Wednesday, December 31, 2008
voices from the dead.
this is what i'm most earnestly looking forward to for the new year. and i think ryousuke is an amazing name. not because it's the name of toma's character, but because i like the sound of it and all. honestly! if you say it out loud you'll realise it has this really nice ring to it. january 12, hehe.
the class potluck gathering clashes with dhs homecoming. okay technically it doesn't, because homecoming is from 8 am to 11 am, and the potluck thing is for dinner. but this means i will be have to rush around for that day, what with attending homecoming and then going to buy sushi ingredients and then making them with yimean. i am determined to make sure they look presentable this time round haha. the last few times they were edible and they didn't taste that bad, but everything was falling out. i blame the kitchen knives we've got, because i just can't cut anything with them since they've got this serrated edge. maybe i'll get a new knife while i'm buying stuff tomorrow.
outing with the pooks got cancelled today because boonwei isn't let out till tomorrow. i hope we'll meet up sometime soon, so i can pass them all their presents.
speaking of presents, i bought 15 presents yesterday in the span of a mere 3 hours. and yes, i am immensely proud of my gift-buying ability haha. okay, so in the end they all turned out to be very generic and similar presents (especially for the guys because i really have not much idea what else i could get for them), but at least i finished buying them all. my sister and i combined spent close to $250 yesterday, and it was frankly very good retail therapy. there's just this certain satisfaction you get from buying so much things and carrying all your purchases home. and since it technically wasn't really my money, it meant spending without the guilt afterwards, which is very good news.
and everday just feels horridly hot and humid now, and i don't know if it's because i grew too accustomed to taiwan's cool weather or if it's because it really is very warm here now. i wish it would snow here...
music: white christmas; ikuta toma
Labels: amusements, day-to-day
tune out the world ; 3:02 PM
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
tick tick tick tick tick tick boom.
so, are you excited for the new year?
in a way, i guess i am. even though there are so many things to be dreaded, i suppose it's still going to be a year of big, life-changing decisions we all have to ponder much about. so yes, i think i am pretty excited for it after all.
what was your favorite thing about this past year?
i survived the a levels. haha okay, really it was the feeling of liberation right after my last paper. this whole period of time has been awesome.
did you get your heart broken?
in the romantic sense, no.
did you get a new car?
can't drive, but i hope i will be able to soon! going to go take driving lessons soon, once i get over my guilt over spending so much recently.
go somewhere exciting?
does taiwan count? i suppose it was pretty exciting...
did you have a resolution for this year?
more than just one really.
did you keep it?
some i kept, some i didn't manage to.
lose any friends?
i haven't talked to some in ages, like xinrong and audrey and liyun and many many more.
make any?
nope, none that i can remember. i don't make friends easily.
how much do you think you changed?
a little? i think i've actually grown quieter if that's even possible. i don't like to talk nowadays. i prefer staying at home and reading or going out alone. and i'm becoming ever more obsessed over japan. which isn't a very good thing really, sigh.
did you grow any?
i hope i grew taller!! (yimean i will poke you and grow mushrooms on your head if you make shortgun jokes haha)
what month was your birthday?
always in september!
was it special?
yes. haha i had 2 very pleasant surprises for my birthday this year. plus, it was the day of the physics prelims mcq paper.
how were you in school?
drifted along, doing the best i could. don't know if it was enough though.
do anything you regret a lot?
i should have studied more and worked harder.
anything you regret NOT doing?
yeah. i regret not keeping most of my resolutions for 2008.
was it a leap year?
i don't know! amos says yes, so i'm going to go with yes too.
what are you most thankful for this year?
everyone around me.
did anyone you love die this year?
no.
how many significant others did you have?
this year?? i guess it would technically be 0, but if you count ikuta toma, edison chen, kim ki bum... i think it just about reaches 5 or 6.
did you get in trouble alot?
nah, i'm pretty much a goody-two-shoes aren't i.
who are you going to kiss at midnight?
no one. i'll probably be sleeping. i'm very tired these few days.
who do you WANT to kiss at midnight?
haha. i'm sure you guys all know.
what is your resolution for next year?
pay more attention to other people's thoughts/feelings.
who's house are you going to party at?
i'm just going to sit in bed with a good book and a nice drink.
going to watch the ball drop on TV?
probably not.
will this year be better than last year?
i don't know, maybe it will and maybe it won't.
basics
name:
michelle
age:
18
gender:
female
hair color:
brown
eye color:
dark brown
height:
*ahem* okay, 159.999999999cm.
marital status:
single
2008 have you's
have you had a boyfriend/girlfriend:
nah.
got married:
no.
got engaged:
negative.
got drunk:
negatory.
done drugs:
nadah.
smoked:
nope.
gone skinny dipping:
noooooo.
[Boys only] Worn makeup:
not a guy.
