Movies Part II

//Movies Part II//

Now that the holidays has come to an end...let me review all the movies I have watched during this holiday, using the first word that came to my mind to describe all these movies...

Cinema:

Flight Plan: Jodie!
She made the movie so much better, I mean how interesting can a movie about a mum looking for a daugher on a plane get. I do like the plot, but I think without Jodie, the movie would have been a lot of worse.

Just Like Heaven: Cheese/Reese!
The show is so cheesy and cliche, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it, cause I loved it! I enjoyed Reese's performance a lot in this movie.

Harry Potter: The Goblet Of Fire: Underrated
I have seen a lot of reviews that criticised this movie to no end. Yes, it's not the best movie in the world, but it's definitely by no means the worst to me, movies are supposed to entertain, and I felt entertained for that 2+ hours.

Prime: Sucks
In the spirit of my favourite fourm "Survivor Sucks", there's only 3 words to describe the movie, sad.grim.pathetic. Uma Thurman looks great though.

Zathura: Meh
It's a nice movie, with okay effects, the kids are cute, but there's just nothing spectacular or anything about this movie that makes is above average.

Noel: Heartwarming
Technically this movie is released in 2004, but since Singapore only brought it in this late, I will just put it here. I just love the movie, and all the little stories about each of the cast that went out, great acting from the entire cast too.

Aeon Flux: Futuristic
Relied pretty much on the special effects, story's not very clearly explained for me, but the effects look realistic enough for me, which cannot be said for "Sound Of Thunder"

Chicken Little: Short
I am actually a little underwhelmed after watching, cause I felt like "Huh, that's all" after the movie ended. It was funny no doubt, but I felt that the whole story plot lacks a climax, it's like they put funny scenes together to assemble a kid's movie.

King Kong: Long (erm..you guys know I have very limited vocabulary)
Well, unlike "Chicken Little", I can't help but think "Is it gonna end soon", I liked the movie, it has action and emotion all packed into one, could have been better if it's not so long winded.

Other movies I watched in cinema this year:

The Island: Run!
I loved the plot of this movie, but what left the deepest impact wasn't the plot, it was the "running" scenes, Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson can really run, and running took up much of this movie anyway.

Constantine: Huh?
I remembered I enjoyed the movie, but sadly that's the only thing I remembered, cause for some reason, I can't recall much about this movie, not even the plot, I only remembered Keanu Reeves was Constantine.

War Of The Worlds: Anti-climatic!
Another "running" movie. But unlike "The Island", the plot was pretty weak. And it's like they ran and ran from the aliens, then suddenly at the end, BAM! the alien died cause of bacteria. Anti-climatic.

DVD:

The Pianist: Realistic
I thought I would be bored watching it, cause I have watched part of it in school already, but it still managed to capture my attention, although my brother who was watching with me was falling asleep. He doesn't even know about the holocaust. Adrien Brody did a superb job too. I am a crybaby when it comes to movies and shows etc, I can cry (not bailing wailing kind of crying, more like teared up) at least once during most movies...but I did not cry at all throughout this movie, it's only after it ended that I feel the impact and starting tearing up...

Sound Of Thunder: Confusing
I don't think anyone should ever attempt a movie based purely on time travelling. I mean if killing a butterfly millions of years ago will alter evolution so much, then wouldn't the time machine not be invented at all if the city became the forest populated by all sorts of weird beast? The special effects suck badly too...

Red Eye: Exciting
I think "Flight Plan" got the idea from this movie. The action scenes were just enough, not overdone like "The Island", and plot's pretty good.

Chronicles of Narnia: Kiddish
Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters that try to put in as many action scenes as possible to attract viewers, this movie has almost none except for a short fight at the end.

Man On Fire: Dakota!
I'm just glad she didn't scream like she did in "War Of The Worlds", didn't really like this kind of movie, a tad too violent for me I guess..

House Of Wax: Disgusting
Seriously dumb plot, worst movie out of all the movies I listed...

Troy: Stupid
The ending is dumb. The scenary is great though, any idea where they shot this film?

Exorcism Of Emily Rose: Disturbing
I didn't watch the entire thing, but caught most of it, the actress who acted as Emily Rose did a superb job.

TV:

Legally Blonde: Blonde (well..duh!)
Reese Witherspoon did great on this movie, it is a very cheesy kind of movie too, but as mentioned, I just love this kind of movie...

Princess Diary: Best-brain
Don't ask me to define "best-brain", cause the sec 3s came up with it, but that's the exact word that came to my mind whenever Mia does something stupid. I love this movie the first time I watched it in cinema, still love it now.

Sweet Home Alabama: Reese/Cheese!
She really lights up the screen every time she appear on screen. I am not overly enthusiastic about the plot, but it's nice enough to watch, at least you won't cringe while watching it.

She

//She//

She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
- Elvis Costello

I've been with her for 4 years..

Every single day of my life (almost) for my past 4 years...we've been together, inseperable...

Inseparable, That's how we'll always be
Inseparable, Just you and me
It's so wonderful to know you'll always be around me
- Natalie Cole

Though we may be inseperable, but that's not how we'll always be, unlike what the lyrics say...

It's a relationship that was doom at the very moment it started, we both know it will not last beyond 4 years...that is why I cherish every single moment when I'm with her...

I visit her every single day (almost), and she never fails to brighten up my life...I never get tired of visiting her...seeing her has became a daily ritual for me, much like brushing my teeth, showering, etc...

Sometimes when I am not able to visit her, I felt terrible and now that I am about to leave her, I wonder how may I supposed to live without her...

How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
How do I, oh How do I live
- LeAnn Rimes

Saying goodbye is never and easy thing
But you never say you'll stay forever
But if you must go darling I'll set you free
- Taylor Dayne

Yes indeed, saying goodbye is always the hardest part...I know I can't stay forever, I know I must go some day...

To her: Now that the year has come to an end, I would like to thank you...you will be missed!

