It’s gonna be PAYDAY soon which I’m very excited about due to my current abject poverty state and what did I do this month so far? Nothing. First two weeks, I was on leave (to enjoy the splendour of Switzerland) and then when I came back, I was forced asked nicely to go on leave for 3 more days. I wasn’t intending to waste my precious leave so I went to the docs and due to the aftermath of excessive swiss chocolates and cheese fondue, I got 3 days of MC instead. Proceeded to rot through 2 days of very "taxing" training and then, voila the 3rd weekend of the month is already here!

I’ve become very accustomed to rotting but I’ve managed to squeeze in a few things.

Like watching Ocean’s Thirteen. Possibly late in catching this movie but it was worth my time. George Clooney cannot even pretend to disappoint and I continued to be blown away at the bag of tricks in store. Nevertheless, I don’t think it was half as good as Ocean’s 11 but this one takes the cake for humour. Chinese guy was hilarious too. Sadly, Al Pacino wasn’t given much of a chance to display his total talent.

Did some shopping too, despite my resolve NOT to spend any more money since Switzerland committed daily daylight robbery on my beleagured wallet. Mango sale this time was disappointing but I still managed to blow off $100 on two lovely skirts and a top. Phuture London was having a sale too so I blew off some more money on a lovely dress. *faint* (makes mental note NOT to spend anymore money….until well…Bonus day!)

Oh ya, tried out this restaurant called "Chopsticks Copper Chimney" at Race Course Road. When I saw it, I was feeling nostalgic about this restaurant called "Rice Bowl" in Bangalore, India. It’s a favourite and a hit among the young in Bangalore and fits Indian taste buds very well - delightful Indian Chinese food. Recalling my love for Rice Bowl, I went straight in to this restaurant. You see, I love Chinese food, but I usually feel that’s it’s too bland for me. My colleagues often laugh at me when they see me taking at least 3 to 4 helpings of chilli sauce for chicken rice and heaping them all over the rice and then complaining that it’s still pretty bland. Heh, my taste buds are very Indian. Well, this restaurant’s not too bad. Definitely hit the notes well for Indian Chinese food and price range is OK. A bit on the salty side, I must say though.

And is it just me or is Little India REALLY becoming like India? MY God, the traffic situation is just TERRIBLE there, especially around Mustafa. Pedestrians behaving like the roads belong to them and taxi drivers (as usual) oblivious to other road users. Excessive car honking, a serious dearth of space to manouvere your car and worse, more instances of carefully driving in alleys. Driving in Little India has become STRESSFUL! *faint*

The rotter’s life is coming to an end tomorrow cos I have to commence real work. And I caught sight of a blip in the radar on my schedule. The shiTyard job is set to come back to haunt me. More gloomy days in store for me….sigh.

This week has been a good week….so far…(always good to retain some reservations regarding optimism). The firm had a free screening for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Gosh, that was a mouthful!) at Lido and my lovely senior gave me her free tix since I was so unlucky during the ballotting. Ks and I stupidly thought we could "save money" by getting a large combo set which neither of us had gotten before and seriously that combo is meant for GIANTS. Four of us shared the damn thing and we still couldn’t finish it. Anyway, I loved the movie. Damn funny. I know, it’s not meant to be funny but Johnny Depp really cracked me up! "The Bretheren" people were hilarious as well. The ending was kind of unexpected but predictable nonetheless, on retrospect.

Then by yesterday morning, I was able to finalise all the comfirmable parts of my trip next week such as visas, air tix, train tix, insurance, itinerary & accomodation. It felt reallllly good because the same time last week I was feeling really lousy about myself for not being able to secure a lot of the stuff. So then, it’s settled, I’m flying off on Monday…whee!!! Ok the FUNNY thing about my accomodation is that 4/5 of my accomodation is with Indians! Soooo coincidental, eh? The first time I called each of them, I was a little taken aback.

"helloooo…. kaun heh?" (hello, who’s this on the line - in hindi)

Had I called India by mistake and not Switzerland? After all, country code for India is 91 and Switzerland it’s 41. Each of them was able to tell I was Indian (probably cos I was haggling, lol) and offered me discounts and Indian food (not that I was actually enticed by the offer cos I’m not looking to eat Indian food there but it was nice of them).

