and the quarter centenarian speaks...

been meaning to post an entry for quite some time now..
something funny.. light hearted.. entertaining...
a little piece to bring some chuckles to those who are taking a break from work...
been thinking bout it..
in fact i was thinking about it when i missed my stop going home on a bus... and this was after missing a stop (because i overslept) on the train ride home that very same nite...

yes.. i've had ppl telling me over msn (yes plural...) that i should update the blog with an entry... preferably a long one.. (their identities shall not be revealed should this turn out to be meaningless blog.. and should you waste 10mins reading it.. hey! i can't get that 10mins back for you.. physically abusing my fans will not help either...)

anyway... getting back to the entry... (yes i actually took a break to eat my oats n milk..)

my 25th bday celebrations was dubbed the week long festivities.. simply cos the celebrations were spread over the entire week.. (some photo montages hv been uploaded... and perhaps just one or two more on the way... ) it was fun... the alcohol.. the food... cakes... chocolates... presents... and well wishes... (thanks ting for making a phonecall from shanghai at midnite! haha all charles cld do was an sms.. and much later too!! if i sounded shocked was cos the 'unknown' appearing on my caller id is the same as what i'd get if it was a call from my mom... long distance calls...)

yups... met many frens throughout the week.. taking lotsa photos..

and i know that i'm posting this for everyone to read... but don't judge me.. heh... at some point in time it almost seemed like i live for such events, parties... little highlights in my life to mask the banality of it all... things that seem so trivial, blown to greater proportions to serve as distractions from the reality of it all... and as the celebrations come to an end.. or at least the reason to celebrate becomes irrelevant (like how a week after ur bday isn't really ur bday anymore..) i find myself staring into the ceiling and wondering... what does all this amount to?

but just in case any of you are wondering if i'll be dispensing with the frivolity of such occassions... you're wrong... in fact the next big bash is due 20.07.2007... yeah.. 2006 will be a graduation cum bday thing.. (yes... its almost like there is an IOC planning such events in my head...) well i never said i was noble or aspire to change the world... life's short.. i just wanna live it.. is that so bad?

you wld think that i would hv an important point to make given the slight retrospective tone of this entry... but i don't think so.. not really.. of course when i was very young.. and turning 25 seemed like a long time away.. i always imagine entering the mid-twenties zone would be a fun thing... i would have my career (which i'm don't... ) be done with school (which i'm not...) and having the time of my life (not exactly..) so what's left huh? i guess its all still too soon to tell.. yea... in a way.. i do think that at 25, it's barely the beginning... sure, ppl are getting married, hvg kids... but it's an early end for them... **snigger**

while for me... there are still lotsa parties to look fwd to... ;)

**at the time of printing there's still one party left.. watch this space for the sequal to the frower, the b and the butterfly...

a new wallet with compliments of...

IMG_0086
Originally uploaded by lepetitmac.

ok thanks to those who chipped in for the wallet...
(ming, boh, ray ray, sel, cc... )
apparently ms ming likes it a lot and thinks that its gorgeous...

i just don't know where to stuff that strap!!

ok.. its starting to grow on me... if only it was all white and plays music! **hint**

and the beat goes on...

who said anything about ageing gracefully?

decluttering...

i almost couldn't remember what the surface of my table looked like..
and took it as a hint to clear out the rubbish...
well not exactly rubbish...
stuff i'd leave around... while thinking of a better place to store them...
some postcards, little knick knacks of significant nature.. such as passes to the singapore fashion week... (yes.. my table has been piling up for the longest time...) i guess its been piling up on my work table since most of the other surfaces in my room are somehow occupied... countless magazines, books, notes... things that i'd keep around just in case...

in case of what??
i dunno... i come from a family that never threw anything out... yes... back in msia *thumps chest* space was pretty abundant.. and my mother could never bring herself to throw out anything that might be useful... clothes, books, plastic containers... you name it... the backyard has it.. well of course until we moved.... my mother finally decided to go thru all that she has kept over the past 15 odd years to see what she could discard.. not without slowly reminiscing each item that was significant... she's terrribly sentimental...

