Weekend in pictures

Weekend is a major family time here in my household. So if you're interested in being a part of this family, you ought to empty your calendar every Saturday and/or Sunday. Weehee.

Personally, I'm loving this tradition because all of us are doing our own things during the weekdays and sometimes we don't really have enough quality time to spend together. And that's why weekends are important for us to let loose, catch up and have fun. Do things we love doing, whatever weird they may be, like playing charade in the train, challenging each other scrabbles, and other "more-normal" activities like watching movies, exploring town and finding new places to indulge in our love for good ol' food.

Whereas they may be a conflict of interest with friends over which movie to watch, it almost never happens with my sisters and I, because we have exactly the same taste in film. Okay, not 'exactly', but roughly the same. They will never make me watch Paranormal Activity, or trick (and guilt-trip?) me into seeing something scary, because they hate that stuffs too. In short? We're always eager to see the same movies, and that's a lot of a helluva relief.

Last weekend we got to see both Evangelion 2.0 and A Christmas Carol, and both are really awesome.

Because we love our new Canon camera, these are the pictures taken from last weekend with the sisters!






You know, I can never say how lucky I am enough to have my sisters around.

What about you guys? Did you have a great weekend? I hope so. I'm heading home tomorrow morning for a week or two, so I don't think I'll be able to update this blog during that time. But I'll keep my tweets goin'! (There's a link in the sidebar, follow me!)

See you soon! Love you long time. =)

Time for Miracles

" It's late at night and I can't sleep

Missing you just runs too deep

Oh I can't breathe thinking of your smile

Every kiss I can't forget

This aching heart ain't broken yet

Oh God I wish I could make you see

Cuz I know this flame isn't dying

So nothing can stop me from trying

Baby you know that

Maybe it's time for miracles

Cuz I ain't giving up on love "

Quotes of the Day

The thing is, it’s okay to do something just because the people you love want you to. Sometimes that’s a good enough reason.

Lights and The City ♥

After 4 years, I can truly see Singapore as my second home, and now I just wanna share a little bit of that with you.

I guess we can call it, an early Christmas gift.

Orchard Road, Marina and the City.

I love seeing the entire town in such festivity. It reminds me why Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year!

no clue.

Usually, I always know where I'm going, what I'm gonna do, what the other person is thinking. That's how I like it.

I wish I knew about you too. But right now, I'm drawing a blank.

From 'Interpreter of Maladies'

I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and I am certainly not the first.

Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept.

As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.

Meh.

Meh. I've been so up and down this week, I don't even know what I'm feeling anymore. One minute I'm all happy and hopeful, the next minute I'm gloomy and miserable. Surely it's not normal? Or maybe I'm just being a typical teenager.

(Can I still call myself a teenager, anyway? Don't remind me that my birthday is coming up, and honestly, this is not where I imagine myself to be at 23. I should be in control of my life, instead, I'm all PMS.)

I know I can be so vague sometimes, like I would tell you I'm happy or whatever, but I don't really elaborate why. Maybe because by saying it out loud just reinforces how lousy and pathetic I really am.

Ha! I guess I'm just having a bad week.

So, I'm gonna end this post by posting something hopeful. I think I should plaster this on my forehead, I'm gonna need it badly.

babbling, because that's how I roll, baby!

Random, totally pointless rant we had on one fine afternoon...

Actually I just wanna test whether uploading video here is possible, well, voila! I guess it is! Now you can skip this video and just move on with life, because you don't have to see this. You really don't.

friends are what will matter in the end

We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere. ♥ ♥

Gullible

When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me all sorts of things. Ridiculous things that mothers say to their children to assert fear so hopefully us kids will stay safe and not do anything stupid, like walking in the middle of the road, or something.

Funny thing is, now that I'm older and I realized how silly some of these things are, I still do them anyway. Maybe it already became a habit, or maybe that's not even it. I guess when you've believed something for a long time, it's not that easy to break away from that.

I'm not talking about Santa Claus, y'all. Sure, I expect a nice Christmas present every year, but I have a more realistic approach. Like, asking for it directly to the source (aka, my parents), instead of waiting around for it.

I remember one time my dad sneaked in a Home Alone VCD under my pillow and I was so excited when I found it. See, who says I'm high maintenance? Boo. Although now that I'm older and all, I just asked my dad for the money. Because whereas VCD may seem like a really cool idea for a 7 year-old, it doesn't have the same effect to a 22-year-old's lady. That's me! And my dad is not exactly the best shopper out there.