[Boys only] Worn a skirt:
not a guy.
got divorced:
no.
broken the law:
nah.
kissed someone of the same gender:
nooooo.
cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend:
nope.
fallen in love:
it's probably just a very extreme and crazy obsession.
fallen out of love:
no.
defied your parents:
not really.
got into a fist fight:
nah.
been in prison:
nope.
got detention:
nah
learnt to drive:
not yet, planning to!
had your heart broken:
nope.
kissed someone and regretted it:
negative.
kissed someone and not meant it:
negatory.
kissed a friend:
nope.
had surgery:
no.
broken a bone:
no.
gone on vacation:
finally, YES!
been beaten up:
nah.
beat someone up:
nadah.
got fired/expelled:
nope.
been to the beach:
yeah.
lied to your parents:
yes.
lied to the cops:
no.
stolen money:
no.
mugged someone:
no.
told someone you liked them:
no.
asked someone out:
no.
been asked out:
no.
wanted someone you couldn't have:
yes.
performed a public display of affection:
no.
bought a pet:
no.
lost a relative:
no.
been on stage:
i don't think so??
cried during a movie:
yeah.
stalked someone:
no.
been stalked:
no.
lost friends:
don't think so.
protested:
no.
been cautioned by the police:
no.
been cheated on:
no.
cheated on a test:
no.
passed an exam:
yes.
failed a class:
no.
become vegetarian:
no.
eaten something you shouldn't have:
yes.
been paid to date someone:
no.
thrown your shoe at someone:
haha, no.
sang in the shower:
embarassingly, yeah.
had cyber sex:
no.
had a long-distance relationship:
no.
been cheated with:
no.
pulled an all nighter:
yes.
been grounded:
no.
taken a topless picture:
no.
tanned topless:
nah.
used a tanning bed:
no. ever watched final destination 3?
kissed in the rain:
no.
spent the night at the opposite sex's house:
no, i'm conservative. and my parents don't allow stayovers at other people's houses.
learnt a script:
no.
been in a play:
nope.
acted like a slut/man whore:
no.
bribed someone:
no.
dated someone for a dare:
no.
kissed a dog:
no.
played 7 minutes in heaven:
no.
kissed 2 people in the same night:
no.
moved house:
no.
been abroad:
yeah.
kissed a picture:
no.
skipped a class:
yes haha.
broken an engagement:
no.
dated your best friend's crush:
no.
dated a friend's ex:
no.
stayed friends with an ex:
i guess.
felt lonely:
yeah.
purposely hurt yourself:
don't have the guts to.
taken too many pictures:
no.
laughed until it made you cry:
yes.
changed the way you look:
yeah.
been hit by a car:
no.
been in a major accident:
nah.
had a near death experience:
no.
forgotten someone's name:
oops, yeah.
cried yourself to sleep:
yeah.
cried for over an hour:
yeah.
hit a teacher:
no.
hit a boyfriend/girlfriend:
no.
written a song:
no.
written a poem about someone:
no.
been rejected:
no.
changed religion:
no.
flirted with someone who was taken:
no.
random questions
new years' resolution?
too many to list.
what are you doing for new years eve?
book, nice hot drink, blankets.
are you going to kiss someone at midnight?
no.
are you looking for love in the new year?
not actively. if it comes it comes.
are you looking for a new job?
yes.
what are you looking forward to most?
hopefully, going where i want.
are you getting married in 2009?
no.
have you already made plans for 2009?
some.
do you think 2009 will be better than 2008?
don't know.
are you going to get drunk on new years' eve?
nah.
2008 reflections
drinking buddy of the year:
don't really drink.
song of the year:
Super Junior - Marry U
longest friend award:
ming shuan and liyun. 6 years and counting. (:
highest point of the year:
when i got a B for lit and was in top 10 for the level.
lowest point of the year:
random instances i don't really care to remember.
best holiday:
after a levels.
halloween costume 2008:
none.
biggest loser of 2008 award:
no one i know is a loser.
tv show of the year:
wizards of waverly place. haha okay don't laugh at me, it's funny and i think selena gomez is very pretty.
friend of the year:
can i say friends? haha my pw group, for being so entertaining and keeping me sane through the 2 years.
valentine 2008:
nothing much.
how old did you turn in 2008:
18.
looking forward to 2009
is it going to be a good year for you:
don't know.
how old will you be on your birthday:
19.
do you want something different from 2008:
depends on what you're talking about.
are you hoping to change:
don't really know. if it's for the better, yeah i guess.
do you want to be a better person:
one of my resolutions.
do you think 2009 will be good:
i hope it will.
meme taken from amos. alright off to help my mum with stuff. may blog more in a while.
music: sarang surowo; kim jong kook
tune out the world ; 10:37 PM
in a way, i guess i am. even though there are so many things to be dreaded, i suppose it's still going to be a year of big, life-changing decisions we all have to ponder much about. so yes, i think i am pretty excited for it after all.
what was your favorite thing about this past year?
i survived the a levels. haha okay, really it was the feeling of liberation right after my last paper. this whole period of time has been awesome.
did you get your heart broken?
in the romantic sense, no.
did you get a new car?
