Zodiac: The Tale Begins.

A few days ago I was having a random conversation with Z about the Chinese Zodiac (of all things), and there was one point where I mentioned the Tiger, to which he responded, almost in disbelief:

Z: 生肖里面有老虎咩？(There's a tiger in the Zodiac?)

Me: ..............

X X X

So I spent a good 15 minutes teaching him how to memorise the order of the 12 animals before we left KFC. And the last time I checked (a few hours ago), he was still able to remember it very well. I call this one, effective teaching ;)

BUT do the rest of you know your 12 animals?!!?? Not that I really care la, but let me know through my 2nd blogpoll please! I am just sooooo bored, haha ^_^ Plus it's CNY tomorrow :p

The one that made me go PHWOAARRRR.

It's time for random photos and musings!



From the current issue of 8 Days. Lovely shot!



For those of you not familiar with Melbourne, they have little posters like these to remind people not to commit "fare evasion" on the tram. The humour is a little o_O but some are actually quite funny.



When I was in Jakarta I was given a really nice and cosy room to sleep in...



But it reeked of loneliness (please pardon the poor photography skills)...



Thankfully, that evening I got back, I met the cutest thing ever at a movie premiere (I usually hate kids). Meet three-year-old Joshua (too)!

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And after five weeks back here in Singapore, I wish they would stop playing that annoying Guo Mei Mei "cockroach" song - on television, in stores, and on the radio!!!!! -_- Where is all that real homegrown talent?!? Thanks to the local media, the phrase "Mai-Ah-Hee, Mai-Ah-Hu" is stuck in my head 24/7.

I drove HJ home last night after pigging out on two bowls of mee pok, one plate of white carrot cake and one large glass of lemon sugar cane (and of course, lots of major bitching and gossipping). Nothing beats driving your friend of more than 10 years back home! ;)

One more month left before I pack my bags again. Till then I shall indulge like a queen.

If I stand all alone
Will the shadow hide the colours of my heart?

Rod Stewart - I Don't Want To Talk About It.

Ah, this thing called youth.

Okay, so I stumbled upon some pics of the new (almost) 17-year-old 'interest' through random blog browsing. The person who uploaded these pics is 25 (and MALE), and I actually found great comfort in that fact, for obvious reasons...



Joshua Ang: 17 years of age, and always plays baaaad baaaad boys ;)



I actually went to watch "I Not Stupid Too", with AQ. I guess I was really bored last Saturday but hey it was money well spent!

I attribute this new interest entirely to that whole rebellious, broody, bad-boy image that is so, so, appealing.

I am not a paedophile. I repeat, I am NOT a paedophile.

I'm done with the moys (note: half man half boy = moy) and masculine men above 30 (Richard Gere, Brad Pitt and the like).

2006 is the year for brooding BOYS with a streak of rebellion!!!!! Muahahahahahaha.

And roped me in so
Mesmerizing and so
Hypnotizing I am
Captivated, I am.

Dashboard Confessional - Vindicated.

Everything but you.

I am back from Jakarta, prematurely. The trip was good while it lasted, and I am glad that above everyone else, it was Mom who understood why I came back.

X X X

I watched *name of movie censored* the other day, and found my heart fluttering at every sight of (almost) 17-year-old *name of actor censored as well* ^_^

Hmm. I am a self-confessed paedophile (hhhhh!!!).

HJ and ASS, please help me keep it a secret ;p (and thanks for the online articles!)

But I know that sometime
When the weather is fine
I will be with you.

Thirsty Merc - When The Weather Is Fine.

When the weather is fine.

I'M OFF TO JAKARTA!!!

Taking a break from watching American Idol V on the laptop and I only have one thing to say:

Simon is back, looking HOT as hell.... <3

J'oublie.

After months of waiting and pining, I caught a midnight sneak of "Memoirs Of A Geisha" with the usual suspects. Loved the pretty kimonos, loved the haunting soundtrack, loved the Japanese settings, loved timeless beauty Gong Li as Hatsumomo (although I never quite liked her), loved Momoi Kaori as the "Mother", loved Watanabe Ken too, as always :) But ZZY's (oops, I mean ZYZ) Chinese-accented English was the lowest of the low points, amongst other unconvincing aspects of the film (The Chairman didn't seem to age a single bit over those years???!!).

So I was just thinking that "Memoirs" is a perfect example of globalisation. You get Chinese + Japanese + Malaysian actors starring in a film with a Japanese setting, made in Hollywood!

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I find it difficult to update frequently on my blog when I'm pretty much doing the same thing everyday and I don't want to bore anyone with these mundane details ;p However I believe life will be spiced up with the upcoming 5-day trip to Jakarta on Sunday (many apologies to Moonface!), otherwise known as "Reconnection with my roots Part II"/"Catching up with Cecil and Jenn". Watch this space for billionaire tales or stories about me hitting a couple of balls on a 2-year-old's golf course. Or better still, "having my own personal driver", so Jenn says (does everyone in Jakarta have a driver??!!?!).

In other news, HJ sent an sms earlier to tell me that Xie Shaoguang and Qi Yuwu are getting married (???!!). Like, hello.... GET REAL man. Can someone spread a decent and believeable rumour for a change? -_-

Tard
Dans ce bar
Dansant joue contre joue
Tout devient flou et j'oublie.

Julien Clerc - J'oublie.

Mi iz nod trai-ing tu bee hai-krass ger. Mi juz lurf dees sorng veli veli march one. Eet eez een flench, hihi.

