Friday, January 8, 2010

Mind-messing Business



There's something I didn't include in the previous post. It was my last dream of 2009...

which was really queer because I'd never experienced anything like it before.


1st January 2010


Last night I dreamt I died. Shot point-blank. It was either Gio or me; I remember being glad to see her alive, and getting used to being dead, just looking at the people around (or slightly below) me... I still felt fear when something bad was about to happen, but no longer in the mortal way.


Without realising it, I left Dreamland. Felt disoriented waking up in my body, that I actually had a body. For just a few moments ago, I'd been an insubstantial soul...





Back from a three-day stay at my father's! The activity never ceases; time and time again people have called me a "busy woman" but at least I'm happy to be kept occupied, instead of rotting away. There is always something to be done, the way I see it. Maybe that's why God has seen to it that I have someplace to take a break at; like my own little holiday villa. Lol.

On Tuesday night we went out for groceries. Thought we were going to the usual smaller Giant, but my father turned into the gigantum one that I've often wanted to visit. You know, just to take a look around.
I expressed my secret joy and he gave one of his little snorts and said,

"You don't have to wish, just
say."

^ ^ How I love to be his girl.



Set my eyes in QuickScan mode 'cause I knew I couldn't drag two grown men (my uncle was there too) in tow for window shopping. This place was nicer to explore than Tesco! (Talkin' in terms of little stores.)

Well we entered Giant itself soon enough and I walked through aisles and aisles of detergent, cereal, brooms, steel pans... until we reached the confectionary section. Then my brain cried out "FoOOOD!"

Now my kitchen cabinet is decently stocked with biscuits and such.
*!!*
Oops, I left my KitKat ice-cream at my father's. =/



Another delightful buy was... WHITE BREAD. The last loaf of Gardenia, to be exact. Wonder why High5 was still in abundance. Anyway, WHITE BREAD is a rare commodity in my TTDI house. Which explains my jakunity. And c'mon, nobody eats pork floss on wholemeal. I've tried, and it's total sewage.


Wednesday, went to catch a movie with Yann. I think I'm a jinx for movies or something, 'cause we ...missed the starting of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Rushed in from the Curve, newly bought calendar in hand. Sweet, beatiful desk calendar I can use year in and year out. Muax. (Ew, first time posting that.)

Heath Ledger's last project was worth the rush and my excitement. I found the movie very thought-provoking, especially since I couldn't figure out all that symbolism in one go. Gotta sit down with it some other time and digest it. Not free for that until 20th Nov 2010. =(

Visuals-wise, I relished the style it was done in. The colours were rich and saturated, but there was also a lot of darkness - shot the way it was, the filth felt real but glamorous. Very absorbing.
Then there were the out-of-this-world imaginations where even sparklier colours were used. The shoe dream was ridiculous, and the stilt-walking segment even more so. Both tickled me.

With so many big names in it, I was somewhat confused with who's-who. But now I know that 4 of those names were playing one character. Johnny Depp was unmistakable, though. He had those distinct cheek hollows showing and reminded one so much of Jack Sparrow. =)





One Phone Call Later...

Now is not the right time to tell me I've been spending too much. Now, when I want to watch Men in Tutus so badly.


Train of logic right now:
I'm returning to college in 5 days' time. There is an avalanche of studying and club matters waiting to be taken care of then. I probably won't set foot in a mall for the next 5 months save for its supermarket. I will, in short, turn into a nerd and bound and gag my shopaholic persona.


Is my expenditure justified now? Men in Tutus... the critically-acclaimed, one-of-a-kind... and my first ballet at a theatre.

='(

How can it not be justified?


Friday, January 1, 2010

Another One of Those Butt-less Girls in Skinny Jeans



A long title for a long post.



Run-through of my whirlwind yearend; no time to post 'til now!

Note: All events below are dated December 2009.



