... signs of my ages ...

A '90s' song, playing in the background upon entering a cafe...


I could singalong to the chorus and bridge. Almost by reflex.

But cannot recall the name of the song itself.


*
*
*


... Love is all around, Wet Wet Wet.

... jaded ...

Nowadays after watching a really good show, I've stopped imagining whether such a character could exist in real life.


Let's face it - no such one could ever exist in reality. But it's like, one's subconscious has finally given in and admitted defeat. As though even the mere possibility no longer crosses the mind, not even a cynic thought to dismiss what little false hope which remains. For it's long gone, and I didn't notice when...

* * *

Finished Goong in a weekend. Watched it because of the lead actress, re-watched it straightafter because of the lead actor. Nothing close to Coffee Prince but enough to be addictive on its own all the same. In an imaginary world where an imaginary me could be the lead, the Crown Princess' role would be a dream come true *the ultimate dream would be if it was set in China* - You get the best of both worlds. Sigh.


Which led on to the Korean movie Antique, where Joo Ji Hoon was absolutely adorable *practically unrecognisable from his debut role Shin in Goong*. Movie wasn't great, they tried to pack too much into too little and spin it by you too fast for my liking *especially the 1st half* - but the actors were very suited for their roles. Ah, wasted potential there. Definitely would be better if it was a 2 part or mini-series instead.



Anyway, was walking home while listening to my Walkman and randomly enough, songs from the Coffee Prince soundtrack were shuffled up. Which got me thinking... If they make a Korean live action version of Ouran, wouldn't Yoon Eun Hye make a wonderful Haruhi *based on Coffee Prince* and Joo Ji Hoon be the perfect Kyoya *see Antique ^_^*? Then again, it'll be practically impossible to cast for the Hitachiin twins and Honey senpai...

... flat peaches ...

Walking around a market for lunch and came across these near-adorable fruits in season...

...flat peaches...

^_^ reminds me of small peachy cushions.

*someone said they look like a monkey's ass -_- granted - more like a baboon's actually, but don't tell me that while I'm eating them*


Not sure if it's a different species or just made to grow like this *quite likely since I've never heard of flat ones before and they do look and taste like usual ones, just squashed in a way*, but they are rather easier to eat around the seeds than the common variety. They also have flat nectarines too, by the way.


A better picture found through google...

.. fresh cherries are also in season too. Mmm.

.. exams in a fortnight ...

This is just not my month...


Well, it never seems to be mine anyway, though this recent one has definitely been closer to doom. *worse than the one before*



College, Europe trip plans, late sleepness nights, work, more Europe trip decisions, change of plans *for the 2nd major time -_-*, booking of new ones, work, borderline insomnia, not-studying guilt, M moving house, more work, more guilt, summer sales, people calling to ask me to study *thanks, honestly!*, impending pay cut, DX leaving for KL, EL coming to town, still more work, the Ryanair fiasco, even still more work... an end is nowhere in sight =( *well, not one that involves a happy ending anyway*

So much so that my mind's been reduced to being in droning stagnancy *is there even such a word?* at work with all thoughts being stucked actively in my head *work or not* - tired but never really sleeping. Not to mention faster rises to anger and impatience. No mincing of words. More stuttering at work and less of the usually clear-headed self o.O *so not the time to be under-performing*



And where does the studying fit in? Sigh, yet to start.



... help needed.
*or at least, a piano*


p/s: DX, have a safe flight! You'd be back in KL anyway by the time you read this :) Will definitely miss ya...

... broke ...

Friday was ML's birthday and we had Lebanese for dinner. The bill was at least 30% more expensive than we'd expected. I'd also gotten lost trying to find the place, whereupon I'd seen more than enough flyovers of London and hitherto discovered that there actually is a 'Little Venice' canal, all within Paddington Central o.O

Met some of ML's friends from Singapore who happened to be on the last day of their trip. Played a bit of mahjong and some bridge at their place until about 4am. Then headed back to my place to catch a few winks before meeting DX in Oxford Street in the afternoon.


DX's done with all her exams and going home in less than a month's time. Am really gonna miss her =(



I should go shopping more when I'm broke and feeling tired or depressed. Won't end up buying much then :p *hopefully* I fared quite well this time since I didn't buy anything *proud* ok, I was this close to getting *yet* another dress from Topshop, quite a plain one-colour top *not black! haha...* which was surprisingly affordably priced *for Topshop*. I'd probably end up getting it anyway on a later trip -_-



And today, finally made some flight bookings for my Europe trip! Well, some that actually involve me travelling as well. At least, this is the first step that brings me closer to the trip actually happening...



