oh singapura~

Friday's trip to Malaysia was a blast... ever since i renewed my passport a couple of weeks ago, it was like the possibilities where endless... i held in my hands my very own personal document of Freedom~

it was great knowing i could leave in a moments notice...

the last time i left the country was on the 4th of June 1998 to Indonesia... its now 2009, that was 11 years ago. Imagine my excitement when i crossed the line into another country and saw that the lamp posts where red instead of Grey, with an eccentric bend of steel curled to the side with 2 potted plants dangling very so gracefully from the tips~

Imagine my exhilaration as hundreds of motorbikes and Protons with the letter "J" fronting every plate number reigned over the slightly reddened streets of Jorhor~

the little differences also amused me, like how everything's spelled in Malay... "Exit" is called "Keluar", Restrooms called "Tandas"... the word "Tandas" doesn't even sound like toilet... if it weren't for the picture of the Male and Female logo i would've figured it for a storage room or something~

there are no Hi-rises in Malaysia... which makes it look pretty rural but a relief to me in some way... having all the buildings built so low makes the sky look bigger... u could look up and see everything~ it may not have been the most breath-taking view of a picture perfect blue sky but at least u could see it, u know...

Actually the difference between Singapore and Malaysia doesn't really differ that far... they pretty much had the same stuff we have cept cheaper and.. well, sometimes even better... but development wise, i would say SG takes the cake~

things aren't as clean, certain infrastructures aren't as well developed... basically most of the superficial stuff like the roads being a bit Off & all that, is sightly flawed compared to Singapore's...

but the thing that makes me overlook these minor discrepancies were the people~
you'd never find people behaving like this in Singapore cause everyone here is friendly as Shit...

i wouldn't say its cause they were constantly happy like they just won the lottery or anything like that... its more of the impression they gave me...

that their here to live...
to go about their lives, to survive..
and to do so peacefully & with respect~

im walkin around City Square lookin at all the people and not one, NOT ONE OF THEM gave me the "Guai Lan" look you'd often see in the faces of Singaporeans... everyone was pleasant, like one big family.... i heard stories bout how they'd judge u by the colour of ur skin or how everyone there'll try n cheat u of ur money when they see ur not local... that any moment u can get robbed or some guy would just stab u for bumping into him...

i felt non of that hostility~

i walked around with my head held high, smiling at everyone who so much as looked in my direction:) being in a strange country, not knowing anybody there... its extremely liberating... i felt this constant wave of self-confidence and empowerment, like the laws don't apply to me... like i could do wadever i wanted...

being a tourist gave u unique privileges the locals weren't entitled to... u could walk up to a stranger and strike up a random conversation and no one would think twice that ur some weirdo cause ur not, ur a tourist... a visitor in our country who means us no harm~

it's a great way to express urself, i fucking luved that :)

Omg, and the food! holy shit was that ever the highlight of the day~ Duck ever so succulent to the taste, Dumplings the size of ur palm, fish with the taste of the sea, Deer meat in all it's splendor!!!
(i could go on... )

both dinner and lunch, all under S$40... so divided by 2 people, tats 20 bucks per person... and all, with the taste, quality and portion fit for Kings and Superstars alike~

think the only trouble i had over there was that of communication... SM had to do almost all of the verbal transaction, accept for the movie ticket.. i bought that since the ticket girl was Malay... but i bet her mandarin would've been better than mine anyway~

Looking up at the night sky above after dinner made clear that it was late, and it was time to go home... all my life, since i can remember.. i've hated Singapore... i hated the govt, the rules, the restrictions, the lifestyle, the people... i found no good reason to ever wanna stay, even when comparing sg to msia... sg lost~

but... for some strange reason.... i actually wanted to go back~

& i hated myself for feelin tat way, but it was home... seeing the MRT again didn't exactly make me overflow with patriotism~ and hearing the Singporean accent being spoken again instantly turned me off. i didn't feel glad to be back at all...

but, it was home i suppose... i spent all my life living here, we're creatures of habit afterall...

