Funny how social we all are as human beings. No matter how much people drive us nuts, we can't live without many of them.
We are all born to be social creatures. It is biologically hardwired into us to rely on parents when young, socialize in our teens, get a mate, reproduce, and spend the rest of your waking life taking care of that young offspring.
This biological need has been used to explain all kinds of human behaviour. For example, gossip fulfils a need to keep oneself in touch with the rest of the pack. People like to follow and keep in touch with celebrities so that they feel they are in touch with the Top Dog of the pack. [People who are more known to more people have this aura of seeming important, otherwise why would so many people know you.]
I read once that humans help each other out of an altruistic neuron in the brain. Apparently, when you do something to help other people, you get a shot of the feel-good endorphins. This is nature's way of encouraging to continue doing good stuff to help the tribesmen. So nature encourages us not just to keep in touch, but also continue to contribute to the well-being of the pack.
And this comes up time and time, under the Courtesy campaigns, and various Pay It Forward schemes. All kinds of people from Jesus to Oprah encourage you to give to your fellow man for the good feelings that you will get.
Maybe part of the reason I'm coming up with this post is that I'm starting to get bored silly while on MC. Yes, it sucks to have to go to work with laryngitis, but it also sucks a bit to be stuck at home while the only thing close to human companionship is Facebook. -_-!!! Facebook is nice, but when all the human interaction from a friend is a status update, it leaves you a little lacking. If I had to be sick, it would have been nice to be sick with people looking out for you, cooking for you and talking to you.
Perhaps that is why Facebook is so popular. It gives you that little bit of human interaction, and then leaves you hungering for more. So you do more stuff on Facebook to get closer to your friends, maybe plant a few carrots or something. Despite its shallow nature, it does help us to fulfil that much of a social need.
Then again, this could just be me lonely at home with MC. Wait till I get socially overloaded at work tomorrow and see how things turn out. -_-!!!
Monday, August 02, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I've been thinking lately about women, and our obsession with our looks.
Maybe it's partly due to the influx of weight-loss advice -_-!!! I've been receiving because of the wedding. This ranges from the practical ( "eat less and exercise more" ) to downright absurd ( "5 apples a day" )
And of course, comes all the advice on clothing. This colour/style will make your butt/arms/breasts/waist look fat. This makes you look old. This is better. That is better. Wear a corset. ( Back to the Victorian pre-lib days we go! )
The advice irritated me to no end. First, slimness is not a prerequisite to happiness. Yes, being slimmer may be good for me healthwise, and would make me look better in photos, but will it make me happy? Do you mean that if I was fat on my wedding day, I would be unhappy in my marriage? That my husband would leave me at the altar?
Of course not, all these people would tell me. But it would be better for you. And healthier of course.
( The irony being that most of these people telling me this would be the ones who either eat loads of fried/grilled foods, or can't even jog 500m to save their own house burning. Me, who eats sashimi and subway sandwiches after 1.5 hours at the gym -_-!!! )
But if I scrape away the unintended advice, and my own reactionary irritation, I find something a bit more fascinating underneath all these. Namely, that women, from prehistoric to modern times, have not gotten rid of the unhealthy obsession with their bodies. We are still as preoccupied with our bodily image as ever.
Because if you listen carefully to all the advice ever dished out, you would realise that the main message being given is to slim down. All the other health risks of obesity: clogged arteries, weakened joints, etc are merely afterthoughts. ( "...and you will also get health attacks!" ) The driving point of all the advice is that I have to lose weight so that I will look slimmer and better, and also so that I will reduce my chances of heart attack etc. And definitely all the bad dietary advice I've ever received never even takes these health risks into account at all. Hardly anyone ever says, "Eat more veggies to reduce the clogging in your arteries so that you can have a healthier lifestyle." Rather it's more "Eat more veggies to reduce your weight, and your arteries will not be clogged as well."
Notice the slight difference in emphasis?
So you take all the comments people ever give you about dieting, and it comes down to this: That as a woman, you must look slimmer.
Funnily enough, despite all our advances and our supposedly modern thinking, this has not changed since caveman eras. That our outward bodily appearance is the sole deciding factor in whether we women score a date, a husband and subsequently get to reproduce our genes. You would think that given all the bras burnt, the pants worn, and the higher salaries, we would have had time to reconsider our criteria for a mate, but no, it remains woefully prehistoric.
And even this. Given our higher education, salaries, and increased women's rights, do we even need to score a husband at all??? Yes, laughable, coming from me, but surely there are tons of other stuff we could be doing, reading Shakespeare, curing cancer, saving dying dogs, other than spending the time on looking pretty for the men. Also, don't most of the dating advice out there start like this: "Love yourself first. Spend time on the things you like doing."? If he's not coming to you, and the waiting is making you miserable, then why not, instead of waiting, do tons of the other stuff that you like instead?
Our own bodily obsessions are our own undoing. We get together and gripe about the various men who have rejected us because we were the wrong size and look. But yet we also spend tons of time and money trying to get the 'right' size and look. In all this, we neglect one simple thing: If only perfect-looking women got married, then how about all the other 'imperfect' women that have gotten married over the centuries? And how about the 'perfect' women that have gotten divorced?
Ladies, it's time we stopped thinking in terms of waist size and kilogrammes. These are not prerequisites to a happy life. They are not going to open the door to Magical Happy Land, no matter how much we want them to. It's time we acknowledged that the key to our own happiness lies not in our stomachs, but in our own hearts.
Maybe it's partly due to the influx of weight-loss advice -_-!!! I've been receiving because of the wedding. This ranges from the practical ( "eat less and exercise more" ) to downright absurd ( "5 apples a day" )
And of course, comes all the advice on clothing. This colour/style will make your butt/arms/breasts/waist look fat. This makes you look old. This is better. That is better. Wear a corset. ( Back to the Victorian pre-lib days we go! )
The advice irritated me to no end. First, slimness is not a prerequisite to happiness. Yes, being slimmer may be good for me healthwise, and would make me look better in photos, but will it make me happy? Do you mean that if I was fat on my wedding day, I would be unhappy in my marriage? That my husband would leave me at the altar?