Oh, and I also booked a short 2 days trip to Frankfurt to visit *NB: kacau!* CY, before she goes back KL for good.




... so, of course, I'm broke :(
*and still got accommodation to book next too*

... random bites ...

When you're with ML in company, there's never a dull moment...



We met up for dinner today as I wanted to pass her some of the tea eggs to try. She recommended a Vietnamese noodle place called Viet Pho, a small restaurant with a relatively big queue. When it was going to be our turn to be seated, it was obvious that the next table available would be for 4. The pair behind us asked if we mind and we readily agreed to share the table *well, it'll take even longer to wait for a table for 2 anyway*.

Once seated, the guy said he was going to buy a bottle of wine and kindly asked if we drink. I said you guys go ahead. ML asked if it was their treat -_-; While he was out, the lady and ML wasted no time and was already in deep conversation *they were sitting on the same side* before the waitress came to take our orders.

I'd decided on having the same thing as ML since she already knew what she wanted, it was my first try of Vietnamese fare, and that was the next best sounding dish on the menu which didn't involve beef in any way. The other couple were first-timers as well, so ML started recommending dishes from the menu. The couple turned out to be married, lived in France, wife doing MBA in London while husband on secondment to Abu Dhabi.


Honestly, I sympathise entirely with the waitress. It was hard enough dealing with 2 parties in the same table who appear to be having a pleasant time sharing said table even before orders were placed. But with Ml added into the mix? Nothing against her, mind you *quite hard to, actually :p*. But if you never knew a person who's random, you've never met someone like her.

There's an uncanny quality about her that even friends can easily become amusingly confused. Not to mention the rare ability to say somthing that often isn't vague, yet could clearly and contradictorily be taken to mean more ways than one. On this occasion, for example, she responded to the waitress' query on whether there'll be a single bill for the table in a way which conveyed an impression of 'yes, only 1 bill' while actually intending 'no, separate bills please' -_- *I know because I confirmed my suspicions with her once the waitress was gone*. We only found out later after the food arrived that ML had only been there once before, ordering the one same dish, despite her eager recommendations - the arrival of the 1st starter she ordered and didn't recognise was a dead giveaway *poor waitress had to take the dish away upon seeing our blank faces and placed it down again in front of us after checking at the counter that she was right*.


Then again, you can't wish for better company when entertaining or dealing with strangers. ML is quite the veritable source for amusing anecdotes *many from personal experience too :p* and an absolute minefield for generating random conversation topics. Without even having to try. She is also quite capable of carrying on several different conversations on several unrelated subjects with the same person, all at once in the span of 1 usual conversation. And continuing after, picking up a line of thought from some other past conversations without warning. One has to multitask just to keep up and remain coherent. Or, say, develop schizophrenic properties in listening.


This must be why our table of strangers was a merry party of 4 in no time at all, touching on *in rough order of sequence, as far as I can remember* wines in the afternoon, iphones, chinese bananas, the gastronomic experience *at one point, ML was gushing about Gordon Ramsay's table bookings and switching directly to KFC, the chemistry of, in less than 10 seconds*, guys in pink shirts, french kissing *the apparent myth of*, Buddhism and non-beef Buddhists, origins of the no-pork policy in Islam, drag queens on Japanese national TV, university lecturers and children's school teachers who aren't afraid to flaunt their sexiness *and sexuality*, exchanging restaurant recommendations, the meaning and origins of 'kiasu', towns over-crowding with tourists in Southern France, the merits and logistic value of lodgings in Bayswater, barter trade between local arabs and foreign women, dim sum and the inadvertant flirt,...

Do you even begin to see a pattern? o.O
*no prizes in guessing which of the above was my only salient contribution to the conversation -_-*


And so in 2.5 hours and moving from dinner to a quick coffee/dessert *went to this quaint pattisserie nearby recommended by the couple, after we walked around Chinatown once with ML and I being unable to think of a decent Chinese place which didn't require a min charge/dish per person or serves dessert only before 10.30pm*, friends were made and contacts exchanged between ML and the wife.