the only thing i can embrace from this is the fact that i have the choice to leave... the option to 'get-out'~

think i'll just hold on to tat idea for now..
& maybe brush up on my "lahs" & "lors" in the mean time~



-peace-

carpe diem~

movies, food, drinks?
oh my~

sometimes i really can't appreciate how lucky i am being in the Air Force...


heading overseas tomoro & im never coming back.




peace-

fool's gold~

May's a month of great financial difficulty not only to me, but coincidentally to the people around me as well... im beginning to feel the squeeze of gettin just a mere 400 dollars a mth, not that i haven't already, but a recent series of events have lead me to use more than wad i normally would~

even so, i must try my best to conserve my finances any way i can... it is most unfortunate i was not one of those born with silver spoons or other lavish silverware in my mouth, most of us aren't... but we make do with wad we have and appreciate the simpler things in life which the rich are rare to experience~

my weekend was a hectic one & i shall not elaborate...
but one mentionable would be that the blaze is still imminent. The air is dry as dust and the winds rarely blow~

the scientists were right, the end of the world is forthcoming...




hong gan~

journey to the west~

the journey to the west actually started in the north when i went to Yishun to meet sm, who, in turn, was to meet the infamous "Mark from ITE" for a moment of avid discussion regarding the risky pastime of football betting... shortly after, they exchanged goodbyes and we proceeded to the Orchid Country Club for a round of pool~

though slight improvement was shown, im far from becoming an expert in the sport... wandered around a bit before headin to Boon Lay for a peak at the so called 2nd 'Vivocity'~

this is the 1st time i've actually been to the west... never had a reason to go so i never did. it was the first time i heard the robot lady in the train say "Kranji" and "Woodlands Station".

then she goes on further with some stuff bout wad bus to take to go to Malaysia, blah blah blah... no one gives a shit bout the buses robot lady!

as the train rode by, i gazed out thru the windshield lookin at the scenery and how different everything looked. The buildings, the landmarks, even the people... the West seems to have like, more space compared to the east.. theres like, huge pieces of land for u to have a picnic in or fly a kite. which is nice~

so we get to Boon Lay, and right off the bat theres a ton of immigrants roaming around which doesn't even make it seem like im in the right country anymore~ and the Interchange looks like a 24hr Pa-sa-mah-lam... no idea wad tat's about.

Jurong Point itself is a labyrinth of random shops thrown together with no real classification or order~ the apparel stores can just be next to the tech shop, who's next to the food stands, which is next to GV -_-

the lack of strategic placement and the shit loads of people who frequent the area just makes it too freakin confusing for me to appreciate anything really... i needed to get outt've there, and we did. Walked to the SAFRA afew blocks away and attempted to take some pictures with sm's fancy camera but all we got was a badly focused road sign and a picture of some tree~

when we were back on the train i kept lookin at how far i was from home... West side's way too crazy for me... i much prefer the tranquility of the East :)

today in flight we experienced one of the windiest days in a long time... it rained and the clouds made the sky seem like it was almost time for bed when it was barely noon~ burned the hours away Patapon-ing and tossin snails into the fish tank...

met Fadzil for a run around Pasir Ris in the evening... its been months since i last went jogged, it felt good. im surprised i still have a decent amount of stamina to run non-stop~

i wonder why Tang San Zang never considered focusing his journey more to the East... im sure he would've found it far more formidable & less resistant...


wadever lah.. & im sorry shawn, but Boon Lay scares me...
and ur a fool of a toook~


East side ftw~

the top~

i woke up yesterday at around 8-ish in the morning after SM called me n told me to go get ready... we took Off today so i could go make my passport and then just chill the rest of the day away. i would've slept more but everyone keeps saying the que at the immigration place would take forever if u reach there past 10, so i digressed...

