mintystuff's Xanga

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:48:48 GMT

I love Google Chrome. So it sucks how I've to use Internet Explorer to write here, because Chrome doesn't support the HTML here.

So I've decided to come back here for a bit because somebody poked me into it. The updating feel has pretty much left me...there're things you don't really mention in public anymore, and it sometimes almost seems childish to. Three months is a long time. I remembered journalling how it's been 18 days and I haven't updated in forever. Besides, I'm running really busy these days, with three jobs and what-not, that I can't make time to sit down and write what happened today. All I'm concerned about is clearing out those emails and going to bed. Today's my first break in 11 days, and that's only because the owner's mother passed away, and they had to cancel my shift for today.

So speaking of three jobs, I got my third job on the last week of November. My manager at Yesterday's wouldn't use me as a server until March, so I decided to get a temporary serving job until then. The owner's okay, and the tips aren't the greatest, but it's a good start for me. Get my feet wet a little and swim from there.

My roommate Ashley moved out today. We found someone to replace her. Her name's Leigh-Ann and she's a second-year student from Waterloo University doing her co-op here for four months. I'm already the oldest in this apartment, but Leigh-Ann moving in will really make me feel old, cuz both Jen and Leigh-Ann are Dylan's age. Aww shucks. Jen's gone back to Campbellford and Leigh-Ann probably won't be moving in until early January. Which means I'll have to whole apartment to myself after the 22nd for a week and a half or so. All set to turn up that music!

Had a little gathering with Minji, Jessy and Kerry last night. Good old times. It's nice to still be keeping in touch since first year. We had a mini Secret Santa and I got some ancient Chinese coins and incense that Jessy bought when she went to China. Jessy also added hot chocolate toppings. So perfect. I picked out Jessy's name too and it was apparently a perfect gift for her as well - Laura Secord chocolates!

[Edited]

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:37:00 GMT

I know you must think I'm crazy to be writing at one in the morning, but I've this crazy urge to write, and I'm not quite ready to sleep yet. Just a few things to skim through. I noticed the last time I wrote was a month ago, although it seems a lot longer than that.

I was reading the entry of May 26, where my finances were of my main concern at that time, and I'm mighty glad to say that it's pretty much under control as of now. On top of being able to lay down a consistent budget prior to each start of the month, I'm near to clearing half of the initial debt from last year when I first decided to bulldoze them (Going back to Singapore for almost half a year put that on hold, but I was determined to be more disciplined than ever - especially in May when I was eating out of tuna cans left by the ex-tenants - when I came back). It's funny, however, that just at this point in time, I've got a few agendas popping out that will distract me a little from clearing it all in one shot. They are, unfortunately, vital for me to take care of as soon as possible, so I guess I'll have to postpone my goal of trying to clear them all by the end of this year. Nevertheless, I'm proud of the way things were going, and I still have to keep motivated to be disciplined where spending is concerned.

It's been five and a half months since I came back, (check this: I was in Singapore for five and a half months. The anniversary is not intentional by the way.) and my main concern isn't so much of my finances anymore. I mean, yes, they are a priority and will be for a while, but there has been so many other things that has popped into my life since I came back, after I managed to lay out my first organized budget for June, that my concerns have been split to focus on the other stuffs as well. Now I look back and go, "Wow, did this all happen?"
I think it all started with the urge to get my life moving as quickly as possible. I tried kick-starting it after my brother moved back to Singapore last-July. He's a great kid, but I didn't have much room life-wise whilst trying to take care of his needs, no thanks to my dad's insistence on overprotection in which I'm not for at all. It was kinda moving for a while (it even had a bit of drama of its own, until I left) before I decided to succumb to Mom's request to go back to Singapore in October for a few months. I intended to stay only until February, but my parents had their own plans that somehow happened to have intertwined with mine, and it wasn't until April before I managed to be on my way back. By that time, my engines were getting really rusty and I couldn't wait to get them going again. My life had been a standstill for more than two years now, and I couldn't let it stagnate anymore. I'd tons on my agenda when I first got back: get my taxes done, get a job, find an apartment to live asap - those were just for the month of April. For the month of May, all my focus was on how to get through that month financially and to set up a decent budget for the month of June at the same time. It wasn't until June that my life finally started to rock a little, and I think I was sitting on third gear at that time (pardon my love for standard cars). And after getting my job at Yesterday's, things were REALLY rocking, and I almost lost control of my boat. That was last week when I fell sick, lol.

