I should have said this a long time ago, but then I've only just uprooted this photo from my pictures... Say hello to the new Reso com! ^_^ Not that this means the rest would be left out, though... Oh no indeed! It takes more than just five solfeges to make a good song, and more than just a batch to put up a fantastic performance, so let's gear up for a great time ahead together =)

On reading and watching

I remember the first time I chatted with one of the younger docs during my stay in the hospital for dengue fever (Yah, that friendly fresh grad who missed the vein and poked me a total of three times while drawing blood. No hard feelings, though). He was asking me what I was majoring in NUS, as almost all the people who knew me do, and looked vaguely surprised when I said I was gonna do Lit. But then it was my turn to be vaguely surprised when he asked again, "So you prefer literature from which particular era?"

That question was certainly new. People usually go "Oooh, Lit major huh, Literature very hard to score one, leh." and moved on to other pleasantries, leaving me thinking that they might've summed me up as a curious specimen who's into really cultured stuff, which, I assure you, is not very much so -_- Lit is simply a song without the notes, like a choir senior of mine once mentioned, so if you can interpret a song, then you can understand a book. But then I cannot comprehend why others are happiest delving into mountainsful of formulas and facts and equations, even though, when you work it out, the patterned nature of maths and science would actually resemble music, too, returning to the most basic chords to form the most complicated songs, but oh well. It's a matter of preference =)

*pause* Eh, I deviated. Anyhow, as I was saying, I was momentarily stunned, and begin to run through my head rapidly books from various historical periods, wondering where my preference lies... 19th C Victorian Gothic? 18th C Romantic? Post modern texts...? Which was a quick process, because I haven't read that much books in my life. I had begun to say "We-ell... victorian texts are..." before pausing and resigning myself to go "Nah, I haven't read enough books to actually have a preference for anything." Which worked fine, because the doc nodded agreeably and replied "Whoa, that's a cool honest response... at least you didn't try to act cheem." I beamed, and wisely did not add that the only preference I have for books is generally fantasy and adventure for kids, complete with a happy ending. Anything less than that and I'll begin to feel somewhat disconcerted. Seriously, people think that we're probably into social commentaries and political analogies and classics, but hey. I prefer my Time Quartet and Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia and The Dark is Rising series any day. It's a feeling that stays with me, each time I take up or put down a well-written children's book, that these children's authors show a certain level of sensitivity to their readers, getting the story across without over-simplifying matters, and without attempting to jargonise and confuscate, and because children are more receptive and imaginative, they don't have to explain and re-explain themselves all the time. It's an easy and relaxing read, and the thrill of the adventure doesn't fade just because it's for kids, either. Why go wallow in angst and depressing storylines and bittersweet melancholy of 'adult' books, I wonder, when they are so easily accessible in real life already? (and yes, in all the future modules I gotta take, I suppose... but reading for analysis and reading for leisure are not exactly the same...)

It's like TV shows, really. Don't even ask me what my favourite movies or TV shows are. Disney probably makes a lotta money from consumers like me, because cartoons are the only thing that can sustain my interest generally one of the few things that you can sit back and watch and laugh at without thinking too hard, and they are the only things that can afford to be corny without making you feel like throwing something at the TV screen. If you catch the subtle little jokes in between, even better =D And. I simply cannot resist lovely Disney theme songs during the movie, and right at the end when the credits roll. Stress-free leisure activity. Those aside, I like Hongkong serials, too, when they don't overdo the family/business politics bit, and occassionally the Singaporean serial dramas, when they don't overdo national propaganda, NTUC, NKF and the like.

Hmm. This entry must have been interrupted twenty-thousand times since I first began writing, so I shall just stop here, and continue again in another entry. Till then, be nice and leave notes, hor.

Late night thoughts on writing

Often times it is during the silence of a late night that I feel the little tingle of inspiration, an entry demanding to be written. Something perhaps more genuinely felt, something more spontaneous then an entry written simply for the sake of updating, something that doesn't feel flurried and distracted and bumpy, from beginning to end.

Yet with regret I hold back... it is an odd habit that is almost part of my character, an automatic instinct to pause and check what's inappropriate... and I must say that it is quite tiresome to be conscientious all the time, even if diplomancy and tact are virtues. It would be nice, somewhat, to retort, or dish out a wickedly sarcastic remark, or snap a direct refusal, but then, much to my horror, it is not something that comes naturally to me. Which is really quite aggravating because then I would be horribly boring and guai. And quiet. How painful is that? *cringes*

I don't quite believe that I used to write so... politely. When I talk, yes, it is understandable, at least to myself, to be really quite polite, since I was brought up to be so, but when I first discovered the delight of releasing raw emotions in words I could hear myself ranting and raving away, an echo of the instance sounding within my head. Happy or not, it was spontaneity in action, and I like it that way. But blogging seemed to be another matter altogether... a diary is one thing, a blog is another, and even if you probably heard a lot more from me in here than you'll ever hear from me in person, it's... *ponders* it's still published material, and has been vetted with an audience in mind in the entire process of writing, therefore even if it is true in every sense, there is no longer the permeating sense of nowness, or the easy familiarity. I read my recent entries and find them a freaking running commentary. Useful updates, no doubt, but so much explanations hinder the essence, and by the time I get to what I want to say..... Hey. What was I gonna say?

