Toys...

Yay! Birthday comes early this year.
Went to Sitex on Thursday...I wish I had more money...I would have the monster system of my dreams (at least for the next month and a half) plus a few thousand bucks worth of digital toys.
Bought an Epson photo printer for $99. Durabrite! Durable even underwater! (Their booth had a fish tank with the printer and it's printout underwater...cool...except for the fact that no one in their right mind would place a printer underwater...)
Bought a 10 meter LAN cable...(For les Mohaa sessions at Terz's)
Drooled at the Creative booth. Muvo TX FM, now with 1GB of flash memory!
And finally, the creme de la creme of purchases, my official birthday present from S,
The Razer Diamondback with free Exactmat mousepad!

My mind is reeling.
Now, if I can just get used to the darn speed that the cursor zips across the screen...

Evils...Lesser...Two...

So it's down to the final 2 on Singapore Idol. Why, pray tell, am I blogging about this phenomena that I really don't give two hoots about? I don't know...but I do know this...
People get what they vote for. It isn't about who's the best singer (she got voted out a loooong time ago) or who's probably going to be the best face that Singapore can show the world. It's about who appeals to the masses...and unfortunately the masses in Singapore, not quite the intelligent or the well read.
They're the "lians" and "bengs"...they're the kiddies who like their guys androgynous. They're the ones who still think that somehow or another, Singapore's going to produce a Jon Bon Jovi of our own...
Sadly enough, that said, I think that the best representation that we've got...the one that shows the true face of Singaporeans (not the one that we want to show the world but the one that really defines the typical "Joe Singapore") is a guy who's either named after an action star, or a canary chasing cat. He is who we (mainly) are. He's the embodiment of the western-wannabe who forces the edge into his singing without really realising what he's doing. He's the one who tries to enunciate but constantly fails because of the accent that he was born with. (Listen out for his "kees from a rose") He's the one that 51% of Singaporeans relate to and would spend hundreds of dollars sms-ing and phoning in for.
Yeah...we all say we really can't stand the guy but look at how far he's gone by beating people that really had more talent to begin with.
I think that voting should only be done by the intelligent. (At least "A" levels and above...) Not by Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel.

And now the news...

...NOT!
The Straits Times has indeed sunk to lows that I couldn't even comprehend...Was considering dropping our subscription. But then again, what's the bloody alternative?
In today's paper re: 13 year old runaway...
"Little Huang Na may be dead but there is at least one happy ending for another missing girl..."
What moron!s these reporters be.
The girl's dead...let it rest. I know that she was a little cash cow for all you Straits Times bastards but it's time to let her go...really. People don't need little tidbits of sensationalism in order to read about a runaway. Report the damn news you idiots!
And to think that I told my class that the ST was the newspaper compared to the tabloid TNP. Well, to all my students reading this: It's false! They've sold out! Read The Business Times instead for your news! Or another viable alternative is Talkingcock.com
On other news:
Two moron!s that I want to blog about today: (From the article: What? No more Pocket Money?) re: A parent cuts off his two sons' allowances to teach them about the real world.

1) Cristal Lee: "Cutting my allowance is equivalent to cutting my freedom."
WTF?! Yur right. Money = Freedom? Freedom is intrinsic in people and it's all about making choices. Obviously, you have the freedom to receive money from your parents. You have that freedom and your exercise it. So what's the alternative? Can your parents say "no", you spoilt little brat? Does money equate to freedom? Is your freedom so fleeting that someone can take it away from you by not giving you an allowance? Or have you got a penchant for the overdramatic?
As Mel Gibson channeling (badly) William Wallace may have said:
"They may take our allowance, but they'll never take our freedom!"
...mutterdumbarsekidsmutter...

2) Mrs Elsie Chow: "Teens have needs, what if she resorts to doing something silly?"
If the kid resorts to do something stupid, it means the mechanism has been there from the start and that is a failing on your part, moron!. No steady allowance is going to change that. In fact, said steacy allowance is probably the kid's downfall.
Parenting ought to have restrictions against parents who don't want to take responsibility for their kids' failures. FTS! If you haven't taught your 17 year old right from wrong, then you really should send your 8 year old out to a family that will.
...mutterdumbarseparentsmutter...

Meanwhile, on the sports front:
The Detroit Pistons, last year's NBA champeens, have clashed with the Indiana Pacers, last year's best record and wannaba champeens, in the biggest brawl that looked like something out of the Royal Rumble.
I wish I were in the 'States. Then I could've watched it live!
...mutterdumbarsestarhubcablemutter...

