a simple Thanks

It has been a whirlwind-kind of ride for the past few weeks. I'm grateful for those who helped me get through it.

Thanks to a few of my classmates and friends (especially "pink and baby blue juniors") for being so understanding about the difficulties I have juggling work and studies. You have no idea how much support both of you have given me since I started this course and I really appreciate it.

More importantly, thanks to my dear for enduring all the irrational and unreasonable behavior I have been having towards you everyday. Instead of escaping from me, my whole load of burdens, and my appalling mood swings; you stayed beside me throughout it all.

Thank you.

x'mas 2009

It's that time of year again. Spectacular lighting, gifts, parties and the reappearance of the grand conical-shaped trees decorated with all things sparkly and colorful.

Here in this tiny tropical red dot on the globe that encompass several religions and ethnicity, it seems that the Christmas season can only be felt in town because of the holidays' decorations.

You'd think that since it's the Christmas season and December, the weather might be a little cooler even though we don't have the four seasons here(such as snow).

Not at all. The weather lately has been insane, clocking up to 35 degrees Celsius. We've been fixated with denotations of winter wear and freezing weather associated with 'Christmas' that seeing the majority of the people wearing shorts and flip-flops(thongs) somehow doesn't add to the already diminishing holiday ambiance.

Still, I've got to say that the holidays' decorations during Christmas is usually the grandest (maybe due to the competition among shopping malls on who has the best decor) and it's one of those times in the year that I get to receive gifts!

My schedule is fully packed and it's to be an extremely hectic month for me. But that is not going to stop me from immersing in this jovial season. Hope you are able to take a break from your daily chaos and enjoy yourself!

Here are some old school clips of Peanuts about Christmas I hope you will enjoy:

gone

Gone, gone are those friends
in which naught replaces close in its definition.

Gone, gone are those essential conversations
that forms the important part of relationships in life.

Gone, gone are those flickers of happiness
no matter how ethereal they may be.

Gone, gone are those moments
never to be re-captured ever again.

Gone, gone are those chances
when you could have changed those bad decisions then.

Gone, gone are those carefree days
where together with your childhood, your youth,
and all the sunshine and laughter,
become past memories you long for now.

Gone, gone are those vibrant colors of life,
that fade away along with your very own existence

~ A.W.

10 telling signs that I'm stressed

1. Laugh awkwardly
2. Smile, frown, smile frown (you get the point)
   
3. Binge on potato chips and Nutella hazelnut spread
4. Indulge in lots of chili padi (chili pepper)
5. Behaving like a true-blue insomniac, complete with no. 3 & 4 in the wee hours of the morning
6. Hairstyle that looks like I just got off the bed
   
7. Run while listening to metal,rock music or just Alanis Morissette's songs
8. Pile up stacks of research materials on my bedroom floor
9. Ordering overly-sweet coffee like toffee nut latte when all I want is a cup of cappuccino
10. Singing at the top of my voice when I drive alone

Seriously, I really need to get that punching bag soon...

Personal Life by Tokyo Jihen

東京事変 - 私生活
Uploaded by utadalove. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

I'm wasting oxygen, seas, gasoline, and a lot of kindnesses.
I'm working for life and eating up the city.
I hope that the mechanism of your left cheek doesn't fall into disorder when you smile.

To the fair wind here, please blow for me.
Things behind me are just memories.
When I'm able to take in the opposing wind, I'll finally be renewed.

I'm wasting sunsets, Autumns, and a few encounters.
I keep on going back and forth, to butter up people/the times/the age.
I must seem miserable and pathetic in your eyes.

Compass, now, please show me where I am and point to the right direction.
Even if I have to memorize the existing maps, I'll definitely head towards you.

I want to stay gently close to you when you are feeling alright.
How long is there for me to live? Please don't go away.
Let me catch up with you. Please wait a little while more.
You're living your life, further and further away from me.
This makes up how I lead my life.

