Tearing Up The Streets

Racing. Take a left turn,
sharp right,
zoom back into my mind's eye.



Untitled. It may be you,
or me,
is there anyone else I can point at?



Six jumping jellybeans. Matching tutus, feather hat.
Mandarin duck that looks - just like your - *what's the family member that rhymes with hat?*



Skip light, don't leave.
Arrogant, you confuse. Steadfast, I -

TO BE CONTINUED...

Transparent

This post is, coincidentally, about my major loves in life.

How many people, I wonder, have to sneak around guilt-ridden just to attend a book fair?
Not all that many, I suspect. I just have the misfortune to be one of those few.

Now, sneaking around behind your mother's back doesn't sound very ethical... but it wasn't my fault, really. I hadn't even meant to go. I mean, I did. My reflex action to spotting the banner concerning the 'largest book fair of the year' was to - in true bookworm style - resolve to be there. Asap. But I smothered that impulse, knowing full well my mom's disapproval of it. She thinks I have too many books. Nonsense! A girl can never have too many of them.

Well, on a fairly unremarkable Wednesday, I happened to be walking into the house behind my mom, who'd just taken in the mail. A paper fluttered down into my pathway and - unsuspecting me - I picked it up just like a docile daughter should. Which was just as well, because it was a freakin' SIGN, I tell ya. That paper was a flyer for the event billed as... THE LARGEST BOOK FAIR OF THE YEAR. *Bug-eyed*
I hastily stuffed it into my handbag, where my mom wouldn't see. Not an hour later, I left the house on the pretext of getting a new photo album. And made a beeline for the fair. Well, it must've been a very drunken bee, 'cause it took me some time to find the place. But it was worth it. Oh it was. Goodness knew how I was gonna find a photo album to bring home, but right then I was the very picture of a kid in a candy store - and anyway, isn't a photo album a sort of book? And this is a book fair... right? *Continues deceiving myself with slim chances and fat hopes*

My basket grew steadily heftier as I scoured each and every table for good reads. By the end of two hours, I went from lifting it with one hand to practically lugging it around. Heheheh. And then I found myself an empty table space to sift through my potential purchases.

The first one to make the cut was - get this - a book about shopping. How to shop... ALL OVER THE WORLD. Omg. *Blabbering away at top speed* It got me so excited; it'd teach me lifelong skills like how to bargain anywhere, even if I don't speak the local tongue! I'd be able to get countless brill bargains for souvenirs on my honeymoon, just like Becky Bloomwood! =X
Next to join were a new recipe book and some reads for myself. Then a couple of books for my little cousins were screened through, in addition to dictionaries for psychology terms going for a song! I got a similar one for English literature, also RM2. Altogether, my booty cost little more than 80 bucks. And then I hid it all inside my car boot. And started thinking hard about how to get that photo album.

On Friday I took off, just to catch the supposed bboy finals at Sunway Pyramid. Yes, I arrived safely. And no, no more pillars bumping into the side of my car. Once is enough. Puhtooey.

To my dismay, they'd shifted the finals to Sunday the 24th. Or perhaps the date was misprinted in the newspapers those many weeks ago. =(

I'd abandoned my little Kumon students for... this?

A stage that didn't exist...

An exhilaration which had to be put on hold...

A whole day just... for... shopping.

Here's where the sun comes out and its golden rays engulf my being. I cheer up right away and begin my rounds. T-Joue is definitely one of the stores I'll patronise for workwear, in the future. It spells class.

Come to speak of shopping, the newbie Tropicana City Mall has been gathering momentum since the last time I dropped in. The eateries are ever more varied and interesting; its tenants are fairly well picked for diversity; and parking - at the moment - is free. Not to mention, it is barely 10 minutes away from where I reside! With the soon-to-be-opened GSC outlet and a well-stocked arcade, TC Mall looks set to be my new favourite hangout, after OU.

Why not Curve, you ask? I'm not sure. There's not much of a cozy feeling there, maybe because the shops are spread too far apart and it makes you waste too much time just walking from place to place. I'm all for convenience, yo.

Saturday was a night of dinner and dance. A perfect combination, aye. I strapped on my fancy heels and was chauffeured onto the streets of KL; Jalan Ampang, to be exact.

I wasn't to do any dancing; just going for a theatrical production.

And the chauffeur was my father, and the tickets were on me - my treat! - because, well um, I didn't know how to get to Wisma MCA on my own. =/

BUT it did cost me a lot! A chunk of my first wages! =D

How apt, that it should go towards watching a dance performance; my very first earnings.

It was the most lowkey international production I'd been to; no glitzy venue, no carpeted stairways or elevated seating. The arrangement was a tad bit like any I.U. Day, complete with a slightly akward (bordering on incompetent) emcee. But who cared?

