Rayne

2009-07-26T11:37:00.001+08:00

Onerepublic
Hello world
Hope you’re listening
Forgive me if I’m young
For speaking out of turn

There’s someone I’ve been missing
I think that they could be
The better half of me
They’re in the wrong place trying to make it right
But I’m tired of justifying
So I say you’ll

Come home, come home
Cause I’ve been waiting for you
For so long, for so long
And right now there’s a war between the vanities
But all I see is you and me
The fight for you is all I’ve ever known
So come home

Oooooh oooh

Sara Bareilles
I get lost in the beauty
Of everything I see
The world ain’t as half as bad
As they paint it to be
If all the sons
If all the daughters
Stopped to take it in
Well hopefully the hate subsides and the love can begin
It might start now yeah
Well maybe I’m just dreaming out loud
Until then

Come home, come home
Cause I’ve been waiting for you
For so long, for so long
And right now there’s a war between the vanities
But all I see is you and me
The fight for you is all I’ve ever known
Ever known
So come home

Ooooooh oooooooooooooh

Duet : Onerepublic – Sara Bareilles
Everything I can’t be
Is everything you should be
And that’s why I need you here
Everything I can’t be
Is everything you should be
And that’s why I need you here

So hear this now

Come home, come home
Cause I’ve been waiting for you
For so long, for so long
And right now there’s a war between the vanities
But all i see is you and me
The fight for you is all I’ve ever known

Onerepublic
Ever known
So come home
Come home
Sara Bareilles
Come home, come home
I’ve been waiting for you
Onerepublic
Come home

2009-07-12T16:48:00.001+08:00

"There are times when life calls out for a change. A transition. Like the seasons. Our spring was wonderful, but summer is over now and we missed out on autumn. And now all of a sudden, it's cold, so cold that everything is freezing over. Our love fell asleep, and the snow took it by surprise. But if you fall asleep in the snow, you don't feel death coming."

- Paris, je t'aime

not sure why i posted this, but its wonderful all the same

2009-07-05T13:43:00.000+08:00

2009-07-05T13:20:00.001+08:00

Im having a lot of trouble with blogger.

2009-06-27T23:57:00.004+08:00

life is unfair.

in the cg, my bro goes by vader mok, reuben - amidala foo, and i get jabba the hutt.

gonna push to say it in the spanish way. sounds cooler.

this is how to grow fat. cakes from mezza 9, courtesy of my favourite sister (then again theres only 1). i admit - my weakness for desserts

2009-06-24T22:39:00.002+08:00

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.

The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.

The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.

And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”

sometimes, ur mind believes what it wants to believe in, until time and retrospection give u a big knock on the head.

2009-06-20T13:47:00.001+08:00

Bittersweet but touching all the same.

99 balloons. How beautiful to watch, how quickly they were gone.

2009-06-19T10:51:00.039+08:00

Hols are drawing to a close. time to see what i've been up to for the last 3 wks.

H1N1 cases are up, especially in/from Australia, so hope everything's well and good.

PCD concert. Not a big fan, but it was after the exams after all.

Went to Ji De Chi to visit aloy's annoying auntie. (Alliteration!) since he recommended the place for cheap desserts. and no, its not his real auntie.

Somehow, my bilateral inguinal hernias only happen during tennis

a serve i think

tong shui. the decor is gaudy, tacky, and in ur face. but strangely pleasing.

weird. not me.

rochor for supper. their famous beancurd and fried doughsticks. where i got scolded bcos i was fiddling with my handphone when the order came in. always pay attention even outside of class.

met teo first. and along came a surprise package of a nana.( not the french meaning of a broad).

teo with the pooch

i call this the hanging gardens of babylon

Changjiang 7

managed to be captured slightly slow mo on cam. i think stance a little off. still cool to observe tho.

Haji Lane. Seriously its overrated. or maybe its 11pm on a wkday nite. still feels sleazy to me.

some guy practising pyrotechnics. i guess u do see alot of such stuff at nite. and u do need some accustomization to feel comfortable in such places. or tts my personal opinion

this isnt a place for religion or what not. supposed to be a chilling out zen place. sorta like tcc at robinson road or essential brew, albeit not as nice. so seriously, stick to those places. being good boys, we dont do shishas downstairs.

i like this shot. it looks like some person with real bad photoshop skills. but its the lighting

2009-06-14T11:02:00.001+08:00

Time for a more normal post.

Hot weather’s abating. Speaking of which WHO has raised the level to 6, which means pandemic!!! Wonder what will happen to surg posting, ttsh no less. Extended hols? Will be a happy boy.

Caught ninja warrior recently. And why is paul hamm on the show? Maybe prepping for London 2012, but the stunts in ninja don’t quite resemble the pommel, parallel bars.

The cast in red thread somehow speak in faux English accents.

Somehow im digging kris allen’s rendition of falling slowly. Vindicated my support of the song against Enchanted’s ever after for acad awards. Slightly melancholic, yes, but doesn’t the song speak to u, or at least part of the lyrics do.

The papers had an article about baby spas recently. Its rather cute actually, to see a baby floating in a tub of water with a buoy around its neck. Harbourfront has a shop i think, with a few babies in it. Like a showcase.

And twitter? Somehow i find it a little disconcerting to mention weird snippets of info to others. I mean the twitterati (cf illuminati) did a good job covering the aware saga with live feeds, but can u imagine randomly texting stuff on the web like “i just ate cereal for breakfast’’ or sth like that. Practically the same as being watched by Uncle Sam.

Decided to switch forehand grips. Changed from eastern to semi-western. I think theres more topspin now. I compared my older strings and realised tt i used to string it looser i.e more power, but slightly lesser control. Now is the other way round. Tight is good.

Forgive me for writing so disjointedly, its easier to write in a stream-of-consciousness manner, think Virginia Woolf. Or maybe i thought it overly facile.

Old habits do die hard.

Parting shot. This tickled me to no end. Would u do this back in JC?

2009-06-07T00:52:00.001+08:00

the straw that broke the camel's back

2009-05-31T21:35:00.001+08:00

something's gonna give.

2009-05-24T23:14:00.002+08:00

deja vu. un autre résultat peut-être.

2009-05-11T19:38:00.000+08:00

There's sth about us asians that make us excel don't we?

2009-05-07T22:17:00.000+08:00

i thought dorscon yellow was a new shade of yellow.

2009-05-03T21:59:00.000+08:00

How nice, sch's out for the week, or month, at least until we lower our orange alert level.

2009-04-22T22:29:00.004+08:00

i think im starting to develop a love hate relationship with hospitals. its exciting to finally step into the wards as medical students. and we do rounds hoping to see patients with classical signs, doing Hx and PE. Its all real new stuff, and thoroughly invigorating. There's nothing quite like finding out about the human body, taking baby steps as doctors.

But somehow, i hate the wards too. I dont like seeing young patients. Not cause they are irritating or anything, but rather cos they dont deserve to be there. Thats not to say tt old patients do, but its rather common sensical that as we grow older, we start getting afflicted by ailments due to, well, old age. Whenever i hear about some case from others, i cant help but ask how old is the patient, not cos theres this insatiable urge to poke my nose into someone's affairs, but its just saddening to see a young patient in the prime of his life, stuck in a hospital.

Back in RI, our batch song was We are the Young. i think it really struck me that we are the young, we are the children of the world, and we hold tomorrow in our hands. i just feel a tinge of sadness when i set eyes on a young patient, before we go about the business of history taking and PE again.

What really gets my goat sometimes is when us older medical students, knowingly tell prospective students that empathy is considered a marvellous quality to have as a doctor, either for the interviews or whatever. But seriously, do we know what empathy is all about. We see amputees and all, we say that its sad. That doesnt make us doctors with empathy. Its just a natural response. Anyone with an iota of compassion would feel sad. Have we ever thought from the patient's perspective? Every patient has his or her own problems. Have we considered them?

