I Have Cry!

Dear Fans,

I just wanted to reach out to all of you and explain some of the things that I have been faced with recently.

It's so funny how many stories are put out there about people. It's like we all want our side of the story out there as well, but at the end of the day only a few people care to hear what is really going on since the bad is always so much more interesting than the truth. I don't know why, but this is so weird to me. I used to be angry at the tabloids for printing horrible things about me, but now I try to just be numb to what I see. I saw Tyra Banks once get really upset and cry on her show because they made her look fat. We all want a certain image of ourselves out there, and at some point we all do really care what other people think or we wouldn't be here.

Recently, I was sent to a very humbling place called rehab. I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. I was like a bad kid running around with ADD. I had a manager from a long time ago come in and try to direct me and my life after I got my divorce. I was so overwhelmed I think that I was in a little shock too. I didn't know who to go to. I realized how much energy and love I had put into my past relationship when it was gone because I genuinely did not know what to do with myself, and it made me so sad. I confess, I was so lost.

This letter is to not place blame on anyone, although I do see the world with a completely different set of eyes now. Being in that vulnerable state and taken to dinners and parties with friends and finding out later you paid for everything was a huge learning lesson for me. I think the whole problem was letting too many people into my life. You never know another persons intentions or what another person wants. I feel I was too open and looking for answers when I had it all to begin with. I have had to cut so many people out of my life. It is so sad, because if anyone is a family person...it is me. When I was little I remember every night watching movies with my family and feeling so at peace. Dancing and singing all the time just like a little girl should. Now recently I find with my children that I want them to have that feeling all of the time. I am having to face a lot of things right now since I have children of my own. A lot of insecurities from when I was little are coming up again. It is like we are never good enough.

I know everyone thinks that I am playing the victim, but I am not and I hate what is going on right now so much. Maybe this is the reason for this letter...to maybe allow people to look at me differently. It is like when you are a real woman and say what you feel and how you think things are supposed to be, that people just say you are a "bitch."

I feel like some of the people in my life made more of some issues than was necessary. I also feel like they knew I was beginning to use my brain for a change and cut some ties, so they wanted to be in more control of my life than me. I think it is actually normal for a young girl to go out after a huge divorce. I think it was a bigger issue because I had not gone out in such a long time. I am 25 and I do still have a lot to learn, and I am going to make mistakes everyday, and I am sure every mistake I make will probably be on CNN or Good Morning America. I am only human people and I love you for still loving me.

I am sitting here at home and it is 6:25 and both of my sons are asleep. I am truly blessed to have them in my life. Everyday is so surreal. Life in general is so surreal and crazy.

I just hope this letter made some of you think a little bit more of me and where I am coming from. I just want the same things in life that you want...and that is to be happy. It is just so weird because everyone has their own perception of me and how they think I really am. It is so weird how stories are told. There is your side, my side, and the truth. Somebody has to figure it out. I guess we will never really understand or figure out life completely. That's God's job. I can't wait to meet him...or her.

Love, Britney

Quote of the month...
It is ok to disagree with people regarding certain issues. You're not being true to yourself if you succumb to others opinions because you feel guilty.

So sad! Especially the parts I highlighted. =(

Cafe Del Mar

The Samazozis descended on Sentosa today. It's changed so much since my last visit, almost 4 years ago! I did go to ZoukOut last year but that was really late at night and I couldn't look around very much. The last time I was actually there in the day was sometime during J1. Anyway we went to Cafe Del Mar and relaxed on the sofa beds outside, under the scorching sun. Being the genius I am, I neglected to pack trunks/towels and was thus rendered pretty much inpotent, lying under the shaded part of the bed (so as not to pespire too much) grumpily reading my book, whille Meng and Wei Ren were free to roam the premises and the beach...although Miss Ong apparently declined to step into the filthy sea water, something which Wei Ren made sure to emphasisze later on.

Had 2 Magaritas and a platter of fish and chips for like...40 dollars plus. I suppose it's ok to splurge a little once in a while. That's part of enjoying life right?

Headed to the gym later, with many of the usual characters there to entertain. Haha.

Will certainly be heading back to CDM one of these days, once I've procured a SLEEK digital cam and a sleek pair of trunks. Hmph.

