Amazingly bad policy

If this isn't bad publicity, I don't know what is.

Tourists warned of UAE drug laws

Possession of painkillers like codeine and some cold and flu medication could result in a mandatory four-year prison sentence, Fair Trials International said.

In one of the most extreme cases, it reported a man being held after poppy seeds from a bread roll were found on his clothes.

"If they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

"What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."

蘇芮 一樣的月光

This is one of those songs I really don't want to like cos liking it is just... uncool. But I can't help feeling very impressed with the singer, and I can't help liking the song. Eeks I'm so uncool.

A note on the singer. I remember very distinctly coaching my mum in Kbox for her Mid-Autumn performance (hehe) in which she had to sing one of this singer's songs. My mum's quite a good singer actually, but she can't sing with the music, which is the problem I had when I first started playing the violin with piano accompaniment. So it was a full hour in Kbox listening to that song over and over and over. Urgh I'm a very filial daughter. Oh yes, what was I going to say? This singer's other song is very different. Ya, that's it.

Sleepy!

Guys just don't get it

Facing the prospect of yet another horrendous day in a secluded corner of the library until closing, what does a girl do? Of course she puts in a bit more effort dressing up.

Usually I just throw on a random top + a random bottom, grab my bag and go. These days I try to pick out clothes that I haven't worn in a while, coordinate them with stuff I haven't coordinated them with before, then fuss a bit in front of the mirror (and sometimes even change out of the outfit if it's horrendous). Nothing too dressy (since I have to wear my Crocs slippers because I have to lug my huge laptop around), but with a teeny bit more effort than usual. Then I bring out my perfume samples and meditate on which scent suits my mood, go through my accessories and do some matchy-matchy (forgive me for use of this *kowtows*) before I'm ready to go.

Yes, no one's looking at me, but who cares? Besides, that means that even if I get EVERYTHING wrong, no one's looking. :P (and yes, it's happened)

Guys have such inflated egos, they actually believe that girls dress for them. No no no *wags finger under noses* girls dress to make themselves feel better.

Anyway, I'm taking it easy tomorrow. (which means I'm going to work till sunset and no later)

qui aime le franglais?

I do!

Au revoir Mister Franglais

The French see it differently because English is taking over the world and French isn't. English doesn't need defending, but French, once the European language of freedom and culture, does. And English is not just 600,000 eccentrically spelt words in a very large book, it is, to some, a symbol of Anglo-American cultural imperialism, the language of junk food.

You might think we were talking about the last two speakers of a native American dialect, rather than French, which is used by more than 350 million people. But to some, a future of Franglais n'est pas un future at all.

This article really made me laugh. Why can't Channelnewsasia be more like the BBC?

That's my life

Can you believe that I'm excited at the prospect of being able to work at the National Library instead of NUS on Sunday?

haunted by Beethoven

There's this incredibly cool site where you can listen to music (no downloads or stuff). You choose your mood, music genre, era and off you go.

I hit dark, classical, and the next thing I know I'm hearing Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement. Which is, oh, just like the piece that's been invading my head for days. It's also the piece I've been trying to learn, and you know, there's this guy called Horowitz, and even though I've been practising on and off for a couple of months I don't know if I'm at half his speed yet. I keep increasing speed (on the metronome), and each time I'm surprised I can keep up, and each time I'm horrified to find out that I'm STILL not playing fast enough dammit.

Then again, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I'm probably a much better pianist than I was when I just completed my Grade 8 piano. 7 years ago I'd never even have considered playing any of the stuff I'm playing now. I mean, I'm still no good now, but better. (which tells you how bad I was) I think it's something to do with my learning the violin. Learning the violin taught me muchos about playing music, even though it didn't really teach me how to play the violin well. And well, perhaps I'm actually interested in playing the piano now. I've got a bad bad feeling though, that if I actually get around to taking piano lessons again I'll find myself woefully inept.

Anyway, to all of you out there, life sucks quite a bit for me now, so watch out for the fangs and claws. (though you're probably more likely to get whines and buckets of angst)

Really, really expensive shampoo

I layered Burberry London for Men & Terre d'Hermes, and most surprisingly, got Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo.