I dunno, i think i will resolve to try to be more compassionate, to slip to patients that its more than just doctorly talk, but we do care. Not easy, especially when u haf a hell lot to do, but its worth a shot.

2009-04-06T21:33:00.005+08:00

kuznetsova

Mauresmo

"We want to become doubles stars, specialists. And mixed too. Somebody will become a man and we will play mixed, because we don't want to play with other partners. We have too much fun."

- Svetlana Kuznetsova, after winning Miami with doubles partner, Amelie Mauresmo

hmm...

2009-04-02T23:46:00.002+08:00

What does it say about you if your favourite movies thus far are the devil wears prada, 27 dresses and confessions of a shopaholic?

Time for my 2 months of drudgery

2009-03-25T12:53:00.014+08:00

what i have been up to for the past week

i love this shot

2009-03-19T13:27:00.002+08:00

sometimes, its only when u reach the end of the rainbow that u know who your true friends are. and really, when u are really down and out, there are not many friends that u can rely on, those whom you can are really gems. and of cos, ur family, nothing comes close. they are probably the only people who will help u unconditionally. blame it on me being morbid, but im realising more and more the value of having a twin, both as a brother and a best friend for life.

2009-03-14T21:44:00.001+08:00

somehow i think this waiting game is really anathema to my personality, which is more go-getterish. but well que sera sera, i should really just learn to take things easy. fate can be my new best friend

2009-03-09T12:20:00.002+08:00

im sorry for falling asleep during watchmen. its apparently a nice show, but somehow so nicely sleep inducing. and its raining. anxiolytically.

2009-03-07T22:55:00.002+08:00

today has been a weird day, with jams even on the expressway. fell asleep in the cinemas, through the loud booming sounds. bro was impressed. must be the anti-anxety pills. at least met up with ppl ths wk. so many bdays!

next wks theres more

2009-03-01T22:51:00.001+08:00

this year is really the year of the 21sts. so many bdays... not that im complaining. but sometimes i do feel a bit regretful that i cant attend some of them... maybe things will ease up in the later part of the year.

2009-02-23T10:35:00.002+08:00

life's back on track now. and i think t will only get better from here. maybe next time if i feel up to it i will tell u guys what really happened. lets just say that im really one of the unlucky few. and this is sth that might never happen to batches of medicine ppl. i thought it wasnt going to happen to me too. didnt even hear of it. wont be takng the exams in mar or now (although i could), so i do have time on my hands. enjoying a little, mugging some and hopefully i will be back for csfc. either way, i will be back by june latest. opening up year 3. and dont worry, its not cancer or some debilitating conditon. sth once off.

in any case. the year 3s are aving exams now. so good luck to them. followed by the year 2s. for me, im going to the line tmr haha. and time really flies, march is this week. soon we will be headed into april.

2009-02-19T00:03:00.001+08:00

in case u were wondering, sth happened to me... not very nice but its alrighht now. so i will be seeing all u guys soon (i hope)

2009-02-14T23:35:00.000+08:00

im back ater a looong time, did u miss me

2009-01-11T21:51:00.001+08:00

and its the year of the 21sts.

did u hear abt this couple who wed in taco bell. in a taco bell in usa tt is. her dress cost 15 bux and the priest was ordained online. total cost of wedding : 200 bux. how very nice.

2009-01-06T22:46:00.002+08:00

school started out in real drab fashion. i mean, theres a test on the VERY FIRST DAY for christ's sake. and another in 2 wks time. at least there are bday celebrations to go for. take the sombriety off things.

sch's been very meh nowadays. i woke up this morning from such a nice slp, realised it was almost 9. then GAWDD. lesson's at 930. Sian. im still zoned out.

and speaking of which, maybe im coming down with tt bulbar paralysis shit. the one tt CCM had and made the headlines for. my left knee keeps buckling. maybe its the thigh strain. maybe its sth more ominous. zomg.

i need to snap back.

2008-12-30T23:50:00.003+08:00

i think having a test when sch reopens puts a dampener on the festivities.

im not gonna do a 2008 reflection, my acad year is still ongoing. strangely, i feel tt the year hasnt really ended.

and im suppressing a fever. despite being a med student, and mugging all the bloody pharmaco drugs, all i can administer is .... paracetamol. nth glitzy abt it.

speaking of which i acetylate paracetamol fast. i actually smell it on my breath once i gulp down the pills

shoutout to reuben! this is for u. this great sage intones tt i always fall sick for a long time (which is true), but alcohol cures all when u puke out all the bacteria.

Happy 2009 everyone!

2008-12-26T22:09:00.002+08:00

just watched the little nyonya. i don't profess to be an avid watcher, but somehow, the characters are so one dimensional tt u can sort of predict what they will do next. and the things they fret over... omg. stitching beaded slippers and cooking buah keluak (im not sure is tt the correct peranakan dish, i know emily of emerald hill always rattle on abt this).

and ip man. another joke of a name. i thought it was sth like pac man. or iron man to be more exact. until i realised tt its a kung fu show, so maybe its hk-ish and pronounced as mann.

i think london choco roll is going to be the next big hit commercial.

2008-12-24T11:05:00.000+08:00

=) Fond memories

2008-12-20T01:32:00.002+08:00

2008-12-15T23:33:00.000+08:00

Excerpts from Bush's speech post-shoethrowing

"Its a size 10 shoe that he threw"

"Its like going through a political rally and have ppl yell at u"

"Its like driving down the street and have ppl gesturing at u with not all 5 fingers"

2008-12-14T23:53:00.002+08:00

that's what frens are for...

thanks for photoshopping and giving me watermelon moobs =)

2008-12-14T11:53:00.002+08:00

my favourite past time of late.

its amazing how much info/junk we assimilate in our lifetime. i think subconsciously, little snippets of info get ingrained into our memory. as we get older we seemingly comprehend the workings of society, of people, to the extend that it becomes predictable.

and chuck and blair are such a woefully sweet couple.

xoxo

2008-12-08T20:15:00.010+08:00

today was a crazy day. it rained non-stop. woke up at 430am to hear the windows vibrating against the wind, thought tt it would abate by 7am. but obviously it rained till freaking 7pm. s'pposed we would have to swop tennis with table tennis at aloy's. speaking of which he's abit crazy too (shoutout to aloy : pardon me, and some swiss chocs would be nice =) he's gonna attend a wedding dinner before driving straight to the airport for a whirlwind 19day europe trip. talk abt packing ur schedule tightly.

so yea, table tennis (or rather Game of Pong), mahjong (which i didnt win a single game, time to read Mahjong 101) and swimming.

love this shot. im not sure what he's doing tho

im only play acting

must have lost this point

reuben et moi

mon frere et moi

practising for rag'09

2008-12-04T23:24:00.001+08:00

2008-12-04T00:09:00.000+08:00

Random musing

There’s phototaking tmr and i was allocated the last row. Unfortunate it will be though, since i think im the midget in the row. At least i get to stand in the centre ahah. Tts what a height of 1.79 gives u in a row with ppl all above 1.8. i think height is a subjective issue despite the objectivity of the metric scale. People with the same height don’t look as though they are of the same stature. For some weird reason ppl think im more like 1.74 and weigh 60kg where im more like 1.79/68.5kg. tt’s until i stand beside u.

And the dissolution of the thai government is bound to bring further unrest to the country. Pro-govt supporters have hinted at it being a judicial coup, though that would depend on how regular thais view the integrity of the court in arbitrating such issues. The PAD might have won round 1 of a bruising battle, but the war isn’t over yet. Snap elections might yet return pro-thaksin factions to the govt. And the whole cycle repeats. What then?

I don’t think Chambliss should have ran on the platform of denying the Democrats a filibuster proof majority. That should not have been the raison d’etre for an electoral candidate.