The Heng Sickness

//The Heng Sickness//

Here are 10 symptoms to tell you that you hang out with Terence Heng too much...

1. When someone says "我们去吃先", you will be very very tempted to correct that person and say "应该是我们先去吃"
2. You pick out all the veggie and put it aside, expecting somebody to eat it for you when you are eating
3. When somebody doesn't agree to do something for you, you will threaten that person "你不帮我，我就亲你"
4. When somebody asked you to do something and you don't want to, you will say "你当我是女佣 huh?"
5. You cringe everytime someone pronounce 女主角 (jue) as 女主角 (jiao), and you will tell that person "台湾人才念女主角 (jiao), 新加坡人是念女主角 (jue) 的"
6. You always look for the most spicy food on the menu when you are ordering your food.
7. You are tempted to tell the last person that turn up at a gathering/outing that "XYZ, you are the last team to arrive, you've been eliminated from the race."
8. You are sensitive to words like "状元" or "风水轮流转", and these words always reminds of the TV shows "挑战状元榜" and "今天谁会赢"
9. Terence comes to your mind when you see the numbers "38"
10. You want to scold the person for saying "这碗汤很烧" and tell that person that the correct way of saying should be "这碗汤很烫"

If you know Terence Heng and you have...

• 9 to 10 symptoms : Are you dating him or something...it is good to know your friends, but never good to know them too well...
• 6 to 8 symptoms : You are more or less safe, just be careful if you are near to the higher end of this category...
• 3 to 5 symptoms : It would be good to talk to him more, be it on MSN or whatsoever.
• 0 to 2 symptoms : Are you sure you know Terence Heng? You may want to start by visiting his blog and see if we are talking about the same person here.

I have 6 symptoms I think, 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10...

What about you?

Christmas Song Part V: Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

//Christmas Song Part V: Happy Christmas (War Is Over)//

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I've been blogging a lot this couple of days..

So back to the song...it's my favourite christmas song for the year..."Happy Christmas (War is over)"...

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
- John Lennon

This song was originally sung by John Lennon (with his wife)...in the seventies I think, it's sort of a anti-war song too (Vietnam War at that time)...

A lot of singers have done covers of this song, such as Maroon 5, UK Pop Idols (they released this song as their single)....etc...

The starting of the song just strikes me when I first heard it...makes me reflect on what I've done for the year that just passed....that's just something about this song that makes me like it...although the melody and lyrics are both very simple...

I first heard this song on UK Pop Idol, click here to watch the performance...
or listen to the song here...

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
- John Lennon

Once again, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas Card

//Christmas Card//

I was tidying up my room last few weeks, throwing away unwanted stuff, notes, etc...

Then I came across this box..which I labelled as "Mail Box", where I kept all my cards, be it birthday cards, Christmas card, etc...and it was a pretty thick stack I must say...Then I realised, all the cards inside are from my primary school classmates/friends, not a single one of them is from my secondary school classmates...

Not that I'm surprised/shocked/sad about it, cause I stopped sending out cards ever since secondary one...so I don't expect any too...and it's not like they did not give me birthday presents...cause they did, just no cards from them that's all...

Then yesterday...I received something (!!!)...

The address on the envelope is handwritten, and I am pretty sure it's not from any formal organisation whatsoever, so I thought "Wow, a christmas card!"

Looking at the handwritting, the first person that came to my mind was Benjamin (maybe cause I just had the primary school class gathering)...cause the entire thing was written in CAPS, so he came to my mind...

But the moment I opened the envelope, I didn't see any christmas card inside, I saw a thick stack of paper, and another person came to my mind immediately...

ALEX GAY! And no, he is not gay (well, maybe he is but I don't know)...it just so happens that his last name is "Gay"...he was my pen pal from Australia, but I have not written to him since P6...though I still see him online sometimes...but then I realised, the stamp clearly states that it's for local address only, it can't be from Alex...

So I pulled out the thick stack of paper...and along with it...came a booklet thingy...and guess who I saw on the booklet?






Yes! It's MAMA PAOLO!!!

Then all the dots suddenly connected...

It's Terence (sorry for not recognising your handwriting :p)

The booklet thingy consists of 4 pages, each page has a Mama Paolo photo with my name (Seah on 1st page, Kay on 2nd and so on) and the last page says "Merry Christmas!" with a photo of Mama Paolo wearing a Santas hat...

As for the thick stack of letter....it was the testimonial thingy that he wrote for the rest of the class (which I didn't receive on the last day of school)

His assessment was pretty spot-on...especially this part..

"You do look like a sheep lost in the middle of the big maze featured in Survivor: Guatemala. I really can't diagnose what's really wrong with you. Perhaps you find no meaning in life? Perhaps you do not have goals to be called your own? Or maybe the reason could be as minor as you didn't get enough sleep/sleep well the previous night."

I guess I named my blog well...suits me...but as for the reason...I guess it's a combination of lots of factors...

and my absolute favourite part of the letter is

"Your most irresponsible and bitchy monitor-cum-Operations head"....even his assessment of himself is spot on too...people always say 当局者迷, 旁观者清...so not true for him I guess...

On a ending note...to terence: thanks for the christmas card/booklet with Mama Paolo...although I'm sort of disappointed that the only person that ever sent me a card in my secondary school life is unfortunately you, I'll have to make do with it...(I won't send you one though...it's too late...a e-card maybe..)

Christmas Song Part IV: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

//Christmas Song Part IV: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree//

This is my second fav christmas song this year...why? Cause it's JOYFUL!!

Finally a christmas song that sounds happy, and not about broken relationships, screaming high whistle note or about african kids starving.

It's easily the most happy christmas song that I listened to this year (in fact the only one..)

