life, and i say this with much sprightliness, has been very interesting lately. lots of stories, flaring tempers, diplomatic conclusions, weighty decisions and other big adult things like that. it’s all giving me a bit of a headache, because i find that even though i’m not always directly involved in the circumstances at first, i’m always somehow dragged into the midst of the commotion. and then i feel responsible and start worrying. over-analysis is that grey cloud above my head in times like these. some days i wake up and i feel so angry, and the other days i feel damn sien. in an oh my god please stop that fucking construction next door when i’m trying to SLEEP kinda sien.
but! when life taketh away peace, it also giveth back some joy to thee! in the form of!!!!!! :
ARE YOU READY!!!!!!!!
1. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE CONCERT IN MALAYSIA
yes. yes. yes yes yes yes yesyesyes DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE IS PERFORMING LIVE! HERE! IN KUALA LUMPUR, the land that made Gwen Stefani put on extra layers of stockings and told Linkin Park they couldn’t scream!
my fav Death Cab for Cutie album
rumour is that the Death Cab concert is going to be held at the KL Convention Center on the 12th or 13th of August. yes i know how unbelievable it is. i’m still not really over the news, and i am almost scared to put my heart wholly into trusting that they are really coming to KL. the previous fallacy of the rumoured Justin Timberlake concert was already enough to break my heart beyond repair. le sigh. my fragile heart cannot deal with another blow!
seriously, this is huge news for me. the last time i felt this pumped for a concert was when Oasis, Snow Patrol AND Franz Ferdinand were all in Bangkok at the same festival.
any Death Cab for Cutie fans in here?!?! entwined and hw, are you reading this?!
2. BEAUTY & THE BEAST: THE MUSICAL
Disney’s Beauty & The Beast
The Broadway Musical
Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
24 June - 3 July 2008 , 3:00 pm & 8:00pm
it was a fine, quiet Monday morning when i first saw the ad in the papers. then the still air was pierced by the sound of my shriek.
disney fan. have watched the movie 5 million times since birth. know the exact shade of yellow of Belle’s ballgown. know all the songs by heart - even Gaston’s song. as a kid, used to eat porridge the way Beast did, then get smacked for getting porridge all over her face. also made Beauty and the Beast paper dolls and lay them lovingly in a tissue-lined shoebox. one day wishes that her future husband will give her a library as a gift. when 6 years old, talked to her grandmother’s teapot and picked one teacup out from the drinking set to be the teapot’s designated son. need i say more. really.
i’ll be going for the 28th June night show! who’s going?
by the way i love Yvents!. i really really do. they have already brought to our shores My Fair Lady, Grease and Chicago, all of which i lapped up greedily. now.. may i be so bold as to ask for Les Miserables? Miss Saigon? Moulin Rouge? PLEASE!
3. ‘USA FOR STUDENTS’ - AMERICAN EDUCATION FAIR
U.S.A. For Students
Saturday June 14, 2008
10AM - 4PM
Dewan San Choon, Wisma MCA
163 Jalan Ampang, KL.
the USA For Students (previously known as Discover USA) is an annual American education fair that is open to the public. anyone who is interested in or even remotely curious about American education should drop by this Saturday for the fair, as representatives from many top US colleges will be present to answer your questions and assist you with your college applications.
i am very excited that this fair is back for two reasons - one, i get to meet up with all of my US-studying friends again (except Kiasu Andrew!) and two, because i am going to this fair as a rising freshman :) actually make that three; third reason is that i’m excited to impart whatever knowledge i have onto the current college applicants! definitely come if you want to learn more about college in America; i went to last year’s fair and learned loads. trust me, this is something you’ll want to do if you plan to apply to American colleges.
i’ll be helping out at this year’s fair at both the Columbia booth and the general FAQ for applications booth, so do drop by and say hi if you’ll be around!
oh and also! i plan to write a series of US Application Tips or a walkthrough of sorts on my blog over the next few months or so. from the amount of email i’m getting regarding US applications, i’m guessing this is something that will help a significant number of people who read my blog. so, keep an eye out for these posts! i give good tips wan :D
4. NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU
to those who watched and loved Paris je t’aime, i know you feel my joy and excitement at this piece of news - New York, I Love You is currently in post production and slated for release sometime next year.
