...and It's only my 4th day of work. 9 weeks to go after this one.

There's a stupid little fruit fly buzzing around my head. Go away you stupid fly! You're not wanted! All thanks to that piece of papaya on my desk that I've kept for a late afternoon snack.

I cant wait for yoga class on Saturday. Thats another thing that doesnt let me sleep. Class is at 10, so I leave home at 9.15. but it really relaxes me so its not too bad. The instructor always wears tight white pants with coloured thongs or G-strings underneath. Thank goodness she's thin and has a tight bum...otherwise it would just be such an eyesore.

I wish it were Friday today. But its not. Its Thursday. The day just before Friday. The day that people gear up for the weekend. Yay.

I think I'm going to get bed sores on my bum.

Ouch.

Not a Girl, Not yet a Woman

2008-05-14T14:59:00.004+08:00

It's nice to be working on something tangible for a change. Something I can actually see and something that people will actually use at some point in the near future. (I'm working on a manual for the regional sales people. Its a joint project by the marketing and editorial departments). And its nice that I can work independently without having someone breathing down my neck. They treat us like adults here.

I like.

Funny that they treat us like adults and make us read children's books. Coz that's what I'll be doing from tomorrow: Reading books meant to teach nursery, kindergarten and primary school kids how to read. Part of the time anyway.

Back to childhood.

First day at Work

2008-05-12T13:04:00.003+08:00

I know it's been an awfully long time since I last blogged..please forgive me. But its not like anyone reads this blog anyway :)

LOTS has happened from then till now, but i'm not in the mood to take a walk down memory lane right now....so lets save that for another day...maybe.

I started work at this company today...i cant tell you what it is coz of a confidentiality agreement i signed...so lets just call it Company P. So far so good....except that I kindda hate the location and the approach. The office looks like a converted warehouse (which it might just be actually). There are books EVERYWHERE!!! I love books, and i love them everywhere...but this is just a bit too much. Yeah sure...its a publishing house...and they have lots of books all the time... but people...get a store room!

The office is old and it looks it...from the funishings to the toilet to the pantry. The toilet looks like the one beside canteen 2 in NTU...really nothing impressive. At least its not at all what i was expecting from a company this big. The other building is alright...at least that looks presentable. But then again its been newly renovated. I wonder when they'll do this one.

Aesthetics aside, the people here are nice :) thats always a plus. who wants to work in a place where the people are poker faced and unfriendly? And the work looks interesting. its a mix from a couple of deopartments....and i report directly to the head...so thats cool.

But if I go by the level of fun...I have to say that my last place of work really hit the spot. i think i got too pampered there (2 hr lunches, meetings over breakfast, and regular office parties do nothing for the waistline but lots for bonding :) ) so now i'm finding this place a bit of a challenge to adjust into. but its only the first day...i could be misjudging. but one thing is really clear...people here arent as closely bonded as people were over there. I think it might have to do something with everyone eating at their desks and not really spending much time with each other. it also prolly has something to do with the fact that everyone is separated from everyone else by those awful half-walls and dividers. they didnt have those over there. there it was a pretty open office concept which i liked. they didnt have cubicles in the way these people do.

i shouldnt be comparing really...its not fair to Company P, especially given how new i am. But then as an outsider you see more than the insiders do.

Lunch break over....I have to get to work...if I can get someone on the phone...she seems to have disappeared :)

Ciao

Marketing Madness

2007-08-23T13:24:00.000+08:00

I've been wondering why this subject is such a popular one and i finally inderstand why (this is the third time i applied and i finally got it). other than the subject being relatively straightforward....

It's an insane subject full of insane people.

Lecture 1: this guy sitting in front of me was staring intently at the lecturer. he had no stationery on his tablet...no laptop either. and no notes. suddenly...he takes out his Sony Erricson Cybershot phone and starts taking pictures of the lecture slides!!!!!!! whats up with that! you can just print them out from edveNTUre!! or photopy them from someone. who on earth clicks pics of lecture slides? i've heard of people having photographic memories but this is ridiculous!

Tutorial/seminar 1: the girl sitting next to me (no names coz no matter how quirky she is i actually like her. i think we've got a good start to what could be a good friendship) suddenly tells me she does handwriting analysis for a hobby. then she starts telling me abt myself from my handwriting. and she was 95% accurate! how scary is that! people like that just freak me out....they know you when they dont know you.... *shudder*

Tutorial/seminar 2: my foot got caught on something on the floor under the table. i looked down and guess what it was. three guesses....go on. a bag? nope. a piece of tissue? nope. a dicarded wrapper from some crunchy snack someone was munching in class? nope. none of the above. it was a bra. a non-wired black bra. prolly a cup A, no padding. nothing elaborate....no lace or ribbons or anything. just a very functional everyday wear black bra. don't ask me what it was doing there or how it got there. or who left it there. but i can be sure that the person to whom it belongs to isn't going to come back and get it. i dont want to know what goes on in classrooms when there isnt anyone around....i still cant get over it...

i'll keep this post updated for any more Marketing Madness!!

One very crowded University

2007-08-19T14:52:00.000+08:00

College opened two weeks ago and well...not much has happened since then. For some reason it feels that the NTU campus has turned into a marketplace over the summer. Ok...not for some reason. For the reason that we now have the children of 1988 in our midst. They've taken over the campus. They're everywhere. Like creepy, noisy little crickets. They're annoying!

Here's a summary of what the last two weeks have been like for me (I can't speak for anyone else):

I had to queue for 25 mins at the printing room at Lee Wee Nam Library last Monday just so I could print 2 lousy sheets of paper. Before this year the longest I've queued was 15 mins and that was during exam time.

Queues in the canteen are ridiculous. They extend from one end to the other. So that means you have to queue for an average of 20-30 mins during peak hours.

Libraries are swarming with people. And its just the beginning of term when no one has any work to do. I shudder to think of what their condition will be come exam time.

Corridors are so packed that you have to weave your way through.

The queues at Popular are formidable. But that might be because they've only got one counter open. Idiots. Open both of them won't you? The queues will be a lot shorter.

On the topic of queues...has anyone noted that instead of turing right for the 179 queue at Boon Lay interchange you sometimes have to turn left now? The queues sometimes extend to beyond the exit of the MRT all the way to the food stalls on the other end. i have a suggestion....if there happen to be 4 of us there together...wanna take a cab to campus? it makes more sense.

Oh well...thats just me and my woes. Does anyone else wish for a less crowded campus? The campus isn't equipped to handle this kind of load. Not yet anyway. Maybe once the SPMS building and the North Spine extension are finished there'll be more space to move.

Speaking of which, the news is out that my batch of HSS students will never see their new building. Nopes. Even though the Dean had promised us. Oh well...that can't be helped can it? I hope they do it up well tho...Building starts end of this month (apparently).

The response for Toasters at ECA fair was good. I just hope we get a good mix of people this time round: those who come to learn and those who are already competent speakers. I met quite a few of them (the competent kind) at the fair; I just hope they stick around. We could do with some fresh blood.

Epiphany elections coming up soon so watch out for that.

It's just week 2 and the work's already piling up. Certain professors seem to think that their subject is the only one that we read and they go and assign 6 philosophical readings per class. And to top it off...we're supposed to analyse them before we come to class. I am so dead this semester.

Oh well...got to go off and read.

Blah

One Hour of Solitude

2007-08-08T22:44:00.001+08:00

For the first time I feel true to my name: Richa, the lines of verse, the couplets in the ancient Hindu Vedas. Richa, the poetess.

Sitting in an outdoor cafe in the middle of Orchard Road can do something to a person. It certainly has to me. As I sit here and write this piece I realise just how much one can gain being just in one's company.

Listening to my music, reading my book, oblivious to all conversation. I've no idea of what people are saying around me. Its liberating. Still, I see their happy faces, the odd sad or tense one. Friends chattering animatedly, lovers with their arms around each other. Girls with beautiful model-like figures strutting their beauty for all to see. The wind blowing napkins off the tables, and the almost comical, slightly stunned expressions of their owners as they watch their napkins come to life in the breeze and flit away from them, teasing them: "come and get me if you can".

A dark woman walks in wearing a bright red dress with a plunging neckline. Like me, she is alone. Unlike me, she is waiting for someone. What does she know of the joys of solitude? She is beautiful.

A young couple walks by, hand in hand. He snakes his arm around her waist and pulls her closer, kissing her on the temple. She smiles up at him. Young love...how beautiful. They can't be much older than I am.

The cute white guy two tables away can't stop staring. A lone girl in yellow with her huge mug of coffee and her book, writing furiously in her notebook, smiling to herself. What a sight she must seem to him. Too bad for him, she is not interested. He looks back as he leaves the cafe, and gives her a wave. She merely smiles an amused little smile to herself.

The True Yoga instructor in the purple tank top has just recieved a gift from her friend. It is a set of perfumed Body Shop bath products. The smell is devine. She looks so happy. I am happy for her. It makes me happy to see others so happy.

The orange light on the ERP gantry just went on; "In Operation" it says. That must mean it is now five o'clock. Time to head on home. Almost. But it is still so bright. The evening sun still insists on reflecting brightly off the side of the Wisma Atria building. It still insists on illuminating the monstrous cranes that reside at the construction site on the other side.

Looks like there will be no Christmas tree there ever again. Not this year, not the next, and not the next. Not ever. No more sky high pine tree to look forward to. No more couples staring up at it with their arms around each other, awed by the majesty of the tree. No more children running around its base, playing 'tag' and screaming with glee when Santa finally makes an appearance. No more looking up to see the twinkling star at its tip.

My phone rings, and jarrs me back to reality. What time are you coming home? I'm on my way back mum, be back in an hour. Back to reality, no more dreaming. But I still appreciate the simple things in life. A beautiful dress, napkins dancing in the wind. A bemused expression. The book in my bag, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' reminds me of my solitude. But it reassures me that a very special someone somewhere not too far away is thinking of me...

Buying Books and more...

2007-07-31T18:12:00.000+08:00

So I went back to NTU today to get my books. And thank goodness that I did!

Popular was Empty! Unless of course you count the piles and piles and piles of books that form little corridors all around the store. Kindda like a little maze. Tottering piles of books. I was almost afraid to pick up a copy of 'The Cultural Studies Reader" coz the whole pile wobbled when I touched the top book.

