Well if you're on my Twitter, you would know I just asked what in the world is a Google Wave. Google's always coming up with brand new things. I can't keep up sometimes!
Hello, nerd in me, will you please focus on being a nerd? And try to get the latest scoops on things like these!?
The YouTube video (Link) regarding GoogleWave was approximately 1 hour 20 mins long. It took ages to load. Seems interesting. But I'm still slightly confused until I get to use it first hand and see what it really is all about. Like Google Chrome and even the whole hype about Gmail when it first came out. Talking about that, it's currently still in limited preview so, similar to that of Gmail the other time, you can only use it when you receive an invite from someone who already has it from someone else who probably got it from the Googlepeople (Cute huh).
And some people are making money from it. I mean, look at this! - Link
Confused and curious as I am... I will never be willing to pay that amount of money for an invite that will come sooner or later anyway. Heck, I didn't even pay for my student Adobe softwares. Tsk, I know. Things people do to be "one of the first" these days.
Just when I said I couldn't feel anything, I felt it. The tremors I mean. Earthquakes have got to be one of the most shocking natural disasters. Not saying the others are not. They all are. It's just that, in my mind, you sort of know a drought is coming when it stops raining for awhile, floods might happen if the rain is pouring too heavily... And you always have that little glimpse of hope, heading somewhere seemingly 'less dangerous'. Even if it proves to be otherwise, you had that hope. For earthquakes, the land you're standing on seems to shake and crack apart, bulky items hit you from any direction, and you have absolutely no clue where to run to, nor where it came from.
Then again, I'll never ever know unless I'm in that situation, at the exact time. While we're swaying away, homes may have buried their owners in it, children may be lost in the sands. It's just unbelievable. Almost like the phrase that goes something like - when a butterfly flaps its wings, it can cause a tornado elsewhere. Of course, you don't take it literally but, it's kind of the idea that the little rain we feel may just a little bit of that ferocious torrential storm elsewhere.
And it seems like Indonesia has been hit too many times in recent years by tsunamis and earthquakes. It's just very unfortunate.
My dad received these photos from an email from a colleague residing in the Philippines.
***
People are stranded in Cainta, province of Rizal, eastern Manila.
Residents clamber on electric wires to stay out of floodwaters while others wade neck-deep in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila
Residents wait to be evacuated from a partially submerged house during flooding in Bocaue, north of Manila.
A Philippine Air Force aerial shot shows damaged houses in Marikina City, Metro Manila. More than 70 people were killed, Manila was blacked out and airline flights were suspended as a powerful tropical storm battered the main Philippines island of Luzon.
An aerial view aboard a Philippine Air Force chopper shows devastation brought by Tropical Storm Ketsana (Ondoy) in Cainta, province of Rizal, eastern Manila.
Aida De Leon grieve in Pasig City, East of Manila.
A boy is lifted onto the roof of a building to escape the flooding in the Quezon City suburban of Manila. Nearly a month's worth of rain fell in just six hours Saturday, triggering the worst flooding in the Philippine capital in 42 years, which stranded thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere.
***
Keep them in your thoughts and do help out these neighbours of ours, as much as you can.
Today feels like the worst day of my life. I got myself an interview with a possible employer tomorrow (very tough to come by). And what? My portfolio which was withheld by the previous interviewer from 3 weeks ago is still not with me. Apparently it's not even in the office it was last seen at with my own two eyes. I only hope they didn't lose it altogether and that it really is, in the hands of someone in the other office. I'm trying to reprint some of the most important work pieces and my printer ran out of ink.
I regretted trusting that company. Then again, if you guys know what company this is, you would understand why I had no initial qualms trusting them. Seriously fucked up. I mean in the first place, if you wanted to look through my work, go ahead but please return it to me asap if you're not thinking of even hiring me. Why are you holding on to my work so long anyway? Fine, you're a busy organization but that remains as my work. It is MY right to get them back. And I -need- to get moving with my own life and by that, I want my work back to show other possible employers. Who do they think they are? Holding me up like that and taking it so lightly merely "assuming" my portfolio is with someone else. If they dare lose my work, that's 3 years worth of precious work I gathered and printed gone just like that. I can't possibly reprint everything. Cover my cost?
