ultimate babe

hee. was flipping through the latest female mag and came across pics of korean actress choi ji woo posing with dior execs in hongkong. dior girl!!! gosh, she is soooooooooo pretty!! oh man, i would kill to look like her!! *gushing* ;]




and on another note... i finally got my billy bomber's milkshake!! haha. went out with sue and mum for dins today, and then to school to watch michelle's band perform in starry starry night 3. caught up with the girls for a while, and then back to somerset to meet mum and sue to shop. 20% storewide at john little's and robinson's with my mum's discount voucher you see? heehee. i got new undergarments yet again! lol. and after all that trouble.... we found out the discount does not extend to triumph.. ha... and i got two more pairs of large retro-looking plastic sunglasses. one green and one black. and i was so pleased with them too, until i mistakenly asked my sis for her opinion when i tried them on at home, and she said my face looked fat in them! sob. so sad. but i bought them already!!!!! don't care, will use them, fat face and all. i'm planning to bring like at least 4 pairs to LA with me, can't be caught the whole trip with one pair of weird sunglasses in the photos this time! lol. speaking of which, i've started dietting again. i wanna look nice in my LA photos -- just 2 weeks away!! argg. i mustn't give up this time! haha;] and on a final note, i'm gonna do my hair tomorrow. i got the official go-ahead and sponsorship from my mum. she actually told me i look horrible with such dark hair! er, excuse me, but that was my natural hair colour! oh sigh, anyway, i supposedly look better in lighter shades, so i think i'm gonna dye the whole head and highlight again. haven't dyed my hair in at least 8 months. haha, and from mummy's comments, i should have done so earlier! till next time.... muacks!

V for Vendetta

Just got back from watching the movie and I just HAD to dedicate a post to it. V for Vendetta is the best movie I’ve watched this year, and a total must-see... thought-provoking, reflection-inducing, and all in all crazy good!


I loved the whole concept behind the movie, and the message it brought across. Displaying Britain under a totalitarian government who leads via fear and demands total control, the situations it portrayed reminded me of that of oppressed Hitler-times Germany, as well as Berlin Wall on the brink of collapse.

the movie begins with a link to a historical incident, with that of a man caught for wanting to blow up a government building using gunpowder, but it is the words itself that left a deep impression in my mind. More often than not, a man may die, but the idea remains... and it is only to that one person that said man has direct contact with, that more than the idea remains.

That first five minute opening already started me thinking, and what followed was even better. V is a man on a mission, and a man who has suffered a lot under the control-freak of a government. Burnt alive and severely scarred, he comes up with a plan to free the people of Britain from their oppression, which, they have inevitably fallen into. And it is only natural. Amidst a world of destruction, wars, diseases, and turmoil (which I find very similar to a world we're living in today), who wouldn't be enticed by the idea of a safe haven offered by the baddie here, the 'grand chancellor'?? and so, by blind following and misplaced trust, an entire nation is slowly ruled and controlled by the fascist totalitarian government, made to adhere to curfews and entirely afraid to leave their homes and be taken away by the secret police. Anyone else see the resemblance to Europe’s historical past?!?

Anyway, the drama continues, and people are slowly made to see the light. I loved how V became the voice of the people, the one man brave enough to start of a revolution, and affect change. and its funny the way the world works - we all can silently suffer and be unhappy, yet refuse to be that one to make change, too afraid of an uncertain future. but once that one someone plants an idea in your mind, once someone gives you that hope and sets you questioning your beliefs and lifestyle, you can eventually come out of that shell you're living in and stand up for yourself. All it takes is a man to lead, and number-derived courage. As history has shown us time and time again, in the Russian revolutions, in communist revolution-era china, it is in numbers that we have power, and no matter our status or social standing, in numbers, we are strong. Singularly insignificant, collectively undefeated.

Even within the ranks of those working in the government, V questions their beliefs and what they work for. In the show for example, the Chief Inspector finds out more than he bargains for while in his quest for V, and realises the atrocities that the government has committed --- purposely inserting poisons in the waters to arose panic, viruses in the underground... the planned death of more than 100,000... Just to create the right chaotic atmosphere guaranteed to induce the people to turn to the government for protection and sanctity. Disgusting? But somehow I find such government acts and conspiracies plausible. And the blaming of such incidents by the government on religious activists? It makes you question what you think about terrorism as well huh? How much is truth, and how much is fabricated lies.

