It's Sunday already?!

Wrote a whole load of shit then decided to delete the lot cos it was boring.. Just some bits here - still boring I know but at least it's shorter :p

1) Met up with Miki Fri night - she just got married! Congrats! :) Na and Sito joined us mid-dinner and what followed was a whole host of hillarious rubbish :p

2) There are only two Armenians in SG today, the smallest minority but they have the oldest church in SG - you can easily guess the location, can't you?

3) Sat was my first proper shopping trip this year, yes, YEAR. But SY and I stayed empty-handed until I dropped and cracked an eye shadow compact and was asked to buy it.. Eh, there wasn't any sign that said I had to buy if I were to break anything! But I didn't need a sour-faced salesgirl to spoil my happy mood so I bought it, not expensive anyway. Still, warning: be careful with the stuff in Basic Beauty (Heeren) - you don't want to knock over something too expensive.

4) The forced purchase seemed to open the way to better things - willingly handed over plastic in exchange for a pretty pretty top :)

1800-5110000

Satisfied with my fifth take. Strange how my voice sounds so alien to me.. Was I trying too hard to sound like the professional voices behind "You have reached the mailbox of 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.."

*.*

Boss inferred I looked older than 25

=(

...

Bah! What does he know about age and - oh! - beauty? *Tsk tsk*

Anal (oops) person like me will never mix up, with or without labels! :p

Source: Some email attachment that I just had to share!

mf at 23

Feeling bored, looked through all my jpegs and saw this, taken on the ferry to/from Liberty Island. I like.

Enough said.

mf made over - and it's still mf!

Went for my very first makeover session wih this relatively new and big image consultant studio, free cos friend who bought their $1,500 (!!) package referred me.

LC said not to make it known beforehand that I had no intention to buy their package but I did make it quite clear I was in a hurry to go at photo viewing time, just before all the cajoling. Well, I never got to the hard-sell part. In fact I didn't even finish looking at the 183 photos cos when the manager heard from my consultant I needed to go and wouldn't want to buy anything, he stopped the slide show and had the consultant burn two complimentary photos (that I chose) and send me on my way! All talk of Photoshop swept under the carpet and forgotten! Not a very good impression..

Anyway I didn't like the photos very much. Either the photographer had a lewd sense of style or I couldn't appreciate it, cos the poses were so odd I felt I was morphing between a failed acrobat to a sultry-fierce-sultry-again whore! So I rejected this pose and that :p See my "normal" shots, the only edits are cropping:



The hair was weird right? I counted - 23 black pins in all! I didn't know my hair could be held in place with just pins, no elastic..

And now the makeup.. Background: I love to paint my face! I do that everyday except on gym days. Usually use Hazeline snow cream as foundation and pile colour on my eyes, lashes and cheeks. Removal takes less than half the time for painting - a minute for each eye and I wash off the blusher in the shower.

But that night when I tried to remove the makeup, I used a vast number of cotton pads for my eyes and foundation - hell, foundation free ah?? My complexion not bad, why did she use so much?? - before washing off with remover - twice - in the shower. Satisfied, I applied toner with cotton only to realise that I still had foundation on my face! I must have used another ten pieces of so trying to get rid of the thing with toner, waterproof eye makeup remover, even Hazeline! Then I washed my face again. Apprehensively, I wiped toner-soaked cotton across and.. it finally came off clean! *Sweat*

I had planned to um, take photos of myself - the before of a revamp :p but I'm feeling slack, maybe another day. Today I shall finish my Kenshin OVA :)

What's in a smile?

Ten pearlie whites showing like Julia Roberts? I show only six; on average, people show eight upper teeth.

LC told me one day that my smile brightened her day - I was somehow quite touched. I remember somewhere in my tattered autograph book, someone penned "charming smile" but never defined "charming". Then today, I found two short and sweet (really) messages in my inbox complimenting my smile, and they sounded happy. Glad for such warm messages after some really crappy cold calls.

But hey, when I don't smile, I can look pretty fierce ok..