Should I go for Law Camp? I'm not one for cheesy events - certainly not 5 days and 4 nights of cheering and screaming and general rah-rah-ing - but I do think it's a good opportunity to get to know people...what kind of people is a good question.

LOSERS.

Haha no la. I hope not.

I Want A Life That Is Mine

And not dependent on the schedules of others.

I do envy people who have hectic schedules and actually need organisers.

Not my 'let's-have-an-organiser-so-I-can-convince-myself-that-I-lead-a-fulfilling-life' one.

This is the umpteenth weekend I find myself at home with nothing to do.

Is it sad that my weekdays are more enjoyable/memorable than my weekends are nowadays?

And when more than half the people I know do go overseas for their studies later this year, are even my weekdays to be so unbearable?

I want a life that is mine.

A fulfilling, rewarding life, without the bitterness I've been feeling the past few days.

La Simonina Hot 20

Ok this chart is urm...1 month and 18 days overdue, but here it is, in all it's trashy glory!

Current Previous Title Artist Spins
1 1 Hung Up Madonna 167 (+3)
2 2 My Only Wish This Year Britney 109 (+0)
3 6 Irreplaceable Beyonce 106 (+26)
3 3 A Public Affair Jessica Simpson 106 (+3)
5 8 We Belong Together Mariah Carey 105(+31)
6 4 Jump Madonna 87 (+3)
6 7 Get Right (Remix & Original) Jennifer Lopez 87 56&31 (+9)
8 - The Sweet Escape Gwen ft. Akon 85 NA
8 5 Sorry Madonna 85 (+2)
10 9 Just Want You To Know BSB 78 (+6)
10 - U + Ur Hand Pink 78 NA
12 10 One Mary J Blige ft. U2 72 (+3)
13 19 Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) Pink 69 (+12)
14 17 Outrageous (Original & Remix) Britney 68 61&7 (+9)
14 12 SOS Rhianna 68 (+4)
16 12 Since U Been Gone (Original & Remix) Kelly Clarkson 67 52&15 (+3)
16 14 Nothing In This World Paris Hilton 67 (+4)
18 14 Fall To Pieces Avril Lavigne 66 (+3)
18 - Not Ready To Make Nice Dixie Chicks 66 NA
18 11 Get Together Madonna 66 (+1)

The three songs that we say bye bye to are Hips Don't Lie (63, +1), L.O.V.E (Remix & Original) (60, +1) and Extraordinary (65, +8).

Right...what a mess of a list. So many ties and such. Hung Up is still number one and My Only Wish is amazingly still number two (barely) although I haven't played it even once since the last chart - well it is a Christmas tune. Just wait till October and it will shoot up again! Beyonce madness continues, what with the Beyonce parties and Trevvy and the release of the B'Day DE and all this ensures that Irreplaceable climbs to third spot. Mariah was stagnant positions-wise on my last chart but leaps into the top 5. I will honestly never get sick of that song it's just great. An elegant yet epic ballad if there ever was one.

Get Right continues to hold steady. Still loving the horns! And Gwen makes a big splashy debut at number 8 with The Sweet Escape which I loved the moment I heard it on radio. BSB holding strong too due to a renewal of interest on my part in the song, and would you look at Pink charging in at number 10. If I'm not wrong she just missed out on the previous chart and has just been slowly going from strength to strength. Just like in the US. U + Ur Hand was the little train that could. It started off slowly and rose slowy, almost losing it's bullet several times, but enduring, and then recently it's charged all the way to number one (on CHR Pop). That's what a great song does. It certainly deserves the success it has had. In the States and on the Simonina chart.

The other Pink song, Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) also rises to number thirteen although I am a little sick of it. Outrageous...I didn't think it'd make it up to fourteen to be honest. Didn't feel like I've been playing it too much. Can't wait for new Britney. Sigh. Not Ready To Make Nice makes a nice debut at joint eighteen. Love the song. Get Together is just blah to me now, it's going to drop out by the time I publish my next chart...unless I meet someone I like or something, as was the case with Fall To Pieces on the previous chart. And guess what...we did fall to pieces.

