Posts filed under 'Events'
on the first night of the halloween weekend, my roommate Piglet (she picked this pseudonym on her own!!), one of our suitemates Monkey, and i all got into a big fight. i had honestly wanted to just stay in with some soup and catch up on Grey’s Anatomy and post-midterms sleep, but the big buttery blocks of tension in the air thwarted that plan. so i half-heartedly dressed up in my costume and met some friends at the same bar we were at for halloween last year, basically The Bar of our university. it’s where we all had our first freshman year party, used our fake I.D for the first time, had / will have our 21st birthday celebration, spend every Halloween … i guess one could say it’s an institution. just remember not to eat there during the day, when it sunlights as an Italian restaurant.
it was a good, long night filled with many laughs. i didnt drink as much as i did last year, but everything else was exactly the same, except we were all a year older. it felt just like yesterday that i was prancing around The Bar in my very short sailor costume and Martian was being quite grumpy about it. i remember seeing all the same faces a year ago, and what they were wearing at the time. it’s amusing to know that even after a year later, their drunken greetings dont change as they wrap their arms around me to say hi. they say all the same things, in the same fashion and lazy lull.
this time last year, it was colder, and i loved school so much more than i love it now. i was so bright-eyed and excited about the novelty and the abundance of everything. now everything has the sanitized bleakness of industrial-sized something. it’s been a long story, which perhaps warrants a whole new post of it’s own. dont worry, i’m happy — it’s just that i constantly struggle to reconcile two polar parts of myself that seem to grow apart in distance more and more each day. apparently, it happens to all of us.
as i was leaving The Bar, i dropped by a 24-hour pizza place to get some food for myself and Piglet. i knew she’d be hungry, and that she was ready to kiss and makeup after our big stupid fight, so i got us some soup and three slices of pizza that we could have while watching a korean drama (Autumn Tale, or Autumn in my Heart, to be exact). i was having some trouble balancing all that food in my hands as i was walking back to the suite, so i sat down. i chose to sit down on that stone bench in front of Furnald, right at that very moment, to arrange the paper plates of food, and on a whim, i chose to take a bite out of one particular slice of pizza — the ziti one, that was basically pasta-on-pizza.
that was how he stopped to say hi. “this is a really funny sight, a yellow duck sitting on a bench eating pizza.” that smile. that stunning smile. “it looks good, by the way. where’d you get it?” and that’s how i offered him some pizza, and we started talking — about pizza, about restaurants near campus, about hong kong, about how singapore and malaysia split in 1963 and the different versions of that story (he knew the real version, which was impressive), about universities built on lakes, about the selfishness of people from our school (or at least just the undergraduate student body, which i am in, and which he is not in), about selling out (which he did, which i am on my way to, it seems), about politics, about religion, and life. before i knew it, we’d finished all the pizza and an hour had gone by. it was really cold that night, and i wasnt dressed in very much, but i wanted to keep talking. i jokingly said to him that men are so simple: you offer them some free food and they sit with you to talk about nothing at all (or plenty) for an hour. he laughed, but walked me back home.
pictures from halloween weekend!:
#1 i walked into The Bar and saw this guy, and i thought he was dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan (it was dark; i couldnt see the yellow of his outfit!!). i thought he was trying to be ironic, so i found it really funny and laughed. he didnt understand why, and finally he explained to me that he was really dressed as a Brown Mustard bottle. hmph. that’s just so in your face -_- the irony would’ve been funnier.
#2 yes, i was dressed as a duck! i thought i may as well, since everyone thinks i remind them of a duck (?!) and i love ducks anyway. this is me with julie.
#3 julian and david, who both dressed as CEOs, haha. they came in with a bevy of office ho’s too!
#5 stephanie and julie. so pretty <3
#6 these girls were next to our table, being completely rowdy. we started talking, and i complimented one of them and said she was really hot. she replied with, “well yes but no one’s been hitting on me tonight!”
#7 Posh Spice. i asked her if that was her little gucci dress, and she said – “huh?” clearly not a true Spice Girls fan…
#8 it’s ALI G!!!!