Anyways.. Yes, what's in a smile? I put myself on the receiving end, thinking of the times when friends spread their contagious smile or laughter. Then I conclude it cannot be just the physical; you have to radiate a certain joy to make a smile more than simply the mechanical contraction of facial muscles. And of course the people being smiled at must be ready to share in this joyful friendship or whatever-ship else any smile however lovely won't ever reflect off their faces, right? :)

And to add to that, I just had my veneer done! I know I've said it before but must emphasise cos Na, there really is a birthday for each tooth, this particular one is born 8 Aug 2005 =D

Do you celebrate National Day?

I don't, I admit that to me, it's just another public holiday that salarymen and office ladies rejoice over. But today - rather, Mon - at work, I went for the National Day Observance Ceremony.

It started off with the National Anthem. Tried to sing along but realised that the 12 long years of singing it in school have been completely eradicated by the subsequent seven years of non-institutionalised life. Well, almost - I could still remember the first and last few words of the song but only those. Consoled myself that at least I knew that the chorus should be repeated. The chap raising the flag obviously did not, for the flag was suddenly rising with great speed towards the end of the first chorus before creeping the remaining 10cm to the top during the second :p

What next but the Pledge? I was struggling a little with the words but a few weeks/ months ago, SY and I were just singing the Pledge in Citylink, part of one of those patriotic songs.. Then, something unexpected but totally cute happened: the kids started saying the Pledge in Mandarin right after the English one!

I thought the kids were the highlight of the whole event, dancing to great cheers from the audience. One dance featured super sexy costumes for the girls and damn cool vests for the boys. Talk about starting (SDU) young..

Happy to have my veneer done today *Smile very widely* But I was quite pissed at Spinelli *smile drops* before the clinic cos my lappy case had to fall on spilled coffee! The bag was officially ruined.. =( Btw, if you want to find out how much dust and dirt is in your keyboard, drop it at a gentle height upside down. The fallout can be so damn gross! :p

Short entry for once

1) The duke came to an ugly end, am so sad and somewhat disturbed..

2) Keep getting losers knocking on my door, am so sick..

Cat - dead and alive; mf - ugly and pretty

Kel just called. Somehow he mentioned Schroedinger's cat. Rang a giant bell that I could not locate. From what I gathered, the cat is both alive and dead when the box is closed; if I were to open the box, I would be forcing a state on it, ie it will be either dead or alive. But then, why would I want it to be BOTH alive and dead? :p

Apparently this has to do with wave function. Oh dear, this maths major is completely useless now.. Kel's explanation fell like water on a hotplate.. I simply could not understand how the cat's state could be explained by Ax = ax*!! Oh, A is the operating matrix, a the eigen value, x the eigen vector. Supposedly.. well, I won't even try to relate his explanations!

He then tried to give me an analogy - btw, I was vetting his literature review on using analogies to teach earlier - to illustrate the Schroedinger's point. I had to imagine him outside a closed room where I was in. In the room, I looked into the mirror and decided that I was both pretty and ugly. Outside the room, Kel didn't know if I were pretty or ugly. But when he opened the door, he would decide if I was pretty OR ugly.

Ahhh, I now see how the cat can be both breathing and cold :) But I still don't understand the Ax = ax thing :p

Just find it odd that he should make such an analogy when I was just writing about myself being a cat.. Coincidence infers a good day! Be happy, peeps! :)

*meow*

Of dogs and men (and women)

Woke damn early Thurs morning to get to Punggol jetty for the 8am ferry to Ubin for division retreat. We had workplan presentation and a discussion on our employee opinion survey before a late lunch at 2pm. Played a little game modelled after the Amazing Race after that. Though my team didn't win (we came in second), it was great fun! The day was rewarded with yummy seafood, first time I had black pepper crabs - ya, very sua ku I know..

As part of the team building aspect for the retreat, we went to East Coast on Wed afternoon to play baseball but with tennis balls. Four rounds later, "We're better" showed that they were indeed better than "We're the best", beating the latter about 17-8. Happy to say I contributed to the 17 :)

LH bought her two hyperactive dogs, Jack Russells if I recall correctly, to run about the field. They were so soft to the touch and absolutely charming! Reminded me of the puppy my paternal grandmother gave me when I was about five, but Mother didn't like it so we didn't keep him for long. I was very sad but now, there's no way I will keep one; my nose may object for one, and I don't have the time.