My wish list

Ok, I added a wish list (see sidebar), which is absolutely something I should have done ages ago. It'd be nice if you guys could get me any one of those (understatement. I'd actually love you till the end of time), but I don't really expect it and foresee I'll have to spend my own money (horror!) on them. Nevertheless, at least the list ought to keep my focused and prevent me from buying other stuff when that money could have gone to any of the items on my list.

how a library can kill you

I'm dying here... I've been spending days alone in the library flipping through books that, as interesting and entertaining as they were initially, are probably going to get drier and more boring as I go along. I can't surf the net or watch videos while working, there's no one to talk to, I can't MSN and work at the same time, and I can't even listen to music because I'm in such a music mood these days, it's hard to listen to music that induces brain-implosion and work simultaneously, and music that doesn't induce brain-implosion is not listen-worthy when I'm in this mood.

Hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks of flipping through books without anything else to do.......

I could cry with sheer frustration and boredom.

In the news

Carla Bruni avoids protocol issue

Carla Bruni, the girlfriend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has told a leading French newspaper that she will not travel with him to India this week.

The decision means that Indian officials do not have to resolve protocol issues of how to treat a head of state's girlfriend.

Officials said there was no precedent for a head of state visiting with their girlfriend and there is no mention in the rule book about where she should be accommodated or seated.

Officially, the foreign ministry refused to comment on the visit, but in private many diplomats hinted at the "protocol confusion" that gripped the government.

This amused me to no end.

Maid finds boss is missing father

A Vietnamese woman who travelled to Taiwan to find the father she had never met, ended up working for him without knowing it.

Ms Tran had travelled to Taiwan a few years earlier to search for her father. Her only clues were a gold ring and a photograph of him as a young man.

He had given the mementoes to a Vietnamese woman he had fallen in love with in Hong Kong in 1967. She had returned to her home country to care for her mother and he later returned to Taiwan.

The woman gave birth to Tran Thi Kham, but died two years later. The child was brought up by her aunt - whom she thought was her mother until the day of her wedding, at age 21. On that day, her aunt revealed the true story and passed on the ring and the photo.

This was terribly amusing too. Oh come on, the drama... the drama...

I love the BBC for all the wrong reasons.

a bit of joy in a lot of work

I put on my jacket and realised I can smell my perfume on my jacket.

I've never, in all my years as an NUS student, spent this much time in the bloody library.

Ring-a-ring-o'-roses,

PM urges world institution reform
Gordon Brown has called for reform of international institutions, including the United Nations and the World Bank, on the final day of his trip to India.

A pocket full of posies,

In a keynote speech in New Delhi, the prime minister said it was time to build a "new global society".

A-tishoo, a-tishoo,

Mr Brown also called for the expansion of the UN Security Council and the establishment of a World Bank fund to combat global warming.

We all fall down.

Panda Toaster

Ah!!!!!! I love Panda Toaster! Panda Toaster rocks!

insecurity

This very very serious post was inspired by this post at a blog I always visit cos the guy's funny and ten kinds of nice in a good way.

My friends often say that I seem to expect very little of them and not miss them at all when they're away. Which is absolutely true. I think it's because of that that I don't really get into major tiffs with friends. I don't get all worked up thinking that someone's being insensitive or uncaring or someone doesn't appreciate me as much as he/she should, and it's perfectly alright if friends disappear for months for whatever reason as long as I know we're still friends. Which is why I really don't understand why certain quarrels are so hard to resolve. (ahem :P)

I figure that since I spend most of my time not thinking or caring about my friends, there's no reason why I should expect any of my friends to spend any significant amount of time thinking about me. Most of my mental (and a large part of my emotional) effort goes into the constant inner struggle over whether I should finish up that chocolate bar in my fridge. (there's always a chocolate bar in the fridge) So I fully expect my friends to be more concerned about dinner than about me, and I fully expect them to contact me only when they're bored/ need help/ need company. And it's ok.

