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Sunday, August 15th, 2010
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This Journal is soon going to be Friends Only. That is, I'm slowly friend-locking my past entries. Slowly, cause I'm a little lazy.
And hopefully, there'll be nice picture too. As soon as I finally whip out Photoshop and use my um, mad l33t photoshop skillz.
So comment to be added.
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Monday, September 6th, 2004
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Just finished Collateral. Mildly entertaining, even amusing at some places, but utterly predictable. Tries to be deep and philosophical and all that, but is merely laughable and kinda unclear. Ah well. Ending is the drabness you can expect. But action is kinda nice.
I think I'll go read some fic now.
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Monday, August 30th, 2004
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After a non-stop 18 hour Sing-NY flight and then a 4 hour drive from NY, am finally back in DC. Well actually, have been since thursday night, but alas, stupid comcast has somehow screwed up the cable, so have not been able to go online. Am now on dial-up as a stop gap measure. But anyway, am still jetlagged, and am very irritated with my inability to sleep regularly. But things have been nice. Read a lot, including Sharon Shinn's new YA fan novel. Have to say that it lacked the angst or romance that Sharon Shinn is so great at (prolly because it was YA). But there were moments where it had a lil feeling of Castles which was great, but it is a pale comparision. And Sharon Shinn really shouldn't try to do the mystery-intrigue thing, remember Wrapped in Crystal. Anyway, had lots of fun at Lauren's friday night before she left for college, but a little sorry wasn't able to see that good bad-cute movie. Me and Mrs. Jones, was it? Ah well, anyway, will be hanging out here all week, nothing going on really except my refusal to study math. And will probably leave for Penn on friday if things go as planned.
Have also watched too much olympics for my own good. Also didn't know that there were so many types if gymnastics. And that guy who attacked Lima really ought to be shot, and Lima is my new hero, and the little aeroplane thing he did in the end was really touching.
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Wednesday, August 25th, 2004
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Just finished a great book, Japser Fforde's The Eyre Affair. An interesting look at rewriting literature. A story within a story, well more like frames within a frame. And the usage of Jane Eyre. Simply delightful. How the plot turned out the way it turned out, the plot twists and such. Oh and of course, the question of how wrote Shakespeare's plays is cleverly answered and not answered at the same time. And the puzzling look at time-travel (unlike the totally believe one of Connie Willis, who I must say has great pacing). And the way literature is viewed, and changes to plot lines, and the lines between reality and fiction, and the effects of changes. All very interesting indeed. Hmmmm, I'm being very confusing, but oh well, I can't really be bothered right now, maybe I'll come back and clean it up and actually organize my thoughts. Though if I did that, you probably won't be reading this because I would have deleted it, or otherwise I may have left it as a disclaimer, or maybe I have already edited it and you'll never know (not that you particularly care, I suspect). Obviously I've been reading for too long and the book is still on my mind.
Anyway, I must reread Jane Eyre. Well, at least, read it unabridged for um, *lowers voice* the first time. Read it, I guess, basically not the kid's version or the sci-fi version (though, Go Sharon Shinn! for her really great interpretation). Hmmmm, okay, off to read the second or third book of the series (since I bought a pack of three). Or maybe I should start The Simoqin Prophecies which seems like a really funny fantasy spoof, apparently the first sci-fi fan novel in English from India. And my brother's bugging me to let him read it first, but he might kinda totally destroy the book in the way which actually isn't really destructive in that sense and probably is normal wear and tear and not so bad to other pple but which irritates the hell out of me, because I am anal like that and I happen to like my books in perfect condition. (Eg. No creases in the spine, or wears on the edges of the cover, or scratches on the side of the book, and don't even think about doggie ears.) But anyway, maybe I should start Juliet Marillier's latest novel Wolfskin which is out in paperback! (at least in Britain) But I'm not sure if I can handle the emotional trauma that I'm sure will ensue. Oh, I also have the collection of Ender short stories (also British ed) to read. In any case, Yay for british editions of non-US writers which come out so much faster! As you can I see I went to Border's yesterday and boy are the books more expensive, at least relative to the US. One paperback cost about 17-21 dollars sing! And together, my brother and I, must have spent about 119 dollars! But anyway, I am now suitably entertained in the near future, armed with new books and fan fic!