It was Breakout; the Korean extreme dance comedy I'd been pining to go for ever since I'd laid eyes on its ad. And for a charity performance, it didn't fail to satisfy.

The opening saw numerous hooded figures darting and sliding expertly across the stage floor; their movements sharp and synchronised to the music. Then the breakdancing began, and I was thrilled to see that two of the breakers were girls! Cut to the next scene, where the acting began. I was rather taken by the - what else? - tallest of the five main characters. Dancers they may be, but their faces were expressive and movements trained enough to carry the plot without dialogue. No wonder this show has traveled to the likes of New York! Nearly every scene was closed with a highly energised dance number. Each of the five main dancers had his own area of specialisation. One did some solid popping and locking, another kept *ahem* baring his torso before doing amazing flips on his left arm, and my tall one... he's a sexay beatboxing machine. The night was full of breakdancing and beatboxing, which was like manna to me. There was creative, amusing use of backdrops; and a different approach to audience interaction. I ENVY the girl who walked away with the Breakout shirt. The one and only girl. Why not me? Why noT ME?!@? T.T
*Sigh* What can I say? It was simply wonderful.

Flashbacks of the week :

Dinner at Zuup.
I like soup. O.o


Got down to straightening out my earring collection, on my new earring rack (a birthday gift from my mom), crowned with swirls!



A daunting task, to the uninitiated.
The subjects have to be organised according to length, colour and width.



Babes like these don't qualify to be hung up, unfortunately.
Wrong shape.



Amber on Straw.
What if I told you, these only cost me 4 ringgit?
Still decent-looking, unlike those tacky 3 for 10s.



Barely over 40 pairs, not counting my studs (non-dangly earrings).
Definitely... not enough. XD



Result.



NOT for sale!

I don't know about you, but when I look at my beloveds...
Each one has a story to tell.
Every pair is special and different, in that I may not have chosen it for myself,
or I fell hard for it at first sight.



The ballerina from Chiangmai,
One of my favourites - the filigree butterfly,
A gift from my big bro - little iridescent beads.



Another big bro gift - blue droplets,
See-through acid blue cubes,
Simple deep red stacked mini-cubes.



Korean seahorses (not that I've been to Korea) standing in line.



White Vincci roses,
An all-time favourite - slim blue beaded chandeliers,
Gypsy-style concoction in green - a bazaar buy.



The rival to the slim blue chandeliers;
Chains of seduction.



Glomesh in gold - usually I hate (yellow) gold, but in this case, it seemed fitting. Though a black-grey would've been so much sexier. I have a thing for almost-blacks. Or very deep blacks.
To the right are
Beaded chandeliers in a chocolate sheen.



Pink chandeliers from Singapore - these I don't really adore,
Charming wooden carved hoops - suspected ripoffs,
Amber on Straw,
Shadow Hearts.


*Big smile*
=)

Eight + Ten = Me

Holy cow. About the photography contest I entered for Yann, over 200 entries have been eliminated over 4 rounds; barely 200 are left, leaving another 4 rounds of nail-biting anxiety to go. But hey, we've made it this far to the half-mark; perhaps we'll see ourselves at the very last stage where voting is open to the public! =D

And now, for the highlight of the week... my birthday. =)

As far as loved ones go, I got to share bits of that special day with them all. I was majorly disappointed when Najjua confirmed her absence at my party, but made up by blowing balloons for me - albeit at her own crib.


*Note to readers : I do KNOW how to blow balloons. But I just can't tie 'em.*
Drove home with the backseat packed with balloons and in case you're wondering;
Yes, at least one of them exploded while I was inside. @.@
*P.s. No, my balloons didn't look as gorgeous as above; they weren't filled with helium... though I wish they were!*


Throwing the party was quite a hasty affair, but we ex-SMKTTDIans needed a reunion; so why not now?

It saw me scurrying around on my off day (Wed, 13th)
buying last minute supplies,
lugging 10kg of ice from 7-Eleven to my car in the friggin' faraway parking lot under a blazing sun,
and I nearly - God forbid - forgot to order my own birthday cake.

This is what comes of having to undertake such a project with no family for assistance. My part-time maid stayed overnight and took a load off my hands by cleaning up, though.



To add to the flurry, I was determined to bake a batch of brownies to serve up that night.
And I did it in record time.

This was the first time I didn't taste the results, as they disappeared steadily in two's and three's.
Good enough for sale?
Guess I'll just have to take their word for it. =P



Two ice-breakers were played; both of my own concoction.



JuLaLa . Nikki . 'nett

What we represent :
The lala . Intellectual dreamers . Everything short and sweet



Sean, Sanoj, Resh, Jaf, me, 'tej and Su.
Maybe... just maybe,
I've never felt so short in my life.

Thanks a lot, guys. XD



TTDI girls with my cake, the Mocha Royal.
Err, I think Kok Loong's hand was shaking. Lol.