Leona’s Run just got remade and released. Is it me or does she make weird actions like pseudo-slapping herself. I always thought (and still do) that snow patrol’s version was in a class of its own. Leona’s one is more pop ballad-ish but snow patrol’s connects.

Have u ever seen the inside of a passion fruit? It looks disgusting but tastes great.

Bolt’s opening! And rhino doesn’t squeak like Theodore. How sad.

2008-11-29T21:49:00.004+08:00

met one of my juniors and discovered that their year would be lengthened ie their sch term will be extended to dec 15 and instead of a 4mth break after year 1, they will be left with 2.5 mth. what a waste, since its only in year 1 where u will actually get a 4 mth break. if u count in rag, there wont be much time to go on their europe trip. sometimes u just wonder whether its counter productive to tax the year 1s so early on. it would probably lead to a vicious mugging cycle.

anyway, i think the protests in thailand are detrimental to the economy, and a blatant disregard of the democratically elected government.

1 more wk till end of sch! not tt it matters la. everyone's not really in sync now. the sun's out very strongly these few days. aint it supposed to be the monsoon season?

why do people like post-grunge music? like hoobastank's out of control, where it just involves alot of screaming into the mike. and im starting to develop another pet peeve - cutesy websites, u know those kinds with cartoons all over with tons of animation that makes browsing their e -catalogues a pain in the ass.

i finally realised why i prefer rice to noodles. when u eat a strand of noodle, u have no choice but to eat everything. whereas for rice, u can just take whatever portion u want. pasta such as fusilli is ok i guess. im just bored. i also realise tt im a potent caffeine neutraliser. maybe tts why i keep dozing off (in class)

2008-11-26T05:33:00.002+08:00

The pooch wanted to do sth special for NYE, instead of always having drinks as post party activity vis a vis looking very self-absorbed and not caring much about the community. Speaking of which, vis a vis is a rather interesting word to pronounce in French. And contrary to popular beliefs, even if you haven’t spoken French in a while, u can STILL pronounce it. Ditto for ~~driving~~ riding a bike (sheesh i just wrote driving a bike!!!)or driving. It isn’t vee-ah-vee or vees-ah-vees. I think its actually pronounced vees-za-vee. There’s a liaison there. But i digress.

Cant really imagine going to a home ie home for the elderly for NYE. I only can croak, can’t sing. I dunno any dialects. Cant possibly talk to them about Gossip Girl rite. In other words, i would probably look like a stoning idiot. I will be damn screwed for patient’s history taking next time.

Hannyway, i just realised i have a bad habit of casting my eyes elsewhere whenever im in the midst of a conversation, which others often misconstrue as my being not very interested in what they are saying. What others do with their fingers when they get fidgety, i do with my eyes. Lol.

And im just burning time online. So pardon the ranting. Have you ever realised that advertising is so prevalent nowadays that it just suckers u into buying? We go gaga over nice (or clever) packaging, and colours prescribed for mobile phones or furniture just aint the same boring black, white or grey anymore. Its now midnight black, arctic white, steel grey. U cant just say mushroom. It has to be Portobello or shiitake or whatever. I mean they aren’t in the same class as truffles, but rule of the thumb is – always plaster a noun with plenty of adjectives, be it their place of origin etc to make ur product seem nicer.

Im getting green for my stethoscope. Or rather HUNTER green. Hopefully it doesn’t seem too unprofessional. Although black has been done to death.

2008-11-23T23:44:00.004+08:00

hillary clinton as the new SecState. seems as though a Clinton Restoration is underway, not tt it would be a bad thing. although this doesnt seem like change that we can believe in, save for maybe obama's tacit disapproval of lieberman's ouster. tt sounded like a real bipartisan move, if such a thing even exists.

koped this from the disney website Being the sucker that i am for all things fat and squishy, Rhino (the hamster-lookalike character) sure looks cute. maybe he will sound like theodore in alvin and the chipmunks - them with the helium voices. and just a wee bit of trivia, Rhino is actually modelled afte a chinchilla, hence the ears. And do you know that chinchillas cant sweat and need their big ears to radiate heat?

twilight sounds like a nice movie to watch. havent caught quantum yet. somehow, a sentimental james bond just doesnt cut it. sth bout going against the cavalier spirit that we remember so fondly of.

2008-11-13T18:35:00.002+08:00

121108 - ORD Lo!!!

12 November'08. Twas supposed to be my ORD date had i not disrupted for medicine. things do come full circle. guess that meeting up with everyone again was a clear illustration of that. Came into army as part of BMTC/Hawk Plt 1, and its sorta fitting that we, as a platoon, should meet again for one last hurrah.

to be honest, felt kinda jealous when all of us were all talking abt what they (the ORD-ed people) were doing post-ORD. au contraire, im stuck with exams till late nov. followed by an incredible string of even more exams next year. but freedom came to me a year and a half earlier. so its a tradeoff.

Anyhow, all the best to all u peeps!

2008-11-06T18:09:00.000+08:00

Love the vid!

2008-11-02T14:02:00.001+08:00

"Du rouge a levres sur une cochonne"

and of cos, another instalment of SNL

2008-10-24T22:03:00.002+08:00

Watch out for:

haven't youtubed all the tracks. but crack the shutters is real nice =)

2008-10-20T20:29:00.001+08:00

Palin meets Palin

Final debate - Obama/McCain and of cos Simon the Unicorn

2008-10-15T22:17:00.002+08:00

Had a rather interesting revelation recently, shocking actually. And in the midst of the frenzied “do you know abt XXX...” a la gossip girl, a rather subtle phenomenon became apparent. I think we all profess to be open and above constrictive societal norms, but that might be further from the truth than we care to admit. No one wants to declare that one holds bigoted views, and will continue to maintain that one is tolerant of alternative viewpoints/lifestyles so long as it doesn’t encroach into one's daily life. But this is just a classic case of the Bradley effect, where deep down, you feel strongly otherwise.

And regarding THAT particular prickly issue, i think i might just have some lily white Republican leanings, however Democrat-ish i want to be. Or maybe im just an elitist bastard.

x.o.x.o you know you love me

2008-10-12T23:13:00.000+08:00

The perils of studying – you tend to think alot about the future.

As we get on in life, we find our core purposes, our agendas being continuously shaped by our experiences. Case in point- Its not uncommon to hear of doctor-wannabes saying they want to become paediatricians if they do so enter med school (just go see some straits times article about a level results). Only cos there’s nothing quite like seeing a healthy baby who epitomizes the promise of a bright and long future do well in life. But along the way, our perspectives change. Maybe its due to the inability to communicate with such young patients, maybe its due to there being other more glamorous or challenging specialties , or maybe its just due to bad experiences, that the said people change their tune.

Ditto for the aspiring surgeons. Grey’s or House colours the role of surgeons in a rosy red. But as we edge closer to making the decision to enter the surgical track, minds will start flip-flopping. Never mind the remuneration. The long hours in the operation theatre and the countless hours needed to reach surgeon-status will make some think twice. Yet at the same time, there will be others who relish taking on a role which many others have endeavoured to undertake, but only to have fallen by the wayside.

Sometimes its interesting to see life in a detached manner. High above the messy lives of humans. Its kinda fascinating to see how each and everyone of us navigate our lives. The choices that we make, be it sacrificing the prospect of having more time, more money or more social interactions, are very telling of the people that we are and of our priorities in life.

We all grow older. When we first started out, we were all rather homogenous, sharing the same childish love for computer games and the defunct fad that would be digimon or pokemon (oops did i offend anyone). And of course, having our idea of ‘best friends forever’. Things do get complicated along the way and for most of us, our pri sch buds aren’t with us anymore, or at least aren’t our BFFs. An altruistic true heartedness towards people around us and for what life has to offer has buckled under the pressures of life. With it goes the childhood true-heartedness and a more pragmatic variant is ushered in.