I managed to avoid the hour long check-out queues that tend to develop around the first week of college and last till the second. And I managed to avoid the surly sales-staff and the kiasu students who always want to be served first. I love off-peak season anywhere (thats why you'll never find me at a sale) coz thats when the sales people are at their most relaxed and i can take my time to browse through the wares. I don't like being pushed by the crowd, having old aunties snatching things out from under my nose. so what if i have to pay a little more? shopping should me an experience....and a pleasant one at that. Not something thats going to stress me out more than i already am.

Anyways...Picked up my copy of Orientalism as well. The lady there seemed so relieved that someone went down to get it. And she tells me she still has a few copies of Imaginary Homelands left. Oh well...I'm pretty fed up of telling people to go collect their books.

I managed to get everything except Maxine Hong Kingston's Tripmaster Monkey coz that isnt in yet. I'll go get that later after the queues die down. I didnt get the two books for the film module either. Not that they didnt have them...but now that the Prof's gone and changed the timing of the tutorial I'm not sure if i can take the module anymore. It depends on if i get my bio module.

Can't wait for college to start!

Cheers

Internship....finally done

2007-07-30T16:40:00.001+08:00

And I'm finally done with my internship. 10 weeks of going to work like a regular member of the work force and I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off in school. I dont like the morning rush, looking at all the office-goers dressed in identical clothing with identical expressions on their faces (not a single smile).

Not yet anyway...not before my time. For now I'm pretty happy in school. I like the days where nothing is planned, where I leave home after the sun rises and get back before it sets. I love having to run all over campus every day, and not having to sit in one place for more than three hours at a stretch. I love the interactive classes, and the debates that they spark.

But what I missed most about academics in the past 10 weeks was HAVING TO USE MY BRAIN!!!. If theres one thing I realised about the working world is that its a pretty brainless place. Or maybe that was just because of the nature of my internship. Sometimes I felt that my poor brain was rotting in its shell. I'm a very intellectual person and I need mental stimulus in order to stay sane. I find it very difficult to sit in one place and not have to think at all. And that's pretty much what I was doing at work...nothing.

Not that I hated my internship...I quite enjoyed it...I just felt that it might have been a little better. I didn't feel challenged. But....I did learn a lot. The kind of experience that I got while working in the real world is something that no amount of schooling will ever be able to teach me.

I also met a whole lot of really great people :) My colleagues are wonderful individuals and I want to thank all of them for making my time in the company such a breeze and so much fun! I used to look forward to lunch breaks coz I would then get a chance to chat with the girls and catch up on the latest office gossip :) I'm going to miss the bunch of you and all your eccentrics. I'll drop by for lunch the next time I'm in the city :)

Now I've got a week off before college starts again...and in that time I'm going to go grandly out of my mind :)

Cheers

The English Language

2007-07-25T14:30:00.000+08:00

Kris you're an absolute laugh! You couldn't have put this any better :D Check out Kris's blog to see what I'm talking about.

What would a male ladybird feel like to be called a 'lady'? Isn't that a threat to his masculinity? It's an insult to their sense of self as well. I mean...neither is it a lady, nor is it a bird. As far as I know, ladybirds dont look anything like birds. And hot dogs....they're not made of dog meat. SidK smsed me this hot dog joke some time back...

An Indian man goes to the US for the first time. He sees a hot dog stand when out with his American friend. The friend buys the man a hot dog. The man opens the bun, goes pale in the face, and asks his friend "which part of the dog did you get?"

Hahaha....it doesn't seem so funny now...it was funnier when I first read it. Oh well.

Back to my point.

The English Language is weird (and it seems to get weirder the more I study it!) and nothing sums it up better than this poem someone emailed me long back. It's one of those few forwarded emails that are actually worth keeping:

English is a Stupid Language

Let's face it, English is a stupid language.

There is no egg in the eggplant.

No ham in the hamburger.

And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.

English muffins were not invented in England.

And French fries were not invented in France.

We sometimes take English for granted.

But if we examine its paradoxes we find that

Quicksand takes you down slowly,

Boxing rings are square

And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fingers don't fing?

If the plural of tooth is teeth,

Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?

If the teacher taught,

Why didn't the preacher praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables,

What the heck does a humanitarian eat?

Why do people recite at a play,

Yet play at a recital?

Park on driveways and

Drive on parkways?

How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day

And as cold as hell on another?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy

Of a language where a house can burn up as

It burns down.

And in which you fill in a form,

By filling it out.

And a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers.

And it reflects the creativity of the human race.

(Which of course isn't a race at all)

That is why,

When the stars are out, they are visible

But when the lights are out, they are invisible

And it's why when I wind up my watch,

It starts.

But when I wind up this poem,

It ends.

Pretty good eh? I don't agree that English is a stupid language. It's got its little quirks. I like quirks. But it is a little cold compared to say Hindi or Sanskrit. Not that they don't have their quirks. They do. Take Hindi for example. The word for 'tomorrow' and 'yesterday' is the same. And so is the word for 'day-before-yesterday' and 'day-after-tomorrow'. It's no wonder we Indians have no sense of time!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Questions

2007-07-24T09:38:00.000+08:00

And the book finally came out this weekend. After what must have been a two year wait. I was honestly expecting a July 31st release, since that is Harry's birthday, but well...I'm not about to complain :D

This book is brilliant! B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!! I mean it! The twists and turns in the plot, and the subtle way Rowling answers most of the burning questions we fans have collected over the course of the last six books is sheer genius. Honestly. She raises so many more questions as well, and she's already said that she wants to write something else now...and looking at the ending of this one it doesnt look like the story can continue...so I don't quite know how these questions will be answered. Through her website maybe?

Before I go on, I wanna say something...

Warning: The rest of this post contains spoilers. If you have not read, or have not finished the book and would not like to know what happens at the end, STOP READING NOW! If you have finished the book, please also do not be a Dementor and suck all the joy of reading it out of someone else. In other words, DON'T TELL ANYONE WHAT HAPPENS. Unless of course they ask you to tell them.

okay....so here are my questions...

How did Neville get the Sword of Griffindor when it was with Griphook the Goblin? I honestly dont think that Griphook would have surrendered it that easily.

Where was Harry's spirit when he was talking to Dumbledore's spirit? Somewhere between death and non-death? Or somewhere else altogether?

It is never really explained why Voldermort was so afraid of Dumbledore. He never knew that it was Dumbledore who posessed the Elder Wand or he would have wanted to kill him himself. So he coudlnt have been afraid because of the wand...Grindelwald? I somehow don't think so...
Then what?

Rowling still never explained what Lily Evans' eyes have to do with anything. Sure, harry has her eyes, and so does his youngest son, and at the end she says something like "Only Albus had inherited Lily's eyes" or something along those lines (i forget the exact phrase). Why Lily's eyes and not Harry's eyes?

Did Neville marry Luna? That would be interesting....

Rowling said in an interview earlier that there would be one character in this book who would do magic at a very late stage in life. Who was it? I don't remember coming across anyone who couldnt do magic before but manages to do it in this book.

What happens to the Dursleys?

Were the Malfoys punished for what they had done? Or were they let off since they showed remorse?

What happens to the Death Eaters' Dark Marks once Voldermort is dead? Do they fade or disappear? Or do they stay? The last time he had vanished the Dark Marks were still there, only they were lighter. But that time he wasn't dead. This time he is. So now what?

If no two people can have the same Patronus, how did Lily and Snape end up with the same one? (ok sure...Snape loved Lily to madness...but still...) Did his partonus take on the form of a doe before or after her death?

How did Aberforth know to summon Dobby when Harry needed help? Why him and not some other house elf?

How did Malfoy and Gang get the Room of Requirement to turn into the room for hiding things when there were people inside the refuge room? How did they know that that would be the room that Harry and his friends would ask the room to turn into in the first place?

Did Ron get his arm back after he lost it?

So many questions...and no answers. I'm sure that once I go back and read the book again (i kindda sped read it this time coz i couldnt wait to find out what happens) i'll come up with loads more questions.

In the mean time...anyone got any answers???

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-07-19T11:50:00.000+08:00

Today marks the first anniversary of the first proper post on this blog :)

Happy Birthday Rattle-Tattle!!!

...yawn...

2007-07-19T09:40:00.001+08:00

Its a very sleepy, rainly, dreamy Thursday morning. The office is freezing and from my window I can see the clouds swallowing the tops of all the tall buildings. Once in a while lightning strikes the tops of the buildings in an electric blaze. Its a beautiful sight. My favourite kind of weather. The only problem is that I've got to sit in this freezing cold room for another 7 and a half hours till I can get out and I so badly feel like sleeping.

What is it about rainy weather that puts a lot of us to sleep? All I really feel like doing is crawling back into my nice warm bed with my teddybear (yes...I still sleep with one), snuggling under the covers and slipping back into oblivion. But nope. I'm here, in the office, at a desk with absolutely nothing to do. Three of my bosses are off to KL for an exhibition today, and that means that there isnt anyone around to give me any work to do. Great. Now I have all the time in the world to savor the view.

I can pretty much see the entire CBD from here. I'm on the 37th floor. Clark Quay looks so deserted at this time of the day (its 10 am). I remember I went down there once in the morning to send my laptop for servicing. I couldn't recognise the place. I can actually see Orchard Road from here. Everything looks within walking distance, and as Ru Shan says on her MSN nick...."everywhere is within walking distance if you have time". So true. I never realised just how small Singapore really is. The Padang looks so small from here, but when you're at road level it looks and feels huge! I feel like a bird.

Speaking of birds....

The season changed a while back and with it birds started migrating from warmer climates to cooler ones. Yup. After months of transit, one particular bird is here to stay! Nothing makes me happier (now....if the little complication that always surrounds this bird were to remove itself, I'd be the happiest girl in the world).

Lots has happened this month. I found out I had a huge cavity in one of my molars so I had to get that filled. I just made my dentist $320 richer. sheesh. Just so stuff up a hole. She put a piece of red plastic inside the hole coz it was so deep. Such advanced technology and they still fill teeth with plastic. Wow.

I managed to get all the Lit subjects that I wanted. So now I'll be doing Contemporary Lit, American Lit, Film Theory, and Cultural Studies. Looks like an interesting semester. Although none of the cubjects (save for Cultural Studies) are to my taste. But then I'd rather eat cow dung than do Advanced Victorian Lit or another Dr J module this semester (I still haven't forgiven him for ripping up my Creative Writing Portfolio). I spent the whole night doing it and he ripps it up. And all he has to say for himself afterwards is "Sorry for tearing your portfolio. It was nice". You got that right...It was nice. Its not so nice anymore.