Of course not, all these people would tell me. But it would be better for you. And healthier of course.
( The irony being that most of these people telling me this would be the ones who either eat loads of fried/grilled foods, or can't even jog 500m to save their own house burning. Me, who eats sashimi and subway sandwiches after 1.5 hours at the gym -_-!!! )
But if I scrape away the unintended advice, and my own reactionary irritation, I find something a bit more fascinating underneath all these. Namely, that women, from prehistoric to modern times, have not gotten rid of the unhealthy obsession with their bodies. We are still as preoccupied with our bodily image as ever.
Because if you listen carefully to all the advice ever dished out, you would realise that the main message being given is to slim down. All the other health risks of obesity: clogged arteries, weakened joints, etc are merely afterthoughts. ( "...and you will also get health attacks!" ) The driving point of all the advice is that I have to lose weight so that I will look slimmer and better, and also so that I will reduce my chances of heart attack etc. And definitely all the bad dietary advice I've ever received never even takes these health risks into account at all. Hardly anyone ever says, "Eat more veggies to reduce the clogging in your arteries so that you can have a healthier lifestyle." Rather it's more "Eat more veggies to reduce your weight, and your arteries will not be clogged as well."
Notice the slight difference in emphasis?
So you take all the comments people ever give you about dieting, and it comes down to this: That as a woman, you must look slimmer.
Funnily enough, despite all our advances and our supposedly modern thinking, this has not changed since caveman eras. That our outward bodily appearance is the sole deciding factor in whether we women score a date, a husband and subsequently get to reproduce our genes. You would think that given all the bras burnt, the pants worn, and the higher salaries, we would have had time to reconsider our criteria for a mate, but no, it remains woefully prehistoric.
And even this. Given our higher education, salaries, and increased women's rights, do we even need to score a husband at all??? Yes, laughable, coming from me, but surely there are tons of other stuff we could be doing, reading Shakespeare, curing cancer, saving dying dogs, other than spending the time on looking pretty for the men. Also, don't most of the dating advice out there start like this: "Love yourself first. Spend time on the things you like doing."? If he's not coming to you, and the waiting is making you miserable, then why not, instead of waiting, do tons of the other stuff that you like instead?
Our own bodily obsessions are our own undoing. We get together and gripe about the various men who have rejected us because we were the wrong size and look. But yet we also spend tons of time and money trying to get the 'right' size and look. In all this, we neglect one simple thing: If only perfect-looking women got married, then how about all the other 'imperfect' women that have gotten married over the centuries? And how about the 'perfect' women that have gotten divorced?
Ladies, it's time we stopped thinking in terms of waist size and kilogrammes. These are not prerequisites to a happy life. They are not going to open the door to Magical Happy Land, no matter how much we want them to. It's time we acknowledged that the key to our own happiness lies not in our stomachs, but in our own hearts.
Monday, June 14, 2010
What I learned from Indo:
1. I am incapable of posing for the camera. Unless it's a corny one.
2. Aunties everywhere are the same all over, they just speak different languages.
3. Always pay good money for professional work.
4. Singapore has a world class traffic system. Yes, we do.
5. People will do anything to eke out a living if they have to.
6. Humming Lady Gaga will get your mind off anything.
For more details, meet up with me over a cup of coffee... :)
1. I am incapable of posing for the camera. Unless it's a corny one.
2. Aunties everywhere are the same all over, they just speak different languages.
3. Always pay good money for professional work.
4. Singapore has a world class traffic system. Yes, we do.
5. People will do anything to eke out a living if they have to.
6. Humming Lady Gaga will get your mind off anything.
For more details, meet up with me over a cup of coffee... :)
Saturday, June 05, 2010
It's been almost a month, so here's the Great Hamster Escape that happened just 2 days ago...
We keep 1 other hamster in the office other than Anthony, let's call her Spidey. Spidey is a hamster with the mind of a gymnast, because for entertainment, she would start climbing up the bars of her cage, and even climb upside down on the ceiling bars.
We always thought that was cute. And even on the day of the Great Escape, I was giving them breakfast at 9am, and watching her climb upside down.
Then at 11am, I went to check on them again, and I realised her cage was empty.
And the gate to the cage, on the ceiling was open.
*MAD PANIC!!!!*******
I shook the bedding in the cage in case she was hiding there. I searched the cubicles around her cage, kicking boxes hoping to frighten her out. I shook Anthony's tank and asked him "Where's she??? Did you see her???"
Obviously all did not work.
My colleague was also frantic. We tried looking around the office, kicking at boxes but damn she hid from us. My worst fear was that we'd only find her when we heard an "EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" from across the office and rush to see her dead under a stiletto. -_-!!!!!
Thankfully she was spotted at the end of the day. Cyn spotted her along the corridor of the cubicles and we rushed in and cornered her at (ironically) the messiest cubicle. Those in the office surrounded the cubicle SWAT-style and finally she came out and one of us scooped her up in a box and closed the cover.
*PHEW*
Here is a testament to the intelligence of hamsters. While we thought she was so cute for imitating Spidey, she was actually training her muscles to bring her to the only point of exit on her cage. Then she managed to fiddle with the latch enough for the cage door to open and for her to climb out, thereby sending all of us into a panic. -_-!!!
She has now been placed under house arrest. We tied the door and the cage down with raffia string, and I'm hoping she'll not learn how to untie knots. Now she sits forlornly in her cage in my house, perhaps dreaming of the brief foray into freedom.
Or plotting her next one.
We keep 1 other hamster in the office other than Anthony, let's call her Spidey. Spidey is a hamster with the mind of a gymnast, because for entertainment, she would start climbing up the bars of her cage, and even climb upside down on the ceiling bars.
We always thought that was cute. And even on the day of the Great Escape, I was giving them breakfast at 9am, and watching her climb upside down.
Then at 11am, I went to check on them again, and I realised her cage was empty.
And the gate to the cage, on the ceiling was open.
