Happy Lunar New Year!!

Yes...it's yet another Chinese/Lunar new year...the madness begins. I know that I sounded pretty envious in my previous entry and yes, I was at that point in time. But all those who do know about our history also know that Jean's not exactly your girl-next-door. Relationships between her and I soured in Primary 5 but it was also at that point in time when relationships with other schoolmates also suffered. I've heard stories from RGS as well. She's no doubt smart, but I'm not envious over her success - if you want to call it that. I'm who I am and my path is carved differently from hers. All the best to everyone. What's important is that we work hard, isn't it? So...I pray that all my worries in this new year will dissipate..onegai!!! I'm referring to my conference. If I don't get word about my grant by Wednesday, there goes my chance of going for the conference. I hope that Rice University will extend their deadline for payment. It's ridiculous to ask us to pay so soon...we don't grow $.

And one of the 7 deadly sins is Envy

I met an old childhood friend, Jean Ang, yesterday. I found out that she's in law AND she speaks very fluent Japanese. It's funny how we sort of parted ways after primary 5 and yet her path in life and mine are somewhat similar or rather, she's a step ahead. In some cosmic way, it feels as if she's living what I want in life. She's in law AND fluent in Japanese. I do not seethe in anger but rather jealousy. Perhaps I have only myself to blame. Anyway, Jean and I didn't really recognise each other. We walked past each other and it took me like 3 to 4 seconds to realise that it was her. It helped that my classmate called out, "Jean!" That's how I knew that it was Jean Ang. It's because my dear classmate went to Kyudai for the JLCC programme - a year programme where your language is very important because all the classes are held in Japanese. I feel like a bimbo nowadays. Who am I kidding? I'm not that smart. I've got problems with my ISM and my brain needs to be organised. I told Meihui the other day that I'm like a secretary who needs to be fired but I can't fire myself!! It's the bloody last sem...I need to get my energy and brain back up to 100% mode. あたしはがんばります！！

Kindness Kindness is most important in a boyfriend/girlfriend. You want someone who will go through everything with you - the best moments and the worst, and all of those other moments in between. You love to be able to say anything to your partner, and have them say anything to you. You are able to be extremely close with your partner for that reason. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Brain dead

My brain is on its way to lala land. I can feel that my brain is working at 10% it's normal speed. Sucks. Today has been a day of "forgot"s:
1. I forgot to bring my pencil case
2. I forgot that I had to think about a project idea for Dr Mac's class
3. I forgot to read one more reading for today's class
4. I forgot that I have to hand in my critical review on a Noh play by tomorrow evening
5. I forgot that I am able to collect Saito's readings from today

Oh gosh....i feel as if I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I hate 9 am lessons. I hope this is a Monday-early-morning phenomenon. Bleah. Oh, Dr Mac and her mum (who's Japanese) shared similar sentiments as me with regards to "Memoirs of a Geisha". As for Hatsumomo, I think her sloppiness is not merely about her hair or dressing in the okiya (which geisha still dress very well) but in the general way she walks in public. Dr Mac said that she felt the accents very strange and it bothered her. Guess that I'm not the only one. I think it would've been better if they faked bad Japanese accents rather than having a multi-accents when they were supposed to be Japanese. *sigh* whom shall we blame????

Memoirs of a JS student

Haha...I'm sure you guys know what I'm going to bitch about soon...however, there are some other things that I've got to talk about before starting my review on "Memoirs of a Geisha" (which will be very long, bear with me). First of, I went to the J-Rock concert on Wednesday. My verdict on the band "Aries Kaizer" is that their lead singer needs to go for vocal lessons as well as learn how to perform!! Gosh...he trashed and ruined the lovely songs where Hyde reached those high notes. Furthermore, the performance was just lack luster. The lead singer looked so out of place with regards to his other band members. The next band "Requiem" was much better despite the fact that you can't hear the lead singer most of the time. However, when you COULD hear her, you knew that she can sing. This lead singer is damn funny. She just added 'desu' to the end of everything. Blah-blah desu, blah blah desu. She introduced herself this way: Boku wa Jennifer desu (boku is the MALE way of referring to oneself). *cue shocked expression* Ah well, a friend and I gave her the benefit of the doubt that she used 'boku' instead of 'watashi' because the band was singing D'ir En Grey songs, which is an all male band. That said, at the end of her band's performance, she said: Domo desu. *cue shocked expression and laughter* Domo is a very informal way of saying thanks and there's NO SUCH THING as 'domo desu'. This is the first time I've ever heard someone say that. I still can't get over it. HAHAHAHAHAHA......