can't drive, but i hope i will be able to soon! going to go take driving lessons soon, once i get over my guilt over spending so much recently.
go somewhere exciting?
does taiwan count? i suppose it was pretty exciting...
did you have a resolution for this year?
more than just one really.
did you keep it?
some i kept, some i didn't manage to.
lose any friends?
i haven't talked to some in ages, like xinrong and audrey and liyun and many many more.
make any?
nope, none that i can remember. i don't make friends easily.
how much do you think you changed?
a little? i think i've actually grown quieter if that's even possible. i don't like to talk nowadays. i prefer staying at home and reading or going out alone. and i'm becoming ever more obsessed over japan. which isn't a very good thing really, sigh.
did you grow any?
i hope i grew taller!! (yimean i will poke you and grow mushrooms on your head if you make shortgun jokes haha)
what month was your birthday?
always in september!
was it special?
yes. haha i had 2 very pleasant surprises for my birthday this year. plus, it was the day of the physics prelims mcq paper.
how were you in school?
drifted along, doing the best i could. don't know if it was enough though.
do anything you regret a lot?
i should have studied more and worked harder.
anything you regret NOT doing?
yeah. i regret not keeping most of my resolutions for 2008.
was it a leap year?
i don't know! amos says yes, so i'm going to go with yes too.
what are you most thankful for this year?
everyone around me.
did anyone you love die this year?
no.
how many significant others did you have?
this year?? i guess it would technically be 0, but if you count ikuta toma, edison chen, kim ki bum... i think it just about reaches 5 or 6.
did you get in trouble alot?
nah, i'm pretty much a goody-two-shoes aren't i.
who are you going to kiss at midnight?
no one. i'll probably be sleeping. i'm very tired these few days.
who do you WANT to kiss at midnight?
haha. i'm sure you guys all know.
what is your resolution for next year?
pay more attention to other people's thoughts/feelings.
who's house are you going to party at?
i'm just going to sit in bed with a good book and a nice drink.
going to watch the ball drop on TV?
probably not.
will this year be better than last year?
i don't know, maybe it will and maybe it won't.
basics
name:
michelle
age:
18
gender:
female
hair color:
brown
eye color:
dark brown
height:
*ahem* okay, 159.999999999cm.
marital status:
single
2008 have you's
have you had a boyfriend/girlfriend:
nah.
got married:
no.
got engaged:
negative.
got drunk:
negatory.
done drugs:
nadah.
smoked:
nope.
gone skinny dipping:
noooooo.
[Boys only] Worn makeup:
not a guy.
[Boys only] Worn a skirt:
not a guy.
got divorced:
no.
broken the law:
nah.
kissed someone of the same gender:
nooooo.
cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend:
nope.
fallen in love:
it's probably just a very extreme and crazy obsession.
fallen out of love:
no.
defied your parents:
not really.
got into a fist fight:
nah.
been in prison:
nope.
got detention:
nah
learnt to drive:
not yet, planning to!
had your heart broken:
nope.
kissed someone and regretted it:
negative.
kissed someone and not meant it:
negatory.
kissed a friend:
nope.
had surgery:
no.
broken a bone:
no.
gone on vacation:
finally, YES!
been beaten up:
nah.
beat someone up:
nadah.
got fired/expelled:
nope.
been to the beach:
yeah.
lied to your parents:
yes.
lied to the cops:
no.
stolen money:
no.
mugged someone:
no.
told someone you liked them:
no.
asked someone out:
no.
been asked out:
no.
wanted someone you couldn't have:
yes.
performed a public display of affection:
no.
bought a pet:
no.
lost a relative:
no.
been on stage:
i don't think so??
cried during a movie:
yeah.
stalked someone:
no.
been stalked:
no.
lost friends:
don't think so.
protested:
no.
been cautioned by the police:
no.
been cheated on:
no.
cheated on a test:
no.
passed an exam:
yes.
failed a class:
no.
become vegetarian:
no.
eaten something you shouldn't have:
yes.
been paid to date someone:
no.
thrown your shoe at someone:
haha, no.
sang in the shower:
embarassingly, yeah.
had cyber sex:
no.
had a long-distance relationship:
no.
been cheated with:
no.
pulled an all nighter:
yes.
been grounded:
no.
taken a topless picture:
no.
tanned topless:
nah.
used a tanning bed:
no. ever watched final destination 3?
kissed in the rain:
no.
spent the night at the opposite sex's house:
no, i'm conservative. and my parents don't allow stayovers at other people's houses.
learnt a script:
no.
been in a play:
nope.
acted like a slut/man whore:
no.
bribed someone:
no.
dated someone for a dare:
no.
kissed a dog:
no.
played 7 minutes in heaven:
no.
kissed 2 people in the same night:
no.
moved house:
no.
been abroad:
yeah.
kissed a picture:
no.
skipped a class:
yes haha.
broken an engagement:
no.
dated your best friend's crush:
no.
dated a friend's ex:
no.
stayed friends with an ex:
i guess.