well.. that was the way i was raised.. and i guess it has rubbed off me a little.. (well if i was like a certain ms lee... lotsa of thing wld 'accidentally' go 'missing'... lost in the deep abyss of her wardrobe otherwise known as the bermuda triangle... cos she keeps buying 'em and still has nothing to wear for work.. but i digress...)

its a slow process of change.. at least i am not waiting that many years before i decide to throw some things out.. in fact i embarked on a mission to clear out my closet of stuff that i wld not wear anymore... i needed the closet space and the clothes hangers.. but i'm left with a pile of unwanted clothes at the foot of my cupboard.. just brilliant... but i will get to clearing them away...

almost like old times...

i'm not one who's terribly sentimental...
or at least i try not to let the sappy side of me show too often...
saturday nite was spent catching up with some frens from sch...
(sch: nus architecture...)

the bunch of us had known each other from first year...
by some fateful coincidence we were grouped in the same studio...
and the rest as they say is pretty much history...
the paths that we have undertaken may be varied...
and perhaps at this point, looking back...
we never wondered what we'd be doing 5years later...
or imagined that 5 years later we'd end up in pursuit of different things...
i wouldn't say that time passes by too quickly...
it's more of how we get so caught up with the hours and days in our lives that the years go by...
and we are still unaware...

and as much as these gatherings are a good way of catching up...
we find ourselves still laughing over the same old things...
silly antics from way back then...
and maybe,... just maybe...
no matter how far we've come... or how distant we've become...
it all takes is one good memory... one funny story...
to put everything back into perspective... we're all still frens...

i could go on... but its starting to sound pretty much like a eulogy... my last words...
which of course isn't about to happen just yet..

i guess all i really want to say is that...
no matter how much we've all changed...
i do hope that we'll never cease to find such stories to laugh about..

nip/tuck by an angel

ooh.... this is so much more effective than TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL...
for those who've never caught the aforementioned tv series...
its basically... (how do i put it without sounding cynical...)
a show about GOD... or at least GOD's plan... and the angel goes about guiding the misguided...
of course i only know of one fan of the show...
anyway... i think the show has been on for nearly 10 years now.. and the last i heard is that its finally airing it's last...
haha.. not that i disagree with the msg of the show... but the sheer predictability....

cue: cherubic glow... monica says: god luvs you!
and the fat angel sings.... cue: roll credits

the latest episode of nip/tuck (that is still showing as i am typing this...)
raises this question of faith(lessness)
without the use of special lighting effects....
i mean, who buys that these days...
instead... the show opted to really put man's faith to the test...
throw in a false prophet...
an abortion...
and the truth about his son's parentage...

it ends with the lead character pleading with the false prophet...
'please... i need to believe in something...'
and her reply.. ' don't you get it?'

simply put, the underlying msg is that your faith is a choice that you make...
you believe in it and at times that belief goes beyond what you see or what it can show you...
you believe even when things happen to shake that belief... that is FAITH...

ahh... i suppose this is exactly like the tough love theory eh...
instead of a utopic vision of the walk with religion... we need a dose of reality..
so that we do not fall apart when things aren't exactly perfect...

what's the temp today??

it's too hot.. too hot.....
i think even the air blowing from my fan is warm...

uurgh....

delayed reaction

ok it's been a while... a real long while...
if time was measured in terms of productivity..
then i'm glad to announce that time has been in a state of standstill since may..
well... ok ok.. maybe its about june... coz i can't really discount the time spent shopping...
bargain hunting should be equated to work done rite?

anyway... time seems to be picking up... maybe not from where it left off.. coz the deadlines are now drawing nearer...
and my pseudo-cool is melting in this blistering heat... (yes.. its prob a good time to be at the pool...)
but... let's not talk about work... coz i've never seen the point of talking about it.. when all that is needed is for it to be done.. so there...