Yesterday night was greaaat too! My lovely manager treated my team to dinner and drinks at New Asia Bar. It has been quite some time since I last went there. I think it was quite a few months ago, once with R and another time with Tby. Apparently there’s no more cover charge? Anyways, had a good time - 4 bottles of champagne, severals rounds of shots and *seaweed martinis* and good finger good - couldn’t get better. And got to know of a certain database portal (ahem) - very informative…haha. Didn’t take any pics but here’s one of the skyline I took a loooooooooong time ago.I love the view from Swissotel, think F1 lovers will find it a great hit!

Woo Hoo. I feel liberated cos I handed in my thesis this morning and my shityard job is somewhat over. It’s the end of a shity (albeit short) week. For the first time I experienced what it feels like to be the last person to leave the office. On May Day I caught Spiderman 3. We had to go all the way to Tiong Bahru Plaza. Worse than betting that Great World City would be the last place where moviegoers would go. Apparently not. Even at TBP we had to scramble for the tickets. Anyway, the movie was good. A little too long if you ask me but the play on the emotions and less focus on the baddies was good. Kirsten Dunst is still as ever just a wanna-be pretty face. No value add.

The stupid part? I got free tix to my firm’s screening of Spiderman tomorrow. !@#%#^&@! I should have just tried my luck with the Pirates of the carribean screening instead.

I’ve given in. I’ve caved to the pressure of leggings and short dresses engulfing the fashion world. I was holding a steadfast bias against leggings but now I’ve just given in. And apparently a lot of people pointed it out to me this week - looks like I’m really known for my "steadfast beliefs"….and they took such pleasure in pointing out that I’ve thrown up my "steadfast beliefs". Pffffffffffffffffffft.

I’m having trouble selling off my Dopod 838Pro. I’m driving away all my stingy potential buyers too. Bah. At least I’ve gotten the Shopaholic and Baby book off my shelf. Can someone help me with selling off ym shity phone…I need money to go shop!

Well well well. I’m enjoying the last few days of my glorious "high-life" (as Hynz terms it) before I return to the shiTyard on Wednesday. It’s disgusting that I’m back again and yet always took such joy in telling the client I won’t be coming back. I said that to them 5 times and all 5 times I was wrong, so I give up saying goodbye. I’ve taken leave tomorrow to finish up my thesis and biz plan. So dumb, leave is supposed to be for resting and relaxing and yet I find myself getting frenzied over the absolute details of another last-minute job. And then, it’s back to work on Wednesday. I’ve been throughly enjoying myself over the past 2 weeks, promptly ending at 530 everyday and having not a care…but now it’s time to return to the shity days at the shiTyard.

Whatever. I have watched two good movies recently, one called "Partition" (starring Kristin Kreuk from Smallville) and the other called "Provoked" (starring Aishwarya Rai *screams*). Both are british films about India/Indians. Partition is about (duh) the partition between India and Pakistan in 1947. A Sikh guy falls in love with a muslim woman but the story ends in tragedy because once the woman finds her family back in Pakistan, she is not allowed to return to India because her family hates the sikhs.

Provoked is about a landmark case in Britain (Regina v. Ahluwalia) which gave new meaning to the word provocation. It’s about this woman who was continuously tortured, abused and raped for 10 years by her husband and one day she snaps and sets him on fire, killing him. She is initially jailed, on a murder charge, but soon learns English and earns the respect of her fellow inmates and finds the courage to go on a retrial, during which the motion was reversed and provocation was redefined. I have to forgive myself (a huge Aishwarya fan) but I have to say that she really sucks at acting in English films. Hynz, who watched the film with me, says it’s probably cos’ we’re more used to watching her in Hindi flims and we’re not giving her a chance….but I don’t know…

I’m now awaiting the International Flim festival, a good time to check out some German films, though I have to admit, I’m not excited about watching black and white films. Hopefully there are some "modern" films to watch. Hynz and I are also waiting for Ks to be free (she’s suffering with her "low-life" cos’ her peak is far from having ended) to watch Ta Ra Rum Pum. I can’t wait… I think its gonna be great, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta. Hopefully next weekend.