So anyway, I think I'm getting used to the heavy-rocking now...a.k.a. to the crazy pace that I'd to adapt to till now. I know I've been talking about my life circumstances so far, but I've also been going through some crazy rocking inside me as well...more than I'd ever had since I started my soul search three and something years ago. Basically, it's the people that I've come to know since I came back that really shook me up - upside down and inside out, literally. And that's the other part of the reason why it seems that my life has been moving really fast too. But that's something I don't really discuss here. I like talking about stuff like this in person better.

Anyway, back to regular matters, which was what I really wanted to skim through about anyway. I'd finally caught up with Kerry on Sunday for breakfast. I hadn't seen her since dodgeball, and that was about four months ago. Hung out with Chris for the weekend, and I think I'm getting way more into the conspiracy stuff now, big time. Went for dinner with Azalea, Simon, Blessing and Adam yesterday before Blessing goes to the UK this Saturday.
I was scheduled to work out at the patio all day yesterday, today and tomorrow. I was cut last night, cut today, and it's likely I'll be cut tomorrow as well if it's going to rain. I decided to go see a movie today since I was cut. It'd been a while since I last saw a movie in the theatres. I saw Julie & Julia, and it was alright. It sparked a little of the cooking streak inside me, however, and Meryl Streep is an inspiration as always. After the movie, I decided to wait and see if Dian wanted her products, so I hopped over to Chapters, and read the book that Krystel lent me. I took two hours to read chapter two...yes, embarrassing. It's been forever since I'd read fiction, and I guess it took a while for my brain cells to to generate my imagination as I read on.

Alright, it's 2:37am now. Bed. It's about time, seriously.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:52:45 GMT

And another entry. There's not much to update. Things have been pretty stable where working life is concerned for the past couple weeks. A shitload of drama had me slammed pretty hard sometime on the last week of July, but other than that, I've been just working at Yesterday's. I did manage to work in Canadian Tire for a while, like for a few days, cuz there was a bit of confusion with the scheduling where I wasn't getting any work except for one bussing shift. And then I guess my managers decided to make up for my absence and gave me 9 shifts this past week. I worked out at the patio all day and night from Monday to Wednesday, averaging almost 10 hours each day, a shift on Thursday night, and another two shifts yesterday, one of which included a bussing shift. I think I clocked like 45 hours this week...it's pretty crazy. I'm not complaining though, I think my next paycheque will be pretty sick. The only thing is that my sleeping hours are a bit messed up, since I usually don't get home until eleven or twelve in the morning. I skipped my French class this morning cuz I didn't think I'd be able to concentrate in class with so little sleep from the past week, and decided to forego a coworker's party last night, thinking I'd to be up for French in the morning. It sucks, but oh well, health comes first. I finally slept for 9 hours last night, so that should make up for the past week...more or less.

I'll be going to a Drag King show with a friend of mine tonight, whom I met while playing beach volleyball last Sunday. You ever heard of Drag Queen shows, right, where men dress as women? Well, this is where women dress as men. I've never been to one before, so it should be fun. She's already got a ticket for me, which was nice. We're going for coffee before the show, so maybe I'll get her coffee instead.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:03:11 GMT

Aloha. Aloha, aloha, aloha.

It's been forever since I wrote an entry. I know. But I figured Facebook would do most of the talking.

Of course, I can't let Facebook do all of the talking. Too many people there. Although...I've been sorta see-sawing on whether to put the link for this blog up on Facebook or not. I mean, this site is pretty public. It really is no different from Facebook, except for the fact that I actually put my personal life in paragraphs instead of occasional one-liners. And it's a more personal page. On Facebook, everyone splatters comments and scrutinizes everything that goes on on your notes, wall, photos, etc. You know what I mean?

