Most days of the year are unremarkable

happy bear

2011-08-03T12:53:00.005+08:00

I've been a happy bear this week because I've finally settled housing, finally gotten down to looking at the modules i'm taking next sem and making sure i can graduate by next year, finally got to finish this drama i have been meaning to finish, finally started on 100 years of solitude which is mind blowing btw and started shopping for stuff to smuggle back to the usa.

This sweltering heat is making me drown in drowsiness i swear. Giving me lots of motivation to chop off my hair too haha. but i still need a lot more courage, super chicken when it comes to cutting hair.

Can't think of any more updates so till then :)

Ramble

2011-07-30T00:58:00.004+08:00

I've been so forgetful lately it has convinced me that there's a black hole somewhere in my brain. Like how I demanded that the cashier at GongCha give me my receipt so i can have the collection number, only to find it in my wallet. If i was a guy, she might have thought that was the worst pick-up attempt ever.

Anw, my internship ended today! Which means summer is ending and yet kinda beginning at the same time. Going to Melb to visit the sister which means philips island and road trips and... TIM TAMS. The cold weather should be a good break from Singapore's choking humidity, although i stupidly left all my winter clothes back in US D:

Met up with cherry and wilbert after work today and i made the biggest discovery of my life. Okay this is really embarrassing but to let everyone who is feeling dumb feel better about themselves, here goes..

I freaking thought drumstick = thigh meat (context: we were having dinner at KFC). And I was scolding Cherry for eating the breast meat and not the drumstick when she told me she wanted the thigh part for her chicken. Ya, she was actually eating the correct part of the chicken. Omg so yes, for 21 years of my life, i never thought the thigh part actually existed. i always thought drumstick was like... THE ENTIRE CHICKEN LEG OR SOMETHING. Sigh, I must have forced so many people to eat drumsticks when they were asking for thigh meat.

End of story. People, you can now feel better about yourself and rejoice that I never became a doctor or something.

Some say to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter

2011-07-22T17:30:00.000+08:00

Today, I realized how shielded and terribly lucky being a student (or child in general) is. Responsibility and commitment don’t mean a thing until they actually come with real consequences. The label of a student makes everything so much more forgivable, mistakes often attributed to the innocence and ignorance of age. That too prevents us from beating ourselves up after every mistake made. It is kind of a given that children make mistakes, isn’t it?

And then we grow up and out of the immunity of age. We feel raw, exposed and vulnerable. Every mistake, even the small ones, seems so jarring and inexcusable, because they can no longer be wiped off with a detention or a letter of repent. There are the smirking colleagues waiting for you to fall, the kind ones who shower you with empathy and understanding that ironically cuts your skin even more.

We soon find a new skin to cover this naked vulnerability. Maybe it is the insight that things are often not that bad in retrospect, and might not even matter in the greater scheme of life. Perhaps it is the moment of epiphany when one realizes life is not about external affirmation or vain achievements. It takes years for some and a lifetime for others. I’m not even sure if it exists but I get a certain comfort when I see my parents unflinchingly rejecting the steak that has not been cooked to perfection while I gaze at the floor awkwardly. It convinces me that there are things that I might not know how to do yet, but that somehow things will fall into place.

I think it comes when you realize that people don’t in fact care about you as much as you think they do. It probably helps too when you have had your reports and presentations ripped down to pieces multiple times. You will probably cry your eyes out and pronounce yourself the biggest idiot the first time. But you learn to let go after maybe 2, 3 or idk nth times... and from then on, it will never get to you again.

Finally, you are invincible.

Credits: Tumblr

i say maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me

2011-07-13T22:18:00.002+08:00

It's the twilight zone.

Not the creepy and all weird TV show.

Or the deepest part of the ocean till which light can penetrate.

It's the limbo that makes me feel all light like a bubble waiting to pop.

set you free

2011-07-07T23:46:00.003+08:00

There're so many things to do but the only thing i want to do now is clean up my itunes and update my playlists so that they have "nice" number of songs. By nice i mean rounded, pretty numbers (eg. 100)

Will go register for GRE/ buy GRE book/ look for apartment soon. promise.

gosh gonna be a hobo D:

when the lights go out

2011-07-04T22:36:00.002+08:00

MCR: Summertime

Most fitting song for summer 2011

Things will go my way

2011-06-24T23:27:00.002+08:00

Life should never be about what-ifs or what-could-have-been.

Ten years down the road all these things will seem so ridiculous and trivial... no?

There is no innocence more dangerous than the innocence of age

latest obsession

2011-06-20T21:11:00.005+08:00

credits: tumblr

Color my life with chaos

It feels like tonight

2011-06-19T21:21:00.003+08:00

I've been feeling quite tired recently. It comes in intense bouts of helplessness and honestly, nothing works anymore.

