a.p.p.l.e.

(This post is one day late. Again.)

Today's astrology forecast:

The right side of your brain is wonderfully active. The stars smile on creative work in every discipline. Call upon your muse in professional or artistic situations. With magnificent output like this, no one really cares about your motivations. Keep one eye on the future, and you'll soon hold the best possible results in your hands. Even if you're pursuing something intangible and immeasurable, you score points in a system that works for you and still go home satisfied. You're happy to explain what you're doing. At least one other person here should understand by the time you're finished.

Plan for the day: Church in the morning, gym in the early afternoon, and work after.

I set out for the gym after church today, but I got distracted along the way and ended up at Speaker's Corner instead. Decided to walk from there to Shenton Way, just so I could take photos of various nondescript objects and scenes. Why? Because the weather was fine and sunny, perfect for that vivid colour I've been wanting to achieve all this while, and thus it was simply too good a chance to pass up. I just love how everything looks so much better in the bright sunlight, with harsh contrasts and vibrant greens and all.

What a funny coincidence then, that yuwen passed by in a cab on her way to work, as I was kneeling by the roadside in an unglam position, trying to angle my camera properly. She spotted me (of course lah... unglam position mah) and asked the cabbie to stop immediately. We decided to sit down for a drink and a short chat, both wanting to delay the pure torture of having to work on a sunny sunday afternoon, when all we'd rather be doing was traipsing all around singapore and getting ourselves into the nooks and crannies of the urban fabric. A great day for photography really.

The auntie at the Lau Pa Sat kopitiam was overly friendly, to the point of being a little traumatising even. The first time I went to get drinks for both yuwen and myself, the happy soul who sang as she made kopi, commented on my "cute" hairstyle and how young I looked. She even asked me how old I was, what I was doing there, blahblahblah. A subsequent trip to the kopitiam counter (to buy drinks for the poor dears slogging away in office) resulted in me writing down my name and handphone number for the auntie at her request. Ask me not what she wants to do with my number, but as she looked pretty harmless, I gave her my real identity and contact number. Someone speculated that she was doing it for her son?!? I suspect not though, because even though I call her an 'auntie', this generic term applies to everyone above the age of 35 (that includes you then mingming), and she hardly looked old enough to have a son of my age. Also, her going by the name of "Apple" (to be said in a singsong cheena slang much like how a bar hostess would call her "mummy") didn't help matters much at all. That said, I suppose I'd much rather be hit on by a friendly kopitiam auntie than an irritating kopitiam uncle. You think? *rolls eyes*

Didn't manage to get any work done in office though. Desperate janissa asked for help to do layout for a magazine-style project due on monday. I had offered to help the night before, but at that point in time, she said she didn't want to bother me. So what changed overnight I wonder? Perhaps it was the ugly garish-looking pink layout template her groupmate took an entire night to set out. On hindsight, I don't know whatever benevolent spirit it was that made me respond to her plea for aid, but 10 hours, 9 articles and 28 magazine pages later, I was oh-so-ready to kill her and her totally useless, indecisive and irresponsible project group members. I'm glad I managed to finish it for her, albeit at 3.45am and suffering from a lack of sleep.

I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be another long day, judging from the amount of office work I have piled up next to me. I just hope both my bosses don't hound me the entire day. I hate that feeling. Give me my breathing space! Let me think! Allow me to draw and test out designs! And I will produce whatever you want. As always, spineless jan strikes again.

orh.cheh

Ouch. I just discovered I have a blue-black on my left knee. A result of kneeling too many times on the hard stony ground while taking photos perhaps? A very high chance that that's exactly what it is. The bodily contortions involved in the making of an image is truly daunting.

of.many.numbers

I could feel it in my bones the minute I woke up today.

E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E was etched in bold within the framework of my day as I opened my eyes at 10.40am (having gone to bed at 4am) and realised I was due to meet bohboh at City Hall in 5 mins, and the rest of my photography classmates at Excelsior Hotel in 20. I had forgotten to set my handphone alarm before I plonked down on my bed in the unearthly hours of the morning, but it isn't really that surprising when one is dead tired and greatly in need of sleep.

+ I got out of my house in 30mins and took a cab down to Peninsular Plaza. [$8.10]
+ Bought professional slide vivid colour film to shoot with because the sun decided to show it's big bright face today at last [$8.50]
+ Considered the possibility of getting a film SLR of my own, complete with mega zoom lens, filters, tripod, and accessories [scared to think of the cost]
+ Ate wonton mee for lunch [$2] + Coke Light [evon's treat! :)]
+ Walked around vicinity of Peninsular + Substation taking photos [priceless]
+ Bought more film [$22]
+ Had a cuppa Starbucks iced cafe mocha [bohboh's treat! :)]
+ Bumped into Jem, my damn hip damn cool funky photographer jc classmate at City Hall mrt [3 secs of time]
+ Went down to Bugis from City Hall [dunno how much]
+ Collected my photographs from RGB colour [$10.30]
+ Went home (Queenstown) from Bugis after overshooting by one stop because I was stoning to Bjork [dunno how much also]
+ Cabbed down to Raffles Hotel [$10]
+ Watched Hubbies4Hire (minus the first 10mins because both my friend and I were late) [$30.80] + flowers for friend involved in the production [$12.50 + $1 due to poor math]
+ Mac's dinner after the show [$5.60 + god-knows-how-many-thousand-calories]
+ Time spent talking to Er-rui during dinner + walk to the car parked far far away [worth a lot]
+ Car-ride home [free]