Always have this impression - don't know if correct - that dogs need human affection and someone to play with, and can grow to love their carers in the most human way. And you won't need a leash to keep them with you; they run off but they won't be far and will always come back to you. Time aside, it seems too much pressure to bear; I won't be able to give that kind of devotion. Woe to any dog that lands in my care!

Because of that, and because I like them, I think cats are a more suitable pet for me, nose aside. They are independent, they won't pester me for attention. In fact, I may have to beg them to play with me! Love the way they seem to live in a world of their own, without a need for anything..

Have I mentioned before that I want to be a cat if there's a next life? Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, there's an image of me as a grey-white cat, perched on a window sill and staring out of the window the whole time, likely shaped by a letter pad I had a long time ago with the exact same dreamy picture. I have two interpretations of this self-perceived impression:

1) Satisfied with living with herself, she's content to turn her back on all the luxurious settings or parties behind her, and just watch the sun and garden outside, thinking her own god-knows-what thoughts.. An absolute state of zen.
2) She's yearning for the freedom that eludes her, just out of reach beyond a thin yet impermeable pane of glass. All she can do is to stare passively, resigned to fate.

Recent (as in past few years) emotions seem to be riding the waves of these two stages. At this very moment, I'm happy just to be sitting here and blabbering. But in an instant, I can slip off the crest, pining for, eg the day my room is completed. I hope my destination is based on the first scenario.

Actually I'm toying with the idea of getting a pet when I get my own room. Want some living company. A cat is too big for my room, but a hamster will be nice. It suits me since it can easily entertain itself on a running wheel. Just that it's always scurrying around and not quiet like the cat. Gee, sounds like I want a pet that mirrors mf in solitude! Reminds me of my poor terrapin..

When I was about nine, Mother brought a terrapin back from a Sun market trip. I loved it! But a Sun a year or so later, the little creature stopped poking out its tiny head for food and its cute palms ceased to paddle about. I wanted to bring him downstairs to give him a proper burial but Mother said to dump him down the chute and I actually did just that. Still remember the tug at my heart when I released my grip. Guilt, it is a horrible disease that eats at you.

Something in the Korean drama Autumn in my Heart aka Endless Love came to mind. This guy didn't want a pet or plant cos he would be very sad if it were to die. The kid mf was very sad when little terrapin died. But now, as an adult, I don't think I'll be too sad if my pet dies. I mean, everyone dies someday. I'll be grateful if the time spent living is well worth. Just make sure it gets a decent burial for closure.

So I may still get a pet :)

A bit of maths

They say that maths and science etc are best learnt in the morning while the non-science/ artsy stuff are better absorbed later in the day. True enough, I'm inspired this very morning by:

Source: Email from Kel - ask him!

Nothing new, I've said this kind of rubbish before but now that this um, study defines the groups who can suffer this blindness, it sort of revives the mathematician in me..

Let
A = {people who orgasm frequently}
= B U C,
where
B = {women who use vibrators to excess} U {men who masturbate frequently}
C = {women who masturbate otherwise} U {men and women who have sex frequently (and not necessary with each other, just to be inclusive)}

It can thus be inferred that if you belong to set C, you're safe :p

The importance of being potty..

Remember that a while ago, Gwen commented that she finally could understand why I was so trigger-happy when in Oxford.. Of course must take pictures la! The polariods - now jpegs - will still be there when age confuses our brains to lock the memories and throw away the key!

Now, introducing: The Three Monkeys!






My fav boys..


.. albeit demented


Um, plus one to the list of demented chaps?


Eh, thought parts of me looking weird here.. Nvm! And hey YX, this is supposed to be a "normal" shot!


Retake! But he had to do the ears thing, I gave the finger at the last moment - hence the blur - even while calmly flashing my pearlie whites..


This..


.. is a blurred shot of

First shot very "The Ring" right? :p

Finally the prata!


Ok, busy with supping, no more silly deeds.. Till next round!