Someone once said that music is food for the soul. Truly an apt description, don't you think? Be it the raw, unadulterated angst of Daughtry, soul and funk by the BE-Peas or the smooth serenades of Buble, my soul has indeed been indulging good. :-) If music is soul food, Buble's voice is the food orgasm. The effect of his voice is not unlike the feeling of someone pouring warm, thick and rich dark chocolate all over your skin, and then proceeding to lick it all, off bit by bit. Slowwwly.

Feeling slightly happier today after a good night's sleep...even managed to clean out and re-organise my wardrobe. This time I only had the patience to do it by clothing type, not by colour like last time. If you're reading this with a gaping mouth and shaking your head in disbelief, YES, I'm that anal and neurotic about certain things. ;-) Looking forward to social activities lined up for the coming weekend, as well as next week. Yay Kbox! Haircut's scheduled for Saturday evening (FINALLY!!), which means I gotta rush home right after Jap to meet Elaine the hairdresser who's making a house call. I'm definitely not gonna be able to attend 31/05's class dinner at Azabu Sabo. Sorry to disappoint...I'm feeling sore not just because I can't catch up with everyone, but also 'cos I so want to try the red bean ice cream!

Chatted with Yoggi online for awhile in the afternoon. We started talking about "Twelfth Night" (our O-level Lit play) and it was nostalgia nostalgia all over again. Ahhhh. 'If music be the Food of Love, play on!'

Bathtime after Corinne Bailey Rae provides a dose of whimsicality, ending this post on a sweet, dreamy note.

"Summer came like cinnamon, so sweet..." Such saccharine, subtle sensuality. I like.

Men

When I was young,
I used toWatch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men sharp as mustard.
See them. Men are always
Going somewhere.
They knew I was there. Fifteen
Years old and starving for them.
Under my window, they would pauses,
Their shoulders high like the
Breasts of a young girl,
Jacket tails slapping over
Those behinds,
Men.

One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a
Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,
Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.
It is your juice
That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.
When the earth rights itself again,
And taste tries to return to the tongue,
Your body has slammed shut. Forever.
No keys exist.

Then the window draws full upon
Your mind. There, just beyond
The sway of curtains, men walk.
Knowing something.
Going someplace.
But this time, I will simply
Stand and watch.

Maybe.

--- Maya Angelou


This left me completely speechless when I first read it, because I was struck by the details of how the girl is starving for the men outside! Did abit of research and found out that the poet was actually raped when she was a kid, at about 10 years old. So she's actually writing from experience, which is really brave of her because people usually try their darndest to forget about the bad things that happened in their lives. I imagine she had to mentally re-visit the experience in order to weave the memories into such an explicit description of a traumatic encounter. Memories are intangible, yet oh so powerful.

It's a bittersweet poem about growing up and the loss of innocence...like getting pricked by a beautiful rose that beckons at you to pluck it, before you realise that it has thorns. " I especially love the the twist at the end. 'Maybe'. Talk about forgetting the lessons you SHOULD remember. Kudos to the poet for conveying so beautifully the ability of men to stir up an unknown fascination in the minds of girls just dipping their toes into womanhood, and the reminder that there is a heavy price to pay if you bite off more than you can chew.

"...Jacket tails slapping over /Those behinds...."
Temptation, temptation....oh, so naughty.

I'm utterly shattered.

50 words will decide the fate of my appeal at the Office of Admissions.

Fifty freaking words.

FIFTY!!!!

Can you say "fuck"?

Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End was pretty disappointing. At slightly less than 3 hours long, I actually found myself wishing that the movie would end sooner. I'm not a fan of long, messy sword-fighting scenes (oops, spoiler.)...but Johnny Depp is hilarious as the flamboyant and eccentric Jack Sparrow. Plus, I realised that underneath the dreads and heavy eyeliner, he's rather good-looking. I could file my nails on his amazing cheekbones. Sighhhh. Somehow Orlando Bloom doesn't have the same effect on me. I think his role as the wimpy Paris in Troy is to blame....speaking of Troy, I'm reminded of how Wei Yen, Yoggi and I would argue about who was Mrs Brad Pitt. (Mememememe!!!) HAHA. Anyway, I guess Orlando Bloom will always appear to me as a weak pretty boy. Keira Knightley also lends eyecandy to the movie, but unlike Pretty Boy, she lights up the screen with her presence and she really CAN act. She has really shed her tomboy image from Bend It Like Beckham...her gung-ho Elizabeth Swann is immensely likable and she even manages to look great in her manly Chinese pirate outfit. Strong-willed, feisty but at the same time feminine, alluring and devoted to the one she loves...I find that incredibly sexy.