Private take for Yann 'cause she didn't join the call for either Guys or Girls.
IT's a SHE, okay!? XD



We lost touch along the way,
And where we'll go, it's hard to say;
But right here in this moment...
We look so undivided.



A love that started when we were 9.



My much-anticipated midnight cake.
Finally, I get to blow a candle at the stroke of midnight greeting May 14th!
A little pet dream of mine, come true.



My mom and I.



Ashley and Kok Loong.
But if you ever meet him, I'd intro him as Daniel. It's easier that way, hahah.



Was choosing my wish rather carefully.
*Must think first wan*



And there we go.

Turned eighteen,
once again as the only birthday girl without a speck of makeup on her face.
Completely slipped my mind; but why not revel in radiant youth, and all its minor flaws and imperfections?



I know I'm learning every day, and this appreciation grows with time.

I know there are people out there I'm destined to meet, God-willing; to impact and be impacted in turn.

I know, too, that I'm loved.

Even though - sometimes - I forget it.



Xoxo <3>

Stuckened

Revisited Taylor's at Sri Hartamas on Wednesday, just to pick up the June intake subject combinations for A-levels. Of course, I spoke to a counselor as well, and was disappointed to find that any which way, it was not possible to take both Psychology and Law. Such is the arrangement of subject combos. =(
And to my distaste, Economics was in every single combo. Gahh. It happens to be the one sub I really consider not signing up for.

The dilemma can be said to have three components :

>>>> Location.
A toss between Help and Taylor's. Help is a reasonably short distance from home, but Taylor's (Sri Hartamas campus) trumps it in terms of convenience, despite guzzling toll money and parking fees.
Taking Psychology as a sub would make Taylor's my absolute choice, as Help does not offer it in A-levels. I've always been fascinated in exploring the thoughts and motives behind a person's actions; this is where I can find more answers to those questions.

>>>> 3 or 4 Subjects?
Oh man. If I answered candidly, it would be 3, of course. Why heap on the workload? But since I'm taking my future seriously... *as I should be*... 4 is obviously the safer choice. Note that I don't say "wiser". Because won't I be able to focus better and therefore excel with one less subject? Ughh.

*After giving the above question some thought*

>>>> Which Subjects?
Mathematics is quite a prerequisite for me, otherwise I wouldn't be able to take Business if I want it next time. So then we move on to the subs which appeal to me, and which I seriously consider taking :
# Psychology (top of the list, as always)
# Literature in English (they say there's lots of reading to be done, but that's what I love!)

and

# Law (Didn't think about it 'til my father mentioned how much he loved it. Since I'm a lot like him, I thought I might like it too. But I don't know much about it, because I've never studied anything like it before. The same goes for plenty of other tertiary level subs.)

And then there is the annoyingly practical option of Accounts, sitting squarely in the table, stolidly saying "Why not take me? I could give you a secure job and you could probably live with me, without being in love with me..." It's almost as bad as choosing which boy you'd want to upgrade to 'boyfriend'.

I'm praying for a sign from God. Seriously.

Anyway, I bumped into plenty of people during my brief visit. First there was Athirah; she was just going for her SAM test with Farah Diyana. Descending on the escalator, I spotted Marsha. And on the ground floor there were Fion, Kah Fai, Hadi and Jia Min. And last of all, I recognised a mate of Lynette's, whose name I'm afraid I'd spell wrong and that's why I'm referring to her in this ultra longwinded manner. XD



Got my hair trimmed on Thursday morning and stepped into work to find my usual place usurped by some old newcomer. A boy one year my senior, who has apparantly worked at Kumon previously, but seems to know less than me. Oh, my list of abilities at work have expanded to :
1. Marking worksheets (was basically hired for this)
2. Listening to recitations of the multiplication tables, stopwatch in hand
3. Guiding students who come up to ask questions
and as of Friday...
4. Preparing specified worksheets for students to do in class
5. Writing down 'teacher stuff' in students' record books.

Cikgu Nicole. > <'

And yesterday, it was breakfast with Amirah at Village Park - very mamak-ish but still not classified as mamak. I got to drive her Hyundai back. =] Extremely light steering, weii.
Then I packed my oven into my car boot and my load of baking equipment in the backseat, and spent 4 hours in church preparing Mother's Day cookies. Supposed to be only 2, but then my great idea of making the packaging more 'festive' created a huge delay. > <' That's me; always wanting to "make things special", according to Jules. Mother's Day was pretty fine this year. There was scrumptious strawberry jelly served after service; it's texture a sort of very watered down Konnyaku type. Superb. I left without eating anything else, to take my mom out for lunch! Feels good to say that. =D We had Swensen's and then I dinner-ed with my father (seems like a huge chunk of my afternoon went missing aight, hahah) after which I laid out my Help and Taylor's papers for what I hoped would be The Talk That Would Decide It All. Only, it wasn't. Which is what prompted this post in the first place. Oh man.

