Life imitating art

Anyone wants to watch the football final?
It’s on this Thursday at the National Stadium.
Anyone?


Anyway it is Sunday morning and I should have been in class. But…

1.I woke up at 9
2.I cant find my jeans
3.I cant decide what to wear
4.I cant find the trash bag that holds my non-office clothes.

Yes. This sucks.

Past few days had been crazy. Thursday saw me rush to Dhoby Ghaut’s The Cathay after a hectic time at school. Met Vinz, CY2, SX and Adrian for another movie and to pass birthday presents to SX and CY2 (FINALLY!).

Oh, the movie?

It was BABEL.





Last shot was, yup, Gael Garcia Bernal … one of my most highly favoured actors because of his highly-intellectually-sexualised aura.

In the Hebrew’s Book of Genesis, there was this story where the Tower of Babel was built by a united humanity in order to reach to the heavens and God. That act and intentioned tremendously angered The Big One and in his fit, he bestowed upon the people tongues of different languages so that their mission (seen as an act of defiance) would be thwarted and that confusion and miscommunication would destroy all. And in this movie, it is indeed a bag of utter confusion, desperation, hopelessness and salvation.


BABEL, towards the end, depresses the hell out of me. The hopelessness and desperation really knock some senses. Director Inarritu, taking cue from Baz Luhrmann, uses BABEL as the closing end of his trilogy which include Amores Perros and 21 Grams – all about using intertwining stories.

No one is the evil perpetrator in BABEL. Okay, maybe certain people/agencies/organisations which managed to instil fear. Everyone is pushed to a degree of desperation and seeks solace in whatever little hope they have. It is unfair to label the maid selfish. Yes she drags the kids to Mexico, but it is her son’s wedding for Pete’s sake. And she has tried to find alternatives but no one can help her. It is unfair to chastise the fellow tourists on the bus too because they have their own plans and one even needs to go back to take medication. It is unfair to demonise the kids and gun-totting people of the mountains because it is the only thing they know what to do. The world is unfair.

Oh well.

BABEL starts off really slowly before climaxing to just … slow. It has a sort of a mind-numbing effect, pulling you into the dusty trails of Morocco/Tunisia, the grimy heat of Mexico and the heady lights of Tokyo, Japan. I love the show. I just cant help feeling miserable. I mean come on, I was a communication student for 4 years before working in the same industry. I can dare say that the study of communication is my life. Yet it is true like what Inarritu hits in BABEL. There’s no avoiding of miscommunication and confusion. We humans just don’t listen enough.

We don’t listen enough.

Okay now...go away.

###

oh lord

I thought only the Sec 1s are killing me.

Was at my Sec 2 class when a foreign student totally pissed me off. He was being such a nuisance. I wrote his name in the record book and he got unhappy. At the end of the lesson, he showed me his dulan face and mumbled about what he had done to deserve that. I got cheesed off. My voice was rising. The ordeal ended with me shouting at him to shut up and to get out of my sight because I dont want to see his face.

The exact words?

"Get out of my sight. I dont want to see your face!"

Geez.

What else did you expect me to say?

###

Shut up your gob and listen

Can I swear now? Can I? Can I?

FUCKING CHEE BYE!!!!!!!!!!

Went to a Sec 1 class for Literature lesson. The plan was to show them the Charlie and The Choc Factory movie. However, there was a hooking-up problem and I spent about 25 minutes fiddling with the god damn machines. Hello? Ed and machines? They dont work together. Anyway once the picture came out, the sound was still missing. I was this close to effing my way through 2 periods. I held the urge till my face probably turned blue. Fine, there was no sound. So I did a running commentary. Fucker.

That was not the only live commentary session I had done. Before that, I had a Sec 2 Literature class and we had a Romeo and Juliet movie-viewing session. Since the school's laptop was not DVD-compatible, I had to use mine. And since mine is not meant for "industrial" use, I dont have the audio cable. So I had to narrate "live" as Romeo and Juliet made a pact to marry. It was tedious work, okay. Fucker.

Then out of nowhere, as I was walking back to the teachers' room, this little twat came out and greet me. After that he commented that I was fat. HELLO! I know I am fat but seriously that is not your business, you bloody pest.