*MAD PANIC!!!!*******
I shook the bedding in the cage in case she was hiding there. I searched the cubicles around her cage, kicking boxes hoping to frighten her out. I shook Anthony's tank and asked him "Where's she??? Did you see her???"
Obviously all did not work.
My colleague was also frantic. We tried looking around the office, kicking at boxes but damn she hid from us. My worst fear was that we'd only find her when we heard an "EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" from across the office and rush to see her dead under a stiletto. -_-!!!!!
Thankfully she was spotted at the end of the day. Cyn spotted her along the corridor of the cubicles and we rushed in and cornered her at (ironically) the messiest cubicle. Those in the office surrounded the cubicle SWAT-style and finally she came out and one of us scooped her up in a box and closed the cover.
*PHEW*
Here is a testament to the intelligence of hamsters. While we thought she was so cute for imitating Spidey, she was actually training her muscles to bring her to the only point of exit on her cage. Then she managed to fiddle with the latch enough for the cage door to open and for her to climb out, thereby sending all of us into a panic. -_-!!!
She has now been placed under house arrest. We tied the door and the cage down with raffia string, and I'm hoping she'll not learn how to untie knots. Now she sits forlornly in her cage in my house, perhaps dreaming of the brief foray into freedom.
Or plotting her next one.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Haven't been blogging for a while... I know... Somewhere between all the work, the friends, the man, the gym... Blogging life took a serious hit... Thank god for Twitter...
And after that hiatus now I have too much stuff that went on that I dunno what to blog about... -_-!!!
Ok I talk about weight first...
Because for the first time in a long, long while, pple have started to comment that I have lost weight.
Thus is a plus sized achievement for me. The last time anyone said that to me was at the onset of puberty. And it's been all downhill since then.
But not easy. For example, in front of me right now is a packet of freshly fried French fries from a BK meal. I finished the burger, ate some of the fries and left the rest of the packet aside.
Those of you who know me will understand what a miracle that is for me.
But came to a point where I felt things had to change. One day I looked at the weighing scale, and saw a number that I never knew I could reach. And that was after I had checked for zero error.
Sometimes , you reach that point in your life that you know it can't go on this way. And I knew I had to change.
Eating habits was one thing. I cut snacks out, and for the first time ever, made decisions to eat more greens.
Again, another miracle.
Exercise was another thing. I started going to the gym again and I changed my routine to include more strngth training. Ladies, don't worry about looking like Schwarzeneger. It helps, ok?
I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I still have to shop for sizes 14 and up, but the most important thing for me is the feeling of control.
At least I know that I am able to take the steps to (try to) bring my weight down. And that I am capable of saying no to (lovely long luscious) fries if I have to.
I also know there's lots of things more important than food. Fries and ice cream don't taste as good as when they are eaten with friends, for example. It's a double misery to be fat and alone, I think.
(which reminds me, friends must encourage each other to lose weight, ok?)
Books and TV can be enjoyed without chips or soda by the side.
My brain can still function during classes without massive amounts of food
beforehand.
And massages should be totally enjoyed without food.
I'm not perfect. If I was I would never have gotten myself into this state in the first place and I would be 20 kg lighter than I am now.
But now that I am here, the onus is on me and no other to pick me up and send me off on the right path.
I will get there! Not for my wedding, but for my long term health. Certainly I never want to be a potential contestant for The Biggest Loser.
And I definitely want to reduce jeans size.
Ganbarimashou!
And after that hiatus now I have too much stuff that went on that I dunno what to blog about... -_-!!!
Ok I talk about weight first...
Because for the first time in a long, long while, pple have started to comment that I have lost weight.
Thus is a plus sized achievement for me. The last time anyone said that to me was at the onset of puberty. And it's been all downhill since then.
But not easy. For example, in front of me right now is a packet of freshly fried French fries from a BK meal. I finished the burger, ate some of the fries and left the rest of the packet aside.
Those of you who know me will understand what a miracle that is for me.
But came to a point where I felt things had to change. One day I looked at the weighing scale, and saw a number that I never knew I could reach. And that was after I had checked for zero error.
Sometimes , you reach that point in your life that you know it can't go on this way. And I knew I had to change.
Eating habits was one thing. I cut snacks out, and for the first time ever, made decisions to eat more greens.
Again, another miracle.
Exercise was another thing. I started going to the gym again and I changed my routine to include more strngth training. Ladies, don't worry about looking like Schwarzeneger. It helps, ok?
I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I still have to shop for sizes 14 and up, but the most important thing for me is the feeling of control.
At least I know that I am able to take the steps to (try to) bring my weight down. And that I am capable of saying no to (lovely long luscious) fries if I have to.
I also know there's lots of things more important than food. Fries and ice cream don't taste as good as when they are eaten with friends, for example. It's a double misery to be fat and alone, I think.
(which reminds me, friends must encourage each other to lose weight, ok?)
Books and TV can be enjoyed without chips or soda by the side.
My brain can still function during classes without massive amounts of food
beforehand.
And massages should be totally enjoyed without food.
I'm not perfect. If I was I would never have gotten myself into this state in the first place and I would be 20 kg lighter than I am now.
But now that I am here, the onus is on me and no other to pick me up and send me off on the right path.
I will get there! Not for my wedding, but for my long term health. Certainly I never want to be a potential contestant for The Biggest Loser.
And I definitely want to reduce jeans size.
Ganbarimashou!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
I'm still not keen on the wedding.
Don't get me wrong; I want to have a marriage, yes. It is the wedding that I'm not keen about.
I'm still haven't entirely reconciled myself with having to comply with so many outside expectations regarding the wedding. Recently another aspect of the guest list popped up again which brought out all the old insecurities and fears. And I went back to zero again, after making myself ok with the local one.
It's getting easier to identify what about the overseas one is making me so worried. I roughly narrowed it down to loss of control and differences in taste.
Very little about the overseas one is decided by me. The venue was chosen w/o me, and I have an uneasy fear that the dress and makeup and hair will be decided for me, against my better judgement. I have this recurring nightmare that I will look dreadfully obiang on my wedding day and that no matter how much pple say that I look good, I will see in their eyes that they will never be caught dead in what I have on.