Need a good book.

THE BIG APPLE (AGAIN)

2011-06-07T17:27:00.007+08:00

Hi guys, true to my procrastinating spirit, I haven’t written about my US summer trip. Oh well, maybe I shouldn’t call it a summer trip. Happily packed so many summer dresses and sandals only to be greeted by below 10 degree temperature. grrr It is not global warming I swear—it’s the ice age that’s coming. Singapore could do with some freeze though! And maybe someone can buy me a dehumidifier too :)

So first up, the big apple! Hmm, actually I didn’t really do a lot of touristy stuff in NYC cause I’ve been there a couple of times and already saw the main attractions like Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge… We ended up having too much time (4 days) catered for New York so it was taking in the cosmopolitan vibe, scouring places for food and visiting the musuems to make us feel more artistic and inspired since NYC is afterall the city of art and fashion.

Okay so anw, took the 8am Amtrak train from DC to NYC after an almost sleepless night the day before cause I had to pack away my blanket and bed sheets for summer storage. DC and NYC are NOT THAT far away from each other, by US standards—not Singapore Jurong East to Changi standard lol. Honestly, I’m now quite thankful that SG is a little red dot cause it’s so much easier to get around, especially since I haven’t gotten my driving license. So it’s around 4-5 hours bus ride depending on the traffic and that’s the cheapest way to commute between the two cities without driving but obviously don’t expect lavish coach buses. The Chinatown buses are like the normal coach buses we take in pri school for school trips. Therefore, expect stiff necks and numbed legs and pray that you don’t sit behind inconsiderate passengers who recline their seats so much it would crush your legs and yet I’m always too paiseh to subject the passenger behind me to the same treatment. Anw, we decided we couldn’t take this torment so we took the train which surprisingly took almost four hours too. I expected like Japanese high-speed bullet trains lol but it was uhh damn slow. Train and air tickets are usually of comparable prices but I personally prefer the train cause no annoying security checks and stuffy ears and you get a little scenery too.

Reached NYC at around 12 and checked into the hotel. We stayed in a hotel in Long Island cause no money to stay in NYC. Haha But the area was so sketchy we were damn scared walking back at night. I was wearing a cap and stuff cause Qihan once told me that if we act sketchy enough, the real sketchy gangsters wouldn’t come near us. LOL But sounds logical right? :D Was famished so decided to get lunch at Shakeshack burger. MUST GO! I had a vegetarian burger cause everything was beef and I don’t like beef. THE FRIES ARE SUPER GOOD. The texture was amazing and it was of the right hardness-- not too hard and not too soggy as well. A lot of people were eating the custard too so I guess it must be quite yumz.

Shake Shack: 691 8th Ave New York, NY 10036

After that, we decided to walk to Central Park and ended up taking an hour nap there lol. It was really nice actually—kids at the playground, people playing baseball, couples on the rocks, friends picnicking, students studying for finals, artists capturing the moment… The whole combination felt so natural and… harmonious. Haha yaa that’s the first word that came to my mind.

Went to get dinner in Korean town after napping in central park. lol the korean town in nyc is not that big but I like that the shops are very concentrated in one area and therefore perfect for people with absolutely no sense of directional sense aka me. We had mandus (Korean dumplings) at this mandu shop and it was really good since it was all handmade and stuff. And very polite staff as well :) OH AND WE STUMBLED ACROSS MINI CUPCAKES ON OUR WAY THERE. it's called melissa's if i'm not wrong and their cupcakes are all miniature! Perfect size so you can try all the flavors without risking a heart attack.

Planned to go MOMA the next day but it was closed. lol apparently it's closed every Tuesday so don't make the same stupid mistake. Ended up walking around, (window) shopping due to limited luggage space, met up with cat in chinatown for bubbletea. Super overpriced in the states btw-- singaporeans should really appreciate the nice koi and gongcha here. Then braced the hot sun (blazing sun but terrible wind which makes for a damn weird weather which is hot in the sun and damn cold in the shade) to go visit the place WHERE THE MONEY IS- WALL ST :D It was really quite the American dream contained within a few blocks, with towering banks and everyone dressed up in Armani suits and Prada heels.

Third day was spent in MOMA! hmm okay i'm not exactly the artsy kind but i think MOMA has nice quirky stuff which makes it more interesting and not all that somber and forbidding like the usual museums. Also realized that I find traditional, aesthetically pleasing arts more appealing than the abstract and outlandish modern art.

favorite painting :) water lilies by Monet

Had gyro for lunch by the roadside and I SWEAR THEIR CHILLI (or rather hot sauce in US) IS SO AWESOME. Rare commodity in US where people think spicy is sweet. haha We ate from the vendor just behind MOMA. They are in yellow polo uniform and my friend said they are the best :D Highlight of the day is of course dessert. MUST TRY: BANANA PUDDING FROM MAGNOLIA BAKERY. I'm honestly not a fan of banana but this one had the perfect combination of cream and cake/bread? and the banana flavor didn't came up as overwhelming or overpowering.