Songs to watch out for. Extraordinary! I know it just fell out, but this is the kind of song that I may just start playing obsessively again soon (and I have been playing it recently). Upgrade U is somewhere there too. I thought it would have made it to this chart but somewhere along the line I just went "eh". It's a good song la but I guess I'm Beyonced out for now. Mmm. Umbrella certainly will be on the next chart, as will 4 In The Morning. Also worthy of mention is Say Somethin'. I have two versions, the original and the Morales mix, and it JUST missed out on the previous chart as well as this one. As in, seriously, by one spin. And it is a song I do play now and then so you never know.

See you again in 3 months!

2 + 1

It's been 2 months and 1 day since I started work on 19th March. While there are times I've been annoyed, desperate (for ideas that is) and bored, it's been mostly great because I'm working with Mengsy (although I'm not sure how he takes to working - or rather not working - with La Simonina around) and we have so much fun. Insulting the munchkin, making fun of the BBB, humiliating Shirlyn Tan, meeting UNIVERSAL people to talk about Rhianna, SPILLING COFFEE at said meeting on Miss 'let's decorate an umbrella at the club', talking in high-pitch voices 75% of the time, subjecting each other to INANE music, teasing WEI REN and NENA, obsessing over MIRABELLA, choosing between x and y (with some interesting choices I must say), singing like raved lunatics in the miniscule lift, throwing things at each other in the office (apparently some of the things thrown at me are still on the floor), taking UNFLATTERING pictures of each other (a game which I started but have now lost...terribly), watching trashy Hilary Duff and Beyonce music videos, imitating the HEY HEY YOU YOU video, shrieking like banshees for all the wrong reasons...oh gosh it's really been fun!

And we do get work done ok. So maybe if we just cut the crap we could get much more done but hey, I deliver what I'm paid to do. Nothing more.

And I've also been lucky to have gotten a whole bunch of freebies. Let's see...

MOVIE SCREENINGS
-The Hitcher
-Priceless
-Next
-Infamous
-Amazing Grace

CDs
-Gwen's Sweet Escape
-Duff's Dignity - pickitup, pickitup
-Olivia's new-age nonsense which I haven't bothered to open
-Amy's Back To Black (Black NOT BASICS)
-Elton's Definitive Hits
-Jennifer's Como

PLAYS
-Blithe Spirit
-The Swimming Instructor

GALA OPENINGS/EVENTS
-Singapore Fashion Festival Media Pass - local one la
-Bice

Not to mention the express entry to clubs (and copious amounts of alcohol and champagne), meetings with lotsa people from the music industry (and the queer community), carte blanche entry to various "events" - like the flop HIV/AIDS thing at The Loof last night, complementary food at PitchBlack which I'm glad was free because it tasted so bad...oh yes and many many notebooks.

It has expanded my horizons somewhat, although I'll always remember it for the sheer fun I've had. So I've got another month plus to go before my time is done...who knows what will happen over the next couple o' months?

Sweet Suga CandyFLOP

Like the past 3 Christina singles, my features for Trevvy seem to be flopping faster than you can say "Candyman". In terms of hits. First Pitch Black. And now my latest feature on wakeboarding doesn't look like it's off to a good start. I've already tried to make the headline as sensational as possible. It's not my fault that most readers are only interested in sex/pornography/relationships/what makes them gay...as if it makes any difference. Basically, they only ever care for trivial tripe. But that does beget the question - should we then cater to these heathen masses? I don't know really. "It's all about the branding." Well honey, your brand's not gonna be worth nothing without any audience.

Anyway, after 2 weeks, I've finally gotten hold of the pictures from Labour Day weekend. Actually they're only from the first night at Play, a.k.a the infamous night where I ended up having to be driven home, limping up to my apartment, and puking in the toilet. I wasn't gone when these pictures were taken, but as you can see from the second one, I was well on my way.

Menghanna and I. We ended the night in two very different places. He found a new squeeze and I found the tongue of a random stranger. Tragic.

Right now, I'm not feeling too perky. Family stuff. Every few years, something always has to screw up in the Huang family. Maybe it's God trying to test our faith or something (and at the rate I've been going recently, let's just say that my faith may just as well have been lost in the Hollywood Hills, although the recent Christian-esque dialogue I attended did comfort somewhat). It's just been on my mind and I can't seem to stop worrying. Part of me can't wait for next Thursday and part of me is terrified at what may transpire then. All part and parcel of life I suppose.

On a lighter note, I had delicious HOME MADE ICE-CREAM today which was like, totally cool. Like, so totally.