felt lonely:
yeah.
purposely hurt yourself:
don't have the guts to.
taken too many pictures:
no.
laughed until it made you cry:
yes.
changed the way you look:
yeah.
been hit by a car:
no.
been in a major accident:
nah.
had a near death experience:
no.
forgotten someone's name:
oops, yeah.
cried yourself to sleep:
yeah.
cried for over an hour:
yeah.
hit a teacher:
no.
hit a boyfriend/girlfriend:
no.
written a song:
no.
written a poem about someone:
no.
been rejected:
no.
changed religion:
no.
flirted with someone who was taken:
no.
random questions
new years' resolution?
too many to list.
what are you doing for new years eve?
book, nice hot drink, blankets.
are you going to kiss someone at midnight?
no.
are you looking for love in the new year?
not actively. if it comes it comes.
are you looking for a new job?
yes.
what are you looking forward to most?
hopefully, going where i want.
are you getting married in 2009?
no.
have you already made plans for 2009?
some.
do you think 2009 will be better than 2008?
don't know.
are you going to get drunk on new years' eve?
nah.
2008 reflections
drinking buddy of the year:
don't really drink.
song of the year:
Super Junior - Marry U
longest friend award:
ming shuan and liyun. 6 years and counting. (:
highest point of the year:
when i got a B for lit and was in top 10 for the level.
lowest point of the year:
random instances i don't really care to remember.
best holiday:
after a levels.
halloween costume 2008:
none.
biggest loser of 2008 award:
no one i know is a loser.
tv show of the year:
wizards of waverly place. haha okay don't laugh at me, it's funny and i think selena gomez is very pretty.
friend of the year:
can i say friends? haha my pw group, for being so entertaining and keeping me sane through the 2 years.
valentine 2008:
nothing much.
how old did you turn in 2008:
18.
looking forward to 2009
is it going to be a good year for you:
don't know.
how old will you be on your birthday:
19.
do you want something different from 2008:
depends on what you're talking about.
are you hoping to change:
don't really know. if it's for the better, yeah i guess.
do you want to be a better person:
one of my resolutions.
do you think 2009 will be good:
i hope it will.
meme taken from amos. alright off to help my mum with stuff. may blog more in a while.
music: sarang surowo; kim jong kook
Labels: memes
tune out the world ; 10:37 PM
Monday, December 29, 2008
since when did i start typing messages i never send?
i knew all that eating in taiwan would do me no good at all, sigh. frankly, while i was there i ate like a chin. 3 full meals a day, sometimes 4 and there were all the little snacks interspersed in between mealtimes. and coupled with the fact that taiwan seems to have no gyms at all, i guess it's no surprise i gained weight. i'm usually not overly concerned about my weight as long as i don't grow too fat, but i think i really do need to eat less and exercise more. so please, if you are my friend, don't ask me out for lunch/dinner dates and if i'm with you and i want to eat, please dissuade me from doing so. i don't mind running/skating/tennis dates. i will go back to 45kg within a month. haha. lofty ambitions.
okay, bimbo paragraph about my concerns over my weight aside, i have finally registered at bunka for the japanese courses. it costs a hefty $267.50 for 12 lessons okay, and i couldn't help but feel bad when my mum started writing the cheque, because we have been spending so so much lately. what with the taiwan trip that set us back at least $10k, and then my uncle's and my aunt's operation and hospital stay, (i don't know why but they seem to all need operations at the same time, and there are 2 more coming up for my other aunt and then my mum next year) and then my sister's pending trip overseas for a half-year long attachment. and there was the whole stock market dying thing in which my dad lost like $90k (don't ask me how he lost all that money, i'm not sure how either).
i'm going to study so hard for the course, i'll be a total geek.
since when did i start typing messages i never send?
i finally watched byousoku 5 centimeters today, and the male protagonist said that in the show. i was taken aback for a moment, because we totally shared the same habit. haha sometimes i too start typing out smses to nobody in particular, if i feel like i need to talk to someone but i have no one to talk to. it's a peculiar habit, i know, but it helps sometimes.
alright, i'm off to eastpoint to meet my sister and get something for dalphie for his skin infection. the poor dog is beginning to go bald in patches, and i don't know if it's because of the infection or because he's getting so old. lately when i look at him sleeping i always stare for the longest time at his stomach to see if it's still rising regularly with his breathing, because i'm afraid something horrible will happen to him because he's already so old and so sick too. sigh. okay off to look for what can help. and maybe i'll get him some treats too.
music: love bug; jonas brothers
tune out the world ; 8:06 PM
okay, bimbo paragraph about my concerns over my weight aside, i have finally registered at bunka for the japanese courses. it costs a hefty $267.50 for 12 lessons okay, and i couldn't help but feel bad when my mum started writing the cheque, because we have been spending so so much lately. what with the taiwan trip that set us back at least $10k, and then my uncle's and my aunt's operation and hospital stay, (i don't know why but they seem to all need operations at the same time, and there are 2 more coming up for my other aunt and then my mum next year) and then my sister's pending trip overseas for a half-year long attachment. and there was the whole stock market dying thing in which my dad lost like $90k (don't ask me how he lost all that money, i'm not sure how either).