I really enjoyed myself taking photos again today. One just tends to notice the little details of everyday life a lot more when armed with a camera and a trigger-happy right index finger. (I swear I'm going to go broke soon, judging from the amount of film I've been using up per week since this photography course started. I can't wait for my parents to come back from their NZ holiday so that I can sink my fingers into my dad's new toy named D70 and spare my fast emptying pockets.) Such a pity that the sun hid its face while we were actually taking photos, but then decided to emerge the minute we sat down for lunch. So much for forking out a few bucks more for intense colour film. Still, it was good fun chatting with wendy, ernie, bohboh, evon, nic and alfred along the way. Amazing how much of a difference a group cohesion can make in terms of courage to take street photos out in public. It's like a kind of moral support that is present, and I certainly didn't feel as stupid and stared-at as I would have, had I embarked on this mission alone. It is rather humbling though, to realise that many people out there with more talent, knowledge and passion for photography than I have. And as if to bring home that fact, the scores of people in the always-crowded camera/film shops in Peninsular, eyeing equipment that I have absolutely no idea how or what to use, serve as a gentle reminder of the need for humility. I have much to learn, and yet so little time to do so.

strange.thing

What is this strange thing they call love?
That seeks its way here from above,
Working through incomprehensible ways,
Flirting among hearts then leading astrays,
Finding semblance in the shape of a dove,
Or down in the deep ocean's treasure trove,
Pray tell, what is this thing called love,
That o'ver hills and obstacles doth traverse.

When is this strange thing they call love,
When is it ever bestowed from above?
What does it fulfill in oblique ways,
What aid can it bring to lonely strays?
Why should it possess beauty like a dove,
What mysteries abide in the treasure trove?
Pray tell, what is this thing called love,
How will one know, desires to conserve.

jack.in.a.box.or.out.of.it?

We all know the cliched term "To think out of the box", but I personally have never begun to explore what that statement actually means. At least not until my photography lecturer (or simply 'cher as bohboh says) set this week's assignment as the open-ended topic entitled "THE BOX". To me, I tend to view abstract notions in very literal ways, a total irony to the gist of the entire exercise. Thus was it any surprise that the first image to pop into my mind was that of an empty cardboard box?!? I can just SO imagine myself taking a series of photos based on physical box. But what use would it do? Neither post-rationalisation nor any amount of crap/smoke would be able to save my series from its imminent path to destruction. This approach would also not do anything to help me find myself nor my values and opinions that I so desperately need at this present stage in my life. Somebody help... hhhhheeeeeeeeelllllllpppp!

This was what 'cher emailed to us after yesterday's class- some rather thought provoking analogies indeed:

i know how i would think out of the box, but not everyone approaches the same problem in the same way.

it all depends if you are an optimist or pessimist to begin with.
the best way to forget something is not to try to forget but let it remain and fade away.

how do you think out of the box? by being out of it? by ignoring it's existence? by pretending that there isn't one at all? or isit by giving recognition to it's existence yet not giving it attention?

everything exists only because you want it to.

can you still write straight if your pages have no lines?

to some people, the box is the ultimate guide to life, without which they would be lost. to others it is just a total hindrance to progress, an obstacle to the path ahead. what is a box anyway? is it physical or spiritual? is it internal or external? the parking lots are often smaller in our head than they actually are in real life, we fear to push the limits therefore we hardly or seldom excel in whatever we do. we just strive to get by. school teaches you to be like everyone else, but life teaches otherwise. this is the reason why many are lost once they step out of school. it's a comfort zone, a nice big cheap parking lot.

"if no one else is doing it, it's probably not worth doing."
"no one else is doing it, i better be the first?"

which one is you?

night.and.day

Like the beat beat beat of the tom-tom
When the jungle shadows fall
Like the tick tick tock of the stately clock
As it stands against the wall
Like the drip drip drip of the raindrops
When the summer shower is through
So a voice within me keeps repeating you, you, you
Night and day, you are the one
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun
Whether near to me, or far
It's no matter darling where you are
I think of you
Day and night, night and day, why is it so
That this longing for you follows wherever I go
In the roaring traffic's boom
In the silence of my lonely room
I think of you
Day and night, night and day
Under the hide of me
There's an oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me
And this torment won't be through
Until you let me spend my life making love to you
Day and night, night and day



Track Title: Night And Day
Album Title: Cole Porter Songbook, disc 2
Prime Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
Producer: Norman Granz
Written by: Cole Porter (C. Albert P.)
From the Show: The Gay Divorcee 1932 (S)


This song has been stuck inside my head ever since I caught De-lovely last week. What a positively lovely song!

someday.somehow.somewhere.

someone to understand,
someone to hold,
someone to listen,
someone to believe,
someone to laugh with,
someone to share a tear,
someone to tease,
someone to please,
someone to dance with,
someone to sing to,
some do it better,
some don't at all,
someday,
somehow,
somewhere,
someone,
like you.


