Off for the CNY holidays

Well, I'm off to Seremban tomorrow for the Chinese New Year holidays. I missed last year's, as I was in Japan, working my ass off during the holidays. This is a much-welcomed break, even if it's just for 5 days. Plus, not to mention meeting up with the cousins, swapping stories, eating till we burst, ... oh the usual.

Happy Chinese New Year, y'all. See yous after the holidays.

Streets of London

London overrated? My sentiments exactly.

Streets of London (sung to the tune of the same name)

Have you seen the young men every hundred metres
Selling the Big Issue in their worn out shoes?
Two quid a time in pity, to survive our winter city,
Then off to sleep in doorways under yesterday's news.

So how can you tell me London’s lovely
And say the pavements here are made of gold?
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through a sea of litter
I'll show you something to make your blood run cold.

Have you seen the charity workers lurking with their clipboards?
"Can you spare a minute for leukaemia or the blind?"
Whenever they start talking, you just keep right on walking,
Sometimes it's much better to be cruel to be kind.

Have you seen the tourists outside the Trocadero,
Blocking up the pavement with a camera in their hand?
They make you slow your pace, shove a rucksack in your face,
The Mayor should pass a law to get their wheelie cases banned.

Have you seen the young girls along the streets of Mayfair
Heads all facing downward, made up older than their years?
They came here seeking fame, but now they’re on the game,
London's fascination isn't all that it appears.

Another "100 Things About Me" Meme

Got tagged by Bea. Geez, can’t believe I have to do this 100–things-about-me meme all over again.

1. Birthdate? 5 June 1980

2. Place of birth? Malaysia

3. Blood type? 0+

4. Height? 165cm

5. Weight? Hahaha, like I’m going to reveal it to y’all

6. Shoe size? 6

7. Working/ Studying? Working. Damnit

8. Childhood nickname? Tin Tin, Ah Tin, Tine (I did not agree to this at first, cos it’s supposed to be pronounced “tain”, but everyone insisted, so it kinda stuck), and lots more.

9. Average hours you sleep in a day? 7 hours

10. Time you go to bed? Roughly around 10.30 to 11.00pm. I don’t have a life.

11. Any siblings? A younger brother

12. Eyesight – short-sighted, long-sighted or perfect? Definitely short-sighted. I’m practially blind without my glasses or contact lenses. The option for lasik is definitely there *grin*

13. What languages do you speak? English, BM, Cantonese, Hokkien, a little bit of Mandarin if necessary, and a little bit of Japanese, if I manage to muster enough courage to speak it without looking like an utter fool for mostly saying it all wrong.

14. What languages would you like to speak? Japanese, definitely. Also, if I could brush up my German (I learnt it for a year at university), that would be good.

15. Nickname on Messenger? [Firstname]

16. What do you collect? Postcards from places which I have visited, books, stickers (a childhood hobby, which kinda stuck).

17. Model of mobile phone you are using? Panasonic VS7

18. What is on your shopping list? Currently, that would be a car.

19. Favourite t-shirt brand? Don’t have one

20. Favourite cut of jeans? Bootcut, or anything that doesn’t make me look like I have two asses.

21. Favourite fashion designer? None which I can afford.

22. Favourite clothing label? Don’t have one. I buy anything that catches my eye (and is easy on my pocket).

23. Favourite shoe label? Pumps by Clarks or Hush Puppies, and strappy thingies by Vincci.

24. Favourite bag label? Nine West, Coach, Kenneth Cole, and many more (I AM a bag junkie, y’know)

25. Most dominant colour in your wardrobe? Hmmm … black, I think.

26. Most worn-pair of shoes? A pair of rhinestoned, beaded, Birkenstock-style slippers by Vincci. Oh so tacky, oh so comfortable.