I swear I will update my blog...

I know. It's been 12 days. Well...Sadly enough, I really have been quite out of my head for said period of time.
Anyway, since I've last blogged:
1) My new school's confirmed at "ye-olde-alma-mater-that-I-never-went-to".
2) I've jumped (partially) on said MoH:AA bandwagon.
3) I got my hands on Gabe's Xbox with Halo2...Droooool....Fragfest ensued that left Arr & partner's, Jon's and my aptly named characters "Hug me Quick", "Walking Target" and "Dead Man" splattered across 3 separate maps. Loadsa fun though. Halo & sequel, definitely party game of the decade...seeing as you don't really get sick as a spectator. Also realised that le group des amies (Empty Vessels, where we butcher the French language...chopchopchop) tends to eat a lot less during a potluck than a bbq. Important point to note.
4) Passed my IPPT! Yay me! Treadmill of doom almost killed me though. I think that running at the pace of 11.7 km/h made me see spots by the 10th minute and I was ready to throw up on the PTI by the time I was done.
5) Watched The Incredibles. It was a 2 hour animated movie. Anyone who doesn't know the significance of that should take a look at the lengthy animation process to produce 1 minute of footage.
6) First official OM meeting with a (hopefully fulfillable)promise to try to attend as many meetings as possible next year.
7) Cleared out my desk...well...partially anyway...it took 2 garbage bags but I can now see the hint of the desk that I last laid eyes on a year and a half ago.

Well...it's been a rather uneventful 12 days seeing as how the rest of my life tends to be exciting and peppy...
I swear that I will update my blog more often...
No, really...

Serendipity.

S asked me whether Before Sunrise brought about feelings of nostalgia for "the one that got away"...and I really thought about that quite a bit. Did it? Was there a one that got away?
I came to a conclusion that there wasn't. There could've been, but I think I pretty much caught that fish some 5 years back. Specifically 5 years, 7 months and 4 days ago. Before Sunrise/Sunset is a movie that asks the question "what if...?" a lot. It deals with feelings of regret, questioning how your life would've turned out if something had been different. What would've happened if...? But that's not life...Life's pretty much about living in the present and we're all products of the lives we've led. All the pain, aggravation, the hurts and the scars make us who we are, along with all the good stuff. It's all a growing process and if you discount all that, you're not living your life.
I was faced with a "10, 20 years down the road" choice that Jesse presented to Celine, and I took it. It's where I am now and I'm happy with it.
Watching Before Sunset was, however, a bittersweet experience for me. I've carried Jesse and Celine around in me since I borrowed that video in 1997. I'd always wondered if they eventually did meet up at the train station in Venice...a niggling thought that hovered at the back of my mind for the past 7 years...and finally it's been answered. It also struck me how much they've changed...and yet stayed the same. (Interesting fact: Jesse asked Celine if she believed in reincarnation and her answer's changed...same question was asked in Before Sunrise.)
Anyway, if this post doesn't make sense, it's because it wasn't written in one sitting.
O well...

Chapeau!

My French tutor once wrote that in an essay that I wrote. I looked it up and it said "hat". I asked her about it and she said that it was a term that was similar to the English term of "hats off".
Well, I just watched Before Sunset and I have got to say, Chapeau! It's been 9 years (and 8 1/2 years too long) since we last caught up with Jesse and Celine and they've changed quite a bit (yet stayed the same) and yet, the passion, the longing and the scorching chemistry is still very much alive.
A full review when I get all my senses back.
For now, totally speechless and blown away...

Pomp and Panache.

So we're back from The Tanglin Club where we was introduced to "society" and effectively collected signatures endorsing my membership application. So, with a payment of a whole load of cash, we will officially be members of aforementioned club.
I was talking with Shepherd today and he said that the British do everything with panache (including losing) and I think that's quite true. Panache seemed to be the name of the game tonight with cocktails and canapes (mainly raw with sticks). The Ukranian ambassador was there and probably half of the caucasian population in Singapore. It's probably as close to "high society" that I am ever going to get without being a major supplier of cocaine.
On other news. My alma mater has surprised me again and when one particularly bad egg in the family slams the servants' entrance in my face, another opens the main door and welcomes me with open arms. God willing, I may actually return to BR. Funny how life takes weird turns. Today, I met a principal with principle...A teacher leader. An educator that cares.
Wow.