My photography lecturer sent me that poem, along with a preview of his work based on a study of the life and relationships in singapore. This picture he sent along with the poem depicted two detergent bottles, one with a black/dark blue cap, the other with a red, perched side by side on a rooftop balustrade. Such ubiquitous things, but yet it jolted straight to my heart. The sense of poignancy and of unfulfilled desires comes through even though the two bottles are technically together. The mood isn't that of celebration and joy at finding the special one, and I wonder why it is so. Perhaps it's the muted colours and slightly overcast sky that conveys that kind of an impression to me. I don't think I should upload his pic onto my blog although I would like to, so you, dear reader, will simply have to use your imagination. :)

little.red.monster.jan

(The following post is belated by a day)

I hereby declare that chromogenic's photographs are the chio-est ever. Have been happily checking out the archive pages the whole day. Just looking at them makes me really happy. I feel as if I could perhaps spend the whole day staring at them, letting my soul get drawn in with their hypnotic qualities of intense colour, light, shadows, and textures. I've taken to this particular photograph of a little red plasticine monster that looks oh-so-cute. Instead of little red riding hood, I shall aspire to be little red monster jan! *ROAR*

On a heavier note, I just received news that a secondary school classmate-cum aki mate's father passed away last thursday. I feel so bad for her, but we haven't really talked since we left secondary school, (even though we were in the same course in NUS for 3 whole years), and I wonder if it would be weird if I suddenly gave her a call or sent her an sms to convey my condolences. I don't have her contact number, but even if I did, my words would probably have an empty hollow ring, a kind of shallowness to its meaning that defeats all purpose. I'm at a loss.

It often scares me how fragile life can be. Like how my mom slipped and fell on the ice on her first day on holiday in New Zealand with my dad. Luckily for me, she's okay and got away with unbroken spectacles and a slight redness on her face. But there's always the question of what if? What if tomorrow never comes? Perhaps I shouldn't think so much into the future, perhaps I shouldn't always dwell on the negative aspects of life. Still, how hard it is to live life with no regrets, to be able to say that I'm ready to go whenever God decides to take me. I know for a fact that I possibly will never come to such a stage in my life.

We all know that death is such an important part of life, but is there life in death?

ba.les.tier

Spent the afternoon walking around balestier road with yuwen and our trusty SLRs. (Ok HER trusty SLR and my borrowed one... :p) Trigger-happy jan managed to finish up 2 rolls of 36 film easily in about 4 hours of walking! I suspect I will feel the pain in the pocket when I send everything for developing, but right now I'm just feeling very accomplished and satisfied with my afternoon's workout. I just hope the photos turn out fine, considering how I'm such a newbie with all these SLR stuff... I don't even know how to adjust the silly apperture! And this is my first time ever shooting slides+ b/w. I've come to realise that street photographers need to have really thick skin and be able to "hong" the people they meet along the way (ie. make them happy so that they'll relent to the idea of you taking a photo of them/their shop/anywhere near them).

Some highlights of the photoshoot:
+ getting scolded by a fruit shop uncle for taking a photo of his bananas hanging outside his shop (I know this sounds gross, but alternate meaning here not intended at all so WASH YOUR BRAIN!)

+ eating yummy bak gu teh and getting refills of soup occasionally from the friendly uncle who kept asking saying that we should have come to take photos when Chow Yun Fatt dropped by his store

+ walking in the slight drizzle and wishing the clouds would dissipate and that the sun would stop hiding its face

+ kneeling down on the floor countless times in search of that perfect angle

+ walking into many forgotten alleys and backways, fueled by a curiousity to find the treasures that lie in nooks and corners, waiting to reveal their glitter to those who are willing to spend the time to search, or to pause for a second look

+ finding 3 famous tau sar piah shops along a short stretch of balsetier road in direct competition with one another, and all whose wares look equally tantilisingly delicious

+ getting scolded (again) by a petrol station attendant who threatened that his company would sue me if I took a pic of the intriguing old-school petrol booths (like whatever.*rolls eyes*)

+ chancing upon a barber shop preserved from the 60s by some invisible bubble that protected it from the outside world- complete with very funky retro barber chairs and lovelylovely washbasins. Oh gawd. I'm in love with that place. If only I had more shots left and didn't waste 2 of them with the flash due to my incompetence when handling the SLR. And how I wish the silly annoying customer didn't keep trying to annoy us even more that he already had just by possessing his ugly face. How positively annoying. Some people should just learn to shut up. Especially when they already don't look good. (At least the indian barbers were nice, and the other customer was a rather-good-looking guy who didn't give two hoots about the girls who were making huge fools of themselves taking photos in a barber shop. Haha. Ah but I digress.)