This is me.

Romance Romance is most important in a boyfriend/girlfriend. You need romance in your life. You love the extra dimension that romance brings to a relationship and you tend to fall in love very quickly. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I've got my love to keep me warm.

Note: Long overdue post (fellow Moonface, sorry to have kept you waiting! ;p)

Before the year 2005 ended I took a 25-hour trip with nine other family members to the nearby Indonesian island - Batam, to attend a distant uncle's wedding, much to my initial reluctance (because I hardly knew the Indo relatives, getting there by ferry didn't particularly appeal to me, plus I had absolutely no idea why I had to go).

Batam is only an hour's ferry ride away from SG (it never occurred to me that it was THAT near) so the journey wasn't too long and dreary. Was introduced to the Indo relatives at the Batam jetty, most of whom I have little or no impression of... then it suddenly dawned on me that HWAR, my mother's side of the extended family is actually pretty huge. Everyone I met was like, my grandpa's brother's daughter's son or grandma's sister's cousin's niece - in other words, complicated family connections. It does feel quite bizarre how everyone in the family tree is reunited out of the blue, at an occasion such as a wedding dinner o.O

So anyway they held the traditional Chinese tea ceremony in one of our hotel rooms (weird concept I know o_O). Before I proceed, I have to mention that the bride (from err... China) is actually one year younger than I am, which means she is super young la (addressing her as 舅母 felt seriously strange). I mean, okay, some people do get married early, but my uncle (her husband) is 15 years her senior (.....)?



The newlyweds... -_-



Newlyweds serving tea to my mom and "The Nanny".

After the ceremony (gee, this feels like a tour itinerary of some sort) we were driven to this hair salon where we ladies got our hair styled. Wasn't prepared for this hair affair at all but since we were already there, we decided to just have some fun and let someone else do wild things with our hair for the wedding dinner later at night!



The end result... uhm, save me a seat at the Oscar's! ;p

The wedding dinner itself was baaaaah. Very different from wedding dinners held in SG (minus the fact that since it was a CHINESE wedding dinner as well, we had to wait DAMN long before the dinner actually started), but let's not go into detail about the 'seventh month' performances onstage and very weird song dedications - my uncle the groom "serenaded" his wife onstage with an ultra sad song that Wang Jie had written in memory of his dead girlfriend (o_O x 1000).



But here's my favourite part of every Chinese wedding dinner: Screaming 'Yuuuuuummmmmmm Seng!' at the top of my lungs! It's very un-ladylike but don't you just lurrrrve doing that? ;p

So after some hardcore post-wedding entertainment ('Jujur', 'Tulus' and 'Radja' are the three new words on my Bahasa Indonesia vocab list ^_^) and spending the night at the hotel, we embarked on a pseudo half-day tour on the island the next day, being driven around like VIPs by our uncles before we boarded the ferry back to SG. While waiting to board the ferry, Moonface and I found a *genuine* Polo Ralph Lauren store which sold their polos at about 25 SGD a piece and how could we NOT buy a few to take home with us?!?! (Piggy, screw the online shopping, you have to come along with me next time ;p)



There are bound to be examples of EngRish in Batam I guess.... OMG this one was horrifying o_O



Mom carrying my 6-month old Indo cousin, Rayya. She's lovely!

Despite the initial reluctance at the thought of visiting a place like Batam, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the trip, reconnecting with the Indo roots I'd never identified myself with. This wedding dinner did not change anything - it did not bring us any closer and I don't think we'll ever be close-close, but they are a bunch of amazing, down-to-earth people and I am glad I got the chance to meet them and get to know who they are.

And by the way, just some random trivia - one of my aunts in Indonesia married a very rich man (and I mean VERY rich man). Apparently he was listed as one of Indonesia's Top 50 richest men (!!). If you still don't quite get the extent of their 'richness', picture this - their two-year-old son has an entire GOLF COURSE under his name (!!!!!!!). Good grief, I don't think I've ever smelled money this close to me before... o_O I'm very interested to see what her house looks like, heh.

Oh well, I love my extended family... ^_^

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And since I haven't been making 'appearances' on my blog for quite some time, I decided to take a few shots of myself to remind my readers what I look like.



Gunther taught me the trick of holding your camera high up in the air so you will look slimmer. Very wise advice indeed, thank you!



Mom suddenly went mad and made me wear this facial mask to 'beautify' my complexion. I look like a grossly overweight fire victim lying half dead in hospital... o_O Hilarious I know ;p

X X X

I sit and talk to God
And He just laughs at my plans
My head speaks a language, I don't understand.

Robbie Williams - Feel.

My life is brilliant.

Note: The 'stop' button is there for those of you who hate/are sick of this song :p

I mark the start of the new year with the one song that I've listened to a million times in the previous year - at home, on trams, between classes, on trains, strolling on the streets of Melbourne, at Starbucks... and most of all, after you left and were nowhere to be found.

With nothing more that I can do, I put away all details of you - from moments of cloud-floating exhilaration, to nail-biting anxiety, to heartbreak, to relief, to resignation... all into my 2005 archives, where you will always remain a fond memory I can look back upon many years later. Because Fate has decided that things were not meant to be, that I wasn't even going to have one proper conversation with you before it was too late.



BUT...




You're beautiful, it's true (and to me you will always be).

I saw your face in a crowded place
And I don't know what to do
'Cos I'll never be with you.

James Blunt - You're Beautiful.