I'm so royally pissed off right now that I can't think of anything to make me feel better. It doesn't help my good friend is in that fucked up company I have no respect for anymore. I should have known from the way she goes on about their ways of doing things that they're not very professional. I really miss my place of internship. I don't know what Lisa was thinking when she said she's a tough woman to work for. I loved that woman. Tough or not, she was professional and she did what she had to do. Working there taught me a lot about competence and efficiency, reliability. But companies like this one are a pain in the ass even before they hire you/or not at all - and just completely disorganised and irresponsible.
In the first place, I don't think I'd be half this pissed if I was in the organisation. I'm fine with existing politics and all, as long as I know I did my part and get paid for my work. But I'm NOT even hired and they're making things so difficult for me. That is the main reason why I'm so pissed. Not a single ounce of responsibility at all.
It's just so unethical. I'm not a very unreasonable person and I hardly like complaining about things but... obviously this is a brand new level of fuckiness.
To those in Singapore, if you would like to help the Filipinos impacted by the floods, the drop off point for relief goods is Afreight Cargo, #03-09 Lucky Plaza, Orchard Road. Contact Person: Maureen Schepers 6235-1011/91117855. Please pass on this info to those who would like to help. Other donations may be also be forwarded to the Philippine Embassy (Nassim Road).
I had a dream two nights ago about Sany leaving me for Oz and it was ridiculously emotional because she was kind of my housemate for 3 years in the dream. Adding to that, every single other person in my circle of good friends was going abroad... for studies.
And I dreamt that I was smiling on the outside, wishing them the best, trying to hold back my tears of pity for myself for not achieving anything with my life so far.
What a dream. I hate times in the month like this. It makes me reflect on my life in the most negative way possible. I guess we were all instilled with competitiveness, and all those good things, but not patience. Because we all end up wanting our dreams so bad to come straightaway, disregarding the journey.
I seriously need to get my brain worked up over something soon or it'll take forever for it to start up again. I'm starting to wonder if my own system of approach is at fault. Life is making a mockery out of me.
Either ways, here goes a little something from F1, not like many of you would care. Nonetheless, if you do: Link
I found myself breaking into little choruses of "We will be victoriouuuusss", wondering where it came from. Then, I saw this - Link - and my question was answered.
It's such a slow day and this is such a pointless entry.
What else? I've uploaded the photos from F1 in my facebook. Hmm yeh, that's about it.
Singapore wins awards from magazines - Business Traveller (UK edition), Business Traveller's Asia-Pacific edition, Smart Travel Asia, and Travel Weekly China.
Changi Airport was voted the "Best Airport in the World" by readers of Business Traveller (UK edition), a leading global travel publication. Since it first won the title in 1988, Changi Airport has won the award for 22 consecutive years.
Closer to home, Changi Airport received the same affirmation from readers of Business Traveller’s Asia—Pacific edition. They chose Changi as the "Best Airport in the World" for the 18th consecutive year.
In addition, Changi Airport was named "Best Airport Duty—Free in the World" by the magazine for the 12th year running.
In another poll conducted by online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia, Changi Airport was ranked highest in the "Best Airport Worldwide" category out of more than 100 airports.
According to Smart Travel Asia, Changi Airport’s shopping facilities, greenery and colour, as well as the addition of Terminal 3 have made Changi "a formidable competitor".
Separately, Changi Airport also received the "Best International Airport" accolade from Travel Weekly China — a major travel trade publication in China — as part of its China Travel and Meeting Industry Awards 2009.
Ah, for someone who complains a hell lot about the track, Hamilton did pretty well. (Link)
It was quite a pain seeing Nico committing that silly error which cost him, a lot. From second place to 14 and up to 11. I didn't feel like watching anymore after that. Hamilton's probably overtaken him on the overall driver's standings. It's okay, he'll catch up! I'm pretty glad Jensen Button will continue dominating the overall standings for awhile though. And I'm happy to see Brawn still topping the Constructors' Team Standings. Stay there stay there.
And Fernando Alonso in the top 3 again this year. I was kind of, rooting for him at the end in spite of me not wanting to anymore. But... well, him winning the Grand Prix beats Hamilton winning. I don't know why I'm so against Hamilton winning. Sorry Hamilton fans. To be fair, he deserved the win today. Doesn't mean I have to be a sudden supporter though. Enough said.