All in all, it was really enjoyable experiencing Singapore in a different way and viewed from a different perspective. It almost seems ironic that I have been attending church at Balestier Road all my life but have never ventured further than 100m from the immediate vicinity of my church... until today. There ARE places in Singapore that are imbued with a unique character and distinct flavour, all worthy of documenting before rapid change and progress demolishes them with an iron fist.

Sone photoblogs courtesy of yuwen:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/desafino/
www.ephemera.org
www.shift.org/shutterbug
www.hchamp.com
www.chromasia.com/blog
www.chromogenic.net (supersuper chio photos ok... can die)
www.quarlo.com

I think it's so amazing that there're so many talented shutterbugs out there- people who aren't professional photographers but who possess the passion and technical skills to become one, laymen like you and me who photograph for their own pleasure. I'm pretty certain some of the links above are those of pros, but still, it doesn't become any less inspiring... I want to be a bug. A shutterbug. Bugger.

window.cleaners.

Windowcleaners are amazing people. I truly believe that. To be able to concentrate on their work while suspending from a precarious cable high up in the air, susceptible to the elements and all of God's wrath, finding the joy and peace within to entertain themselves with singing (which we heard through the glass), they embody the notion of courage and a commitment to duty before the self. For if not them, then who would be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and transparency of these glass windows that offer the eyes relief from the computer screen?

storks.@.work

This was the result of wendy's constant bugging. The poor dear had been reminding me for days on end to capture this funny scene on camera. The display was seen through the window of a ground floor office just downstairs from where we work. Everyday when we passed by it on the way to lunch, it would never fail to amuse us tremendously.

And no wonder, for during the initial stage, the storks would be proudly taking their place in the display window, standing side by side, keeping the frontline steady with their heads slightly tilted into the air. Subsequently, they lost their tenacity (and literally, their helium), and some started to droop their heads down, while others broke free from thier chains and floated up towards heaven, only to encounter the harsh realities of the ceiling board above. Such is the scene captured here, during the dying moments of their existence. Goodbye storkies, and may you find happiness in flatness, as balloons who have swelled past their prime are wont to do.

my.two.loves.

Pete Turner-
http://pdngallery.com/legends/legends11/

Sebastiao Salgado-
http://www.pdngallery.com/legends/legends10/

o.g.g.y. day.

This must be the funniest horoscope reading I have ever come across... and it's mine for today!

Feeling boggy? Like your brain's foggy? And inhabited by a whole little colony of sleeping froggies? Who make a noise whenever they snore that sounds awfully groggy? Take some vitamin C and call it a day!

Marmeee... I wanna go home now... *whine*

e.v.o.l.u.t.i.o.n.s.

http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/
This weblink allows you to create your own self portrait, and as you can tell from the pictures below, I wasn't very successful at my attempt. Still, it was something rather entertaining that allowed me to pass time while cramping away at home. There's an english version of the website, so don't be alarmed when you click on the link and weird illegible characters pop up on screen. :)


My very first try: I wanted to be cool!

2nd try: I decided to go for a Jasmine Trias look, less punk, more sweet. *blinks eyelids*

3rd try: I made my eyes smaller on cc's insistence. (And hello! I DO have double eyelids ok! Grrrrrrrrrr....)

4th try: Changed the previous mouth cos it looked too big n hideous... *ROAR*

5th try: Sporty jan! I quite like this cap.

6th try: Decided red was too strong a colour, and that white looked more cool.

7th try: Matching visor to complete the look! And I know I don't smoke, so this is perhaps the nearest I will ever get to having a picture taken with me holding a cig. A little incongruous with the sporty gear, don't you think?

8th try: Okay, things start to go downhill from here. Indulging in beer!!!

9th try: The last stage of evolution - Degeneration. (Wassup with the green streak man?!? I dunno.)

So which ones do you think looks MOST like me? Granted the fact that my eyes aren't that big, my face isn't that slim, and my hair isn't that funky? Hahaha. I've decided I like the 6th and 7th ones the best. So there.

goo.goo.ga.ga.

www.bravotv.com/manhunt

Here's a weblink sent to me by a friend - for BOTH girls and gays... oops, I meant guys. :)
For the uninitiated, this site contains some goodlooking men, a few heart-flutterers and loads of toned bodies. Spoilers ahead, don't say I didn't warn you. But if curiousity gets the better of you, just go check it out anyway. Oh, and look out for Hunter and Jon. My top two faves! *bimbotic laughter*

day.of.aches.