Went to Modesto's for lunch yesterday and had that mushroom pasta that the girls and I have been craving for. Mmmmmmm......I love that place. But then I had to skip dinner coz that pasta was still sitting in my tummy when I got home. I had to pass on their Salmon in Leek sauce coz I didn't want to stuff myself at lunch or I would have fallen asleep. I'll do a food review later. Too bad I dont have any pictures.

Epiphany is finally on a roll. Stephen informs me that Yan Wei agreed to head the Publications wing. You go girl :) I'm still undecided on my stand for the club. I need a bit of time to deicde.

The last Potter novel comes out this Saturday. I can't wait!! I'll be uncontactable until I finish reading the book so don't get worried or annoyed if I don't reply to your smses or emails. My phone and my computer are both going to be switched off. I don't want spoilers. Click here to read Leaky's spoiler policy. I fully subscribe to it. So don't anyone DARE tell me whats going to happen if you find out before I do. I probably won't get to start reading till Saturday night anyway. One of our old friends is here from Dubai and they're coming to spend the day at our place on Saturday. Oh well.

Boy am I sleepy. My eyes are closing. I think I'm going to go make myself some coffee.

Food Review - Pepper Lunch @ Suntec City

2007-07-04T17:09:00.001+08:00

Pepper Lunch stinks and thanks to that place so does the whole corporate communications department.

Pepper Lunch is this new Japanese concept lunch place that's popped up everywhere. The idea is that your food (basically meat) will come half cooked on a sizzling hot platter and you're supposed to cook the rest of it at your table by yourself. Not too bad an idea actually. Except for the fact that the restaurant can be smelt from a mile away. And its not a very nice smell. It smells like a combination of half cooked meat and burnt beansprouts. I dont know about the other outlets, but the one in Suntec can be smelt from MacDonald's (if you're familiar with the layout you'll know that its far!!)!

Thank goodness the smell is only on the outside. Once you get in, there isnt any smell.

I ordered the chicken pepper rice and well...if you want to pay $9.50 for half a bowl of rice, a pile of corn and 10 slivers (I counted!!!) of chicken, by all means be my guest. They don't have much choice for non-beef eaters (only one chicken and one salmon dish. Everything else is beef) so if you don't eat beef I don't suggest you go there. In fact I don't suggest you go there at all. Unless overly salty food and unevenly cooked meat is what you like.

Frankly I don't understand what people see in this. I think it's got something to do with the insane Japanese craze that has plagued this country. Everything Japanese is "cool" and "hip" and the numbers of sushi bars and Japanese concept stores that have popped up just proves it. I'll never understand this...I'm not much into the Japanese thing...except for the food. But even then I've got my limitations. I dont like green tea, and although I'm relatively adventurous, I simply draw the line at eating anything thats still wriggling when it comes to me on the table. I like my Japanese food authentic...not innovative, and definitely not half cooked and salty. I like nice presentations and I don't want to have to go to out to eat and do my own cooking. I can do that in the comfort of my own home thank you very much.

I'm never going back there again. Never ever, ever.

Talk about half-baked ideas...

Skeletons

2007-07-03T17:19:00.000+08:00

It is interesting sometimes when you happen to bump into old friends. Then you get talking (or listening in this case) and you realise that they still haven't gotten over their old grudges.

Why tho? Why dwell on issues that have died so long ago? That have faded from the memories of everyone...except for that one person in question? Why keep it fresh in your mind....and in the minds of everyone as well? Aren't you just polluting the minds of the people around you? Causing them to form prejudices that they may otherwise have not formed? Forcing people to remember things that never happened to them in the first place? Isn't that what they call 'dirty people politics'? Aren't you doing just what you accuse others of doing? And which you claim you don't approve of?

Aren't you being just a little selfish?

This is going to be my first and last post on this topic. I want it dead and burried. I'm not unwilling to make ammends. In fact, I am more than willing to forgive and forget.

But I have my conditions.

Epiphany - The English and Drama Club

2007-07-03T09:36:00.000+08:00

It is seriously driving me up the wall.

I met up with Stephan yesterday evening to talk about the club and to see if we could get anything started before term commences and well...we've come to the conclusion that we need to re-write the whole constitution coz the first one is sheer rubbish!!!! No offence meant to the people who wrote it, but its really really bad. I know you girls put a lot of effort into writing it, but it really is sub standard work. It contradicts itself, makes no sense in some places, is extremely vague, and doesnt say anything when you actually read it.

So now we're going to re-write it. By next week. At least thats the deadline I'm setting for ourselves. Coz otherwise nothing is going to be done.

Another problem we have is that no one seems to be standing for the publication side of the club. We've got out VP for Productions already, but who is going to be the Publication head? Huh? Huh? We're going to have to put the entire publication side on the back burner until we find someone.

Stephan and I have a lot of plans for the club and we're very excited about getting it started. We're going to get most of the committee finalised by the time college starts so those of you who are interested in running for the exco, please contact either him or me. The sooner the better. So that way we know who is genuinely interested and who is not.

But I would like to warn you that being in the first ever committee is going to be a backbreaking, thankless job. Like all new societies, we're going to face A LOT of teething problems and there will be conflicts. Among ourselves as well as with the professors.

One thing that I would like to make very clear is this...

THIS CLUB IS IN NO WAY A SUBSIDIARY OF THE ENGLISH DIVISION OR OF HSS. IT IS OPEN TO ALL UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS OF NTU AND THIS MEANS THAT EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THE COMMITTEE. NO PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO MEMBERS OF THE ENGLISH DIVISION OR HSS AFTER THE FIRST COMMITTEE AND FROM THE SECOND COMMITTEE ONWARDS. ANYONE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE CLUB IN ANY WAY THAT THEY LIKE. ACTORS FOR PERFORMANCES THAT WE PUT UP WILL BE SELECTED THROUGH A SERIES OF AUDITIONS UNLESS THE PLAYWRIGHT SPECIFIES THAT HE/SHE WANTS SOME PARTICULAR PERSON TO PLAY A CERTAIN ROLE.

So people, please understand that an English student member will be treated the same as someone from Engineering or business would be treated. The same goes for graduate students. Except that grad students can't run for the committee.

Right...more updates later. For the time being, those of you who are interested in the club and would like to see it standing by the end of the month, please contact either Stephan or myself. Don't go to Chrys coz she's already bogged down with so much work and she's vritually uncontactable anyway. Poor thing.

Ciao

Who should paint my portrait

2007-06-21T14:41:00.001+08:00

Hahaha...I did this online quiz...."Who should Paint Your Portrait?".
Kindda amusing...and also kindda true.

Check it out...

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali should paint your portrait. You love to think about the world in a different way then everyone else. You are very ambitious, and you like strange things. You are curious about everything and love to learn.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I dont know why it gets cut off..but this is what the text says...

"Salvador Dali should paint your portrait. You love to think about the world in a different way then everyone else. You are very ambitious, and you like strange things. You are curious about everything and love to learn."

True...and I like Dali :)

This is one of his most famous paintings..."The Persistence of Memory"

I remember the first time I saw this painting was when Dr Chan showed it to us in 104 class. I fell in love with it right there and then. for a long time it was my desktop wallpaper on my laptop (I managed to find a high resolution picture online which i cant upload here coz its too big a file. so all of you get the low-res one)

Isnt it brilliant? its supposed to show the liquidity of time...that in fact nothing in time stands still and is forever moving and fluid. Read more about him here. He was a cubist/surrealist artist and everything that he did...from his sculptures to his paintings all had that special mystical touch.

I wonder what a painting of me would look like if he did one...
Hmm....

Just a little admin issue...

2007-06-18T10:04:00.000+08:00

Some anonymous person left a comment on this blog a day or two ago. It was a very rude, very abusive one liner that I do not care to repeat and have obviously deleted. But I do care to comment.

I believe that everyone has a right to express their opinions, and that is why I've opened up comments on this blog. I enjoy reading my reader's comments in the past, for they have only helped me write better. Comments can be highly constructive, yet they can also be potentially harmful. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. Insults are...well...not unwelcome either. Unless they are of the vulgar variety. Those go straight in the trash can. Unless you can find a way to insult me without resorting to profanities. Its not the insults that I mind...its the way that they have been phrased. I'm sure that anyone who has some sort of mastery of the English language should be able to phrase themselves in such a way as to insult without having to make rampant use of vulgar language. Their vocabulary can't possibly be as limited as that.

Insulting someone without telling them who you are is one of the lowest things anyone could do. If you have the intention of abusing, I hope you have the guts to own up to it. Hiding behind the mask of anonymity is something only cowards would do. So please, leave a name, even an alias will do, and if you want me to get back to you personally, do leave a contact of some sort, be it a website or an email.

So whoever you are, my anonymous commentator, you are a coward. If you think that making use of vulgarities makes you look macho, think again. You hide behind a mask and you're afraid of retaliation. You don't want the world to know what a baby you are. I'd love for you to comment to this one...really. I'd love to hear what you have to say. And boy would I like to see how you defend yourself. I'll be waiting.

Oh...by the way. Not only are you a coward, but you've also got a peanut for a brain. What does my location have anything to do with what jokes are played online? And what does that have to do with when the joke was played? Please explain this space-time dimension to me....my physics is just a bit weak. But I'm sure someone as smart as you would do a good job of explaining it. In simple English please. The complexities of slang and profane language do tend to befuddle my simple brain.

The Dawn of Understanding

2007-06-17T18:43:00.000+08:00

It's been just dad and me at home for the past week coz mum and sis are in Hong Kong. I've had to do most of the housework and everything...so thank goodness for the part time maid!

I've learnt a lot in the past week...and here's a list of some of the little nuggets of wisdom I've picked up:

I've finally understood why Singaporeans dont cook.