Thank god I caught Travis yesterday and not today. It'd be such a downer to see them today right after being crushed by the results of the race.
And I mean it. I don't think I'll ever feel this intense high again. Like the first nicotine rush, first puff of weed. Well, fine, I wouldn't know. I just...guessed, okay. 'They', whoever they are, always said "You'll never get your first high again". But I hope I do though, because it feels so so so good.
I met Travis and the man I'm supporting this year - Nico. Saw Alonso as well but...shrugs. Oh well. It's just an amazing night. Travis topped everything else. I never dreamt of finally being able to see them perform LIVE right before my eyes so close to me, seeing Fran walk down and stand NEXT to me in the crowd. What more, getting to -meet- them. I felt like crying happy tears. ='') I'm such a shy person (ooh yeah I am), I never even came close to dreaming I'd get this chance.
I'm not ranting on about it just because I can. But because... Well, because it's TRAVIS! They're like one of the top 5 bands I want to meet before I die. It's like one wish fulfilled. It's so motivating me to go forward to live life! Hahaha. I couldn't care less if it was BSB or... Black Eyed Peas or... yeah. It's kind of how perhaps you won't give two hoots about Travis but, I do, and that's what makes it special for me and that's why I'm happy. I don't even know why I'm going on about this. I'm sure you guys understand. Imagine your favourite artiste or moviestar or anyone really that you love and have always wanted to meet and you got to meet them. It's going to feel so fucking surreal, innit?
I'm so so so deliriously happy.
And by the way, yes, I'm rooting for Nico like I did next to Alonso and Massa last year. But this year, I'm cutting it to just Nico. Even if he doesn't win tomorrow, he's already the best in my heart. (Only for this race) Oh God, let this high last forever. :D ACE.
I snapped a couple of photos which looked pretty amazing on the camera but I'm not going to be too happy about them until they're uploaded on to the computer and scrutinised one by one. And that's not going to happen till next week I presume, because tomorrow's going to be spent rushing some Raya visiting in the morning and watching the race live on HD while my dad gets to watch it at the venue. :D
I wish you all a happy week ahead. For those heading to the Finals tomorrow(or later, rather), please root for Nico Rosberg if you have nobody to root for and have a blast. :D
Our mega superstar is in the limelight again! I'm starting to wonder if all of it is just a marketing gimmick by ERM World Marketing for the Miss World event. I mean Miss World - Who really pays much attention to it? As compared to its much better known rival, Miss Universe.
So back to Singapore, Ms Ris Low isn't just about 'acquired fashion tastes' - begeenees, lepered, zipbra preenz with khaki green. She's apparently much more than that. Now, I won't say what I think about her level of intellect. Because it's just that obvious. I want to believe that you guys will know what I think about her intelligence and her eloquence, just by watching her interviews. Especially the all famous Straits Times interview - (Link)
Whatever it is, she didn't strike me as someone who'd commit credit fraud. Maybe because of what I thought of her... erm, level of intellect? Ugh, I've let it slip. But, wow. She managed to use her brains for something, at least. Then again, if she was any smarter, perhaps she wouldn't have been caught in the first place. Who knows who knows. Now to be fair, I really don't blame her. That's her own personal mistake, and the netizens' gain because everyone else gets to laugh at her expense but... Wait. Is it just me or everyone's forgotten who's really to be blamed in this incident? ERM World Marketing? Hello? They're the ones who picked her out in the first place, in spite of her coming clean with them about her past before the signing of the contract. Even their handling of the situation wasn't too professional, IMO. Slamming the phone, shouting "WE DON'T KNOW!!" is not exactly very classy for an organisation that "big". ("Big" because I really don't know how big they are. I'm just assuming they're big enough to handle a worldwide collaboration like this one.)
And what kind of a name is that in the first place? ERM? ERM indeed after everything that's happened.