i'm going to study so hard for the course, i'll be a total geek.
since when did i start typing messages i never send?
i finally watched byousoku 5 centimeters today, and the male protagonist said that in the show. i was taken aback for a moment, because we totally shared the same habit. haha sometimes i too start typing out smses to nobody in particular, if i feel like i need to talk to someone but i have no one to talk to. it's a peculiar habit, i know, but it helps sometimes.
alright, i'm off to eastpoint to meet my sister and get something for dalphie for his skin infection. the poor dog is beginning to go bald in patches, and i don't know if it's because of the infection or because he's getting so old. lately when i look at him sleeping i always stare for the longest time at his stomach to see if it's still rising regularly with his breathing, because i'm afraid something horrible will happen to him because he's already so old and so sick too. sigh. okay off to look for what can help. and maybe i'll get him some treats too.
music: love bug; jonas brothers
Labels: thoughts
tune out the world ; 8:06 PM
Saturday, December 27, 2008
i'm dreaming of a white christmas.
next year, my mum has promised to let us stay around in singapore for christmas, which we haven't done for the past 6 years at least. i kind of lost count after a while. not that i'm complaining, because spending christmas overseas with the family is very enjoyable as well.
and somehow i don't foresee any difference whether i'm in singapore or not for christmas, because i don't exactly celebrate it anyway. sure, we can all get caught up in the whole mess of present-giving and well-wishing, but i don't think i really understand how to spend christmas at all. it's not really a religious matter; that is, i don't think the reason i'm not very much infected with the whole christmas spirit is because i'm not christian. it's just... sometimes it feels a little hollow, this season of giving where everyone just seems so infused with happiness while i'm slipping along and distracting myself with the lights and sounds of christmas. i guess it feels like just some random other day to me.
at least the lights are pretty and the songs are catchy. ^^
anyway, i'm finally back from my taiwan trip. to be honest, it wasn't that fun a trip. it wasn't the company, because i absolutely enjoyed being around my family for the 8 days since we don't exactly get to stay around each other as much at home because everyone is busy with their own things. the food there is quite overrated really. i suppose the streetside snacks are good for a day or two, but then you get so tired of them after a while and frankly the ones in hongkong are way better. there wasn't too much to see either, nor were there many things to buy. and i'm so so sorry because i couldn't get much for souvenirs and i ended up buying mochi for the guys (because just about the only vaguely suitable things i could buy for you people were socks which no self-respecting guy would wear really; hence the mochi decision) and compact mirrors and socks (which would look gay on a guy but cute on a girl) for the girls. okay, that was a very long sentence, go back and read it again and make sure you understand it.
didn't take much pictures either, but i can finally cross one thing off my all time to-do list because i got to see a full sunset! we were at danshui for the day, and there was this pretty pier where we sat at and watched the sunset and took lots of pictures. my camera doesn't do the sunset justice; the colours were so much more intense, and the whole process so much more... i don't know, moving? alright that just sounds silly, but you get the point.
we also went to a hot spring, and a waterfall, and we got to see the changing of guards ceremony that frankly looks almost exactly like a fancy drill. but i guess the trip on the whole was fun. haha. the company counts for a lot. and we had a night flight back so there were all the stars up in the sky again. pity it wasn't a later flight like the one we took from korea back to singapore a few years back. the sky outside the plane looked like the pictures you see of our galaxy in outer space or something.
random pictures from the trip here. sigh, i wish blogger had a function like lj-cut too, so no one would have to scroll down through all the photos i want to look at but no one else wants to.
the sunset reflected in my mum's sunglasses. okay i was bored, and i was running out of angles from which to take the sunset from.
the actual sunset. i swear there was no editing done, and i still think the colours were prettier if you were there in person. in the picture it just looks all orange, but if you were there you'd have seen the faint blues, the pinks, the colour between pink and orange that i don't know the name of, and the slight reddish tinge of the clouds around, and the slowly deepening orange blot spreading out over everything...
mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, queen, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom. this is a bunch of natural rock formations caused by wind and rain erosion, and apparently the queen is due to get beheaded in the next 10 to 15 years because her neck cannot take much erosion anymore. if you follow the designated path and walk closer you can't see the shape anymore because the other side of her face looks like something freddy, jason, darth vader and the sharks from jaws had a go at.
you cannot imagine my delight when i chanced on this on the tv after flipping through about 3 dozen entertainment programs. i love ikkaku's bald head.
alright i'm a little lazy to upload the rest since blogger has such a strange method for uploading pictures unlike lj's perfectly fast and user-friendly one. sigh.
oh and on christmas eve, we went to the area around taipei 101 because we were told it would be all festive and all there, and i got accosted by these living statues haha. they were random street performers, and my mum made me go drop money in the guy's tin, after which he tried to make me shake hands with him. like i would, when he totally tricked the little kid before me into shaking hands with him only to do the old scratch-the-head trick. pffft. but they were really entertaining. and there was this mime artist, and a saxaphone player, and those portrait-drawing people. it was a very good, celebratory atmosphere, the likes of which you'd never feel in singapore.