Therefore, I don't like blogging on Facebook Notes, cuz every Tom, Dick and Harry who has an overview of my profile can see the stuff I write immediately. If I post a link, not everyone will click on it. Ultimately some will, but only those who are interested enough and actually don't mind a little time to check out the link and its contents are rare. I believe many of us are only interested in other people's profile and statuses in life (e.g., your birthday, general facts about you, and especially who you're in a relationship with. Duh). Anything more bores them. They don't need to fork out that much time to know you inside out. And if I have to click on a link...geez, forget it man! So that's why I'm thinking of just putting the link up. Like I said, it's not like I privatized this blog anyway.

Where do I start? I last wrote late May...yes, a lot of things have happened since then. Of course I can't write everything down...it'll take two months. I got hired at a Carnival that will be running from July 23-August 30, and I've currently got a new job, working at a restaurant. Started June 23rd. Hostessing and bussing at the moment. Hostessing = sitting people down and bussing is pretty much the workout of the restaurant. I get to carry heavy, dirty plates, glasses and cutlery, refill buckets of ice, help the servers with food carryouts...and more. It's a busy job. I like it, but the past two times that I've been bussing, it's worn me down a little. Thank god I did work out a little bit most mornings since I came back from Singapore in April, so I'd a two-month warm-up before starting on a crazy job, or my arms would've been broken by now. I'm half-joking.

One of the servers, Aline, couldn't feel her arm all of a sudden yesterday. I'd just ended my shift, and stayed behind for about a half hour or so to read a chapter of my book before going home. As I was packing up to go home, I headed to the washroom, and suddenly the door slammed open, with me in that awkward position half-peeing, and Aline went, "Oh shit", and ran away. I didn't think there was anything wrong at that time except I was a little embarrassed (I thought I'd locked the damn door!). Later as I was washing my hands, my manager Kerry burst in calling Aline's name, but found me washing my hands instead. She mumbled a "sorry" and yelled, "Aline, where are you? Are you okay?!" Sensing something amissed, I headed back to the locker room and found Kerry crouching across Aline, who was sitting on the chair grabbing her arm in pain. Apparently, she couldn't feel her fingers at all, and the upper part of her left arm was in pain. We didn't know what to do, and I could tell Kerry had never handled a situation like that before. And I couldn't do anything either, cuz I didn't know what it was. All I did was manage to calm her down for less than a minute, before she got all panicky again. Anyway, she had a ride to the hospital right away.

That was pretty much the drama of yesterday. Another server, Lori, who was supposed to be scheduled in yesterday morning, didn't show up. She'd apparently gotten into a motorbike accident. Sophie, who was called in for replacement said it shouldn't be that serious, but still...

So yeah, yesterday was one helluva day. Oh, and guess what the name of the restaurant is called? Yesterday's. Nope, not kidding, lol. Anyway, I just got a call from my other manager, Steve, for a no-show today. I'm scheduled to work outside in the patio, but because it's cold and windy (18°C as of now), he's decided to close the patio, and everyone who was on shift to work outside. I'm still gonna make my way down though, I think, because I'm eager to know the schedule for the rest of the week, so I can plan my stuff asap.

Before I pen off, Carole, my Canadian Tire supervisor, gave me off for two and a half weeks cuz she was going on vacation and didn't know what my schedule would be like before the Carnival. It's sick, I'm telling ya! I just happened to start working at Yesterday's at that time (that was two weeks ago), so the two weeks off was perfect for me to get coordinated in my second job. So I'm probably not gonna be working at Canadian Tire too much for a while, cuz I'll be working at the Carnival full-time till the end of August. I probably wouldn't be working much at Yesterday's either. The idea of having three jobs do sound intimidating, but I'll try to see how I'll juggle them all and still get my sleep!

Alright, I should probably go now, cuz I've still got stuff to take care of at home. It's been so crazy the past week I'm a little behind with the organizing stuff. I cleared a part of my desk today so I'm feeling a little better. Alright, till next time, people.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tue, 26 May 2009 20:30:42 GMT

This has been like, the longest time that I've gone without an update. Well, first and foremost, I just got back my internet a couple weeks ago, so that's partly the reason why. The other reason is that I've been busy...like, really busy. Basically from the time that I wrote the last post until now...my schedule has been quite insane.