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone dancing merrily
In the new old fashioned way
- Brenda Lee

I first heard the song on Canadian Idol, there was this contestant who sung this song during one of the auditions, and the song was so cute (and it helps when she is pretty cute too)...But at that time I didn't really know what was the song title..You can watch her performance here (HIGHLY RECOMMENED)

Recently, during on the beer commercial (Heineken I think), this song was played as the background music too...and when I heard it, I was like "I MUST get this song on my playlist!"

But how can I download it if I don't know the song title? So I attempted using Yahoo to find it, I searched for "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree lyrics" (cause those happen to be the first few words of the song), so I guess even if that is not the song title, I might get the song title through the search....and I guess I got lucky and it was right on!

You can listen to the song here (the download expires in 7 days), this one that I uploaded is the Jessica Simpsons rendition, the original version is by Brenda Lee...

One more song to go...will post it on Christmas Day itself...my favourite Christmas song this year...

Pointless Nostalgic

//Pointless Nostalgic//

Thoughts running 'round my head today
Times from the past popping up
Where they're from I don't know...
- Jamie Cullum (Pointless Nostalgic)

My mum was talking about the funny things we (my siblings and I) did when we were younger that day when we were playing Mahjong...

There are A LOT of things that my mum talked about that I don't remember at all...when I look back on my 16 years...there are just some random images/scenarios that kept playing back and back again...

And when I say random, I really mean random, just like the lyrics "Where they're from I don't know"...I remembered I was waiting outside the toilet for my friends who went to the toilet at Causeway Point (on my 14th birthday), but I can't remember what else we did that day, like what movie we watched, etc...

I remembered one the first day of school in kindergarden, I ate Honeystar for breakfast, and the next thing I remembered was we had to colour an elephant, and I accidently coloured the whole elephant (including the eyes) black, and I ended up crying like mad...but I can't remember what else happened that day during lesson...

I can remember Teocc's lesson on how the heart works, how I nearly fell asleep, how animated she appeared during the lesson, using her fists to represent the atrium and ventricle, but I can't remember too much about her other lessons...

First day of school in Hwa Chong, I don't remember much, just remembered the Use-Your-Hands activity that took place in the morning...

There are too many examples....important days of my life...but I can't remember much of the important parts, I only remember some random stuff that happened that day...

It would be great to own a Pensieve (the thing Dumbledore used to store memories, and observe past events as a third party)...this way I will be able to remember much more important things of the past, instead of mundane stuff like these...

And speaking of observing past events as third party, when I go throught past events in my mind, it's always in third person (meaning I see myself in my memory..much like how the Pensieve works)...kind of weird huh? It's like suddenly, I can see what I did at that time so clearly...

When I look back on my ordinary ordinary life
I see so much magic though I missed it at the time
- Jamie Cullum (Photograph)

Looking at my old photographs, I can't help but realised I seemed to be so much livelier last time, I always remembered I was very shy, very quiet (much quieter than I am now...go imagine..)...but the photographs proved otherwise...which left me kind of confused...am I remembering all the wrong things?

With all the memory gaps that I mentioned, and me being hyperactive in the photos while I clearly remember that I was a very quiet kid...maybe I do have split personality...

Ain't thinking about love today
Lost in the sunlight walking down memory lane
Ain't thinking about you today
People from the past that I knew were slowly slipping away
- Jamie Cullum

Just went for a primary school class gathering yesterday...before the actual gathering, we were having a mass convo on MSN...discussing about who to inform who etc...and lots of names were thrown out...some of which I actually have difficulty remembering their faces or voices...indeed.."People from the past that I knew were slowly slipping away"...

In the end, 4 girls and 7 guys turned up at 1.30 for bowling, lan-gaming, arcade-ing..etc while the rest of the 5 girls turned up during steamboat dinner (cause they had to work)...which means, if you are able to do simple calculation, a grand total of 16 people turned up!! (to akf: not 17)...

This is the most people we had for a class gathering ever since we graduated....For one, I haven't seen Ming Jun, Carmen & Weiwen (though I do see her at the bus stop sometimes, but never really talked much face to face) for a long long time...but still...Chin Liang is the ultimate I guessed, the last time I saw him was in secondary 1 CNY (though I don't remember seeing him though he claimed he came, another mistake in my memory?)...and I can't believe I actually called him that day to ask him to come for the gathering...I was even worried if he will go "huh?" when I tell him I'm kay siong on the phone...

Gathering turned out to be quite fun...played bowling...we were mostly noobs..I managed to maintain my 70-80+ scores...played LAN (dota) later for the first time in my life...(yes..i'm not joking)...totally dun understand what's going on till we're about to end the game (which in other words till my team is about to lose)...Played pool with ming jun and weiwen later (I teamed up with mark)...we had a 3 ball advantage yet still ended up losing after we hit both the white and black ball in the end...

During the dinner, it was like Survivor Amazon: Battle of the Sexes, girls one gang, guys one gang...but like some others have mentioned...this is indeed the most interaction we ever had during a class gathering (in the sense that we do talk more than usual...) Topics were mainly "So what JC you going?" or "So what subjects you taking next year?" or "What CCA you joining?" with a few other stuff here and there like part-time work etc...

I wonder when will we meet again as a class...they were saying we should meet after the first 3 months after the O Level results are released so we can have another round of "So what JC you going"...lol, but whenever that will be, I do believe that we will definitely have another gathering in the future...relationship with primary school friends may not be as good as it used to be in when we were studying together, but friends like these don't just disappear from your life just like that...so I'm pretty confident...

Reminiscing my cares away
Wishing I could go back and change the points that were low
Till I realize that life's meant to be
Photographs lost in time are all I see
A pointless nostalgic - that's me
- Jamie Cullum (Pointless Nostalgic)

* I love this song "Pointless Nostalgic"...
** Imagine七月歌台 but they are singing Christmas carols (even the emcee speaks in Chinese)...that's what's happening downstairs now...sense of Dejavu...this had been the case every year since I moved here...

Christmas Song Part III: Do They Know It's Christmas

//Christmas Song Part III: Do They Know It's Christmas//

YC sent me this song last year during Christmas.