If They Had You In My Size, I'd Fall For You... All Over Again.

O.o

Labour Day has never meant much to me, until now. It's God-sent, being the only day on which I could spend time with Giovana, as both of us are now working and are therefore labourers! =]

It started out perfectly enough. I left the house early at 10.30 and found a decent parking spot in OU, though without the yellow lines around it, heheh. And then... and then...
I realised I'd forgotten my phone. As never before.

Honestly, of all days! Gahhhhh.

So I hastily went back to collect it; and like a warning not to drive too recklessly, I passed two accidents on the way. Oh man. A green Myvi did a total 360 on the same road my high school is on. I glanced at the good-looking women standing around the wreck with the police. One of them was holding a DSLR. Lol. And no one was trapped in the car. *If I laugh here, I must have a very twisted sense of humour.*

Once back in OU's parking lot, I cruised around for a full half an hour.

What for?

Oh, just taking in the sights, honey.
Row after row of endless cars, all parked resolutely in every parkable space available, with or without lines. After a dozen "Whyyy did I forget my phone??"s, a fellow Vios backed out of a PROPER parking space. I quickly replaced it. =D
Met up with Gio and we watched Threads of Destiny.
I'd forgotten how dramatic and nonsensical Japanese productions can be. It was a rather long movie, and dealt with loads of issues, among them drugs, boyfriend abuse, unrequited love, and suicide. Talk about ammo for drama! However, it was still a decent watch and I don't feel anything was wasted on it.

We ate Takoyaki for lunch and shopped til we were broke. Honestly, we were planning to have Haagen Dazs for dessert... before we checked our wallets and were faced with the truth. Ahaha. She gave the thumbs up for my long-looked-for handbag, and we combed through the racks at Voir, eager to make use of my membership card. It's so much fun to try clothes on together! It makes the word 'broke' much easier to bear. *Sheepish grin*

Vinod and Surendran were also in the queue at the cinema, and Joshua's family spotted us having a good chat at the Rainforest. Truly, it was a great outing! I love her. And shopping. No, just Giovana. Oops, I meant shopping. Teehee. XD

On a different day, I caught Make It Happen. And wasn't much impressed, after all the bustling and rushing I'd done to see it. I'd baked at top speed that evening, and thrown together a quick dinner before bathing and stepping into Yann's car with the wicked question,

"Are you ready for some rASH driving?"

One of her favourite phrases. =P

Anyway, the opening seemed so promising! It showed some unorthodox form of ballet that arrested my attention. The actress isn't as pretty as other dance movie stars, but it's the choreographer I mainly find fault with. I was captivated by the first couple of 'burlesque' performances but as the film progressed, the star's moves ceased to impress. Never mind the common and predictable storyline - for what else could they cook up? - but the ending...

was plain disappointing. Of all songs, choosing Lady GaGa's 'Just Dance' might've seemed apt; if based only on the title. But its execution was way off-mark. Completely unconvincing, even.

A let-down, for a highly anticipated dance show.

Sunday night, it was dinner with my father as usual. He mentioned 'pasar malam' in passing, and all of a sudden I remembered my craving to visit it. I haven't been there since... since my ex and I cycled there for the Hari Raya Bazaar.

Well, I enjoyed the buzz of it; the meaningless chatter around me, and the colours rushing to meet my eye, both bold and shadowy. Weighing the worth of fruits with my father, sneaking away while he selected them to look at cheap clothes. Brain working speedily to measure aesthetic value against value for money versus actual quality. Shopping is a three-way process, I tell ya.

Aesthetic value is what catches your eye at the very beginning. It's your heart tugging at you and your eye doing a double-take. Price is what you reach for next, to check that you're not appraising something you can only dream of owning. And quality is where your hands do the work of turning the item over, checking seams and feeling the material to check for suitability as well as sustainability.
Of course, more discernment is needed in malls than in a simple night market.

A spot of training never hurt, though. Practice does make perfect. ^ ^

I took off from work today. Bluntly put, I intend to recover from my second bout of flu (in a row, malangnye) tomorrow! Sent my mother for a medical appointment and had a sobering moment there. And right now I'm glugging down water like a... garden hose in reverse.



One more school of thought...

Pretty glad I can park properly now. On parallel parking... I used to be so bad at it, I censored the very words in my thoughts. Then all of a sudden, on a fairly unremarkable day, I just did it, no fuss. And mere hours later, this was followed by a perfect reverse parking. My very first. It felt so good; like the parking gods had decided to stop tormenting my little mortal self. Honestly, there were times I got so frustrated at finding myself a 'woman driver, after all', I could've shook my fist and declared "Curse youu, Buzzz Liiiightyeeearrrrrr!".
Just like that.