In the same way, because I'm never able to remember faces and names, if I have met someone only once or twice, I expect him/her to have forgotten me, and am pleasantly surprised when he hasn't. (and very embarrassed because 99% of the time, I've forgotten who he is. Also, when I introduce myself again, they're like, dude, I know who you are.)

On the other hand, for those people (read: LSB) whom I think about only slightly less than chocolate, I feel terribly devastated when I find that no, LSB has not been thinking of me at all, omg why doesn't he think about me does he still love me?!?!?! *silent scream, pulls hair out* And if he still hasn't remembered my birthday you better take a step back cos I don't know what I might do. But you know, it puts a lot of pressure on the relationship when I'm like that. Well, at least I know that I'm more than a bit neurotic when it comes to LSB and I'm trying my best to take a more laid-back approach and to expect less of my boyfriend-who-is-an-utter-caveman-and-not-a-SNAG-at-all. *sigh*

Ok, I took a nap just now and woke at 1am, so many more sleepless hours to go...

Bimbotic post - shoes & dresses

Guys, witness the height (depths) of my bimboticness...

I need to re-organize my wardrobe. As much as I'd like to ignore her, my mum is right. I have too many pieces of clothes that I don't wear.

Let's ignore the large quantities of tops and pants because I can't really count past 100 (I'm afraid I don't have that many skirts) and start with the dresses.

I have:
- 1 blue dress (worn twice)
- 1 dark blue shirt dress (never worn)
- 1 black dress with floral embroidery detail (never worn)
- 1 black empire layered dress (worn once)
- 1 black cotton dress, empire cut (worn twice)
- 1 black dress, waist detail (never worn)
- 1 black + floral design dress, flutter sleeves (never worn)
- 1 black sheath dress (worn once)
- 1 black tube dress (worn once)
- 1 silver dress with belt (worn once)
- 1 brown dress with ribbon (worn once)
- 1 white & brown floral dress (never worn)
- 1 casual dress, white + floral design (worn many times)
- 1 turquoise retro dress (yes, I finally remember which dress this is) (never worn)
- 1 pink satin dress (never worn)
- 1 purple short cheongsam (worn once)

2 dresses worn twice, 6 dresses worn once, 7 dresses never worn, and only 1 dress worn many times. The stats are damning. The pink dress & the cheongsam were, unfortunately, bought when I was much slimmer *sniff* and so I'd have to lose some weight in order to wear them again. Even though I'd love to wear the cheongsam again. Even though I have no occasion to. Even though it is kind of too short and channels all kinds of slutty. Especially since it's kind of too short and all kinds of slutty. ;)

And yes, too many black dresses.

Note to self: no more black dresses.

Shoes.

- 1 pink crocs slippers (worn too many times)
- 1 cream sandals (worn many times)
- 1 dark green pumps (going to wear! it's still new)
- 1 lime green pumps (worn once)
- 1 black stiletto pumps (worn once)
- 1 black patent pumps (worn once)
- 1 white & silver heels (worn a few times)
- 1 black with gold details heels (worn many times)
- 1 beige wedges (worn many times)
- 1 pink satin peep-toes (never worn - this was probably the biggest mistake of my life, but can be remedied once I'm willing to wear tonnes of bling)
- 1 grey denim slingbacks (worn once)
- 1 black heels with metal chain (worn many times)
- 1 black strappy heels (worn a few times)
- 1 silver wedges (worn a few times)

Ok, this is not the whole list. I'm pretty sure I've a few pairs that I've completely forgotten. Anyway, the shoes that I've only worn once? It's the pain. All you gals should understand. But I've discovered a new way to break into shoes! If it works I'll tell you all.

Also, the lack of flats? It's cos it's so difficult to find pretty flats, and cos the moment I get flats, I wear them till they break. So I only have 1 pair of flats at any one time. (and at the moment it's my crocs. *the horror*)

Again, too much black. And surprisingly 2 greens. Me thinking my next pair (which will hopefully be far far in the future) should be something reddish. And it'd better be devoid of pain.

Argh......