#9 and then people started wearing my hat. this is alex
#10 and bikram. yes, like the yoga
#11 A, who is so boobilicious <3 sorry, the more unique names are gonna be truncated as always... i'm being googled way more than usual lately by people from school, so i'm getting a little nervous. locked my twitter as well, but feel free to request permission. i add everyone.
#12 isnt she totally adorable
#13 us with BRUNO!!!
#14 with the pi delta psi guys + singaporean girls
#15 he was a condom -_- i didnt understand, even when he started charging at my groin headfirst. i thought he was a trash bag…
#16 and this is the bartender from The Bar!!! he came dressed as a barmaid :D :D
#17 and he posed for this picture so willingly. it was his idea, even. GLEE!
#18 A and i. she came as a flapper
#19 his name is actually Gabriel
#20 the mighty morphin’ power rangers!!! when the green ranger was still around. taken during the pi delta psi halloween party, which was so packed i got my foot stepped on twice and burned by a cigarette as many times.
the second night of halloween was spent at the above frat party, where i didnt take anymore pictures, because i was (miraculously — given the sardine can conditions) wrapped in conversation. the third night of the halloween weekend was spent in … Boston! pictures to come soon. for now, i have to study for my huge macroeconomics midterm that’s happening in exactly 24 hours :(
November 3rd, 2009
it’s been a time of much misery and angst. well, okay, not very much, but just enough for me to feel like a dinosaur. i dont mean ancient, just extremely irritable — and occasionally brutally carnivorous.
but i’m going to try and distract myself, because no one ever felt happy obsessing about the puddles of excrement in life. especially if that excrement was self served. i just have to keep reminding myself that this is what happens when i lose sight of what’s really important.
so enough with the doom and gloom! here are two community events i want to write about, both of which occur this weekend, only one of which i’m going for, and the other one functioning as the lift-off for this week’s Monday Meme, which is looking very much like it’s not going to be a Monday Meme any longer, but rather a Random Day of the Week that Su Ann Finds Time to Blog Meme. it’s such a tired excuse, i know, but my life is kind of like a vacuum right now.
the first event is another US College Applications workshop that i’m going to be speaking at. for those who were at the Descartes panel last week, my sincerest apologies if i came across too strongly about subjects i feel particularly impassioned about — namely, misrepresentation in admissions essays. i hope i didnt frighten anyone — i’m really just a very angsty cuddly dinosaur — but i promise to be super sweet this weekend :) the second event is a safety workshop designed to teach women how to defend themselves against street crimes.
1. US College Applications Workshop
Venue: LT2, Taylor’s University College, Subang Jaya
Date: 1 & 2 & 15 August 2009
Time: 10am – 5pm
Fee: RM 25 for 3 days
Site: usapps2009.blogspot.com
the workshop is a series of panels spanning three days: two are this weekend, and the last day is a review session in a fortnight’s time. the list of speakers is a long one, with current students and alumni from 20 schools speaking on various panels. all 8 Ivies — Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, and of course, Columbia :) — are represented along with top US universities Stanford, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Berkeley, Northwestern; as well as top liberal art colleges Swarthmore, Colby, Wellesley, Brandeis, Scripps and Mount Holyoke.
definitely come if you’re intending to apply to US colleges this year, or the next, or anytime beyond. you can find the schedule for all three days on the event blog. the panels will be very useful to any applicant — for instance, we have a Pre-U panel on the first day that will outline 5 different preparatory programs that will serve as a good bridge between high school and US colleges, as well as how best to apply fresh after SPM. the entire application process will be broken down into different segments, and each segment will be led by an experienced panel. there will be a how-to panel for each step in the application, e.g teacher/counselor recommendations, school reports and transcripts, CV’s & resumes, essays etc.
there will also be a special panel of actual college admissions interviewers from Harvard, MIT and UPenn. if you’re interested in liberal arts colleges, we have the best possible panel of current students to speak to you about life in liberal arts colleges. there will also be SAT and TOEFL workshops and a run-through on how to pick the right university/college ‘fits’ for yourself. pretty much everything you can think about will be represented over the weekend.