The version that he sent me is by Band Aid 2004 version (the original version was released in Nov 1984).

The original version was sung by singers like Phil Collins, U2, Wham!, etc...and the latest version includes Dido, Robbie Williams, Joss Stone, Bono (from U2), Will Young, etc...

The record (both the original one and the one that was released in 2004) was supposed to help raise money for the poor in Africa. To know more, click here..

I've never heard the original version before, but for the version that YC sent me, I didn't particularly like the melody of the song very much (it is decent though).

The lyrics, on the other hand, was very well-written in my opinion. Well written not in the sense that it is poetic or has a very profound meaning, etc, but well written in the sense that it is able to let fortunate people like you and I see what life is like on the other side, with lyrics like:

At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
- Band Aid 20

The new version has this little rap part in the middle which I thought spoilt the whole song, but other than this little glitch, it's a pretty good song for me.

Christmas Song Part II: All I Want For Christmas Is You

//Christmas Song Part II: All I Want For Christmas Is You//

This song is the direct opposite of "Last Christmas"...

There are lots of big notes..and a very high whistle note at the end (typical Mariah Carey)...

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever known
Make my wish come true...
All I want for Christmas is you...
-Mariah Carey

This also isn't a typical Christmas carol type of song...it doesn't exactly have a very joyious feeling...but it does have the Christmas season feeling (thanks to the arrangment of the song)...

Not my favourite christmas song this year, but Miss Carey's singing technique does make the song sound better than it actually is...if you are fan of female RnB divas with big voices, this would be an ideal christmas song for you...

SJAB Chalet

//SJAB Chalet//

Bowling. KBox. King Kong. Bridge. Badminton. 1 Otah. Cookies & snacks from Japan. First aid case.

Those words pretty much sums up the chalet...

On the first day, instead of going to the chalet then coming out later, yc, terence and i decided to just go to KBox at Tampines before going to the chalet. wx and jeremy both did not go with us cause wx was too fast (already @ the chalet) while jeremy was too slow (have not even arrived)...so just the 3 of us went.

Later, terence decided to go home first and not going to the chalet at all...so yc and i made our way down to the chalet for the BBQ...

I saw like at least ten chicken wing that are ready when I arrived and was VERY excited cause i was pretty hungry...but guess what...after the first bite...I realised the chicken wing is not cooked....ended up eating only one otah, and lots of snacks Jeremy bought from Japan.

So what's next? We taught Jeremy how to play Bridge!! Can you imagine 2 noobs (me & jeremy), 1 retard (well, i shall not named him) and 1 normal person (yc) playing bridge?

Watched Project Runway at 10...and at 11 went to play badminton with Jeremy & the sec 1s...playing badminton in the dark is so hard, it is easier than playing table tennis in the dark though.

Then the most interesting event of the chalet (in my opinion) happened! wx wanted to give me the key, so he threw it to me...but as you know..King Kong has tremendous strength, so instead of landing in my hand...it landed on the rooftop of the sheltered walkway....and we spent at least half an hour trying to retrieve it...

Went bowling after finally retrieving the key (at around 12 am)...I got myself my dinner (since technically I never got my dinner during the BBQ) at MacDonalds on the way there...

So Jeremy, YC and I ended up at Lane 14...and Lane 12 and 13 consist of sec 2s, Lane 16 consist of sec 1s....and we are sandwiched in the middle...under the eyes of so many juniors, Jeremy and I both got a BIG FAT ZERO for our first roll...

I ended up first with 83 points, after having a spare and a strike in a row at the end...

Played 2 more games, in which I obtained 80 and 78 pts respectively...not veri impressive but definitely much much improved than my below 50 scores previously...

Left the Bowling alley at around 2 am...went back and played more bridge...before sleeping at around 4 am...

Second day started with me being crazy and throwing stuff down at the com teams from the room upstairs (they were studying their first aid)...After ying cheng left, the sec 2 com team finally did a case! I would say they are not bad at all for first try...but definitely bad considering the time left before the mock com and zone com...

Left at 1 to watch King Kong with Jeremy, wx, Aaron, ry and Kenneth at Tampines Mall...

Pretty good movie I would say, at least it is worth my 6 bucks (aaron sponsered all of us 1 buck) my only complaint would be the story arc with Jack and Ann (Adrien & Naomi) aren't very well-developed...but it's already 3 hour without developing that arc, I can't imagine how much longer it will be if that story arc is much more developed...

I did enjoy myself during the chalet...despite so few people from the squad turning up...but I'm sure it would be more fun if more people could come...

Christmas Song Part I: Last Christmas

//Christmas Song Part I: Last Christmas//

As Christmas approaches, I have this urge to listen to more Christmas-related songs...so if you look at my "Recently Added" songs or "Most Played" songs on my Winamp playlist this few days...it's not hard to find quite a few Christmas-related songs...

"Last Christmas" isn't exactly a Christmas song, it is more about a failed relationship than about Christmas, but I still love it nonetheless.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
- Wham!

That is the chorus of the song, very simple and straightforward, there is nothing extraordinary about the lyrics for the rest of the song. The melody is simple and smooth, very easy on the ears...

Though this song doesn't exactly give you a very festive feeling, it is a very pleasant song, definitely very suitable for a pleasant season like this...

What Lies Beneath

//What Lies Beneath//

One statement that I'm so tired of hearing is...

"哎哟, 你为什么这样瘦。减肥huh? 还是功课压力太大?

I hear this every friggin' time I meet my relatives (father side that is)...almost every single one of them will say this to me everytime they met me. (luckily I don't see them often)

Even worse, I met my uncle (from my father side) today...and when he said this, he had a look of digust on his face, as if I'm as skinny as some starving kid in Africa, which is such an insult to those kids.

And my replies to them started with "没有啦, 我吃很多的" to "不会啦, 我那里会瘦?"(then I will subconsciously put my hand on my tummy) to *sheepish smile* and not even bothering to respond.