to those who haven’t heard of either movie, New York, I Love You is the New York version of Paris je t’aime, a compilation of 18 short films about finding love in the different arrondissements of Paris. it is the most amazing movie and it completely blew me away. each short is beautifully crafted by different directors and writers (you’ll recognize most of them if you’re an avid movie-goer) and brought to life by many talented actors from both France and Hollywood such as the likes of Juliette Binoche, Gerard Dipardieu, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Alexander Payne and Willem Dafoe. each short tells its own story but is brilliantly interspersed with the others - one moment you’re laughing, another you’re crying, another you’re nodding with empathy. i was so very very impressed when i watched Paris je’taime, and at the end of the movie, i was filled with such a mix of emotions that i just sat there stunned and craving for more.
and now, New York, I Love You is here. i have heard no news of it, and only chanced upon it by accident when i was imdb-ing Blake Lively, who plays Serena in Gossip Girl. i almost died when i saw the words ’sequel to Paris je t’aime’ upon some rabid scrolling. same concept, different city: New York, I Love You is an anthology of 12 different love stories filmed in the 5 boroughs of New York.
some of the directors that i recognize are : Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman who both need no introduction, Mira Nair of Monsoon Wedding fame, Brett Ratner who did XMen 3 and the Rush Hour series, and Shunji Iwai of Lily Chou-chou (does ANYONE have the dvd!! please let me know!).
and the actors? prepare yourself for the assault.
… natalie portman. scarlett johansson. ethan hawke. seeing these three names simultaneously were already enough to send me into cardiac arrest. i am their biggest fan. throw in clive owen and nicole kidman and i may just die. okay wait for the rest. just wait for it…
… shia lebeouf. orlando bloom. christina ricci. SHU QIIIIII OMGGGGGG ASIAN LOVEEEEE. john hurt. hayden christiensen. blake lively. rachel bilson. kevin bacon. maggie q. chris cooper. and many many more.
oh my god. 2009 feels so far away. i know i sound like i am hyperventilating; i probably am.
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four great things to look forward to.
life on this planet really rocks. i would put up with weeks of blaring and blasting construction if these are the rewards that my patience reaps.
paws up, all you party animals that will be feasting and frolicking at the Wild Live Blogging Party held by Nuffnang this 21st of June! :D
i am really excited because not only is this a party, but it is also a blogger’s party, and it is also a Nuffnang blogger’s party, and it’s also a COSTUME Nuffnang blogger’s party!!! it just doesnt get any better than that, what with the menu coming from Modesto’s (oh, the al funghi pizza!!) and the party’s concept being quite unique - the folks at Maxis Broadband will be sponsoring several units of their USB broadband modem as well setting up computers at the venue for bloggers to blog live. plus there’s a jungle theme! wildlife, wild live blogging… geddit? :D
i dont know if you guys have been reading the news about the Wild Live party, but like our recent Pajama Party, we all have to come in costumes for this one too! animal costumes, to be exact :) i’m still quite unsure of what to wear, and i know i’m not alone in this dilemma cos animal costumes arent easy to find or cheap to rent.
but lucky for me i have a few tricks up my sleeve. haha ;) and even though i REALLY REALLY want the Dell XPS M1330 prize laptop that will be given to the best dressed male and female that night, i just thought i’d share a little bit about what i plan to wear to the party and also how i put the costumes together. hopefully this imparting of knowledge will assist you confused bloggers out there with your own costumes! so, dont let my non-kiasuness be in vain ah.