Two days right after I wrote the last post (also my birthday...happy 22), I went apartment shopping by myself. And out of the three places that I looked at, two were potential places...and I picked the slightly more expensive monthly rent. Two reasons. First off, I get to share with two other girls around my age. The other place, which is renting a room from a slightly elderly lady, wasn't as tidy or bright. Granted, it was at least $100/month cheaper, but that was that, and it was located near the main road, where there's a lot of honking around. I was kinda broke at that time and that place really appealed to me mainly because of the price, but I figured I'd try to work harder and live in a nicer place than a pretty junk one. The one I'd chosen is located close to downtown, which is great, but what appealed more to me was that it was also located beside the river and a really beautiful park. So I get the best of both worlds. I get to be near downtown where I could walk in slightly more than thirty minutes, and I get to be near nature...and believe me, the surroundings are beautiful. I don't have to drive to Hull to get that kinda serenity now. Woot!

A week later, I got back my job at Canadian Tire. My supervisor was willing to put me back on the job asap, so that was awesome. Started work on April 20th. Going back to work even when I didn't feel like it was one of the best financial decisions I ever made. And what worked out really well was that we are supposed to be paid three times this month, which helps me barely support myself through this month and a little of next month. Yes, I was a broke little bird when I arrived. Five and a half months of vacation and no work...whaddya expect. So yeah, a lot of work to do to fix myself up, hence the insane schedule.
And when all was almost looking up, I'd a little car trouble a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't afford to pay the massive bill, so I'd to blow another hole in my credit. Yeah, that sucked. At about that same time, the internet and phone were up, and I had my address changed for pretty much all of my important mailings.

So, after all that, I still have one more update to fit. My roommates! Almost forgot about that. I'm living with two other people, both of them students of Ottawa U. Ironic, isn't it? It's mostly because I'm practically living right beside Ottawa U. But the reason for that is cuz it's close to downtown. Carleton U will always be dear to me though, for the whole life-changing experience. But I've no feud with Ottawa U after graduation, seriously.
So anyhow, my roomies. Yes, one's going in to her first year and the other's in her last year. She's my age, a couple weeks younger, while the younger girl is Dylan's age. It's weird to think that I could be living with a younger sibling, haha. And yeah, it's a little weird too cuz I've always been the youngest one in the household all these years (with the exception of Dustin but that's cuz he's my bro), and I'm suddenly the oldest one around. *Shudders* Yeah, that's weird. But anyhow, it'll be an interesting hybrid mix of roomies. A white girl (Jen, who's going into first-year), a black girl (Ashley, who was born and raised in Mississauga), and a yellow girl (me!). I was going to say "Asian" instead of "yellow", but I figured I'd be fair and throw the colours in anyway. Speaking of Jen, she's not currently living here, but will be in September, when classes start. So it's just me and Ashley right now. One more thing about the apartment, is that it's a 3-bedroom, and it has two bathrooms. TWO bathrooms...can you beat that?! To top that off, it's got a designated parking spot (and a sheltered one if you're lucky. I wasn't) and two superintendents that live in the building and are available 24/7 if there's any emergency at all. And it's close to downtown. No offence to Rosie and Tina, but I think I'm saving more living here than living all the way in Orleans, even though rent is $100 cheaper and it's all-inclusive. But I'll be way more tempted to take the car out and spend like crazy on gas cuz buses don't run there too much. After some tallying on my prospective monthly budget and living conditions, I'm actually getting a way better deal living here.

Just one more update for today before I jet outta here. I'd to wreck my schedule today and make new keys, pronto, cuz I lost them while playing dodgeball last night. Kerry invited me to my first dodgeball game last night. It was awesome, and I went home tired and smiling...until I couldn't find my keys to open the door. I'd to wake Ashley up, and she was nice enough to go without her keys for today so I can make new ones. The extra expenditure of keys isn't fitting too well with what I've left for the week, but ah well, I'll survive. Less than a week to go before a new month opens up. I'm actually pretty excited for June because I finally get to lay down a proper budgeting plan for the month. I lacked that for this month, cuz coming back mid-April and starting work close to late-April makes it hard to do so. So yeah...I know I keep talking about budgeting and finances, but I guess it'll give you a fine idea on what's been cycling in my mind at the moment.