i’m going to be speaking at the Pre-U panel and the essays workshop panel. it’s going to be a very knowledge-rich weekend, so definitely come if you’re intending to apply or are even just curious about US colleges. i only wish i had such resources when i was applying :) email me if you plan to come, and i’ll pass your information on. alternatively, you could sign up at the blog:
usapps2009.blogspot.com
2. City Survival Training
Venue: Event Hall, 3rd Floor, Bangsar Village II
Date: Saturday 1st August
Time: 12.30pm – 5.30pm
Fee: RM 50
the special events folk at Bangsar Village are organizing a workshop for women called City Survival Training. we all know that KL is unsafe whether in daytime or at night due to rampant street crimes such as snatch theft, muggings, and house break-ins, and Bangsar Village is doing their bit by engaging safety activist Captain K Bala to speak to a women-only audience on crime prevention tips and self defence.
tips and advice on how to spot snatch thieves and how to secure the home against break-ins will be shared, as well as some basic self-defense moves. participants will also learn how to identify and use other common devices for personal protection, how to handle prank calls, maintain proper security in the home as well as how to handle vehicle safety. other safety issues such as defense against cyberbullying and even safety whilst shopping i.e. two-way mirrors or cameras in the changing room of shops will also be discussed.
a friend of mine is organizing this event, and i’m helping her promote it because i strongly believe that every woman who lives in a cities as unsafe as KL and PJ should know how best to defend herself against such crimes that could potentially endanger lives. every woman in my extended family, including myself, has been mugged or fallen victim to snatch theft before, and even my dad and brothers have been mugged. thieves have been getting increasingly desperate and dangerous, and thus it is imperative that we know how to deal with such situations.
i would love to attend if i could, but unfortunately i committed myself to the US college applications workshop a long time ago, and they both happen to fall on the same day. but the rest of you girls, please try and attend if you can. i know the entry fee sounds a little steep at RM 50, but i’ve heard some samples of the tips that Captain Bala is going to be teaching during the workshop, and i promise it will be a worthwhile purchase of knowledge. this workshop is also non-profit, so all proceeds from the entry fee will go to the Bangsar Village Kids’ Charity.
3. O.S.I.Wednesday
today’s Monday Wednesday Meme is about our experiences with street crime, inspired by the aforementioned workshop. for once, my own meme entry is actually going to be brief, cos my snatch theft experience was very quick and swift. it happened outside of my house, and two guys slowed down beside me on a motorcycle, gripped my arm and caught me by surprise, and swung my bag off my shoulder. and that was that. some contents of my bag were later found in a nearby residential area, where a resident had seen the snatch thieves emptying my bag into a drain, and called my house number which was in my paper organizer.
my mom and aunts have quite frightening experiences though. one of my aunts had her very young son held at knifepoint :(
so do share your experiences and how it happened, and if you’re comfortable with it, do please reveal the location because this is helpful information. for instance, i now know to be extra careful at the Bangsar Telawi area cos lots of my friends have had their stuff snatched there, and i know one person who was kidnapped there too. but of course, reveal the location only if you’re comfortable with doing so.
happy wednesday everyone :)
July 29th, 2009
last week i spent some time in Singapore at the invitation of the Nuffnang Singapore team. i’ve missed Singapore quite a bit, so i jumped at the chance to go.
it was really good being back there. not much has changed, but a couple of new malls have sprouted up, most noticeably the gargantuan and futuristic-looking Ion on Orchard Road. it’s almost completed. just a year ago i walked past the construction site practically every weekend cos Martian’s apartment was really close by the Ion. Ming and Huiwen picked me up from the airport, and on the way to the hotel, we drove by the apartment – a huge red sofa sits in the middle of the living room now. not nice :(
they put me up in the Park Hotel, which is a new hotel near Clarke Quay.
#1
#2
#3
i spent my first day in Singapore just catching up on sleep. couldn’t help it – the bed at Park Hotel was so deliciously comfortable, crisp white sheets and all. also was too lazy to go out for dinner at some point, so i ordered in KFC delivery. haha! it is my dream to one day be able to afford a lifestyle of staying in all day to eat KFC on a big fluffy bed.