AND, the most amusing part of the evening was this. i took photos and videos to remember it haha. see i was walking happily along when i saw this group of people holding big bunches of balloons.
and i really wanted one but they wouldn't give any to me, the selfish things! so i was sulking in a corner and growing mushrooms and then this happened.
if you haven't realised by now, or if you didn't watch the video, it was a marriage proposal. in the middle of a busy street. on christmas eve. it was a surprise, the girl thought she was on a shopping trip with friends. he sang her favourite song to her. if this isn't dripping with sweetness i don't know what is. haha but imagine if she had refused his proposal, ouch. she didn't anyhow, she was overjoyed and when she nodded and yelled down "wo yuan yi!" the whole street started cheering for the couple.
that's the girl in the centre. she didn't cry or anything though, surprisingly. oh and by the way, i didn't really go ask for a balloon haha.
anyway, come to think of it, this is the final week of 2008. i wonder how i survived the year, considering all the things that were thrown at me this year. and thinking of all the things i resolved to do at the start of the year, i wonder if i've actually even completed any of my things to do for the year. like how i wanted to be a better person, a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister -- i don't think i've done any of that. or how i wanted to be more assertive, and know what i want and work for it. or how i wanted to not have to regret whatever i wrote down for the exams, and not to have to worry constantly and dread the return of results. so many things i can't do anymore, not in the last 4 days of this year anyway. i did finally do something rather drastic to my hair, but i shall leave that to when i next see people. haha it's always been on my list of to-dos really. change my hairstyle quite drastically.
i wonder why we make resolutions anyway, when so many of us never ever keep most of them. i am in full acceptance of the fact that i never keep to my resolutions, but come the start of every new year, i make them anyhow, mentally or otherwise, even though i know full well most of them will never come to be. maybe it's because we all need something to work towards, and making a list of it (and checking it twice, hehe) helps us see it more clearly? i don't know. i make and make and make lists for everything, but somehow sometimes i still don't do what i should/want to do.
merry belated christmas anyway, people. sorry if i didn't reply your sms, i was honestly too tired to do anything more besides unpacking and washing up and then collapsing into bed. the plane only touched down at 10.35pm and by the time we were through customs it was 11.35pm and we had a grouchy taxi driver who made a face at us once he heard our destination. what, people who live close to the airport can't take cabs back?? pffft.
and i am awfully upset with the way rainbow romance is turning out, because kibum is being horribly blind.
okay, really long post today.
music: canvas; ken hirai
tune out the world ; 10:50 PM
and somehow i don't foresee any difference whether i'm in singapore or not for christmas, because i don't exactly celebrate it anyway. sure, we can all get caught up in the whole mess of present-giving and well-wishing, but i don't think i really understand how to spend christmas at all. it's not really a religious matter; that is, i don't think the reason i'm not very much infected with the whole christmas spirit is because i'm not christian. it's just... sometimes it feels a little hollow, this season of giving where everyone just seems so infused with happiness while i'm slipping along and distracting myself with the lights and sounds of christmas. i guess it feels like just some random other day to me.
at least the lights are pretty and the songs are catchy. ^^
anyway, i'm finally back from my taiwan trip. to be honest, it wasn't that fun a trip. it wasn't the company, because i absolutely enjoyed being around my family for the 8 days since we don't exactly get to stay around each other as much at home because everyone is busy with their own things. the food there is quite overrated really. i suppose the streetside snacks are good for a day or two, but then you get so tired of them after a while and frankly the ones in hongkong are way better. there wasn't too much to see either, nor were there many things to buy. and i'm so so sorry because i couldn't get much for souvenirs and i ended up buying mochi for the guys (because just about the only vaguely suitable things i could buy for you people were socks which no self-respecting guy would wear really; hence the mochi decision) and compact mirrors and socks (which would look gay on a guy but cute on a girl) for the girls. okay, that was a very long sentence, go back and read it again and make sure you understand it.
didn't take much pictures either, but i can finally cross one thing off my all time to-do list because i got to see a full sunset! we were at danshui for the day, and there was this pretty pier where we sat at and watched the sunset and took lots of pictures. my camera doesn't do the sunset justice; the colours were so much more intense, and the whole process so much more... i don't know, moving? alright that just sounds silly, but you get the point.
we also went to a hot spring, and a waterfall, and we got to see the changing of guards ceremony that frankly looks almost exactly like a fancy drill. but i guess the trip on the whole was fun. haha. the company counts for a lot. and we had a night flight back so there were all the stars up in the sky again. pity it wasn't a later flight like the one we took from korea back to singapore a few years back. the sky outside the plane looked like the pictures you see of our galaxy in outer space or something.