In any case, I'd bet the journalists had a tough time editing their interviews with Ris Low before putting them into print. Credit Fraud Article: (Link)
So everyone following the Formula 1 races, or are living in Singapore would know that the first ever Night Race was held in Singapore last year. Generally, it was a big success and unique in more ways than one. I remembered when Nelsinho Piquet Jr crashed into the gates right before my eyes - I was at the Marina Grandstand. I also remembered afterwards, how some critics were quick to scoff and say "Singapore's incapable of holding a safe race" etc etc etc. While the rest were in awe, there'll always be that group which are quick to put an Asian city down. They couldn't find anything aside from that "crash" to complain about. They went on about how beautiful the view was, how cool the night race was but "at the end of it, Singapore just can't handle big events like these."
Who'd have known that a year later, even that little reason they could find to put us down, was proved to be a negligible point of defense for their arguments - that it was, in fact, a trick smartly planned out by Renault's team. - (Link)
I've lost respect for the team though. Especially after the sacking of Nelsinho. He was a young rising driver, eager to follow in his father's footsteps. I guess his career had to end a little earlier, and on such a bad note, no thanks to the team. All these, while partner Fernando Alonso gets to feign innocence (my subjective evaluation of the case, and in no way representing the 'objective truth') and continue on with his career. I can't believe that I kind of, rooted for him too. -gags at the side
Felipe Massa's gone from the rest of the Grand Prix as I managed to see while I was on cable in Ireland (Link). I'm not going to even bother with the rest of the Ferrari team after their shadiness last year, and of course, Renault. I guess I'll just be rooting for the best man or the most exciting honest team this year. Whichever that's going to be.
A friend of mine posted on his Facebook status that he was folding ketupats, and was wondering who got the idea to make ketupats in the first place - and inevitably cause our modern day 'heroes' to continue the tradition.
While everyone was joking that maybe people in the olden days were too bored etc, I actually went on to ask my dad about it. (I find it pretty adorable that I still get to ask my dad questions like I'm a little kid. Lol. -hugs myself) So my dad explained that the Ketupat didn't initially exist solely for the celebration of Eid'ul Fitr among Southeast Asians. It was created by travellers in the old days and fishermen who had to travel days on end with no access to a kitchen. He said it was easier than having rice in its original state, which go bad pretty quick without proper storage. Now that made a whole lot more sense about the existence of Ketupats.
"The shape of the package facilitates moisture to drip away from the cooked rice while the coco leaves allow the rice to be aerated and at the same time prevent flies and insects from touching it." - Wikipedia
Come to think of it now, the idea and process of ketupat-making definitely wasn't as superficial as it is now. Now I understand why the whole weaving process was mandatory for our fishermen back then. They didn't have massive ships with kitchens and chefs, they most likely travelled out far only in their humble sampans. So it was most vital for them to have food that lasts.
Listening to the takbir never fails to make me feel mellow, be it the takbir on radio or my dad after prayers. It's so melodic like hearing the Azan in the wee hours of the morning. It sounds different yet technically the same, in every country.
It's time for joy and at the same time, a time to remember the ones who are no longer in our lives. As my dad's voice started shaking and breaking, I knew he was thinking of my late grandma who's so lovingly missed.
Well, Salam Eid to all Muslim brothers and sisters out there, regardless of nationality or race. And Salam Eid to you too, Riyan, a new Muslim brother. It's your first Eid'ul Fitr this year. :)
Also, Happy Holidays for those who're living in countries that are having public holidays due to this occasion. Haha.
Maaf zahir & batin.
-
I just realised today also marks the start of a Hindu Festival - Link So, Happy Navratri (Nine Nights) to all my Hindu friends! :)
I dreamt a long dream about attending John Mayer's set somewhere (doesn't even look like it was in Singapore/Dublin). The weird thing was, there were only like 5 people attending the set. I know it's impossible seeing how many fans that guy has. But you don't realise how impossible it is in dreams!
So apparently somehow after the show, I was the only one who approached him to say hi. Again, impossible, seeing he'd probably need bodyguards at concerts + throngs of fans would be running after him for pictures etc. But yeah, whatever. I got to talk to him. And he actually asked me out. What!? ME? So afterwards, he drove us back to this really nice quaint little restaurant (didn't notice the food), and went back to his apartment where all his friends were. And his car was sooo cool! It seemed to be self designed. I know the real John Mayer would never drive such a car but aw, so vintage and so cute. I have no idea where the car in the dream came from though. I can't recall ever seeing it before. I wish there's a way to record the dream and I can show you guys what exactly he was driving. It was out of this world, I'm telling you.