I've been reading Alan Dershowitz's 'America On Trial' and it's been a most addictive book. As much as I like reading, I'm not usually the kind of person who can read for hours on end. I need to take a break between chapters, and I don't usually do very many chapters in a day. However, in less than a week, I'm already nearing the end of 566 pages, which is atypical for me. The way his mind works is amazing. He has tenure at Harvard Law. And I'm getting Yvonne and TLA. Just great. This is the kind of law that fascinates me - law on a federal level, interpreting the (United States) Constituition etc. Which is, naturally, something I doubt I'd get to study very much of here.

Blahblahblah. I think I've said enough. I've been writing out my posts a lot faster these days - I guess that's a by-product of writing for a living. I do need to up my writing speed in any case.

Tomorrow's the premiere for Infamous, which is gonna be so fun. The full Samazozis haven't met up since my birthday? That was a month ago la. Maybe Lena will really have morphed into a germ.

Disconnect

Ended up browsing Friendster, looking at pictures of old friends and aquaintances from secondary school (especially lower). And I felt so...removed...from everyone. The only classmate from lower sec that I still keep in touch with is Michael, everyone else is just a faded memory. Siow, Henry, Kang Wei, Kevin, Chris...I guess I just didn't belong to that group in the end. They went on to .12 (and Henry went off to Oz), they were all band members and they were all from MEP...and most ended up going to ACJC. Oh and...they are at the end of the day your typical soccer loving straight guys who I really am unable to relate to. Which is fine with me really. My upper secondary group was small but we're still in touch, although we have precious few pictures and come to think of it, I have no pictures of myself with my lower secondary classmates, which is rather sad.

Then of course came JC, where I estranged myself from the rest of the class when I stuck by Omar. Do have a smattering of pictures from that era. This one's a favourite.
LOL! I don't have to say anything. A picture paints a thousand words.

Also, look at this horrid picture of Praba and Omar and myself.
OMG! LOOK AT MY SKIN! My complexion isn't the best right now but compared to THAT, this bitch has come a long long way.

In fact I've come a longlong way from THAT in general. The closeted, repressed, uptight individual who just wanted to serve his 2 year sentence in SAJC and get the hell out of there, and was content to just do well enough to move on to the next level. That Simon is gone and I don't miss him one bit.

This is all Lena's fault really. She left me this nostalgic testimonial on Friendster which got ME nostalgic which led me to start looking at all the profiles of people I haven't spoken to in years.

So yeah if I may seem a little...over-zealous with the whole picture taking thing (and I don't think I am really), do indulge me a little ok? A picture freezes that moment in time and it's yours forever...or until your hardisk crashes. Which won't happen to me of course because I HAVE A MAC! MUAHAHA

Me Me Me

I realise that not everyone who reads this (indeed does anyone read this apart from the usual suspects?) is also a reader of Trevvy. Which is why I thought it'd be nice to post some of my work here for you guys to see. I was only half-joking when I announced to the office the other day that reading my articles turns me on...ok they don't turn me on in that sense but I do derive some satisfaction from reading them, especially my reviews. I'm not saying that they are of professional standard (actually professional reviews - the kind you find in newspapers/magazines and such are actually much shorter than mine are), but they are certainly superior to the features I've written so far. Pitch Black's Plucky Bet Part Deux anyone?

Anyway, first one's my review of the play Blithe Sprit which I did last month and the second one is the most recent, my review of Priceless.

BLITHE SPIRIT

W!ld Rice's second staging of Blithe Spirit is a gay play that scintillates - quite literally - and leaves Sean Ho star-struck.

Lim Kay Siu. Neo Swee Lin. Tan Kheng Hua. Selena Tan. Pam Oei. Bam! Bam! Bam! The cast of "Blithe Spirit" is a veritable list of theatre veterans. From the moment Edith (played by Pam Oei, who does a wicked Filipino accent) stumbles onto stage, the audience is drawn into the play for the next 2 hours, captivated by the sharp dialogue, tongue-in-cheek humour and stellar performances.

"Blithe Spirit" was written by English playwright Noel Coward and staged during the height of the Blitz - indeed, the play was initially criticised for making light of death at a time when many lives were being lost to German bombs. Eventually, however, it went on to become one of the most successful plays in West End history.