Yesterday I bumped into 3 people I knew (or sorta), which is pretty rare for a Monday. First, I saw Gee Chong at Somerset MRT station, my cousin Kat's husband and father of CHLOE, my Michelin Man-lookalike 2 month-old niece. Okay, at this point, I simply MUST post a picture of her.

Ok fine, TWO pictures. Can you say 'cute'?

Second person I bumped into was Wei Yen, who was shopping with her Mum. Man, I'm suuper excited about Monday's Kbox sess! Heeheehee...the only sad thing is that Yoggi can't join us 'cos of work. Looking forward to seeing my ladies again. The third person was Persis, a senior from TJC who's an acquaintance...massive shock for Tuan. ;-)

Before the movie, we had a MASSSSSSIVE lunch at Billy Bomber's. Tuan had a "Yin and Yang", which was basically a mammoth burger with a beef patty & boneless chicken leg topped with cheddar cheese & egg sunny-side up. It was quite funny 'cos he had to open his mouth really big, especially for that first bite. I was rather grossed out by the dripping juices though...CARNIVORE DELIGHT. Eeek. I wanted to order the Caesar Salad with Croutons at first, but it wasn't available! That's quite odd, isn't it? I mean, salad is one of the most basic menu items! In the end I ordered the Club Sandwich and took out the really large chunks of chicken and extremely fat rashers of bacon for Mr Carnivore. They actually have a dessert menu. I think it would quite amazing for people to have room for dessert after their main course there!

A picture of me and Mr Photogenic (NOT FAIR!!) at Billy's. My bruise hasn't completely disappeared yet. :-(

From Chun Kiat's blog:

You've been tagged! Rule of the game: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things, habits or little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own 10 weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you must choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks!

(1) I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, who hopes to eventually turn vegan. Bit tough, considering my dependence on dairy.

(2) I used to be a nail-biter as a kid. Nasty habit.

(3) I always knock on the main doors, toilet doors, cupboards and drawers of hotel rooms before opening them. Call me superstitious, whatever your want.

(4) I hate peas. Really HATE peas.

(5) I have really terrible myopia. Like, 750+ per eye. Thankfully it's stabilised.

(6) I'm really anal about soft drinks; I try not to drink anything that is artificially sweetened and has an abundance of additives and other cancer-causing substances.

(7) I eat salad with no dressing.

(8) I'm currently addicted to organic black sesame tahini, which I eat with almost anything.

(9) I have lesbian tendencies. (oh wait, this isn't really a secret huh.)

(10) I've always wanted a hotter, rounder-looking ass.

I TAG: Blogger friends who read this. muah

Today is not a good day. I actually ate fish for dinner!! Ahhhhhhhh. Mum probably doesn't think I'm serious about the vegetarian thing. Chewing fish flesh while imagining live fish with eyes bulging out due to pressure changes, guts spilling out of their mouths, gasping for breath while fishermen de-gut them is NOT a pleasant experience.

Sent cousin Xin Yi off last night. The poor girl cried until her eyes were so red...it was heartwrenching to bid goodbye to a childhood playmate. Take care girl. We'll miss you...4 years will pass by soon.

Labels: Vegetarianism

From my hotmail inbox:

Laura K.Lawless - About French Language: Tennis Vocabulary

I do not want to learn freaking tennis vocabulary. Ugh.

Labels: Neurosis

This is so cute.. in a dark, macabre sorta way. ^_^

It's 2 more days till cousin Xin Yi leaves for Melbourne! We went to Far East Plaza yesterday for a short shopping spree. I bought a bag, which I intend to use for school while she bought a whole assortment of hair accessories...hairbands, rubberbands, clips, the works. Then it was off to some quaint little ramen place for lunch and Gelare for waffles with strawberry cheesecake ice cream! Yummy. :-)

The June holidays are here for the students, so I'll be jobless for the entire month. I don't mind the extra free time - it's the Great Singapore Sale, duh - but I hate the feeling of not earning money.

M just smsed me. I don't feel like talking to him.