for those who have been following this blog from day 01... you'll prob realise that the bulk of it has been mostly fluff.. rantings and musings that would otherwise be inconsequential... read, laugh... and let's move on.. and that's exactly my mantra... i hate to sink into one of those self loathing situation... it's kinda like that buffalo who's bathing in mud and pissed off at being filthy... i mean... 'get up and go take a shower!!!' (ok.. so maybe that isn't an actual parable... but you get my analogy..)

but lately, my intolerance has grown into impatience... and that's not a good thing.. because not many are fans of the TOUGH LOVE... but i wonder... what's so wrong to have someone tell you every now and then.. WAKE UP YOUR IDEAS! GET A GRIP! SNAP OUT OF IT!.. SHUT UP AND MOVE ON!... ok ok so maybe the final one borders upon insensitivity.. but don't we just get tired? to be crying over the same old matter? to have the same insecurities and fears... from 10 years ago??

i dunno... as much as i think i'm a good fren to most of my frens... it would be terribly uncharacteristic of me to be indulging and patronizing... i for one believe in the tuff love.. yup... just keep rubbing that salt in the wound.. ok that din come out rite... i think its more about telling you the truth... coz as a fren, if i don't tell you the truth... who will...

its more of a: let's settle what's wrong with you.. and then we can go thru the short list of ur good points...

** the tone of the blog has been exaggerated to acheive the dramatic effect... so none should take offence

i can't believe it...

sunday morning...
a time to sleep in...
or wake up to the wholesome goodness christian dysfunctionalities of 7th Heaven (yes, its still being aired... but strangely when most christian families would be at church!)

but right here at admiralty... sammi cheng techno is blaring from speakers somewhere... its not a nightmare... they are having some carnival... but who the hell wakes up at 9am to join in the 'fun' of a carnival????! urrgh... what's more irritating is that i can't hear the dialogue of 7th heaven!!!!

and this fairytale did not have a happy ending...

for those who've been folowing the local reality tv EYE FOR A GUY...
last nite the bachelorette, denise keller, revealed her pick on the guy who'd go to europe with her...
and she went with the obvious choice... the smart, suave and successful, wolfgang...
(yup caucasian.. but the other candidate was american chinese.. so i'm not really gonna talk about foreign talents and lousy singaporean men...heh)
wolfgang... what's there not to like... i can sum it up in a few words.. handsome, shops for gifts at CARTIER... enough to get my thumbs up already.. BUT inside sources tell me that he's a jerk... well, the exact words from the source would be, BASTARD... so i was actually rooting for the other fella... poor howard...
not coz i'm terribly concerned with denise's happiness... (despite the semi first name basis... i don't know her personally.. heh... but i'm sure she's a fren of some fren... by a few degrees of separation...)

back to my story... yes, howard... the guy who could make denise laugh, and feel 'like a girl'... he honestly went all out trying to win the girl... but it was not meant to be... and it just proves the point that we live in a superficial world... coz apparently his huge personality does not make up for the lack in height.. and his err.. chinese mug...
and perhaps it shows that great friends can only make great friendships... ultimately, love is about chemistry and the spark that sets the butterflies a flutter...

can u blame her? if i were her (prior to hearing that wolfgang's a jerk... it amazes me how you can really be so put off by things that you hear by word of mouth...) i would have gone with wolfgang... i mean honestly, if you choose a sense of humour over good looks and style... you'll end up with a good laugh over ur crappy presents...

i will not leave any incriminating evidence behind... but just think for a moment.. (this is to all my gal pals..) take away all the perks that comes with ur bfrens... and just think... will a sense of humour sustain you on that train ride out of admiralty.. or wld you rather the car over personality anytime?

the real question is... would you choose looks over money?

a happening weekend... (part one)

it was a wild weekend...
while i've always thought that i've mellowed with age..
a gathering of close frens will never fail to bring out the party animal in me..
ok.. alcohol helps... a whole lot...
its true what they say in the biology textbooks... it just takes away your inhibition...