So now I note with some frustration that there is very little catharsis in blogging, unless I am able to abandon these inhibitions and pretend that no one is reading in order to churn out quality entries. That is of course very much simpler than abandoning my self-consciousness and be naturally chatty with strangers and acquaintances, or tell an annoying relative (or two) exactly what I think of their ridiculous, scr- *pause, takes a deep breath and sighs*

I really do need to work on it. Not cussing and swearing away, of course, but another style of writing, another approach, and loads more flexibility.

Darn. Badly overshot time. Will write again when.......... well, whenever. No need to make it harder for myself to write with extra expectations yah? =)

LONG overdue photos: KidsFest 05

Yes, pictures. Because I promised (myself) they'll be up no matter how late. I am such a horrific procrasinator. -_- Oh, credits to dear Sharon for some of the lovely pics she took on her camera phone =)




On the spacious second floor that overlooks the very pretty red roofed buildings that make up most of the ACS Barker Campus. Although nothing will make me waver from the belief that St Nicks is the most beautiful school in Singapore, I suppose ACS Barker is really quite a breezy, scenic, spacious school to study in, what with food-court like canteens and swimming pools and auditoriums and concert halls... Very pretty indeed =)




Welcome to the auditorium! A small part of it, at least. This is my station: the Giant Dump Sculpture, they called it, where the kids can make things outta cardboard and other such recycled materials (of which we'd spent days packing and putting in order) to add on to the structure you see here. Pretty archways and parapets put together by artiste Mehdi and us helpers on set-up day =)


If I were a kid, I'll be fascinated with this little playground.




And since the little ones aren't around yet anyway, we might as well have fun ^_^




The lovely structure from another angle... Ooh, I love the bright orange carpet. (Obviously, of course, this was before the children came in)



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And this is after.




After spending hours going round and round the structure to clear off excess rubbish and picking up scattered crayons before someone treads on them and borrowing glue and scissors from one kid to pass to another and fiercely guarding over the masking tape and telling the kids not to run around, the last thing we want to do at the end of the day is to clear up. Again. Thank goodness for the lovable fellow-helpers who'll drop by our station to help out with the massive dumping session at the end of the day, even if they are visibly tired out after ushering and juggling acts and crowd control over at their various stations, too.

There are of course awful instances involving demanding superiors and unreasonable parents and irate teachers terrorising fellow helpers, whose job scope are comparatively different from mine because of the nature of the activities we're in charge of, but which, compared to destructive kids, are actually very much more painful to handle. Those I think I'll leave unmentioned, because I'll rather not remember Kisfest as a series of misfortunes... it is, after all, quite a humongous learning experience =)


Something that mustn't go unmentioned, though, is the tremendous amount of effort everyone has invested in this entire event. Really grateful to this friendly and likeable bunch of co-workers who made all the difference... They aren't only easy to get along with, they're tremendously nice and tolerant and helpful =) Including our dear venue manager Ade... You guys rock! Thanks for everything, people~




The artistes are a very nice bunch of people, too. Here's Mehdi, artiste for our Giant Dump Scuplture, along with his (cute!) son, all the way from Canada. And there's Shumei, too, interning with Act 3. Amazing girl, really. Goodness what would've happened to me if she weren't around. Whew. Big thanks to her, too!



A final, big family photo after the eventful five days. Cheers to everyone!

Strange how sometimes only outsiders can lighten the situation somehow. Over-relatedness is a more than a pain, it's the closest you can get to self-destruction.

Updates and reviews

I do realise it's been a long time since I've written long entries, but sometimes it takes either plenty of inspiration or lots of energy to work one out. I do miss writing long entries, yet because there is little time to blog immediately after a significant event, the feelings dwindle and the thoughts get interrupted, and it makes little sense to chronicle what's happened, because the lack of immediacy doesn't justify the entire works. *pause* Oh well.

Anyhow we shall attempt to work things backward, and put in more effort into noting what'd happened, because we so often forget the transient, fleeting moments that remind us that life isn't quite as bad as we thought it'd be. And well. It's also because I am afraid I'll forget. Because when things start tumbling in and busy-ness sets in, it's hard to sit down and think things through.