Alright, 'nuff said. This post is getting too long (though not as long as the last one, but still pretty long), but I guess that's what happens when I don't update in a while. Til' later, gators.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:48:45 GMT

So, I'm back. Touched down last night at about 7:45pm. I'm typing this at Carleton right now cuz the laptop that my brother handed down to me is quite screwed up (I think it's due to the banging around in the baggage compartments on the plane, and I've yet to acquire the MAC address from Stan/Darlene's computer so I can hook my Compaq computer up on the net). It kinda sucks that I didn't transfer some files to my flash disk though, which means if I can't recover the hard drive...yeah, I know. Bloody sucks.

So anywayz. Finally got to drive my Dad's Buick around. Noticed that it needed an oil change and got to it immediately. Everything here feels so...surreal. I think I just need a bit of adjustment before I get back on my feet. It was like being back in Singapore and not sure of what to do/expect, though it was better there than here. Cuz when I was back there, it was more like a holiday. I've a lot to expect of myself here. A lot to get things done. Maybe that's why it feels surreal. I've got a shitload of stuff to take care of, and I can't really do much cuz it's Easter holiday. Haha! I'm sure people will be like, "Chill, dude, you just got here. Relax!" and stuff. Um, ya, not when you're about two months behind time. Anyway, I'll figure something out. First I'll have to get organized, find a place, do those taxes...ok.
It's good to be back, though. I'm missing here too much.

So anyhow, I caught up with a lot of people whilst I was back. A friend may have been pissed off at me just before I left, but other than that, I caught up with a good number of people. First there were the regulars, Charissa, Jess, Rei (Serene), Yan and the cousins. I didn't get to hang out too much with my cousins this time around, as most of them have moved on with their lives. There were also the occasionals. I got to meet up with Tess and Gel a couple times, and Sherry, despite their busy schedules. Then there were the semi-newbies. I got to touch base with Yen Ling, Elaine and Siew Wei. Yen Ling was my friend and classmate when I was in Primary 4 (elementary four), and it'd been more than ten years since I saw her. The meetup was thanks to Facebook. I met Elaine at a Journalist course when I was in Secondary 2 (that's equivalent to year 2 in high school here), and we were both connected through a friend, See Hwei. We clicked, somehow, and exchanged msn a good 8 years ago. It was through msn that she added me on Facebook, and again, thanks to Facebook, I got to hang out with her just once this trip. Siew Wei, on the other hand, is a cousin of my cousin's. I think I've mentioned this before...took up quite a few lines to try to explain it, if I remember right. We connected quite well, somehow, despite her being about ten years my senior, and met up about three times the last two months. (Wrote a post on that, should be within the last five posts). She's such a sweet girl. It'd been more than five years since I last saw her before Chinese New Year.
And then lastly, there are the total newbies. There's Alvin, whom I met at Rei's Halloween/Birthday party in October (though I didn't start hanging out with him until March), his friend Mao, Charmaine (Rei's friend since primary school), Wendy (Charissa's ex-supervisor), Ruth (Charissa's friend) and all the new friends I made in all the classes I was in.

So anyhow, I caught up with Jess and Siew Wei on the last day. Wednesday. I fell sick on Monday. Actually, Sunday night. Contribution of late nights, days out and "heaty" food. Funny how it had to happen again just before I go off. Thank goodness I managed to curb the sorethroat before my flight on Thursday. Visited Grandma one last time on Tuesday, and failed to turn up for my night class. I think Sifu should understand. Charissa saw me off Thursday morning. I didn't bring my spear back. All the trouble for...nothing. Oh well. I'll see what my parents' plans are to come to North America in August, and then check if it's okay for them to bring it here. Quinn said we could carve a spear. I was thinking about that too. Not sure how I'll do it, but the first important thing is to get a wooden pole. In the meantime, I'll practise whatever I can. Pissshhh.