China's middle class

Well-heeled protests hit Shanghai
Rarely have protests in China been so well organised, or the protesters so well-dressed.

The residents of Pingyang district, in the south of the city, say their health is at risk and their homes will become worthless if a planned extension to Shanghai's futuristic maglev railway goes ahead.

They are part of China's new middle class. Many of them bought their first homes here, capitalising on China's new economic freedoms.

This looks interesting.

I haven't done this in a long time.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
930am? Thanks to LSB.

2. Diamonds or Pearls?
Anything. Just give it to me. But if I had to choose... diamonds. (are you guys surprised?)

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
My Blueberry Nights. Hmmm seems like my cinema phase has died down quite a bit.

4. What is your favourite TV show?
Scrubs. I wish I could say something more brainy, but this is it. Honest injun.

5. What did you eat for breakfast?
Sliced fish noodles. (or whatever it translates to)

6. What foods do you dislike?
Pretty much nothing? No, serious. I have a mood for every food ;)

7. Your favourite potato chip?
Sour cream & onions.

8. What is your favourite CD at the moment?
No favourite CD. Not in music mood today.

9. What kind of car do you drive?
No car, don't drive. Yet. ( and that's a promise!)

10. Favourite sandwich?
Oooh. So many... Hmmm almost anything with honey mustard. And olives.

11. What characteristics do you despise?
The despicable ones? Too lazy to think of what I despise.

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Currently, my blue dress! I've worn it twice and I only bought it a month(?) ago!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Japan? *hint hint* New York or the UK.

14. What color is your bathroom?
White?

15. Favourite brand of clothing?
Erm no favs.

16. Favourite time of day?
There's a mood for every time of the day.

17. Where would you want to retire to?
Somewhere Mediterranean-ish. Don't do cold very well.

18. Favorite sport to watch?
Don't watch sports.

19. Coke or Pepsi?
Yucks neither.

20. Are you a morning person or night owl?
A mood for every time. Damn I do repeat myself.

21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I made NY resolutions! But maybe I'll talk about those next time.

22. What did you want to be when you were little?
Author.

23. What is your best childhood memory?
Sitting in car at night while parents drive through Malaysia.

24. Nicknames?
Yes, but I don't see the point of publicizing them myself.

25. Piercings?
1 in each ear.

26. Eye Color?
Dark brown.

27. Favorite day of the week?
Sunday!

28. Favorite restaurant?
Too many.

29. Favorite ice cream?
Lemon sorbet.

30. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Wow. Maybe at a school registering for courses.

31. Bedtime?
Probably 5am despite my best efforts. Sigh.

32. What are you listening to right now?
Hum of the laptop that's giving me a headache.

33. How many tattoos do you have?
Zilch.

34. Next film you'll see?
No idea.

35. Tag someone?
Blah.

Ok, that was boring. Even for me.

*yawnz*

I'd forgotten how tedious & boring library research can be.

Is Starbucks McCigarettes a horrible name for a (toy) dog? Why does everyone oppose it? I happen to think it's the right and delectable mix of wanton capitalism and health-destroying narcotics (nicotine + caffeine anyone?). Maybe if I tone it down and call him Starbucks McCiggy?

and now

What I would do without LSB, I wouldn't know.

Tumultuous days

*spotlight*

Much has happened since the last time you heard from me. *gazes pensively at starry sky*

I... *gust of wind picks up*

I... am no longer the same person. *sakura petals fall*

My love... I'm still waiting for you to return... *cries solitary tear*

Anywayz, I have to assure all of you that although I sounded as if I was nursing my nth drink in an empty bar on NY's Eve, listening to mournful songs, and ignoring all the bartender's subtle attempts to persuade me to go home, this was not the case. In fact, I was at home watching random tv shows with my family and didn't realise it was 2008 until my mum burst out of her bedroom scattering NY greetings & kisses.

This has really been the season for the past. I just got a call from a PRC kid I tutored a long time ago, and he's now in Sec 3! He was only in primary school then! I was really quite fond of him, and the call quite made my day.