First things first, starting with the most obvious. I changed my blog background to what it'd used to be, despite the tremendous amount of time and effort spent creating the new layout(s), because I find that I'm still more comfortable with a layout that allows you to capture everything at a glance. And also because this is more 耐看, in a way, which encourages me to write more =) Entries enclosed in the tiny pink box just didn't make sense to me after a while. It felt too... restricted, almost sidelined by the layout and the accompanying pictures. And what really matters in the blog, I think, is still the words, so... *shrugs* There it is.

*pause* I'm sounding very solemn here. Weird. Must be because I haven't been writing in a while. Anyway.

Hey hey~! I see a letter for me... from the National Arts Council! Suscribed to the NAC ArtsFest Club on a whim a few weeks ago while browsing through their website, so here's my lovely membership card for "priority in selecting the best seats at specially discounted prices". The first time I got a programme booklet of the Singapore Arts Fest specially addressed to me, my mum had picked it up and went, in a somewhat amused manner, "Getting more artistic now, are we?" Of course, lah. I feel very refined and cultured receiving mail "specially brought to (me) by the bustling local and the international arts community". =P Seems like a pretty good deal though, getting discounts for upcoming Arts Fest performances and updates on the arts scene. Subscription date is over, regretfully, but you can always drop by the NAC website to check things out.

Have just finished watching Pride and Prejudice. Many thanks to Derek for lending me the DVD... And yes, I did enjoy the show a lot, despite the long conversations and the initial dragginess, because it has, quite unexpectedly, adapted the entire novel quite beautifully, capturing the nuances and the entire feel of a Jane Austen text, including her wickedly subtle humour and immense irony that is really extremely funny. Am never quite into period drama or British films, actually, because I tend to find them quite boring, and neither do I like novel adaptations because they're either too stiff or too sensationalised, but I guess this adaptation is quite the exception. I love the casting and the directing and the filming... The actors and actresses were amazing, they really did bring the characters in the novel to life, and kept up the entertainment while sticking relatively close to the text. It's well worth a watch if you've read and liked the book. Liked it better than Sense and Sensibility, which I caught back then in Lit class in JC, maybe because seeing Kate Winslet as Marianne after seeing her in Titanic felt kinda... weird. Hugh Grant, though, was looking exceptionally natural as his awkward, paisay self, as most of his roles go... which is perfectly hilarious and very much in character, I daresay. =P

Now that we're on the subject of movies, we might as well continue... I went to watch Monster-in-law with my mum and brother couple of days ago. It's quite a funny show, lovely light-hearted piece, yet... Hmm. I'm tempted to whine about lack of character development and not enough depth of feeling, but it wasn't so bad, lar, it's basically meant to be sweet and funny and quirky, a romantic comedy of sorts... But hmm. Am I being oversensitive, or are their scene transitions a little abrupt? Probably something to do with the censorship board... they had a couple rather obvious cuts in one or two places, which gave certain portions of the movie a disconnected kinda feeling... I guess the most apparent cut was one particular bit towards the end of one scene where the car drives off and the character exclaims "MOTHER FU-" and the show cuts abruptly to the next scene. In the middle of a word. Well yes, it's a swear word, but still... A bit odd, yes? And it's my ten-year-old brother who pointed it out to me. I was going "Huh?" and he explained, carefully, "You know, she was going to say mother... then, you know, the f-word" *rolls eyes* Defeats the purposes of censorship if a certain words are made more obvious by their absences. To little kids some more. Haha... the irony.

My mum enjoyed the show, though, and seeing that she's quite a film critic herself I'd say the movie was not bad on the whole. Probably I didn't enjoy it as much because I needed to bring my brother to the toilet halfway, which quite annoyed me, and also very much because the person sitting next to me was... er... a very appreciative audience. Amid very LOUD laughter at both funny and not-so-funny jokes and very enthusiastic squeals during several segments of the movie, I decided that she provided enough reaction for both herself and people within a two-seat radius, and didn't feel half as inclined to laugh any more -_- She reminded me of a certain newly-wed relative's husband, whom I met at a house-warming party... A big group of us were watching one of those delightfully hilarious 综艺节目 in the living room, and when the funny segments came up he would bellow in laughter and slap his knee and rock backwards against the sofa and smack his forehead and go "WAH LAO EH! HOHOHOHOHO..." I don't suppose there's any fault in laughing uproariously, especially in the company of people you're comfortable with, but... jeez. At that time and place, under the critical eye of older folks and the befuddlement of younger kids, and him being a new addition to this humongous family... I was feeling quite, quite awkward for him, even though he remained blissfully ignorant in his snorts and guffaws throughout the show. *shudder*

Entry is getting a bit long. Was gonna continue with an onslaught of KidsFest photos and narratives and various miscelleaneous updates but maybe we'll leave it to the next entry so it doesn't seem so overwhelming =) Till then, ciaos~