Terribly insecure, I know. And you may say that I think too much. But I honestly have not found a way to 'stop thinking so much'
If pple say you should lose weight, is it easy to start a new diet regime and lose 5kg by next month? If pple say that you get irritated too easily, is it so easy to restrain your anger and retain an aura of zen-like calm? Of course not. The same way, just because you tell me not to think so much... Doesn't mean that I can necessarily do it so easily at a snap of the finger.
And sometimes, to compound the problem, I won't even know the cause of the worry till much later, when
I can analyse it further. So pple wonder why I seemed
so ok about it, only to flare up again.
Put onto that the expectations of my family, in-laws, friends... It's getting exasperating. To have to do things not according to your wishes, but to everyone else's. To have to accomodate pple who want me to dress as such. To accomodate pple who want me to do as such. To risk offending friends and family because of my own fears.
Sigh... Tiring. Try to control... Get headaches. Let go of control to other people... Upsetting. How like that?
Somehow I know it inyself that I have to deal with the internal issues myself. If I don't there's no one that can help me. Identifying the fear is the first step. Now I have to repeatedly remind myself that the fear should not overcome me. That I should deal with it on my own terms and not let it take control.
Mantra: a day for a lifetime!
Don't get me wrong; I want to have a marriage, yes. It is the wedding that I'm not keen about.
I'm still haven't entirely reconciled myself with having to comply with so many outside expectations regarding the wedding. Recently another aspect of the guest list popped up again which brought out all the old insecurities and fears. And I went back to zero again, after making myself ok with the local one.
It's getting easier to identify what about the overseas one is making me so worried. I roughly narrowed it down to loss of control and differences in taste.
Very little about the overseas one is decided by me. The venue was chosen w/o me, and I have an uneasy fear that the dress and makeup and hair will be decided for me, against my better judgement. I have this recurring nightmare that I will look dreadfully obiang on my wedding day and that no matter how much pple say that I look good, I will see in their eyes that they will never be caught dead in what I have on.
Terribly insecure, I know. And you may say that I think too much. But I honestly have not found a way to 'stop thinking so much'
If pple say you should lose weight, is it easy to start a new diet regime and lose 5kg by next month? If pple say that you get irritated too easily, is it so easy to restrain your anger and retain an aura of zen-like calm? Of course not. The same way, just because you tell me not to think so much... Doesn't mean that I can necessarily do it so easily at a snap of the finger.
And sometimes, to compound the problem, I won't even know the cause of the worry till much later, when
I can analyse it further. So pple wonder why I seemed
so ok about it, only to flare up again.
Put onto that the expectations of my family, in-laws, friends... It's getting exasperating. To have to do things not according to your wishes, but to everyone else's. To have to accomodate pple who want me to dress as such. To accomodate pple who want me to do as such. To risk offending friends and family because of my own fears.
Sigh... Tiring. Try to control... Get headaches. Let go of control to other people... Upsetting. How like that?
Somehow I know it inyself that I have to deal with the internal issues myself. If I don't there's no one that can help me. Identifying the fear is the first step. Now I have to repeatedly remind myself that the fear should not overcome me. That I should deal with it on my own terms and not let it take control.
Mantra: a day for a lifetime!
shitmydadsays: "I lost 20 pounds...How? I drank bear piss and took up fencing. How the fuck you think, son? I exercised."
Original Tweet: http://ping.fm/VvbkX
After my post on gym thoughts, thought this was rather funny... :p
Original Tweet: http://ping.fm/VvbkX
After my post on gym thoughts, thought this was rather funny... :p
Friday, March 05, 2010
Gym thought
Random thoughts while I was at the gym:
1. I feel more energetic after a good workout. I feel like I want to dance the lamboogie, the swing or the exotic... Anything as long as I move my body a lot.
2. I hope weight went down not due to water loss... Nobody loses over 1 kg in water loss, right?
3. Then again, my gym clothes can't be 1 kg lighter from last week's set, can they?
4. Doing weights makes me feel strong.., kinda like Xena. I feel like I can lift a kid in each arm.
5. But it can also make me feel drop dead tired. Like slop down on bed and sleep immediately kind of tired.
6. Lastly, is it time for me to get off this treadmill yet?
1. I feel more energetic after a good workout. I feel like I want to dance the lamboogie, the swing or the exotic... Anything as long as I move my body a lot.
2. I hope weight went down not due to water loss... Nobody loses over 1 kg in water loss, right?
3. Then again, my gym clothes can't be 1 kg lighter from last week's set, can they?
4. Doing weights makes me feel strong.., kinda like Xena. I feel like I can lift a kid in each arm.
5. But it can also make me feel drop dead tired. Like slop down on bed and sleep immediately kind of tired.
6. Lastly, is it time for me to get off this treadmill yet?
Friday, January 08, 2010
I didn't go to work today.
The reason in the morning was quite genuine. A hacking cough that made my voice almost a harsh whisper. So a last minute decision to not go.
Had breakfast in an absurdly far place, then was dropped off at City Hall, supposedly to take the MRT back. Then looked around and decided, the morning was too good to waste at home.
You ever seen how peaceful every place is in the morning? I never quite realized because I was always at work ( duh ) and even during holidays when I did go out, it was in the afternoon when it was already crowded. So I looked at the streets as he drove past and I saw a different set of streets, though I had walked through them many times before.
I came out of the car and everything was peaceful. ( of course they were. Every responsible person was at work ) I walked through the street and I never knew the morning was so cooling.
I know most people in my position would have just slept, but I just had an aching feeling that the morning was too good to use on sleeping.
Maybe I haven't shaken off the holiday mood entirely. Because I felt a kind of peace with the world that I only felt... On holiday. And suddenly, I felt happy.
Yes, maybe the morning IS too good to waste on sleep. :)
The reason in the morning was quite genuine. A hacking cough that made my voice almost a harsh whisper. So a last minute decision to not go.
