When I am through with you, there won't be anything left

After 13 weeks its finally over. Damages is the only TV show I would actually schedule my life around (yes I actually still watch shows on television at regular time-slots) and for good reason. The ending didn't disappoint, and Patty Hewes is a tough bitch for sitting though that conversation with Ellen after she had been stabbed.

So what's the Singapore equivalent? Working for an SC in Drew? Haha I wish.

Life always fucks with me, sometimes in nice, unexpected ways, but ultimately, I am still fucked. Time isn't on our side, and yet it seems to past so damn quickly the couple of times we've been together.

Oh well.

Thriller

The King and the Princess in 2001
I was born a number of years after Michael Jackson's glory days. Indeed, by the time I became cognizant of music and pop culture, the stardust of the '80s had long settled, and all the magic of those heady days - when MTV was a fledging channel that actually played music, when MJ wowed the world with his music and moves, when Madonna was breaking barriers one conical bra at at time - I never experienced personally. So I can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up with Michael Jackson - I didn't.

My earliest memories were the Remember the Time video, and of how I would laugh as my brother would spoof 'Heal the World' by singing 'Michael Jackson, is an ah qua, the greatest ah qua in the entire human race...' - somewhat ironic with 20/20.

But at some point, good music is irresistible. I bought a greatest hits collection - and to this day it is the only MJ CD I own - titled 'Number Ones' and no matter what you think about his personal life, man he had great songs! My personal favorites include Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Rock With You, Beat It, The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, Black or White, Blood on the Dance Floor, Man in the Mirror... I'm sure there are plenty of album tracks I would love if only I'd listen to them.

I was shocked when I found out. It started just like every other working day. I'd hear the alarm and swear in hokkien to myself, toss and turn for a bit, then plant myself in front of the TV while having breakfast. I almost didn't turn on the TV that morning because I was kindda late, but when I did and saw the headline on CNN I was just taken aback completely and literally exclaimed aloud to my mother. Like Sep 11, I don't think I'll ever forget where I was and what I was doing when I found out.

Its the ultimate cliche, but yes, his music will live on. Also somewhat ironic that he got his wish, in the sense that, as far as the pop culture figure "Michael Jackson" is concerned, he'll never grow old. Like Marilyn and James Dean, people will never see him as old, because they never got to. In death, he fulfilled his wish of being the Peter Pan of music.

Of course, the reality is not as glamorized - his parents have lost a son, his children have lost a father, his siblings their brother... and that is sad. But in terms of celebrity mystique, this may have been the ultimate act of self-preservation. Doesn't make it any less tragic or shocking though, I still can't believe it.

Up in the air

Ok this is damn bo liao but here goes... (I was inspired by Meng's SIN - MAN thing)

SIN - LGK
SIN - PEN
SIN - BNE - MEL
SIN - SHA
SIN - SYD
SIN - KUL
SIN - MEL
SIN - JFK via FRA
SIN - LHR
SIN - HKG
SIN - BKK
SIN - SFO via NRT
SIN - KBV
SIN - NRT
SIN - HKG
SIN - JFK via PVG - PVG
SIN - HKT

Hmm that's not a lot really, but in a year's time I expect things to look substantially different :)
Or I could be featured on Air Crash Investigation...

Drama Much?

Ok the whole Perez v BEP thing is just ridiculous. I've never been a fan of Will.I.Am or his Boom Boom Pow but Perez is just an overweight bitch who can't take what he dishes. He may have gotten a nick (c'mon its nothing more than that) on his excuse for a face - oh the irony of him calling Fergie fugly - but I'd like to see how that compares to the emotional scarring he's inflicted on people with his words. And he goes on and on about how physical violence should never be resorted to when he's inflicted so much emotional violence on so many people (celebrities they may be) over the years. The moron is either too thick to comprehend karma or too much of a self-centered, spoilt hypocrite. As I always like to say, if you can't take the heat, get out of the fucking kitchen.

Woah that's an angry start to what's supposed to be a happy and long-overdue post. I had quite the weekend and thought I should recount it for blog posterity. I did things I'd never usually do, with a mix of old and new company, and it was an enriching and rewarding experience.

So I'm waiting for Jin at the National Library (yeah what else is new right?) and happen to see JS, Rich and Seth walk through. I learn that there is a massive 7-11 somewhere in the Bugis region, although I have yet to personally corroborate this.