I admit, it's better to hear from others that you are skinny than to hear from them that you're fat...I've went through that stage where every relative I met will say that I'm so fat once...so this is better...to hear from them that I'm thin...

But seriously give me a break! It's like their way of saying hello to me everytime I meet them...

But seriously...I questioned how much they know about me...all they see is the surface...they don't seem to notice what lies beneath...my big tummy which rivalled my brother's...

I'm not really bugged by the fact that they didn't notice my tummy...who cares if they do or don't....it's just that they really don't see what lies beneath...they only see the superficial...

All they know about me is what they see..that I'm thin...they knew so little about me that commenting that I'm thin is the only thing they got to say to me...hardly do they have anything else to say to me...my relationship with them only remains on the skin deep...superficial level...

During my grandma's (father side) funeral...it's the exam period (she passed away the day before Oral Defence) and the whole funeral took place right during the exams, the last day of the funeral was on the day of Bio exams (I still remember mugging chemistry right after the end of the funeral).

So you can imagine...grandma's funeral...lots of relatives will be here....the funeral was held downstairs (since she lived with my family for the last few months)...I was actually somewhat glad that it was during exam period...cause this give me an excuse to stay at home instead of going downstairs to help....

Going down to help means meeting most of my relatives, which means lots more "哎哟, 你为什么这样瘦." followed by silence and hardly anything to talk about...I mean it's one thing to have this kind of awkward moments with friends but it's totally another story with relatives...and all this will just lead to one thing..boredom..so yea for once I was glad that I was at home mugging...

And actually, I think it's actually the same case for friends...not all friends but most...what we know about our so called friends most of the time are really superficial too...especially in a school context...

No matter how close you are to that friend, there are still some things that you keep to yourselves...we all have our dark little secrets...even if it's not big deal sometimes, we still choose to present only certain parts of our life to our friends...hiding some of the not-so-nice things about our family or anything...

Was having lunch with a friend today...I shocked him with some of the things I told him about my family (and relatives)...well, not exactly shocked, but he definitely looked surprised...he also revealed some surprising facts about his family too...

So I guess what we see in our friends sometimes...what we think we know about our friends is actually only a small part of them...there's a whole lot of stuff about them that we still don't know...

Mary Alice Young once said something which illustrate this point very well...

"An odd thing happens when we die. Our senses vanish. Taste, touch, smell, and sound become a distant memory. But our sight. Ah. Our sight expands. And we can suddenly see the world we left behind so clearly. Of course, most of what's visible to the dead can also be seen by the living. If they only take the time to look."

"Like my friend, Gabrielle. I should have seen how unhappy she was. But I didn't. I only saw her clothes from Paris. And her platinum jewelry. And her brand-new diamond watch. Had I looked closer, I would have seen that Gabrielle was a drowning woman. Desperately in search of a life vest."

On a side note...can anyone think of something which I can respond to my relatives that will shut them once and for all? Without being too rude?

Maybe I can reply "Ya lor, 我瘦了, 你要我给你一些建议怎样减肥吗? 因为你很像胖了不少。" This will shut them and they will never talk to me again about how thin I look....

Malaysia Truly Asia Part II: 麻将

//Malaysia Truly Asia Part II: 麻将//

mah·jong also mah·jongg ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mäzhng, -zhông)n.

A game of Chinese origin usually played by four persons with tiles resembling dominoes and bearing various designs, which are drawn and discarded until one player wins with a hand of four combinations of three tiles each and a pair of matching tiles.
http://www.dictionary.com

So how did Mahjong started? One theory (which I find amusing..but it may true..) is that Confucius developed the game....why? (Green parts from wikipedia)

• The appearance of the game in various Chinese provinces coincides with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines: Hmm...it may be just coincidence...
• The three dragon Cardinal) tiles also agree with the three Cardinal virtues bequeathed by Confucius. Chung ( , lit. middle) the Red, Fa ( , lit. prosperity) the Green, Po ( , lit. white) the White represent Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial piety respectively: It does? Zhong means Benevolence? Fa means Sincerity? I didn't know that...
• Terms used in the play of the game Pong, Chee and Kong also give evidence to this theory. Confucius was of the Kong family his full name being Kong-Fu-Tze, he married a girl named Che and adopted the term Chee meaning 'to connect': But this does not explain the "Pong" thingy...but I find the part about Confucius naming "Chee" after his wife funny....and it is not pronounced as "Chee" anyway...it is pronounced as "Chi"...

But how I'm not gonna write a whole entry on how Mahjong oringnated...So as I mentioned in the previous entry...in Kukup, they provided us with Mahjong set...so of course we played Mahjong.

This is me paying my grandma after she "hu"...

And me agonising over which tile to discard...

Isn't my mum so cute? I'm in this pic by the way...

Did I mention that my mum is very cute?

There are a lot of fascinating things about Mahjong, like how Confucius may have invented it, how the rules vary from country to country (and the fact that there are so many versions of Mahjong is fascinating enough)...

Or if you don't know...the suits of the tiles are money based...meaning the tong suit represent the copper coins...the suo suit (the bamboo one...) represent 100 copper coins per suo...and the wan suit represent ten thousand coins...

But the most fascinating thing about playing Mahjong for me is not just the game itself, or its history or anything...it is the talking that occur during the game...all sorts of things were talked about (by the way I went with my 2 aunties, grandpa & ma, mum dad sis n bro)...so of course when we are playing Mahjong...they will talk about all sort of things...that normally I won't be listening in to....

Topics like problems between my dad and mum (when my dad is not around...my mum will talk to my aunties)...problems with my grandpa living at my aunties house (of course this was topic only when my grandpa is not around)...and stuff like that...somehow I was always there playing, listening in to all these...lots of 家丑 so to speak...which I shan't elaborate further...

Anyway...before I end off...this is one funny thing that happened when my sis played Mahjong (for the first time in her life..)