random pictures from the trip here. sigh, i wish blogger had a function like lj-cut too, so no one would have to scroll down through all the photos i want to look at but no one else wants to.
the sunset reflected in my mum's sunglasses. okay i was bored, and i was running out of angles from which to take the sunset from.
the actual sunset. i swear there was no editing done, and i still think the colours were prettier if you were there in person. in the picture it just looks all orange, but if you were there you'd have seen the faint blues, the pinks, the colour between pink and orange that i don't know the name of, and the slight reddish tinge of the clouds around, and the slowly deepening orange blot spreading out over everything...mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom, queen, mushroom, mushroom, mushroom. this is a bunch of natural rock formations caused by wind and rain erosion, and apparently the queen is due to get beheaded in the next 10 to 15 years because her neck cannot take much erosion anymore. if you follow the designated path and walk closer you can't see the shape anymore because the other side of her face looks like something freddy, jason, darth vader and the sharks from jaws had a go at.you cannot imagine my delight when i chanced on this on the tv after flipping through about 3 dozen entertainment programs. i love ikkaku's bald head.alright i'm a little lazy to upload the rest since blogger has such a strange method for uploading pictures unlike lj's perfectly fast and user-friendly one. sigh.
oh and on christmas eve, we went to the area around taipei 101 because we were told it would be all festive and all there, and i got accosted by these living statues haha. they were random street performers, and my mum made me go drop money in the guy's tin, after which he tried to make me shake hands with him. like i would, when he totally tricked the little kid before me into shaking hands with him only to do the old scratch-the-head trick. pffft. but they were really entertaining. and there was this mime artist, and a saxaphone player, and those portrait-drawing people. it was a very good, celebratory atmosphere, the likes of which you'd never feel in singapore.
AND, the most amusing part of the evening was this. i took photos and videos to remember it haha. see i was walking happily along when i saw this group of people holding big bunches of balloons.
and i really wanted one but they wouldn't give any to me, the selfish things! so i was sulking in a corner and growing mushrooms and then this happened.
if you haven't realised by now, or if you didn't watch the video, it was a marriage proposal. in the middle of a busy street. on christmas eve. it was a surprise, the girl thought she was on a shopping trip with friends. he sang her favourite song to her. if this isn't dripping with sweetness i don't know what is. haha but imagine if she had refused his proposal, ouch. she didn't anyhow, she was overjoyed and when she nodded and yelled down "wo yuan yi!" the whole street started cheering for the couple.
that's the girl in the centre. she didn't cry or anything though, surprisingly. oh and by the way, i didn't really go ask for a balloon haha.
anyway, come to think of it, this is the final week of 2008. i wonder how i survived the year, considering all the things that were thrown at me this year. and thinking of all the things i resolved to do at the start of the year, i wonder if i've actually even completed any of my things to do for the year. like how i wanted to be a better person, a better friend, a better daughter, a better sister -- i don't think i've done any of that. or how i wanted to be more assertive, and know what i want and work for it. or how i wanted to not have to regret whatever i wrote down for the exams, and not to have to worry constantly and dread the return of results. so many things i can't do anymore, not in the last 4 days of this year anyway. i did finally do something rather drastic to my hair, but i shall leave that to when i next see people. haha it's always been on my list of to-dos really. change my hairstyle quite drastically.
i wonder why we make resolutions anyway, when so many of us never ever keep most of them. i am in full acceptance of the fact that i never keep to my resolutions, but come the start of every new year, i make them anyhow, mentally or otherwise, even though i know full well most of them will never come to be. maybe it's because we all need something to work towards, and making a list of it (and checking it twice, hehe) helps us see it more clearly? i don't know. i make and make and make lists for everything, but somehow sometimes i still don't do what i should/want to do.
merry belated christmas anyway, people. sorry if i didn't reply your sms, i was honestly too tired to do anything more besides unpacking and washing up and then collapsing into bed. the plane only touched down at 10.35pm and by the time we were through customs it was 11.35pm and we had a grouchy taxi driver who made a face at us once he heard our destination. what, people who live close to the airport can't take cabs back?? pffft.
and i am awfully upset with the way rainbow romance is turning out, because kibum is being horribly blind.
okay, really long post today.
music: canvas; ken hirai
Labels: amusements, photos, thoughts, trips
tune out the world ; 10:50 PM
Thursday, December 18, 2008
where spare time goes to die.
i wonder where all the time went, from the end of the alevels till today. it seems like i still have so many things i'm supposed to do but haven't started doing yet, and now i can't because there's not enough time left between now and when i leave tomorrow.
i was supposed to go sign up for japanese lessons, sigh. i kind of shortlisted a few, but left it at that because i couldn't decide between going for full-time or part-time lessons. maybe i'll just register after i come back, since the earliest starting date for any one of those courses is 29th december.
and now is one of those times i sincerely wish i had a psp, because i'll have 3 plus hours to kill on the plane and nothing to do. maybe i'll get one in taiwan if it's considerably cheaper hehe.