(How tacky is it to receive money as Christmas present, though, right? Where's the festivity? Okay, I need to talk to Dad about this.)

So anyway. The sorts of things that my mom used to tell my sisters and I were along the lines of:

"You shouldn't sit on a pillow because then you'll get a gigantic boil on your butt."

"You shouldn't peek because then you'll get a pimple on your eyes!"

"Don't ever take a bath at night because then your back will hurt. Skeleton will be all fucked up."

Those were the few things I remember the most. Words of wisdom? Not at all! They're all so ridiculous that I found it hard to believe that at one point of time, I used to hold these dear to heart.

As a kid, I'm so scared of getting a pimple on my eyes or boils on my butt!!

But, even though I don't believe it, I still wouldn't do any of those things now, because, uhm, I don't really know why. I just wouldn't. Like I said, maybe it's grown to be a habit.

And my mom was just trying to find a way to teach her kids not to peek (because it's rude and wrong?!), and it's much easier to make us remember when we're inserted with fear! No matter how naughty we may be, we still don't wanna have bones-problem, do we? (After all, I wanted to attract that boy from next class.)

One question though, how did she learn all of these? And should I teach my kids the same thing? Maybe. That certainly is better than the possibility of having a perverted little kid who likes peeking at the girls' changing room. OMG.

sissy?

I cried twice while watching Astroboy.

What, you think it's just another material for my next comedy routine? Cried during Astroboy?! Ha-ha, now that's funny. Astroboy, as in that cartoon, you asked? Well yeah, the one and only. Except that we call it animation now, instead of cartoon. It's more sophisticated that way.

But honestly, though. The movie was even better than my expectation, and I knew it was gonna be cute and all, but it being sad was definitely unexpected. Especially with that poster?! Did you see the poster?! It's not the kind of poster people would call, tear-jerking!

You can't argue that Astro is damn cute, though! But you should definitely check it out 'cos it's really good. Now we can just forget that I cried. That I'm a lame sissy. Not that you can forget that!

Anyway, since Sis bought a new impressive Canon camera, we've been experimenting and taking many fun pictures. Last weekend we brought along the portrait lens and snapped away these random shots..(or maybe not so random.)

I love the blurriness of the background.

Creating a scene in the train.

You are my baby love.

How's your weekend, guys? I went to the beach on Sunday, but that's for another entry. In the mean time, go check out Astroboy aka the tear-jerker!

love//hate

" I hate the way you talk to me
and the way you cut your hair.
I hate the way you drive my car.
I hate it when you stare.
I hate your big dumb combat boots
and the way you read my mind.
I hate you so much it makes me sick.
It even makes me rhyme.
I hate it-
I hate the way you’re always right.
I hate it when you lie.
I hate it when you make me laugh,
even worse when you make me cry.
I hate it when you’re not around
and the fact that you didn’t call.
But mostly, I hate the way
I don’t hate you, not even close,
not even a little bit,
not even at all. "

you and i..let's work this out.

So a friend of mine once used my blog as an example to his friend to prove a point that, well, we can have fun too while writing a journal, that not everything has to be taken so seriously, and that blogs can be filled with random, silly, humorous topics too.

Of course, he didn't use the word 'useless', 'rubbish', or 'meaningless' there, although I think he was just being nice. But hey, I appreciate that.

The thing is, yeah, I guess I started this blog years ago, thinking that I could just dramatize my life. Mostly in a non-serious way. I was a major drama-queen, if nothing else. But lately it seems that I wrote a lot about my struggles and emotions, and they are not always cheery.

[When I said 'not cheery', I meant 'boooooooring'.]

But I don't like how that turns out. I certainly miss rambling on and on about the most insignificant things in my life. Yeah, we need to bimbotize this blog again.

Did I really just say that out loud? Hm. I'm off to a good start.

convince me.

I think everyone knows I'm not known for my patience. It's really not my best virtue.

You once said, "Remember, kiddo. Good things come to those who wait."

I tried to believe that. How could I not, when you said it so convincingly, full of certainty, like you've never doubted anything in your life.

But, don't you know? I've been waiting here for so long.

"I know you'll be fine. You know why, because you persevere. You don't give up."