She's got 6 suo and 8 suo...


The person on her left (before her) discarded this tile..



And she chi....



We saw...we laughed....and laughed and laughed...and even pointed out to her what's wrong....and she still don't get it...until like 5 minutes later....she can't seem to differentiate between tong and suo...

I guess she's just not suited for gambling...

Malaysia Truly Asia Part I: Pontian Kukup

//Malaysia Truly Asia Part I: Pontian Kukup//

In Singapore, booking a chalet at Pasir Ris Downtown East cost about $100 a night (I think more), which is about $25 per person if 4 person shares, add the cost of the BBQ food or anything each person have to pay more than that.

The chalet room is as big as my bedroom.

They provide a water dispenser, and a TV.

In Malaysia, booking a chalet at Pontian Kukup cost $75 per person (which is about $35 Singapore dollars).

The chalet is as big as my house, with a area sort of like a balcony which faces the sea. The chalet is a water house (see picture).


This is what it looks like during low tide, during high tide, the water level is much higher.


This is the scenery when you look out of the "balcony".


This is the "balcony" where we have our food.

They provide a TV, a DVD player, several out of date DVDs (but you can always bring your own), a lot of Karaoke VCD (you can bring your own karaoke VCD too), 2 microphone, 2 Mahjong table, 2 sets of Mahjong, a few sets of cards.

They also provide a meal of fried beehoon with curry chicken, grean bean soup and barley at 5pm on the first day you arrived. The first night, they also provide BBQ food (which is BBQ on the spot by them), which include chicken wing, fish balls, prawns, sting ray, satays, otah and soft drinks.

The next morning, the breakfast that they provide is Nasi Lemak with coffee. That afternoon before you leave, they also provide you with a seafood lunch.

Other than the food and things that they provide, they also allow you one short trip to visit the fishing kelongs there. It wasn't much, but I must say that the puffer fish is pretty damn cute.

All these are included in the $35. What a big difference.

I must say that there isn't much facilities provided unlike in Downtown East, there is no cinema nearby, no basketball court, nothing of that sort.

But the mahjong and the Karaoke set was enough to last me for the mere 24 hours. Taking away the 5 hours which I slept, I spent the rest of the time pretty much playing Mahjong, singing and eating (the food is nice I must say).

If you can't drive or don't know how to get there, there is transportation provided too. They will come all the way to Singapore to fetch you there, and will drive you all the way back too. If this is the case, then instead of $35, it will cost $65 per person, which is still pretty reasonable, considering the journey, which is about 2 hour ride (1 hour from Singapore to Malaysia custom, another hour from Malaysia custom to Kukup.)

More to come...part II on Mahjong...

Noel VS Prime

//Noel VS Prime//

Watched 4 movies in 2 days..that must be a record for me...watched "Zathura" & "Aeon Flux" on Monday and "Noel" & "Prime" today....

"Zathura" & "Aeon Flux" turned out to be what I expected them to be...I was pleasantly surprised or badly disappointed by this 2 films...

"Noel" and "Prime" are very surprising though...for different reasons though....

For a short synopsis of the "Noel"...click here....
For a short synopsis of the "Prime"...click here....

PRIME


I marked it down as one of the movies that I must watch this hols...cause I loved this kinda of romantic comedies kind of show...but it seriously sucks...so far I have not said that any movie sucks (well...maybe one...if you count "Sisters" which was pure crap)....

So this is what the movie reminds me of...

It's a compo test!

You've got this GREAT idea for this essay..so you started to write...but somehow...this great idea of yours didn't came out the way you expected it to be..due to your poor writing skills...

You realised..."Shit...I don't have the lingustic talent to express this great idea of mine"...so you decided to crap a little bit here and there so that you can meet the word limit....

But still...you got stuck at a lot of points...despite getting stuck and not knowing how to continue...you press on...crapping your way through....then suddenly...the teacher says "5 minutes left"...

You panick and thought "OMG...I must write a conclusion now.." so you proceed on to end your story...

That pretty much sums up my feelings about this movie...it's a good idea that is poorly executed...ALL the jokes in the movies...the funny parts that are supposed to be funny..all fell flat...much like my jokes...none of them can make it...

But there's this crazy lady, sitting just a row in front of me...she somehow thinks that the jokes are funny...and laughed at single one of them...some which we didn't even realise is a joke...so the whole theatre is pretty much filled with her laughter...I mean seriously...no one else laughed....occasionally the rest of the audience joined her to laugh...just so that she don't feel so bad being the only person "appreciating" the jokes...

NOEL


I didn't wanted to watch "Noel" in the first place...I bet none of you fellas knew that such a movie existed...so far...I think only Plaza Singapura GV shows it...at least for now..it's out on 24th Nov (though I didn't see it on the GV site till a few days ago)....this film in made in 2004 by the way..shown in Singapore only now...

So I just happen to see this film on the GV site...watched the trailer...felt like watching cause the trailer was good (it must be the song...cause I LOVED that song...)..but I was debating whether to watch or not...cause it only has 1 slot...which is 7 pm at Plaza Singapura...decided to watch it in the end afterall...

It was definitely a pleasant surprise...

If you haven't already read the movie synopsis...read it here...it's pretty short...

This movie definitely moved me...a lot of parts...I had to wipe off my tears, I think 3 times throughout the movie...which is another record...but it's really nothing big or spectucular....the movie's really simple....which is commonly known as boring....(to most people anyway)..but it's the simplicity of the movie that touches my heart....

The concept is really simple...the movie merely showed a lonely widowed editor (with a Alzheimers-stricken mother), a couple (with a overly jealous boyfriend)....a old waiter who believes that the boyfriend of the couple is his wife reincarnation....and a fella who broke his hand so as to attend the christmas party at the A&E department....it merely showed how they spend their christmas eve and christmas...