Life is good.
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Monday, August 23rd, 2004
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You know what?
The fic is great.
I just feel so happy.
*content sigh*
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Saturday, August 21st, 2004
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| Time: | 6:15 pm. |
| Mood: | Impervious. |
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Grrrr... I am so filled with nervous energy, tension not released. From watching too much sports, from random stuff. But I will be impervious! IMPERVIOUS! I tell you. And I won't procrastinate anymore, I'll sit down and do my math... uh, starting tomorrow, cause we're going to dinner and I don't want to work after it. Okay, I will do my math, otherwise all my plans will be ruined, ruined I tell you. Okay, the melodrama, but seriously, I need to do this. Damn math placement test. Damn tight curriculum that won't let me take the classes I want. Bleh. Impervious! Okay, I shall stop now.
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Thursday, August 19th, 2004
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| Subject: | Memes Galore |
| Time: | 12:53 pm. |
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My angst tastes like...
Lime
Find your angst's flavor
Sour yet intriguing, your angst is of the romantic variety. You probably spend a good portion of your time daydreaming about that one person you want, how your first date would be, how you'd love to do certain things, and above all how everlastingly happy you would be together. While there's nothing wrong with this, you know that it's unhealthy to spend too much time dreaming and not enough time in reality, and to build lofty goals and fantasies that no actual person could ever hope to achieve. Try to center yourself and cut back on time spent in your fantasy life; you may find out all that experience creating romantic moments has made you quite the charmer if you would only try!
Okay, gotta dash.
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Tuesday, August 17th, 2004
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Yay! Susilo rocks my socks!
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Monday, August 16th, 2004
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Woot! Ronald Susilo won against Lin Dan! The top seed in badminton!!! YAAAAAY! I thought he was done for, cursed the luck we had for being pitted against the first seed. But he won! We don't suck! I think Lin Dan is gonna get it bad from China.
Okay, shall stop now.
Also have been watching women's gymnastics obsessively for some reason beyond comprehension. Saw Khorkina do the uneven bars and it was absolutely amasing. Everything seemed so effortless and graceful. So many of the gymnists seem so forced. Also, they all look so young. See the north korean pple?
Anyway, have also finished all my meds (the mandatory ones at least)... no more 8 hour after food cycles that were a pain in the ass. Yay again.
Okay, bye.
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Friday, August 13th, 2004
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Screw it. Food, here I come.
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| Subject: | Foooood... Just want fooood. |
| Time: | 12:38 pm. |
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You know, I think I’ve been very good with the whole wisdom teeth thing. But I’ve had just about it. The thing about this whole situation that completely and utterly irks and frustrates me is my not being able to eat. Honestly, I don’t care about the constant changing of cold compress. I don’t care about the popping of pills. I don’t care that I have a headache that may or may not be due to the cold pak tied around my head constantly. I don’t even mind the slight nausea I feel.
But I just want to eat food.
I want French Fries and fish balls, fried chicken and salad. I want to eat the noodles I saw the rest of the family have for dinner last night. I want pizza.
I just want to be able to eat dammit. Screw this whole let’s keep your mouth clean and this means you can’t have any food, just liquid stuff and what not. Urrgggh. I want French fries. I want fast food; I want the bbq chicken strip salad at Apple Bee’s. I want ribs.
Hell, I don’t even want ice cream anymore, or porridge, or whatever random fruit blend. I want French fries.
I want that red quey with the peanut fillings. I wanna try that pastry my brother had for breakfast. I want to eat taiyaki and katsudon and unagi; I want that sansai udon I had last year. I want to eat that kaya waffle. I’ll take anything with kaya spread on it. I want to eat some bah quah. I want to have lasagna from Pasta Fresca, oh, and, and some of that prosciutto di parma sauce; I want to have that fettuccini with chicken and pesto pine nuts from Maggiano’s.