Had breakfast in an absurdly far place, then was dropped off at City Hall, supposedly to take the MRT back. Then looked around and decided, the morning was too good to waste at home.
You ever seen how peaceful every place is in the morning? I never quite realized because I was always at work ( duh ) and even during holidays when I did go out, it was in the afternoon when it was already crowded. So I looked at the streets as he drove past and I saw a different set of streets, though I had walked through them many times before.
I came out of the car and everything was peaceful. ( of course they were. Every responsible person was at work ) I walked through the street and I never knew the morning was so cooling.
I know most people in my position would have just slept, but I just had an aching feeling that the morning was too good to use on sleeping.
Maybe I haven't shaken off the holiday mood entirely. Because I felt a kind of peace with the world that I only felt... On holiday. And suddenly, I felt happy.
Yes, maybe the morning IS too good to waste on sleep. :)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The year in retrospect
For the year end blog entry, I usually take a look at the blog entry I wrote a year ago to see what has changed since then.The funny thing is, that blog entry a year ago says exactly what I could have said about this year too!
Read:
"The party went great, thanks to all who came, saw, and demolished the turkey ;) You guys are the reason why my mom still likes to go crazy and strangle disemboweled birds every year. We had another great party, with another poor bird that got strangled, disemboweled and demolished. -_-!!
Thanks to all who played along the Twister game and for embarrassing yourselves in the name of mass entertainment. Now I know why Twister is still the classic party game. ;)Ok, this we left out, partly due to popular request... heh
Thanks to those who took the effort, and braved the Xmas crowds to buy gifts for the gift exchange. Your gladitorial bravery is commendable.Another gift exchange, but with the Secret Santa twist, more meaningful, I think. :)
And even if he doesn't read this blog, thanks to a DF who flew by and made an attempt to socialize with my friends, something that I've been bugging him since, well, the start of the relationship. :S hey, it's a start.And to my pleasure, he continued! Well done!
Thanks for the gifts, the cards and the reaffirmation of friendship, the greatest gift of all. Says it all. :)
Here's then to next year, and to more of the best, less of the rest!"
That's not to say everything remained the same as it was in 2009....
I passed my JLPT4, went on to take JLPT3. ( Still waiting for results -_-!! ) I finally took French, but only for 2 months, and now the only thing I remember from the class was a children's song. -_-!!!!!
I gained weight, lost it, and subsequently gained it back. (argh!) the good news is that I made a net loss over the year, so, one resolution slightly accomplished. -_-!!!
I spent more money than I ever did. (argh! argh!) But the more important saving, for the two of us, is going on swimmingly. I have more money in that one account than both my other accounts combined. -_-!!!!!
I did slightly more art, but I took tons of pictures. Now considering how to load everything onto photography twitter account.... [http://twitter.com/clicknsnap]
And of course the big stuff. I'm on the way to getting married. As in with the church, the white dress, and everything. Considering how the relationship was in the early stages, it's almost a miracle we got this far. But amazingly he stuck through it, met the friends, met me more, and now I have 3 photos and a ringbox on my desk that shows how much we progressed through the year.
That part... is the crazy fairy tale part... The part where I'm not sure this is even really happening.
Reflecting on the year past means acknowledging that there was a load of crap, and there was a whole bunch of good too. I suppose the luxury for me now is that I can afford to look back on all the crap stuff, and say to myself, "That sucked, but it's done and over. I have other things to look forward to now."
So... 2009... It's done and over. I have other things to look forward to now. :)
Thursday, December 17, 2009
And the foetuses danced all night...
Ok obviously I don't mean that literally, but it was a thought that crossed my mind at Zirca on Ladies Night...
One night at Clarke Quay, Krystal and I did some overdue clubbing. We headed to Zirca cos none of us had been there yet since the old MOS there had closed down.
Now, the reason for the foetuses...
Maybe I haven't been in a club for ages, cos the girls and even the guys looked young. It wasn't just the physical age but the way they behaved.
For eg, shaking your body wildly with a rhythm out of sync with the music and shrieking with your group of friends. No matter how, it always sounds bimbotic...
Getting drunk or walking unsteadily with a friend propping you up. I don't care that this is a common sight at clubs but I haven't yet seen a girl that managed to make getting drunk look hot and glam.
Wearing midriff torn shirts and gyrating against the furniture and fittings in the club. Krystal said it best: and they wonder why guys think they're cheap. Hey just because I'm doing my best porn star impersonation doesn't mean I want to take it off for you. Really? Cos with you dancing like that your shirt is almost off anyway...
Of course the guys are no better. Best example is the guy who came with no date and who pretends he's hooking up the girls by dancing behind them when they can't see him. *rolls eyes* and who comes back for a second round!!
Not that im a seasoned hardcore clubber ( I swear I'm not ) but watching the wide eyed faces on the dance floor and listening to the girls giggling and encouraging their friends thrusting the fittings... I just realized how innocent they were. I wondered if they were aware of the hounds, sorry, guys who were eyeing them as sex prospects. I wondered if the girls who were cuffing the cheap vodka flavoured orange juice and subsequently getting drunk *roll eyes again* knew just how awfully unglam they looked. And I wondered if the guys knew what losers and posers they looked like to the girls.
Maybe I am getting old. I'm past the stage ( or maybe never reached it ) where I feel as if I have to act sexy to make myself feel good. And to me these antics just look like people trying too hard in a competition for a prize that's not worth it.
That being said, I think I still like to club. I like to dance, and there is always an allure in the dark smoky club room surrounded by a crowd dancing along with you that makes the dancing that little bit more on the edge.
Just... Leave the foetuses at home.
Ok obviously I don't mean that literally, but it was a thought that crossed my mind at Zirca on Ladies Night...
One night at Clarke Quay, Krystal and I did some overdue clubbing. We headed to Zirca cos none of us had been there yet since the old MOS there had closed down.
Now, the reason for the foetuses...
Maybe I haven't been in a club for ages, cos the girls and even the guys looked young. It wasn't just the physical age but the way they behaved.