*somehow, the whole thing felt like me playing the bored bf/husband supporting role to ML... ML and the wife were chatting happily soon after we sat down, while the husband and I attempted to make conversation and exchanging the knowing looks that husbands share when their wives are otherwise preoccupied with enthusiastic conversations in the way females often do among themselves. ML even uttered the classic phrase along the lines of 'you guys should talk too' while waving a hand at the husband and I -_- then again, I'm not known for being feminine anyway. Oh, and ML was walking with a hand through my arm all the time, although that was because she had fallen down the stairs earlier in the week and hadn't fully recovered yet*


It is somehow both comforting to know that I'm poles apart from ML, and yet resignedly disquieting that I can't afford to be like ML.





... naturally anti-social me.

festive air?

Like my sis said the other day,

• good food and feast for festival *it was mooncake festival ^_^*


• family gathering *my idea, to avoid repeating myself and just have one occasion for the usual interrogation*


• visiting relatives


• mahjong playing *need minimum 3 people, after all*


• peanuts and pineapple tarts *ah, ngan yin!*


• wearing newly bought stuff *no need to wait for CNY*


• spending more time at home *me dad, that is*


• nothing good on tv *or even Astro*


• at least someone's having sore throat *me, and me mom*

somehow





it really does feel like Chinese New Year ^_^

is it a bird? a plane?

Sighted...



Man with big golden Superman insignia belt buckle.



... people really do wear this out on the road o.O

... missing trains ...

As is the norm for the past 2 weeks, been rushing to board trains out every morning for work.

Decided to try London Bridge today since it's supposed to take the shortest time according to the journey planner. Got there and found out which platform to head to *which, is naturally one of the furthest from where I enter*. After weaving my way through the crowd of people who had just arrived and are now exiting the gates, I finally reach the gates to enter.

To which I found that all of them said 'exit' only.

Ok, so I turned back and went to the next set of gates further away from my intended platform, and again, they were all 'exit' only.

How do they expect us to enter and board the trains?

Turned back once again and tried the last set of gates *which, is of course, the furthest from my intended platform*, and finally found 2 which has the green arrow for 'entry'.


And of course, it had to be the last 2 gates right at the end and entirely in the opposite direction from my platform.


One barrier down, the second began as I battled my way through the throng of people getting off the trains just arrived, to get back to the platform where my train is about to leave in less than a minute. Ran the last bit and got to the doors just as the train conductor was telling everyone to stand back. Literally closed the doors in my face, and the conductor refused to let me in even though there were a couple of people just 1 step ahead of me who managed to step on the train.


Excuse me?!? Would have made it in good time if it wasn't for the fact that their stupid station had only 2 entry gates in the entire huge London station right in the midst of rush hour.


In the end, went back all the way and boarded the next train 3 platforms away which departed more than 10 minutes later.
*the conductor even told me the next train to my destination and which platform, which actually departs later than the one I finally got on*



Well, still got there earlier than usual, only because I did set off earlier today -_-

... pizzas 'n' coincidences ...

Was walking home today when was stopped by a guy delivering pizza on a motorcycle asking for directions. Which turn out to be the exact block of buildings I live in, the entrance being hard to find from the road.

Just to make sure I didn't showed him the wrong entrance, I confirmed it by asking for the flat number.



It was 5 seconds later before I did an actual double take.



... days of being slow -_-



*by the way, the results are out today for my latest round of exams and as expected, yours truly barely scrapped through despite nearly maiming my right hand... sigh, what to do :(*

... lift ...

The creepiest lift one's ever seen.


Instead of the up and down buttons to press for the lifts, there's a numeral keypad. One presses the number of the floor one wishes *wonder where # leads to* and the screen shows which lift to wait for.

When said lift opens, one steps in and the door closes. There is none of the usual floor buttons inside, just the open and close ones. Without being directed from inside, the lift automatically goes to the floor number which one had pressed earlier before entering.

Supposed people going to different floors will have to use individual lifts. That is, if one doesn't press the wrong number in the first place. There is no way you can change the destinated floor or get off at another level once inside.


Much like a cargo container being automatically transported through a non-manual machine system.



Scary, no?

... mourning ...

Barely recovering from the demise of my hard disk, am still in shock when my favourite big soup bowl turned up with a huge crack.


Also, I think I made just about the most horribly tasting dish I've ever made thus far.


It was supposed to be chicken with ginger and spring onions. The chicken had gone slightly bad, dumped too much pepper in the process, and the whole thing turned out surprisingly over-salted. Not to mention practically inedible.

Goes to show looks can never compensate for taste. Nevertheless, manage to chow down every morsel. CE, on the other hand, just ate like normal! I mean, excuse me?
*well, she did have a pretty bad day after all...*



... depressing.


p/s: MF, do you still have Ouran? :(

... CE's coming to town ...