The play centres on Charles Koh (Lim Kay Siu), a novelist who invites the eccentric medium Madame Arcati (the fabulous Selena Tan) to perform a séance at his Bukit Timah house, in the name of research for a novel he intends to write. She unwittingly ends up conjuring the spirit of Elvira (Tan Kheng Hua), Charles' first wife who passed away seven years ago. The presence of Elvira strains the relationship between Charles and his present wife Ruth (Neo Swee Lin), and the consequences of that and Elvira's meddling make for an engaging and entertaining black comedy.

While there were several minor mistakes in line delivery, the cast exuded confidence and turned in convincing, lucid performances. Selena Tan shone with her larger-than-life portrayal of Madame Arcati, playing up her boisterous, clumsy and unpredictable nature to great comedic effect, slapstick without going overboard. When Tan Kheng Hua first appeared, made-up in pale green from head to toe, cheekily darting from one end of the set to the other, ethereal was the word that immediately came to mind.

Glen Goei's directing is crisp - the characters segued on and off set fluidly, the pacing was buoyant, the comic timing exact - and the set is suitably elegant. At the end of the play, the set briefly becomes the main attraction, in an impressive display of studio (or should that be theatre) special effects.

W!ld Rice's challenge was to localise the play and add a contemporary feel, without making it too blatant or betraying the essence of the script. Hence, mentions of "Phua Chu Kang", the National Arts Council, and the Anglo-Chinese School motto, which elicited laughter from local audiences who were able to identify with the references. They did stretch the concept a little too far when Ruth remarked that at the rate she was going, Madame Arcati was going to summon the entire Chingay Parade contingent. That felt forced, a little too localised, if it makes any sense.

The Drama Centre Theatre at the National Library is the perfect venue for staging "Blithe Spirit". It's big enough for a production of this scope, yet small enough to ensure that the stage is not a mere speck in the distance, and that the audience retains an intimate connection to what is unfolding on stage throughout the play.

While "Blithe Spirit" has no general theme to speak of (Don't dabble in the occult? Never offer money to your maid after she's just awoken from hypnosis?), and may be considered by some to be frivolous, take it for what it is - an easy-going, nimble play with an element of dark humour, featuring excellent performances from the crème de la crème of the local theatre scene - and you will certainly have a delightful night out.

PRICELESS

Audrey Tautou flirts her way into Sean Ho's non-existent heart in Priceless, a charming, lighthearted French comedy.

I'd like to..."
"I'd love too..."

Incomplete sentences like these, especially when uttered in French, are a great way to put your lovers on edge, and consequently have them wrapped around your finger. Gold digging 101 then, courtesy of Audrey Tautou's character Irene, who has perfected these - and many other - techniques throughout her career as a professional gold digger

The movie revolves around Irene, a young gold digger who woos bartender Jean (Gad Elmaleh) in a hotel bar one night, having mistaken him to be wealthy. They cross paths again a year later, and she finds out the truth a little too late - after she is dumped by her current sugar daddy who realises she is cheating - in a scene that is embarrassingly hilarious.

Jean is madly in love with Irene and follows her round the French Riviera, as she tries to find herself another wealthy man willing to lavish her with expensive things. He initially tries to satisfy her insatiable materialism, but soon finds himself broke.

Irene moves on to someone else and Jean inadvertently finds himself in the company of a wealthy widow who wishes to have his company. As a result of adopting the same lifestyle (and staying at the same hotel), Irene and Jean get closer. But how close can they get without arousing the suspicion of their respective companions?

A comedy with the above premise is risky. Audiences may find themselves repulsed by the main characters, unimpressed with the apparent frivolity of the subject matter, unable to appreciate the ostentatious displays of wealth - an extraordinary amount of designer clothes, Jaeger-LeCoultre watches that cost 30,000 euros, luxurious hotels and exclusive parties where the super-rich (and gold diggers) come out to play.

Priceless, however, manages to avoid falling into that trap, thanks to an exquisite performance from Tautou, who elevates her 'profession' into something of an art form, as opposed to morally reprehensible behaviour. She is seductive and alluring (even to this gay man), desperate, vindictive, cheeky, and ultimately endearing when she finally realises that true love don't cost a thing (pardon the obvious reference here).