And this will go on and on. Eventually, how we view friendships, careers and fun will fan out in varying degrees and directions. At the very end, only you yourself will be standing alone, differentiated by experiences that can be considered as truly yours, and yours alone. Sad but true.

2008-10-11T23:10:00.001+08:00

2008-10-05T22:45:00.006+08:00

this is why u know u have a good bro who tells things to your face:

On swapping exercise routines

Me: You know i think u concentrate alot on ur small muscle grps when u gym. shoudnt u try to work on ur bigger muscle grps?

Bro: Well, small and big are relative. When I work out my gluteus, its actually small muscle, but when you do the same exercise, tts totally considered a big muscle grp.

0.0

and house bunny wasnt really over the top funny. more of it having an oprah-esque feel good feeling.

went jogging today, and met Kegan! should go jogging sometime together before u fly off to Japan!

2008-10-01T00:57:00.000+08:00

Just when you thought that Congress managed to get its act together by passing the $700billion package, it was scuttled soon after members from both parties broke ranks with Bush, with a significant number of them stingingly from the GOP. Well, political ideology over a national emergency? But seriously, the package is a tough bitter pill to swallow. Or to paraphrase Palin (whose debate with Biden might turn out to be an interesting spectacle), the people feel ill at ease. 700b is no small sum even to the US of A.

and ricciotti's pastries do kick some ass

2008-09-28T22:40:00.000+08:00

I cant be losing sleep over this, no I cant
And now I can not stop pacing
Give me a few hours, Ill have all this sorted out
If my mind would just stop racing

Cause I cannot stand still
I cant be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening

This is over my head but underneath my feet
Cuz by tomorrow morning Ill have this thing beat
And everything will be back to the way that it was
I wish that it was just that easy

Cuz Im waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow
And Im somewhere in between
What is real, and just a dream
What is real, and just a dream
What is real, and just a dream

Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in
Dont be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again
I dont want to run away from this
I know that I just dont need this

Cause I cannot stand still
I cant be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening

Cuz Im waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow
And Im somewhere in between
What is real, and just a dream
What is real, and just a dream
What is real, and just a dream

2008-09-28T00:43:00.001+08:00

sometimes, having self doubts can be a fearful thing.

2008-09-22T00:25:00.004+08:00

this is going to be eggsciting soon enough. grey's anat is coming in with a new season, i think tmr. and so are desperate housewives and heroes. tv galore. just watched antm season 11. and hmm, too early to speculate who's gonna win. but i sure like majorie, only cos she's french and her accent is zomg to die for. i think female francophonies actually sound nicer than their male counterparts. and sheena, not cos she's asian, but rather despite looking like a crazy bitch, she actually has her morals right, with her standing up for Isis and all. and fyi, Isis is transgendered.

Porizkova is curt but concise. cool. Ryder Cup action is on. Go Euros! and i need to divulge the secret of making great tutus. no not the pink thing. the edible thing.

now... im not a big fan of this. but my bro is. and the thing is... good looking tutus are hard to come by! they usually appear a little mashed up. Tangs' basement used to have this plump lady who was super good and fast when she made them. haha i sound very auntie. she made flawless tutus with the dexterity of a chef. she could like juggle a few orders and anyhow place them into the 2 steamers and recall which steamer contained what flavours of tutu. u see. tutus are just like macaroons and ur gateaux (And to those detractors who claim tt its spelt macarons, they are interchangeable, but i was brought up learning tt it was spelt with 2 os), they need to be created with good skills. and no one could parallel that auntie whom i think went into retirement with her tutu skills. dang. not tt its a great loss.

and its the start of midsem break! i <3>

2008-09-16T21:59:00.002+08:00

2008-09-13T23:54:00.001+08:00

2008-09-08T18:25:00.002+08:00

And yet again, Serena has won the US Open, ascending the #1 ranking after a long 5 years in the wilderness. ok im exaggerating it a little, she had been in the top 10 for quite some time alr. As much as Jankovic gifted [sic] her many set pts and all, Jankovic could hardly be said to be playing badly. Just tt she didnt play the clutch points well, or rather serena played like a true champion!

So hopefully it will be a Williams 1-2 soon.

Hmm before i start off, better to insert a disclaimer: that this isn’t abt anyone in particular. Watched my sassy girl recently. And at first i thought it would be a cheap rip off from the original Korean drama. But i guess the plot sorta set me thinking.

“We believe in a certain destiny but it got snatched away. But we still have got to survive, just to see how the story ends.” And in life i guess this is it. Hard as it might be, resilience is key. Lately i’ve been feeling occasional bouts of whimsical sadness. The kind that after reading some really unlikeable messages u just feel like thrashing ur phone. Maybe i’ve been watching too many of these kind of movies.

However indignant u might feel about the hand u have been dealt with, i think one line in the movie really resonates, “ sharing and moulding of your destiny is your destiny”. I don’t think im someone who sits by and watch things go by, though in rships this can often happen, not thru ur own fault. But still, Im the captain of my fate, the master of my soul.

Live with it and get stronger.

2008-09-02T17:47:00.006+08:00

ok time for a more normal post. sorry if anyone was unduly worried (who am i kidding) bout my previous posts. in any case, its more mooncake galore. this time round: goodwood park and cherry garden. hmm i think goodwood's wins hands down. tho they redefined mooncakes. nice snowskin but the filling's REALLY non traditional. cherry garden's was more innovative, with pork floss filling and what not. thought that shangri la's went for too much. and st regis' had too much stuff packed into a small mini mooncake so u cant really taste the subtleties.

so in the pecking order:

1) Goodwood
2) Cherry Garden
3) Shangri-La
4) St Regis

hmm, there's still one more. raffles hotel. that might be the MOAM - mother of all mooncakes. shall see...

Cherry Garden's mooncakes

wad a chinese looking box. weird colours

Goodwood park's. their mango one was aafh*^%$#R good

aabit overkill. need an insulated carrier

tadah!!! goodwood park

2008-08-31T19:31:00.001+08:00

corduroy is no more =(

2008-08-28T20:37:00.002+08:00

there is a fine line between understanding what reality has in store for you and accepting it.

2008-08-27T09:44:00.000+08:00

Today I saw the moon in the sunny skies.

2008-08-22T23:09:00.001+08:00

I dont wanna lose you,
I dont wanna use you
Just to have somebody by my side
And I dont wanna hate you
I dont wanna take you
But I dont wanna be the one to cry
That dont really matter to anyone, anymore
But like a fool I keep losing my place
And I keep seeing you walk through that door

But theres a danger in loving somebody too much
And its sad when you know its your heart you cant trust
Theres a reason why people dont stay where they are
Baby sometimes love just aint enough

Now I could never change you
I dont wanna blame you
Baby you dont have to take the fall
Yes I may have hurt you
But I did not desert you
Maybe I just wanna have it all

It makes a sound like thunder
It makes me feel like rain
And like a fool who will never see the truth
I keep thinking somethings gonna change

But theres a danger in loving somebody too much
And its sad when you know its your heart you cant trust
Theres a reason why people dont stay where they areB
aby sometimes love just aint enough

And theres no way home
When its late at night and youre all alone
Are there things that you wanted to say
Do you feel me beside you in your bed
There beside you where I used to lay

And theres a danger in loving somebody too much
And its sad when you know its your heart they cant touch.
Theres a reason why people dont stay who they are
Cause baby sometimes love just aint enough.
Baby sometimes love just aint enough.

how hauntingly true....

2008-08-18T20:52:00.005+08:00

i think mooncakes are getting fancier by the day. Like this - Almond Snow Skin with Martell Cordon Bleu Cognac Truffle and Custard Paste. Or Advocaat Egg Liqueur Truffle with Black Sesame Paste. the only saving grace is tt they are mini sized and can just pop into ur mouth. and u dont feel too full after tt. but they are so nice and oh so sinful.

from shangri la la la

St Regis.