Kenny arrived at Singapore the next day, upon which we took this photograph of him in my bathroom, which is separated from the bedroom with only a huge glass window:
#4
what to do. taking stupid pictures is all one can do when staying in a kinky-esque bedroom alone :(
a more normal picture of us:
#5 so cute! he looks like a little boy with really long eyelashes
on Friday night, kenny and i were brought to the launch party of the Singapore River Festival, which was the reason we were invited to Singapore. the Singapore River Festival is a weeklong sundown festival along the river, with a medley of events taking place, such as boat parades, circus-themed parties, magic shows and aerial dance performances.
#6
#7
a big handful of singaporean bloggers were taken on a tour of the festival’s events by the ever diligent Nuffies, but kenny, ming and i just attacked hor d’ouevres at the launch party held at the Asian Civilisations Museum. also met up with a few singaporean bloggers:
#8: Underage girl, Nadnut, Iceangel, Kenny Sia, Boss Ming and Xiaxue
#12
#13
#14 they placed three clear floating balls onto the river, and they each had dancers in them!
#15 a closeup
i really like what the organizers are doing with the event and the Singapore River. it’s such a clever and contemporary use of geography. i must say that in all my time in Singapore i never really gave much thought to the river — it was always just this thing separating Boat and Clarke Quay — but now the Singapore River Festival has spurred me to think about all the untapped event venues in KL. Ming told me that he once went for a corporate dinner party hosted on one of the bridges on the river; they threw huge white drapes over the bridge to form a gorgeous tent under which the guests ate and partied! and then there’s St James Powerstation — the coal power plant that a Singaporean real estate firm converted into a humongous party house that holds 10 clubs and bars. so innovative, a power plant ok! but we’re a long way from using the Klang River as a party central …
after the launch we went on a fab river cruise where our hosts told us many tales, the saddest amongst which was that the Merlion was recently struck by lightning and part of his head fell off :( so poor thing!!!
#16
i was really amazed at this side of Singapore that i’ve always taken for granted. it’s so glitzy now. i was taking pictures of the riverbanks from the boat, and couldn’t help asking myself, since when did Singapore look so much like Hong Kong?
#17 outside the Fullerton – photo credits to Kenny.
#18 photo also by Kenny!
#19
#20
the boat dropped us somewhere at Clarke Quay, where we went for a Pyjamas Party at The Arena. the bloggers were all dressed in PJs, and so were the Arena Allstars singing on stage! and so was Kenny:
#21
wtf.
some other pajama party photos:
#22 with the Nuffies!
#23 with the Spartan, who is also my former archenemy. haih one day I will tell y’all our splendid story – stuff of legends, that :P
#24 kenny is suuuuch a Sarong Party Girl!
#25 stickgal!
#26 awww Kenny looks so happy!
i really wish i could have stayed for the circus-themed party, as well as the J C and ‘Magic Babe’ Ning’s record-breaking set of illusionist stunts this Sunday (can someone please go and tell me what the stunts are?! i met them both but they refused to say :( ), but i had to leave Singapore early. oh well :) there’s always next year. organizers of the Singapore River Festival – may i suggest a riverside flea market for next year, with lots of shoes, trinkets, food, art and music?
the Great Singapore Sale (aka Jovann’s best friend) was also on when i was there, and i heartily did some splurging! i’ve taken a huge liking to little leather satchels, so I bought some at Far East Plaza, which i love. i thought Far East had closed down because i miscalculated the distance from Orchard Road, and thus got a bit frightened, but Ming said no lah it’s still there, and — “Far East cannot close lah… otherwise Malaysians will have nowhere to shop!” KNN stupid ming :(
photos of my new bags:
#27
#28
and i forgot to buy tutu cake :(
June 27th, 2009
as i ascended the stairs hurriedly, late as always, i heard the sound of laughter leaping forth from the open doors. it was a brief symphony that rose and ricocheted into the hallway, swirling up into the ceiling, striking my heart suddenly. oh my, i turned around and smiled. doesn’t that sound so adult? we’re all adults now… in that suspended moment there on the stairs, i felt like Mrs. Darling, hand in hand with Mr. Darling, leaving behind Wendy, John and Michael to tend to some party that was unwritten about because it was so adult and had no place amongst mermaids and red indians. this is that party; this is that grown-upness that for so long i had only looked at the knees of. only my parents and their friends used to laugh like that. what happened to the interstice? this feels like a second adolescence, and we’re all on this uncomfortable, taut brink of madness that we don’t quite know how to manipulate yet.