My tiny room's a mess, my mail's disorganised, my junk's everywhere, the single bed is the only relatively clean spot, ...


And I'm out having lunch and collecting sleeping bag the day before my exams start.


Looks like may have to go back KL earlier and more permanently than I thought -_-

... unlucky day ...

Need to cry.



Can't.

... 8 random facts ...

Been tagged by CY some time back, without realising it...
*at least, I think I've been tagged -_-*



Rules

• Link to your tagger and post these rules.
• List eight random facts about yourself.
• Tag eight people at the end of this post and list their names

Everyone else I know has been tagged already. Yeah, I know only so few people. So here are the few victims I can think of...

1. MY
2. PL
3. HL

• Let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs

Er, what random facts? Weird things about myself? *plenty* Little known things? *don't I already talk too much about myself?* How random, when you have to think of them yourself? *first thing that comes to mind?* What's fact, anyway?



Oh, well.



1) I have a huge birthmark on my arm. To be precise, 3 birthmarks. Always forget about them, unless someone asks me directly or points it out to me. People tend to think I had some childhood accident involving fire or hot water. Or both. Sometimes *particularly when I'm bored*, I would answer that I purposely burnt these patterns on my hand to see what they would look like when I was very small. I like to think that they resemble a butterfly and a bee, with the blob
in the middle being some sort of flower *or some unknown-undiscovered country*...


2) My spine at my lower back curves sideways. This is apparently unique, because it doesn't curve outwards (like hunching) and there seems to be no reason for it. Only found out about this during the brief medical examination before starting work in KL. No idea how long it's been like this. Ah, but that explains why I seem to be shrinking since leaving secondary school...


3) I like onions raw. And avoid cooked ones.


4) When I was younger, I have this habit of eating bananas by chewing off the surfaces first and leaving the insides for last - which everyone else finds it extremely weird. Can't remember exactly when I started that, but I've stopped doing so out of sheer laziness...


5) Of my family, I am the most shopaholic one of all and also the most stingy-cheapskate-even-if-buying-for-myself one. Go figure...


6) I am the eldest. And it shows... -_-


7) I love soft toys. Used to have this enormous collection that took one third of my bed when I was eight. Then they got thrown out all at once, behind my back *the poor things :'(* - just because some doctor suggested that soft toys might be the reason for my frequent sneezes *as if! I've been having some mild allergy or other since I was a baby*...


*er, what else?*


8) Back in Standard 1, I was chosen to join the national day performance only because I looked ridiculous *but apparently cute :s* while trying to do the moves during the audition *yes, I clearly recall Ms Low laughing at me*. Not only did it introduced me to rhythmic gymnastics which CBN primary was famous for *spent more than half my childhood in gym or so it seems -_-*, the seniors in Standard 5 and 6 suddenly took a liking to me. I had up to 13 pet sisters at one point *though I can't remember each and every one of them now :p*. But we lost touch the next year when nearly all of them moved up to secondary school...




... ok, that's more than enough.

... cravings ...

Now and then, I'll have a sudden craving for salad. But making salad for one is hard, and I end up having at least 3.5 portions each round which I tend to finish in 2.5 meals or less.
*well, a carnivore can't survive on just greens for long - I try to maximise the amount of non-rabbit food one can put in :p *

Maybe it's because I don't have enough containers or they weren't just big enough - after preparing most of the ingredients, there is always 1 or 2 items which just can't fit into the meal boxes anymore. Last round, it was the hard boiled eggs *had to carry those separately as snacks*. This time, it was the fusilli pasta *lucky I haven't boiled them yet*.


*sigh*
I need more space.



On another note, recently found this simple piano program which allows one to plonk a couple of octaves in not just 120+ different sounds *includes gunshot and other SFX, but those don't sound good enough anyway*, but the best is that one can even play using the keypad! No mouse or clicking one by one. Cool, right?


Ok, not that it's anything new... But it sorts of temporarily abate my long-time craving for an actual piano *which will probably never be satiated*. At least now I can give my favourite melodies a makeover for the melancholic music box effect ^_^



Wanna try?

... intrigued ...

Maybe I've been deprived of nice music for too long *I really miss listening to the songs on the blog playlist =(*. And that, I may be unconsciously starting to think that any jig that could carry a tune is a good song...