18th

Brought my fresh-out-of-skool cousin to Taylor's Subang. He'll be taking SAM and then going straight on to do Medicine. His life plan.
More often, though, there are those who do not have such a clearcut goal in life; so maybe I should envy him. But still I don't find it in me to do so; I have too much a love of liberty - the liberty to choose, and at leisure. Some part of me suspects he's been brought up to this point of single-mindedness, which is not true liberty to me.

Left him, my aunt and mom at Taylor's - bumped into Albert! - before running errands with Giovana:
Picking up my pay from TBS,
Ordering a Math textbook for YangKang,
Unabashedly walking into Inti for their Open Day - because I wanted to use their washroom. *Enemy in the ranks!* Ahaha but seriously, I finally went about enquiring 'bout their shirt which I find so simple and funky. Only RM15! Left my number, hope they can get one for me! Forgot whether they found out I was Taylorian or not. =P

After a quick cup of bubble tea, we got rid of-*Ahem* I mean, dutifully sent home the relatives and set forth for... the one. the only. R-a-i-n. XD

Missed the beginning of Ninja Assassin =( but on the whole I found it gory; crimson streams spurting all over the place, limbs dismembered with careless brute force, and all through the show, pain.
Pain within and without; cruel scars afflicted onto young boys, emotional anguish faced by a youth who finds purity in a girl - indeed, the most poignant moment in the movie was when she, in reply to his rhetorical "Why?", answered

"Why I'm in here... or why you're out there?"

She was imprisoned in a bamboo cage, trying to sleep standing up, and all because she'd done something right.

Many thanks to my gentlemanly cousin who'd bought the tix even though he had to sit on his own. Gio and I spent the remaining hour speed-shopping in OU. Just before we left, I saw it. Reminiscent of Bella's blue frock in Twilight, but so much daintier!



Simple cut. Filmy layer of elegance floating above a black base. Dark red sash, crimped for varied texture.
My heart throbbed with desire.

All night at caroling and after, I thought of it. And succeeded in slipping off to get it on the pretext of tracting! (Which I did, by the way. It's just that we finished with time to spare.)

Paid Naj a surprise visit and - what were the odds!? - her parents were away in Jakarta so she was FREEE to accompany me on my mission. Such a happy collision of circumstances happens only once in a blue moon. =)

Thank goodness I had her to help decide, 'cause she said the black version was better suited for me.



All the dresses I've bought (not many) are in the same price range;
This is the most beautiful one so far.

And the colours happened to be perfect for Christmas. ^ ^





After Yann Said She Didn't Know What A Dreamcatcher Looked Like



The cheeky gold-plated earrings from Venice
my brother bought me.
Ordinarily I dislike yellow gold, but this is unique!



Yann, meet my dreamcatcher earrings.
As you can see, they don't necessarily have to be big; they hang lightly from my earlobes!



From that South American stall in HSC which I stopped at in passing so many times to look at these, the guy soon recognised me.
This cunning shade of turqoise was the last one left, so I hung the "hygienic" issue and took it!





22nd

Watched Avatar with 'nett and Kok Loong.
It was an epic piece of visual effects, to be sure. Sights both mystical and exciting, especially when viewed through 3D glasses. Well, they didn't really make a difference for me and I disliked that we had to hold the glasses up to keep 'em from slipping, ahah.

Storyline... a little predictable. But nice bit of symbolism when Neytiri of the Navi held Jack in human form - signifying perfect union and acceptance.
It's 'save the earth' message is also clear, pleading with watchers to lay aside their greed for what is morally right.

Neither point struck me as hard as the expression I found in the Navi princess herself.
It was her voice; it held emotion as a tightrope holds its walker and her pain, her exhileration was startlingly raw. Stunning performance by Zoe Saldana.





24th


Spent a happy three or four hours wrapping these presents.
I love work like this; sometimes I'd challenge myself to make more creative use of the material at hand.
This session, however, nearly depleted my stock of wrapping paper.

*...*

All the more reason to love it!
I can start buying more pretty gift-wraps now. ^ ^



Didn't know it would end up like this. =)
Guess all stripey wraps do the trick.



It gives me joy to prettify things,
even the simplest gift.