I'm aching all over. I have a headache from work, my arms are aching from saturday's badminton and my legs from sunday's weights. By some masochistic streak hidden deep inside me, it actually feels good to suffer from muscle ache once in awhile- makes you feel human, and alerts your consciousness to parts of your body you would otherwise neglect to give recognition to.

Today's astrology forecast:
It's imperative you find some way to stay disciplined all through the work day. Even if you've been a good citizen lately, you can't afford to slack off for the time being.

I'm just wondering... WHEN WILL THIS FREAKING WORKDAY END?!?
It's 11pm in the night, and here I am still drawing perspective impressions of this commercial block within the entire masterplan that I have been assigned to. My boss is leaving on a jet plane tomorrow morning and it is "IMPERATIVE" that I compile a relatively complete brochure on the project so that he can discuss it with the client sometime during his trip. Thing is... I need the drawings before I'm able to do that, and hence, I'm back to the drawing board, or drawing table in my case. Boss has gone home to pack and to catch some winks. I SO want to slack. (Hey, I'm not called slacker jan for nothing okay!) But. I must persevere. I must work hard. I must prove that I'm not irresponsible. I must take pride in my work. I must strive to be the best I can be in whatever I do. And I must not slack. (Oh gawd. What am I doing now?!!?)

By golly. I'm drained from that outburst of "I musts" already. It's back to work for me now. But I feel so much better already. :)

risky.business.

Played 2 hours of badminton, 1 1/2 hours of pool and FIVE hours of risk on saturday. Drank 1.5 litres of 100 plus, 1 sponsored-by-wolvergenerouslim starbucks iced mocha, 5 cups of iced water, yummyyummy orishi pizza and yummyyummier Gelare waffles.

It was a long and bloody war indeed at nehneh tay's house in kembangan... and the cabfare back home at 5am was painful, so was trying to keep awake in service at 9am in the blardee morning. But I must say it was tons of fun, even when sleep is sacrificed, and muscle aches and zombification sets in the next day.

I have never taken easily to the game of risk because I'm not scheming enough, not sneaky enough and basically just too stupid to plan my moves to great effect. Also, I'm a peace-loving person... (haha. me. yes ME, who's waging a cold war at home right now.) But I think it's an addiction, and certainly the already-addicted company aids in the process of addiction. War has broken out, whether we like it or not, and whether we are ready for it or not. I say we wage war again sometime soon!

I proclaim that I do like hanging out with friends. Especially friends that you feel comfortable with. So many instances over the past couple of weeks that I've wanted to mention but failed to post to due to the inconsistencies of my home computer.

+ The reunion-cum-birthday celebration at Ballet Under The Stars with my secondary school clique (where Vy, Qing, Jan, Rui, Grace, Ho Weiwei and I spent hours lying on the grass amusing ourselves taking photographs and talking about anything and everything under the moonlight),

+ a nuah+chat session with yuwen at coffee bean over an aromatic cuppa tea and delicious cheesecake (and later transporting ourselves over to the green patches at Raffles Place but still engaging in nuahing),

+ having dinner with chaota and his entertaining friends (who were suaning him most of the time),

+ and now badminton+pool+risk day (with wolver-turns-back-on-alliances-lim, sneaky niki, butt-now-aching boh, xiaolaoban yu, gone-in-a-wink-of-an-eye-yvet, siaotingtong-mei, sel-lost-damn-a-lot-of-weight-wyn, york-jiang-hua-yu-bing, and neh-neh-never-at-home-tay!)

I don't know why but it always seems as if my friends are my adopted family. If my parents were the ones who fulfilled my physical needs, then my friends are the people who nurture me both in spirit and in soul, and who make sure I'm constantly in touch with the world and with myself. I don't understand why it can be so difficult to talk to people you live under the same roof with but loquaciousness flows freely with strangers. And why does being with family feel so contrived even though the time spent isn't a lot, but there always seems to be something more exciting to do with friends whom you see everyday even if it's just to chill out somewhere? Whatever it is, I'm grateful to all the people who have entered my life in one way or other, for they have made me who I am today. For this, I thank you all and believe than there is no need to mention names here, as you all know who you are.

c.a.r.e.b.e.a.r.r.y. c.u.t.e.

See what Care Bear you are.

This was the result the first time I did it, and here's the result of the second:

See what Care Bear you are.

Am I both? Or are the results just totally inaccurate? Haha.

hubbeeeees.4.hire.

From:
To:
Date:
Subject: Rent a Husband. He tries harder. You'll be happier.
It's a trend that's catching on around the world and it's true.

Reports from Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Oprah Winfrey show, Today Show and People magazine confirm that women are now able to rent‘husbands’ to do what good husbands are supposed to do. From indoor to outdoor home repairs, and anything in between including singing birthday serenades, accompanying them to a dance or watching a romantic comedy the real husbands dread…

AMERICA: Rent-A-Husband® is now the leading national brand-name offering home repair and maintenance services through franchisees in six states across the country.

NEW ZEALAND: Hire A Hubby, launched in 1998, now has more than 100 franchisees nationwide.