And that mask! At first glance, it is quite eerie. That sardonic smile on the face of a killer. Yet when you think deeper into it, V is simply portraying what the rest of us wear daily. That masks to cover up the flaws and imperfections; and to hide our true identity and ideals... who can deny ever falling prey to it? Like us, he too wears a mask, although in a more obvious manner. Another symbol perhaps, on our actions and tendencies? Haha. I don’t know

Ultimately, the questions that V invokes leave no easy solutions or no suggested solutions to the problems. It simply reminds us that what has happened before, has happened again, and will continue to happen throughout time. It warns us of the danger of putting power in the hands of the wrong people, and reminds us of the way it should be: 'the government should be afraid of the people, not the people of the government' (to quote the movie loosely)... it portrays human flaws, and successfully brings across the ideas of freedom and idealism. It questions who we are, what we live for, and the very world we live in. V starts off as a masked man, and dies as a masked man; but it doesn't matter. For he represents an idea. He represents some part of every one of us, he, like an idea or philosophy... is eternal....





















Sorry for the long post... go watch the movie, and please don't kill me for the spoilers!! It’s a great film, and no wonder, it's by the warchowski brothers. Like duh, the ultimate movie makers!!! lol. Can you tell I like the matrix?!? haha. And sorry if I didn’t really make sense, I’m so not cut out to be a movie reviewer. Haha. I never really intended to analyse the movie either, just that it was so great and made me think about so many other things… anyway, till next time! :)

i love my LTB group! -- the encore...

gosh. i can't believe it's finally over, that i dont have to deal with a single project till next term. my final project presentation concluded today, and 9 days of daily project meetings and sch from 8am to 10pm have finally ended. and i'm super glad the whole hectic period is over, the last two days have been one of the toughest for me this whole term! i think i finally got too tired to continue, and both days, i've been feeling 'fainty' and sick. its amazing really, the endurance of the human body, capable of withstanding the tests we put it through...

yet while i'm glad project season is over, at least for me, i'm also super sad that ltb has come to an end. our presentation today was a major success... at least to all our team members;] not sure what prof and the rest of the class felt, but my team really didn't care. we presented more for ourselves and our amusement than anything else i find, laughing at our own antics and skits during presentation, hugging and awwing during the showing of our video during class...[which by the way, made me cry... how embarrassing..] at the end of the day, the grade didn't really matter. we have set out to do what we planned to do, and we've done it well. haha. i especially enjoyed watching our entire presentation again after class and laughing at ourselves! haha:)

but seriously, if you told me 13 weeks ago that i would be dedicating close to four meetings a week worth of time on a project, AND without a single complaint, i would really laugh in your face. yet the time spent on CSP and my team really wasn't time wasted. i throughly enjoyed all our activities together, from painting the lab, to teaching the girls, to shopping trips in town, to buying our birks together online, to weekly lunches.... everything became fun because i was with you peeps. thank you for sharing your lives with me, and for putting your all towards our common goal. we did a great job people, and i couldn't be prouder. we rock!

and i'm really looking forward to all our future planned activities. now that ltb has ended, we can finally dedicate the time to ourselves doing fun stuff! study session/ktv this tue, plus our return to AGH again as volunteers, the overseas community service mission we're planning, our road trip down to kl for malaysian seafood, our mambo night... wah... it's gonna be so much fun!! we'll have more pigging out sessions, like last night's pizza and tonight's celebration ramen and waffles dinner. yay! i love you guys! *muacks*, from a fellow member of the suspected 'lesbian' group, just because we hug too much! lol. is it our fault that we are very touchy feely? hahaha.

be back to edit with photos later! :)

the 72 hour day

gearing up for the final rounds of projects. and in preparation for the mess to come, a plan! haha. my timetable for the next few hours --

SAT
4.30am-7.30am -- sleep
SUN
7.30-9 -- learning journal reflections/planning
9-10 -- get ready and leave for sch
10am-4pm -- CAT proj meeting in sch
4-4.30 -- travel home
4.40-6.30 -- write learning journal proper
6.30pm-7.30pm -- dinner
7.30-2am -- study FA for midterm
2-7 -- sleep
MON
7-8.30 -- get ready for sch/revision
8.30am-11.45am -- FA midterm
11.45-3.30 -- CAT proj meeting
3.30-6.45 -- CAT class/presentation + do LTB presentation ppt slides during class
6.45pm-11.30pm -- LTB proj meeting
11.30-2.30 -- make LTB slideshow
2.30-7.30 -- sleep
TUE
7.30am-8.30am -- get ready and go to sch
8.30-11.45 -- comms class
11.45-3.30 -- LTB proj meeting
3.30pm-6.45pm -- LTB class/presentation
6.45pm onwards -- CELEBRATION DINNER AND REST!!!! haha. can't wait for that.