For eg, shaking your body wildly with a rhythm out of sync with the music and shrieking with your group of friends. No matter how, it always sounds bimbotic...
Getting drunk or walking unsteadily with a friend propping you up. I don't care that this is a common sight at clubs but I haven't yet seen a girl that managed to make getting drunk look hot and glam.
Wearing midriff torn shirts and gyrating against the furniture and fittings in the club. Krystal said it best: and they wonder why guys think they're cheap. Hey just because I'm doing my best porn star impersonation doesn't mean I want to take it off for you. Really? Cos with you dancing like that your shirt is almost off anyway...
Of course the guys are no better. Best example is the guy who came with no date and who pretends he's hooking up the girls by dancing behind them when they can't see him. *rolls eyes* and who comes back for a second round!!
Not that im a seasoned hardcore clubber ( I swear I'm not ) but watching the wide eyed faces on the dance floor and listening to the girls giggling and encouraging their friends thrusting the fittings... I just realized how innocent they were. I wondered if they were aware of the hounds, sorry, guys who were eyeing them as sex prospects. I wondered if the girls who were cuffing the cheap vodka flavoured orange juice and subsequently getting drunk *roll eyes again* knew just how awfully unglam they looked. And I wondered if the guys knew what losers and posers they looked like to the girls.
Maybe I am getting old. I'm past the stage ( or maybe never reached it ) where I feel as if I have to act sexy to make myself feel good. And to me these antics just look like people trying too hard in a competition for a prize that's not worth it.
That being said, I think I still like to club. I like to dance, and there is always an allure in the dark smoky club room surrounded by a crowd dancing along with you that makes the dancing that little bit more on the edge.
Just... Leave the foetuses at home.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Malacca is a place with no watches, and too much food.
In just 2 days, I felt as if the point of the whole trip was really about the food. Even before I went, people didn't say, "You must see this place!" but "You must try this! You must try that! You have got to eat this or you never went to Malacca!"
So... the food. :) First signature dish: Peranakan food.
Our lunch stop was a last minute resort. We had driven all the way there, reaching there at 230pm, only to realise that most of the good places closed at 2pm for afternoon siestas. -_-!!!!! So we had no choice but to drive around till we found a place that was open.Bayonya is a Peranakan restaurant. We ordered a few Peranakan dishes for Yenn and Candle to try. Chicken pongteh was a rich chicken stew in soy gravy [which really caught my eye because on the menu it mentioned potatoes, haha!] and buah keluak, a sort of stewed hard-shelled fruit, Yenn realised, was a taste that really had to be acquired. [I haven't acquired it either]
The food was ok, but the part that brought it down was the fish, which had been frozen, so when it came to us, the meat was hard. Note: Peranakans are picky about food, as observed when my mother complained to the staff about the state of the fish upon payment.
Our dinner place, Aunty Lee, was much better. Aunty Lee was a nondescript little restaurant a bit further from town. The towkay neo of the place was a bossy little woman, who insisted the 5 of us sit at a table for 10, despite us asking for the smaller table. Some dishes we asked for, she said, "dun have." and overall she had the impression of a rather aunty-ish mother. -_-! [Not that unlike my own mother, so I'm wondering if this is another Peranakan trait...]
But when the sambal prawn came..... Shiiioookk....
The prawns, though small, were lathered in a rich sambal sauce that looked like it would sear the tonsils off, but was actually sweet and delicious. The lemongrass chicken was tangy and juicy. The omelette and kangkong came in a huge heap upon their plates. And all this for 77RM.
When leaving, I reminded father: Put this place down on the GPS. :)
Another signature dish: Chendol.
My parents pooh-poohed the many chendol stalls around, including the supposedly famous ones, and, in the afternoon, led us down Jonker St to a little shop selling titbits, and that had a little chendol stall in the front.
I don't know if the chendol was necessarily better or worse than the famous ones, but it was slurpingly good, after walking around in the hot afternoon sun, and had one advantage over the rest.
Free flow of gula melaka!
Yes, if the coconut milk was not flavorful enough, little jars of gula melaka were sitting pretty on the table for you to scoop as much as you wanted!
Contrary to the name 'gula', it really isn't that sweet. [And no, it's not just by my standards] Gula melaka really has a particular taste, that tastes like syrup, but it isn't clingingly sweet. So when you mix it into a lot of coconut milk... shiok... :)
And last stop before heading home: Baba Charlie.
[Ya, I know. From Aunty Lee to Baba Charlie, but bear with me...]
Baba Charlie wasn't a restaurant, or a cafe. We went far out from town, drove down a nondescript little side lane, entered someone's house....
To find a kitchen cooking for an entire army barracks. [Or it seemed that way to me]
We walked into another room....
To find a huge kitchen table covered with baskets of nonya kueh. Kueh, kueh and more kueh. Yes, Baba Charlie is a wholesale supplier of nonya kueh, who opened up his kitchen for the hungry greedy hordes to come in.
We bought a number of the stuff to eat for lunch on the way back to Singapore, and then Yenn realised that she couldn't stomach them because of the generous amounts of coconut shavings in each kueh. :)As I said, a trip characterised by food.
The interesting part about the food, though, was that due to my parents' experience, we managed to avoid most of the tourist traps, and found hidden gems like Aunty Lee or Baba Charlie, both of which we would not have found unless we were in a tour group. (ew) If we had to eat chicken rice balls and western food [?] for 2 days, I don't think that the trip would have been very interesting.
Rather it is the out of the way places that make it fun. Making you feel as if you know something that the rest of the populace doesn't. That makes you feel as if you're sneaking out of a boring party to head to where the real fun is.
And that, was the fun part of the trip. :)
[for future references, please refer to father's GPS...]
Epilogue: But after all that good food, there was still something I sorely missed, and that I just felt I had to eat before going back to Singapore......
I just couldn't resist. ^-^!!
Monday, December 07, 2009
These are the comments Yenn and I have after watching 'New Moon':
"The whole point of it is to see 6 packs."
"I heard a visible gasp through the audience when Jacob took off his shirt."