On with the Memoir's bitching....went to watch "Memoirs of a Geisha" yesterday. Here are my gripes:
1. The hairstyles are NOT geisha. They look remotely Chinese....hmmm....weird since the details on the various kimono were attended to. *frown*
2. Gong Li's character Hatsumomo doesn't behave like a geisha. Geisha are very particular about how they dress and present themselves in public but Hatsumomo was always looking so sloppy.
3. All those nature scenes. Puhleese...so typical representation of Japan being untouched and beautiful and whoa! I have nothing against the postcard/ picturesque scenes. However, it romanticises and exoticises...perpetuating the stereotype of Japan. This brings me to the next point.
4. The movie does not capture the essence of the book, which is really about a geisha's life. The movie is more about a girl's romantic life that is loosely related to being a geisha once.
5. The screenplay writer obviously doesn't understand Japanese culture because the Japanese DO NOT scream and shout at each other when they disagree. If you've met a lot of Japanese females, you'll realise that they usually speak to each other rather soft-spokenly and their disagreements are not dealt with as directly as portrayed in the movie.
6. Feeble attempt at having symbolic meaning attached to 'water' and 'rain'. Its self explanatory if you've watched the movie.
7. Simplification of the relationship between the Chairman and Sayuri. Does anyone really believe that a crush of a 9 year-old girl is stretched to become love? 6 years on and she's still in love with someone old enough to be her father? Moreover, start having feelings for him just because he's nice to you? Uh...which planet are we talking about now?
8. Sayuri's solo dance. Was that a dance? She looked like a mad woman prancing around. Seriously. I had to contain my laughter when the next line after her dance was: "You danced with such profound feeling!" Yup....if the feeling conveyed was meant to be insanity.
9. There was no emphasis on the ARTISTRY of the geisha, just mere mentions...as if they were the token phrases to let people know that "Hey...we're trying to debunk the notion that geisha are prostitues!"
10.Since the movie is totally in English (but we should assume that they're normally speaking in Japanese), in the scene where the Americans and the geisha were together, were they conversing in English or Japanese? Can't be English since Sayuri and Mameha didn't receive formal education on English. Ok...I shall not think too much about this aspect.

In a nutshell, this movie was made for an American (usually ignorant about Japanese culture) audience...and it had to sell. Hence the casting of famous faces like Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Oops...it's now Ziyi Zhang. Oh...don't get me started on her. I do have other criticism against "Memoirs" but I shall end here today.

Rock on!

I went for a J-Rock concert last night. I was sorely disappointed with the group which did the covers of L'arc en Ciel. They trashed some of the songs and the lead singer needs to polish both his singing as well as performance skills. Hyde...*swoon*....too bad he's married to Oishi Megumi and has a son...another one to come along. At least they're happy, ya? ;) Anyway, back to the concert. At least the bands got better as the time went by. I had to leave mid-way though cos I've got readings!!! Heh. Finished them at 2 am this morning. Yatta!

I e-mailed all the contents of the INNOVATE conference to my mum as well as the request for the bank draft to pay Rice University. My mum asked me to wait for my grants and to explain to the person-in-charge that my mum doesn't have enough money. Uh...through my friend's experience, USP and OSA don't give the money until half way through the conference itself due to administrative reasons (don't you hate admin sometimes?). Ah well...what can I do??? Just rock on and hope for the best! Maybe I should ask my bro...but it's quite a bit of dough....どうする？今、ちょっと心配だよ。神様、教えてくださいませんか？

>_<

That's how my face looks like after having to read readings everyday. *sigh* And I've got loads more...this is my life for the next 4 months. yay. -_-

Narcissism

I think humans are inately mild-narcissists. We need it to survive. If we were all selfless individuals, we wouldn't have wars and we wouldn't have the selfish desire to want to live. On a smaller note, don't we always surround ourselves with friends who mirror us? We choose our friends. Friends are often those who encourage and point out our good points, making us feel good about ourselves. I'm sure there are few sadists out there who have friends who bully them constantly. If so, those are not friends and you need to get rid of them pronto. Ok, I know that there are people who are in "toxic relationships" where one person is like an emotional blackhole, draining your mental and emotional strength. But eventually, one will realise that he/she is in a toxic relationship and get out of it right? See...a bit of narcissism or self-love isn't that bad. Of course, I'm being extreme by using the word 'narcissism'. I just wanted to get your attention. Haha...I'm bored. Heck, gimme a break. Or better, give me big bombastic words for me to use in my daily vocabulary. Yes, I feel like being a vocab egomaniac. Heh.

Whoa...I see the sun!!