This flight back has been the longest flight that I've ever taken. Ready? Okay, here I go. Leaving was okay. This time my flight was at 8:46am, yay! No more 6am flight. Charissa took this opportunity to finally see me off for the first time, she said. It's an ANA flight this time, not the Northwest, that's why. So anyway, to Tokyo. Then from Tokyo to San Francisco. I actually had to stay in San Frans for a night. The next day, I'd to fly to Chicago...then Ottawa.
See what I mean?
After four take-offs and landings, my ears need a break. Seriously, man. It didn't help that I still had quite a bit of phlegm from the past few days that I was sick, so because I was already quite stuffed up, the extra pressure I'd to absorb when the planes landed didn't help...and so my ears hurt everytime we'd to be ready for touch-down. Not to toot my horn here, but I think I can safely say that I've been through almost everything that a person can go through at airports and planes. From two planes leaving within a half hour to the same destination at different terminals (the thing was I wasn't sure which plane to take because they used different flight numbers from the ones on my flight itinerary/boarding pass), to nearly losing my passport at crazy Chicago airport, to taking four planes and staying overnight just to get to my destination. There're probably more, but I'm just talking about the extreme ones.

Alright, what next? I know this is one of the longest posts ever. It's rare, so suck it up or hit alt-F4. Just kidding, lol. I still feel...surreal. Like, I can't believe I'm actually back in Ottawa. Despite being away for just five and a half months...like, wow. I was driving through Carleton going along the canal, and I'm like, "Whoa, I can't believe I'm back. In Ottawa, in Carleton...where I've embraced both haunting and loving memories." And so here comes Phase...5? Let's hope Phase 6 (or Chapter 6, whichever) will be in New York or some other place where I'll be doing what I wanna be doing. If it gets to appear in Phase 5, even better!
I've learned so much whilst away in Singapore, that I can't even practise all that I've learned, I think. I know I kept complaining that I was doing "nothing", but it's only because I wasn't on my way to doing what I want. No regrets back there, seriously. I just wanna kickstart my life as quickly as possible.

My skin hurts. I think it's from back in Singapore. I was suffering the worst of it a couple days before I left because I didn't put on the medicine for it. And that was because I'd go out early in the day and come back late at night, and by the time I got back, Mom would be too tired to do it for me. It's a tedious task.
So yeah, I just got back from the washroom and there're still rashes on my neck, which hurt quite a bit. It's not itching though, which is excellent. I think it's because the weather dried them up immensely. You know, the sudden change of weather kinda thing. From really humid to really dry. In fact, it was about 4°C when I arrived. The ones near my left elbow were hurting like crazy yesterday. I put on some moisturizer and it's a lot better today. The ones at the back of my legs were still driving me nuts last night, but they seem a little better today. We'll see what happens by next week. Hopefully they'll all disappear by then.

Alright, I think I've pretty much said everything I wanted to say. Yes, it gets this long everytime I come back from a trip or something. I've noticed I'd written 12 entries whilst I was in Singapore though. Okay, it's almost four now. I better get to my replies on Facebook and head on out here before it's too late to peek into my storage. Laters.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:43:56 GMT

Quick update before I head off to class at 7pm. I finally got my tickets booked. Leaving on the morning of the 9th. Not sure of arrival time yet, since I'll be taking two different airlines. Taking ANA to San Fransisco and possibly UA to Ottawa. I haven't booked the flight for Ottawa yet, so I'm officially only confirmed for San Frans, lol. Anyway, Dad and I will try to get it booked by tomorrow.