Note the rounded edges of the gift tag.



I accidentally came up with using the corners for this little bow. =)



Err didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Truth be told, I can't really make a paper bag bottom nicely. =(



Put them all in my new eco-friendly bag.
Its design is called La Boheme Number Five, with subtle coffee-coloured motifs all round and the 3R mantra in elegant sand script at the bottom.



Koko and I met up with Papa for dinner at Umai-Ya on Christmas Eve.

I was facing a dilemma; attend the Subang Dance Club bbq in Puchong later, or hang out with old skoolmates nearer to home?
Old mates won though I wanted to see the Subang crew, because I'd never driven to Puchong before and I didn't plan on getting lost at night!



Sushi topped with mouthwatering salmon roe.



*I-forgot-what-animal* sushi.
They name their original sushi's after animals like the dragon and phoenix, lol.



Papa's must-have Cha Soba, my favourite Dobin Mushi, aluminium-foil-wrapped mushroom soup, and Koko's Udon.



A sprig of Christmas tree caught my eye; lending a festive touch to the sashimi, haha!




Glad to feel solid ground after all that rASH driving.
Finally outside Quattro.
Hahaha we all felt underdressed 'cause we hadn't planned on going clubbing!



But we didn't anyway. A couple of hours ain't worth the moolah; I insisted on returning early in order to be fresh for Christmas service - it was my first time playing keyboard for that occasion. =)



Yann, Vivian and Sean.
We settled on Santini KLCC though I left disappointed. Their iced chocolate is the ultimate ugleh in iced chocolates.



Ahah, Sean and his beer.



I believe the Apartment would've done a better job in sweetening my night.



What can I say? I'm glad this friendship didn't end with school.
Cheers to more idiotic moments and laaame jokes with you.

If Jafri stomping on my foot was what it took to make your most memorable birthday wish, then I'd happily do it again. Just in reverse. - -'



These look rather fetching, methinks.



Some drinking game in progress.



Hm. When I tried to do that, I looked like I was sleeping. And so did Yann, ahahaha.



Jumping Panda. Very rare.



If you know me well enough, my gesture really means:
Sean, what u doing... *worried face*
=P



My favourite candid shot.



It was really as easy as jump and cling on! O.o
Sean's weird bendy hands. - -



Vivian and I! Guess we've finally reconciled. =]



I won't be there for mahjong this CNY... =/
Will be turning brown under the Australian sun. =D



Way to celebrate Christmas wei. > <




25th

Mummy and I in our new dresses.
Decided to give her my silvery grey strand of pearls since she'll have more use for them.



And then come the tears that don't belong to the season;
They catch the light and shimmer in the darkness,
Drip, drip, drip upon my knee.



A quiet Christmas lunch where we were baptised recently.
It's the things you care for that define everything else.



One man's loneliness is another man's solace.

Still, there are people who cannot grasp this thought...



The girls thought I'd gone home =( so there weren't many group photos to be taken.



Me, Reuel, MichelleToo, Gio



Height works in inverse proportion to age among my girls at church.
Gio and I are the shortest;
The Michelles (2 years junior) are the tallest.



My Pastor of 12 years and counting.



Giovana's father and us.



14-year-old (then) Jamie, who sang well that day.



At night, the customary family dinner - mom's side.



We weren't expecting a canopied event, though.



Honestly felt tired and not in the mood to dress up.



Threw on a dress at the last minute;
Thought I should make the effort since I don't see them so very often (but still, often enough).



=)
And tried to match his smile, for the guests.

The business associates, their perfectly manicured wives, the neighbours, their son, their son's girlfriend who was enjoying herself at the karaoke set... and reminding me so much of Juliana.

But I think Ju's voice is sweeter. =>



I love spending time with my li'l cousins,
if being ordered around to fetch them dessert and satay while they soak their feet in the pool
qualifies as time spent together. =/

Just kidding!
That was not even 20% of the night.



My mom taking a stroll on the other side of the pool.