The apartment was probably a dream home of mine, added to the dream just to make it even more perfect. Thanks, brain. It overlooked the city area and the seas on the other side. Absolutely beautiful. And well, the conversations were sooo perfect. Somehow I didn't mind him flirting around with other women knowing his background. I was just trying to enjoy my time with one of the only solo artistes I really look up to.
And we kissed the most perfect kiss ever. Ahhhh. He was so gentle and so perfect. And I woke up to some incessant banging from a neighbour upstairs. Bummer. :( What a dream.
The romantic words exchanged between us reminded me of the conversations I had with the man who's already in my life - Riyan, when we first met. Now I know why I felt so close to John in the dream. It's because he behaved and sounded exactly like Riyan.
So um, Riyan... you might want to learn to play the guitar and sing like John Mayer, if you want to be that little bit more perfect in my eyes. :D Just kidding. (Though the gesture would still be sweet)
Are people simply nicer in person than on the Internet?
Is the birth of the Internet also causing people to get too far ahead of themselves and give them the ability to speak(type) before thinking? - Maybe if I wrote something wrong, I'd be able to backspace or click on the delete button.
Is it the fact that people tend to put in more effort to mask their subjective opinions to themselves in person, easier to shout and scream behind the virtual walls of the computer. (Not having to "face the music" to the literal sense)
Or is it the simplicity of plain text that disallows any emotion to come through - All words that seem cold and harsh online, are almost always so easily looked over when talking in person.
I guess that's where I draw the line on the Internet. I love the idea of connecting everyone in one space, love the short little updates I get from friends far away, but when push comes to shove, I still insist on physical gatherings - Yes, not even mass conversations online.
It's the human in us, reaching out through all these high-tech buzz, for another human companion.
Pic 1: Freeman & wife, Pic 2: Freeman & Step Granddaughter Pic 3: Freeman and Mary J Hays
Those are supposedly the three women in Morgan Freeman's life. Apparently, this news have been out for awhile. I just happened to chance upon it, looking up for an online magazine - and evidently, this caught my eye instead. Morgan Freeman being one of the actors I actually do like from Hollywood. Who would have known he'd developed the Woody Allen syndrome throughout those years.
So apparently his openly known affair with Mary J Hays wasn't enough, he started growing sexually attached to his first wife's granddaughter, E'Dena Hines (whom he adopted together with Myrna, his second wife). This secret affair was apparently also the main reason Mary J left him, and Myrna filed for a divorce.
The things celebrities do these days. It's quite shocking but, if they're both willing parties and consenting adults (Seeing E'Dena's definitely old enough to make her own decision now at the age of 27), we'd just have to suck in our uncomfortable opinions and let them be.
Ugh, tabloids tabloids. I should stop being so exposed to them. Argh, me eyes! It's blinding me eyes~
They're not exactly the most predictable of things. I do enjoy the convenience of having everything sent to my doorstep and the often cheaper deals you get online compared to the shops you actually walk into. There're the pros and cons you have to consider though.
I'm going to cover the cons I've faced so far.
There are things I avoid buying online at all cost - Shoes, Pants, Skirts. Why? Because skirts/pants/shoes that are too tight or loose will not get you anywhere. Tops and dresses do leave a little leeway for your body. If you're size 8, most likely you'd be able to squeeze into a size 6, or you can handle a little comfortable space if you got a size 10. But the size difference in shoes and pants/skirts make too much of a difference for you to play around.
Secondly, if everything above is irrelevant to what you're buying (you're about to buy things like keychains, cosmetics), the most apparent thing that you'd worry about is usually - What if the items are not what they appear to be online? Some irresponsible blogshop owners do have the tendency to pose photos which look SIMILAR to the items you're buying instead of the SAME items. And you might have to go through the whole process of "building your case" and demanding you get a refund etc. Too much hassle, you say.
Well, the WORST thing you can ever face while shopping online is terribly bad 'service'. To a certain extent, they're usually not registered shops (you're unprotected, really) and they don't particularly charge you "service charge" so you can't complain too much. On the other hand, who would ever want to do business with someone who's responsibility to her customers is zero on the scale of 100? If blogshop owners can have a 'blacklist' against consumers who are complete douchebags, I think they have a right to treat all other good buyers with due respect as well. Or am I asking for too much?