Had to make a lot of calls at work today and as usual, spent some time being shunted around on the network while waiting for the operator to finally tell me that they have no idea who else to transfer me to for me to get what I wanted. But one of the companies had extremely nice music playing while you're on hold. Not exactly soothing, but so nice that I didn't care about being on hold for more than half an hour.
*think it has some sort of Russian flavour to it*


Anyway, I might be starting to love Russian music. First that short piece used in Drive of Life, then that absolute beauty of Bratja *'Brothers' in English* from FMA, ... and now this strangely not-irritating-at-all telephone-on-hold music.


Russian music can't all sound like that, right?



Or maybe, I just wanna make some music. Noise. Anything.



... in need of more.

... coincidences 'n' incidences ...

.

.

.

While on the bus to work today, I remember seeing this lady walking on the street, with her hair plaited, wearing a silver-gray faux fur coat and fluffy-felt black cap...


... many hours later, while on the bus back after work, I saw the very same lady walking on the street. A different street. But this time minus the hat.

.

.

.

I remember something my sociology lecturer once told us *a very amusingly sarcastic fella whose lectures are rarely boring - a great achievement for a Malaysian lecturer*. About how people from different cultural backgrounds have naturally different definitions of personal space. Something about how if you put 2 people sufficiently different at one end of the corridor to carry on a conversation, they will end up subconsciously moving slowly to the other end of the corridor during the same conversation. One needs to maintain a certain respectable distance when one is conversing, while the other needs to reduce the space in between to be able to converse properly, each adjusting to the other, and so on. And so on.

It was an involving thought, and quite true indeed. But I never came across such circumstances in real life, until I work with this other fellow -_- who is too close for comfort. I actually caught myself fidgeting and stepping around quite a few times, trying to give a little space in between. There was even once where we were talking at one end of the row of desks, but end up inching around the corner to the other side, until I realised what I was doing and tried to stay put instead.

But just cannot stand lar...


... so now I try to ensure that there is a table or at least some bit of furniture in between before I start talking o.O


One needs one's space.

.

.

.

More importantly *or randomly*,


I wanna go Hong Kong =(

... nothing ever happens ...

Am too lazy. But then, there's nothing new and have quite forgotten what I previously wanted to blog about last year...



The other day, I suddenly thought of wanting some wallpaper featuring the entire comic collection of Calvin & Hobbes - another example of my thought randomness -_-

Today, tried some fruit-infusion-raspberry-strawberry-and-loganberry*whateverthatis*-tea that was suddenly lying around the pantry at the office and it turned out smelling, looking and tasting very much like the cough syrup that the doctors prescribe to small children. Not to mention the amount of colouring involved.

Oh, and I was wielding a flimsy windswept yoga-enthusiastic umbrella in the middle of the road while trying to cross with 2 bicycles bearing down on me, on my way home.



... yet another day.

... absent ...

Maybe it's because it's close to exams *pre-exam syndrome -_-*, or just that I've been sick *now in the hacking cough stage* and worrying about not being worried about the exams... But lately, there seems to be something wrong with me and I keep doing stupid things:

• spent 3 hours plus shopping online until past 1am on Sunday night, before realising at checkout that they don't ship to UK -_-;
• the administrator called out my name when checking the attendance register on Monday for those who haven't signed, despite the fact that I clearly remember signing it - I had apparently signed for the person whose name was below me -_-;;
• waited long for my bus when so many other buses have passed by and surely remembered seeing the correct number when it finally came - it was a few roads down before I realised that it wasn't the right route, checked the number of the bus in the reflection of a bus stop and I had apparently boarded the wrong bus -_-;;;
  

Maybe it's all those subconscious exam stress, hiding below the surface? I do seem to be getting sick quite often during times of 'pressure' and taking ages to recover *especially since that idiot clinic I went to before SPM*. However, I haven't touched any of my study materials at all and the exam's in 5 days time...



*god help idiotic me*





On a separate note, saw these in the window at Borders and immediately thought of CY ^_^

...aw...

...taking over the windows of Borders...

Adorable, no?

...definitely the most well-made polar bear soft toy I've ever seen...

*I want one of those too! :(*

... in anticipation of failure.


p/s: Mock exams were on the next day and supposed to bring an extra calculator for someone. I remembered to bring the extra, but forgot my own >.<

pp/s: Was so bored in class the following Friday that I re-organised the music files in my phone. Only realised at the end of Saturday that the ringtones for contacts got messed up as a result, and didn't noticed that it was my own phone which had been ringing these 2 days... sorry, and do bear with me if I don't seem to answer >.<