Pest: Cher..you fat lah.. like King Kong.
Ed: (cursing under breath) Yeah (nabei) ..thank you (chee bye bloody fucker) .
Pest: Yeah Cher...if you go to bed with somebody I am sure the bed cannot fit.
Ed: (Effing my way under breath) Yeah (chee bye chee bye)...thank you.
Pest: You fat lah Cher..
Ed: (wanted to kill him with her fat stare) Yes I am fat. But you're freaking ugly..so bug off!

If I ever find that his parents are fat, I will screw him upside down...complete with "Your momma so fat that when she jumps, she gets stuck" kind of jokes. But then, these people wont understand them anyway. Why waste my fat breath...

Seriously.

Again I was ambushed by another student. This bugger came to my cubicle to pass me his personal creation. He had created a model of Willy Wonka's chocolate, complete with the golden ticket inside, and he wanted me to keep it and then show it to class tomorrow. Oh my God, if that is not ego-tripping, then I have no idea what is. He insisted on me showing it to class and tell the rest that the sample was created by him. Seriously, what the fuck is this boy trying to achieve?

Seriously?

Then an hour later, while I was walking along the corridors, the bugger came and reminded me to bring the chocolate sample tomorrow. I gave him a blank look, gave a slight gnarl and walked off. There is a limit to how much irritation I can get.

Seriously.

I am stoning now. I have some stuff to mark, some personal work to do...and I feel like going for a fucking walk. Right now, I am not pleased with this fucking life.

P/S: Slight consolation came when I was with the Sec 3 for the English lessons. I even helped my China students create essays. And we did communicate well. Serious.

###

Die, morons, die!

Today, my first class cheesed me off. In the spirit of Apocalypto, I imagined I was holding a spear and threw it in the direction of 2 boys sitting at the back of class.

Of course in reality, I was holding a banded bunch of 3 whiteboard markers. And instead, I aimed for the wall behind them. That shocked the class and kep them quiet. I was like Jaguar Paw...seething with anger.

Urgh.

Maybe I am not really cut out to be a teacher. Ptui.

Pray that I dont kill them proper next time.

I hate messy remains.

###

To seek a new beginning

Whoa it is really late already.

Rushed off work to meet Din and Fifi. We headed to Vivocity to catch APOCALYPTO. Wow…it was fantastic!

I am Jaguar Paw!
This is my forest!
My sons and their sons will hunt here after I am gone!





The lead character looks like Ronaldinho!

Goodness.

Mel Gibson has certainly developed a flair for retelling stories of lost and ancient civilisation. APOCALYPTO is a political allegory about the destruction of a civilisation. It is about how tribalism doesn’t help a society and instead, causing it to self-destruct. Blah blah blah. 30 minutes into it, political allegory doesn’t matter anymore because visual impact has taken over the senses.

The movie is VERY entertaining and come to think of it, I prefer this to Gibson’s Passion Of The Christ. I guess this is because in the latter, I already had perceptions and personal theories while in APOCALYPTO, my knowledge of the Maya and Aztec (other than their chocolate origin) civilisations are limited. Therefore, I was more opened to Gibson’s concepts and was less judgemental.

Anyway, the movie is very inspiring in a way that it makes you want to sky-jump, mountain trek and hunt. However unlike them, I do need my bra to be on me. Letting them all hang out is not a good idea when the forest is swarmed with leeches, thorns, poisonous plants and bees.

After the movie, we walked around because it was Fifi’s first time at Vivocity…haha, VivoVirgin. When hunger crept, we parked ourselves at Secret Recipe. Then those two clowns tried to surprise me with a birthday gift.

They gave me Sun Tzu’s Art of War!
Check out its cover!
Damn Wong Fei Hong, lah!



Din and Fifi.
Hmmm...looking at their faces, I think you guys can be the extras in Apocalypto.

Actually, it was the first time I had ever celebrated my birthday with them (or with the group). It was a bit saddening considering I have known them for almost 10 years now (20 years for Din..my God!!) BUT hey, it is always the thoughts that count now. And besides, like they say, it’s the quality of the session…not the quantity. So thank you for everything, babes.


[See…I do have feelings. I just don’t show it. At least I don’t sound monotonous when I speak, right Fifi? By the way, Fifi is not his real name. Duh.]