Finally understood why they dont look after their children or their parents

Finally realised why people say that they would go back to skool/college at the first chance they get

Finally understood why there are more male chefs than there are female ones. and its not because they cook better. so sorry guys. there are more male chefs than female ones simply coz its a matter of pride. we women are just as capable as men in every other part of life...be it home life or work life....but the one place where many men are handicap is in the kitchen. they dont clean their utensils (so what if the chopping board smells like chicken and the knives like garlic. at least it looks clean. and why are you putting soap on the dishes? just rinse them. they'll be clean enough). they put food into cold oil so it goes and absorbs all the oil. they cook on either extremely low or high heat so the food either takes too long to cook, is undercooked, or burnt. they cant find anything in the kitchen. they dont know how to hold a knife properly (sorry guys....but there is a difference between chopping those onions and stabbing them to smithereens). so these guys who choose to be chefs do their best to prove to the world the men are indeed capable of doing everthing women are. i guess its similar to women in construction sites and sailing as engineers on ships. although i must say that men look pretty darned ridiculus in aprons.

and for the grand finale.....

I've finally understood why our car never looks clean after my dad's done washing it!!!

all i'm going to say on this matter is that there is a difference between simply applying the soap onto the car and washing the car. washing a car is much like washing dishes...you've got to get into all the nooks and cranies and you've got to really scrub it to make sure that its clean. applying soap is not going to get it clean, and neither is hosing it down.

oh well...thats life for you...you learn a little something new every day...

Happie Toppie

2007-06-11T23:15:00.000+08:00

I went shopping today. and spent $60 on a bright pink tube top and a translucent brown and white top. I dont remember the last time I spent so much one one top. Really. I dont usually go for clothes that cose me more then $40 a piece. But this one's pretty versatile so I dont really mind. Depending on what I wear under it, I can wear it both to work and clubbing, and even to a formal dinner. Heehee...i've had my eye on it for a week but I kindda figured that since the sales are on it wouldnt cost me that much. Oh well...i'm not that bothered about it really...coz its been ages since I actually spent anything on myself. and hey...every girl needs a little pampering once in a while!

I'm happy with my toppie

Yai :)

Internship and other matters

2007-06-09T15:20:00.001+08:00

I know I havent posted for a while but you'll have to excuse me for that. I've been busy with work and before that with my cousins. My mum and sis just left for Hong Kong today so I'm taking the bit of free time I now have to catch up on a bit of blogging

The internship's going alright. I cant say that I'm loving every minute of it but i sure as hell am learning a lot. like how to be totally diplomatic and how never to open my mouth in front of people. very valuable life skills i tell you. one thing i'm also learning is how shallow some people can be. but it seems that they have to appear shallow sometimes. oh well.

but if theres one thing i've learnt...its that i'm much more of an outgoing PR person than i am a sit-at-my-desk-and-write-reports kind of person...which is what i've been basically doing for the past three weeks. i honestly dont like having to sit down and draft guidelines or make flowcharts and organisation charts. all thats important...i know...but its also dead boring. i like the networking and meeting people and going out and co-ordinating things much much much better. but i guess its important to know how to do everything before you finally specialise in one thing.

exam results came out yesterday. I did (almost) like how i'd expected i'd do. except for modernism...i actually did a bit better than what i had expected! hehehe...I'm content :)

now i'm just waiting for the booklist for next semester to come out so i can get down to buying them and reading them. i hate having to rush read all the books when term starts so i like to start early. the only one i know for sure is on the list is Garcia Marquez's Love in a Time of Cholera. Its a beautiful book. so those of you who havent read it i highly recommend it.

i'm in the middle of a post about my Bintan trip at the moment...so i'm gonna go get back to that now. Its gonna be like a photo diary so look out for loads of pics!

Cheers....

Pictures from Paradise

2007-06-06T10:07:00.001+08:00

Right....its been a month since I got back from Bintan and I havent put up the pics yet. So to make up for that, here is a photo diary. Enjoy :)

So we set off on the 6th of May 2007...for a land not too far away. Esther, Zaidah and I (i'm taking the pic so i'm not in it)

had to wait for Emma, Chys and Kit at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal coz the bus they were coming on from NTU was delayed thanks to the wonderful NBS students.

When we finally got on the ferry, it was only to find this little German girl on holiday with her parents. She kept us entertained for the entire hour that we were on the boat. I cant find a picture of her yet....but I'll post one up when I find one. She was such a cutie!

We had to take a bus from the Bintan Resort Terminal to the resort...and well...we got bored...

Then when we got to the resort...we had to wait a while for check in....

yes...that is Emma taking a picture of me taking a picture of them.

And while waiting I wandered about a bit...check this out...its the view of the sea from the front desk. Beautiful...

Breathtaking isnt it? And we had it all to ourselves for the entire time we were there! The NBS students whom we went with soent most of their time at the pool (why tho? when you have the warm open sea?? Idiots) Its so picturesque. Just like something out of a travel magazine. Even the accomodation felt surreal...we each had a little hut on a slope that was just too cute!

Check it out...They're all identical but this one is Zai and Esther's...

Poor kids...their's was all alone on the top of the topmost hill...good exercise walking to the top :)

Chrys and I had an isolated little hut right at the bottom next to the lake...

And this is the view we had....

The rooms were pretty cute...two huge single beds, a divan-turned-bed, a side table, a table and two chairs and an attached bathroom. And of course a cute little balcony on which Emma and Kit were training themselves to become the perfect housewives...

heeheehee...

This is what the room looks like from the inside...

Dont mind the mess...Chrys and I arent exactly the neatest people on the planet. Hey....you need people to create mess so someone else can clean it up dont you?? Maids wouldnt have jobs if it wasnt for people like us! We generate employment!

We pretty much spent most of the first day on the beach, frolicking in the water and getting tanned (it still hasnt come off!! stupid tan) Dont have any pics of us there coz we didnt want to take out cameras down.

Went for dinner at the Kelong restraunt that night. It's a nice place...they made a kelong a little way away from the resort and they've opened a restraunt there. The food was good, but a bit pricey if you ask me. You'd get the same thing in S'pore for less at a place of the same stature. We totally pigged out!! Chilli crab, steamed fish, garlic crayfish, brocolli with scallops, seafood soup, roast chicken, kuay teow, and the star of the show...GONG GONGs!!! yep..sea snails. I'd never had them before and I must say that although they look absolutely disgusting and the thought of eating a snail...even one that lives in water... was totally repulsive...i ate them!! they taste really good for something so ugly (what the appearance has to do with what it tastes like i have no idea).

If this doesnt make you hungry I dont know what will!!!

Gong Gongs!!!

After eating these Gong Gongs I can now fully appresiate where the phrase "you stuipd gong gong" came from. These things are so tough to pry out of the shell...and they have a tendensy to break you can't help but exclaim "you stupid gong gong" as you eat them! heheheh

here's a pic of Esther...triumphant after prying hers out of its shell. It looks disgusting but tastes great!

This is the bar of the Kelong restraunt...It's all the way out to sea.

Really stupid place for a bar if you ask me. I wonder how a drunk person would get back to the main restraunt. They might just fall over the ledge!!! That would be a funny sight!

starving before dinner...

And this is the restraunt...

But this is the star of the show...the sunset we saw just before we left for dinner. you dont see sunsets like this in Singapore...

And my favourite one.....

I didnt realise what beach bums we were until we got back from dinner that night. The bunch of us went back on the beach and danced under the stars to the music that the beach bar was playing. we were hoping they would play something good if they saw us dancing on the beach but they didnt! useless people...

then the lovely lady at the reception told us that there was gonna be a "Bling-bling Party" at the bar the next night and all guests were invited! boy were we looking forward to that!!

Someone visited Kit and Emma in their room that first night. I got him just before he ran away...

Hahahahaha....nah...it wasnt him.

it looked more like this...

ok...maybe not quite. they went back to their room that night to find that lizards had left little packets on their beds. so they packed up and came over to sleep with Chrys and me. Slumber party!!!

Spent the next day at the beach...we went kayaking!!! and we all got totally tanned! the only one who was happy about this was Kit who for some strange reason was doing all she could to tan herself while the rest of us were following the shade around. Zai and Esther went snorkeling while the rest of us just bummed around in the water. The pics are still with Zai who hasn't put them up anywhere yet. So we're all still waiting....

that night we went to Pasar Oleh-Oleh (which literally translates into "souvenir market") for dinner and to pick up some stuff to take back home. One thing i realised while i was there is that although everything in the Bintan resorts is in S'pore dollars, and is mostly run by S'pore...the prices are totally Indonesian!!!!!

Hard liqueur for $5 a shot!!!!! How insane is that! ok...so that was outside the resort. but in the resort...you get the best cocktails for $10! I'd pay double for the same thing in S'pore! being the good girls we are we didnt drink much...just one with dinner and one later at the bar :)

here are the shots from dinner...

Aaaannnndddd........

Some after dinner fun...

On the way to the party (Chrys already looks drunk. Esther looks beautiful )

Its prty time! this is the bar... we got prime seats on the top level!

The music started off really good that night...much better than the previous night when we were dancing on the beach...but when the crowd got in it seemed that the music got steadily worse and worse! how weird!

there was this bunch of hip hoppers on the lower level who were doing their best to get out attention and get us to some down and dance with the urgh. what do they think of themselves? really. we've got class thanks very much.

but i dont blame them really. no one else was willing to dance...amd Kit, Esther me and to an extent Chrys were really getting it on up there! i must say it was pretty hot where we were (hey...gyrating against the railing...pole dancing almost...loads of shimmying and hip action...) and it wasnt thanks to the drinks!!

Here's us boogying away!

And as I said...drinks were so cheap! and they were pressented so well! Check this out...its Chrys and Esther's Bailey's milkshake...

And thats Chrys enjoying hers....

Zai and Emma had mocktails which looked just as good!

Kit and I decided to be a little adventourous and have something called Nirvana Illusion. It was delicious! but neither of us recommend it if you've got a low alcohol tolerance. It was a pretty lethal mix of rum, vodka, khalua, triple sec, gin, pineapple juice and who knows what else. I know i'm missing out something but i dont remember what. and just for the record...i couldnt taste any juice. and the portions were HUGE!!! check it out...

After the party we hobbled back to our rooms...but not before stopping to take a pic of our dead faces!

Emma and Chrys wanted to bunk together that night so Chrys shifted in to Emma's room and Kit moved in with me. But when we got there...look at what we found waiting for us in the room...

so we trooped over to knock on Emma and Chrys's door to ask if we could spend the night with them. in our tipsy states. oh well...anything not to be bitten by giant spiders right?

by the next day we were all so tired that we just collected in one room and stayed there till it was time to leave. it was raining anyway so we couldnt do anything. but we had fun...bunking in and watching TV...

that was one good trip. a very special thanks to all the resort staff for making it such a pleasant one. Singapore customer service staff could do with a lesson from these guys. no complaint was ever too unreasonable! thanks guys!

