Just an update

In case any of you were wondering, yes I'm already in Aber aka Abby to differentiate from birthplace. For some reason, the UK doesn't feel all that foreign to me. Maybe it's because they all speak English, but I don't really feel like I'm away from home. Perhaps it's also because I'm so familiar with all the names, having imbibed large amounts of English literature / literature drawing on Welsh mythology that I almost feel as if I was here a long time ago, and have merely forgotten all about it.

Btw, no pictures at the moment, but Abby is a very small town (only 20k people!), but is one of those picturesque ones. There're also tonnes of Chinese takeaways, pubs & healthfood stores. I was very relieved to find that it's much cheaper than London (I almost didn't dare to eat anything in London, just in case I accidentally bankrupted myself, my family, and half of Singapore.)

In any case, I'm still trying to set up my internet (am currently using university's computer room), so I'm not on MSN or anything like that. You guys can send me emails, I shall check as frequently as I can.

Things to remember while falling from a very high place

1. "A freely falling observer has every reason to consider himself to be in a state of inertial motion." - Peter Coles, Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction, p.20

2. Scream "F***ing scientists & their f***ing experiments!!!!!!!!!!!" (note to self: will probably come out as 'AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!')

In little pieces

Lavondyss (sequel to Mythago Wood) is mind-screwy.

Why does it take me 4hrs to write a harmless email? It's just 2 lines! I have become totally paranoid. I fiddled endlessly with the email and ended up taking a really deep breath & sending out the original version.

What is wrong with me???? I remember the days when I'd shoot emails to friends & lecturers alike with nary a second thought.

I totally understand LSB *gives LSB commiserating pats on back* when he says that you need to be distracted from work in order to do work. That's the story of my life.

I spent a mini-fortune on my hair today, but I have a bad feeling it's not going to last.

I also feel like playing the piano, but I can't, just in case our neighbour set fire to our house.

Grrr. I feel like I need to bite something.

Collecting

So, the question is - though obviously I should be thinking about more important things like, should I or should I not buy an eyepatch in my new home by the sea and wear it for the rest of my days, or will that be an unwelcome reminder of the Viking days when someone's great great great great great grandfather got cleav'd in two, and thus result in my attaining the same fate in most delay'd vengeance? - have I become a collector of perfume? This is a big question for me, of course, because *collectors* are bespectacled old men who inevitably get murdered for the crown jewel (sometimes literally) of their collection, or old spinsters who die smothered by their collection falling on them.

I was traipsing through Far East the other day, when I randomly decided to visit a perfume discounter, and spotted a bottle of Hiris. The salesgirl checked the price for me, and to both our astonishment (she even doublechecked her ledger), it was a mere SGD30! A handful of pennies, I say, so I carelessly threw the amount on the counter and instructed the girl to wrap it up and send it to my address. (Actually, I paid by NETS & told them I didn't need the plastic bag.)

So, anyway, am I a collector? Cos I sure feel like one. I catch myself thinking thoughts like 'I don't think I'd wear that perfume, but it's a must-have, so I need to buy it *obsesses*'. And 'I think I don't quite have enough rose scents, or ginger ones. Maybe I should check out the reviews & discounters.'

Also, I didn't need to buy Hiris... I don't *need* it, I have Infusion d'Iris & Iris Nobile sitting prettily in my collection already...

OMFGWBTFF (I don't know what this means, btw - Oh My F* Gorillas' Warts But That's F* Flatulent?) I AM a collector!

And you know, if my collection comes crashing down on me, the smell will cover up the stink of my rotting body, so it would take days more for the neighbours to finally ring up the police. I will be the most perfumed corpse east of the sun.

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Oh, & 1 more bit of perfume & moi TMI news - I've been enjoying Guardian's ginger body lotion (SGD1.95!) layered with L'Occitane's Honey & Lemon perfume (SGD... never mind), and occasionally tinged with unknown Japanese lip balm with a wonderful rose scent (SGD3 or so). The whole combination makes me feel rather... organic. But in any case! *recovers from yet another inane remark* There's something about ginger & honey & lemon & rose that comes through really well when combined with (erm... I don't know how else to say this...) body warmth. It's like all these delicious scents get heated up on the skin & start wafting here & there... *trails off into merciful silence*