i must be crazy, but i actually don't think this entire thing^ is that bad. first sem, it was a totally different story, but now... simply inevitable. haha. see what smu does to you? crazy. we are all actually used to such a lifestyle. ~~ anyway. 4.30am, time to take a short nap before the rest of the days start. bye!

pandora's box

I was just in the midst of doing research for tomorrow morning's impending comms presentation, when I chanced upon this oh so famous legend, and felt so impelled to make a post. You see, I’ll be doing a presentation on pandora.com tomorrow, and thought to look into the legend of Pandora’s Box to see if I could somehow create some kind of grand opening to my speech. Lol. And lo and behold, the fascinating story! if you don't know much about it, the gist of it is about how this box, filled with all the evils, pain, and suffering of the world, was set loose on Earth, and I’m amazed at the numerous parallels the legend has to the bible. In fact, my interest in this I think is as much as it was when I found the parallels between the bible and the Koran! It’s really amazing how each have basically the same facts, but spin different tales as to its reasoning and origins. The Pandora box legend here also links to the creation of man, in a tale I find undoubtedly similar to that of Adam and eve. No snake here, but regardless, the creation of man and woman, that breath of life, and the downfall of man (or here, mankind), BECAUSE of women. Why are we always the one to blame? Deceit and a definite display of weakness in character are always associated to women, and never to men! What so makes them the superior sex?! Haha. Before I digress further, really, go give this a read!; and see for yourselves, the similarities. I even found the linkage to Noah’s ark in there! But anyhow, this particular part of the legend touched me, so I’ll leave it here for you to peruse.

Thus, according to the ancients, evil entered into the world, bringing untold misery; but Hope followed closely in its footsteps, to aid struggling humanity, and point to a happier future.

" Hope rules a land for ever green:
All powers that serve the bright-eyed Queen
Are confident and gay;
Clouds at her bidding disappear;
Points she to aught ? - the bliss draws near,
And Fancy smooths the way."
Wordsworth

It doesn't make much of an impact here, but read it in unison with the rest of the story, and maybe you too will feel the same way. Anyhow, really interesting stuff! I wish I had time to read or share more, but it's back to work for me. Haha. Wish me luck for my individual presentation tomorrow. Toodles!

sigh....

feeling sad today :( couldn't bring myself up to do fa like i planned to.... everyone is leaving! sue left for la on fri, and mum and dad will be leaving for vietnam in like 8 hours. waahh!! so sad so sad. i'm like all alone at home! esp without sue. been so used to coming home to hearing her voice and talking nonsense everyday from morning to night, and now its silence! i miss you loads babe, come home now! but i'm so glad you managed to find pom in taipei during your stopover. thanks for looking! and i'm so sad i missed your phonecall from taipei-- i was in mummy's room!! hmmmm.... sighhhhh.... what to do... i don't feel like doing work... and i don't feel like sleeping either.... i know, i'll write you an email now! lol. i was planning to only start writing later on in the week, but it's only been a day and i already miss you! when are you coming home?!?!?! 9 days is too long. sigh...


---
oh gosh. excuse this crappy post. i'm just feeling super bored and depressed! talking to a wall.. that's me.. urggg!!!

i'll leave it up to Him...

i'm starting to feel a little lost as to what to do this break. i'm suddenly presented with a multitude of options and choices, of which i do not which to settle on. i initially decided not to do my internship this break, after the rather anti-climatic lack of reply from citibank, the only company i applied with. then i thought fine, this may in fact be God's choice, and a way to tell me to focus on the other thing i have been increasing concerning myself with, that of my business. so then i decided, fine, i'll not intern or work this holiday, and dedicate my full attention and time to building up and promoting tickled orange, with plans to go store by store to look for consignment opportunities etc. and i was fine with that, especially since timing seemed just about right and i was asked if i wanted to join some friends on an overseas community servive mission to thailand this break, something i'm actually quite keen on, having not given anything back to the society since JC times, and something which i sorely missed.

come yesterday, another group of my friends wanted to get together to plan a trip to taiwan for a short holiday, and i was all on for that too! i was just thanking my lucky stars that all four trips i planned to go on this break did not clash, when news came that i actually had a chance to do an internship in the end. so which to choose? what is a good exchange? i definitely can't do all, and i definitely have to forgo some things. and that, my friends, is my present dilemna. although, as i write this, i feel that i should not be complaining either. i've been blessed enough to be presented with so many opportunities, and i should relish and delight in them, instead of feeling tied down or troubled by them.