I want time to miraculously speed up so that I am magically completely recovered so that I can eat anything I want.
I just really want French fries right now.
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Wednesday, August 11th, 2004
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Today was the joyous day of my wisdom tooth extraction operation. (Yeah, really now.) Where they knocked me out and proceeded to extract fours teeth from the far recess of my mouth. I think the thing didn't take very long--the whole hospital trip including prepping and paperwork and recovery etc. lasted about 3-4 hours, basically in by morning, out by lunch. So I dressed in the funky hospital gown and answered the same set of questions to around 10 people. (My last meal and drink was dinner. No, am not allergic to any medication, that I know of…) The last thing I remember was breathing in the oxygen mask and my vision unable to focus. Then I had a dream where I vaguely remember talking to someone about something. The next thing I knew I heard the nurses chatting away about MCs and what not. Was very dizzy and weak, and generally disoriented.
So, a few hours later, am sitting in the house, with a cold compress wrapped around my face and cheeks. There’s a hand towel of sorts tied around my chin and compress, encircling my head, so that there's a huge knot on top of my head. Yes, I look fabulous, the absolute height of fashion. Really. At least I can talk pretty well (for now), so have managed to stave off teasing from brother. The swelling hasn't started yet, but I'll be sure to look forward to it.
You know, they really scare you about the risks of general anesthetic and the operation in general—how you might vomit and how you could loose sensation in your lower lip (though they assured me that risk is very lower since am young after all). Well, I can kinda feel my lip, but I think the anesthetic around my tongue hasn’t worn out yet. Also, is kinda weird, because in Singapore, you are counted as underage until your twenty-one, so I needed my mom’s signature of lots of stuff.
Anyway, mainly what I'm trying to do now is to discover some new and hopefully long (as well as good) Josh/Donna fics, since I've basically read a lot of the old ones. I think this area of the fan fiction writing world is kinda dead, since most of the fics I've read were written in 2001/2002. Anyway, am also trying to decide if I want to finish up my West Wing DVDs, either that or watch Firefly or SG1, since my cousin has the first 3 seasons. Decisions, decisons.
Ooh, ooh, something really cool. My cousin is going to be the torch bearer in the Olympics. One of eight! That’s so amazing. He’s a great sailor, almost finished 2nd in the world, if not for some biased judges. So he’s in Athens right now (or at least on the plane). Hehehe.
Also went to the National Day Parade couple days ago. Very spiffy and cool. New singer of “Home” was quite good, but sounded a little girlish. Took lots of pictures. Over 200. Which reminds me, I really want to take photo this year at Penn, as I miss it lots. Definitely want to spend lots of time in darkroom. Only bad thing is that I’m not sure I can handle the extra class and workload. Also, will have lots of paperwork to fill—meet with Engineering advisor, then with Wharton one, fill out petition for each, yada yada yada. Meet with photo pple to prove that have taken photo before in high school, while probably have to whip out slides and binder and box. On another note, also need to meet with accounting pple, since need to get into filled section because of conflict.
You know, it’s a good thing I can semi-touch-type. Because my field of vision is severely limited due to compress and towel setup and I cannot see the keyboard.
Okay, need to go to bathroom. And also change my cold pack. Toodles.
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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
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| Subject: | House of Flying Daggers |
| Time: | 8:23 pm. |
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Okay, went to the movies to see House of Flying Daggers, and have to say that it is very pretty but the story is trite. I personally liked the premise a lot, for it had lots of promise to be extremely romantic and angsty. But I feel they kinda screwed that up with the triteness that could have been so much more.