Sometimes, it's all about luck. I only wished someone else would have told us not to deal with the blogshop below so we could have avoid all that unnecessary stress we had to while dealing with getting a perfect gift for a dear friend's 21st.
Read my friend's review here. It's sellers like this that give online stores a terrible name.
At least now, you'll know to avoid that blog mentioned in the review at all costs. If you need similar items, there's a similar blogshop if you search for it. Not only are the items more reasonably priced, there're loads of people raving about the store dispatching their items the next day, always keeping their customers updated on their items and basically things I like hearing about a store before I buy anything from them.
And the latest one I got from twitter was: Kanye West just interrupted Patrick Swayzes funeral to let everyone know that M Jacksons funeral was the best funeral of all time, best funeral of all time!
A bit mean but err... still quite funny?
Talking of which, R.I.P Patrick Swayze & Keith Floyd. Maybe they'll keep doing what they do best, in the afterlife. And I hope Patrick is laughing down at all these people talking about him now.
is every tabloid's wish come true. Attention-seeking celebrities out in their full glory. Kanye West disrespecting Taylor Swift, literally snatching the microphone away from her when she was about to make her acceptance speech, and going "I'll let you finish but first, Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time, of all time." He later blogs a long apology claiming he's really sorry but he was just being "real". Pathetic excuse for being mean, I'd say. If that ever becomes an acceptable excuse in future situations, I'd go around humiliating people I dislike at their acceptance speeches and just smirk and go "I'm just being real, y'all."
[edit: found a news video on it]
I don't see the hype about Beyonce's music video "Single Ladies" in the first place. What's so difficult for a trained dancer to dance in a white room, with a white background. Seriously. I guess being a neutral party (not a true fan of any of them) makes it easier to see which music video deserved the award the most.
Then, comes Lady Gaga. You either love her or hate her. I personally am not a huge fan of her. A very good friend of mine loves her so much, he's going to have a pokerface themed party for Halloween, just because.
Love her or hate her though, that's not going to be the main point of this post. I could go on about why I'm not a fan but no, this post is supposed to be all about the VMA frenzy. Apparently her six changes of outfits were as controversial and sensational as the lady herself. You can choose to love or hate them. I don't think she personally cares as long as people continue writing about her. (Yup, that includes me)
Some of the more (Pick: Outrageously Hideous/Super Cool) outfits she donned during VMA 09
No, I don't hate her, and I definitely am not one of those people who are so affected by her that they never want to see her again. I just, don't think she's "the best", or "talented", or "original". She's just a typical paparazzi-hording celebrity after all. She's interesting to watch, as long as her antics don't start growing old on people. So I don't hate her. Just, dislike. It makes a whole lot of difference! And I just... want people to stop forcing me to be a fan of hers. Fanship has no compulsion! Enough, I say!
Viacom conveniently removed all videos regarding VMA on youtube so if you've missed all the videos. You'll probably either have to search harder, or refer to the written reports and imagine the scenarios, or wait till Viacom starts chilling out and allows the clips to be shown again. Hmm yeh.
Me: After over a year of not being back in Ireland, I realised that Dublin didn't change much at all. But it's only been 3 months since I was away from here and Singapore has changed immensely. Goes to show our strong love for upgrading and construction.
Timothy: That's why people joke that Singapore's national Crane is the Bird. . . . Well, we'll see if anyone else spots his error.
Go catch it if you can! It's really, really good. Critiques of the film, have been quite inconsistent but just watch it anyway to see what the huge deal is about, and see if it works for you. :)
IS GONNA BE A GOOD WEEK. At least, I'm expecting it to be. I've been busy to the max this week, for the first time since I got back. (aside from night time which is spent doing silly things like having a soliloquy on here when I'm supposed to be asleep!)
There're just so much happening. I'm ready to embrace the world again. Hm.. Okay sounds a little off but yeah. I'm meeting most of my friends I've not met yet plus one of my best friends is having her 21st birthday party this weekend. Dad's returning to Singapore from South Korea this Saturday. And I think we're still heading to Geylang for the annual month-long Ramadhan Bazaar! Now that's one thing Singaporeans, Malaysians, and Indonesians (or any Southeast Asians, really!) absolutely love about Ramadhan - the bazaar! All the clothes, shoes and most importantly, the cheap sinful absolutely gorgeous food!