27. Favourite shampoo? Estee Lauder’s base makeup, and the rest by MAC or Lancome. Mascaras by Maybelline are the best.

32. Favourite art movement? No idea what this is.

33. Favourite artist? Not one to appreciate fine or abstract art, so none.

34. Favourite gallery? See #33 (if you’re talking about art galleries, that is)

35. Favourite cold drink? Iced peach tea

36. Favourite hot drink? Milo

37. Favourite flavour of ice-cream? Cookies and cream (only from Haagen Daz; the other brands are far too sweet), and strawberry (by Ferrero Rocher’s gold foil-wrapped goodies, and Kit Kats!

42. Favourite fast food? Sophie Kinsella. I’ve read them over 10 times.

51. Favourite movie? Bridget Jones’ Diary

52. Favourite artist writer? None

53. Favourite actor(s)? Colin Firth (sexy!), Rupert Everett (he’s far too good-looking to be straight anyway), Hugh Grant, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Eugene Levy (his face is enough to make me laugh), Michael Caine, Robert de Niro, etc.

54. Favourite actress(s)? Drew Barrymore (she’s come a long way), Reese Witherspoon (I like her Southern twang), Jennifer Aniston, etc.

55. Favourite record? At the moment, that would be PCD by The Pussycat Dolls.

56. Favourite singer(s)? I don’t think I have a particular favourite singer (believe me, I’ve been scrolling my iPod to check; if I were to put in all the singers, I wouldn’t be bothered to continue with this meme *grin*).

57. Favourite band? See #56

58. Favourite lyrics? Somewhere Out There by James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt, You Were Meant For Me by Jewel, Before Your Love by Kelly Clarkson, etc.

59. Favourite TV show(s)? CSI (only Las Vegas), Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, My Family, Coupling, Sex and the City.

60. Favourite newspapers? The Star. But then again, it’s the ONLY paper I read.

61. Favourite magazine(s)? InStyle (my RM20 worth of dreams *grin*), Computeractive or any tabloid junk.

62. Favourite flower(s)? Gerberas and roses

63. Favourite animal(s)? Dogs – I love Labradors.

64. Favourite country? Malaysia, definitely.

65. Favourite street (in your country)? Is Gurney Drive a street? If not, then it’s along that area.

66. Favourite street (overseas)? This is a toughie. I guess I’d have to say Perth Road – that was where I stayed at when I was in Dundee, UK. The university is also situated along that road.

67. Favourite sport? Err … none.

68. Scariest movie? I have to agree with Bea, definitely Stephen King’s IT. That bloody clown scarred me for life.

69. Funniest movie? Bridget Jones’ Diary 1 & 2 – can’t remember the number of times I’ve watched it, and can still laugh at the same ol’ lines.

70. Favourite leisure activity? Reading or shopping

71. Favourite public transport? I prefer to drive

72. Favourite weather? Err … cold? If you’re talking about seasons, then it’s autumn.

73. Dream honeymoon destination? Paris. It doesn’t even have to be for the honeymoon. Bring me there, and I’m yours *wink*

74. Computer you use? Acer TravelMate 4002WLCi

75. Wallpaper on your computer? A collage of close-up shots of different sorts of flowers

76. Screen saver on your computer? An aquarium

77. How many hours on the internet a day? Let’s see, I’m on the Internet at work. I come home, switch on my notebook, voila! Internet again. So that’s roughly about 17 hours of the WWW on a day (yup, even the weekends!) *grin*.

78. Favourite blog? Waiterrant, PostSecret, But Enough About You (not for homophobes though) , Pink Is The New Blog

79. Favourite news site? The Star Online and the news at My Yahoo.

80. Favourite site? Amazon

81. First pet? My mutt, Tiger

82. Favourite cartoon from childhood? Jem. Gosh, does anybody still even remember that show?

83. Favourite toy from childhood? I don’t think I have any toys left from my childhood (except for my then-coveted Barbie doll’s accessories) which I can call my favourite. Would a stinky ol’ children’s bolster do? *grin*

84. What makes you smile? When I’m loved

85. What makes you cry? When I’m heartbroken

86. Which celebrity would you like to be? I’d rather be me *grin* (still, I wouldn’t mind the heaps of money celebrities earn)

87. What colour would you be if you are a crayon? Pink!

88. If you could go back in time, which period would you want to be in? What, and be without my mobile phone, Internet and all that? Give me the 21st century anytime!