haha.. that prob explained all the smooching that went on that nite..

but the nite to celebrate terence's bday had its fair share of hiccups...

we couldn't decide on a place for dinner...
but we knew (or at least pam says that she wants a place with good ambience..) so we headed down to club street..
which is pretty different from the usual orchard rd crowd...
actually i was quite surprised to find that club street was kinda quite on a saturday nite..
but of course not being too familar with the fare over there... we had to walk to look at menus and decide on a place that was nice and affordable...

my shing shing pink tee (pink tee with shing shing stuff on it..) was not made for walking...
not like some boots... i was pespiring... and just short of breaking out in rashes...
i needed air conditioning quick....
ok.. i was gonna pay any price to just cool off... but pam and terence were less agreeable...
so we trotted on... till we came to this place called JERRY'S GRILL....
being a little brain fried from the heat.. we found ourselves seated in some faux american setting (ie excessive use of the red white and blue..) staring at a menu that really seemd like overpriced BILLY BOMBERS....

so while waiting for the rest of the party to arrive (mei and tommy to join us)...
i said: if we are gonna walk out of here.. let me go first...
pam: heh? (for those who've heard pam... this is supposed to be funny.. think nasal.. and whiney..)

(mei and tommy arrives.. and we've been cooling off with the air con for about 10mins now.. waiter staring at us..)

mei: SO ARE WE LEAVING? (yes, the caps indicate that she had no intention of not letting the wait staff overhear us...)
mei: SO WE WANNA GO SOMEWHERE ELSE?

yup, i'm sure the waiter heard us... in fact we were surprised that he didn't serve us a round of ice water to make us feel bad about thinking of walking out like that...
seeing that we might just be trapped rite there...
pam stood up.. (she really didn't wanna pay that much for the poor ambience..)

pam: SOOOOREEEEEEE..... (yes, whiney and saccharine sweet...) we've decided to go somewhere else instead...

that was the cue... we all followed pam.. down the stairs.. and out of JERRY's GRILL...
so if anyone intends to dine there anytime soon.. please tell them that we're terribly sorry...

so after looking ard for about 15mins more.. we ended up at sPIZZA... which was the one place that i've dined at club street... sheesh...

*end of part one*

a happening weekend... (part deux)

yes.. after a lovely dinner at sPizza... we love the TIANA... (you love it to don't you ming?.. all the cream and salmon..)
ooh.. in fact the raw slamon appetizer was not bad too... altho the serving is kinda small...
oh yes.. not to mention our own version of EXTREME MAKEOVER...
(haha... there was no way that we would go clubbing with terence in that ATHENS 2004 tee shirt... for GAWD's sake.. its already 2005!!! MADRID 2012 is the IN olympic thing to be spotted with now... rite mei??)
thank goodness we actually got him a decent shirt on top of the nice wallet for his bday...
dinner ended well with rockmellon ice-cream... and a 15% discount with STANDARD CHARTED cards... courtesy of tommy lee...
(no no... no porn here altho we have a tommy lee and a busty pamela at the dinner table... )

after dinner drinks was where the action began... and where things became a bit of a blur...
like most ignorant drinkers.. they (pam and terence...) ordered the most fancy sounding cocktails...
(don't they know that they always end up tasting bad???)
malibu sunrise... (which smells and tasted like my banana boat suntanning oil...)
boston beach party... (bad long island tea...)
the morning after... (err... tastes like fruit punch?..)

i brilliantly stuck with beer from the tap... which pam has concluded that it tastes second best... first being iced water..
but i think i also drank half of everything else... haha.. money's worth... after all round one was on me...

round two!
we did tequila pop, apple (whiskey?) shots... and tequila shots....

and to end off the nite...
a flaming lambourghini!!
haha.. only for the bday boy of course...
and i guess that sorta did it...

by 2am.. he was outside puking... and by 3am.. he was already home...
of course i continued dancing.. and got to ride a beemer... but that's a whole different story...