As I was saying, not having enough money to spend totally sucks...but obviously I won't go to the extreme of selling ass for money. I brought this up 'cos my Mum and I joked about this the other day. Those girls who proclaim that they need sugar daddies (even in jest) should really re-think; to get all the money, designer clothes, handbags and shoes you want in exchange for contractual sex in complaince to the requests of an old man (who may not even have his own hair or teeth) doesn't seem like a very good deal to me! I think the visual impact alone will scar me for life; kinda reminds me of 'The Handmaid's Tale'. :-p

It's day 3 of vegetarianism, and I'm doing good. After I signed the pledge on Tuesday, my Mum bought us chicken rice for dinner! I only ate the rice, 'cos I couldn't bring myself to eat the chicken. I told Wei Yen this and she was like, "Chicken rice rice is nice lor..the chicken is just for show." I don't disagree, but I know they're people who like the chicken and are particular about how cooked it is; some prefer the boiled white-skinned version of chicken instead of the roasted one...and they like the flesh of the boiled chicken to be slightly undercooked, with a little pinkish tinge. The one my mum bought was like that, and she insisted that I eat at least ONE piece. It was wet and some parts were pink, and at the bottom of the styrofoam box was a slimey layer of jelly, which is apparently delicious. I don't think I ever had such a hard time eating meat, ever. Imagine reading about chickens suffering in factory farms and watching as they die a slow, painful death in slaughterhouses...then imagine having to eat the partially-cooked corpse of a chicken 15 minutes after that. You'll get what I mean.

I discovered a nice vegetarian eating house at Hougang Avenue 8, block 501 (I think) today! It's a small place, but they serve things like yong tau foo, handmade noodles (I recommend the fried version with mushrooms), roti prata, chinese dim sum such as xiao long bao, red bean pancake and guo tie, plus an assortment of cookies. Everything is totally vegetarian and pretty healthy, apart from the fried items. I guess it's not hard to stick to the whole veggie thing even when dining out cos vegetarian stalls are so common, but it's the variety of choices available that makes the difference. I'm not a big fan of mock meat, which is essentially a whole lot of gluten and not much else...so I'm very delighted when I chance upon stalls that let you choose between white rice and brown rice, and have alot of vegetable dishes. Lalalalaaaa...

Just heard from Angie that 'Pirates' 3 isn't very good! Will be watching it with Tuan on Monday. Neither of us have watched the first and second movies, so hopefully we'll be able to enjoy it more without the subconscious comparisons. I guess people are always skeptical about movies that have sequels and to me, the number 2s and 3s somehow pale in comparison to the first one. I managed to catch Spidey 3, and I have to say that while the CGI was entertaining, I didn't particularly like the ending. I like the idea of a badass Peter Parker though...and Venom is such a cool villain.

I've been jobless for 2 weeks, owing to a slow recovery from wisdom tooth surgery. The latest tooth extracted was 1mm deeper than the last, which makes the extraction procedure 4 times more difficult, "according to dental textbooks." The swell was alot worse...for those of you who saw me the last time, this really takes the cake. Anyway, my very limited fascination with the macabre and gore prevented me from extensively photographing and documenting the appearance of the swelling (and the series of ulcers I got from chewing up my left cheek while mistaking it for a piece of gauze while under anaesthesia. Ask me. ;-) ), but here's a picture of me after the swelling had more or less gone down. As you can see, there's a hideously unflattering greenish-yellow bruise that spreads from my left lower-jaw to my neck. It is presently a darker shade of green, which doesn't make it any better. I met Jasmine (Goh, DHS/TJC, bballer) for dinner yesterday and she thought someone punched me. Well, I suppose I can tell that to my students if they ask...upping my street cred a little. "Well...this girl and I had a disagreement and she sorta punched me, but it's okay 'cos I gave her not one, but TWO black eyes...."









I'm kidding.

For some reason, the photo seems cropped, so you can't really see the whole bruise. Ah well.

I've just signed the "30-Day Veg Pledge" on Go-Veg.com (check it out at http://www.goveg.com/), after a few random clicks on News Target led me to the PETA website. I first came across this when I visited CK's blog (fyi, my friend was practically a carnivore before he decided to make an informed transition..) and I think he's done a great job describing the plight of the animals we eat, in a nutshell.

Disclaimer: If you're a meat-lover who REALLY REALLY REALLY can't bear to give up your favourite chicken chops, hamburgers, steaks, etc. and will take offence if someone tries to convince you otherwise, it's up to you to decide if you still want to click on most of the links provided 'cos there are pretty graphic descriptions and pictures.