89. If you can have your own business, what would you venture into? Hmm … I’ve never thought of it. Books, I guess. Or music.

90. What TV program would you like to go on? Does any of you remember the game show Supermarket Sweep, back in the 90s? I’d always thought that if I were the one doing the final sweep (where you’re given a specific amount of time to load as many things as possible into the shopping cart, and the one with the highest value of the added items wins), I’d definitely NOT load my cart with turkeys and batteries! *grin*

91. How satisfied are you with your current situation? Not at all satisfied. Things can definitely be better.

92. What would you rather be doing if you have a choice? Doing something I like while getting paid for it. And that would be to sing or act. It’s all rusty now, but yeah, it’s still what I’d like to do.

93. The most important thing that has happened in your life? It’s not something which I wish to discuss. Well, not here anyway. You can always call me up for a chat if you want to know *grin*

94. What do you think you’ll be doing 5 years down the road? Hopefully married and with kid(s).

95. Most desired now? A long holiday to unwind and recharge

96. Biggest worry now? Going back to Japan *sigh*

97. Most unforgettable incident? That’s for me to know, and for you to never find out *grin*

98. New Year’s resolution? To try new things (so far, getting there, with yoga and modern jazz dance lessons), and to be happy.

99. Your motto in life? “Be happy”

100. Who do you want to answer “100 Things About Me”? Anyone who has the time *wink*.

Memoirs of a Geisha

I finally watched the Memoirs of a Geisha last night.

It wasn't as good as I expected. The reviews did rave about the lovely scenery (most of it sets in Hollywood though; the production only took place in Japan for very few scenes) and the oh-so-gorgeous kimonos, which I totally agree. However, the plot was thin, the scenes after which Hatsumomo left (played by Gong Li), were bland. The movie was over 2 hours in length, and it was just my luck that I had to sit at the second row FROM the screen. I came out of the cinema with a bad crick in the neck, that I'll tell you. I reckon the best actor in the entire movie was Gong Li. She portrayed the uber-bitch Hatsumomo fantastically, albeit the blips in her English. Zhang Zi Yi, who played the heroine, Sayuri, was fresh in playing English-speaking roles, but I'd give her credit for her teary performance (when she cried, her blue-gray contact lenses really made her eyes look like huge, wet dinner plates). Michelle Yeoh, who played Mameha, was disappointingly bland.

All in all, it was an okay movie. I wouldn't mind watching it again, just for the lovely kimonos. Apparently, over 200 different kimonos were used in the movie. Wow.

Good Times

For the first time in a very long while, I actually, voluntarily, asked a very old friend who's visiting from Australia out for dinner and drinks. I haven't done that in a long time. Goodness knows what a bloody slob I've become. It's not good that my life only revolves around the people whom I worked with. It's good that I'm starting to do new things (e.g. taking up modern jazz dance lessons and yoga), and also to widen my circle of friends. God knows I need these.

Anyways, I had such a great time chatting with my friends. It's just like old times, before life became a little more complicated than before. I really miss that. We spent a lot of time bitching about what bastards some men can be *grin* (hey, that's what we girls do. We talk about men, whether it's good or bad). I guess single life CAN be good. Taking each bit of life a step at a time. And who knows, what good things will come when we least expect it?

PCD

I highly recommend this album by The Pussycat Dolls. I normally do not like CDs of just one artiste, because come on, after a while, you kinda get bored listening to the same style of music for 40 minutes. But I'd have to say - EVERY song in the album is GOOD. It just oozes sex appeal. My favourite's Beep *wink*.

Try it out.