Jin arrives and instead of frequenting the usual places we decide to have dinner in Little India - specifically, a vegetarian restaurant with delicious mango lassi and enough curries and poupodam (is that how you spell it?) to satiate an empty stomach. We then take a rather long walk to the 24-hour shopping mecca known as Mustafa, which actually gets more crowded as the night goes on. It was really fun though. We did everything from admiring wide-screen plasma TVs to trying on wigs, looking at anti-Semitic books (I was, quite frankly, appalled that such a book was being sold in Singapore) to Spice Girl DVDs (they had live in Istanbul!), balancing on pointless leg exercise thinggums to pondering the utility of gigantic calculators and pens, picking out signs to hang outside Oxford Harvard Cambridge's office (Beware of Dog!) to admiring home improvement implements. I expect a lot from my time with Jin (oh god this sounds like the Eunice Olsen Nescafe ad), but the fun quotient of that night traipsing through Mustafa exceeded even my high expectations.

Saturday was spent transfixed for an hour while Damages played (I'm actually waiting for 2am to watch Damages tonight, zombie monster at work tomorrow be damned) and then Meng came and we drove to the airport to see Jerrine off. I don't care what anyone says, I love the biscuits at Popeye's! Had visions of my own farewell as Jerrine hugged her friends and loved ones, tears were still shed event though this isn't the first time. I suppose its never easy to tear yourself away from what is, to most people, still... home.

We drove down to town and met Dan, whereupon we proceeded to view the Steven McCurry exhibition. If you, like me, are wondering who that is, well, he's the guy who took the photo of the Nat Geo Afghan Girl. Yup. This was followed by a quick perusal of the Kangxi exhibition. I don't usually visit museums in Singapore, but that was actually a rewarding experience (plus it cost me nothing!). We walked over the Esplanade Bridge to Glutton's Bay for dinner, chillaxed at Starbucks for a long time, and then parted ways with Dan, retraced our path back in the direction of the Fullerton (all the while secretly admiring the skyline and the bay - which is so uncool right) and drove down to Cine (after a very long detour which eventually got us to the wrong destination - the Cathay) to watch Terminator with Christine, Abel and Samantha.

The movie was ok la. I was on the edge of my seat throughout. Not literally but you take the point. Its mostly the sound effects really. I HATE being late for movies but kept my mouth shut since I wasn't the one driving, although we did miss the first 15 minutes. There was this bizarre scene featuring a robot that looked a lot like Governor Schwarzenegger sans clothes. Very disturbing. And at this point one of the few things I remember about the movie. A lot of blockbusters are like that - you're sufficiently entertained throughout that 90 (or in this case 120ish) minutes, but after that everything is forgotten.

Meng dropped me off at Tanjong Pagar and I went in to say hello to Roro and friends. The whole bunch was there, in full force - Hadri, Matin, Zul and Tim who just got back that very night. Rohai was wearing a nice jacket-thing from Zara (women's department of course) and he introduced me to some of his friends. Went to Maxwell after where the main show at our table was simultaneously awkward and funny. And then yeah. Thanks to a little prodding from Rohai I did something I'd usually never dare to, and ended up having a great time :)

I'd love to recount it all here but well... even I have standards of public decency and shame. Couldn't stop thinking about you for most of today which is... hmm... interesting.

And so as my weekend concluded I found myself back in the company of Jin and Sam. We intended to have some fun and be productive at the same time, and I thought that painting his room would be the perfect combination. Well, it certainly wasn't for his walls, and I suspect Lily Chin was none too pleased. And Cecil gave me unsolicited advice on how to launder my clothes, which, if you have the privilege of being familiar with Cecil and her... steady... work ethic, is ridiculously funny. Jin dropped me off in town and I went back home a happy camper.

So that was my weekend. Monday started off great too, but I shall avoid blogging on it lest I stir up those pesky rumors that have been circulating in various quarters. Haha. I was thinking, on the way home, that I'm... very proud of our friendship. Despite all that we've been through, despite what people say about how we shouldn't be so close, we're still stubbornly... there for each other.

Ok that is all. Phew. Gonna shower and pack for tomorrow. Nightie nights!

Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you

Towards the end of the night, this little ditty unexpectedly came on, and despite some great songs played earlier (Pokerface OMG!; Suck; Womanizer and Circus; When I Grow Up; Don't Stop The Music and Unfaithful etc), I had the most fun dancing to this. During the first chorus, we faced each other in a circle, arms over backs, and jumped in tandem. It was exhilarating. The lyrics were optimistic ('live every second like it was my last one') but slightly melancholy ('I loved you once, needed protection'), the melody poignant, the song spoke to me in a way few songs do.


Sorry but I have to move on and leave you behind

You're still a part of everything I do, you're on my heart just like a tattoo

And the bridge, oh the bridge.