1. LEOPARD COSTUME
okay, everyone has a leopard print something or other in their closet - be it a scarf, skirt, shirt, batik blouse, whatever. i actually have a leopard print slip that was the first thing i thought about wearing, but i cant seem to find it even after spending a whole half hour sifting through my wardrobe. and the other leopard print items i have are all random separate pieces, are not even of the same color, and don’t look good when mixed n matched. le sigh. soooo here’s what i did :
tada!
what i did for this Leopard costume was go out to Kamdar and buy one meter of leopard print cloth and … tie it around my chest :D so simple, yes? and all it cost me was RM 12.90. you can get leopard print cloth from most textile shops, but i went to Kamdar cos cloth’s cheap there and i’ve bought leopard cloth there before for many high school projects. there is a Kamdar outlet in Mid Valley, but the one i went to was at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which is like cloth and crafts central. there are loads of textile shops in that area, and if you poke around you may be able to find tiger, zebra or giraffe print cloth in the nearby shops. i heart Jalan TAR!!
i accessorized by adding leopard ears which i bought from Teddy’s Tales a long time ago at RM 12.90, and drawing whiskers on my face. you can also turn the cloth into a proper slip-on dress by doing some cutting and sewing, but i was lazy so all i did was tie a knot, and ta-da, instant leopard costume :P
2. LADYBUG COSTUME
hahahaha isn’t that so unconventional! when i first thought of going to the party as a leopard, i realized soon enough that it was probably going to be the most common costume that night, simply because everyone probably has a leopard print SOMETHING hidden away in their closets. so i tried to think of something more unique, and i thought of .. a ladybug!
when i was at Kamdar, i picked up one meter of red Habutie silk for RM 3.80. even cheaper costume than the leopard one!!! the plan was to go home and cut circles out of black-coloured paper and stick them onto the cloth, but i was lazy so what i did was photoshop black circles onto the cape. hahaha. dont hate me lah! if i end up wearing the ladybug costume to the party, i *WILL* draw and stick the black coloured paper circles onto my costume, okay!
so i picked out a red skirt and a red tube top from my closet, paired it with a pair of black patent leather booties, and tied on my new ladybug cape. voila, instant ladybug! all i needed were some feelers, so i MS Painted some on. yay for improvisation :P
3. CAT COSTUME
i have this pair of white cat ears that i bought from Pottinger St in Hong Kong for about RM 9. i KNEW i would one day have a use for it, and that day is now! this was the simplest costume - all i had to do was throw on a white dress and put on the ears!
i accessorized by tying some red velvet ribbon to my neck for a makeshift collar. my thigh-high white stockings would have looked really nice with this outfit, but i left them in singapore :( so this knee-high red and white ones will have to do. i also drew some whiskers and some light cat-eye makeup, and put some pink lipstick on my nose for a more cat-like sniffer :P
this costume was practically built around the cat ears. without those ears, this costume is pretty meaningless. so if you guys dont have any animal ears, what you can do is go out and buy a plastic headband, then draw and cut out cardboard or paper ears of any animal, and tape it to your headband! mouse, cat, leopard, rabbit… it’s all possible. and you dont even have to spend money buying expensive animals ears or renting costumes!
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so there you have it - three costumes that i put together for the Nuffnang Wild Live Blogging party. they were cheap and easy, so dont you guys give me any excuses for not dressing up, okay? :P actually, it seems that any clothing item with an animal on it will gain you entry.. so if the only thing you have is a pair of Paul Frank pajamas with that monkey print on it, by all means wear that to the party. but dont be lazy lahhhhh okay! dress up nicely! give me a good challenge for that Dell laptop!!! it’s no fun winning it if no one else put up a good fight :\
okay with all that said! please do help me choose a costume for the party! which should i wear - the leopard, ladybug or cat? (edit: i added a poll on the right side!)
i asked to try a flavor and he gave it to me. then i asked for another. and another. rum & raisin, walnut butterscotch, rocky road on little plastic spoons. then finally, i lingered on chocolate ecstasy, and stopped there. double scoop in a waffle cone with chopped almonds, please. a quick exchange and then there is bliss in my hand. i dont hesitate. what is it about ice cream? the creamy texture? the cold sweetness? the surprise ingredients? that sticky first bite?
i have a million ice cream moments; they dot my life like stars. there was the time i went on a dessert fast and azlan bribed me out of it with ice cream. the day i turned 18 with a candle in a cup of ice cream at the stroke of midnight. and i will always remember how good it feels to lean on the wire fences near the school field with my friends, chattering away in kidspeak, while trying to make our lime and vanilla popsicles from the ice cream man last longer. remember this post long ago about a person who fed me ice cream so perfectly? did you know that it was about Martian? that post was written on his birthday. we had been together only and exactly 2 weeks when i wrote it.