anyway, since i won't be here for christmas, merry christmas in advance! and happy early birthday chin. ^^
okay bye guys.
music: sen no yoru wo koete; aqua timez
tune out the world ; 5:50 PM
i was supposed to go sign up for japanese lessons, sigh. i kind of shortlisted a few, but left it at that because i couldn't decide between going for full-time or part-time lessons. maybe i'll just register after i come back, since the earliest starting date for any one of those courses is 29th december.
and now is one of those times i sincerely wish i had a psp, because i'll have 3 plus hours to kill on the plane and nothing to do. maybe i'll get one in taiwan if it's considerably cheaper hehe.
anyway, since i won't be here for christmas, merry christmas in advance! and happy early birthday chin. ^^
okay bye guys.
music: sen no yoru wo koete; aqua timez
Labels: thoughts
tune out the world ; 5:50 PM
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
when the first snow falls
finally got this up! okay, so it's really just an edited version of the previous bleach template. then again, the really pretty picture made me want a new template. and now there's snow falling too. see, if livejournal had allowed javascripts and stuff i would never have switched back to blogger. unfortunately i can't for the life of me figure out how to insert comments and stuff so i had to put in a cbox again.
anyhow, the picture at the top is from Bokura Ga Ita. i haven't actually watched the anime though; it just seemed like such a pretty picture so i had to use it as a base for the template. i might just watch it after i come back from taiwan, since i'll have so much time to. my to-watch list is ever-expanding, haha.
and while i was searching for base pictures for the template i came across this. it's from a japanese film -- Byousoku 5 Centimeters -- which basically means 5 centimeters per second and is supposed to be the speed at which sakura petals fall. i think it's worth watching if only for the art, because it really looks very very good. see for yourself if you need more proof.
okay less than 2 days before i leave for taiwan the land of good food and more good food. i'm so sorry yimean, if you're waiting for the eoy pictures! i haven't gotten around to uploading the pictures from my camera yet, and i'm too lazy to do it now. haha sorry sorry, if you need them urgently sms me or something and i will go do it tonight. this year's eoy was kind of fun anyway. i think my favourite cosplayers were the counterstrike team. if i had the height and the build i would totally go as sam fisher from splinter cell, because he is just about the coolest secret spy agent i have ever ever seen.
speaking of splinter cell, i realise i've never really finished double agent because i got stuck at some level where it was so horribly difficult. eheheh okay i will go and pick up where i left off. actually, i think the only game i've ever really finished is assassin's creed. i'm still stuck somewhere halfway in games like gta4 and fable 2. hmmmm okay i should go finish them all up soon.
mmm alright shall get back to fiddling with the xbox then. hehehe i like the new template.
music: natsu no kakera; aqua timez
tune out the world ; 3:37 PM
anyhow, the picture at the top is from Bokura Ga Ita. i haven't actually watched the anime though; it just seemed like such a pretty picture so i had to use it as a base for the template. i might just watch it after i come back from taiwan, since i'll have so much time to. my to-watch list is ever-expanding, haha.
and while i was searching for base pictures for the template i came across this. it's from a japanese film -- Byousoku 5 Centimeters -- which basically means 5 centimeters per second and is supposed to be the speed at which sakura petals fall. i think it's worth watching if only for the art, because it really looks very very good. see for yourself if you need more proof....the feature film would attempt to present the real world from a different perspective. Makoto's film gives a realistic view of the struggles many face against: time, space, people, and love. The title 5 Centimeters Per Second comes from the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, petals being a metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways.oh, played gears of war 2 yesterday with py, chin, amos, km and ale. it's not a bad game i guess, just takes some getting used to. haha the worm level was really cool even though it was horribly squelchy and disgusting. and the cutscene after that where they chainsawed through the worm's body was really awesome in a really gross way. meh, don't think i'll get it though. i'm going to save my money for starcraft 2 and possibly mirror's edge, which i still think looks rather good despite all the less-than-rave reviews.
okay less than 2 days before i leave for taiwan the land of good food and more good food. i'm so sorry yimean, if you're waiting for the eoy pictures! i haven't gotten around to uploading the pictures from my camera yet, and i'm too lazy to do it now. haha sorry sorry, if you need them urgently sms me or something and i will go do it tonight. this year's eoy was kind of fun anyway. i think my favourite cosplayers were the counterstrike team. if i had the height and the build i would totally go as sam fisher from splinter cell, because he is just about the coolest secret spy agent i have ever ever seen.
speaking of splinter cell, i realise i've never really finished double agent because i got stuck at some level where it was so horribly difficult. eheheh okay i will go and pick up where i left off. actually, i think the only game i've ever really finished is assassin's creed. i'm still stuck somewhere halfway in games like gta4 and fable 2. hmmmm okay i should go finish them all up soon.
mmm alright shall get back to fiddling with the xbox then. hehehe i like the new template.
music: natsu no kakera; aqua timez
Labels: amusements, thoughts, xbox
tune out the world ; 3:37 PM