And here's to leave you with one last picture from paradise...

Selamat Jalan!

I'm Back!!!

2007-05-16T20:18:00.000+08:00

Hello all you wonderful people of the online blogging community!! I'm back after a month of exams and stress and goodness knows what else and I'm raving to go!!

If I sound totally elated today its because I just confirmed my internship with this big company today! Sure sure...they're paying me peanuts...but the experience I'm getting is PRICELESS!!! Corporate communications in one of Asia's largest shipping companies...what more could I ask for? Went to meet them today and they tell me they want me to start tomorrow. Wow. I feel wanted =D I'm starting on Monday tho. HR needs to get the paperwork done and IT needs to get me a PC and a system password. This looks like fun.

Updates Updates...

I turned 21!!! YAY!!! My beautiful munchkins (yes...thats what I call you four secretly. Now you know) threw me a party at midnight even though they knew I had a paper that day. I knew SidK would be there but I had no idea that Kit, Emma and Chrys were in on it as well. I love them to bits. All four of them. Don't ask for the pics...I finally got them from SidK and they're the worst I've ever seen. So yeah. Ask...and in this case...thou shall not receive.

Spiderman!! That was a fun night. Visit Esther's blog for details and pics of that night. And btw Esther dear...its spelt "Emel" :)

Bintan!!!
Gosh that was fun :) Three days on the beach with the girls. I didn't want to leave. Call me for the pics. I don't want to post them up here. Maybe one or two later when I write my Bintan entry. One thing I learnt in Bintan is that even the smallest of nations are capable of colonising bigger nations. Bintan is a Singapore colony. But more on that later.

And then when I got back to Singapore...I had my cousins from Bombay waiting for me here! We had an awesome time. Went clubbing one night with Didi, Jiju and SidK...that was fun although we did leave just when the night was getting good. Oh well...all for the sake of their daughter Anayaa who is just an absolute doll. She's 15 months old. I'll put up a pic of her when I get my laptop back. It's gone for servicing.

My sis just shifted JC's...and she couldnt be happier. OK...maybe not 'just'...some time back during the time all the shifting was going on... She's in SAJC now...and she's having the time of her life. I think I know why ;)

I just linked my blog to Multiply. Why? I don't know either. I was bored I guess. So a big HELLO to all you people who just discovered me (ok...I sound totally narcissistic today. Please excuse me for one day. I'm happy today).

I cooked pasta today!! From scratch!! don't ask me why I'm writing about that. I dont know either.

More updates later. Watch this space.

Spread the cheer around

Cheers

Finally...

2007-04-14T02:32:00.000+08:00

I just submitted the last of my assignments today. FINALLY!!! They've been going on forever and it was about time I got a respite from them. I thought I wouldn't get a break between my assignments and my exam revision but surprise surprise :) SidK provided me with a fantastic way to cool off. Thanks dear :)

All the profs seem to think that assignments should rule our lives. I don't know if they should rule it, but they sure seem to be doing so. Some profs are much more unreasonable than others, but most are basically alright. The only thing is that they all set their deadlines within the same two weeks, and inevitably they're all due right before the start of the exams. I'm telling you...it's some conspiracy.

I really need to start start revising now...but I can't seem to get in the mood to. And it doesn't help that my roomie just came back smelling like vomit. I wonder what she's been up to. Was she vomited on or did she throw up? I think its the latter; she looks in bad shape. I'm a little surprised at her...she smells like vomit and looks like hell...and she just went to the loo to change...i kinda expected her to take a shower, but she didn't. Ew.

The French are weird. At least the one Frenchwoman I know is. She showers on alternate days (in this heat...thank goodness she doesn't stink), she leaves tampons lying on the bed for all to see (we get visitors to our room...a lot of them male), she'll change her clothes in the room with the door ajar and the curtains wide open, she leaves her bras all over the desk and bed, I don't think she wears panties (not that I notice...but when she does her laundry...i don't see any hanging there. I don't see any anywhere), the first thing she does when she gets up in the morning is switch on her com and see if anyone's online, its the last thing she does before going to sleep as well...regardless of how late it is (I've seen her do it when she's pissed drunk after a night of clubbing).

Other than her little eccentrics she's a nice girl. She laughs a lot, and I have no idea why. But its good...at least she doesn't look gloomy all the time. I don't think I could stand looking at someone who always looks like shes in a bad mood. I'd go mad (if I'm not already). We might actually become friends if we ever happen to be in the room at the same time for a long enuf period. She's an early riser, and she sleeps early when she's not going out. I rise late and sleep late as well. And I'm hardly ever in the room. Oh well...one day.

I really do need to start studying/revising now. So many papers, and each one tougher than the one before it. I can't wait till the end of the exams...then its off to Bintan with the girls! It's going to be such a fun trip! And when I get back I'll have my cousin, brother-in-law and my niece waiting for me. Heeheehee. Anayaa is such a doll. I can't wait to meet her.

But work first. All else comes later.

Cheers

Bah

2007-04-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

I've been duped and fooled and made fun off. Apparently there is no such thing as Gmail Paper. It was all Google's idea of an April Fools Day joke. Right. Nice sense of humor they have there.

Thanks guys.

Gmail Paper

2007-04-01T13:39:00.000+08:00

I really have to applaud the people over at Google. They think of everything. First it was an amazing search engine, then it was Google Images, Google Scholar, Google what-not. They even liaised with Blogger and made it so super easy to use. Then along came Gmail which is probably one of their best inventions. 2GB of online storage? Who doesn't want that? And as always, they're never happy with what they have...so they came up with Gmail Paper.

Now, you can actually get the people at Google to print out your emails and send them to you for nothing at all!! It's totally free! WOW!! They'll even print photos for you on high quality photo-paper. Basically, they'll print everything you want them to print...no limits to number of pages or anything...and parcel it to you where ever in the world you are. Why on earth would they want to do something like that? I mean...it's great and everything...but why? I'm sure we can print out our own emails and photos...it's not that difficult nor that expensive. Besides...it saves time. Google will take a few days for delivery...probably depending on which part of the world you're in, but if you do it yourself it'll hardly take any time at all.

I don't really get the point of this Gmail Paper thing. Wasn't the whole point of email to reduce the paper consumption in the world (besides faster and more reliable communication)? Wouldn't it just defeat the purpose if we all go and get all our emails printed? Might as well go back to the good ol' days of snail mail then. It's always more fun recieving something in the mail rather than recieving a cold email anyway.

I'm pretty amused by this whole Gmail Paper thing. I'm sure it'll be a hit...but I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon.

Reaction: Thank you for your responses but...

2007-03-26T15:58:00.000+08:00

That last entry sparked off a bit of a discussion among my friends. Some of them love it, others hate it. Well, I had my reasons for writing what I did, and for the benefit of those who come in the 'hate' camp, here's a brief explanation for you...although I fail to see why I should have to explain myself.

A friend (I won't say who...I respect her too much to disclose her name for something like this) told me at lunch today that she found the last entry a little too strong and that I shouldn't have said what I said in such a harsh manner (not her exact words...but this is the gist of it). Well dear...I was, and still am, annoyed at Princess So-and-So. If she has the right to talk rubbish about people she once considered friends on her blog, then so do I. I't a country of free speech darling...I'm entitled to my say. I don't understand why the rest of us have to clam up and sit tight while she can go around throwing insults at us from that blog of hers. It's not fair and it's not right. If she can rant...so can I. The web is free for all.

Also, I want Princess So-and-so to realise that what she is doing is hurting the people around her; and that's why we don't want to have all that much to do with her anymore. She takes the littlest things and blows them out of proportion, making us all seem like culprits. We don't appreciate it one bit. What have we done? Stand around and chat after class? What's wrong in that? Princess So-and-so is always welcome to join us if she wants to, and she's free not to if she doesn't want to. But to go and blog about it? And say that what we're doing is a waste of time? That's just low.

And then she has the tendency to go and attack people she doesn't even know...maybe only met once or twice. What is that? It's bad enough that she's blogging about people she has the spend the next two years with, but to go and talk about their best friends who have nothing to do with her in the first place? Huh? Which reasonable person does something like that? And the best part is that the very day after blogging about them, and after the person in question has read the blog, she meets her and acts all sweet in front of her. If that isn't being two faced what is that?

I don't like people who put one front up at one time and another one at another time. I don't like hypocrites. I don't like real-life plays. I don't like people who refuse to live in reality. I don't like artificiality. I don't like people who blow thing up out of proportion just to get attention.

Kit and I were just discussing last night that we hope that Princess So-and-so grows up and changes a little before she goes to work. For her own good. People who can't seem to get along with anyone are shunned from society. It's a bitch-eat-bitch world out there...and she's going to get eaten if the doesn't change.

Chomp

Princess so-and-so

2007-03-22T23:11:00.000+08:00

There exist some people on this planet who give themselves much more importance than they are actually worth. They seem to think that the entire world rotates around them, and that everything that the rest of us do is to deliberately hurt or irritate them. Every action from the mortal community is specifically designed to bring the maximum possible pain to these Princesses.

We mere mortals can never seem to do anything right. If we're happy, someone somewhere has a problem ("Why are they laughing? It's so hypocritical." Look who's talking. We're not the ones who laugh when we're with some people then clam up and act all sulky when we see someone else, and then start laughing again when we think that person isn't looking.). If we're hanging around talking, we get accused for wasting time (has this person ever considered that standing around talking is a form of social bonding that is vital if one does not wish to become a social outcaste? Oh...I'm sorry...this person will never understand things like this; she is too self-centered.). Just to add as a side note...maybe we are "spending time with those who really deserve it"? What would she know. I could just as a easily say that reading Japanese Anime comics is a waste of time and braincells. But I'm nice...I don't attack people without reason. As for Bintan, I don't recall anyone ever asking Princess so-and-so if she wanted to come with us. We'd rather ask a ten headed snake. So why make such a big fuss? Don't go if you don't want to. We couldn't care less. So why are you bothered with what we are doing? We never asked if you wanted to come. Get the hint: We don't want you there any more than you want to see us laughing. It's good that we understand each other.