Sorry, I cannot find too lazy to find a picture of the partition poster. Anyway, watching Provoked got me reminded of case law. I used to think I was great at case law (corporate) since I eagerly took all the law modules in Uni (they really should have at least given me a minor in business law) but now I realise I truly suck at it. There is sooooooooo much I don’t know! My partner rattled off some cases, asking us if we knew any of them and their significance on auditing and guess what - I knew none of them. I felt really stupid, to say the least. It’s even more embarassing to note that I’d taken all the law modules I could lay my hands on during uni.

Anyway, on his recommendation, I read a couple of books which have given me more insight. "The number" by Alex Brenson is really good. I’ve just gotten started on "Barbarians at the gate", which is turning out to be a good read too. Definitely a change from my usual gossip fodder/chick lit reads, ala Shopaholic and Baby (I love Sophie Kinsella to absolute bits and by the way I was almost rolling on the floor when I read her latest book).

Nowadays I’m just lazy to blog. It’s frustrating that I can’t even write without restraint and do what I love most - writing. I’ve come to accept that blogging is not the same as writing and it never will be - at least for me. Blogging is just a way of keeping in touch and letting people know what’s going on in your boring life. So here goes nothing.

Started the week by watching Namastey London with Ks and Hynz (always miss them!). It’s by far the best hindi movie I’ve watched this year. Really really good and Katrina Kaif really put in a stellar performance. As usual, Ks was crazy abt her silly Akshay but seriously the movie was truly hilarious. Mr Bean would be put to shame. Would definitely recommend it. The songs are good too. I LOVE Rafta Rafta.

Speaking of Hindi movies, I was pleasantly surprised when my Chinese manager started talking to me about all the movies she’s watched. She can rattle off all the actors and actresses and songs off her tongue effortlessly. I was dumbfounded. Imagine my total surprise when she told me she’s actually even taking bollywood dance classes. Think she’s the first Chinese person I’ve come across who’s so into Bollywood. Super impressive!

My three weeks of blissful working life is fast coming to an end. Next week, I return to God-forsaken-part-of-country. I’ve been booked by my manager….again…for the nth time. I should just stop saying goodbye to the client. I always seem to return. My senior has now affectionately termed it my shityard shipyard job. How nice.

I’ve capped off the week by shopping effortlessly. Bought some stuff at Esprit cos the firm gave us 33% off for corporate discount. I just received my Mango invitation card so gonna shop somemore soon. And oooh I’m really eyeing the Estella patent shoes from Aldo. I crave.

And oh yes…I’m hooked on Harper’s Bazaar. Why oh why didn’t I know about it before? It’s such an entertaining read and the photography is pure eye candy.

Plans for the weekend?
- Celebrate mom’s bday
- Clubbing with R
- Finish up thesis first draft

And I desperately want to watch freedom writers. Who wants to watch with me?

Caught the latest news. Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s cricket coach was found dead. Some conspiracy stories have emerged, including that he was poisoned and strangled, possibly to hush up any aftermaths of match fixing. Cricket has been abysmal this year, to say the least. It’s hardly any consolation if India even makes it to the Super 8s, after being slapped in the face with regards to the defeat by Bangladesh. Of all the minnows in the world, being defeated by Bangladesh is really worse than being slapped in the face. Probably akin to being run over by a car when all you were expecting was a gentle breeze.

Anyway, today I received insight into the new meaning of overhyped. I’m referring to Mr. Bean’s Holiday.

You wouldn’t quite believe it, but there was hardly a cinema you could get a seat at for this movie on a Saturday. Virtually all cinemas had sold out or selling fast status. That’ll probably give you the idea that this is some kind of blockbuster movie but it isn’t…and you probably should not expect it to be one. Instead, it’s a typical Bean movie which his usal bag of trite and hackneyed tricks that lead him to a disaster-filled path where he tries his best to get out of the huge mess that he created himself (and others too). It isn’t anything new but some parts of the movie are really overdone, like it’s too ridiculous or something - even for Mr. Bean. Too much for some cheap laughs, if you ask me. And the fact that there were kids who were sleeping during the movie points to the questionablity of the entertain-ability of the movie. If kids can’t appreciate Mr Bean, who can?

Earlier in the day, went to Olio Dome at Suntec City for lunch. I would recommend this place. The mixed grill is really good (ask for the steak to be replaced by chicken thighs and you’ll be pleased too). The soup’s good too and I dare say that the service was exemplary. The decor and ambience are soothing with the use of sofas and wood.

