Another haircut

Before

After

(Haircut courtesy of mum)

If he wasn't still running around the house like some crazy little skinny tornado, I probably would have thought it was someone else' dog.

And did I mentioned I disocovered long curly golden eyelash on my dog's eyes??

张悬 SCREAM

张悬的歌，原来我听过。 每当听到，总以为是台湾又那一个新起indie歌手的新歌。

那天友人一连推荐了她刚买的法文CD （但我没兴趣），然后顺便提起了，“u heard of zhang xuan?" 好不熟悉的名字。 但一上友人寄过来的youtube网址，哦？她的歌好多都听过。

话不多说，跟友人索了她两张张悬的CD。听了，看了，心痒痒想自己买来收。

I need a break

I'm feeling so tired.

Physically. Mentally.

Reminds me of a Sims game I played before, when the character sleeps, work, down coffees, and attempt to play, work, learn new stuff. The catch was if his energy level ran low, the character basically can't function. Can't play, can't work, cant grow. Feels exactly like that now.

Watching Anthony Boudain's No Reservations in Indonesia, makes me miss being in a rustic place. Somewhere where I can be at a place, hit the streets and eat street food, read a book by the sea/pool/room baclony..or just do nothing to while the time away.

And the food. I miss the fried duck at Nuart and Mbok Berek

Really looking forward to a breather. Should I go Ubud?

Earth Day is 40!

Senator Gaylord (yes, gaylord is a name) Nelson, a US Senator called for an environmental teach-in or Earth day to be held on 22 April 1970. Read up at Wikipedia here.

Like being with someone dear, you don't abuse he/she for the whole good part of the year, only to light a candle on a cake and sing a song once a year to make everything better. Start with giving a little TLC everyday, over time, it will be able to give us more in return.

Anyway, we don't have too much of a choice do we? Cos this is the only Earth we've got :))

When you know you shouldn't have...

It's has been a while.

I think the last I remembered regretting so despairingly was maybe when I was 18 when I popped out from a saloon..

That I shouldn't have been ..

(i) too lazy

to look up on the hair that I wanted. I had an idea, but I forgot how ideas can be lost in translation between a Singaporean and a Japanese hairstylist, though with haltingly ok English, he understood what I said, may not have the same idea in mind. The last time I had armed myself to the teeth with pictures. Obviously a picture tells a thousands words that I only have to worry if he would be able to achieve the same look (like how we always wish our hairstylist will make us look like Jennifer Anniston with the shaggy cut eons ago, and always turned out..erm..well..). Which he actually did..and make me utterly devoted to him (ok..but with his price tag..maybe less so)

(ii) too impulsive

"Shorter", I told him.

Although he still made the final product looked much better than I envisaged when his scissors was halfway though his work, I was kicking myself for not holding the rein. Argh..I blame the weather. And the spot where I was sitting which obviously missed the aircon jets.

Now I have what I think is a cross between a secondary-school-cum-auntie-at-the-market haircut. I probably just have to act cooler-than-thou aka "super dao" look to NOT look like either.

Ok my hair really need to grow out faster this time round.

Newsworthy?

There is the flight disruptions which are causing havoc to international travel that affects major cities in Europe, not to mention a halt to all international movement of goods and people.

There is the unrest and violence in Bangkok, which looks to be escalating everyday without respite.

There is the earthquake in Yushu, China that looks like the reminiscence of Sichuan.

Yet...

one of the more sensational news in Singapore...

is...

name shaming and fingerpointing arising from one punch from a school boy from SAS in a heat of a moment during a rugby game.

- Does this show that hooliganism is on the rise in our school sports scene?

- Are our schools putting too much pressure on winning?

- Why are the parents of the injured boy so kan-chiong to make police report?

- Why hasn't the "elite school" made any comments?

- What about the other case whereby a affiliate school of the elite school injured another player in a neighbourhood school? That particular affiliated elite school still hasn't come forward to make any comments. Are we letting the "elite schools" getting away?

For goodness sake.