The Hurt Locker

In the war-torn Iraq of 2004, terrorism is rife. Bombs can be found anywhere, even in the most inconspicuous plastic bags at the roadside amidst the rubble of what might once had been a wall at the nearby building.

In The Hurt Locker, we see the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit of the US Army is tasked with the perilous mission of defusing these bombs in this hostile landscape.

I may give the idea that I know a lot about this film before I watched it, but I don't. I usually 'do my homework' on movies before I choose to catch them, but in this case, I watched it without knowing anything except a vague description of "many explosions" from my bf.

Which is why it came as a pleasant surprise for me to watch this fabulous movie.

"Real and raw" is what I would describe this dramatization of urban warfare. I love how cinematographer Barry Ackroyd seizes your utmost attention (& panic for me) as he seamlessly weaves the critical scenes into one great film. By capturing both the macro and micro angles, he not only shows tension, but emphasizes on it while adding the 'real' element in it.

Director Kathryn Bigelow does a great job at depicting the insecurity and life of the three soldiers in the Bravo company. This documentary-like film portrays how their daily missions there is like a huge gamble they make on their lives well everyday by just carrying on with their tasks.

This gripping movie has won me over with its brilliant cinematography in fifteen minutes. 116 minutes later, I walked out of the cinema as a fan.

opening of Docs' clinic for the individualistic dresser

September 25 is the grand opening of Dr. Martens concept store in Orchard Central. The theme of this boutique is based on UK, where Docs launched its first series of the iconic 1460 eight-eyelet boots. The name '1460' simply derives from the date it is launched - April Fool's Day 1960.

I love how the spacious store gives off a cozy vibe, like a celebrity without airs. I could read the books on DM's history and skinheads culture (that is Docs' first-ever symbol of subculture), or flip through the 'lookbook' for customers to read and get ideas on how to match with your Dr. Martens' boots while resting on the big burgundy Victorian-styled leather sofas at the center.

If you're interested in DM boots, here's its blog on the latest news in Singapore.

I was too occupied at the official launch there, but I did managed to take some photos (minus the crowd of media friends and buyers ;p):

1. 
   This is a table that functions like a trailer at a cinema. It gives you a 'sneak preview on the next upcoming new arrivals that have not reached Singapore yet.
   
   
   I took this pic a week ago. This is a Vespa scooter that is placed on the window display here. It's designed by local designer Lee Wei Chong, along with the pair of Docs' boots next to it.
   
   
   With the staff from the left - Honglim, Jackson, me and Samantha.
   
   With the gorgeous models who did a runway for the launch. Jackson was laughing his head off when he noticed the height gap between me and them when he took this photo.
   
   
   This is the eye-catching wallpaper that many love. It is on the walls behind the cashier, next to a British flag. And the plastic bag that's like a mini replica of it:
   Look closely... Spot a circled boot? That's one of my boots heez.. And here's the actual one:This is the 'rock star' that I wore to the opening yesterday. Her real name? 'Stella'.

photos update

I'm finally free after a period of endless workload and school work. Here are the photos for these 2 weeks.


Right after exam:

The groggy-eyed gang binging on hot Thai food to relieve the stress accumulated after exam. I had my favorite tom yam soup with glass noodles.

Kenneth's and my birthday cake

This is Kenneth's indulging in his Udder's Bailey's ice-cream. Still can't believe this guy has the exact birthdate as me

From left to right: Daniel, Rosslyn & Joyce. Daniel and Ross are the sweet ones who bought the cake for us. Thanks!