sometimes when Martian and i fight, and i descend into one of my epic sulks, he tries to bribe his way back into my good graces with ice cream. it’s terrible how this tactic always works. TERRIBLE. the man can do no wrong as long as he puts his arm around my shoulders and says, ‘come baby, don’t sulk. i take you for ice cream ok? a nice double scoop cone of Chocolate Ecstasy and Cookies n Cream, ok?’ sigh. sometimes it’s not just about the ice cream; it’s about how he knows exactly what i like, and how he puts these things in my hands to make me smile again. but er, a lot of the time it’s also about the ice cream.
i came home tonight agitated - door slammin’, fight pickin’, blood boilin’. all i wanted to do was forget the reason why i was angry because it is about something that i have spent way too much time being angry about, and it is also something that i cannot change. feeling helpless, i could do nothing but sit on the couch and quietly partake in the pint of ice cream Martian bought for me when we had that big fight at Gardens the other day. chocolate fudge brownie :) a whole pint and 90 minutes of mindless chick flick (Bring It On 4!) later, i felt infinitely better. i felt refreshed, satiated, kinder. the secret, i have realized, lies in simple pleasures. like ice cream and lunchtime naps. who cares about anything else when you have in your hands what makes you happy?
and so tonight i am happy. happier. contented. because of life, ice cream and simple pleasures.
i stocked up! NZN has this 30% discount on all take-away pints on the 30th of each month, and that makes me very very very happy indeedy. simple pleasures, remember? discounts are one of them :) and now that fuel prices have gone up again in Malaysia, it looks like i will be embracing a long future of hermitage and never again using any expensive fuel to go anywhere - all that i need is in my freezer, here in my home. and now that electricity tariffs are rising too, i guess i will just have to eat my ice cream in the dark.
i know two Martians. there is the crabby Martian who is all impatience and angst, and then there is the Martian who gropes around the bed in the middle of the night to find my hand and hold it tightly to his chest. the first Martian can be either amusing or maddening, depending on the situation, and the second Martian doesn’t let go of my hand even if i try to squirm away to get some blood flow back into my arm.
i couldnt show you or tell you all about Martian even if i tried. there’s just so many things to say and so many experiences to delve into; i could fill up a hundred scrapbooks with every laugh, every fight, every conversation, every emotion that we call ours, and i still would not have captured the essence of the person that Martian truly is. some days i wake up and i think i know him inside out, but i love him most when he catches me off-guard and surprises me with a side of him i’ve never known. like the other day, when he made me walk in the rain (i hate walking in the rain) and i was extremely pissed off throughout the whole walk home. plus my new suede shoes were all wet from the puddles. when we arrived home, my mother called, and i was on the phone with her for a while, glad for the reprieve from Martian because i was so angry at his inconsideration. when the conversation ended, i went into the kitchen, and saw Martian drying my shoes and my bag with paper. i felt so small.
i went around the apartment today taking pictures of many Martiany things. i thought i’d put up some of the pictures to share with you guys a little slice of my boyfriend’s life :)
#2 a little trolley on the shoe cabinet, where he keeps his wallet and other loose change. the wheels move!
#3 he bought me the pink dinosaur from Vivo one day simply cos i said i liked it. and i bought him the duck from Bugis when he was still living in Hong Kong. it used to stay on top of his stereo. note the jacket on the right! every time we go out for a movie, Martian likes to annoy me by asking ‘do you think the cinema will be cold?’ and then when i say yes, he will say ‘oh it looks like i will have to take my jacket’. i have no idea why he insists on doing this. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
#4 my flats and his loafers and a little bit of my toes. he got that wooden box so that he had somewhere to sit when tying his shoelaces -_____-
#5 these are studio pictures with his friends from HK - Adrian, Raymond and Kaz
#6 these are the Pooch salt & pepper shakers that i got him from my last trip to Bangkok. we were fighting and it was a sort of I’m Sorry gift. it was either the shakers or this really large bronze bell that he would have liked more, but i was too lazy to carry it around. behind Salt & Pepper is a card he left me this morning before he went to work =)
#7 his really messy shelves to match my own really messy shelves back home. sigh. a man after my own heart!