I like it when she's all radiant like this.
Hate it when she sits in darkness thinking of reasons to give life up.
I get scared.

But thank God those times occur less frequently now...
I don't believe in New Year's resolutions - because I only make them when I'm very moved to.
And right now I know I need to work at being a daughter.
Less headstrong, less indifferent.
Not to say that I'm indifferent, but... sometimes I feel like such a bad person. And that rarely used to happen.



Thanks sis, for looking out for me.
You know you've got so many beautiful things about you, don't you?



Recently I met a new cousin - my aunt's bro's son, (probably) born and bred in America.
That evening we were introduced, and he greeted us in impeccable-sounding Mandarin.
Super ironic.

I already knew he was 3 grades ahead in school, and read papers and thick books just like his father - all this at the age of 9.
And, may I add, I foresee he's gonna grow up to be one good-looking chap.
It was like meeting my Thinking Skills lecturer (a woman) again... in miniature. And again, I got a little freaked out.



But in the end, it's the human heart that makes the truest connections, and not the mind.



From being a bashful though self-assured solitary figure there,



He turned into a tiny rascal flying at me for tickle-fights by the end of the night.





27th

Arranged an outing just for Jo Yee. All the school-going girls had to forfeit due to family, etc. so it was just three of us catching up.

Time constraints forced us to settle for Alvin and the Chipmunks 2; I had not bothered to watch the first one, brushing it aside as just another mediocre animation.

This instalment received absolute thumbs up from me, though! An entertaining ride from start to finish, so funny it made me laugh for real in the cinema (stomach-deep, seldom happens there), and and... made me an adoring fan of Theodore, who looks like a "green gumdrop" himself! *Melts*

I think the Chipettes were the determining factor in this movie trumping Avatar, in terms of viewer satisfaction.
Loved it when they first started singing; I'd forgotten how I liked
Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Put Your Records On'. =)

My favourite line:
*Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams...*

Oh yes, I'd much rather watch this a second time instead of Avatar; that's how good.





28th to 30th

Was off to Broga for Youth Retreat!

Relatively good accomodation; I was delighted with the many many bunk beds that contributed to a communal feel!

But way to go for Gospel Assembly wei, on the first day alone we succeeded in slamming into a column of windowpanes and breaking one (angkara Reuel), as well as breaking off one showerhead (err... that's me).
The water was blasting at the wall; you don't expect me to soap the wall with my butt, do you?

Other highlights of the retreat were the bustle of activity on Day Two.
Hiking in the morning sunshine up Broga Hill. Upon reaching a summit, we discovered two more and so up and onwards we went.
Was spellbound by the different face of Nature surrounding me. One particularly lovely sight captivated me and I stood transfixed, trying to etch it into my memory, for my camera was way down the hill with Giovana. Everything I'd packed was in my bag and was with her.

This particular image was of...

Layers and layers of soft yellow featherweeds
Stretching forth to a massive boulder
Brown and olive with aged moss
Nature's juxtaposition of soft and hard

No one else had the heart to snap it; maybe no photographer saw what I saw.
Those boys'd rather take people.


I enjoyed the games that involved running too. I find that, as we grow up, we need excuses to run. Need to work off fats, just to keep fit, training for a sport...
Anyone over 5 feet running around just because they felt like it would be labelled strange or immature, that's why. =(

Got next to no sleep on the first night; I slept on top tier and couldn't drift off for the fans' perpetual disturbance. Always blowing at my face, one after the other. And when I'd crept over the other girls to tilt the fans down, it began to feel unbearably sticky and hot. Gah.

Little surprise then that I should have called it an early night on the next. Was rather tired, and I hate falling asleep with dirty feet. Which I had to, as there was no proper rag to wipe feet on.
But I was pleased to have my share of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) time both days, as I only get to play it once a year. First day was incredibly rusty, lol.
DDR set was in the boys' dormitory 'cause it wouldn't work on our TV.
And boys were always over 'cause their dorm was stinky, ahaha.