With my closest girlfriends (Just a simple get-together can cause me to be this happy):

Look at how work has done to our face! We just got off work and we look like this already! Haggard level - 3/5


Only Val (the one in black) exudes radiance. Never doubt the magical confidence and radiance that a lady can have when she's getting married ;)


Birthday:

@ Satsuma Shochu Dining Bar. Kevin brought me here 'coz he knows how much I love Japanese cuisine and sakura :)

Enjoying the ambiance... the sake, and the food. Here're some of them:

Scallop with soya milk in claypot

Grilled rice balls

My mini birthday cake with sweet candied potatoes

~Thanks dear!~

Ice-cream version of strawberry shortcake. See the packs of Vitasoy (soya milk) at the corner? Everyone finished it before I could even drink it ;(


Kevin's birthday:

The cake I bought for him - Raspberry cheesecake with almonds

Disney Princesses ice-cream cake from his buddies

fashion-savvy-not

One thing's for sure. I'm not cut out to be a fashion writer. This belief is reinforced recently when I chose to write a feature article for a fashion magazine. I read more news magazines than fashion magazines, so even if I have an interest in dress styles (not necessarily fashion as I don't follow fads), I don't possess any percentage of the fashion jargon nor the ability to describe a particular style in words.

Sure, I can always improve by reading and writing more of these articles. However, I don't have the same excitement when I put my thoughts into picturing or manually matching clothes with accessories and shoes as putting them into words. Maybe that's because I'm struggling to find the 'right words' - the kind of description and phrases that fashion writers love to use - for it. And to think I was contemplating on interning for one of the fashion magazines just a few months back as I thought it will be a good start.

Why, you may ask. Well, firstly, I have an interest in styling; second, I thought it will be easier to write on something you have an interest in. Besides, the word-count for fashion articles are much lower than other types of publications (in S'pore, fashion mags like Style consists of 500 - 1000-word articles).

Wrong. Ha ha. I practically feel like I was digging my grave the whole time during the whole process of researching, interviewing, compiling, and writing. Why couldn't I chose something I'm more well-versed in, like politics or community work, I lamented to my classmate one day. And my lovely friend just can't help but add on that since I have a petite frame, "it'll be quite an easy feat to finish digging the space for my grave."

Gee... Thankyouverymuch.

a dedication to the now 25-year-old me

Some songs have become part of my life. It can be a piece of memory embedded in it. A source of inspiration or determination to just do your best. Or a companion that changes along with your mood.

"If we hold on together" by Diana Ross and Utada Hikaru's "First Love" remind me of how me and my girlfriends used to sing them in my secondary school days. "Soar" by Christina Aguilera and Martina McBride's "Anyway" never fails to put me on the right track from procrastination or the point of giving up. (The latter song reminds me of Shin Na (my Feb '09 archive) too.)

For more than five years, I have a habit of listening to "かわらないこと～since 1976～" (Things That Don't Change) by Kokia on my birthdays. I first saw it on MTV and was mesmerized by its lyrics and the feelings that seem to exude from Kokia's singing ever since. Once again, I clicked on this song again subconsciously 34 minutes into my birth date.

Everyone has his/her own interpretations of a song and its lyrics. To me, this track is about gratitude for the little things that remain unchanged in life such as family's love, that makes you want to do your best in everything. And most importantly, to always be myself.

goodbye grandaunt

To me, she's more like my grandmother than my actual one who had passed away too soon. She loved chocolates, napping on her old armchair, our visits, and watching national day parades on television every year. Funny how she passed away in the midst of this year's parade.
Goodbye grandaunt, may you rest in peace. Going to miss you...

for my dear

Alanis Morissette |MTV Music

Thank you for still loving me. Happy anniversary on the 24th.

lazy days

6 min 39 sec. That's the length of a total eclipse on July 22 that blanketed parts of Asia in darkness. It's also the day I went on a cruise. It was pitch black out on the South China Sea at night. I could not even tell if the ship was moving at all if I had not heard and seen the waves splashing by right beneath it.

The beautiful color tones of Redang's ocean and the feel of its fine, sun-soaked sand on my feet; the insanely strong wind that caught me off guard on top of the deck; the refreshing cool wind that perked me up when I woke up on the balcony; the luxury of a slow lazy pace that you can afford only on a relaxing vacation; having the time to stop, admire and absorb the scenery into your mind; watching the sunset, all with a loved one - I love it all.

Night time exploring


Redang Island, Malaysia


Back on board


Views from my room's balcony