It's sort of the same things every year and adults do seem to act like they get sick of it over the years but it's difficult for me to get sick of the food. If you were to give me one month of pasar malam (night market) food, the only change you'll see in me are the added fats, but the maniacal smile on my face will never fade away.. So keep me away from too much pasar malam food! The occasional insomnia PLUS unhealthy food will not do good for my fragile heart.
If there's one thing, I only feel terribly sorry for R for being so far away every time all these festivals and events are happening in this part of the world. He's always missing out. And I'm not exactly putting any effort to make him feel better by reminding him about it. :D Well, Aer Lingus is having really cheap deals and I'm missing out too.. And err, he's going for Kevin Smith's show in Ireland and I'm not! Something like that.
So it's pretty fair. Hm, who am I kidding? It's still absolute gastronomic win on Singapore's side. Sigh, we send you our long distance love and regards. You'll be here soon.
Buddy, the little dog I could only touch when wearing gloves -sulks
I find it pretty heartwarming that quite a number of photos I've shot of people have been used as their default pictures for a lot of things after being sent to them. It may seem like an insignificant gesture but for me, it's the idea that they liked it enough to put it out there for the world to see.
He seemed to look like he's recovering well from the liver transplant. So yay. Yes, he talked about a couple of new developments but - I'm really not aiming to get any Apple products or ANY products at the moment. (Thanks, lack of money and no job) So I shall skip that whole chapter.
Anyway, like I've said on Twitter and Facebook: Singapore is 3rd in World Competitiveness Scale, up 2 places frm last year, just behind Switzerland & US. Ireland? No.25, just behind Malaysia - Link
And last but not least, something light-hearted and funny I got from Candice's blog: Why Americans should not travel - Link
I remember having watched some show about this man who owns the most amount of buttons ever. The most amazing part is that, the buttons were all uniquely different. Story behind his collection lies in the night. He has chronic insomnia and because he's usually the only one awake in the night, he passes his time by sewing these buttons onto as many of his coats and shirts and pants. He ran out of those, and started sewing his shoes and anything else he could get his hands on. And he sells these things. Okay, not too bad. Very business minded.
Then there was another guy who was so addicted on the Wii, he played it for 3 days without sleep and collapsed and died. This story was published in The Sun, a very very very "important", "all-important", "newsy" paper. Okay, I simply meant tabloid. I remember coming across the story while reaching around for something readable left by a previous passenger to read on the train back to Dublin from Cork. I know the local men loved the page 3 of the The Sun on Sundays. (Near naked girls... or were they totally naked?)
Isn't it interesting? How some people can sleep but refuse to? (You don't know how lucky you are!) And how some people simply can't sleep for days on end, just because? It's so The Machinist!
And I realise that it's such a lonely lonely lonely thing to have chronic insomnia. Because apparently, people with chronic insomnia don't exactly have that ability to go "Hell yeah! Let's go party in the city that never sleeps". Instead, they simply lack the energy to do anything more than to strut around slowly. They drift in and out of this conscious world, and become increasingly emaciated.
And I was actually complaining about not sleeping for that 24hours? I'm such a dumb ass. I should get some sleep soon or I'd end up like scenario #2 instead of the more successful number #1.
It almost feels like we're back to the old days where kids have to start working as soon as they're able to move.
R's little nephew seems to agree and is jumping straight into the idea.
"Sigh. Can't even afford a proper stool for myself."
I loved how cute he looked while he was playing around with the spade. Don't worry, we weren't really hiring him as our gardener. It was just one of those days when he likes to act like an adult and mess around in the garden.
So I met up with a couple of friends last Friday, sitting around and talking, when I had a passing thought - would someone who has a crush on a person with a twin, inevitably have a minor crush on his/her twin? Then, Sany told me she read somewhere about some guy pretending to be his twin for sex. Though it doesn't really answer my question, it brought up another possible complication to being romantically involved with identical twins.