These are school boys. They were playing rugby. Although they were playing for their school in name, they probably played all out for pride and glory - for themselves, for their team. Things probably got a bit rough (it's rugby! Going by the pictures my ex-classmate showed me in JC on the bloodied men they so worshipped from the rugby playing nations, I think it's meant to be a bit on the rough side) and emotions probably over-ran with the tight scoreline of 7-6.

Denying the St Andrew boy of school colours and prohibiting him from playing for the school is probably bad enough. He now can only watch from the side line, see his team mates get due recognition at school graduation.

Many years down the road, depending on how things turn out, the boy, his victim and everybody from the team will be wondering why this thing drew so much hooha, probably either laughing it off or seeing it as one of the small episode in their lives.

Now, they published the boy's photo in the papers with his name in full.

I wonder why Straits Times find it newsworthy enough to carry the photo and name.

Give me a screwdriver

My left knee is screwed. I cant bend it beyond 90 deg and that is even when I was sitting on the office chair. Not sure if I should just wait for a few more days and see if it will go away (and live in denial in the meantime). I wonder if I should be glad that at least it doesn't hurt when I am wearing heels.

xxxxx

My eyebags are screwed. I stare at the comp for a good 12 hours a day or more, yet always try to find something to read, listen to, or do something online. Just something. Dunno why the concept of sleep is always so unappealing, when it should be the first thing on my mind.

xxxxx

My mind is screwed. I look at the world and see so many double standards - people choosing the argument based on what suits them or their aim, rather than doing what seems right. Yet I still believe that this world is fair, and things should be done the right way. Just that the "right way" is so different for everybody.

xxxxx

My bearings are screwed. The fog seems to have landed and getting thicker by the day. It feels that groping in the dark, inching my way around to prevent falling into any pitholes. Makes me want to hit out and hope to feel for something that will show the way moving forward.

Our local talents..

For those who read Sunday Times, you would probably have read about some of the local music talents who got noticed internationally from the self-made music videos on youtube.

One of them, Inch Chua's segment got her mentioning about free download of her music as she believes that music is to be shared freely (ok, this was quoted from memory and straitstimes website is giving me the craps..so I can't find the article online, so this was what I thought she mentioned).

That somehow runs contrary to how the music industry is gunning for more IP protection.

Anyhow, curious, I went to check out her website and downloaded (it's free!) (ok i better stop before I sound like some super cheapo).

I like the arrangements of some of her songs, like from The Bedroom EP, "Find, Fix and Save" and from the other Peace Love and Mistletoe EP, :"Home Alone with John Williams". Not as sultry like Zee Avi, but nice and refreshing, like something you would listen to when you are day dreaming...

But I still cannot figure out her statement - how is she going to earn her keeps for her creativity efforts when she is distributing her music freely?? OK maybe I gotto read up a bit more on wth is creative commons..this is a concept that is still elusive to me.

xxx

btw my backs and legs feel like they are breaking at the joints from the game just now, and I think my knees are swollen..so it's probably no heels for the next few days! :(

All cooped up

Damn. The monitor looking over the check in counter says "Originally scheduled: 10.15am / Delay". The one overlooking the other airline states "Originally scheduled: 9.30am / Delay 11.15am" I mumbled to my colleague, "This is not good..at least the other airline says what time the plane is coming.

And that led to 2 hours of waiting for the ^$%^& plane to reach the airport. I kicked myself for not bringing a thicker shawl or jacket. Who ever thought Macau would be chilly in April? It was real humid and hot last year I was here.

Flip through the current read but didn't want to finish it all up and leave me with nothing to do during the flight. So people watch a bit. Zomb out a bit..coming to one conclusion - We can be all Chinese, but we are just so distinctively different depending on where we come from - China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, USA. Needless to say, the loudest and easiest identifiable chinese are from..you know where (I can hear this auntie talking to her friend sitting beside her like 5 rows of seats away).

Finally when the plane came.. and that was the start of sitting for 3 and a half hour straight. Cramped between two persons. With not enough leg room. And with nothing to do after finishing up the book (it was quite a good read) , and ended up watching the paint dry off on the back of the seat in front of me (I managed to shave off about one hour dosing off a bit but I try not to droop my head onto the uncle sitting next to me), and hoping that my last lifeline the Ipod don't die on me.