CANADA: Rent-a-Husband-or-a-Son has become increasingly popular among busy housewives and elderly people.

RUSSIA: A single woman there has 10 “husbands” that she rents out to lonely women who do not have husbands, married women, widows. Business has been brisk.

SINGAPORE: No smart entrepreneur has introduced husbands for rental yet. But a Singapore playwright has been inspired by this trend that he's written a brand new comedy called Hubbies4Hire…

Hubbies4Hire: a new comedy about true happiness & win-win situations Australian Harry Grant decides to set up Hubbies4Hire in Singapore because he feels it's the right time and it has tremendous potential. But just when he's about to launch Hubbies4Hire, his investors all pull out. The only way he could possibly convince them to return is to get a solid endorsement from the industry's most respected customer satisfaction consultant. Her name is Gina Chia and she just happens tobe tough-as-hell and twice-divorced! The fun begins when Gina decides to try out one of Harry's "husbands" herself…

Written by Desmond Sim (Autumn Tomyam, Corporate Animals), Hubbies4Hire is funny and ultimately touching. It stars Deborah Png (Gigi inKa-Ra-you-OK?), Robin Goh (Chang & Eng), veteran Australian actor Graham Harvey and Loke Loo Pin (Viva Viagra!). It's directed by award-winning resident director of Miss Saigon and Mamma Mia! Find out more information and read interviews with the creators of the show at www.action.org.sg.

Don't miss Hubbies4Hire, a refreshing comedy from ACTION Theatre to be staged at Jubilee Hall Raffles Hotel from 21 to 31 October 2004 only. TICKETING DETAILS: Tickets are priced from $25 to $50 only and can be purchased through TicketCharge Hotline (9am-9pm) or at any TicketCharge outlet (Centrepoint, Marina Square, Great World City, Forum, TanglinMall, Century Square, University Cultural Centre, Substation, JurongPoint, West Mall, Orchard Singapore Visitor Centre and Nanyang Academyof Fine Arts). Alternatively, you may book online at www.action.org.sg

ENJOY SPECIAL SAVINGS NOW: Print out and present this email to anyTicketCharge outlet and save 10% off tickets to the following shows: Sat23 Oct, 3pm; Sun 24 Oct, 3pm and 8pm. No discount for $30 tickets.Tickets must be purchased by Thursday, 20 Oct 2004 for this offer to bevalid.

So will renting husbands make women's lives happier? Find out in Hubbies4Hire at Jubilee Hall from 21 to 31 October!

spit.spat.sput.

I had a little spat with my elder sis last night over the smallest of issues. I had gotten home dead tired after my first basic photography lesson I'm currently pursuing under the Objectifs umbrella, and all I wanted was to go home, rest awhile, blog a little, and go to bed.

My elder sis, who was asleep at the time I reached home, woke up for no apparent reason and started washing the leftover dishes in the sink. (Dishes in this case alluding to three forks, a cup and two plates.) She started getting all irritated and stuff, seeing how no one bothered to clear up the mess, wash the dishes and take out the trash after dinner. (By the way, this always happens during the rare occassions she decides to help out around the house.) She singled me out for reprimanding, jumping on me out-of-the-blue, demanding to know why I didn't bother to clear up after eating. Like hello.... I just got home?!?!? I was just minding my own business, catching up on news while lounging on the sofa, when she came over and interrogated me, refusing to let the matter rest even when I assured her I would empty the dustbins after I was done with the papers. It got to the point that I was fast losing my cool with her. It was such an uncalled for spat, especially in the light of the fact that I hadn't seen her at all since last Sunday. Don't I deserve a warmer reception at home? Sheesh.

Anyway, I got fed-up and decided I didn't want to help take out the trash after all. I thus retired to my room and turned off the lights. Soon after, I got an sms from my elder sis.
It read:

" You didn't keep your word."

This was my reply to her via sms as well:

" I don't see why I should after the way you jumped at me. Stop being so self-righteous all the time. There were many times when I helped to clean up too ok."

Okay, so this happened a good 29 hours ago, and what am I doing still harping on this issue at this point in time? The fact of the matter is, when any aspect of your life is unresolved and in conflict, it constantly bugs and occupies the sub-conscious no matter what activity you are involved in. Last night I slept badly, and my concentration level at work today was significantly lowered. And now I'm still in office on the pretext of having work to rush (which I do), just so that I can avoid the now-tense atmosphere at home. Relationships are fragile things. Once broken, it takes a lot before it can be restored. The last time my elder sis and I quarrelled, we ended up not speaking to each other for four months. The clock is ticking on this one, fuelled by our stubborn personalities.

rushrushrush.

I'm in a harried state of mind.

Haven't had time to pause think and reflect on what's been going on around me the last one and a half weeks. I realised that blogging is really therapeutic, and having gone cold turkey from blog (no thanks in large to my silly home computer which has, surprise surprise, died again!?!?), I feel as if there's so many things I've wanted to say but it's all lost by now. Random thoughts floating in the air that will never be anchored down until I chance upon them again.