I looked it up and it's quite a recent event back in August. Apparently, this woman has been dating this guy, Joe Rohrig, since March. Joe happens to have an identical twin brother, Jared Rohrig, living with him. One day, Jared called the woman up on the pretense that he's Joe and asked her over to their family home. So she came over and even though Jared seemed to behave oddly, it wasn't enough for her to think it wasn't him. They got into a hot tub, made out, and finally went to bed upstairs and was in the midst of having sex when, *gasp, she noticed that Joe's cowboy tattoo on his left butt cheek was gone.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the poor woman started crying and demanding to know where the tattoo disappeared to. Jared (still pretending to be Joe) then said he never had a tattoo and that she must have been hooking up with his brother behind his back. That was the confirmation that it was not the same guy she had been sleeping with. She tried to leave, but he grabbed her back to bed, covered her face with a pillow and continued to rape her.
After the whole traumatic ordeal, he sent her home (or, tried to) in his car. He got lost and didn't know the way back to her place even though Joe has been to her place multiple times.
In the arrest affidavit, she asked Jared, "When did you think I was going to find out? When I realized you didn't have a tattoo? When we didn't use Joe's car to drive home? Or when you didn't know how to get to my house because you've never been there?"
It sounds like a joke story initially but turned out to be so real. I just feel terribly sorry for the woman. And one of the most furious things about this event was the fact that Jared was on his way to becoming a police officer. With 'officers' like him, who can trust the law enforcers? What he did was just a betrayal of trust on so many different unspeakable levels. Rape is already bad enough, the idea of raping someone who means so much to your best friend/family. And so reports have said, he was not only going to lose his job, he was going to lose his best friend - his twin brother.
He is to be arraigned on Sept 8 (tomorrow). He might as well continue acting as his brother in jail. I don't think his cellmates nor guards will take lightly to the knowledge he was training to be an officer.
Life is as uncertain as I make it out to be, it turns out. For the most part, at least. (I love oxymoron-ic statements!)
I realise through the years, I'm not exactly a dull person with lack of imagination, lack of ideas. Yet, I've not really done something I can be absolutely proud of, fists in the air, screams of joy and streams of tears pouring down my face in pride. Nope, not just yet. (To be kind, I've just entered the 'real world' sort of.) Well, something close to that was way back when I'd gotten a high aggregate score in my Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), making me eligible for the top stream in secondary school and eligible for a third language (which essentially started my interest in foreign languages of all kinds) after years of not doing anything extra from school homework. Yup, that was about the closest bit to absolute euphoria I had. I never got the same 'high' ever since.
I've made little wrong choices here and there that affected the life I'm leading now. It's amazing how at decisions implicating me would have an effect as drastic as this many years on. Who would have known. Maybe that's why 'they' say we should never live life with regrets, seeing you could regret just about anything in your life. Focus on the positive more than the bad.
Fine, no huge regrets then. But it's still interesting to extract the lessons from these near-misses. I guess I didn't have much of an ability to look forward, plan what I wanted to be in future. I've been living in the present all those years. And I was extremely ambitious to the extent of being naive yet not having enough to fuel my interest. It's like having a one-off exciting idea, but having not enough fuel for it to be shaped to its full potential. Up until meeting R. The whole journey so far, painted a much clearer picture of what I want in the future. Plus, I have a couple of side projects I want to embark on, as long as it takes. And slowly, I backtracked from the destination I wanted to reach - Before that happens, what would I need? Before that, what would I need to change? etc.
It makes living life so much more bearable. Now it's just focus, dedication, tears and pinch of luck for everything to gradually settle into place. Patience, patience. Even if we don't end up at the destination, having a focus will allow us to move forward in life, no? And hopefully, open up more opportunities along the way to switch courses, compared to where we're standing now.
Of course, there'll be painful setbacks every time. It's just a long learning process and for me, a more positive mindset is a start, at least.
I haven't been getting enough sleep since I got back. And it's really beginning to affect my mood and my almost-gone social life. Since when did I start using "I'm totally and utterly knackered" as an excuse not to go out to meet friends?
Dizzy spells, headaches are nothing new to me this week. I need to adjust my sleeping pattern as quick as I can. I've adjusted the time on my phone to Singapore time for a start.
And it's utterly heartbreaking whenever I wake up from my short snooze and start to reach out to feel his warmth and he's not there. Sucky, sucky feeling. Been happening every night or rather, every time I got to fall asleep. Not looking so good, not feeling it either. Aw, bless!