2008-08-12T19:45:00.003+08:00

Sch ended surprisingly early today. So it was a mad rush to the gym and back home to catch the Olympics. Finished gym in a record time of 1hr 10 min. Lost my ez-link card along the way. Patched a call to the hotline, and the poor lady, bless her soul, kept telling me tt she's going to cancel the card with id number:##########. well there's more than one card connected to my account. and i wouldnt know the card number of the lost card since the number is found ON THE BACK OF THE CARD.

China won the men's team gymnastics. turned in a scintillating performance. japan did well too. a pity for fabian hambuechen tho.

2008-08-09T18:23:00.007+08:00

Today's national day. so happy 43rd bday to Singapore. Although it probably has lost some of the hype owing to the Olympics. I mean we just saw the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. Today's there's NDP. And the difference in pomp between the 2 is quite evident.

And time to talk bout the opening ceremony. loved the opening sequence. pure opulence. sheer majesty. 2008 men for the first performance along and the Confucian one had 3000. actually this reminds me of the national ceremony that NKorea holds. That one involves a hell lot of ppl too. But but but, this time SARAH BRIGHTMAN was there to sing the opening theme song, You and Me. Nice and oriental - the song (not sarah brightman). its rather slow too. and im always a sucker for slow and moody songs. melancholic would be nice. but tt wouldnt be fitting for an olympic.

not many artistes can hold the distinction of singing 2 Olympic songs. glad that brightman could do it after the barcelona olympics. i mean look at vanessa amorosi. after sydney, didnt hear from her.

and the bishan gay made the pages of ST. hmm thought tt he had a rather flattering potshot. times have changed. wasnt he known as 156 in my time? probably extended his bus routes.

ripped this off a blog. not sure who the original author was. but thanks alot!

- On passion

It means you get out of bed every morning no matter how much it hurts or how broken your heart is.

It means you touch nature. walk in the rain. dance in the rain. feel the rain dancing upon your cheeks! sniff the air after a downpour. gaze up upon the night sky and look out for stars wherever you are.

It means you see beauty in the world. be more than just a tourist in the world of images, just watching images passing by. take time to admire the beauty of both nature and architecture.

It means you go to the museum or that art gallery that you’ve always wanted to see but “never had time for”. it means you go bungy jumping, skydiving, or whatever it is you’ve always feared doing. you just do it, because life is too short for hesitations.

It means you accept yourself for what you are, and at the same time be able to balance the need between self-acceptance and growth.

It means you forgive yourself. forgive yourself for all the things that you did, all the things that you didn’t do, and all the things that you should have done. you can’t get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened.

It means you taste life. have some chocolate even if it does make you fat. and ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. and marshmallows!

It means you laugh out heartily at least once a day. and be able to laugh at yourself.

It means you do the one thing you think you cannot do. fail at it. try again. do better the second time. the only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.

It means making time because time is precious. spend time only on the things and people that matter. be wise and strong enough to be able to tell which are the ones that don’t matter. don’t waste time fooling around, playing the field, or on insincere people because time spent is the one thing that can never be regained.

It means you love. and you love unconditionally and deeply. you take risks even if you’ve been hurt before, because you can’t get stuck on all the ghosts of the past. it means to be passionate and devoted and dedicated and committed. it means you allow someone to take care of your heart, and not be afraid of paying the price for being this passionate.

It means you go out of your way to help a stranger in need. be kind to everyone and anyone and all animals too! it means you stop counting the dollars and cents.

It means you pick up a foreign language! or a new musical instrument. you listen to the music of life. you embrace different cultures. the only color of people that you see is the color of their character.

It means you are strong enough to not be “poisoned” into being or doing what society says. if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. create your own.

2008-08-07T23:13:00.004+08:00

a storm is brewing outside. the weather's been screwy lately. but still, nice weather to slp

Since the Olympics opening ceremony is just tomorrow, thot that i would share with u guys a quote by one of the female russian gymnasts.

I want to win as badly as i want to mother my own child. I have been great for a long time. Its my last ball... my last Olympics. I will go there and get what belongs to me

- Svetlana Khorkina.

that was uttered prior to athens '04, but she never did win the all round gold. tho she would be forever known as the queen of the uneven bars =)

and obama is bound to lose the elections. he's leading mccain by only 4 pts nationally, even after the iraqi govt's endorsement of his troops withdrawal plan. and we have all seen in bush vs gore in '04 how the popular vote doesnt neccessarily translate to winning the elections. obama cant hold on to the states that hillary carried in the democratic primaries, e.g. ohio. if he loses california it will be a travesty. and he's struggling to hold onto michigan. the dynamics of the elections are such tt independents are having a disporportionately large clout in determining the next president, since most democrats and republicans tend to vote for their parties, regardless of the candidate. although tt might soon change in this elections. a worrying number of clinton's supporters have made it abundantly clear tt they would pick mccain over obama. the winds of change blowing in the wrong direction?

we shall see. Hillary for 2012!

2008-08-03T19:43:00.023+08:00

The sun’s blazing these few days. Good for swimming. But its freaking humid. Even the bands performing at SingFest were complaining. Or as how Fran Healy put it, ‘its just so wet’. 2nd day of SingFest had Jason Mraz, OneRepublic and Alicia Keys!!! Zomg. Wasn’t very used to the songs on Day 1 save for those by Travis. And Singaporeans are rather passive. Lost Prophets and newfoundglory literally had to screech at us to pump our fists. Not tt i like those 2 bands la. Too rockerish. Melee was nice. Nerdy and personable. Some Singaporeans are just so meh. Whenever the host would welcome the next band or when a band announces the next song, they would like high five and cheer as though they know the song/band. And when the lead asked them to sing along, most of them didn’t know the song being played. -.-

And i realised tt we are a rather sanitised bunch. I think it was lost prophets who told us to show them the middle finger and nfg who screamed at everyone to come to the front to feel their male boobs. And trust me, they have.

Naturally Travis stole the show, tho simpleplan set the stage for them. Nice of them to wish us Singaporeans a happy national day. The powers of local knowledge. Just like HSBC.

TheLine was good as usual. At least they changed the menu. French this round! Somehow i think their dessert bar isn’t up to the mark. They just stuff the tapas into flutes and make them look chic.

I’m so gonna call my new or rather replaced ipod Deviver.

Final Gig - Travis

Simple Plan

This lady is damn imba. She brings her own snacks, reads mags, then fall aslp during gigs

Melee!

Still Melee

Melee took the evening slot.

New Found Glory - them with the moobs

camwhoring

Fort Canning in the afternoon

need i say more

at the main entrance. duh

i shall go for aesthetic surgery. my new look.

2008-07-31T00:21:00.002+08:00

seriously i have this urge to repair my ipod. it keeps running out of juice. but tt means i wont get to use it. and its 3 working days somemore. and it further begs the qn as to how am i gonna get it back from epicentre. have to make 2 trips lei. sianz.

anyway. teaching's coming to an end. and sch's starting. luckily the dean's office had the common sense to move the first lesson to a monday instead of fri. which idiot would want to come down on a fri and break for the national day weekend.

today there was some antioxidant test thingie in sch. and naturally the bio teachers were the ones that went for it the earliest. something about bio teachers and biochemical tests. got mine in the orange zone, which isnt too good la. im not saying this cos the test result was sucky, but i dont quite believe in all this bull bout antioxidants. i mean u dont really need supplements for something which happens rather naturally in the body, in sufficient amounts to boot. any one who studied biochem would know it.

speaking of which this lady from nature's farm tried to con my dad into buying health supplements. and he's apparently for the idea of us downing amino acids supplements since we exercise like 6 days a week. thought ttt it would help in muscle recovery. bought some pills in the end. only to realise tt they are actualli whey protein. the kind tt hardcore gymmers use and things which i swear i wont use even after gymming. okok compromise, use abit less to aid muscle recovery but no bulk addition.

my chinese is going down the drain. had to translate for the malay receptionist for a chinese parent. was talking gibberish and trying pitifully to get around using hardcore words like original result slips. wah lau.

erm tennis with aloy was good today.