Yesterday was kinda crazy. A little too much walking than I'd anticipated. Went to Cyndi's place at 11am to run lines together for our final class on Monday. There's apparently a residential area at Orchard. I was pretty surprised, since Orchard seems like a strictly business/shopping district. Anyway, we were done by 1pm. Then I went to City Hall to catch up a quick one with Alvin at 2pm. Since I had an hour in between, I made this crazy walk to the Esplanade to take a look at their library, then walked back to the train station in time. Mid-way through, Tess informed me that she was meeting Sherry later at 5pm, so I went with it, since Sherry seems to be married to her job and it's hard to pull her out. Even for Tess, it'd been nearly ten months since they last caught up with each other. Two and a half years for me where Sherry was concerned. The catch up with both girls was great, and I'm glad I saw Sherry at least once and Tessalyn once more before going off.
I only got home at 11pm. Worned out, obviously, but the day was productive. First time since my trip here that I'd three things going in a day.

Then I met up with Jess earlier for lunch. We were supposed to catch a movie, but we were both kinda broke, so we settled for lunch and snack break instead. Turkish ice-cream was excellent. Turkish ice-cream is always excellent. But then again, any ice-cream is heaven for an ice-cream junkie like me. Anyway, I'm glad we didn't go for movies. Catch-up time was way better.

I'm supposed to see Siew Wei tomorrow to try out her food at her newly opened café, but I didn't receive anything from her, so I'm guessing it's a no-go. Anyhow, I think I'm better off getting stuff settled. Like booking my UA ticket to Ottawa, getting a toy gun for the final play on Monday, and settling documents and enquiries so I'll be able to bring back my spear, which includes making a possible trip to the police station to get the documents done asap if need be. Yes, my spear is that worth it, lol. I didn't sweat four months and four hundred bucks for nothing.

Alright, that's it for updates for now. I may insert another entry before I fly off. Till then, folks.

Singapore time: 6:44pm

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:51:14 GMT

Let's see how fast I can type this post out. It's almost 12:40am and I needa get sleeping soon.

I went to Sentosa today with Darlene, and we got to touch a dolphin! It was a good little girl, sitting there quietly to be touched. It'll be nice to actually go out to sea and touch dolphins for real...scratch that, swim with them! Fed some stingrays that couldn't seem to suck their food off my fingers and resorted to splashing water at me after they got the food...okay, I take it as a thank-you. Whatever.

Met up with Yen Ling last Wednesday, whom I haven't seen for about ten years. She'd changed quite a bit, seeing she went through quite a bit in life. Oh well, I guess we're never alone with problems. We think we're suffering, or feel like shit, and then there're other people who feel like shit too. Same kinda shit, different reasons. Okay, shit aside, we talked about what had been going on these past 10 years or so, what we'd like to do, and what other possibilities may have been installed for us if we'd chosen other routes. Like, I don't know how many of you know this, but I was offered a position to be part of the Marine Navy when I was 16. I don't know how many of my friends got that, but Yen Ling got that too. I told her I'd have considered it if I wasn't already certain that I was going to Canada. I think it'll be kinda cool, seeing myself operating tanks that may go underwater...all those gadgets and technology! She said she'd have considered it if it wasn't for the bond. Hmm, true.
It was good times catching up, for sure.

Be meeting Cha and Jess on Saturday. Can't get enough of the both of them, lol! What can I say, man, I think I've the longest friendships with the both of you (and Gel)!

P.S. This is a quick post! Less than 15 minutes...can't beat that!

Singapore time: 12:51am (Mar 5)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:24:48 GMT

I have watched two movies the past week or so regarding actors with special talents. The first was Once, an Irish film that involves music, about a singer/songwriter who's trying to make a living playing his guitar in the streets and meets a girl who he ends up collaborating a few songs with, resulting in him moving to London trying to make a record deal. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglova played in it. The first feature film for both actors, but very accomplished musicians. It was released in 2006. I bought the DVD off the shelf at Mustafa, a 24/7 shopping mall here.
The other one that I caught yesterday at the cinema was White Palm(s), a Hungarian film involving Olympian gymnasts. It's hard to give a summary for this film, since it's loosely autobiographical, but both lead actors, Zoltán Miklós Hajdu and Kyle Shewfelt, are real-life gymnasts. In fact, Kyle hails from Calgary and was the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal in Athens back in 2004. The film was also released in 2006.
See, both films are independent with a lot of shaky cameras that have shots that are too far (Once) or too close (White Palms), and cast actors with little or no acting background but are very accomplished in other areas. I don't really know what the whole point is of writing this out, except to say that I've so coincidentally seen two films that are uniquely common backstage-wise, and both were made in 2006.
Hmm, where was I in 2006? Oh ya, battling that depression. I'm glad I managed to catch those two anyhow, they were great films.