Yeah, now I start to wonder if I've reached my limit. How are you supposed to know that enough is enough?

If that's true what you said, don't you think I should be able to see all the good things coming my way? Because, I don't know how much longer I can wait.

far too old to care

What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored.

Quotes of the Day

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.

I feel like crap.

Literally, though.

I mean, yeah, I've been having a really bad flu and cough since last week, but it's just flu, isn't it? I wasted a ridiculous amount of tissues everyday, but otherwise I've been feeling okay, as okay as someone with a flu, that is.

Damn, last night, though, I couldn't sleep. My whole body was shivering even though my air-con was set-up to 26 degrees. I tossed and turned and I was in a curling-up position throughout the night, I had to double my pajamas with a long pants and another baggy shirt to keep me warm, and I was still feeling cold despite being covered by blanket.

This morning as I finally woke up, my head was banging and I felt so weak. I stayed in bed until noon, realized that I had to get up sooner or later. I had to eat something if I wanted to take Panadol, which I did. There was some leftover of mashed potato from last night so I just heated that up and finished it without appetite. Gulping down the Panadol with a glass of Redoxon, I snuggled back to bed, feeling lifeless as ever.

I hate being sick.

ps. I just took another Panadol without eating anything else, I mean, whatever. There's no food in the house anyway. Yeah, leave it to me to buy a banana-chocolate jam the other day and not get bread.

Things I'll never say.

Even with my state of always not being able to stick around for too long, I remember each person's quirks, and the memories I shared with them is dearly precious to me. It may sound slightly hypocritical, but I can really relate to what Celine said in the movie Before Sunset.

"I mean, I always feel like a freak because I'm never able to move on like...this. You know. People just have an affair, or even..entire relationship. They break up and they forget! They move on like they would have changed a brand of cereals! I feel I was never able to forget anyone I've been with.

I think it's the same with people. I see in them little details, so specific to each other, that move me, and that I miss, and..will always miss."

It's true. To me, for every failed relationships, even when my feelings were no longer there anyway, it didn't mean that I wasn't sad when they ended. I still needed time to miss the other person. I'm baffled at how sometimes it takes just a heartbeat for the other person to just, forget everything.

Early this year I was seeing someone, and even though yes, we both knew it wasn't gonna go anywhere, and that we shouldn't have had any expectations at all, because the end was inevitable, but still. Maybe I was simply being a girl for hoping. After all, we had so much fun together. I kept thinking to myself though, who am I kidding? Don't be stupid, you're supposed to be an adult about this.

It turned out exactly like what we've seen coming all along. He had to leave, and it sucks. I think he was the closest to a real, day-to-day boyfriend I've ever had. At least it was drama-free while it lasted. No long-distance thing, no phone-bill-explosions; just really good, silly times together of meeting each other's friends, watching too many movies, eating in and out, and writing each other dorky text messages everyday.

I mean, I knew it wasn't anything serious, I wouldn't dramatize the situation by saying that I fell for him, or that I was completely crushed that he left, because I didn't, and I wasn't. It sucks, yes. I really missed him at first, it's like I've lost a really good friend. He's been there for many months and suddenly I couldn't just ask him to come out for a movie night, or for a late-night prata supper.

But I kept my emotions in check, and I thought at least we could still be friends even after he left. Sure it would be different, but it's alright, we could still occasionally write emails or catch up, couldn't we? Well, I was wrong. The exchanging of emails probably only happened for the first two weeks after he left, and then it stopped.

Frankly speaking, I haven't talked to the guy for months now. It's like, we suddenly became complete strangers. I wasn't expecting anything, true, but I couldn't help but thinking, I mean, is it that easy for him to forget me? Sorry if I may sound a little self-centered, I don't mean it like that. But okay, I certainly missed him as a friend, if nothing else. Didn't he miss me at all?

Like I said. It really baffles me. "People break up and they forget!" How?

In some scenarios, yeah, sure, you can argue, that on bad breakups, people are supposed to stay clear from each other, because it's harder to be close and it would just remind them of the bad, awful memories. Yeah, I've had that too. My ex and I weren't talking to each other for a good solid 3.5 years before we started being friends again, and now we're fine. Sure, we needed time to get over it, to move on from any bad feelings, and say, well, yeah, I'm ready to be friends with him/her again. It doesn't hurt anymore.