Picture Credits: flickr

Magnolia Bakery | 401 Bleecker Street New York, NY 10014

Spent the night watching Phantom of the Opera which was awesome cause we got half price tics from TKTS! Makes watching broadway so muchhh more affordable. The only things is the discounted tics aren't sold online so would have to wait in the line for a bit!

So the trip to NYC was really chill, lots of nappings in parks and random gardens and a lot of food. Or rather a lot of food throughout the whole two weeks. haha Yelp is now my best friend. Someone once asked me if I preferred DC or NYC and apparently it shows your personality-- the former is more conservative while the latter is more liberal. Which makes a lot of sense right, since DC is all about power and institution while NYC is all about dreams, freedom and the individual :)

bye sophomore year

2011-05-09T11:25:00.004+08:00

So i finally pulled through hell week and survived the 6 finals in 3 days ordeal. Was basically drugged with tons of caffeine, suffering from insomnia and just force feeding my brain with so much information. Although I must admit I work much better when I procrastinate till the very last moment and the adrenaline starts pumping when I finally realize it's a do-or-die thing. So in all, I truly do deserve all this hell, since I was happily making trips to georgetown and watching MIDAS (DAMN NICE KOREAN DRAMA!) the past few weeks.

And i still can't believe second year of college has officially ended! Packed for 2 days, moved all the stuff to Brian's very prettaye apartment and all I have left with me now is a pillow, one bed sheet, no blanket for the night and 1 suitcase for traveling. Thought I would be used to this by now, all the hugs and goodbyes, an aching sadness intertwined with the excitement and slight apprehension of going home. Last year I couldn't wait to go home. This year, I am not ready to leave yet. I still wanna order food from panda at 11pm, perfect our terriyaki chicken recipe, run to crepeaway, have random life talks in the middle of the night, have photo shoots, catch pokemon, dress up, be silly...

Nevertheless, won't be home till 25th may cause i'm finally going to travel for a bit before heading back to sunny island! Made a little resolution and promise to myself and that is to write about each city I go to, because it's traveling for the soul and I don't wanna forget everything so quickly, cause that's simply how modern life is.

V for vendetta

2011-05-02T11:56:00.008+08:00

OSAMA IS DEAD!

okay oh well, like anybody thought he would still be alive after practically no news and no new video footage of him after so long. But still, yay for America and Obama! Maybe he might get reelected after all loll.

So, I shall blog a little to commemorate the day that will go down in US history as the big triumph against terrorism. Was walking back from Stef's room after dinner and some studying and the streets usually filled with drunk, stumbling students are now packed with throngs of excited faces, with the sweetness of vendetta written all over their faces. There was this guy running to the white house with the US flag, screaming "USA, USA"-- people applauded him, cars stopped for him and some others even joined in the run. All the youthful hype and adrenaline in the air make this historic moment all the more intoxicating and triumphant.

Well, this made me think about the upcoming Singapore General Elections and the throngs of videos and status updates about George Yeo, Nicole Seah, TPL and what-not on Facebook. The great political awakening among Singaporeans? haha okay, i honestly think it's only healthy and essential for a young democracy to have a growing and more vibrant civil society. But everything in excess would be detrimental and unstable. I don't know why but i feel that while there's certainly more political discussion going on, Singaporeans' political commentary seems to be overly cynical and demanding. Maybe it is true that people only appreciate what they have after losing it, like how you would appreciate your ability to walk after being paralyzed for a week, like how you would only appreciate the PAP after being ruled under an inefficient government. (argument from analogy is not exactly the best form of argument i know hehe) There is a great tendency towards collective forgetfulness and it's a dangerous social phenomena. Hopefully one day we see Singaporeans not simply having petty discussions online but also demonstrating the sort of passion and patriotism shown so innocently and clearly in the Americans now-- all charged and ready to listen to Obama at the White House. Sometimes all we need is a little passion and love for the country :)

eros, philia, agape

2011-04-28T08:12:00.004+08:00

Got distracted while studying for finals and saw this picture. It's very subtly filled with (all kinds of) love. Hint: background, not foreground.

Why u so funny

2011-04-25T08:06:00.002+08:00

Funny conversation with my daddy hahaha. Made my shitty day while I'm desperately trying to finish my last paper so i can finally... STUDY FOR FINALS.

hao lian

hi ying