#8 his bedtime reading ever since we got here. Next by Michael Crichton (j0n this is the book i was telling you about!), Tash Aw’s Harmony Silk Factory, New Malaysian Essays by various local personalities (SO GOOD!) and …. the Genotype Diet -____- yes it’s that bloodtype diet thing. haih.
#9 SOME of his shirts. there’s more in the other room. what did i say?! a man after my own heart!!!
#10 ties! rolling up the ties and putting them in these little compartments was my favourite task when we moved into this singapore apartment. oh and those are my earrings! shit i always wondered where i put them
#11 his extremely awesome bookcase that i SO WISH I HAD. i think it is more ME than it is him! right? right? do you think i should make him give it to me?
#12 one page of the scrapbook i made him for our first anniversary. it was divided by cities - and this one is in the Hong Kong section. hehe see the Bank of China! and the junk boat!
#13 really messy coffee table. this is after cleaning. random things from the table that i can see from here - Tatler’s Guide to Singapore best restaurants, AA batteries, a Stabilo highligher, a wedding invitation, boxes of souvenirs from our Kunming trip, a pen that has not been capped, tickets to Radio & Juliet tomorrow, lots of random papers
#14 his really gross flax seed crackers (WTF?! is this even food?!) and my Pods. PODS!!! Snickers flavor! no contest which one deserves more attention.
#15 sticker photos taken at Bugis Junction and random passport photos we needed for our china visa.
#16 the Dell printer/scanner/fax machine thingy that Martian so loved when he bought it. i think he was scanning documents rabidly for a month
#17 bathroom counter. when i come to Singapore, all i need to take with me are my glasses and my passport, cos all my toiletries are already here. best!
#18 random candles in the bathroom. these came from his HK bathroom. i once pointed at them and laughed at their randomness, then he said it was his attempt at serious interior design. -_-
#19 OMG THE FRIDGE… okay let me describe the contents. the freshest thing in there is the box of Awfully Chocolate cake at the top shelf, and that’s two weeks old. two cans of diet coke - one three months old, the other 5 months. MOONCAKE FROM RAFFLES HOTEL. MOONCAKE. MOONCAKE FESTIVAL WAS IN SEPTEMBER. mcvities biscuits from about 7 months ago. chicken biscuits from Pangkor Laut which was 6 months ago. rolled-up Doritos at the bottom shelf… who the heck puts Doritos in the fridge…. and those Doritos were bought when we moved in..
#20 my junk food pantry!! i say mine because he doesnt buy any junk food.. and even tries to impose an embargo on my junk food buying. the only thing in there that’s not mine is that white pack of Tyrells organic lightly salted carrot chips whatever. carrot chips?? wtf…
#21 plates we never use
#22 Tyson sitting among the dvds. he used to sit in between Salt & Pepper but they ostracized him for his color
#23 photos on the bookcase. i gave him the wooden one for Valentine’s Day in 2007, and the bottom frame as part of his birthday gift in 2006. that photo was taken in Penang.. haha what a trip. i remember so clearly how i felt when i wrote that post.
#24 the wooden duck i got him for Christmas last year, and our very cute plastic plant that flops its leaves! i bought it because every house needs a plant :D
#25 his tempur pillows. i hate. he loves.
#26 me and Pink Giraffe. Martian and i had a very big fight over him the other day. if you can guess what it’s about, i’ll give you one buck. sieutheng you cannot play
#27 our newest DVDs. we spent all day yesterday watching the first season of Entourage… seriously… besides playing Spot The Star, why do people even like this show. P.S I Love You had me crying like an idiot. sigh.
Pinkpau is Su Ann. 19, Malaysia. Hostile when hungry. Sometimes a shapeshifter, always an optimist with a penchant for pessimism and shoe-shopping. More?
Contact at : pinkpau[at]gmail[dot]com
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