After 4 days of rain...today is especially sunny!! Wow...Singapore is sunny again! Many people can go dry their clothes properly!! This kinda reminds me of the weather reports in Japan where they not only tell you whether it's going to be sunny/cloudy/rainy but they even have icons letting you know whether the weather is good for sunning your clothes. Haha...thank goodness my home has a dryer. Come rain or shine, our clothes get dried! ;) Next week is going to be another hectic week. In addition to my weekly readings, I've got to hunt for Ming's present, buy eye-liner and white eye-shadow; go for a J-rock event on Wednesday (anybody wants to go with me?); meet a bunch of students from Shibuya-Waseda High and meet Ming for "Memoirs of a Geisha" on Thursday; go for a Honours Thesis proposal presentation (i.e. grilling session...as in I grill my classmates...*evil laugh*) and go for reunion dinner on Friday; and then I've got a hair appointment on Saturday! Wow....my week is like FULL! Haha...I think I sound semi-bimbotic. *Yawn* I just finished watching Johnny's countdown special 2005/06. I think most Japanese pop-stars like to sing in high pitched voices. Their voice range isn't very wide either. Most of them aren't particularly masculine-looking either. Why do you need 7-9 people in a group anyway? They're too small for a choir and too large for good harmonisation. Hmm...perhaps they've got like 2 singing melody, 2 "sopranos", 2 tenors and 2 non-existing bass??? Haha....but I think they all sing the same notes for the songs leh. Hmm....ok...thou shalt not comment any further. Some of the groups sang their old songs (like 10 year-old songs) and hmm, I don't think J-pop has changed a lot. Haha...and puhleese, these groups don't write their own songs so don't say things like "but it's their style". I'm horrified at the U.G.L.Y. costumes Arashi, News and Kat-tun were made to wear. 彼たちは男だよ！They looked like they were going for some Mardi Gras parade on Christmas. -_- Or someone was playing with pinnatas and it exploded on a bunch of Japanese 'boys'. I say boys 'cos they're technically adults but still resemble your adorable teen, whom you just wanna pinch. Haha...ok...enough of my verbal regurgitation. I'm really procrastinating from doing my readings, you know. Heee....

Lots to think about

It's the first day of school and I already have a pile of things to think about.

1. My ISM topic and thesis. I need to hand in a proposal by next Monday and I still haven't thought of a solid thesis. Die......

2. There's a conference that's being held in China and Japan this March and only 4 delegates from Singapore are allowed. Should I go for it? The email wrote that the ones who are chosen can apply for USP grant but will the grant cover my airfare and transportation costs? I want to go to Shanghai and Kyoto!!! The conference will be bringing the delegates to the Shanghai Stock exchange and in Japan, it'll be Toyota's factory as well as Matsushita!!! 行きたいよ！I think I shall try for it...and if I can't get the grant to cover everything, then I'll have to beg and borrow....OSA??

3. There's a job opening in an English school in Kobe. The contract is from June 2006 to May 2007. Idiot. If anyone gets the job, he or she can't attend commencement. We only graduate like once in a lifetime (unless you intend to pursue your masters and phD) and who wants to miss out on THAT?! Furthermore, for me at least, EE and family are coming down from the US just for my graduation. I can't cancel on them. I want to wear my square hat anyway, thank you very much. Which leads me to my next point:

4. JOBS...I've got to send in my resumes and cover letters (including photos...irritating and demanding employers). In the recent issue of Recruit, the latest deadline for most companies is the 21st of Jan. So early right?? Ah well...I can't read my manga and watch my anime so often liaos....

More random thoughts

School starts in another 9 hours. Yucks. What's even more yucks is deciding what job to get. Most companies want people with 2 or more years of experience! All the fresh grads have are 'management associate programmes' which are highly competitive. *sigh* i don't know what I want to do in life. Well...all I've got are dreams and fantasies...hee.

Anyway, my bro's friend got married on Saturday. Chow and Sing are going to tie the knot soon. I'm starting to think about my dream wedding...and whether I'll ever meet my groom. Haha...no, I'm not crazy to the point where I've thought of the dress, the church and the wedding venue. Although I can tell you who will be on my guest list. HAhahaa....

Sing finds the lion toy creepy. Really meh? I don't think so...I can't stop pressing that darn button.*presses the button to play the songs*

Ok...school is going to start and I've got to go into 'school' mode. I've got ISM research and proposal to do. I need to meet with Dr Mac to discuss about my ISM. I've probably got projects to do and I need to focus on getting my A's this sem. It's the last stretch and my last chance at getting a CAP of 3.5. Pray for me people, pray for me.