So I was watching the show, and I kept wondering why that hot guy was so so familiar, and then when the ending credits rolled, it hit me that he was Kaneshiro Takeshi, and the reason why he is so familiar is because he is that guy from “The Returners.” The very amusing, so bad it’s kinda funny, movie shown in Anime Club with the transformer plane and weird aliens. ^_^ Oooooh!
As usual, since it is Zhang Yimou, the fighting was absolutely beautiful, and I really appreciated the battle in the bamboo forest. Or maybe it’s just that I’m a sucker for Bamboo.
The thing is, I didn’t really like how it ended. ( And my comments will now descend in to spoiler-dom because the end was just so… Let’s just say that somethings irked me. ) So all in all, I think that the wasted potential was a shame, because it defintitely had the possiblity to be so beautiful and to make me cry. Now it only makes me sad.
On a side note, everytime I see Zhang Ziyi or whoever tear up with a single stream of tears down her cheek, I can’t help but think of the Tiger Balm they must have placed under her nose or something to make her tear up. Hehehe.
Still the movie is very pretty! But as usual, I feel that the snow at the end was really random and blatantly for mood. Pathetic fallacy can do wonders for a scene, even as it is kinda clichéd. However, I don’t think it should not be so obvious.
And I didn’t really like how they left out some much in their subs, which wasn’t very good, because they didn’t fully grasp the meaning from the Chinese words and left out lots of details. Here and there, some emotional impact is lost if you do not understand Chinese. Little things, little mannerisms that actually mean a lot was left out because of the cursory translation.
On another and final side note, one really amusing thing happened (to me, at least). As we were driving, we passed by the Singapore Philatelic Museum. And I was like, “Oooh! Philately! Hehe!” I’ve definitely been reading too much West Wing fan fiction. But Josh and Donna are really OTP! Yay.
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| Subject: | What Has Happened, A Hero Sidenote. |
| Time: | 12:49 am. |
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Okay, so inspired by Stine’s enthusiasm, I went off to buy the DVD of Hero to watch, or rather, I ended up getting the VCD because I didn’t really want to spend all that much on it. And I also saw the US trailer at Stine’s direction (One question though, why is Quentin Tarantino’s name there? Except for marketing purposes of course. He had nothing to do with the movie. Geez.) I digress, so I will say that I enjoyed the movie a lot and that that it is very very pretty. But I do have a few quips:
The thing is, as with all historical fiction, that you always more or less know what will happen, or at least, what won’t. So for me at least, there wasn’t much tension on whether Qin ShiHuang would die by Wu Ming’s hand, after all, didn’t he die by a disease or something on one of his inspections. Though there was a moment, where I did doubt for while, albeit with great disbelief.
But it was kinda amusing when they were talking about the 19 or 20 ways to write “sword” and Qin ShiHuang was talking about how maybe he should unify it to one written script. *wink wink nudge nudge* I would go on, but do you really want to go on about the six main great things that he did?
On a side note, I did pass by Qin ShiHuang’s grave in XiAn when we went to see the Terracotta soldiers that he ordered for his grave. Really amazing; they are all different, all 8000 found at least. But Qin ShiHuang really was a great emperor, if a little obsessed about his death/afterlife/preparations and such. After all, till today, they are still unable to open his tomb, for fear of all the traps he’s laid out, breaking the water layers/aquifers, mercury poisoning, etc etc. Hell, he practically created a whole mountain to house his tomb. Again, you can see that I got the whole spiel from the tour guide.
Anyway, back to the movie--the movie was beautiful, but it didn’t really move me. I guess I didn’t really connect with the characters. Though the actors were great, but I guess it was all a little too contrived. I really like Jet Li, ever since Huang Fei Hong. *insert music here* Also, Tony Leung (I’ve definitely seen him before but can’t remember where) and Maggie Cheung (I still remember watching TianMiMi so so long ago ^_^) were wonderful as Chan Jian and Fei Xue. Though all Zhang ZiYi did was weep and scream about her zhuren which in a way was kinda amusing seeing her do it over and over again. (On a side note, word choice of zhuren is a little iffy in my opinion, but hey, I don’t know much. To my uneducated sensibilities, this master thing is kinda weird, and I would be more comfortable if she said something like shifu.)
