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-Is an English Language major undergraduate who likes to Take It Easy.

Words and languages, Jane Austen, period dramas/films, Vitagen, Korean dramas, good songs, better books, Green, wanderlusting, Culture, writing, Experimenting

Things I'd Like

- A Nitendo Wii gaming console
- My own set of rollerblades
- More nail polish (bought just one, neon pink in colour)
- Concert DVDs! (Back to Basics: Live & Down Under by Christina Aguilera, The Black Parade Is Dead by My Chemical Romance , Mika: Live In Cartoon Motion, Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles )
- A cat

Old Stories

Deep-night
Day 4 @ the canyon
Day 3 @ Grand Canyon
Day 2 @ Flagstaff
To dad: Day 1 @ Phoenix
I feel like I should change my blogskin, as it's b...
A park affair
The real importance of being earnest
Firstly, let me get this announcement off my chest...
I've got a secret

Older Stories

March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
July 2009
August 2009
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Great Clicks

Twitter
Rapture
Heaven
Mraz
Mayer
Xiaxue
Andrea
Retro Music
Music blog

Thanks

Designer: fedora_girl :)
Image: Pride & Prejudice (2005) screencaps
Brush, Pattern: The Magic Box
Edit: Adobe Photoshop

I just went bowling at the nearby centre after lunch with my mum and bro today...and let me just say here: I do not like bowling.

Well, my measly 85 score is part of the reason and also, I do not like merely hitting down pins over and over. Some people may find immense satisfaction in that, especially when they strike all those white skinny pins down, but, the game is not for me. After just one game carrying a weight 8 & 9 ball alternately, I feel weakened and useless. Did I mention what is my ball speed? Bah. Bowling makes me acutely aware that I actually have puny arm muscles and thus, will not be able to punch any attacker if and when it happens. Give me cycling anytime.


Anyway, a recap of yesterday, I caught the movie Reservation Road with Liy! We were deciding between 27 dresses and Reservation Road because these were the only 2 movies which were showing midafternoon (at 3pm to be more exact) at the nearest theatre from school. We decided on Reservation Rd (yay! It was my preferred choice. Dramedy over comedy anytime)just because...it was 8 minutes shorter in running time, 102 minutes, compared to the 110 minutes of 27 Dresses. Because Liy had to travel back to school to catch a lecture at 6pm.

While we were choosing the seats from the mini-screen at the counter, we saw that almost 2 rows were filled so we chose seats 2 rows in front, away from them, because I said I didn't want to be seating too close to noisy students (who had probably booked the rows of seats).

Then we made a quick stop at KFC where I bought a takeaway meal cuz the only edible solid food at the movie counter was hot dog or nachos. We then made our way back to the theatre. As we entered, a ghost movie ad, the thai movie The House, was running and no one else was yet seated inside. The ad was pretty long, despite us coming in halfway through it, and I did feel a little spooked with only Liy and me in the dark small theatre all by ourselves. And guess what? We were by ourselves throughout the whole show! How often does that happen?? I guess only at midafternoon, on a weekday, and admittedly, at a lousy cinema.

So we made ourselves comfortable, she put her leg up on the seats in front of us, I slipped out of my sandals and curled my legs up on my seat and noisily took out my KFC food from the takeaway plastic bags: cheese fries and zinger burger. We discussed the plot freely as the movie progressed and came up with some theories on what would happen next. And we laughed out loud at such inappropriate points in the movie. We wouldn't dare do that if there were some other people sitting at the theatre with us, for fear of spoiling their movie-watching experience or offending them at those serious moments in the movie. But, I learnt that my friend, actually has such a naughty laugh, like high-pitched and sudden and cheeky. The movie kinda sucked, it was too serious for my liking, like Jennifer Connolly was either hysterical or teary-eyed in every scene while Joaquin Phoenix was grim and broody and inexplicably hairy.

And Dakota Fanning's younger sister tries too hard to act well. Dakota Fanning is still the best. :D ok, spoiler alert now: The plot is such that J & J's son gets suddenly knocked down & killed, by this man who is a lawyer and whom J & J hires to sort out the legal issues of the hit-and-run. Cue in distraught father, and man in a spot, the lawyer who struggles to come to terms with what he had done and what he must do next. Nothing much else happenes in the movie. The climax at the end was short, and kind of unbelievable for me, because the protagonist (Joaquim) turned to violent means (from being a mellow grieving father).

I say....go watch The Savages instead, with the protagonist (Philip Seymour Hoffman) nominated for a golden globe.

I'm gonna watch Cloverfield sometime next week with my action lover friend, Mad. I'm making up for lost time (lol) seeing as I didn't catch a show at the cinemas during the hols.