HAPPY B"DAY TERENCE.... who says we've gotta mellow with age?

the weather still got the better of my day...

most of you would know by now how when i say 'i'm heading down to the pool...'
grey skys would appear out of nowhere...
sorta like a great conspiracy...
the clouds would wait till i'm all ready to get out of the house and then surprise me (in the most unpleasant way)...

but today... one of those rare days where i thought i got the better of the weather
*muahahaha*
i actually managed to head down to the pool (with an honourary resident of NORTHOAKS..*snigger*).. catch some sun... only to have some intermittent cloudiness...

but the victory was shortlived...
i got home.. did my laundry...
and just as i was ready to head out...
it rains...

and if you thought that was all...
as i reconsidered my entire schedule..
the rain stopped...

yippeee?? you say...??
no... as i started preparing myself to leave...
it rained again!!!!

and here i am... waiting for the weather to give way....
fine fine....
you win!! the clouds rule!!!

*sighs*

'twas a painful experience...

mei says that i'm terribly brave to be terence's guinea pig...
his first wisdom tooth patient...
but i was thinking 'how bad can it be?'
i've known a couple of people who've survived wisdom-teeth extractions...

boy was i in for a surprise...

i had thought that the jab would be the most painful part of the entire process...
and i should hv figured that something was wrong when the injection did not hurt the least bit
then the horrors began...

wrapped up and disinfected...
i was awake, numb.. but i couldn't see....
the oh something was happening... i just din noe what it was...
until the sawing began... eeeepss...
and it almost felt like they were trying to remove the tooth by sheer brute force...
i was sweating buckets... cold sweat...
what was i thinking??? its bad enough extracting a tooth that is loose... but a perfectly fine tooth??
kill me now...
but they really couldn't tell from my expression since i was hidden under all the cloth...
so i just kept on sweating...

ok... after about an hour (it's prob faster with an experienced professional.. but oh well.. all in the name of education..)
the ordeal was over...
i bit the gauze, downed the painkilers and went shopping....
haha.. retail therapy has a new meaning...
wait till you see the bag i got! whoppee!!

anyway.. i'm healing fine... in fact eating well... no swelling and no more pain..
and at least i got a bag out of this experience..

a strangely productive day...

work done = time x distance from orchard road

ok spent half the day at the library mulling over virginia woolf and the hours...
kinda interesting really...
altho i'm not sure of its relevance to my dissertation...
but to have an excuse to watch dvds and call it work done...
why not??
picked up a few more books to add on to my growing reading list...
where should i even start??

here's a little bitchy tidbit for the blogees...

what's the use of headphones if you are gonna share every comment and reaction with everyone else in that little viewing room??? no thanks to the three ppl who were watching some japanese anime... some idiot going "eeee... ooo... hahhahaha..." every few minutes...
i'd like to say something: SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
uuurgh....
and the bigger idiots who opted to share their audio with everyone else...
i say: the headphones are for you to keep the sound in your ears and not for me to block out yours!!!!

**exhale**

anyway... yes... what's important is that i'm getting into the groove of work...
and seems like heading to the library wld be a wise move...
apparently that's a good place to do work... heh... pardon my ignorance...
but fellow coursemates will agree that we've not had to do so much readings for the longest time...

ok back to the prose of michael cunningham...

constipation...

the blog! what were you thinking? i don't share such details on the blog...
its been a long time since i last blog... and i guess lotsa things hv happened..
the dog's gone back home...
carrie underwood is the new american idol...
ming has went on her trip to see the angkor wat.... (what a price to pay... hope you are enjoying urself!)

been spending time catching up with old frens...
a little trip down to ikea with mei in the blue tommisan.. haha... its fun when ur 'fiance's' away...
ice cold beer (and a vodka tonic and two lychee martinis) and the (in)famous chicken wings... with mei and pam...
and this thursday it will be in the OT to let terry extract my wisdom tooth...