**
and then there was: silicon valley! tube top! boris yeltsin! cheesecake! very famous actress! we tumbled over each other like dominoes as we raced against time. did you know i wished you were there? we would have giggled together at how cute the techy boys were (the key above control!), and shared occasional secret nods. nevertheless, it was one of those milky, sleepy nights. curling up in bed with andrew was nice for however long it lasted, and infinitely a better way to spend an hour than taking drunken pictures of ourselves in lingerie out in the hallway. our dreams are made out of real things, like a shoebox of photographs with sepia-toned loving / love is the answer. dancing to barbie girl with queen suet was, of course, a big naive bubble of layan diri laughs, as was singing off-key to jiwang songs. i keep thinking we’re all 18, but we’re not, and we’re quite old, our lives all sewn in with respective traumas, unfulfilled goals, unrequited love, struggles, archenemies, unfinished papers and indecision. these things orbit our heads like weary moons still, but it’s nice to know that collectively we can dust these things away. it’s a good kind of peer pressure.
**
imperceptibly, one of the organizers winced as the sound system died again and that dull clicking sound in the audio resurfaced in 10 second intervals, and she quietly looked to the side of the room for help. i can never refrain myself from studying an event’s organization; i always have to look at the hardware they use, the size of the canopies, the catering company and florists, the corporate sponsors, the division of labor, the type of cloth, the type of paper, the fonts, the crowd management — vestiges of being in love with event management during high school and college days, i suppose — but most of all, i like to look at the organizers. so as we all sat there with that 10-second clicking sound hitting the thick air over and over again, i marveled at how calm the organizers were. they were so held together. if this tech disaster had happened to me, i would have been angry and flustered, at nothing or anything at all, and i would have been the last thing from calm, and it would have shown. where do people find calm? is there an oasis that you will hit if you tunnel deep enough into yourself, or do you have to be born with it?
**
it was quick and rough. the lobster fried rice was delicious.
**
okay lahhhh some pictures of the weekend at Yale before you folks accuse me of not blogging ‘properly’ :P most photos are from Carol:
#1 a disheveled me and emoyoon with hummingbird cupcakes!!! which, btw, i’ve actually grown quite sick of :|
#2 me and queen suet! i’m trying to think of a funny thing that she said that weekend (cos she said many funny things) but i dont remember any now…
#3 jeremy -_-
#4 nick -_-
#5 a more handsome nick!! mwaks.
#6 chern han looking hamsap
#7 we sang random malay songs like setia, kau ilhamku and belaian jiwa!! so nostalgic…
#8 joe doing his thing on the guitar
#9 with joe. so this guy writes poetry, sings, plays guitar, is studying philosophy… i mean srsly!
#10 DOM <3
#11 hahaha i just had to put up this pic of andrew. he’s not actually sneezing… he’s making his stupid malaysian food orgasm face -_-
#12 the crowd during a panel session. wish you were here, chen chow!!
#13 we made jeremy turn to the side and take a picture with us cos his profile looks so much like wai kin! except not really la in this picture.
#14 hahaha damn stoopid this two. this is their attempt at imitating the Twilight poster shot
#15 i love you <3
April 29th, 2009
… is what the temperature will be in two days’ time.