Please stop being such a hypocrite. It's getting very tiring now. The latest statement was"I've never bitched about anybody. I don't bitch" PUH-LEESE! Who are you trying you kid? You're not fooling anybody. You're just succeeding in making the rest of the gang wary in your presence. No one wants to be around you anymore for fear that they'll say something that'll earn them a place on your roll of honour. Then you'll just complain that no one talks to you anymore...no one asks you out for lunch...no one wants to talk to you...no one wants to sit with you in class...yadda yadda yadda. Aren't you bringing all this onto yourself?

Grow up kid. With an attitude like yours...you'll need loads of luck with the rest of your life.

You're not getting it from here.

Do I see the evil claws of jealousy somewhere? I think I do...

Holiday

2007-03-12T16:29:00.000+08:00

My voice has just left for holiday to Tahiti. It just sent me a postcard to say that it's really enjoying itself there. Good for it. I wish I could go...but instead I'm stuck here writing an essay that's throughouly confounding my senses. I'm actually feeling dizzy. Or maybe that's just my tonsils acting up again.

Sheesh...Infection comes for a visit and Voice leaves the house. What kind of hospitality is that? I really need to give Voice a talking to when it gets back. Dunno when that'll be tho...it never said. Voice left Croak in its place...and said that Croak would help take care of Infection. I sortta doubt that...Croak seems to be pretty useless up till now... I don't think Voice likes Infection too much. Come to think of it, neither do I. Infection is a pretty painful house-guest to have.

Dr Koh (yep...him again) said that Voice should be back in a couple of days. I'm not too sure about that...it seems to be having too much fun there in Tahiti. I don't think it'll come back unless it starts missing me too much. And like that's going to happen anytime soon.

Oh well...i guess everyone needs a break from time to time...

HA 304 Update

2007-03-08T23:23:00.000+08:00

I dont feel like slapping my CPA prof anymore. I want to hug him. I just got back my essay...and he gave me an A-!!!! Like WOW!!!!!! So I guess missing his class wasn't such a big mistake after all.

Now the problem is that I'm confused. Should I SU the subject or not? It seems like I actually have some hope of scoring some sort of a decent grade for it. But I have no idea how I did for the test. And all my other subjets have immense workloads as well.

I've got till Sunday night to decide.

I'll be thinking.

Confusion confusion.

Besides that...I'm practically dying under my workload right now.

Creative Writing Short Story due tomorrow.
Modernism Essay 1 due Monday.
Lit of Empire and South Asian Lit essays due in the same week...last week of the month.
Modernism and Brit-Asian Lit essays due in the following week.
And then a week later...EXAMS!!!
And they start on my birthday. My 21st birthday.
I hate the people who did the timetabling.

Help?

Professors...

2007-03-07T11:50:00.000+08:00

I missed my Comparative Public Adminstration quiz last week coz I was at my cousin's wedding in India...so I had to do a make-up test today. I want to slap my prof. He had to go set the questions from the one lecture that I didn't attend. And I had a valid reason for missing that class...I was working on my essay assignment for his subject. It's not my fault that he sets such idiotic assignments that I have to miss his lecture to finish them. A presentation followed by an essay. And that presentation sucked as well...he slammed down all my arguments in a jiffy. And I had to miss his class for that. And then he goes and deliberately assigns an essay question from the very class I had to miss...ON PURPOSE!!!!!!! He's evil.

Why should developing countries carry out administrative reforms?

What kind of a brain-whacked question is that??? Do I look as if I care whether they're reforming or conforming or what else? They can go and do whatever they want...why do I need to know why they're doing it or why they should be doing it? It's not like I'm an advisor to them. That was my grandfather's job.

The only plus was that this really good looking French exchange student missed his test last week and was doing a make up for it as well. Different subject, but we were locked in the same room. Heehee..eye candy...he was cute :) hum tum, ek kamre mein band ho....aur chabi kho jaaye ;)

I think some professors take pleasure in slowly torturing their students before gobbling them up at the end of the semester. Slow cooked meat always tastes the best. So they broil and braise their students, cooking them to perfection, before slowly carving them into slices during the final exam and finally enjoying them as part of a platter of assorted meat. I'll bet anything that roasted students taste the best. Chicken, mutton, pork and beef can all take a backseat.

Another prof who loves doing this is beloved Dr Jernigan. Creative Writing is really a lot more work than it's worth. Its just a 3 AU subject for goodness sake. Do we really need to meet outside of class to discuss our work? No one does. We just make poor ol' Dr J think we meet. Email zindabad! We pretend to discuss our work with each other during class...and don't bother meeting out of class...and just email the critiques to each other. I like the critique idea...but I think it's been implemented in the wrong way. I don't think that they should be graded. That's a bit harsh...especially since most people don't bother sending in the critiques till the last minute. Speaking of wich...some of my group mates don't bother sending me their writing till the last minute so I can't critique it in time in the first place. Idiots.

Thank goodness there isn't an exam for this subject. But its still too much work. Research writings and free writings and drafts and critiques and whatnot else. And all of it is graded. Sheesh. We're humans too you know. Evolution hasn't perfected us to the state of machinery yet. Wait for that day to arrive please, before giving us all this work to do.

I'm going to SU my public admin subject. It's not worth the time I put in for it, and I dont think I'm going to do a minor in it after all. I'll just finish up with psych...2 modules down...3 to go!

Docs...they're pretty weird

2007-03-01T15:37:00.000+08:00

Which person would deliberately ask you to stick your tongue out at them? Most people would get insulted by that...but not my doctor. Good old Dr Koh...asks me to stick my tongue out at him almost every time I go visit him. Poor guy...thats what he's been reduced to in life...getting people he barely knows to taunt him.

I've always wondered, do doctors get sick? I mean...they see a hundred patients every day...with a hundred different contagious illnesses, they must be contracting something. And if they do get sick, do they take medical leave? If they take medical leave, who treats the patients? Who treats the doctor?? Does he treat himself? If he has to take a medication thats to be taken by prescription only, can he self-prescribe? Is that even legal? If the best cardiologist in the world needs a heart operation, who operates him? The same goes for neurologists, or gynecologists or whatever else. Dr Koh was sniffling today...isn't he afraid of passing whatever he has to his patients? Why go to a doctor if he's going to pass his germs to you when you're already sick and are going to him to get better?

Somebody please give me an answer...

Otherwise...

Why did I land up at the doctor's today? Simply because I went for lunch with Kit on Tuesday (the rest conveniently decided not to show up...traitors...but maybe they knew something we didn't) and we landed up at Bento Box in Jurong Point. Now here's a little word of advice to you all: DON'T GO THERE. Thanks to our little lunch date, we've both now got some degree of food poisoning. Passing water out your ass isn't exactly the best feeling on Earth...take it from me. And then the Doc tells me I'm dehydrated. Like DUH!! I'm passing out more water than I could possibly drink! It all comes out before it gets absorbed! And from the wrong hole at that! So...I've deciced...no more Bento Box for me. And if you're smart...you'd stay away too.

I'm going drinking.

Water you nut!! What did you think?

Bulldozer and the Construction Crew

2007-02-28T15:21:00.000+08:00

So. I just got back from my cousin''s wedding in Delhi. Had a complete blast!! Except for certain incidents (or rather...certain people) who spotted an otherwise near-perfect experience. I'm talking about The Bulldozer and her Construction Crew (thanks Rohit for coming up with that nickname....its hillarious). Unfortunately I can't seem to find a pic of the group anywhere...or I would post it up...but here's one of just The Bulldozer with my cousin...Bulldozer's the fatty who's' tying something on Chotu's wrist...the other woman is my aunt.

Why "Bulldozer"? Look at her size!!! She's like two and a half of me put together...and I'm not exactly skinny!! She thinks shes the best dancer on earth (fine...I'll admit...shes not bad for someone that size) but that doesn't mean she has to get everyone else off the dance floor when she gets on, does she? But then egain...maybe the rest of us just get pushed off thanks to her volume. Then she has the cheek to say "I don't dance publically; all my fat moves". Sure it does darling...like jelly.

She thinks shes the only person who knows what to do in any event or occasion; the rest of us are just a bunch of useless nincompoops who are pretty much good for nothing. Bulldozer has to be the one to get the bride from the parlour (the rest of us being incapable of getting her to the venue in time), she has to be the one to haggle for the money for Jiju's shoes, the rest of the girls being useless in bargaining. Speaking of which, we would have gotten more if that idiot had just kepr her trap shut. He had agreed to give us 21000, had even put it in the envelope, she somehow bargained him down to 11000. Who's side is she on anyway? And then she says that its ok... cut my share out of it. I'm not part of the family. Woman...if you're not part of the family, and you know it, why do you act like you're the head of the family? Hypocrite. Shes so bossy there were times when I felt like stuffing that dupatta of hers right up her ass. It was all falling all over the place anyway...making her look even more like a fat mataji...stuffing it in would just help control it.

And then theres the costruction crew. BIMBOs. They just sit there, with their attitudes dripping off the tips of their upturned noses, trying to look pretty. Trying...coz no amount of make-up will ever work on those three. They had put make-up on the same way that bakers put icing on cakes. Literally layered it on. And it looked bad. Get a life girls...attitude and looks can only get you so far...the rest depends on personality and brains...of which you have none. So no matter how much you try to make eyes at the boys from the groom's family...they'll be able to see right through that plastic and not respond. Who wants a Bimbo around all the time?

Oh well...I dont think I'll ever have the misfortune to meet The Bulldozer and her Construction Crew again...so I can just forget about them and move on to better things about the wedding.

More updates and pics soon!!

Welfare Fest

2007-02-18T00:09:00.000+08:00

I'm really mad at this year's committee. When you decide to organise an event, you jolly well give your best and not do your work half-heartedly. If you're not going to do it properly, you might as well not do it at all. I don't see the point in working on a project if you're not going to give it your all.

What am I talking about? The Student Union holds an event each February called Union Welfare Fest. It's basically a carnival for the amusement of the student body. I was on the organizing committee last year...and let me tell you...Welfare Fest was never more appreciated. We brought it to heights that NTU had only dreamed of. We had lots of 'firsts' for the university...things that those who attended aren't likely to forget in a long time. For example...we turned part of the main North Spine area into a mini- arcade...complete with an air-hockey table, car racing, para-para dancing and X-box gaming. We had a gigantic bazaar that stretched all the way along both ends of spine right up to coffee club...free gifts, games, performance, Mediacorp celebrities (we even went live on national radio for a while), a rock concert, and a carnival that included thrill rides. What did they have this time round? Nothing.