Either way, we still need time, don't we? How could some people move on and forget everything just like that?

Maybe he didn't forget, but he just didn't see the point in continuing to keep in touch when we probably wouldn't ever see each other again. Perhaps. I mean, it's just one example. Generally, I'm like that, though, I can never really forget someone. Hmm, maybe that's why I have a habit of keeping people's text messages in my phone.

I guess it's something I can never ask.

life's a beach.

. . . there is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.

What I dream of at night...

I'm so in love with skyline pictures. I can look at these for hours. There's just something so beautiful about seeing the tall buildings and skyscrapers with the open sky as the background.

New York.

Vegas.

Oakland Bay Bridge, San Francisco.

San Francisco.

San Diego.

I'm such a dreamer. ♥ ♥

Fat. And a plan.

I probably don't need to remind you of how fat I've become these past few months. I'm not saying I'm fat, like in fat fat, but the fact is, I am getting fatter. I have people around me who constantly tell me that I look fine, that a little curves here and there wouldn't hurt, and true, I don't want to become one of those girls who look like sticks, like their arms are gonna break within the slightest touch or a blow of wind.

No, I don't wish to be skinny, but I do want to lose a few pounds because I have been gaining weight recently, and I notice the difference in the size of my arms and thigh, particularly. Yes, every now and then, an old friend who hasn't seen me in a few years would comment, "hey, you look chubbier now.." but that's not the reason why I want to lose weight. (because there's nothing left of my ego to lose. Kidding!)

Oh, but you know what. Maybe I should show you with a picture. Now, kids, look away now, and guys, in case you're eating when you see this, I recommend you to finish your meal first. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Seriously, now. Now I really have no ego left.

And that picture is probably suitable for a fattening pill commercial. Although, I don't think there is such thing. The first picture was taken three years ago, and I have to say, that was the shortest shorts I have ever worn. It's so short, it looks as if I barely had any pants on.

I still have that shorts, but now the police probably would have to shoot me first before I get to wear that out again. I can't imagine how many people I might traumatize and corrupt with that sight.

The "after fattening pill" picture was just taken last Sunday on my outing to the beach. Yes, similar occasion, same beach even. But look at my arms and thigh! That shorts wasn't even nowhere as short as the first one, yet my thigh looked like it was ready to jump around everywhere. I could barely contain it in place. Same case with my arms, which is probably twice the size of the original form.

Does that look healthy to you?! Curves in your hips, yeah, that's awesome, but not in your arms and thigh, I don't think so!

So I started to pick up running these days, and you would know how uncharacteristic of me to wanna run since I hate sweating and I hate sports even more. But I surprise myself by actually enjoying it. Well, at least as far as doing sports goes. I would still rather choose lazing around in my couch than going running, are you kidding? But I mean, it's good to be a little more active too, and I found the perfect track and place to run which is not far from my apartment.

Interesting thing about it, yeah, I get to run and stay healthy and hopefully shred a few pounds in the process, but there's something else that comes with the territory everytime I go running at my favorite place: people-watching.

I normally run in the evening around 6, and I started noticing the same people who always run at that time too, and it's like, there's this unspoken acknowledgment among us. And the people are always very interesting and diverse. There's this indian girl who looks like she's about to train for marathon or something judging by the intensity of her work-out, a chinese uncle who sweats like no other, I can almost see the sweat dripping like a faucet, two teenage boys who always run side-by-side and never missing a beat like siamese twins, an old couple who stroll in the track so slowly like the entire place is theirs. And then there's me. A girl who looks like she's about to pass out anytime.

One time during last week when I was running, I passed this chinese man in bicycle and he shouted, "Jia you!" at me, which means "good luck" in english. Not that I don't appreciate his encouragement or anything, but I wonder, I must have looked beyond stupid for him to say that. I was panting and running in such a pathetic pace.

But hey, at least he didn't call me a fatty.

But all jokes aside, I really am serious about staying healthy and all that. I still eat like normal, but I just make a point of not consuming too much of anything. I hardly drink soft drinks anymore, and when I used to drink green tea everyday at home, now I make a point to have plain water instead. And I eat apple everyday, try to have more vegetables and salad too, and hopefully I can keep up with running and actually feel better about myself.

June 27, 2008

Just keepin' it short.