Why am i talking so much tonight?

2008-07-28T20:44:00.001+08:00

I realise i have a tendency to mumble after a while. Or drawl the last syllabus till it turns into another word. But i cant change. I have lips of steel.

And i know im quite backdated. Starting to uncover how nice certain songs can be 4 years after they were released. Like Coldplay’s In my place. Of cos, everything i do, i do it for you really takes the cake. Topped the charts of 30 countries, longest run on the US Hot 100, and the list goes on. Truth be told tt i prob heard it a long time ago. But its iconic nonetheless.

The weather in spore sux. Should play rain by breaking Benjamin. Which incidentally is another nice song, one of many tt have mysteriously disappeared from my itunes. But today’s weather was good! There’s something cathartic bout just lazing around in the pool, with the pooch no less. Eh poon, how much are u gonna pay me for teaching u how to swim?

Orange seems to be in the rage. Counted 4 ppl wearing orange swimming apparel, including me of cos hehe. But mine’s orange trimmings.

2008-07-27T20:26:00.002+08:00

i have a bad habit of stoning whenever im tired. tts where i have this laissez-faire attitude and cant be bothered abt anything.

i think i have trouble with voice projection. nursing a sore throat now just after a wk at RI!

there's this new dengue commercial tt really tugs at ur heart string. for once a good promo vid by the NEA.

i know i'll probably get stoned by saying this. but sometimes, to decide if another person is the right one for u, it takes more than just plain ol' liking. im a proponent of the rather traditional notion tt u need to have similar cultural background and certain ideologies. Certain tenets of life, being so close to the core of one's soul, have the tendency to make or break a relationship. Religion/faith is one, aspirations might be another.

I disregard the romantic notion tt love transcends everything. True, that might seem noble. but when u like someone, u have to like the person for more than just his/her physical appearance. u haf to like the aspirations and the perceptions of the person in question. If u cannot see eye to eye on the impt issues at hand, there's a good chance the rship wont go far. and these aspirations and all do stem from one's cultural, educational background etc. those who claim that its too pragmatic to consider all these facets themselves are far from idealists themselves. more often than not, if they arent smitten by the person's drive or aspirations or perceptions, they are most likely liking the person's physical attributes. so in that sense they too are shallow.

okok i think i shall stop here. the above exposition is far from concise and very tardy. not my cup of tea nor my kind of writing. shall continue it next time.

2008-07-22T20:14:00.003+08:00

at billy bomber's where lionel finished 2 or was it 3 milk shakes? and he's still weighs less than me -.-

heh sorry poon, didnt know it was a contusion or is it ecchymosis

2008-07-19T14:45:00.011+08:00

dream of the red chamber. heh

avec maman!

we couldnt bring home the cushions cos dukey would get jealous

i actually look waay fat in this photo

2008-07-19T02:04:00.008+08:00

this is my favourite photo of all time. Juicy! U go girl!

Dr. Ben Liang with his trademark orgasmic face

Some of the CRITA OGLS

we changed slippers btw

reubs, moi, hiok, allon and lionel

2008-07-18T15:50:00.003+08:00

this isnt supposed to be a ranting blog or a blog with emo posts. but i cant seem to help feeling jaded. when u try ur hardest to make things work, it doesnt matter if the results arent what u wanted. but it does matter when ppl make light of it or treat it as something purely dispensable.

Hesitation, hesitation
I was proven wrong

2008-07-17T21:52:00.001+08:00

i have a tan on tan and my left shoulder hurts like fuck.

2008-07-16T22:38:00.002+08:00

yup! i will be teaching in RI next wk. and the boys really haf it good. RI's the host sch for some Asia Pacific Youth thingie, so they get days off. although i think it coincides with i learning.

im super pissed off today cos my ipod keeps running low on juice and decided to send it in for servicing. i reached at 1957hr, but the store was alr closed, tho it was supposed to close at 8pm. which was fucking irritating.

and my ipod must be a mika fan or sth. it threw out 3 mika songs in succession, on shuffle no less. i think any other world is quite nice. even nicer than grace kelly.

2008-07-16T10:23:00.002+08:00

today's a good day for a swim. but the pool's closed =(

was reading today's papers. and dr ong chit chung's funeral was highlighted. somehow it was real touching when his son, in his eulogy, added that, " because he [Dr Ong] didn't have a father, he loved us twice as much."

and its frightening to think of the prospect that the age of admission for the gifted education programme will be shifted earlier than pri 3. god knows how many parents will be pressuring their kids to enter the gifted programme. came as no coincidence tt yesterday, the paper was saying sth abt how gifted kids are more likely to enter elite unis like harvard (20% as opposed to national mean of <10%) and more likely to secure scholarships (60% as to 25%). but seriously, as a part of the gifted programme, its no biggie. u dont think much of it. they just give u more freedom to explore ur options tts all. but i do appreciate the CIP component of it.

and violet hill seems much nicer than viva la vida. and i cant get tt buzzing song out of my head. the one with tt irritating rhythm which i heard in the gym.

2008-07-13T11:39:00.002+08:00

i've always found it ludicrious that sometimes, my parents will grumble about what good lives we kids have nowadays, as opposed to their working and studying at the same time. Its fallacious to begin with, either as an appeal to novelty or to tradition, depending on how you see it. My generation has many more choices made available to us. Tt's true. But it has become more competitive as well. And its frustrating to know that u cant get what u want despite the myriad of choices.

Yesterday, on the way home, i met one of my juniors, who got a place at NTU accountancy. Not a bad course, till he pointed out tt many of the raffles ppl are going overseas. then it just struck me that once upon a time, i had a scholarship, was all set to head to UK to study, but somehow it didnt materialise. medicamp just ended, and when i see those juniors of mine being so excited about medicine.... it sort of struck a chord, or a raw nerve rather. one year on, i still dont have a convincing answer as to why im in medicine. or convincing to me that is.

i hope that i made the right choice by picking medicine. he asked me the same question as to why i chose med. luckily, it was my stop to get off. i didnt answer his qn. maybe its cos i didnt have a good answer. or maybe its time for me to get off.

2008-07-11T19:13:00.000+08:00

The weather for the past few days has been nothing short of morose. Even today when the sun came out for a while, it merely heralded another bout of dull clouds and showers.
Bro’s giving French tuition soon. I think its time i revise my French as well. Seems to be a waste if i start forgetting it. And i got hit by a tennis ball today when i didn’t step into the ball properly. The racquet frame clipped the ball instead of the sweet spot and it ricocheted into my eye -.-

And this is to no one in particular.

I have always believed that one’s actions are as much an extension of one’s character as one’s personality and temperament. Sometimes, actions betray what you profess not to be, to think, or to want. And i realise im a rather judgemental person. I judge people not based solely on what they tell me, but what they do as well. More often than not, it shows the intensity and degree of how far they will go to get what they want.

But above all of this, its important to develop a sense of self-worth. You are what you are. And subconsciously, people around you see that as well. Only through balancing your expectations and demands with how much you think you are worth can you get an idea of how much values such as dignity and integrity mean to you, and how far are you willing to compromise them.
We all live in a social group. Sometimes, your words aren’t king. The general consensus, albeit not an iron clad model to follow, does offer a benchmark of your actions and what you should or should not do. People who believe too much in themselves risk losing a reality checkpoint.