If it really does, I may just start tearing my hair and start screaming at the top of my lungs just to rid myself of the claustrophobic feeling.

Just. So. Excruciating.

Argh.

I started counting down the last hour by flipping through the in-house magazine, reading through those segments which I passed when I read the same magazine on the in-bound leg. When I was done with that, I tried to suppress the urge to read the safety booklet as well. That will be too pathetic.

35 more mins to 4pm. Look at the ceiling. 28 more mins. Look at the auntie across the isle, dreaming up her possible tour of all the casinos she probably had been to. 24 mins. Wondering why the auntie waiting for her turn outside the toilet cubicle had bleached her hair which obviously is more appropriate for someone in the younger age bracket. 17. I wonder if the Tiger air stewardess had tried to apply to be an SQ stewardess before. Just a few more mins to go...and I tried to move my feet, disturbing the paper bag the uncle beside me and earning myself a nasty glare behind bifocal specs.

4pm. And we are still in the middle of no where cos I dont see land mass after peering at the small cutout hole of a window!!!!

I can feel myself growing grouchy. I then tried to imagine that I am a robot that can be powered down. I ended up just staring straight ahead trying not to think of anything. I think I must have looked quite maniac.

"Cabin crew, prepare for landing. 6 mins". I never heard anything as sweet.

I was so glad when the plane hit the tarmac. And when I walking down the staircase from the plane, I totally felt like a freed animal.

Now I can understand why somebody get heartburn just thinking about having to fly.

Sleeplessness

I officially survived on exactly 10 hrs sleep since Sunday night.

On Sunday, I laid on my bed at 10pm,only managed to nod off at 12mn, only to wake up again at 3, without any further respite until about 5am, when I wasn't even sure if I slept again or was in the nowhere twilight zone. The same thing happened last night, waking up at 4 oddish..tossing and turning before I decided to just get up.

And made salad.

From the late grocery shopping last night (Nothing is more therapeutic than walking down the aisle and making important decisions.. like do I really want the strawberry one? Microwave or panfried?)

Cut. Tear. Steam. Dice. By 6am, I had 4 lunch boxes of salad, packed one into my lunch bag and tossed 3 into the fridge.

As the day light slowly seeping into the indigo sky, I opened up the cereal box and Meiji milk (full cream, no less) (yes, also from the grocery shopping), and started munching on the cereal reading the papers. At the back of my mind, I wonder if the cereal have any more nutritional value than the box it came in. But what the heck. I'm bought into the consumerism of breakfast cereal ("Start Your Day Great with XXXXX Cereals!").

By 7, it's the official time to start the day..after mustering enough will to drag myself off the chair and into the shower.

By 8, I was ready to face the world again.

xxxxxx

12 hours later, I feel like I am jetlagging from a different time zone.

Maybe I really had been transported to a different place now. Just that I am not sure if I had came out to a new one, or regressing into somewhere from the past.

I see some sinister dark shadows though.

xxxxxx

I can't believe I got to get up at 3am tomorrow.

The Wallflowers - 6th Avenue Heartache

One of the albums which I found randomly on my Ipod, and wonder why I hadn't played it more often, as I was dredging down the SLE-KJE (damn, Seng Kang is far) on a rainy saturday afternoon.

I wonder what happened to them.

Hockey season is here! (again!)

Technically speaking, it started like last week, the last weekend of March, but our first game was today.

Well, today AND tomorrow. Back to back games for the first weekend. In fact, we are gonna have 3 weekends with 6 back to back games (which means I will have 3 very miserable Mondays - think I have to forewarn my colleagues a bit before they do something that gets their heads bitten off unintentionally.)

New pitch, new team. 12 years playing (i think..or was it 13? I lost track) the league. Sometimes you wonder why you still get excited when season starts.

At least we are off to a good start. 4-2 is a good score but I was more relieved that the "new" team can work out on the pitch.

I wonder if I can still walk properly tomorrow though.. sigh.