But fighting was spectacular, and the shifts in emotion and color between the different battles were artfully done. Everything was so vibrant. Though some of the scenes seemed a little contrived *cough ginko leaves fight cough* and were a bit over done. But that hardly detracted at all. But Zhang Yimou is a great director, and if anything, this movie made me want to go on a mad Chinese period drama spree/marathon. I think I’ll go watch the current movie he has out, House of Flying Daggers or something of that sort, but apparently it’s more commercial and less artsy. Though there is Andy Lau for some eye candy. ^_^U (And once again, Zhang Ziyi is appearing everywhere.)
One thing though I wonder about Hero, what they would have done without all the billowing sleeves and robes?
Oooh oooh by the way, when I was at XiAn, I went to the place that honored the actual monk Xuan Zang from the Journey to the West story. Much of a fan I am of Xiyouji/Saiyuki, I didn’t know it was based on an actual monk that traveled alone to India, stayed there for seventeen years, returned and translated so much of the scriptures. Hehehe… Someone just made up the monkey king and the pig guy (can’t remember his name; in fact, the only name I remembered was Sun Wukong, which is kinda sad.).
I really should rant less about the movie, and record more about my trip. (I have taken over 400 pics, since a digital cam helps feed my trigger happiness.) Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow. And maybe, just maybe, my typing and writing skills, grammar, and general coherency will have returned by then, and this godawful unstructured poorly writen piece of.. of... train of thought will be revised or something (because I'm too tired to do so right now). Let us hope.
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| Subject: | What Has Happened, Part 1 |
| Time: | 3:58 pm. |
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Okay, lots of things have happened. Kinda, I think. So, I'm sitting here in Singapore, in the home of my extended family, though in total, I have met only one cousin, one uncle, and one aunt. The keyborard that I am using has a really weird shift key, so I have to press extra hard for it to work, and it is kinda disconcerting. So I am decide to eschew any form of capitals if I get to irritated. Anyway, spent a week in China (Beijing and Xi An to be exact), and boy was it tiring. One good thing was that I did not suffer from any jetlag, despite the twelve hour time difference. I think it was partly due to my going to bed around 3 in DC anyway (and I didn't sleep the night before the 7am flight). Anyway, I will elaborate more, either in a seperate entry or condensed into this one, but I am afraid this computer will shut down anytime now (as it has a tendency to do so at random and most inoportune times). That is all, for the moment, and I will leave you with something I read in a friend's AIM profile that amused me to no end (well, actually, I won't go that far, but it is still amusing nonetheless):
"think smart, act blur"
- trustworthy singaporean saying
BLUR
Used to describe someone as rather inept or in a world of his own. May also be used to describe the feeling of being dazed. A common usage is "Blur like sotong".
1. Such a simple thing also cannot do. You damn blur!
2. Wah lao, I do maths, do until blur, man.
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| Time: | 1:59 am. |
| Mood: | Even More Random.... |
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From dictionary.com:
geek n. Slang A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.
Your karma ran over somebody's dogma.
Looking for a moment that'll never happen,
Living in the gap between past and future.
-- Kate Bush, "Love and Anger"
It's not even that late, but I'm feeling kinda quirky and random. Hehehe...
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| Time: | 1:56 am. |
| Mood: | Random. |
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This has to be one of the silliest misconceptions around and it never seems to die.
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Saturday, July 24th, 2004
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Just finished the first too eps of Otogizoushi, and I really really Like it. I like the background painting style, very periodish. Premise is intersting too. (Though I have seen a lot of female cross-dressing Period Dramas, but I still am not sure how it will turn out.) I like the opening song a lot, though it's a bit on the weird side, very catchy though. Art seems okay, but like I said before, love the background. Very VERY promising.
On another note, Sprakly Star Dust!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hehehe.
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I am also kinda confused.
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