For a while, whenever I feel like seeing movies and nobody seems to be available, I just refuse to see it alone. Probably because I've always found those lonely people, sitting by themselves in the dark cinema, a little bit sad. Don't they have friends? Are they anti-social? Are they smelly? BO issues? Why would anyone wanna go to the movies alone?

I've completely forgotten the whole point of going to the cinema, which is supposedly to watch a movie, alone or not.

But I've never quite grasped the concept, because to me, I'm bound to make comments ('gosh he is hot!', 'that guy looks familiar, does he play in this and that movie?' typically), to wanna see my companion laugh at the same jokes, whatever, but when you're alone, you have no one to talk to. Like I said, it seems sad.

But sis has done it numerous times and even babe urged me to try it sometimes. I believe she even used the word 'theurapheutical' and 'nice'. And both of them aren't sad people. Who knows? Perhaps they're right, perhaps watching a movie alone has a charm to it. A charm that only a few people who are willing to say 'one ticket, please' know about. Hey, have I been missing out?

So yesterday I decided to have a go at it. I have been spending the afternoon in the library for the preparation of my exam tomorrow. (Yes, I spent 10 mins staring into my notes, and the rest of the 3 hours reading a novel instead.) At about 4 I was feeling a bit depressed at the complete silence of the room so I went out to the entertainment centre. I decided I would see a movie alone. Contemplating between Get Smart and Incredible Hulk, I thought the first one would be more entertaining and less depressing, especially to be miserably seen alone.

Even as I queued up in the ticketing counter, I was skeptical, but before I knew it, I have paid and she has handed me the ticket. Oh well. And then the question on popcorn came up. Eating the popcorn by myself? Okay, so I could have had all the salty ones (I can't believe most of my friends prefer sweet! Is this some sort of conspiracy?!) but contrary of my usual watching ritual, I excluded the popcorn and just headed in to face the music.

2 hours later I came out, and the movie wasn't bad, the cinemas was neither that empty nor full, but well, I came to this resolution.

I don't like watching movie ALONE!!!!!

And that's in capital letters just to mark my point!

Barely at the start of the movie when Masi Oka appeared and people were gasping 'Hiro!' I wanted to roll my eyes so badly and if I have had my sister beside me, I would have mocked them endlessly, and I wouldn't have laughed by myself too in some of the scenes, and the part when Steve Carrell was pinned down in the plane, I would have made a remark that the scene reminded me of Harold and Kumar,..and okay, fine, so I'm a selfish talker who speaks during movie!

And after the movie ended, I would have asked my companion to rate it, but the only object I could ask was my handbag. And she wasn't that talkative. So I concluded that I'm not the 'going to cinema' alone type. I'm saying 'going to cinema' because I have watched movie alone at home before and it wasn't as bad. So perhaps the secret lies in the cinema.

What the hell?! Why am I debating over this?

But yeah, there it is, the resolution of the day. Can anyone relate or is watching movie in the cinema for you can be 'theurapheutical' too sometimes?

weekend, humpday

How was your weekend, guys?

I certainly had the most wonderful time for many reasons. Over the moon for a few days last weekend. I'm gonna let you guess.

By the way, just something completely random, I just learned that 'humpday' literally means mid-week which is Wednesday. You know how there's this upcoming movie with that title? I've always thought it meant something rather kinky. You know, like one of those rather-vulgar film like Superbad or something. The poster certainly screams that. But my friend said in the straightest expression ever, "Yeah, that means Wednesday..." It took me a few seconds to process. Okay, so I learned a new word, I love that fact alone. But now I feel like a total dummy because he made it sound like everyone in the entire world knew about it but me.

Do you guys really always know humpday literally means the day in the middle of the week?! If so, why haven't I heard about that before? Okay, it's bugging me although it's not even that much of a big deal. Well...

November's Bucket List

1. Get a job
2. See 'Astro Boy'
3. Get a job
4. Run at least twice a week
5. Get a job
6. See 'Capitalism: A Love Story'
7. Arrange time to meet up with Bonnie, it's been way too long
8. Get a job
9. Take a morning walk through Southern Ridge Park
10. See '2012' for one reason only: John Cusack
11. Get a job
12. Check out Wavehouse at Sentosa
13. Think of something special for Todd's birthday
14. Get a job
15. See 'The Informant'
16. Write at least 10 more blog posts
17. Get a job
18. Oh, have I mentioned, get a job??