30th

Minor delays on the way back from Broga - Rufus' Unser overheated.
As soon as my luggage arrived (in another car), I sped off for Lynette's birthday treat, a dozen things on my mind: Drop the girls off at MC's,
Tell Mummy that I have told her about this outing before,
Call the spa to delay appointment,
Take a real shower so that 'nett could hug me if she wanted to,
Make sure 'nett was ready on time,
Ready myself on time, etc....

Made it in good time. Handed over the free vouchers (an aunt gave them to me) and was popped into MRI-scan-looking tunnels to begin baking ourselves. Extra gravy, anyone? =P
The infrared was tolerable but not exactly comfortable, and heating time was 40 minutes, which sped past as we both chatted and laughed away.

Came out feeling very thirsty, and I've been feeling thirsty ever since. Even NOW, as I type. Lol.

Had about an hour left so we went to DJ; wanted to bring her to Bon Bon's!
But nooo it was closed. =[

Had tea at Mage Cafe instead. Discovered that board games could be fantastic works of art I'd rather hang on my bedroom wall than utilise.



'nett's Christmas gift to me; charm bracelet.
Hers is the key charm.



Forever didn't see 3OfUs,
But how I loved you so.





31st

Sean lied to me. Well, he didn't, but he didn't give me last-minute notification either, that he was spending NYE's away from the original plan.



Hmph. At least I got to celebrate with people I cared about, still.



Penned down my reflections on the passing year, and went to chill at Yann's place.
Met the new dog, Tiara. Shadow looks like he's getting old. =/
Spread garlic butter on multiple baguette slices -both sides- and forgot to book one. - -'' Must be that Kahmbeng (Yann's bro), ate all.



Failed to get a parking spot on Penchala Link the first round.
Here Panda is seen stalking off across the highway with my butterfly on her cap.



Let good sense and faith be the headlights for this year.



Jafri Adam de Souza. =]
Bangunan buatan Portugis.



Like all good pieces, my street/dance sneakers were found when I least expected them.
Now I can rest in peace.
(Anyway, college starts in a week and I won't have time to shop... again!!)



Vivian Lim Vivian.



Don't ask.



All cracked up.



Miss Cute-iverse 2009!



She used to be a mad scientist before joining the contest.



If you look closely, I'm wearing Forever on my arm! =)



Tachana popped out of nowhere! Brill MJ dancer.

This could've been taken at precisely the split between old and new decade.
Was a little disappointed I didn't get to countdown, since people lining the highway are not in the habit of reciting numbers in reverse.



Waved -not weaved- our way across that neverending stream of lights.
And of course, if you're walking along the highway without belonging to the class of hobo, road sweeper or scary-looking-foreigner, you get all sorts of things shouted out of passing cars.
Way to start a new year, being called Stupid. Hahah.



Measly cloud of vapours.



I got these pretty shooting stars,
and then my camera died on me.

Like a cynical
"Haha, foooOl,
Happy New Year."


And that was how I entered 2010.





1st Jan


Man-with-a-hoe.
Watched him very suspiciously 'cause he looked a lot like the jogger who looked like he was trying to flash me last year when I was watering plants.

Watonearth man. Few days after that, my mom was watering plants and he invited her out for a jog together. An absolute stranger. A creepy one, that.



So you can imagine how cautiously I observed this man - who started hacking the ground on the opposite side of my house. O.O



The stretch of land where I used to play every evening, a full decade ago.
Like Jaf said, we've just lived our first conscious decade. Starting to get old! =P



Then this new appearance changed things.



They were burying their ...dead kitten.
=(

Sorry, mate.



Don't even know which house they came from, must be some way up the road.

I visited the grave a few days after, to pay my respects.
There was a fern stuck into the ground marking the site; soon it will wither to nothingness, and the children who next play there will never know what remains lie under their dreaming feet.
Makes me wonder what were underneath mine.



I got it, suddenly, one day.
This is my cherry-coloured girl, just that I haven't decided on the spelling:
Moxxi or Moxie.

Watcha think? =D