congrats mei!! school's permanently out for you eh... finally...
start measuring urself for the cap and gown...
hope you enjoyed ur lemon and rUspberry ice cream... *sourpuss face*

ok time to get on with some actual work...
i feel a headache coming on... maybe i should go lie down...

idol fever...

will it be vonzell, bo or carrie...??

hmm.. i hvnt done my bit to update my loyal blogees as to the status of the competition..

well.. can't blame me.. it got a bit boring when Scotty the Fattie refused to budge out of the competition...
gosh.. apparently there was this website some nincompoot set up to rally votes to see the psycho thru each week...
some americans really have nothing better to do...
yar.. and with scotty the fatty.. and anthony the lesser version of clay still in the competition... there was no doubting that the final 3 would be vonzell, carrie and bo... ok... not that i was rooting for constantine the 'butt crack face".. maybe just nadia..

hmm.. so who am i rooting for to reach the finals??
i must admit... i'm a sucker for the big ballads... and really was expecting bo to be kinda non-chalant bout the competition.. and hence throwing the competition... sometimes the audience really votes for the contestant who wants it bad enough... case in point.. scotty the fatty...

but anyway... after watching the commercial free telecast of idols... bo is the sure shot.. if he doesn't get thru... at least he'll still be guranteed a record deal...

vonzell suffered from some nerves with the big ballad.. thats second week in a row... cos she knows that she's the underdog going into the final three... with carrie never in the btm 3... and bo fast gaining popularity
and it looks like she might just break down at the finals if she gets there.. case in point.. diana degarmo's bung note when she performed Don't Cry Out Loud at the finals..not as if she would hv beaten fantasia... hmm... vonzell is a bit like fantasia huh.. without the big lips and ass... ok so maybe america doesn't need another fantasia... heh... at least she wasn't another jasmine trias... who's more like a shapelier version of scotty the fattie..

carrie... hmm... those who like her will say that she's really likeable... but those who don't will prob find her boring... i actually think that she's likeable when she's done with the song.. and a tad mechanical when singing... perhaps she's too focussed in trying to hit those high notes... but yar... i think she could do with a little more emotions...
but what's not to like?? she looks like alicia silverstone... she's an all american country girl....

let's just wait and see if there'll be any surprises...

just for ming...

doggy2
Originally uploaded by lepetitmac.

look how happy he is..
and how cute.. haha..
u can't see the overbite and bulging eyes in this photo...

ok.. this should brighten up ur day a little.. =)

i'm tired of writing...

bleahhh....
in the words of ming.... SHOW ME DA MONEY....
ok.. it was fun... initially... kinda fancy to begin with...
but there's always such as thing as OVERKILL...

i've written about 8 write ups...
and since they are mostly paid editorials (ie advertisements disguising as articles...)
you can only imagine the amount of mediocre stuff waiting to be embellished...
bleaah.....

only one week into the job.. and i've enough stories to tell for a long long time...

take this for example..
interior designers dont speak english... ok not well.. ok maybe only some of them speak badly...
i had to call DESTON.. just so that he could refer me to PAUL... who took a good 10mins to refer me to ELLIE.... and then directed my inquiries to DESTON.... what the.....????????!!!!!!!!

*faint*

i am having phobia of calling them up...

this other firm paid for an ADVERTORIAL... but i still had to churn out 1500 words... and the best thing is... i have to put in the name of the suppliers and waht nots along the way...
so as he was taking me on a walk thru over the phone..

guy01:.. ah yar.. and the parquet floor... you must say the supplier name.... chip and booty

me: huh? chips and vouz de?? (thinking that its some fancy name....

guy01: yar yar.... ah... then the sliding door.. is special one.....

me: eeeerrr.... wait.. can u spell cheeefs and beau des please...

guy01: oh.... CHEAP... as in not expensive one... and BEAUTY.... like beautiful.......

me: oh... CHEAP & BEAUTY!

yes.. so tehre.. what a job... never thought i'd coin the three words CHEAP AND BEAUTY in one sentence....
i am thinking of a psuedonym....

bleahha....