Life's full of opportunities and choices, whether one grasps hold of them tightly of not. My heart aches for things that could have been, but now will never be.
The possibilities are indeed endless.
It's such a torture to live through life wondering... What if?
What if I had been smarter, prettier, slimmer, richer, more popular, a guy, a gay?
What if I never get to go overseas to study? What if I had decided to study art instead of aki?
What if what if what if.
I hate it that the options are so convoluted, and the future seems so blurry and unfocussed. Then again, is it always possible to live vicariously all the time? To count every blessing, to be grateful and appreciative for what we already have, to say this is my life that I'm living and be proud of it?

My thoughts are incoherent, my body's crying out for rest. Sleep offers no respite for the troubled mind.

are you d.e.a.d.?

Came to work late today because I worked late the previous night.
Was listening to winter chill on the bus when I got a call:

"Hello! Are you okay?"

"Erm... Yes, I am. Why?"

"Nothing. Was just wondering where you were because you're not in office yet. We thought you died. Got choked by a fishbone or kenna langah or something."

"Wad the hell?!!? Choked by a fishbone?!? Kenna langah?!? (For the uninitiated, 'kenna langah' is singlish for 'being run over by a vehicle'.) Choi! No lah. Worked late yesterday so couldn't wake up. Will be in office soon. Okay lah. Talk to you then."

I was smiling to myself when I ended the call. How many times does a friend call just to check if you're okay out-of-the-blue? (Even if it's to check that I'm not dead yet haha) Sometimes it's the simple things that really makes all the difference in the world. :) The first msn greetings I got when I reached the office was a "How are you?" and a very elated-sounding "She's alive!"

Thanks bohboh and mendy. *hugs*

super.sonic.

Pulsating beats, erratic rhythms
Expand, contract the sonic space.
Landscapes form and dissipate
Culminating in a half-craze.

Blank-eyed stare, all glassed over,
Physical reality fades away.
Conjured up in a surreal daze,
The gleeful dancing notes still play.

Nothing affects within the strains,

That which left and right ear hold.

Plugged in to the supersonic,

Immersed in a formless world.

purple.panther. *ROAR*

Doraemon personality link sent by Yvette!
http://noracom.net/eng/fortune/color_cheki1.php
The bad english makes me cringe, although some things they say are really true. Like the very last line of this post.


Janice
February/04/1981
Female

You are Purple Panther

who tends to be precautious, and unlike your gentle atmosphere you are strong-minded and courageous woman.

You don't listen to other people, and carry out with your opinion.

Although you don't possess coolness to see things objectively, and analyze subjects intelligently, you have great natural instinct.

You have flexible thoughts, and can lead life with perseverance.

You will not miss opportunity.

You can adapt and sort out difficulties that you come across.

You can face the things that interest you with unusual effort and spirit, but you will not even try to see those things that you are not interested.

You seem like a gentle and kind person, but really you possess lots of problems and are always struggling within yourself.

People are unable to understand your complicated feelings.

This increase your problems further.

You are a person with great dreams and are active and possess straight forward baldness.

You can show this talent in your career.

You will not be able to stay quietly at home as a housewife.

guinea.pig.

Today's forecast:

Don't let those cobwebs clinging to your current routine get you down. Shift the furniture into some weird new configuration. Get out of the house. Take your guinea pig for a walk. (Or whatever. Just get moving.)

Come chinchwee! Time to bring you for a walk now! Fetch boy fetch! :p *pats head*
Hahahahahaha....
I like my guinea pig in my office. He's affable, nice to bully, and very very good-natured. Muacks!

Okay. Forgive my sudden burst of insanity. It's 9.10pm and I'm still in the office redrawing some masterplan diagram for the millionth time. You know how words start to look weird when you spell it too many times or stare at it for too long? The same goes for drawings. It looks DARNED weird to me, but as long as Boss doesn't mind, I guess it should be fine by me too. (Not Mr. Penurious... This one's Mr. Pernicious... Beware. His speech retardation assimilates into your own thinking sub-consciously!) Call me a spineless creature without opinions of my own, whatever. Sometimes it's just not worth fighting for what you want, especially when you're not exceptionally convinced by it as well. Oh well. I don't have anything interesting or act-smart to say today. My brain cells are dead. Dead dead dead. :(

harpooned.

This week's astrology forecast says it all:

You're due for some big new ideas, and early in the week you've got a unique opportunity to brainstorm in the perfect environment. You'll know your genius when you see it. Take care of business Wednesday and let the crazy new stuff simmer for a while. You'll need to make sure every detail is taken care of with your ongoing projects before proceeding. Egos battle it out all around you on Friday -- try not to get involved too seriously or it may put a serious cramp into your weekend.