"Before the movie even started, my head was molested by someone's butt. F**K off!"
"If some guy tried those lines on me, I'd want to slap him silly."
"Stony faces. I've seen better acting by primary school kids."
"My god, did he actually say that? *Guffaws*"
and the best line of all:
"Seeing that how you already have a bunch of guys running around only in their shorts, the director had to satisfy the rest of the fans by having Edward take his off as well."
Don't get us wrong. It was a kind of entertaining movie, just probably not in the way the director or the rest of the Twihard fans would have thought. ;)
"The whole point of it is to see 6 packs."
"I heard a visible gasp through the audience when Jacob took off his shirt."
"Before the movie even started, my head was molested by someone's butt. F**K off!"
"If some guy tried those lines on me, I'd want to slap him silly."
"Stony faces. I've seen better acting by primary school kids."
"My god, did he actually say that? *Guffaws*"
and the best line of all:
"Seeing that how you already have a bunch of guys running around only in their shorts, the director had to satisfy the rest of the fans by having Edward take his off as well."
Don't get us wrong. It was a kind of entertaining movie, just probably not in the way the director or the rest of the Twihard fans would have thought. ;)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ever since my first camera phone, I've been bit by the shutterbug.
I've always loved photos and the taking of them. I like the idea that you could capture a moment of the past and preserve it for the future, with one press of a button. Video never had the same appeal, because firstly, of technical loading issues, and secondly, because it was the very passing moment of photography that appealed to me. Video captured a few minutes of your life. Photography captured a second, reminding you that the past would never come back, and by doing so made you treasure it even more because it was lost forever.
I have had 2 digital cameras, but the most convenient for me was the camera phone. The digital camera could take some pretty breathtaking pictures on the right settings, but the camera phone won out in portability, making it easy to document every precious [and embarrassing] moment.
Of course, one of the greatest advantages of digital also turned out to be a drawback. Because you could take as many photos as you wanted, you didn't have to think about how to take a proper shot. You just snapped and snapped till you got what you wanted.
Something which I realised today to my chagrin, when I brought Kenny out to my alma mater's open house. I wanted to take good pictures. I ended up taking... a lot of mediocre ones. -_-!!!
Now I realise I may be comparing myself to the many pro photographers whose work I've seen. Lightedpixels and Mario Testino I am not, for sure. But still I can't help but look at the stuff I took, on my good Kenny, and think: This was the best I could take?
Disappointing really. I've better stuff on my camera phone. [well, too much stuff anyway. I spent over an hour backing up over 700 photos.]
Maybe good lah. This is a sort of wakeup flash. Kenny's feeling neglected, and took away my inspiration as a kind of revenge. I need to build back that creative sense again...
I've always loved photos and the taking of them. I like the idea that you could capture a moment of the past and preserve it for the future, with one press of a button. Video never had the same appeal, because firstly, of technical loading issues, and secondly, because it was the very passing moment of photography that appealed to me. Video captured a few minutes of your life. Photography captured a second, reminding you that the past would never come back, and by doing so made you treasure it even more because it was lost forever.
I have had 2 digital cameras, but the most convenient for me was the camera phone. The digital camera could take some pretty breathtaking pictures on the right settings, but the camera phone won out in portability, making it easy to document every precious [and embarrassing] moment.
Of course, one of the greatest advantages of digital also turned out to be a drawback. Because you could take as many photos as you wanted, you didn't have to think about how to take a proper shot. You just snapped and snapped till you got what you wanted.
Something which I realised today to my chagrin, when I brought Kenny out to my alma mater's open house. I wanted to take good pictures. I ended up taking... a lot of mediocre ones. -_-!!!
Now I realise I may be comparing myself to the many pro photographers whose work I've seen. Lightedpixels and Mario Testino I am not, for sure. But still I can't help but look at the stuff I took, on my good Kenny, and think: This was the best I could take?
Disappointing really. I've better stuff on my camera phone. [well, too much stuff anyway. I spent over an hour backing up over 700 photos.]
Maybe good lah. This is a sort of wakeup flash. Kenny's feeling neglected, and took away my inspiration as a kind of revenge. I need to build back that creative sense again...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
After the previous wedding rant... I think I somewhat cooled down. No throwing of rings and yelling "I've had enuff of this!" ( much to the relief of the DF I might add... )
I talked it over with people and in the end... I guess it's somewhat inevitable that the whole extended family tree would get involved in the wedding. In a way also better, since I'd rather not have people keep feelings simmering under the surface.
I also feel lost because advice has been coming in from everywhere. It's all good advice, but hopeless to try to follow every single one. ( example: one telling me to do things my way and another telling me to give in to relatives. !!! )
I also felt out of control because his side seemed to be doing all kinds of stuff, eg telling us which ballroom to take. I have to take back the control for some of the things I want, not for control sake, but also to make it feel like my wedding after all. If others are going to decide everything for me, then aren't I just a common Barbie doll?
So I'm going to plug for certain things. I want to decide church. I want to decide gown and shoes. I want to decide on the photographer. The things important to me, I want to have the final say. This way, I have control over the things that really matter to me. And I won't feel so like a fish out of the sea.
A day for a lifetime, a day for a lifetime...
I talked it over with people and in the end... I guess it's somewhat inevitable that the whole extended family tree would get involved in the wedding. In a way also better, since I'd rather not have people keep feelings simmering under the surface.
I also feel lost because advice has been coming in from everywhere. It's all good advice, but hopeless to try to follow every single one. ( example: one telling me to do things my way and another telling me to give in to relatives. !!! )
I also felt out of control because his side seemed to be doing all kinds of stuff, eg telling us which ballroom to take. I have to take back the control for some of the things I want, not for control sake, but also to make it feel like my wedding after all. If others are going to decide everything for me, then aren't I just a common Barbie doll?
So I'm going to plug for certain things. I want to decide church. I want to decide gown and shoes. I want to decide on the photographer. The things important to me, I want to have the final say. This way, I have control over the things that really matter to me. And I won't feel so like a fish out of the sea.
A day for a lifetime, a day for a lifetime...
