Rae told me to bring a poncho. Damn. I have to squeeze it in my pocket cause I dont think I wanna bring a bag. Am thinking of a shawl too just in case the morning sea breeze freezes me to death. Man, how to squeeze?
Was thinking of bringing a small bottle of snake powder. Cause I always go almost everywhere with my talcum powder. But it would be too bulky. Was thinking of putting my powder into a small plastic sachet. Then decided it would be a big no-no. The sachet of talcum powder might be mistaken for cocaine, lah!
"Lecturer caught for drug possession during ZoukOut!"
Aiyoh. Mintak ampun, nyah!
Think I have to go without powder then. Damn. There's no point in living anymore. Just T-shirt, cargo-ish 3/4s and a poncho in one pocket and lipgloss and money in the other.
Anyway, I have marked 4 gut-wrenching assignments and I rewarded myself with a trip down ebay...cause I am just a WWW geek like that.
Heh.
I have just made 3 bids - (1) A Clockwork Orange hardcover book, (2) Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! DVD and (3) a 1962-published version of Story of O. I have read the latter, but hey, I'm keeping it for my future kids.
If I have them. If not, I can probably buy them off ebay.
It's the time of the season again. No, it's not Christmas. It's marking time and this is the time when I wish I am not a teacher/educator/lecturer/facilitator whatever your nenek may call it. This is also the time when I come up with activities to entertain and distract myself from going through the piles and piles of partially rubbish assignments.
Apart from trying to distract myself by eating and going to the pantry to make drinks, I have also resorted to:
1. Staring at my facebook web page
2. Frantically refresshing Perezhilton.com every 5 minutes
3. Dancing and twirling around in mass comm room
4. Daydreaming about my non-existent Prince Charming
5. Planning my 29th birthday
6. Thinking of what birthday gift to get for Dear Tan
7. Checking movie listing all the way till June 2009
8. Chatting with the incoherent cleaning lady
9. Wheeling myself around the mass comm room as if I am on a wheelchair
10. Mentally raiding my wardrobe (and Mango and DP and TopShop and Zara and Warehouse and..and..) for what to wear to ZoukOut and also to Jass' birthday party
Once I am done from #1 to 10, hey, let's start all over again.
P/S: To my students who happened to stumble upon this blog or are secret readers, there is a probable reason as to why your assignments are not returned. It's probably because your assignment is no longer presentable as the marker has puked over it. Or has given so many red crosses beyond legible. Or has purposely spilled coffee over it hoping that the words would make sense. Or has spat on the pages till they are soggy. Or has given the papers to the dogs. Or has bled to death over the papers.
Blur are getting back together. Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave. Welcome back! We miss you!
I remember Vidz (channeling Lynette Pang's "V" hand gesture) every Saturday and it was famous for showing new MTVs from the UK. I remember sticking my nose near the TV because Blur's Country House and Parklife were playing and they were soooooo colourful.
"City dweller, successful fella Thought to himself oops I've got a lot of money I'm caught in a rat race terminally I'm a professional cynic but my heart's not in it I'm paying the price of living life at the limit Caught up in the centuries anxiety It preys on him, he's getting thin
He lives in a house, a very big house in the country Watching afternoon repeats and the food he eats in the country He takes all manner of pills and piles up analyst bills in the country It's like an animal farm lot's of rural charm in the country"
Ah.
Everytime I want to grow up and move on, my rubbish teenage past keeps creeping up.
"I did my best to notice When the call came down the line Up to the platform of surrender I was brought but I was kind And sometimes I get nervous When I see an open door Close your eyes Clear your heart... Cut the cord
Are we human? Or are we dancer? My sign is vital My hands are cold And I'm on my knees Looking for the answer Are we human? Or are we dancer?
Pay my respects to grace and virtue Send my condolences to good Give my regards to soul and romance, They always did the best they could And so long to devotion You taught me everything I know Wave goodbye Wish me well.. You've got to let me go
Are we human? Or are we dancer? My sign is vital My hands are cold And I'm on my knees Looking for the answer Are we human? Or are we dancer?
Will your system be alright When you dream of home tonight? There is no message we're receiving Let me know is your heart still beating
Are we human? Or are we dancer? My sign is vital My hands are cold And I'm on my knees Looking for the answer
You've got to let me know
Are we human? Or are we dancer? My sign is vital My hands are cold And I'm on my knees Looking for the answer Are we human Or are we dancer?
Are we human? Or are we dancer?
Are we human Or are we dancer?" (The Killers, Human)
After the whole afternoon of visiting the grandma and relatives n Monday (Selamat Hari Raya Eid-Ul-Adha!), I rushed down to the Esplanade at 1930hrs to meet Lauren. We were to catch Sting and Edin Karamazov live in concert.
Before anyone gets excited, I need to mention that it was a classical music concert.
This concert is a ...well, sort of to promote 'Songs From the Labyrinth', an album which saw Sting collaborate with lutenist Edin Karamazov, playing the 16th & 17th century music of John Dowland. This is what I called retro, okay!
Of course we couldnt snap shoot during the concert...so these are taken off youtube.