And take it or leave it, you can believe that you are vastly different from the people around you, but they are borne of the same mould as you are. You can choose to pursue your ideals while others predicate their decisions on pragmatism. Above all, time and tide wait for no man. Ceteris paribus, the one who prioritizes with certain end games in mind would do better than one without. Blame it on my disdain for idealism. But i ground my faith in pragmatism- driven idealism. One cannot afford to be entirely idealistic in making decisions. Not in this life. Not in this country. A truly idealistic individual would only be living in a self-fulfilled prophecy.

Between pragmatism and idealism? I think pragmatism wins out. Hands down.

And sometimes im just too tired to say anything more.

2008-07-06T20:46:00.000+08:00

And the Williams sisters won the doubles as well. I think Venus thoroughly deserves to win the singles match and of cos the Venus Rosewater Dish (Aloy i know u must be very happy). Serena’s groundstrokes were abit awry at times and Venus just played solid. With a very booming serve. This is worth fantasizing about – Venus gets to pocket bout £860,000 for both singles and doubles. Zomg.

Anyway, my sister left for the airport today for Shanghai. See u in 2 wks!
I think i have this bad habit of talking in a stream of consciousness, like James Joyce liddat. Addie! Im trying to be literary.

Mika’s over my shoulder is very haunting.

And wiki-ed Edward Scissorhands. Recalled tt i watched it when i was really young, and in Barcelona there was this impersonation of him. The show was supposed to be a comedy. But its really dark and twisty, just like Meredith. I realise i have this weird penchant for melancholic songs. It just comes naturally. Im not like trying to be emo, goth or whatever. I tend to pick such songs. Like Coldplay’s til kingdom come (the lyrics are nice), The Perishers’ Sway, Run, etc.

Mount Faber’s getting really crowded on Sundays. Its damn hard to jog cos there are SINGAPOREAN TOURISTS. Yea, get tt right. Who clog up the jogging paths with their cameras in hand. I think the boardwalk is seriously overhyped. And there were those mini vans selling can drinks. Shit, i think i shall go jog up in the mountains next time.

Just found out tt there’s at least 8 different types of tea in the house. Tea galore =)

There’s camp tmr. Hopefully it will be good and fun, although the weather looks foreboding these few days.

Read the papers bout how wearing slippers and being shoddily dressed seem to be a national pastime. Well truth be told its actually rather comfortable heh. And im up in arms over those retailers who brandish ill-formed French names as their shop names. I mean things like D’Votre DOESNT MEAN ANYTHING. Okok. I shall stop bitching lest Karma catches up. Im having an outbreak now. AND THERE’S CAMP TMR =(

2008-07-04T21:58:00.003+08:00

Woot! its an all williams final at wimbledon. always thought that they received less credit than what they deserved. afterall venus is the queen of grass.

3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THE FINAL

1) Its a battle between the top two active players with the most number of grand slams (14); serena (8), venus (6)

2) Since the turn of the millenium, there has been at least one williams in the final of wimbledon, save for 2006.

3) its been 5 long years since there was an all-williams final.

horsing around during medicamp

and featuring DUKEYand his sidekick - COCKTAIL! no prize for guessing who's the big and fat one and the small thingie.

2008-06-30T20:53:00.003+08:00

heh here's a shout out to addie! thanks for the tea from uk! u really know how to indulge me in my grandmotherly taste. i know tt my offer of ultra absorbent sanitary pads might be abit lacking, hence air time on my blog!

and doing up my passport application now. u know the 'delete when appropriate' section, i scratched off the wrong one. in order to rectify it, my form now reads - ' i has ......' instead of i have cos i scratched off wrongly. so hopefully they understand what i mean and pass me off as someone who failed engrish.

zomg im so gonna grow fat. extra chocolatey mini rings from marks and spencers and like 3 tubs of b&js (New York, dublin and pistachio - surprisingly nice). whee!

2008-06-30T00:10:00.002+08:00

all of a sudden, this song came up on my ipod. and its really nice (for want of a better word). i think i really need to stop using the words nice and sweet. they dont mean much. and there's so much more tt i wanna express.

and the song was released only this year. so im not backdated okayy...

Sweet and Low - Augustana
Anywhere you go, anyone you meet
remember that your eyes, can be your enemies

I said, hell is so Close, and heaven's out of reach

but i ain't givin' up quite yet
i've got too much to lose

hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down, sweet and low, and i'll carry you home
hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down and i'll carry you home

the rain is gonna fall
the sun is gonna shine
the wind is gonna blow
the water's gonna rise she said, when that day comes,
looK into my eyes, no one's givin' up quite yet, we've go too much to lose

hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down, sweet and low, and i'll carry you home
hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down and i'll carry you
all the way,
and you say your fine
but your still young and out of line
when all i need's to turn around
to make it last to make it count
i ain't gonna make the same mistakes that put my mama in her grave
i don't wanna be alone

hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down, sweet and low, and i'll carry you home
hold me down, sweet and low, little girl
hold me down and i'll carry you home

2008-06-28T14:30:00.001+08:00

" Letting go doesn't mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things which cannot be."

2008-06-28T00:42:00.001+08:00

2008-06-26T00:24:00.010+08:00

i think im getting a sore throat from all the talking and laughing tonite. somehow it never fails to happen. been a while since we all met up. maybe a month and a half? haha long by our standards. ngiap if u r reading this, u r sorely missed (im just being diplomatic here). and baby picked the police force over SIA. WTH! no wonder ur mum disowned u. jk.

anyway have u heard of someone who will do housework when he's angry just to make his mum feel worthless since she always does it.

and poon's bday is 20082008, 20th aug 2008. shit. why cant my bday have something like tt too. i need to live for 400 more years. time to start downing cocktails of pills. i need to live. long.

2008-06-25T00:53:00.001+08:00

from venice =)

aint this pretty?

2008-06-24T12:58:00.007+08:00

went gymming today. twas ok i guess. hands started chaffing not too long after, must be due to the long lay off. and i realise tt im too poor to get the nike gym gloves which my bro has. sad life. haha. okok im not flat broke yet, but soon to be. and its not cos ive been spending like a cow, more of that i havent claimed this month's allowance.

in the gym today, 'to be with you' came on air. and my bro told me tt his PC told his batch that he would teach them one line of the song regularly, till at the end of it all, they would know the whole song. how very sweet. really. and how very different from my own experience. and the song itself is strangely melancholic.

and im very backdated. im starting to think that mraz's wordplay is rather nice. launched 4 yrs ago. zomg.

was reading at PageOne yesterday, where i was told tt i couldnt stay in the children's section cos im not one. maybe i look paedophilic. and i should stop rolling my eyes. its a bad habit.

read a very touching article in the june 23 issue of time, about how this guy called rescorla saved the lives of thousands in the 911 incident, only to die himself. sometimes, its just these little things that get to me more. actually i think something's wrong with me. im hardly impressed by fairy tales or SATC-ish endings. im more awed by people who were dealt a lousy hand in life, and how they either lived through dire and destitute surroundings or die trying. what strong beliefs.

the only scenes which i liked alot in satc were when auld lang syne was playing (which was haunting, in my opinion), and when carrie was jilted. the sheer horror of seeing something happen out of the blue, something which you knew all along could happen but choose not to see because u had too much faith. and finally, something did break. just like the hand bouquet that got smashed in the end, something was thrashed to smithereens. unknowingly, surprisingly and painfully.

i could get used to this life. exercise, going out etc. things havent been going all too well, but the die has been cast anyway. if anything, i will finish strongly. its what i do best anyway. or so i hope.

2008-06-22T18:21:00.000+08:00

I realised i haven’t done my post mortem for the trip. Sounds so Singaporean. I think only we do post mortems so regularly, forensics not included. Not that much can be said actually. You actually have to be there to experience it. Hmm, all i can recall is that despite all the grumblings and all, Singapore is actually world class. Out of all the airports that we have been to, none can hold a candle to Changi International, maybe save for Madrid Barajas. Im not saying this out of nationalistic pride, but rather from an objective standpoint. Ditto for the metro. Although to be fair its rather easy to navigate from country to country.