It is with a heavy heart that I tell you, as of yesterday, the Multiply media sharing site has disabled its links for music downloads.

I know this would have happened sooner or later, when 'justice' catches up to websites as such, especially popular music websites. That is why, I myself who has an account, kept my sharing mostly to live music of Mraz, where copyright issues are somwehat blurred. I deleted about less than ten other songs which were studio recordings by other artists.

As another big player of media-sharing is nabbed, its users will... just move on. You can't stop what the Internet can do. Like I learnt in a sociology module last semester, on Popular Culture- people will not pay for what they can get for free.

Those music labels just have to accept that, and stop wasting their time filing lawsuits here and there. *rolls eyes (long delayed)*




I wanna confess something here: I kinda loved the sermon at Sunday Service today. It really spoke to me, to my current situation especially. The whole gist of it was: What is the chief end of men?

And the answer summarized: To glorify God. I really needed a reminder of it (I already knew it all along) and a little depth & insight thrown in to what exactly glorifying means and why is it so important. What was my current situation leading up to today? I've just been ignoring Him all along, for this period. Yet I had this nagging feeling that it was just not right. But then again, why do we have to pray to God all the time and glorify him in our hearts or in the things we do, to Him? Why does he demand our constant attention? I just felt so alienated from Him. He has never really given me a sign or something to show he has some sort of purpose for me, or even a guide to lead me in my spiritual life. I felt blessed that I have the sight to recognise Him and yet cursed that I have to live up to Him. He is so far yet so near, omniscient always. And yet, he is near yet seem so distant. What's more, it's not easy to live everyday with the people, and the situation around you.

And then this leading verse was brought up at church today:

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for he glory of God.

I thought, "This verse is nothing new to me. I already know it, but I don't see how I could do things for the glory of Him. And why must I be so revolved around Him?"

And as the sermon speaker continued, he based his speech on other verses: at verse 23, 'Everything is permissible-but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.'

And the speaker goes, our chief end is not to seek our own pleasures, but to do things with God (and his rules in mind).

But why? Why is it so important, the pin drops. Listen,

1 Corinthians 6:19

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your body.

For every creation, there must be a creator. And creations belong to the creator. Furthermore, we were bought, meaning, Jesus paid for our sins. By dying on the cross and redeeming us. So that is what is meant when it says we were bought at a price. We were God's from the beginning of time (when he first created us, that is, Adam and Eve) and more so after Jesus 'bought' us again. After God bought us again, by sending his son to earth, to die for the sins of men. And that's the greatest gift to us, to be born again through Him, and being able to be clean enough to dwell in heaven with Him after we die. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit... they're all the same and they're all intrinsically linked together, and to men.

Honoring Jesus (and through him we honour God), is the least we can do. Is the most natural thing to do. I understand almost fully now. May He give me strength and may I strive for it & seek for him in my trials.

PS: On a lighter note, I am going to wash my hair tomorrow. Yay. I just rebonded and got a new haircut on Thursday and was told not to wash it for 3 days. I included one more day to play it safe. And I am going to wash it tomorrow! Wish me luck. You don't want to know the exact number of days I haven't washed my hair, considering I don't wash my hair everyday. :D

Alright, here's looking forward to a good week to everyone. School officially starts on Tuesday for me. I think I am going to be free on Mondays for this semester. Alriiight!




I waited close to half an hour for the bus today (while at the bustop opposite, the same bus number kept whizzing by about six times, I kid you not). It wasn’t even raining, it wasn’t even the peak hours period. What is more, when the bus came, it was filled with students from the school at the previous stop. A few passengers had alighted at our stop, but those inconsiderate students refused to budge, refused to move up the bus to make space for us folks waiting outside with our noses nearly touching the entrance door. The bus driver apologetically waved at us, and drove off. I huffily flagged a cab down, I was going to be one hour late in meeting my friend. The taxi’s signal on top was flashing ‘changing shift to Toa Payoh’ and when I shouted ‘Eunos MRT’ to the cab driver through the window, he agreed to take me there. He suggested a couple of routes but I told him to take whichever was fastest. The ride cost me $17 and about 20 minutes. I tell you, the price hikes in taxi cabs (35% GST) are nothing to laugh about. I was spending my saved money on a freaking taxi fare. I don’t think I even spent that much on one thing during the holidays. And my mum had only given me $10 for the day (for busfare, dinner and skates rental amongst a hissy fit). And it was my first time in a couple of months taking a taxi.