Friday, October 23, 2009
I want to have a marriage, not a wedding.
I know this puts me squarely out of the comprehension of 99.99% of girls in Singapore. Which girl has not planned her wedding from the start of every relationship? Which girl has not dreamed of walking down the aisle dressed in a pearly white princess gown, all eyes on her and how gorgeous she looks?
Well, guess who?
Helping others in their wedding did not quite prepare me for the complexity of preparing my own. Other than the overseas factor, -_-! there are other dozens of little details that I never even imagined possible
The gown itself being one of those perplexing 'details'. I hate the whole idea of shopping at bridal studios for two reasons:
1. Sales tactics, ranging from the oily wheedling, to the army-style guerilla tactics that some salespeople will employ in order to get you to sign their package. Theirs, of course, being the cheapest, most comprehensive, most bang-for-your-buck package compared to all the other loser boutiques out there. *rolls eyes*
I hate this part of the process. This is ironic, because I love shopping. I love shopping for clothes. But I do particularly hate shopping at places where the salespeople tail you everywhere, and push stuff in your face. They either think you're about to shoplift half their entire merchandise, or that you're about to take out waddles of cash to buy half their merchandise. Irritating.
2. Size issues. Yes, size matters. I have a painful enough time trying to find shirts/pants/underwear and every other form of female apparel in my size. It sucks when they just don't have it in your size. And I don't want to extend that sucky feeling to the wedding dress. It literally fills me with dread to think of stepping into the studio, filled with gorgeous gowns, and being told that they 'don't have it in your size'. F**k to all the stupid skinny women spoiling market for me!
So I decided to custom make the gown. Then I realised I have to extend this shopping process to the designers. Then I realised I have to find an evening gown as well for the dinner.
That's 2 dresses I have to find, me who hasn't worn a skirt since JC days!!!!!
And maybe this is the key issue for me here. [Now I sound all Oprahish] I don't wear dresses PERIOD. I don't even wear a skirt. And now I have to search for one that I'm going to have to pay money for and wear for maybe 2 days in my life. *faint* And possibly pay extra in order to find the one I want in my size. *faint*
Why does everyone keep saying that I should do it because it's my special day? If it's my special day, shouldn't I be doing something I like, instead of something that I dread? I feel like some Barbie doll that's being primped and dressed for some girl's tea party. Why does the bride have to do all these things for the behalf and face of everyone else, even if it's to her own discomfort?
I always believed that the most important part of the wedding was the whole marriage that lay after that, not anything on the day itself. I always wanted a simple wedding that I could have fun in. And now I feel as if the entire affair is about to be turned into one giant circus affair, with me as the main clowning event. SIANZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
OK, I know someone is going to tell me to go into ZEN mode at this point. Everytime I feel like punching out a wedding coordinator, I'm going to think ZEN: A day for a lifetime, a day for a lifetime.
I know this puts me squarely out of the comprehension of 99.99% of girls in Singapore. Which girl has not planned her wedding from the start of every relationship? Which girl has not dreamed of walking down the aisle dressed in a pearly white princess gown, all eyes on her and how gorgeous she looks?
Well, guess who?
Helping others in their wedding did not quite prepare me for the complexity of preparing my own. Other than the overseas factor, -_-! there are other dozens of little details that I never even imagined possible
The gown itself being one of those perplexing 'details'. I hate the whole idea of shopping at bridal studios for two reasons:
1. Sales tactics, ranging from the oily wheedling, to the army-style guerilla tactics that some salespeople will employ in order to get you to sign their package. Theirs, of course, being the cheapest, most comprehensive, most bang-for-your-buck package compared to all the other loser boutiques out there. *rolls eyes*
I hate this part of the process. This is ironic, because I love shopping. I love shopping for clothes. But I do particularly hate shopping at places where the salespeople tail you everywhere, and push stuff in your face. They either think you're about to shoplift half their entire merchandise, or that you're about to take out waddles of cash to buy half their merchandise. Irritating.
2. Size issues. Yes, size matters. I have a painful enough time trying to find shirts/pants/underwear and every other form of female apparel in my size. It sucks when they just don't have it in your size. And I don't want to extend that sucky feeling to the wedding dress. It literally fills me with dread to think of stepping into the studio, filled with gorgeous gowns, and being told that they 'don't have it in your size'. F**k to all the stupid skinny women spoiling market for me!
So I decided to custom make the gown. Then I realised I have to extend this shopping process to the designers. Then I realised I have to find an evening gown as well for the dinner.
That's 2 dresses I have to find, me who hasn't worn a skirt since JC days!!!!!
And maybe this is the key issue for me here. [Now I sound all Oprahish] I don't wear dresses PERIOD. I don't even wear a skirt. And now I have to search for one that I'm going to have to pay money for and wear for maybe 2 days in my life. *faint* And possibly pay extra in order to find the one I want in my size. *faint*
Why does everyone keep saying that I should do it because it's my special day? If it's my special day, shouldn't I be doing something I like, instead of something that I dread? I feel like some Barbie doll that's being primped and dressed for some girl's tea party. Why does the bride have to do all these things for the behalf and face of everyone else, even if it's to her own discomfort?
I always believed that the most important part of the wedding was the whole marriage that lay after that, not anything on the day itself. I always wanted a simple wedding that I could have fun in. And now I feel as if the entire affair is about to be turned into one giant circus affair, with me as the main clowning event. SIANZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
OK, I know someone is going to tell me to go into ZEN mode at this point. Everytime I feel like punching out a wedding coordinator, I'm going to think ZEN: A day for a lifetime, a day for a lifetime.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Cute video.... garbage bags sing about a song about the impact of garbage on the river.... :)
http://ping.fm/ubauD
http://ping.fm/ubauD
Friday, October 16, 2009
Most inappropriate Halloween costumes
You have to wonder at the kind of douches that will wear some of these costumes. 2 weeks to Halloween!
The Most Inappropriate Halloween Costumes Possible
The Most Inappropriate Halloween Costumes Possible
Sent from my iPod
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