My committe last year slogged our asses off for a full four months to get what we wanted out of WF...I have no idea how long they worked for this year...but the effort didn't really show. Its sad. They just couldn't live up to the standards and the expectation that we created last time round. Sure...they had their share of problems...but then so did we. And we didn't have anyone to guide us. They had...they had ME!!!!! They should have exploited me!! But they didn't. It takes a smart person to learn from another's mistakes. What does that tell you about them? They score a 2 on the intelligence meter.

For goodbess sake...we had a mesely two and a half people working on vendors and sponsors. They had 6. so technically they should have gotten two and a half times the amount of cash and sponsorships that we got. But they didn't. Our total income (cash and kind), and hence out total budget came to $50K last year. Theirs was one fifth of that. They completely downsized my baby.

I should have taken on the chairperson role when they asked me to last year...but then again...maybe not...looking at the idiots i would have gotten as committee members.

Oh well...its over

Life

2007-02-08T23:12:00.000+08:00

It's complicated isn't it...this thing called Life... It has to be, especially when people are involved. That's probably what makes it so interesting; the people dynamics.

My Life can never be simple. How I wish it was. It's the people. What can I do? I'm surrounded by loonies...just the way I like it. I never know what to expect from the people around me. You expect them to do one thing...they do another. Expect them to say something...and they don't...but they say something you'd never expect them to say. Situations never happen the way I visualise them to be. They turn themselves on their heads. Then I wonder...Why...?

Unpredictable. Erratic. Insane.

I need these people. Even though some of them make my Life living Hell. I can bear it, for the sake of those I love. I can learn to take situations as they come. One at a time. For that's all I have in this Life...Time. For what is Life but momentary amusement for the Soul? An interleude from the cycle of re-death?

Life should be simpler, people a lot more predictable, situations more defined.

What sort of Life would that be?

Life

2007-01-29T23:35:00.000+08:00

Some people need a life.
Please stop trying to steal mine.
Use your originality.
(if you have it)
Find your own.

Hairdressers...they think they know it all...

2007-01-04T19:50:00.000+08:00

I think hairdressers in S’pore have a serious problem with straight hair. I decided to try a new place yesterday coz my usual hairdresser is on holiday and her assistant treats hair like how the people who prepare noodles in food courts treat bee hoon. So I landed up at Jean Yip in Thomson Plaza with some one who looked totally jaded (I swear…most S’poreans have completely expressionless faces; they look bored all the time). OK…the quality of the cut was fine…good in fact…I might just go back there again sometime, but what really ticked me off was that she kept asking me if I wanted to get my hair straightened!!

I’ve got wavy hair. To all the ignorant people out there…there is a difference between wavy and curly!! Wavy looks like it has slight waves (duh!), curly looks like what Phua Chu Kang has. Mine hair is wavy…NOT curly. So please don’t call it that. The first thing the woman asked me when I sat down was

“Wah! Your hair so curly! You want straighten?”

“No. I just want to cut”

“But so curly! Straight hair nicer. Now got promotion. Rebonding.”

“No, I just want it cut. I like my hair wavy.”

She looked so disappointed when I insisted I wanted to keep my hair the way it was. Sure, she needs to sell her treatments, but is there really a need to harass the customer? I call it harassment coz she didn’t stop at the beginning. Even while she was cutting my hair she tried to get me to go for rebonding. Sheesh. There is a limit to how many times you should ask a customer a question. If they’ve said no twice, chances are that they won’t say yes if you ask a third time. They’ll just get irritated with the persistence and maybe not come back a second time. Unless of course you succeed in irritating them to the point that they get fed up and buy whatever you’re selling them just to shut you up. But it’s not likely that they’ll return after that. Sales etiquettes are important and I feel that all salespersons should be briefed on them before they’re allowed to handle customers.

Back to the point: getting my hair straightened. Why would I want to straighten it when people who have straight hair are getting theirs permed? I’ve been blessed with naturally wavy hair and whats wrong with it? Sure, its not perfect (it’s a bit dry) but I like it. If I rebond it, it’ll just look like the hair on half the heads in Singapore: stick straight and lifeless. I don’t understand what fetish the Chinese (no offence) have with straight hair. It looks like dead mice when you tie it up. So they leave it open. And then it looks like the bristles of a broom (especially the way they get it cut). So if I want to keep my hair thick and wavy, what is the hairdresser’s problem?

wasted day today

2006-11-11T01:26:00.000+08:00

I pretty much wasted the day. Lemme see...what did I do today:

1) woke up at 10, and by the time I was done with breakfast it was 1130

2) sat down at my com from 1130 to 1 on the pretext of working on my essay when in actual fact I was just surfing random websites wasting time until mum had to leave

3) had lunch...
4) once mum left home i picked up the phone and called my beloved SidK whom I've been missing like crazy since last night. dont even ask me how long we were on the phone...but i think it was something like 2 hours...and i was supposed to be working...tee hee hee

5) after we hung up i took Dusty for a walk (thank goodness no more loose motions) and came back and showered...i think it was arnd 515 by the time i was out of the shower

6) worked on my essay a bit until my folks came home at 630. but i hadnt really managed to get much done...i'm not in the mood to work today

7) mom and Juhi took Dusty to the vet and in the mean time i actually worked a bit. Probably coz dad was around to keep an eye on me...

8) mom and dad left for dinner...and Juhi and I cooked dinner, ate it and then washed up...it was 1030 by the time we were done...sheesh (random tip of the day: if you've got leftover pasta sauce and leftover chicken kofta curry, dont even think about mixing them together to get some kind of fusion pasta curry sauce with meatballs...take it from me)

9) worked for a while...sort of...till 1 when mom and dad got back. then i started missing SidK again and msged him...poor thing...his com conked out on him and hes so stressed out over it. he's been tryuing to fix it all evening and it just refuses to get fixed. I dunno what it is abt technology; it gives way on you when you need it most. i hope something happens tonight and the dratted machine starts to co-operate with him...i cant see him like this

10) now I'm writing this blog.

what a day...i didnt do ANYTHING!!! i'm feeling so guilty about it but i cant seem to work! what's wromg with me? maybe i should've given up on this essay for today and just done something else...like psychology. bleagh...thats another disasterous subject. I hate it with all my heart. I dunno what made me think of minoring in it.

oh well...i just hope and pray that tomorrow is a better day.

cheers

Thank you Mr Anon

2006-08-28T13:11:00.000+08:00

Somebody, I've no idea who as he refused to leave his name (i'm assuming you're a He and not a She), recently left a comment on this blog regarding my long-ago post of women being objectified as cars. First and foremost, let me thank Mr Anonymous for his comments. Without you Mr Anon, this reply would have never had a chance to formulate.

Mr Anon FINALLY pointed out something that I was hoping someone would point out at some point in time. He mentioned the inherent hypocricy that women tend to partake in. He said "There are quite a few [women] who go parading round about equal rights and demand equal pay and other such things but when they are out on a date they happily let their boyfriends pay for them and they let them buy them gifts. Why the double standards?" There are a number of issues here that Mr Anon brought up, and I'll address them one by one to avoid confusing everybody...myself included.

Many women want equal rights and equal pay

And I ask why not? Do we deserve any less just because we lack a certain appendage? Is it so hard to allow us the same freedom of speech, the same social benefits and the same wages that you men enjoy? Why should a woman be paid any less than a man for the same job? Its not as if she's working any less than the man. Most of the time, women end up working much harder than the men just because they want to prove themselves. We want to prove to you men out there that we are no less capable than you are.

Men, however, seem to feel threatened by women in powerful positions. They can't see themselves working under a woman, and most of them absolutely hate it if their spouses or partners earn more than they do. However, societies all over the world are seeing an increase in the number of men who earn less than their women. This is going right to the extent of the man staying at home to take care of the kids and the wives going out to earn (look at season 2 of Desperate Housewives and you'll get what I'm trying to say). Role reversals are becoming more commonplace and more acceptable these days. I think it's inevitable.

I believe in meritocracy. If someone deserves something, they ought to get it, regardless of what their sex is (notice I say sex and not gender...there is a very big difference between the two). If a woman deserves something, there should not be any reason why it should be denied to her. If the only reason one can think of is that she is woman, then that is no reason at all. Remember, we do not choose out sex, it is given to us even before we were born, and there is nothing anyone can do about that.

When out on dates, women let their boyfriends pay for them and let them buy them gifts.

Let me go as far to say that most women do not only let their boyfriends do all that, rather, they EXPECT it. They also expect their boyfriends to hold doors open for them, pull out their chairs, take their jackets, carry their bags, pick them up, drop them off, pick up their laundry, get the car serviced, solve their IT problems, pick their noses, wipe their asses, give them facials and do all manners of who knows what. In short, they treat their boyfriends like slaves. Keep in mind that not all women do this, only some do. Many don't.

I'm not saying that we're blame free and that we should be expecting all this. Because thats not true. If women want equality in every sense of the word, we should be prepared to lose some of the pampering that comes with being stigmatised as the "weaker sex". We should be more than capable of holding open our own doors, pulling out our own chairs and doing for ourselves whatwvwe it is I stated above. Sometimes, I think our boyfriends would appreciate us holding doors open for them too. Expect only what you are prepared to give in return.

It is unfair to always expect the man to foot the bill on dates and to buy gifts. In old society, men used to pay for everything because most of the time, women had little or no money of their own. Everything they owned belonged to their fathers and brother and later on, to their husbands. Today's society is drastically different. Women go to work and earn. We are more than able to pay for our own meals and well...its nice to recieve gifts from our boyfriends but I don't think it is something we should expect. A gift should be given from ones heart, and it should hold some kind of meaning. Expecting a gift just puts pressure on the person you're expecting it from and that causes stress. It is no longer a gift from the heart, but instead becomes something of an obligation.

Women just don't pay for themselves on dates for a variety of reasons. It could be that as a society, it is so drilled into us that the man is the provider that we find it hard to let go. The man feels duty-bound to fish out the money after dinner or at the box office. I've seen cases of men who actually get insulted when their dates talk about footing or splitting the bill. For some strange reason they feel it as a threat to their masculinity. And then they have the gall to complain that we're high maintenence. If you don't LET us maintain ourselves and if you INSIST on paying maintenence, DON'T COMPLAIN. It's not our fault if you want to burn a hole in your pocket even after we say that we'll gladly split the bill.