Oh, my test for my night class was actually last Thursday. I was a little unprepared (cuz I thought it started this Thursday), but I managed to pass anyway! It took a number of trials before I did it, though. There are about five tests in all, one every Thursday, so the second one for me comes up tomorrow. I hope I can do it. Those who didn't manage to do their first test last Thursday are excited for tomorrow, I can tell. Hehe!

Darlene's coming on Friday for two and a half weeks. There goes my private room again, lol. How coincidentally my aunt came for two and a half weeks too, for CNY. 18 days for both guests. Maybe I should write a film and call it Two and a Half Weeks. Wonder what kinda story I'll put in it, though.

The fighter planes here keep flying overhead. The worst thing is, they fly really closely overhead, just missing the top of our buildings by inches. Can you imagine how deafening it can get??? Doesn't help that I live on top too. Once at about 8-9pm, my Sifu was trying to teach my class on the rooftop (he always does that except for when it rains), and for a good half hour or so, about five or so of those planes kept roaring by, drowning out my Sifu's voice. I think the pilots were curious on what was going on on the rooftop. Ugh, stupid planes! Watch your engines, eh? And here comes another one now...arghhh!!

Singapore time: 4:25pm

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:56:14 GMT

Has it been a while! Doesn't seem that long since I last wrote. Nothing much has been happening. Unless you count what I learnt in class, which I doubt will be necessary to mention. I've another test for my night class next Thursday or the Thursday after. I hope I can pass.
I'm done learning the spear-form for wushu, so I'm happy as pea here. It's not a fancy form, since it's more or less a pretty basic form, but it's a nice trophy of experience anyway.

My aunt came from the States to celebrate Chinese New Year for a good two and a half weeks. That's how I spent most of my time the past couple weeks or so anyway, hanging out with the fam. And grandma, of course. We did quite a bit together, including watching the local movie, Love Matters. Surprisingly, it was filled with a lot of sexual references...very surprisingly. I guess Singaporeans aren't that conservative anymore, lol.

Met up with Siew Wei and her assistant for lunch today. It was actually supposed to be lunch with just Siew Wei, but since it was in the midst of her working, her assistant, who's my age, came along too. Siew Wei's a cousin of my cousin. So Sharon (or Tsui Li, as I call her) is my cousin, with our Moms as sisters. Siew Wei is Sharon's cousin, and their fathers are brothers. So I guess Siew Wei's like my...I dunno, second cousin? Anyone any ideas on a classification here? Anyway, we saw each other for the first time in I think five years at my aunt Violet's place (that's Sharon's Mom) on the second day of Chinese New Year. We caught up a bit, and decided to arrange another lunch to re-catch up, which was today. She's real nice...she even got me a Valentine's Day gift outta the blue, considering we actually barely knew each other (don't worry, she's straight here).
Will be seeing Charissa on Saturday and Mao on Sunday. I hope he remembers to bring those lightsticks, lol.

I've recently changed my hotmail account, created only a couple days ago. Gmail account's staying the same. So far, I've only made the transition where email is concerned, but once everything's nicely transferred (mailings, facebook notifications, etc), I'll transfer some of my contacts on MSN as well. I was telling Adam I felt like switching to a new email/msn account because I wanted to start fresh on MSN. I've got way too many people on my MSN, but then I don't like deleting contacts either. The underscore is kinda getting on my nerves too. But I'll still be maintaining the old one just in case I haven't transferred everything through, but also because it'll be nice to keep a dummy account. For certain people who ask for my MSN and I don't quite want to give it but wouldn't feel nice rejecting their request. The new account's already in effect, so if you ever wanna drop me a mail, let me know and I'll let you know what it is on the old MSN. I'll transfer the MSN contacts sometime within the next couple months.

Alright, I guess that's about it, folks. Until next time.

Singapore time: 3:56pm