It's gonna be tough for me, even as someone who doesn't really eat any other meat besides fish and (occasionally) prawns. For starters, my family eats ALOT of fish 'cos it's apparently the healthiest meat (omega-3, low fat, blahblahblah..) and my Mum gets all freaked out and worried about my health if I don't eat enough meat; I'm mildly anaemic and blood pressure's slightly on the low side. I've also grown to love dairy products, which have become quite a large part of my diet. So I guess it's baby steps for me...I'm still uncertain about veganism, but at the very least I will try to make necessary adjustments towards adopting a vegetarian diet.



http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=meet_your_meat&Player=wm



What made me decide to go vegetarian? I think it's hard to describe the stuff I've seen and read in a few lines or paragraphs. If you really want to know, visit Go-Veg.com, or for starters, watch the video (clickclickclick!) "Meet Your Meat". For me, that did it, after reading scores of articles about the horrible treatment animals are subjected to in "factory farms" (euphemism for "Hell on Earth" for animals) and cold-blooded murders in slaughterhouses. It's like, you're watching the video, hearing the narrator's voice and you wonder what the hell are those sounds in the background...then you realise, oh my god, those are animals screaming* in pain.

*squealing/bleating/squawking/etc.



I think I've said enough. If you're not eating lunch, bored, and open-minded enough, try clicking on the links in this entry. Better yet, if you're already a vegetarian for health or religious reasons, click on them as well to find out about the cause you're supporting. To friends: if you guys think it's pure bullshit and remain unconvinced, rest assured that I won't try to influence you (so don't cut me out of your social circles :-p ) or disgust you with gory details about the food on your plates.

Time to go do some housework...ta-ta, with love.

Labels: Vegetarianism

I found out the name of the cute little boy who asked, 'Is this the last time I'm seeing you?' His name is Faris. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.... Everytime I see that kid, I feel like pinching his cheeks. :-)

Laaadeedaadeedaaa Randomness is my middle name.

Ta.

Labels: Relief teaching

This was taken somewhere towards the end of November 2006, during a family vacation to Italy. It was before my tour group boarded a ferry that would take us to Isola Bella, which means 'beautiful island'. The crisp, fresh air...the smooth caress of the ocean breeze against my cheek, playfully teasing my scarf...and best of all, the fabulous scenery. Truly a feast for the senses and sweet, sweet (temporary) relief from the world's weariness. I miss the feeling of being on vacation! Currently, there are plans to go to Japan at the end of June, but details are still fuzzy at the moment. Apparently, Mum's siblings are treating us to an all-expense paid holiday. Sadly, my Dad won't be able to go because he'll be working in Doha...sighh.

Anyway, it's been a boring Thursday. No work for the time being, 'cos the teacher whose duties I had been taking over has returned to work. I'm rather disappointed at the fact that I won't be seeing some of my students for lessons anymore, but it also feels good to be able to unload the massive burden I've been carrying around for slightly more than two weeks. I'm pretty worried for the kids though...they hate their current teacher (fyi, she IS a total cow. Really self-centered and rude. Ugh.) and that's not a good thing 'cos they don't hand in the work she assigns on purpose, which will have serious repercussions during their exams.

Loads of classroom drama for the past couple of weeks, and a fight in a sec 3 Normal Tech class closed my latest assignment in a stunning crescendo. Basically, some scrawny, pimply Ah-Beng wannabe pissed me off, then proceeded to irritate his classmate who then made it his mission to beat the crap outta that guy. To tell you the truth, I was secretly rooting for the classmate and so was the rest of the class; Ah-Beng wannabe likes to act tough and pisses people off on a daily basis. The queue of people waiting for a chance to give him a tight slap stretches from Loyang to Jurong, and there's probably an online waiting list as well.

Tuesday: public holiday. Met up with Tuan, who introduced me to this quaint little Turkish deli at Far East, called Anatolia. Good food, better conversation.Talked about lots of random things, sad stuff and happy stuff...relationships, family, love, sex, more sex. HAHA horny twit!!! Fantastic company made up for the less-than-fantastic coffee at Big O, so there was no need to go to Starbucks. ;-) Right, Tuan? RIGHT?

Tralalalala. Feel like going to sleep soon.

Labels: Relief teaching, Vacation