Met my friend at the MRT and took bus 13 to East Coast Parkway. I thought I would definitely know where to get off. I mean, I took a bus to East Coast before which stopped directly in front of the McDonald’s there. Well, bus 13 stops a couple of roads off, blocked by a few housing buildings, the right stop that is. We stopped at the one after. And had to walk all the way to East Coast Parkway. I didn’t quite think we would ever reach the beach park. I rented blades at $10 for 2 hours while my friend’s bike cost $6 for 2 hours. And I got a pair of stinky hand pads. Well, my skating still kinda sucks. I dragged my feet on the ground a lot and was still wobbly now and then, and I don’t really dare to use the one brake on the back of my right skate. Anyway, I didn’t skate so slow as to slow down my friend. Her riding speed happened to be the same as my skating.

How was the going? The pathways were virtually EMPTY, kilos and metres and miles deserted. Yes, on a Monday late afternoon, nearing 6ish, only a lone jogger or two. It was such a shockingly pleasant surprise, and sooo different from your weekend crowd scene. And the weather was…cooling! No late afternoon sun beating down on us at all. It had threatened to rain but it did not. There was a large group of guys in army uniform too. Apparently, they were having some sort of training there, having to don their full gear and carry guns and jog together as a group. It was amusing to see them looking so serious, at East Coast Park. Anyway, we were undisturbed by annoying kids or beginner bladers who usually clogged the paths. Halfway, we came across Castle Beach. I didn’t know one existed. There was a sandcastle exhibition, I think it was my first seeing a proper sand-castle you know? Anyway, the beach is set aside for people to build castles and such, and for charity events organized around this activity.


We stopped for dinner at the hawker centre shortly after. And then…made a mad rush back to the rental place before our lockers were locked up at 7pm. I think I dashed back in about ten minutes flat and it seemed my skating suddenly improved in that short amount of time. I was gliding smoothly and determinedly. My friend, she was also suddenly faster, faster than me, but apparently, she overshot the right place by so much. Cuz I ended up waiting half an hour for her afterI skated back to the rental place. -_- Surprisingly, I didn’t incur any tummy ache, after skating so vigorously right after eating, I think…one’s upper body don’t move so much when skating, one is mostly only working the leg muscles. Then we went in to the McD’s to Recuperate and Reflect. I wistfully commented if only I lived near East Coast, I’d drop by there anytime. And it’s not a madhouse at all on weekdays, with only an odd tourist or two. My friend wished out loud for a boyfriend, cuz two couples were sitting on our two sides and talking softly. I giggled and knew she was half-joking but mostly serious. That moment reminded me of another friend whom I took the bus with one night, and you could see couples on the bus resting their heads on each other’s shoulders, and that friend wishing out loud the same thing. Well, I so do not think boyfriends are something to yearn about. It’s just a bonus, and when the time comes, it comes. Until then, enjoy your singlehood man. :D I found out more facts about my friend today during the skating/biking…about how her older brother ran away from home from a young age…how she herself moved out to stay in the hostel when she quarreled with her mum…humans are really not easy. Then, we made a move to try to catch a bus back to Eunos MRT. Walked and walked to the right busstop, crossed an overhead bridge for nothing, and then, we had to walk for quite sometime after getting off. I really exercised (my legs) a whole lot today. Why is East Coast so inaccessible? Oh, and I bought a shirt today at the This Fashion outlet at the MRT. Not so much a guilty splurge, because, the front of the shirt was a collage of things Italian. And you know how I wanna migrate to Italy, I like that shirt.




O.m.g, i was just watching these a couple of moments ago, I had to share it here:


^ Kinda metal yet likeable. And very different from the orginal. In a 'whao, so good' kind of way.



^ She kicks Adam Levine's ass. :D Definitely has balls to it.

And lastly, my favourite amateur musician of the moment, Marie Digby, with Riahnna's Umbrella. Made me FINALLY jump on the bandwagon and say "yes *sincere eyes*, Umbrella's pretty good". After Marie took the bollywoodness out of it, that is. Marie is pronounced Mari-eh, like Beyonce.






The 2nd day into the new year. There are lots of resolutions I want to make, I haven't got around to listing them down yet, been kinda busy with things. But I do have them in my head, hopefully I'll get round to them before Friday.

I'm trying to achieve certain things on my 'to do'/ 'want to' list and coming across some obstacles.

And then there are other activities one of which I am having an immense internal struggle with making a decision. Should I just go ahead and do it and convince myself that I have nothing to lose? Am I being unrealistic? Am I wasting my time deluding myself?

Every day is a challenge and it is how I make of it. Though for example, my patience is tested every f***ing minute, it really is in my hands to mould my own outcome. I have to be the change.

Let this new year truly be the start of many more things to come. Bring it on.


**Here's a Happy New Year, to those I missed out.** ;)

PS: My travel blog add. is HERE