To prevent myself from being lulled to sleep, I let my imagination run wild. While listening to the soothing sound, I pictured ballerinas prancing around. Not only that, I envisioned baroque dancers dancing in the palace courtyard of an Italian king in the 17th century. That brought me to Pachelbel...to Vivaldi...to Bach. Boy, was I distracted.
I looked around the beautiful Esplanade theatre. I pictured men and women in wigs dancing on the ceiling in their full Elizabethan regalia. I swayed. In my mind, I leapt, I mourned and I travelled Europe with John Dowland. Ah, I love the classics. Dont you too?
Ahk. So pretentious. But seriously, I like. The following is my most favourite out of 'Labyrinth.
Come Again.
But of course, just how many in the audience actually cared for 'Labyrinth or the lute? I am sure they're all there for Sting. Fortunately, he did dish out 2 old favourites (his old hits, not those 15th century kind of old) - Message In a Bottle and of course, the lute version (so soothing it worked like sleeping pill) of Fields Of Gold.
Enjoy.
A thousand times goodnight, soft souls and softer spirits.
On 25th of November (a day after seeing my Manics), I joined Rae and Lauren (and gazillion fairies) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. We were to catch my childhood idol - The Divine Miss Minogue.
The mother always thought my childhood idol back then was Sheena Easton cause I kept singing and dancing to Telephone. Please lor. It was Kylie!
Kylie was known to start on time but at 2030hrs, many people were still streaming in. I was getting impatient. I bet many other Queens (hey I'm Queen Ed) were excited too.
Then at about 2045hrs, the lights went out.
This was snagged off youtube. I WASNT the one who went "Waaaah! Woooh!"
The next one is mine. So yes...I'm sorry. Unfortunately, that was me trying to sing in the background. How embarrassing.
Miss Minogue was awfully gorgeous. I was also expecting her voice to be all squeaky. But hey, she proved us wrong She could hit those notes, man.
Anyway, Kylie did sing my fvourite song and she went all campy and stuff.
Just done Anatomising. Think they should change Grey's Anatomy to Sucking Faces. Oh well.
I spent the whole morning in bed. At 1400hrs, I started my wii session all the way till 1900hrs. I played till I turned blue in the face. Have finally elevated my drumming skills to 'Hard' (on most songs, though) after being on 'Easy' and 'Medium' for the longest time. For guitar...hah, am on 'Medium' now.
Slowly. Slowy.
..........
Mad Girl's Love Song by Sylvia Plath
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.)
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men: I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I fancied you'd return the way you said, But I grow old and I forget your name. (I think I made you up inside my head.)
I should have loved a thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again. I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. (I think I made you up inside my head.)"
..........
I also need to get Tokio Hotel's Monsoon out of my hair head. It's driving me nuts now.
"Running through the monsoon Beyond the world To the end of time Where the rain won't hurt Fighting the storm Into the blue And when I lose myself I think of you Together we'll be running somewhere new And nothing can hold me back from you Through the monsoon Hey!"
ARGH. Go away.
P/S: Man U and Sunderland. A draw, for Keane's sake.
I've been waiting for the longest time. Come. Before I give you up. I've run out of ideas on how I can trace you. Visions of you come and leave just like the passing breeze. I still cannot catch them for they slip through my fingers.
Come, before I become comfortably numb.
"There is no pain, you are receding A distant ships smoke on the horizon You are only coming through in waves Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever My hands felt just like two balloons Now I got that feeling once again I can't explain, you would not understand This is not how I am I have become comfortably numb"
So I dragged myself to VivoCity yesterday after being "fried" at the airport. Managed to get Nani to join me...and so we went to catch a show.
RABBITS WITHOUT EARS ("Keinohrhasen") is a German film ridden with cliched love anthems and notions. It's just like any other show starring Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McCoughnahey, Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore, Renee Zellweger...you get the idea.
It did have its "awwww" factor especially when the cute children ran around playfully and stuff. I also thought the lead/director Til Schweiger was kind of cute. Just that, everything seemed underdeveloped but yet the film felt awfully long. Nothing which I've not seen before.
But...it's the time of the year where this type of films is favoured. Hence, full house.
Nani and I headed to Adam Road for really late dinner and ...gosh, we had sting ray, kangkong, fried oyster omelette, rojak, cockles and fruit juice. I can feel the chilli right up till now. I know I shouldnt be having these when I'm sick..but..but..hungry.
Oh well.
Got meself a new book - one which deciphers Gibran's The Prophet to the art of peace. I dont know when I will start reading this cause I am still stuck at Classical Philosophy and on last Monday, I just bought 4 books on economy.
Realise that my medicines are the same as the ones I had on the 6th of October. Gosh. I fell sick more often this year!
========================================
Human beings are constantly in competition for honour and dignity, which leads to envy and hatred ans eventually war; ants and bees have no sense of honour and dignity.
Human beings have the power of reason, which equips them to find fault with the way they are governed, and this gradually brings about civil unrest; ants and bees have no such power of reason.
Okay. I am on mc. Dragged my stiff-as-a-board body to the clinic at noon and got the day off. Caught in the rain on my way home, after buying my ban mian lunch.