While the movie doesn't sell itself as social commentary, viewers will be able to detect (and perhaps identify with) the theme of class aspirations. We look up to the wealthy jet set and yearn to lead their lifestyle someday, but at what cost? And is that kind of lifestyle really all it's cracked up to be? A telling scene saw Irene and Jean dining at a posh hotel restaurant, with Irene ordering caviar even though she didn't like it, in the expectation that because rich people ate caviar, she too would force herself to eat caviar till she enjoyed it.

One does wonder why Gad Elmaleh was cast as Jean. Opposite the delightful Tautou, his unremarkable features and rather bland screen presence make it difficult to understand why Irene - or the wealthy widow for that matter - would be attracted to him.

Nevertheless, Priceless is exceedingly charming - in a way only the French are capable of - and is definitely the movie to watch with a date or lover (not really suited for the sugar daddy though). The humour is mature and bittersweet, Tautou is divine, Chanel and Hermès are everywhere, and the fact that the movie's in French makes it all the more sexy.

I know I'm being shamelessly egoistical la. In a world where ponies fly and Edmund Smith is straight, I would love to continue working there after my tenure as editorial coordinator is up (and with the anticipated return of the unmentionable one I am hoping it will be up soon to be honest), as the exclusive resident reviewer. I'll just handle one review a week, get paid for that, and get free CDs/movie preview screenings/tickets to plays. Basically most of the perks of the job without all the other nonsense. But yeah, don't think that's gonna happen.

Anyway, if you wish to read more of my reviews, just go to

http://www.trevvy.com/scoops/categories.php?c_id=2

Sorry I dunno how to use the hyperlink function. Does blogger even have one?

Bye Bye Blair, Hello Sarkozy

So it's official. Tony Blair is standing down as PM come end June. Who would have thought, 10 years ago, what would eventually become of the then fresh-faced Prime Minister. Iraq changed everything. That and the numerous scandals that faced his government. Arguably, Blair's greatest achievement was shifting the Labour party to the centre and thus making it electable - which of course, happened before he took office. This isn't to say that he accomplished nothing of historical note during his decade in power - strong, consistent economic growth, Britian taking the lead in the fight on poverty and enviromentalism, the advancemet of gay rights including the introduction of civil ceremonies - but I doubt history will judge him to have had as much of an impact as Thacther did while in power, or indeed to have lived up to the expectations the nation placed on him back in 1997 - which he admitted, during his announcement that he was stepping down, were probably too high.

Nevertheless, Blair has become such a fixture in the international scene over the past 10 years that it is going to be strange to think of anyone else as the PM of Britian, all the more so for people of my generation. When we started paying scant attention to politics (well I'm speaking for myself anyway) back in, say, 1998, he was already in power. We've don't remember what it was like when Major or Thacther was PM. The end of an era indeed. And ultimately, Britain is much better off than it was back in '97.

Meanwhile, across the Channel, Chirac is on his final legs (and my god it's taken a long, long time) and Sarkozy has been elected to succeed him as President of France, with a sizable victory over Segolene Royal (here in Singapore 54% may seem a miniscule margin of victory, but that's because ours is a pseudo-democracy isn't it). What does this mean? Hopefully, a much needed "fracture" with the past. The first step would be to abolish the 35 hour week (I find it hard to believe that any company could stick strictly to that and remain competitive with other countries where a 70 hour week is common, although I would FAR prefer to work 35 hours of course). Lower taxes. Wean the French off their comforts and expectations of excessive welfare.

What does this mean for the trans-Atlantic relationships? Surely Gordon Brown is very aware of how the very close personal relationship between his predecessor and George Bush ultimately ended up damaging the former, and with an eye on general elections in '09, would need to distinguish himself in this respect without doing harm to Britian's special relationship with America. Meanwhile, Sarkozy would seek to repair relations with America that were damaged following the Iraq invasion, to the point where Francophobia is still so evident, especially in the right wing, without appearing to his own people as pandering to Uncle Sam.

Ah politics. What a balancing act. What a pity that local politics is so bland in comparison. It's not that I dislike local politics just because it's local (similarly, I don't dislike Singapore Idol just because it's, well, from Singapore). But the absence of any room for true debate or opposition, and the sheer predictability of it all, just serves to make most Singaporeans either apathetic to politics in general, or look to other countries to provide entertainment and amusement.