but how should i proceed and how should i reply to my friends making plans and needing an answer? i suppose my answer is a tentative yes to all. i've decided to at the very least give myself a chance, and send in my CV for 'inspection'. what comes out of this, and what doesn't, i'll leave it up to God and fate. and if i do get it, then i'll just have to forgo my three trips to thailand, hongkong, and taiwan. the one to la and las vegas, i'll definitely go on. the tickets are confirmed, the rooms booked, and anyway, i'm leaving directly after exams (3 days after), so i'll have no trouble going for that and still meeting the 10 week internship duration criteria if i do get it. so now, i'll just have to leave things up to Him. my alternatives are there, my routes clear. the only thing left, my decided path. what happens next, what will be in store for me, i'll just have to wait and see....

ashes

was in church today, and singing this song, i suddenly had a great appreciation for the lyrics. funny though, how easy it is to find other musicians song lyrics on the internet, and how hard it is to find that of religious songs. and the most ironic fact of all, and which in a sense angered me, was that while lyrics for pop stars like usher or charlotte church or whoever can be obtained freely and without costs, that of a CHURCH song requires money to purchase from the publisher. am i the only one seeing something wrong with this aspect of american society?!? anyhow, only managed to find part of the song--

Ashes (Tom Conry)

We rise again from ashes, from the good we've failed to do.
We rise again from ashes, to create ourselves anew,
If all our world is ashes, then must our lives be true
An offering of ashes, an offering to you.

We offer you our failures, we offer you attempts
The gifts not fully given, the dreams not fully dreamt.
Give our stumblings direction, give our visions wider view,
An offering of ashes, an offering to you

ok. it really does sound better in verse while sung! but seriously, how true it is, that God supports us through it all. we do not necessarily have to succeed, but just to try. attempts, failures, our lives are really as said, 'gifts not fully given', 'dreams not fully dreamt'. Thank you God for helping me thus far in my journey, and though i may not always succeed, it is refreshing and frankly settling to know that in Your eyes it does not really matter, that i will still garner support from You regardless, and that You'll always be by my side (although we both know that i do not even deserve it at times). may You continue to give my stumblings direction, as well to help me live a life of meaning, and of servitude to You and yours. thanks for being the invisible hand supporting me and my family always, for always giving without expecting returns, for always loving and caring. we always take You and your gifts for granted, and more often than not, i forget this most important word - Thank You. for all you've done, for all that you plan to do, Thank You, and may i never forget this important lesson again. to all celebrating the period of Lent now, may we never forget the trials He went through to bring us where we are today. peace be, with all.

a dedication to my ltb group.

oh gosh, i just received our ltb photos from huiting, since i'm in charge of creating our video, and they really brought a HUGE smile to my face! just wanted to share my journey with you peeps:)

it really was great working with you guys! mama, nat, ting, denise, poa ee, gladys, i had so much fun! we must be one of the fastest groups! can't believe we'll be done with our project this friday. can't wait for our party with the girls at ag home! even though meetings were really long and time-consuming, (we met like 4 times a week!), but it was all worth it. i can't believe we did so much! from cleaning up a room, to painting and decorating, to waiting for the computers from dell to come, to teaching the girls week after week words, excel, powerpoint, and presentation skills, to our finale party this week, its all been so... wow! and i can't wait for us to go back to agh again in the few months to come, but this time as volunteers! i'm priviledged to be able to work with you all, as well as to get new friends. here's to you and us, we rock!

per request......

haha. k. so our dear michaela wanted me to do this, and since i didnt do the last 7s one she asked me to, i'll do this! ---

4 things/people that make me smile:
1. my family
2. pfhoney (don't ask!)
3. kids
4. sweet couples in love

4 ways to win my heart:
1. be romantic
2. treat me good
3. shower me with sweet surprises and thoughtful gestures
4. and most importantly, (like EVER), love me! heehee. well, duh...;]

4 things i believe:
1. that there is a God, and that he truly listens;
2. deja va
3. ghosts and other beings
4. that there'll always be someone there to give you a second chance

4 things i'm afraid of:
1. certain insect/creatures - lizards, rats, cockroaches...
2. getting injured or sick
3. losing my family
4. having no future

4 things/people i wanna see right now:
1. my lost elephant, pom-pom. (a gift from my dad)
2. my family healthy, happy and harmonious
3. the 'one'
4. success for my business, tickled-orange

4 people who should also do this:
1. sue-anne
2. leanne
3. daphne
4. gladys

there. done!