Anyway since i am on mc, i figured i could sent one of my students -ginny - off. So here i am at coffee beans sipping my poor choice of choc drink and cheesecake cause they build more phlegm and mucus. Fine..gross, i know.
(Gosh..I look so disgusting~)
Damn. Am feeling hot...cant be a fever, can it? Maybe it's just damn hot here in the airport. Serves me right for wearing a jacket,
Ginny by now has flown to jakarta already. She was earlier detained by the ICA cause of problems regarding her student pass and passport. Thank god it was cleared cause otherwise, she would miss her flight and the $63 fee she paid for excess baggage would be wasted.
So...wish you all the best, ginny. I dont know when will we meet again, but i will pray for all my students' wellbeing. Maybe i meet you in the land of the maple-leaves in 2 years' time. Till then, we'll miss you.
OKay what am i going to do now? Go home eat medicine? Go vivo and watch Rabbits Without Ears?
A-a-a-choo!
Damn hot. Stupid airport.
P/s: think i know why it's hot! There were many haj pilgrims earlier and i think their relatives were the ones who exude lots of heat. We malays have that power. Whenever there are many of us, the place will be hot. Think tampines, yishun, jurong..etc. We have lots of heat coming out from our baju kurungs and tudungs.
It has been a week since I met the Manics. Last Monday, on the 24th, I met the brother and his wife near my workplace and we headed to Fort Canning.
[E71 has really bad camera]
The queue at 1845hrs / Ed and sis-in-law.
The gates were opened at 1900hrs. We got good standing place of course...right in front.
The local opening act (comprised many young boys) came on around 2015hrs. Safe to say that no one cared.
At about 2050hrs, the bright lights and smoke came off. Jeng jeng jeng...
Ladies and gentlemen, put your screaming voices together and welcome:
The Manic Street Preachers!
"Good evening. We're the Manic Street Preachers. We're just a little band from South Wales."
Guitarist Nicky Wire and his feather boa-ed mic stand.
Sean Moore on drums and of course, James Dean Bradfield on vocals. MSP also had 2 sessionists on another guitar and keyboard.
My hero, protest singer James Dean Bradfield.
In the flesh! Like, finally!
The guys sang their hits which spanned from those days when I was still wearing the beige secondary school uniform. So nostalgic. They also covered Nirvana's Pennyroyal Tea and Rihanna's Umbrella.
Okay this is disgusting. Here's a video of them doing the later, try (hard as it is) to ignore the overwhelming loud singing of the person (and her surrounding ppl) behind the recording the device.
The following is my favourite Manic song ever: A Design For Life.
(sorry. get ready for more screaming from Ed)
How embarrassing.
I was happily singing at the top of my voice, even when I was recording them. As a result, all my video clips had my voice overpowering them. Sad, man. Thank God others posted their stuff on youtube.
The following is my favourite part of the concert. This was when JD went all acoustic and he sang his heart's out...just him and the guitar. It was a massive sing-a-long session. How I want to young and non-capitalistic again.
At about 2225hrs, the band called it a day. So sad, okay. 13 years I've been waiting...and they came and left in less than 2 hours.
And they're gone...*sniff sniff*
Bye bye my favourite Welsh men. Keep the music coming. Stay political.
"The gap that grows between our lives The gap our parents never had Stop those thoughts control your mind Replace the things that you despise Oh youre old I hear you say It doesnt mean that I dont care I dont believe in it anymore Pathetic acts for a worthless cause
In the beginning when we were winning When our smiles were genuine In the beginning when we were winning When our smiles were genuine But now unforgiven the everlasting Everlasting
The world is full of refugees Theyre just like you and just like me But as people we have a choice To end the void with all its force So dont forget or dont pretend Its all the same now in the end It was set in a different life Destroys my days and haunts my nights?
In the beginning when we were winning When our smiles were genuine In the beginning when we were winning When our smiles were genuine But now unforgiving the everlasting Everlasting Now unforgiving, the everlasting Everlasting"
Remember last week I blogged about my auntie who had just ended her 12-day radiotherapy?
This morning as I was getting ready for work, the mother called. She said the auntie was not in a very good condition. I...speechless.
[Still speechless...give me some time]
As one of her closest nieces, I really really love my auntie. In fact, sometimes more than I love the parents. This auntie stayed with me up till I was almost 5 and many of my toddler moments were spent with her and my beloved grandma (not Queen E) cause the parents were never around. She was also the first one who taught me how to play badminton hahaha...and allowed me to practice in her bedroom.
She was also the one who inspired the wanderlust in me. Her honeymoon pictures stuck with me forever...her Hawaiian trip, her New Zealand trip, her American trip. All the souvenirs she gave me were so dear. I remember wanting to grow up and be able to travel like her. Yay.
Anyway she had cancer few years back and is now a poor resemblance of her old vibrant self. She hobbles and her right hand is totally useless. Her spine is weak and her limbs hurt all the time. She is keeping it strong because of her 10-year-old son and her hubby. It's comic tragedy to see everyone around her so upset and worried when she...the ever cheerful spirit...seems so all right about it.