I think its more like a rite of passage, where u gain an understanding of yourself and see the world around u when u r hitting the ground, not from behind the computer. And its quite an eyeopener, though its a bit of a waste that we didn’t attempt to learn a new language, but just relied on whatever we know i.e French to tide us thru. That and sign gestures of course.
Weather was great. And the Spaniards are nice people =).

Somehow im feeling introspective today. I realised on the trip that im someone who needs to be in the driver’s seat, who needs to be in control. I hated getting lost or feeling exasperated when roads don’t show up on maps; and i hated very much not knowing whats happening back home. When you r on vacation, u assume the world stands still for you, but things change when u return.

Very much so.

And gut feeling does work. Sometimes, i feel that im overly prudent and pragmatic. And its quite uncanny that on the trip, ur gut feel can point you in the right direction. Subconsciously, we do know whats best for us. I think tt can be extended to all aspects of our lives. Pragmatism has led me well thus far. I need to rely on my gut feel more. But when both pragmatism and gut feel converge, u know that thats the correct path for u.

Well, my eurotrip has ended. 2605 – 1906. What fun. Time to get back to reality

1609, 0703, 1603, 2403, 2205, 2405, 2207. What a chapter in my life. Time to close it shut.

2008-06-22T00:58:00.001+08:00

Ah ah ah ahAh ah ah ah
I'm giving up on everything
Because you messed me up
Don't know how much you
Screwed it up

You never listened
That's just too bad
Because I'm moving on
I won't forget
You were the one that was wrong
I know I need to step up and be strong
Don't patronize me
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Have you forgotten
Everything that I wanted
Do you forget it now
You never got It
Do you get it now
Yea yea yea yea yea
Yea yea yea yea yea
Ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah
Gotta get away

There's no point in thinking about yesterday
It's too late now
It won't ever be the same
We're so different now
Yea yea yea yea yea

I know I wanna run away
I know I wanna run away
Run away
If only I could run away
If only I could run away
Run away

I told you what i wanted
I told you what i wanted
What I wanted
But I was forgotten
I won't be forgotten
Never Again

Forgotten
Yeah yeah yeah
Forgotten
Yeah yeah yeah
Forgotten
Yeah yeah yeah
Forgotten
Yeah yeah yeah

2008-06-10T00:32:00.002+08:00

spotted: At the Pantheon, Tom Hanks filming his movie, presumably Angels and Demons, on 9th June 2008.

2008-06-04T14:10:00.002+08:00

greetings from florence italy! actually the italians dont quite understand u unless u say firenze. and its rather noisy here, even in the morning. at least its homely. leaving tmr for pisa and rome at the unearthly hour of 750am.

athens was dustier than greece. really i think their cars arent well kept at all. italy was waay better. touched down in italy after an hours flight delay. pardon the punctuation, not used to the european keyboard. speaking of which im going online so much now cos 2 days in venice with no internet = withdrawal symptoms. the lady at this hostel is very nice. we get free internet access, free use ofthe coffee machine or tea, and if we wake up earlier, she will even help us brown bag our breakfast. so nice. its heavenly to brew earl grey once again. its 17 degrees by the way. outside is colder. so its like drinking hot tea in an airconditioned room. shiok.

rained yesterday. 2nd taste of italian rain. the first time we encountered rain was when we first touched down in milan. not nice at all since we were lugging luggages. nice alliteration rite. i need to get my brain juices flowing.

anyway, did i mention tt we saw a sports fest in milan. very nice. milan was vibrant. venice was touristy. i like florence. its calm and slower paced. not to mention tt their piazzas are smaller (think less walking) and easier to get around. and very cold too. i like. and gelatos nice. (i cant seem to find the apostrophe)

k, bout 6 days time we will be in Espagnol. so ciao for now.

2008-06-04T01:56:00.000+08:00

hello! im in firenze!

2008-05-25T10:14:00.003+08:00

Good morning Upper East-siders. Gossip Girl here. Spotted - R preparing to leave Singapore at 3am in the wee hours of Monday morning. Sounds like a typical holiday trip? That remains to be seen. Till the 19th of June then!

you know you love me, X.O.X.O

2008-05-23T22:33:00.000+08:00

Ever since vivo came up i realised i would much rather shop there than in town. 1) town’s further away and 2) almost all the stores i frequent have a branch in vivo. Anyway, i think river island’s prices are ludicrious. My bro postulates that they issue their employees 20 tags for them to tag random store items at weird prices.

And pedra branca was awarded to Singapore. And middle rocks to Malaysia. How fair, such arbitration.

Today marks the end of my exercise regime before i head off. Its been rather crazy actually. Have been either doing cardio or gymming for 5 times per week, save for this week (four). Feeling a little lethargic. Luckily going off soon. The hot weather’s going to stay for at least a week, as per meteorological forecast, so erm, sweat it out guys!

2008-05-23T09:49:00.004+08:00

its been a while since i last blogged. leaving for athens on sunday nite. actually its monday morning. i think when you go overseas, u need to overcome the inertia of packing. u need to pick ur clothes, fold em up. settle the miscellanous stuff... u actually get hesitant about leaving for the trip, without which u would be just lazing around in spore. but the weather's too hot. so here's to 19 degrees weather.
the trip should be fun i guess =)

and the RI interview went ok. actualli it wasnt an interview. more like a briefing session. and the school's a fortress now. everywhere there's some form of security barrier. but its rather nice i must say. esp the banded field and rather nice hall and audi (short for auditorium la, not the car with 4 rings). i have a hazy recollection of immuno and proteomics (think biochem), but probably need to read up. at least im only teaching 6hrs per wk.

and david cook won. i don't quite follow AI, but somehow watched the results show on the tv in the gym. it was rather obvious tt cook was going to win, just haf to watch the way the camera angled and how it panned between the 2 contestants.

everytime i hear bleeding love, i keep hearing lewis sing it as 'im in love wih you' or sth like tt. WHERE'S THE T?

hmmm. just woke up. not in a mood to blog. will do so later. bb.

2008-05-18T14:47:00.000+08:00

I talk to you as to a friend
I hope that's what you've come to be
It feels as though we've made amends
Like we found a way eventually

It was you who picked the pieces up
When I was a broken soul
And then glued me back together
Returned to me what others stole

I don't wanna hurt you
I don't wanna make you sway
Like I know I've done before
I will not do it anymore
I've always been a dreamer
I've had my head among the clouds
Now that I'm coming down
Won't you be my solid ground?

I look at you and see a friend
I hope that's what you wanna be
Are we back now where it all began
Have you finally forgiven me?

You gathered my dreams in
When they all blew away
And then tricked them back into me
You saved me I was almost dead

2008-05-15T19:38:00.002+08:00

i have no idea that gossip girl is only in its first season. so i shall now chiong it till im up to date =)

and justine henin's retirement came as such a big surprise. its such a waste, she still has a few good years left in her, and she ought to have waited till Roland Garros, where she would have gotten a champion's send off.

the spanish office is really welcoming. or rather, the lady that we met there. for some weird reason, i think that the european accent is rather nice, be it italian, spanish, french or whatever. Like how they roll their rrrrr's and what not.

2008-05-14T13:37:00.002+08:00

today's a grey and dreary day. its the kind of weather where u just want to lie in bed with a good book and a cup of tea. ok, that sounds rather grandmotherly, bottomline is u want to stay in bed.

pdcp, as how pdcp always is, is rather boring. hence my blogging during lessons. we had to do role play, u know, the thing u do in like primary school.

was browsing the papers today, and apparently bout 35,000 students will apply to local unis, with the latter's total enrolment being 15,000? so does that mean that a local uni degree is actually more valuable than expected, due to the scarcity of places?

shit shit shit. how to get thru today?