it was nice havin the house to myself in the morning... everyone had gone to work n it was nice and quiet... it's been awhile since i'd had the house to myself so i took the chance to walk around in my undies and bathe with the shower door wide open... its incredibly liberating, u should try it sometime :)

i got dressed, grabbed my stuff then left the house... had a minor confusion bout where i had alighted until i saw SM in the far ground.. Lavander station looks exactly like Bugis, anyone would've made that mistake -_-

the lady at the immigration desk said my passport's too outdated and i need to go make a new one. she gave me a form and sent me on my way. the "making" process took like 10mins. there was no que or anything, and it was pretty much a self-service experience. since i couldn't renew my passport, i didn't need to get in line for anything... we were outta that building by 10.30~

walked over to Beach Road to have good ol'fashion hawker style breakfast then walked around abit passin all the nic-nac shops around the area... there tons of random old school stuff over there... its like the area just stopped development at 1985...

headed to Bugis where SM brought me to this Guan Ying Temple to pray. we went to a shop nearby and bought this flower with a burly bud the likes of which i've never seen before... its ment to be an offering to the gods or something.. looks pink, kinda like a lotus but it wasn't... or maybe it was i wouldn't know~

she opened the bud up and handed us each a stalk. then we made our way to the temple not too far away.

he tells me to face the outside and pray to the "Outside God" first then face inside and pray to the "Inside God". i can't remember their names... Ti-Gong, or Tian-Gong, wadever~

i say hello to both, stick my jossticks into the pot and went inside... place my flower into a vase, prayed a bit more then took some magic candy from the bowl. Theres this giant red mat in the middle of the hall and everyone's doing that "shake-the-wishsticks-out-of-the-thing-and-see-if-god-grants-you-anything" ritual. i asked him if we could do that, and he said yeah~

we both took a shaker & the red moon shaped dices, took our shoes off and kneeled down just like everybody else was doing. i took his lead on the whole process. Whenever he prayed, i'd pray... if he started shaking i'd start shaking... when he thru the dice, so did i~

i had no idea wad i was doing lah really... but it was fun~

my stick dropped out and i was like...

me:"so wad does the this say?"
SM:"i dunno, u must go ask the uncle"
me:"wad about the dice? wads this mean?"
SM:"it means 'yes'"
me:"yes to wad?"
SM:"yes to wad u asked for"
me:"..........."
me:"awesome~"

put my shoes back on and went to get my fortune, it said i was a "Mighty Bird" that "flies to heights other birds could not attain" and that "Every good thing comes naturally."

that pretty much made my day knowing god had my back :)

we walked around then went to Bugis Street to look at Ah Lians & laugh at the Ah Bengs~ i bought an expensive lookin watch from a shady dealer & checked out some accessories before headin to Bugis Junction to meet J. She looked very pretty that day as she emerged from the escalator, would've complimented her but i was much too shy~ we went to a nearby pool house and shot off a couple of rounds before she had to leave for work.

walked her back then took a bus to Boat Quay & loitered before route marching to "Hong Lin" for Char Kwey Tiao & juice~ Trained to Dhoby and walked over to the National Museum but there wasn't much going on tat day to really have much fun in unfortunately... so we went to Fort Canning & trekked all the way to City Hall..

by this point we'd done alot of walkin already and our feet were killin us... but it didnt really matter. we had nothing but time on our hands to wander & explore~ u know how every time whenever you'd go out and you'd see something or somewhere unique that caught ur eye but ur always in too much of a hurry gettin to the places u need to be to wanna stop and take a look, only to promise urself u'd go back one day & check out the place when ur free... but u never do...

well today was one of those days for us... we had no plans when we left the house today other than to get the passports done. and we really didn't give a shit wad we'd do or where we'd go. Just being OUT while knowing everyone else was stuck in camp was enough to keep us smilin thru the day :)

we took that opportunity to explore every random shop and building that crossed our path before breaking at Raffle's City where we had chillers at Gloria Jeans to help take the heat off our backs. 5 mins into it, we wiped out our PSPs and Patapon-ed for abit before headin out again...

trekked to bugis one last time before i went to meet Rick for the 1850hr "Angels & Demons" SM walked around with us for abit before headin home...