But simple as it seems...there is more to it...but still...it's not an overdose that it becomes cheesy like most movies...it doesn't lose its simplicity...and if you get what I tried to say there....kudos to you...cause I'm finding it hard to put down what I feel in words...

But the main point is....these ordinary people....had some really simple encouters...or stories....and putting everything together...it becomes extraordinary...

Just one short example....

This guy..the one who broke his arm so that he can attend the Christmas Party at the A&E department....well...it seems pretty stupid this whole plot....he just keep claiming that at the age of 14...he broke his nose...and was admitted...and the A&E department threw a Christmas party...the best he had attended of all parties....so he wanna relive it...

So at first..I was like this is kind of a dumb subplot....but in the end...the guy revealed to the hospital therapist that he was abused as a child....his mum too...by his dad....so that christmas when he was 14....he finally had enough of all these abuse....and told his dad to "stop it!"...which of course caused his dad to beat him till his nose is broken...he was admitted to the hospital....and he had the best times of his life ever...that's why he is so desperately wanting to relive that experience...

And to add on to his tragic life...his mum never called him again...she never picked him up from the hospital...nothing...he felt like his mum chose his abuser dad over him...so in other words this guy seriously lacks love...

So I thought..ok...closure on this guy...his subplot is over...but then the therapist added...."maybe she was glad that you finally got away from your dad...she was happy for you..." and urged him to contact his mum whom he had refused to do so for many years....and the next part is predictable though...he came out of the hospital smiling...

So this...yea...it does sounds corny and cheesy...but this is only one of the subplots...and the execution of the idea is very important...I did not express it very well using my words...but the director did a great job in expressing the plots of the various characters in the movie..subtlely...bit by bit....slowly...so that it doesn't become cheesy in the end...

I think I am seriously starting to ramble now....I guess I shall stop here before I destroy the whole movie by my nonsensical rambles....

The point is...don't watch "Prime" if you intend to...and do catch "Noel" if you have time..the last show is 7 pm on 7th Dec (Wed) at Plaza Singapura.... :)

Jamie Meets Joss

//Jamie Meets Joss//



He sings Jazz.
She sings Soul.

2 singers with very different styles...so why are they both appearing in my blog at the same time?

Bought Jamie Cullum's album "Catching Tales" last week (before I left for Thailand)...didn't really love the album after listening to it for the first time...but it's the kind of album that gets better every time you listen to it...and it's very 耐听...

Which reminds me of Joss Stone's album which I had for a long time...hated her first album when I first listened to it...but the more I listen to it...the better it gets....and it's the same case for her second album....

And the magical part of Joss Stone's first album is that the very first track..."The Chokin' Kind"...the moment she open her mouth...that voice is...it just captures my attention immediately from whatever I'm doing...it's magical...

I must say that the strength about Joss Stone's album (both) are not the songs...but her voice...it's amazing...

A lot of people said that she sounded like a black...cause she sings with so much soul...but I don't really agree....but I've got to agree she sings with her emotion and her voice is very soulful indeed...

And I read in one of her interviews that she said she can't do a lot with her voice..."I can't really do much with my voice...I can't sing really high like Mariah Carey...or do runs after runs with my voice like Beyonce..." But I feel that the tone of her voice itself is enough to capture the attention of the listener...she don't need to shriek like some banshee to do that...

Though her first album is totally made up of covers (of old not very well known soul songs)....she manage to put a comtemporary twist to the song with her voice (and of course with the arrangment of the song)...

Her second album composes of all new tracks...the songs are not very strong, they are catchy but forgettable...if given to any other singers...it would probably have sounded average...but once again, she added life to the songs...her voice sounded very pure on the tracks, not much signs of tampering using any digital device...

I would think that to fully appreciate and enjoy her album...it would be better to listen to it using ear phones....you would be totally immerse in her voice...and it reaches right to your heart....

Jamie Cullum's album on the other hand...had a great deal of good tracks...his voice is not bad too...it sounds soothing in the slow tracks...playful in the more uptempo tracks...and he conveys the emotion of the song very very well...

His voice is raspy round the edges...very pleasant to the ears...and most importantly...it allows him to emote well...one common thing that I observed in all 3 albums is the pureness of their voice...unlike many pop singers nowadays...Jamie and Joss's voices sound very pure on the tracks...though there are a few minor glitches here and there with their vocals on certain tracks...imperfection just made the album more perfect (if it makes any sense to you...)

If you're feeling bored now...or is thinking of buying some good musics...I strongly recommend this 3 albums...

Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions (released quite long ago..)
Joss Stone - Mind, Body & Soul (released quite long ago too)
Jamie Cullum - Catching Tales

Check Your Tickets

//Check Your Tickets//

This is my message to all the people reading my blog:

CHECK YOUR TICKETS!

I meant movie tickets that is...

Yesterday I went to watch Chicken Little...check the times beforehand online...wanted to watch the 12.50pm one...

So at the ticketing counter (at about 12pm)...I said "I want the 12.50 show"....so of course I got the ticket, and I just put them into my wallet...

Went down to foodcourt at the basement of cineleisure for lunch...then I saw the "Now Seating" sign for theatre 3 flashing...I was wondering..."Hmm...you can go in and sit 50 minutes before the movies?" but heck...I didn't care and went on the eat....

At around 12.40, my friends and I went up the level 6....then my friend pointed to the "Now Seating" sign and said "It's not even ready for sitting yet..."

It was at that moment that I realised something must be wrong...so I took out the tickets....and checked the time....it's...

"12.15pm"

Wonderful isn't it?

So we went in...found out that the door for theatre 3 is locked...we were all sort of stunned at that moment...BUT luckily something caught our eyes...Theatre 4, which is just opposite Theatre 3, has the sign outside saying "Chicken Little"...so my friends and I just went in (and luckily the movie has not started in Theatre 4 yet...) and grabbed the empty seats in front...