We didn’t make it to the NATAS fair. Decided to give it a miss and go full steam to find a bloody cinema that had seats for Mr Bean, which clearly was an uphill task. Finally ended up at Great World City, rotting at TCC for hours before catching a late show. The TCC there is pretty good. Service was really good despite the fact that we were kinda hogging the comfy seats. I discovered a magazine to look forward to every month - Harper’s Bazaar. It’s one of the few magazines I’ve come across that can engage me for hours and makes me wanna read and look at every single page. It got me glued - the writers really have good style and the photography is simply amazing. Loves it. Oh - and I got new shoes… but I need more pairs! My shoe closet is literally begging for more inhabitants. Perhaps I’ll get more shoes this weekend. Wish me luck!

Went to watch Music and Lyrics. Liked it. Certainly a feel-good movie that makes for perfect viewing pleasure. Romantic comedies starring Hugh Grant or Drew Barrymore always bring smiles to my face, and Music and Lyrics was no different. I liked the fact that it had a nice story going but unfortunately the plot wasn’t taken a bit further enough. I mean the part about confronting her ex could have been developed a bit further towards the end at least. Nevertheless, given that it’s a comedy, perhaps it wasn’t meant to be too serious. And yes, had a few good laughs.

Anyway I have questions I can’t quite answer, or actually to better put it, I don’t quite know what to do about some situations. And they’re really trivial….but really get to me.

1) You’re sitting in the subway, on your way to work. A woman stands in front of you. You ignore her, cos she’s probably just another random commuter. And then she holds her tummy. She does this two or three times. And then you wonder why. Could she possibly be pregnant? She isn’t visibly pregnant, but she could be. Should you offer her your seat? What if she isn’t pregnant? Then you would be insinuating that she is FAT. Now that just wouldn’t do, right?

What would you do?

2) There a bunch of punks listening to some crappy music (ie. Akon or Eminem or whatever) SUPER LOUDLY. In fact, it’s not listening. They’re bascially BLASTING their crappy music for all and sundry to hear. And mind you, all and sundry, including tired office workers like yours truly, do NOT want to hear. Come on, it isn’t Rammstein or Nirvana or even Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It’s Akon - Singing "I want to love you, love you, love you" doesn’t exactly require 300 million decibels does it? You feel like going up to these stupid punks and knocking some sense into them. But you can’t muster up the guts cos they look like punks with bad hairdos and you’re afraid of getting beaten up for no rhyme or reason (pun intended).

What would you do?

3) You head to your workplace, clearly pissed off with the world. And then you see this person who from time to time annoys the hell out of you (and your fellow colleagues) for a very trivial thing. She BURPS….VERY loudly. Make that super duper loudly. I’m not exagerating. She burps sooo loudly you feel like puking everytime she does it. And the burping thing happens several times a day. Only God knows what the hell she eats to make her burp like that. Now the problem is that, neither you nor your colleagues actually know what to do about it cos you cannot afford to strain the relationship you have with this client. You have to be on their good side, for obvious reasons. Do you continue to tolerate it and overwork your gag reflexes?

What would you do?

Yesterday I met up with my JC Classmates - the turn out was pretty good. Jx, Kw, CCC, Antz, Catz, xy, nd, tx, yw, pj all came. And we ate at Kublai Khan. Ok the food wasn’t too good - at least not for the money we paid. I remember I went there a very looong time ago and thought it was very very good. back then it was a lot more upmarket and high-end. Now, it’s just another restaurant. Bah.

Wah…class photo

Jiaxin, Chean Chia and ME

Chean Chia and Kok Wee

Kw, wish u all the best in the States. Hope you enjoy your trip there and *behave*

After that, me, jx, pj, xy, tx and cat went to watch Borat. Oh my God, it was hilarious but seriously gross man.

It’s about this reporter from Kazakhstan who goes to America to film a documentary and it turns out to be full of gaffes - depicted fully with racial/religious stereotypes, stereotypes about americans and kazakhs. And THAT scene. Oh man, THAT scene. I think even if you tried finding for such porno you couldn’t find it. It was that pornographic. Oh man, the very thought is giving me the chills. Eeeeew. BUT, I do recommend you to watch the movie. Bloody hilarious.

I enjoyed yersterday. It was good to see all you guys after soooo long. LOVED the Dorothy Perkins bag. It’s totally hot. I hope you guys all love the pressies I picked out for you!