Mish mesh of thoughts

Read Justin's blog earlier and I couldn't help but really like his writing style. It was so tell-it-in-your-face but yet is so reflective at the same time. You wouldn't really know this side of Justin if you just talked to him in person. Anyway, he did mention something about singapore being ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY clean and manicured. In some ways, I do agree but yet at the same time, I love this side of Singapore. Damn those people who say that we're too clean and senitised. They're jealous, that's why they're complaining about cleanliness. Oh please...who likes to walk through garbage?? Anyway, people are getting paid to clean up rubbish. At least there's always a job there. Japan's awfully clean too. Why aren't there critics complaining about the Japanese being straitlaced and clean to the point of being a fault? What...rubbish makes a place have character? Hahaha...anyway, those critics ought to see the rubbish left behind during festivals/ parties/ celebrations or in a theatre after a movie. There's rubbish I tell ya. It's just that Singaporeans pay fellow Singaporeans to clean up after them.

Anyway, school reopens tomorrow...9 am lesson....*sigh* I hate early morning lessons. (T_T)

Gift from Japan!

I got a new year's day present from Honda! Ok...it seems as if it's late but it was actually delivered to my place on the 31st of December but nobody was home to collect it. Therefore, I could only have it redelivered to my place today. I'm so surprised that Honda even bothered to send 2 AA-sized batteries!! My reaction was, "Batteries??!!" Anyway, this is a Shishimai 獅子舞 and after placing the batteries in, it plays 5 different tunes and beats on the drums! I'm terribly amused by it. I think it's so cute in a very childish and fun-loving sort of way. Honda had to declare the cost of everything on the customs list and I am shocked at how much this red-faced lion costs. Postage in Japan is also ridiculously expensive. Ah well...anyway, this is a fun little ditty thingy that I'll play with throughout Chinese New Year. All those who are visting me during CNY, play on!! Hahaa...now I'm so tempted to send CNY card and goodies to Honda...must think of lack of $ ....must think of lack of $.....

It's 2006!

Ok..I've gotten lazy over the past 3 days and have yet to update my blog. My consciousness plus boredom has led me here. Well, we had a swell New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Went to Qingzhuang's party at Fullerton and had a fantastic view of the fireworks! The fireworks were sooooooooo much better than those in Fukuoka. Although this fireworks only lasted 15 mins, the cheography of each firework and the types of fireworks were wonderful. I wish that I had a super fast camera or a damn good video camera to shoot the fireworks. Unfortunately, I don't have any. Ah well. Anyway, we didn't sleep a wink from NYE to NYD. We walked to Orchard Cineleisure from Fullerton (it was a painful 1 hr walk) just to catch the 3:25 am Narnia show. The thing is that we should've left Fullerton earlier. We were late and ended up watching the 4:35 am show. By the time it ended, it was 7am. Moon's and my stomach were giving us signals that it's time to eat a proper breakfast. Thus, we went around hunting for a Mac's that was open in Orchard and wasn't in some closed shopping centre. We finally found it at Lucky Plaza and that also meant...TOILETS! Yes...my bowels were working like clockwork and I needed the loo badly. The stupid cashier at Mac's said that there wasn't any toilet in Mac's itself (i know that...that's why I had to ask her where the bloody toilet was). So I asked her, where is the toilet?? She said that I had to get out of Mac's (DUH). So I questioned her again, "You mean that there isn't a toilet in this building?" That stupid woman actually said yes!! Moon remembered that there was a toilet in the building so we went around walking and walking to find it. We met another semi-silly (or more like not so educated?) person. Moon asked him whether he knew where the washroom was. He looked at us with a befuddled look and said, "What room?" Moon repeated herself but he still had his confused look. It was only when I said "TOILET" that he understood and told us where it was. *sigh* What's wrong with some Singaporeans? Haven't they heard of all the various names for the toilet? Washroom, Restroom, Powder Room, John and the loo?? Oh wait...I forgot the dialect version: Jamban. Ah well...that settled, and after we had released mini bombs into the toilet, we finally could settle down for a nice breakfast. But we had another encounter with the sotong-kind. This time, it involved the MANAGER of Mac's. First, she gave Moon too much change and didn't bother to say thanks when Moon returned her the extra amount of money. Secondly, she forgot to give me my Sausage Egg McMuffin. I don't mean just left it on the table and forgot to pass it to me. I mean that she totally forgot ME! I went to the counter to collect my McMuffin and I told another person that I haven't gotten my McMuffin. That manager who took my order could look at me and ask, "Is it with egg?" Oh gosh.....I wasn't in a bad mood but I just couldn't understand how these people can be soo....sotong! And moon and I are the ones who haven't slept for more than 24 hours!! Ok...these people need to load up on their multi-vitamins as well as ginko biloba.