We walked around the place and ah…I had to go to Candy Empire. There, I bought meself a birthday treat, albeit 3 days late. Last year I bought myself a computer and SJP’s Lovely perfume. This year, I have to settle with Wonka’s Whipple Scrumptious Caramel Delight.


Willy Wonka…Willy Wonka…Willy Wonka


Yeah.


Oh did I mention? I burnt my gothic/Victorian-inspired lace shirt this morning (Tuesday). My heart bled, I tell you. My $73 shirt…



My current job cannot pay for this shirt anymore.
Times like this I really wish I am not a relief teacher.

###

Achtung baby!!

I bought lunch from the canteen. Rice...egg...fishcake...veggie soup. They all cost me a grand total of 80c.

Long live tuckshop!

Now I have stomachache.


Shit.

Lesson in 5 minutes.


###

Asphyxiated

Stayed at the library for the longest time. Am dead beat now.

I've exposed your lies, baby
The underneath no big surprise
Now it's time for changing
And cleansing everything
To forget your love
My plug in baby
Crucifies my enemies
When I'm tired of giving
My plug in baby
In unbroken virgin realities
Is tired of living

Don't confuse
Baby you're gonna lose
Your own game
Change me
And replace the envying
To forget your love

My plug in baby
Crucifies my enemies
When I'm tired of giving
My plug in baby
In unbroken virgin realities
And tired of living
And I've seen your loving
Mine is gone - Plug In Baby, Muse


Meeting Din and Fifi tomorrow after school for Apocalypto. Hope it is nice.

Yawn.

A thousand times goodnight, sea monkeys



P/S: I am so going to miss Phua Chu Kang. Waaah!


###

To infinity and beyond...reason

I survived my birthday weekend, thanks to my friends and family. I love you guys and well, many more good times ahead.


Anyway here are the photos. Meiling and Sharinah kickstarted it all on Friday with dinner with scarf, earrings, Mediacorp organiser and cards thrown in.






There was also another surprise.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha.



I want to faint. A card from Adi Rahman?
Meiling…how could you embarrass me like that?
This joke has been running too long!
But anyway, thanks ladies!!



Ting, Grace and Lauren then picked me up and we headed to Xin Wang @ Cineleisure. Those girls hadn’t had their dinner so we went there for some Hong Kong fare. I had my next birthday treat – pineapple bo-luo bun and teh-peng.





After that we went for a drive. We parked at Cosy Bay @ Indoor Stadium and had our own dance party and cam-whoring session.

These are me turning 27 at the back of Grace's car. Man…




On the next day…which was the actual birthday (Jan 20th) itself, known to all, I slept through the afternoon and missed the dinner with the SF gang. However, I decided to join Vinz, CY2 and Adrian at CHIJMES, not because I wanted to “collect” the presents, but because I was very guilty and also I didn’t want to watch the Liverpool-Chelsea match alone at home. Besides, CY2 had put in efforts organising this…only to have the birthday girl woman screwing it up.




The drink soon finished and the match soon ended.
It was time to part since everyone was going on separate ways.
Thank you for the lovely presents, guys…all of you.




Thank you WX, Vinz, CY2, SX, Zhenni, WQ, Adrian!


The McBabies picked me up again after that and we headed to Siglap for my birthday craving of Haagen Dazs' fondue. Thank you ladies for entertaining me.




Yeay.

After that, we went to Changi to look for transvestites. I forgot to take pictures of those beautiful lady-boys.

The next day (yesterday-Sunday) I reached home at 1430hrs and in the evening the mother and the sister brought me to Vivocity where we had dinner at The Chicken Rice Shop. Nice!

[Before you can call us gluttons, well the meal was a set dinner for 3-4 people. Everything was included – steamed chicken, honeyed barbecue, yummy beancurd chicken, kueh pie tee, mango salad, chicken wonton, drinks and delicious soup. All for less than $40 okay. ]




Ooooh…stacking plates. Tsk tsk tsk.

Anyway, we ended the weekend celebration soon after. But not before me getting some stuff from the mother.

1. Dark, bitter chocolate



2. Shoes



3. Boxers



What the...!
But I have learnt...it's the thought that counts.

Happy birthday once again, Ed!


P/S: Thank you all for the well-wishes and merriments. Sorry if I had to cancel some dates. Well, my birthday is a year-long celebration ..so there is still time. Hooray!


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