i haven't watched a movie at Bugis in a long long time but i don't remember their theaters ever being so big~ it was really huge inside, as big at 3 football fields infact. i was quite impressed had it not been for the builders lack of common sense to install lights on the rows to see where ur seat is. yeah, their seat alphabets don't light up... u have to use ur cellphone to see if ur in the right row -_-

having watched the Davinci Code on a previous occasion, i figured the movie would be a sequel the already renown film, but after watchin it, i was delighted to be wrong~

it took on a whole new story, not bout finding the Holy Grail or referencing much to the bible, but this time it was more on the history and conspiracies within the walls of the Vatican City. But although less on Jesus, it still involves the Illuminati and... well, just go watch it for urself & u'll know wad i mean~

It's an exhilarating film with astonishing sceneries of Rome & its Divine Churches.. that, fused with a constantly twisting plot makes this movie a must watch on my list~

after the show we went to this homely steakhouse between the stretch of restaurants for dinner and conversation... thought we heard a fight going down next door but turned out to be just a bunch of drunk ppl talkin too loudly~

by then it was almost midnight so we decided to call it a day and went our separate ways... went home, changed and bathed with the door closed this time~

this morning i woke up to an empty house again to my delight... i turn on my music and comfortably did some chores around the house and organized some of my shit... after lunch i watched some tv and had the urge to recount yesterday's events.

so much happened yesterday, i didn't know where to begin~


think i'd just start from the top...

pata pata pata pon~

the Patapon Craze is BACK!
ever since the ban on bringing PSPs to camp has "unoffically" been lifted, we're right back at it!


this is best game in the world i swear~

More Patapon 2 Info

FEEVEEERRR!!!!!!

divine intervention~

Every director often adds his or her own unique touch to their movies...
be it perhaps a certain scripted theme whatever, every director does it...

M. Night had his crazy wtf plot twists at the end of every movie, Tarentino did his whole "no bullshit/inyourface" jizz of the real world at its most horrid best. Scorsese managed to bring his gangster themed ideas into the silver screen & Spielberg made every movie seemed like it was a great tale told from a giant storybook in the sky~

its these little personal touches that the directors incorporate in their films which make it so remarkable in their own independent way~ it may not seem as obvious at first, but as u start following their productions, u'd slowly come to see a pattern emerging.

its hard to explain. Afterall, im not at all profound in elaborating creativity at its most displayed nor is it easy describing how it feels like after watching any one of their extraordinary films....

so i won't...

i'd leave it to u to find out for yourselves... to watch, and experience it the same way i have. i doubt our reactions or opinions would be the same but who cares really...

just enjoy it~
should u choose to accept or reject the statement it made is ur own prerogative... its just a figment of reality casted into a fictional tale of what is or was, has been or will be~ or just a tale bout dragons and elves~


thats just my take on it~


wad about yours?

Klaatu Barradda Nikto~

i caught Watchmen again for the second time last night, it still gave me the same satisfaction from when i watched it the first time. fkin love that movie~

i've been on the hunt for old school cult classics like "Pulp Fiction" & "Dog Day Afternoon". After watching the 1981 Evil Dead trilogy, there was a sudden appeal to watch all these gritty films.

a couple on the list are:
-Reservoir Dogs
-The Usual Suspects
-American History X
-Donnie Darko
-Requiem For A Dream
-Dead Poet Society
-Casablanca

just to name a few...

a couple of them were actually nominated to be the best movies of all time. i plan to validate that claim personally & its kinda fun too, i feel like a professional film critic going round putting my own stake on what's hot n what's not~

i recently caught The International at the new theater down at the sparkly building at Bugis, Iluma they call it.

dont be expecting an ending,(or a decent storyline for that matter) cause there isnt one. quiet the disappointment indeed.
a big WTF to Mr Clive Owen~

oh, another piece of advise...
if Jet li calls u & tells ur mother to go to the market to buy vegetables, ur fucked..
cause big brother is always right~


kaythanksbye~