After an enjoyable yesterday (albeit being sick), it was miserable today. Went back to office to work and I was surprised to see so many people. Ks and I were grumbling the whole day I think. She was stuck in some screwed-up stock-take and I was just stuck. Bah. Now, back to being sick.

1. Still working like a dog but looking forward to end of current engagement this week.

2. Watched this movie called Quinceanera with Tby and Day. It’s a spanish/english (spanglish?) movie about this pregnant virgin (yup it’s scientifically possible) who gets dumped by a guy who claimed to love her and by her parents as her dad is a pastor. Her brother’s gay so he got thrown out of his house too. They stay with their granduncle who’s a real sweetie. So the story deals with issues around homosexuality, parents, love, pre-martial sex and justified superficiality. Does that sound ironic? Justified superficiality? Or is that an oxymoron?

Personally I think superficiality is a misused word. I don’t think it is as negative as people make it out to be. I think it’s perfectly all right to be obsessed with designer clothing/shoes/bags, make-up, shopping or designer homes/luxury cars. I don’t think that’s being superficial. Maybe that’s being materialistic but there isn’t anything wrong with being materialistic. Yes, once upon a time I used to call materialistic people shallow and superficial. But that was when I was a young, dumb, angstly teen. So for those who misuse the word superficiality, you ought to grow up! It’s high time you did that.

3. I dumped Al. I know it’s mean but he’s such a boy. He had the cheek to complain about me not spending enough time blah blah blah. Seriously, there are more important things in life to deal with than relationships with boys. It’s quite strange that it was the very reason I had broken up with T for. I do regret it now. Because now I understand. I thought it was all about me me me. It took me this long to realise it isn’t. It’s sad that it takes another person’s actions to teach me this and not my own.

4. I’m still sick. I don’t know why. It’s been so long and I’ve avoided all my sin foods for the longest time possible. I’ve practically given up coke, except for the one craving I gave into at the shity Manhattan Fish restuarant - which is really a bad version of Fish & Co - even the menu/serving arrangements/sauces bear an uncanny resemblance to Fish & Co - and it all sucked. I honestly would have complained hadn’t it been for the nice service staff. Cos the food really sucked.

Check out the amount of leftover food. This was after we had footed the bill.

Anyway, yeah, i’m still sick. I’m planning to wait till day after tomorrow at least to go back to the doctor cos I think the firm will think I’m crazy for racking up medical bills in a month. But still that makes it consecutive 3 months of doctor visits. Bleargh…

5. Upcoming plans
- lessons on fri night and sat. (I can’t believe they sent the assignments to be done by tom like er, yesterday. luckily I came back early today from work so I can work on it tonight)
- spa session on sun at fullerton
- german movie on sun also (forgot the title)
- shopping on sun also (marathon sunday in mind)
- next week moving to new office at One Raffles Quay. Building looks really swanky but no use - I hardly spend any time in office anyway.
- next next week going to Shanghai! - it’s my second time to Shanghai and it’s the second time I’m having an ultra rushed/packed time in Shanghai. Don’t even know if I’ll have time to visit my friends there!

Went shopping with Hynz and Ks again. Got some pretty good steals. Sometimes I think to myself that I’m a real sucker, because if I see a price tag and a significantly marked down price on top of it, I feel really good about my buy. In actual fact, I’m pretty much sure I’m being conned most of the time only to think like that. Think I’ve totally maxed out my budget for Oct. Bah. Watched "The Prestige" with Tby and Day yesterday. Contrary to my earlier reservations I had about the movie, it was actually pretty good! It’s about this extreme rivalry between two magicians and the guy who played borden (Forgot his name) was bloody good. Hugh Jackman and SCarlett were both disappointing.

In other developments, I am now the lucky owner of a "complimentary membership at SDU". SDU (I think) stands for SocialDevelopmentUnit. Not too sure how the progress of transitioning from SingleDesperate&Ugly to SexyDifferent&Unique is coming along. BUT, since it’s complimentary and you must pay and all, I’m presuming it’s pretty exclusive and I’m wondering if I can sell it. eBay anyone?

And I’m sick. I have a nose that won’t stop running. (I’m not too sure what the correct verb should be for runny noses). At least I got a MC for the day off.