On another note, new BRITNEY at the end of September! EEEEE! CAN'T WAIT!

Shut Up And Sing Or Your Life Will Be Over

I wanna visit Taipei. After watching Eternal Summer - a languorous, tangible movie - with Meng and Michael on Wednesday, I just have to visit Taipei. And today on 6 degrees Asha Gill was was there! There are TOO MANY places I wish to visit, and not enough money to do so. As much as I love America and Europe, and yearn to visit the (conventional) exotic locales of Turkey, Egypt and South Africa, there's something exciting about Asian destinations too. I've always neglected them, viewed them as secondary destinations, probably because they're in my backyard and I'm one of those masochistic people who enjoys long flights, and also because there's a certain glamour to riding a gondola down the Grand Canal, or shopping along the Rue Saint-Honore. But you know what...Asian destinations are the ones that are accessible and relatively cheap, from my point of view (bar Japan of course). So maybe I should focus on travelling around this continent instead. Taipei, Hong Kong (been there once before but would love to visit agian), Bali, the Maldives, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam...Who knows.

Anyway, brought the boys to watch The Swimming Instructor last night. Urm...it was ok la. Said in ah beng (or should that be ah Guan) style. I mean, let's be honest. Lim Wee Hong has a GREAT body (arguably the best I've ever seen in real life) and can bark out a coarse line or two...and that's about it. Isabel was suitably petulant and somewhat of a minx but the whole "Oh my family is crumbling around me" side didn't really cick with me. The other guy (whatshisname) was ok. Good elocution. Headed to MOX and Play and Tabs after that but I was just feeling out of it and the music at Taboo was crazily loud. By the end of the night I was just sitting down and covering my ears (which were ringing when I got home, which sucks).

What else...Oh yeah watched Priceless with Wei Ren on Thursday. Charming movie. Look out for my review that will be up on Trevvy.

Yvonne Lee. I thought that our dear Prof. Thio was the only homophobe in NUS Law but it looks like I was mistaken. Apparently law school in Singapore is more a conservative bulwark than an island of liberty. Oh I just can't wait to start school now. But seriously, at least Thio has so far avoided making a fool out of herself (maybe she has but not recently anyway) the way Yvonne has. Wishy-washy logic and legal mumbo jumbo masquerading as an academic piece. Bull-fucking-shit. She's made herself look like a fool and by extension made NUS Law look idiotic too and that's the reason I'm pissed off really. Because I'm going to study there. Her argument is so transparent you practically see right through her. "I am a Christian fundementalist. I wish to spread the views of my religion (or rather how I CHOOSE to interpret my religion because there is no set doctrine) to the gullible masses. Homosexuality is wrong and I must be a good Christian soldier and fight against it." I mean, go ahead and make a fool of yourself but advertising your legal credentials there is just not fair to everyone else who has an interest in maintaining some sort of reputation for the law school (and since I'm going to be getting my degree from there it does matter to me). What's really funny was that Jireh sent her a long e-mail, very well-argued, respectful and polite, and she gave him a one line reply - "We have different opinions". Well NO SHIT Miss Lee. Now how about BEHAVING like the ASSISSTANT professor you are SUPPOSED to be and actually trying to provide a competent reply? If she is any indication of the quality of the faculty of the much vaunted NUS Law School, then I am royally SCREWED.

There my rant's over for today. Miserable sod.

Stiffy Uppity Lippy

Following a reunion tour of Cali Orchard, the Samazozis (less a certain M.I.A member) decided to try something different and headed to the British Club for dinner, courtesy of Menghanna's membership card. Thanks you samazozi! And urm...thanks for everything else. I do notice and I really do appreciate =)

Labour Day weekend madness was just that - madness. Never in the span of 3 nights have I consumed so much alcohol, especially of the sparkling bubbly kind. It was nice to have booths/tables/spaces reserved for us la, and not to have to jostle with the crowd. But after a while it all becomes very samey. Which is not to say I've outgrown clubbing. 3 nights in a row, though, just isn't my cuppa tea.

I learnt a lesson on Saturday. Never drink to the point where you get smashed and have very little self-restraint. The consequences can be cringe-worthy and prolonged. And I'm not talking about the horrible pictures of myself that were taken. I'm quite disgusted with myself really.

Have been a cauldron of emotions lately. Need to do something about it. Hmph.