… is also my score for the weekend. though if i were my own judge it’d probably be -20000. i’ve been very, very bad. some things, like unfinished homework due tomorrow, can be easily fixed with some time and effort. and some other things, like tequila, can be expelled in the morning. some things, like disgusting calculus midterm scores, won’t go away but are ultimately irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things. but some other things however. just stick.
more Halloween pictures!:
#1 sizzling hot firefighter bananatan and i
#2 K who was a kinky schoolgirl. also one half of the blow-up dolls the next day
#3 i have no clue who this girl is… haha but she’s a funny drunk. she was dressed as a sailor that night too, and as i was walking past her she just threw her arms around me and said OMG IT’S YOUUUUU I LOVE YOUUU LET’S TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE COS WE’RE BOTH SAILORRRRS. haha we didnt take an earlier picture, but i obliged and took ‘another’ one with her anyway. only cos she’s cute. that’s the Pope behind her
#4 the sailor, the pirate, the firefighter and the flight attendant! all very smexy
#5 B, who kept getting his suspenders snapped. i think he was a construction worker…?
#6 look! mario, luigi, and even PRINCESS PEACH HAHAHA
#7 this is T, one of the Mile High Club attendants from this night. i think i saw her in like 4-5 different costumes at different parties during Halloween weekend, and even the weekend before Halloween! shit la i osowan multiple costumes now
#8 E, whom i think looks sooooo much like Claudia Schiffer. anyway.. you guys wont believe who she’s facebook friends with….
#9 azn love! E and Y, two of my floormates. they are super cute :D Y has stickers of Disney princesses on her door
#10 number of crossdressers spotted : 8. at least. but my favorite halloween cross-dresser will always be androo <3 pictures here-on are from the actual Halloween day, where a bunch of us went out to the parade!
#11 when i stepped out into the lobby, this guy in the mask just started running at me. hahaha it’s actually quite scary when you’re being faced head-on with such a mask. and the annoying thing about such masks is that the people wearing them NEVER want to take them off and reveal who they are. but this guy started talking and his thick Nigerian accent gave him away. haha. hello alexander. i see you.
#12 THIS was what i wanted my nuffnang wild live party costume to look like!!! but noooooo instead i went as a sissy ladybug :(
#13 batman and wife taking the subway!! Batpod’s in the shop eh
#14 a sloppy obama. i am unimpressed. number of Obamas spotted: 3
#15 BANANAS! though i’m not sure why they have moustaches?
#16 i was quite blown away by this costume. i really was! but then as we walked around the parade, lots of people were wearing the same wind-blown costume. so.. cheh. at least this guy could pose well.
#17 choi sun do!!
#18 hahahaha a hot dog eating a hot dog
#19 not exactly a halloween costume, but this dog was MASSIVE. it’s actually BIGGER than the girl it’s trying to pounce on O_O
#20 girl in the middle? totally hot. and i think the girl on the left has a prettier sailor costume than mine :( i totally saw the costume at Ricky’s (default NYC costume store) weeks before Halloween, but i figured because it’s available at Ricky’s lots of people were going to be wearing it. WRONG! this girl was the only one i saw with that costume. bah.
#21 hahaha batdog and cat face-off!
#22 little batman <3
#23 a homemade robot costume. so awesome!
#24 and a little mummy! i asked him, “hey little man, are you a mummy?” and he went, “nooooo im a monster!” and started scuffing his shoes on the ground. i think my heart kinda melted.
#25 number of jokers spotted : 58390854. but no Joker Nurses, and definitely none as cool as Jolene!
#26 french friesssss~
#27 GUYS THIS IS THE BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME EVER. EVER. EVER. THIS IS A POPE!!!!
#28 WHO CAME WITH THE WHOLE FREAKIN’ CONFESSIONAL BOOTH!!!! hahahahahahahaha he even called himself Pope Fiction. see his real legs on the ground? he made that look like the legs of a nun who was lifting up the whole confessional booth. totally awesome!! he really was attracting so much attention. there was this crowd around him everywhere he went
#29 this is nicole kissing the pope hahaha
#30 nick and i groping the pope, though the photographer cut nick out. okay mom dad Martian if you’re reading this i didnt really grope him okay! that’s a fake pair of legs!
#31 the Beijing Olympics panda haha
#32 girl picture outside bananatan’s room!
#33 and the most adorable duck i have ever seen :)
November 17th, 2008
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