As for the gifts, its nice to recieve gifts, but only if they're unexpected. As I've already said, a gift is only a gift if unexpected, otherwise its an obligation. But again, some stupid guys feel duty-bound to buy gifts for their girlfriends. I would love to read the courtship manual that says that it is the man's duty to buy gifts for his girl, coz mine says something different. I think it's perfectly acceptable for the woman to buy gifts for her man as well. And again, not all the time. Once in a while is fine, but overdoing it just becomes boring.

Why the double standards?

My Dear Mr Anon, why the double standards you ask? Well it all boils down to the simple fact that humans are a confused lot. We never know what we want. We are never able to make up our minds. We see something and fall in love with it, but a day later we see something and fall in love with that instead. We're full of contradictions and hypocricies and that's all part of what makes us human.

On another note, it also has something to do with the era that we are caught in. In the long distant past, some 300-500 years ago, women had virtually no status in society. But recent times have seen the evolution of gender roles and women have made a place for themselves in today's world. We are stuck in a time where half the women in the world live in a situation akin to that of the 15th century and the other half live in the 21st century. Its confusing. We have two differnt schools of thought and they tend to get mixed up with each other. As a result, we've taken to doing something very smart. We decide which school to use depending on our situation. We use whatever suits us best. If out on a date, we'll use the classical school and make our dates pay for everything just because it saves us a lot of cash. But at work, we revert to the modern school so that we are paid the same as our male counterparts.

It's not just us women who do this, so please don't say that we're hypocrites just as yet. Men do it too. On a date, they won't let a woman pat because paying for her portrays the image of the financially secure male who can afford to take her out on dates. It looks attractive and 'macho'. But later they'll crib that they emptied their pockets on one date, and their date didn't even offer to pay. But had she offered, you would have turned it down anyway. Men too switch schools as and when they find it convenient.

Whats the moral of this whole story? There isn't one really. Men and women just have to put up with each other. There isn't anything anyone can really do about this because people will always make demands and others will always try to fulfil them. But if we give a little, and take a little, there should be no reason for us to squabble!

PS: Mr Anon, you accuse me of being a feminist. Let me assure you that I am not a feminist. I believe that men and women should have equal rights just because we're all human. I don't believe that women should get preferential treatment for anything, unless they deserve it. But then again, if a man deserves it, he should be preffered. :)

Keep your comments coming, I enjoy reading them.

Women are just like expensive cars...a re-print

2006-08-28T12:58:00.000+08:00

I posted this on another blog sometime back...it drew a very interesting response from an anonomous reader, and my response to his comment was pretty intersting to write, if not to read :) I've decided to reproduce the post on this blog because the other blog has since become private and I am soon going to remove it from the web.

Happy reading...

I was on the phone with Cookie Monster last night...or was it early this morning...and he made a very interesting comment. He said that women are just like expensive cars...they both need high maintenance. Its not the first time i've heard this but this statement has always disturbed me. Call it the feminist in me or whatever, but I really DO NOT appreciate being likened to a piece of macinery! Sure...some women are high maintenance...but honestly! To liken us to something as lowly as cars is just sick. We're already objectified everywhere else, give us a break here at least! And the kind of generalisation! (OK, Cookie Monster doesnt believe in generalisation...i'm talking about the brutes who do) Why do people have to go say that all women are high maintenance! They obviously dont understand us then. We dont need expensive clothes or shoes. We dont need diamonds. We just need a lot of love! We just dont want to be taken for granted, and we dont want to be objectified. For a full list of what women want, read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales...especially the Wife of Bath's Tale. Leave me to my musings....

Ciao

This was the comment Mr Anon (as I have taken to calling him) left (my reply to this is in the next post...its too long to put in this one) :

Anonymous said...
BIG LAUGH!!! HA HA HA. YOU SEEM LIKE QUITE THE FEMINIST. BUT LET ME POINT OUT SOMETHING - THIS COMMENT THAT WOMEN ARE LIKE EXPENSIVE CARS IS NOT REALLY BASELESS. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW WHO GO PARADING ROUND ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS AND DEMAND EQUAL PAY AND OTHER SUCH THINGS BUT WHEN THEY ARE OUT ON A DATE THEY HAPPILY LET THEIR BOYFRIENDS PAY FOR THEM AND THEY LET THEM BUY THEM GIFTS. WHY THE DOUBLE STANDARDS? IF THEY ARE SO FOR EQUALITY THEN THEY SHOULD STEP IN AND PAY THEIR SHARE INSTEAD OF THEIR BOYFRIENDS. BUT SINCE YOU HAVE WRITTEN THE POST I SURE DO ENVY YOUR BOYFRIEND. ONE LUCKY BASTARD!!!

On Tools, Weapons, Gifts, Love, and Trust

2006-07-19T12:15:00.000+08:00

I was at a Toastmasters' meeting last night (they never finish on time do they?) and this one as usual dragged on longer than the stipulated time. But for some reaosn the meetings are always fun. I think its the people who matter, not the content of the meeting. I mean, how interesting can it possibly be to listen to one speech after another after another? Except for the Table Topics round, everything else has the potential to turn a perfectly good meeting into a torture chamber. Speaking of Table Topics, thanks to the combined efforts of my dear friends Lester and Chrissy, I had to go up there and make a complete fool of myself. The topic? Something about The Little Mermaid and her coming to me to turn her tail into legs so she could go up there and marry Prince Eric, but the cream I gave her didnt work so now she wants to sue me. Well the topic was fun and everything, but how do you come up with an answer to that in 2 seconds? I came up with some rubbish about trying to turn Prince Eric into a Merman istead so he could come Under the Sea and marry her there. Oh well...if I was going to make a fool of myself I might as well put in my best effort at doing just that.

One person who did NOT make a fool of herself was dear old Chrissy. How she gives such concise, entertaining, well-planned speeches without writing a script a week in advance will always remain a mystery to me. She called me an hour before the meeting was due to start yesterday and said that she'd just started writing her points down. But her speech was flawless! She didn't falter even once, didn't repeat herself as people oft do when they haven't prepared their speeches, and she didnt pause anywhere to think either! And its not as if she'd chosen an easy topic. Its one of the most difficult ones to talk about. Her topic? "Trust is a Must for Love to Last". She brought up some very interesting points in her speech, and thats what I want to talk about.

According to Chrissy, Love portrays itself in three main forms: a Tool, a Weapon and a Gift.

Love as a Tool and as a Weapon
This is when you use someones love for you to get them to do something for you. In other words, you make use of people for your own selfish endevours. Chrissy calls this love, but I'm not too sure I would call it love per se.

If you love someone, I dont think you would want to make use of them. At least I wouldnt. Loving someone and wanting to make use of them wouldn't be love exactly...it would be something else. I dont know what I would call that something else but if I ever do find out I'll be sure to let you know. But if someone loves you without you loving them back, and you make use of them, then well...I must say that you must be the most selfish person on the planet and you don't deserve to be loved. Taking advantage of someone is not love, it is merely taking advantage. (OK OK..i sound like a kid here, but my brain is still too fuzzy to think straight).

In the case that love is both given and recieved, it becomes a gift. According to Chirssy (I'm in total agreement with this) , this is the purest and mose sacred form of love. It is also the most rare form of love. Love as a gift comes with no strings attached. One gives it to another unconditionally, for if something is asked in return, it is no longer a gift; it becomes a weapon or a tool, used only for selfish means.

Gifts given need not always be returned. What I mean when I say this is that although you may give your love uncinditionally to someone, that person may not love you back. He or she may not feel the same way about you, may not feel to the same extent of what you feel, or may not even realise your existance. But that doesn't mean that you don't love them still. Gifts, when given freely, always yeild the best rewards. One day, maybe, the person may love you back. There isn't any guarantee. Take for example my friend who calls herself the Princess of Pluto. She's had this crush on someone for the past two years, and she knows that he likes someone else (there are many forms of love, and infratuations are one of them). She is still waiting for him. I'm not sure, but I dont think she has ever told him how she feels. Some people might call that stupidity, and she's been told by more than one person to forget him and move on, but thats what I call giving love as a gift.

All this is good and fine, but this is not the main thing I want to talk about. Neither was it the main thing Chrissy wanted to talk about last night. What she did want to talk about is love and its relation to trust, hence the title of her speech, "Trust is a Must for Love to Last".

Chrissy claims, and relationship experts have been telling us all along that most problems in a relationship exist because of a lack of mutual trust between the parties involved. What is the point in loving someone if you can't trust them? I strongly believe that love and trust go hand in hand. Not trusting the person you love hurts them deeply, and creates tension in a relationship. Any relationship that has too much tension is as good as doomed.

Trust is a lot like love, it must be freely given, but must be earned. It is not possible to force someone to trust you, just like it is not possible to force someone to love you. Trust is like a ceramic bowl; it takes time to form, but can be shattered in an instant. It can be repaired, but that takes time and labor. And once repaired, the cracks will always show, no matter how well it has been pieced back together.

Chrissy brought up a very interesting point in her speech. "Take my hand and let go". Sounds confusing? It's not. Basically what shes trying to say is, take my hand, hold me close when I need you, but give me my space and my independance. Let me make my own mistakes and let me learn lessons the hard way. But be there for me when I need you, catch me when I fall, for you are the one in whom I have placed my trust. I trust that you will be there for me always, even if you have let go of my hand.

Love is a roller coaster ride. It's got its ups, and the downs are steep. But you know...even during that free fall...that there will be someone to catch you at the end, someone who won't let you get hurt.

Disclaimer

2006-07-12T12:46:00.000+08:00

I created this blog as an avenue for me to express my feelings about certain issues that concern me and those around me. I've always been a highly opiniated individual, and this blog is the perfect way for me to voice them. Everyone has opinions, and these are mine. If you feel that you have something to say or to add, drop me a comment or an email...I'd love to hear from you.

Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed here are my own and are based on real life people and incidents. Names may be changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals, but incidents will be reported as I saw them through my eyes. If I somehow succeed in offending anyone, I must say that it was unintentional. This blog is not meant to insult, offend, demean, or in any other way poke fun at anyone or anything. It is merely a discussion of certain ideals, actions, or anything else that catchies my fancy. If you have an issue with anything on this blog, drop me an email and I'll be glad to work it out with you.

Look out for this space...interesting posts coming your way...