Sigh. Some big new ideas indeed. I got a whole competition project to myself. I don't need to know my genius! I want my weekend!
Is it only Monday today?
It feels like it's going to be a long week.
Bleah.

h.a.l.l.u.c.i.n.a.t.i.o.n.s.

The black shroud lingers,
Creeping ever nearer.
Permeating from the toes,
Leaving a greyish pallor.
Sickening to the stomach,
Imbibed with gruesome trauma.
Now's the time to reaffirm,
The love for one another.

Unearthly fleeting shadows,
First here then that corner.
Voices in the distant space,
Faintly alluring to thither.
Bodily realities merge,
Parallel worlds start spinning.
Nothing is what it was before,
Life could never be dearer.

portrait.of.another.man.

Nicolas. Jon's swiss model friend who joined us later at Glutton Square. He was a little on the tipsy side but proved to be good chatty company... Definitely NOT your typical dumb blonde.

portrait.of.a.man.

Met up with jon for dinner+movie after beaching. We caught this korean flick titled "Cool Guy" against our wishes. Saturday night's hell for trying to catch the more popular movies that everyone else is vying for seats for (and an even lower level of hell when stuck in a human jam in the badly circulated Orchard Cineleisure... Madness I say!) I kinda enjoyed the feel-good happy-ending movie though. Obviously the droolsome lead actor with the delicate features played a significant part in this. (I wonder if he went under the scapel too just as half of Korea has?) Anyway, this is jon at Glutton Square after the movie with bright city lights in the background. The only reason why he looks so delighted is because he's facing all the stalls of yummilicious food. Glutton square indeed haha. Stop inducing me to eat! *glare*

sun.sand.flipflops.and.sea.

A try-hard-to-be-artistic shot of my flipflops on the vast espanse of sand. A picture-perfect day begets alluring pictures... Doesn't this look like a typical ad for Sentosa? Yvette said the sand's imported all the way from Hawaii- I don't have to travel halfway across the world to feel Hawaiian sand. Then again, if the real thing was just as coarse and unrefined I suppose the trip halfway across the world wouldn't be worth its weight in gold. How disillusioning.

armed.and.ready.

Beaching essentials! Suntan oil, transistor radio, a bottle of cold water, a beach sarong, and the all-essential carry-all to dump everything into... All geared up for war as you can tell. :)

:p

Poseur @ the beach! I love the blatant display of bimboticism at its best!

the.same.shade.of.blue.

Yvette and her trusty blue nike cap...

home.unit.

evidence of yvette + me on a mission! HOT HOT HOT!!! (I meant the sun lah... what were you thinking?!?)

a.l.i.e.n.s.

Harbourfront mrt! I was initially waiting for the remnants of the crowd to clear, being someone who believes that the best spaces are those captured without ugly humans inside... However, I realised that without the human scale, this space would seem too unbearably cold. Too wanna-be futuristic, too wanna-be hi-tech. Eeks. A totally out-of-point elongated spaceship. Like whatever.

12.30

I TIME I 1.2.3.0.
I PLACE I s.e.n.t.o.s.a. p.a.l.a.w.a.n. b.e.a.c.h.
I WEATHER CONDITIONS I b.r.i.g.h.t. s.t.r.o.n.g. s.u.n.
I OBJECTIVE I t.a.n. t.o. a. n.i.c.e. s.u.n.b.a.k.e.d. g.o.l.d.e.n. b.r.o.w.n.
I HOME UNIT I j.a.n. a.n.d. y.v.e.t.t.e. l.e.f.t. i.n. s.i.n.g.a.p.o.r.e.
I POINT OF CONTENTION I b.o.h. a.n.d. n.i.k. a.n.d. d.i.n.g. o.n. d.i.v.i.n.g. e.x.p.e.d.i.t.i.o.n..@. t.i.o.m.a.n.
I ARMAMENTS I s.u.n.t.a.n. l.o.t.i.o.n. a.n.d. s.k.i.m.p.y. b.i.k.i.n.i.s.
I MISSION I t.o. w.i.n. a.t. a.l.l. c.o.s.t.s.

IT'S WARTIME!!! *growl*

uber- c.o.o.l.

yvette the uber-cool chick! Enormously big eyes that manage to convey multitudes of feelings in a single glance; a smile that speaks of sincerity and vulnerability; a detached ice-maiden exterior that dissipates to a warm aura when she decides that you're worth the risk and opens up to you; eccentrically quirky, hilariously witty and intellectually-profound (though she claims not to be) - these are the qualities I love about yvette. muacks!

h.a.p.p.y. f.a.c.e.s.

wendy aka cindy aka mendy + me! Sitting at delifrance chitchatting with yvette whilst waiting for the vertical catwalk to commence. What a lovely nuah feeling... Out in the open air with time to spare, enjoying good company. I certainly haven't done that in a long time! :)

vertigo.

Thrilling and exhilarating stunts from Esprit's vertical catwalk @ cityhall! Need I say more? The pictures say it all! Up up and away!!!