I remembered that there wasn't any 12.15 slot when I checked for the times online...so I guess the 12.15pm movie ticket that I got must be for the Digital Version of Chicken Little instead of the normal one...

But the moral of the story....CHECK YOUR TICKETS!

Now...on to the movie itself...

It's hilarous...really funny in parts...but the storyline is pretty weak....

There isn't much buildup in terms of plot....like your secondary school 1 and 2 teachers would have taught you...in Narrative writing...there need to be intro...conflict...climax and resolution..etc....There just wasn't buildup of plot or development of characters in my opinion...which made the whole movie very flat...

The plot itself...other than the lack of buildup...lacks creativity too...it feels like the writer puts the character in that situation just to create humour....and the whole movie feels like the cartoon version of "Scary Movie" (the one that makes fun of a lot of horror movie)....and the later part feels like a funny version of "War Of The Worlds"...

But I do like the soundtrack of the movie a lot...loved most of the songs....and to emphasize again...it is funny despite the lack of depth in plot...but it's a children movie...so expectations wasn't too high to start with...

I don't think it's worth 9 bucks to watch this movie...but to spend 7 bucks (mon to wed) for a good laugh...it's quite reasonable...

Thai Experience Part II

//Thai Experience Part II//

So I've talked about welcome dinner and farewell dinner...(both are very fun...)..I've talked about their food...

Let's talk about the Thai students and other students that I met there then...

Once we landed...and clear customs...we were greeted by 2 thai students from Mwits...of which one of them kept staring at me (according the meng...), as to why you will know in a minute...so we've got an hour to kill before the bus departs for the school cause we had to wait for the students from Australia to arrive....

So we sat down at the Burger King at the airport and talked...with much difficulty (a bit of language barrier)...and there are a lot of stoning moments which I'm perfectly used to...both sides tried to think of topics to talked about...ranging from CCA to school hours...etc...none of which lasted very long....until we reached this topic...

HARRY POTTER!

Yea...so they asked us if we've watched the latest movies..etc...and we were talking about the new book "half blooded prince" when the girl (which ming wei said was staring at me) finally asked "are you half-blood"...which stunned me...I didn't know what she meant...at first I thought she was asking "have you read half blooded prince"...so I just answered no....it's only later that I found out that she was asking if I'm pure chinese...

So anyway...the topic of Harry Potter became a rather useful topic...whenever I'm speaking to any student (from anywhere...)...this proved to be a rather useful topic that we can talked about...cause even if they have not read the book...most would have seen the movie...

With the thai students though, there is another thing that I can talk to them about...which is TATA YOUNG! haha....even with my limited knowledge of her, and knowing only 2 songs by her...this proves to be rather useful too, since most Thai students know Tata Young, considering she is from Thailand...

The Thai students are pretty crazy over Korean drama too...every day at 6.30pm you can see students sitting around the canteen or at the level 1 of the boys dorm (with a TV)...watching "Da Chang Jin"...

And there is one more topic which I talked about..but this is not to the Thai students...but to the students from Australia...after visiting their booth...while getting email....I would always pop this question "So do you watch Australian Idol?"...out of the 2 that I asked...one occassionally watched it...the other (Elizabeth) is a fan!! And I actually stood there and briefly discussed about Australian Idol with her for a while...haha...


This is Izzy (the picture of the left)....

She liked Dan England...I liked Kate & Emily...(both got to the final 2!!)

Speaking of that...it's been a year of "unexpectedness" in Idol....firstly...I never expect Daniel to win Malaysian Idol 2....I liked him in the semis, but he seriously did not improve much since then....

And Melissa from Canadian Idol 3, she was my favourite from semi finals too, and she was great throughout (at least to me)...but after being bottom 3 and 2 consecutively in the first 2 weeks...I expected the worst...but she lasted all the way to win it....

As for Kate...I never expected her to win too...Milly was my favourite from semis (along with Kate & Emily), but Milly seriously disappoint week after week in the finals...by the time it's the final 4...I though Kate would be gone (Lee's too popular, Dan's popular too, and Emily's very well liked by the judges) but she went on to outlast Lee & Dan, by the finale, I though Emily had it in the bag...but was pleasantly surprised by her win....

OK...enough of Idol...back to Thailand...it's a pity there is no "Thailand Idol" that would be another great topic...

The poster display and oral presentation went ok...I mean what could go wrong after presenting the same project for so many times...we even helped Juan boon's group...helping them present their poster and explain the project if they are not around....they did the same for us too...imagine Kai Herng talking about plastic...and Jing Kang talked about Heavy Metal Ion adsorption...

The trips out of the school are ok...not very exciting...it can't get too exciting when you're visiting some university faculty of science...the floating market is a bit of a disappointment...it looks like normal roadside stall in Malaysia...just that you can see a little river at the side...

but the visit to this University of Agriculture (or something like that) is rather interesting....seeing how they tricked one male cow to think that the male cow is female...causing the male cow to ejaculate...and collecting the semen...then seeing them injecting this semen into some female cow...

The cultural visit to "Wat Pho" is ok but not very exciting too...the only interesting thing that happened during this trip is the guide keep mistakening us Thai and keep speaking to us in Thai....but I must say Wat Pho is quite beautiful...though everything about it feels very familiar...as if I've already seen it somewhere...

The most "eventful" event has got to be the shopping I guess....who says guys can't shop? It seems like we are pretty determined to spend at least half of our money before going back...we were really 速战速决...I think Kenneth bought 5 shirts (including t shirts) from one shop within 10 to 15 minutes in there...












































And yea...I finally did something that I've wanted to do for a long time there....which is to exercise!!! We played basketball the very first day in their indoor basketball court....the second last day...we also woke up early at 6 to play basketball...followed by running (!!)...I played badminton too...haha...have been wanting to do these for a long time...but there's simply too much other temptation in Singapore...(like I rather sleep more than to wake up early to go running)....

I think this pretty much sums up all that I want to say...I will post more photos (funny ones) once I got hold of them...