Grousing in Progress...

Holiday's over, back to the battlefield...

2012-01-29T12:54:00.002+08:00

Well, it's been a long mental break and a short physical break... stopped work at my old place on the 6 Jan... threw myself into the duties at the market store, waking up at 6am every day, and not getting home till 5pm until the 20th... 14 days of intense physical activities has left me with a sore and aching body (yup, my neck and shoulder injury has been aggravated once again). But mentally, other than the stress of worrying about over-ordering of stock during this festive period... I was relaxed mentally and was in bed by 1030/11pm each night...

Then it was 3 days of rather toned down celebrations... gambling kept to a minimal... no mood and lady luck ain't with me... losses to date, one month's transportation funds. hahaha... dammit! but come to think of it.. I did win some on the eve... so.. it could be about half month's transport... anyway... we are in the red people!

So, it suddenly hit me last night.. that this would be my last night of being jobless... tonight when I sleep, I will do so knowing that my alarm clocks will be turned on again, and that I will have to wake up when it rings, and my work life begins again. It was such a depressing end to my saturday... SAD...

Ah well, it is definitely better to be employed than unemployed...today... my last day of freedom.. and since it's my last day, I shall summarize what I did, beside working at the market store and from my CNY celebrations, from the moment I left my old job. I watched a massive amount of Korean dramas... HAHAHA... MASSIVE!

1. Cityhall (시티홀, 市政厅), 4-stars
Watched and completed the show. The political intrigue provided an added dimension to an otherwise normal romance show. Of course, the lead actor and actress Cha Seung Won and Kim Sun Ah are the people I like. For those who don't know, Cha Seung Won is the guy from "The Greatest Love", while Kim Sun Ah is from the very famous "My Lovely Sam Soon!". Chemistry was good, I was glad for the wardrobe and hairstyle change about 10 episodes into the show for Kim Sun Ah... and I am starting to wonder whether Cha Seung Won would ever appear in a drama show and not be in a three-piece suit! :P Of course, he looks terribly dashing in them...

2. Sungkyunkwan Scandal (성균관 스캔들, 成均館), 3.5-stars
Watched and completed the show. Typical show where girl hides in an all boys school, insert comic elements, funny situations... it's a standard sure-win formula in a "period drama"... and I also like the insertions of Confucius teachings within the show... :) Park Yoo Chun (that dude from JYJ, formerly DBSK) and Park Min Young (actress, not from any band/group) star in this drama. Still, the fairly young cast (needed since they are students) of course wasn't too convincing at times, although I think they have done very well, considering their age... means that it's a nice and fun show, but not a great show - 3.5 stars. Special mention for Song Joong-Ki who was funny and looked good in the show. Definitely a pretty boy.. and he leaves you wondering when he would mature or improve his acting chops to eventually get his own drama show.

3. Scent of A Woman (여인의 향기,女人的香氣), 3.5-stars

Watched and completed the show. The saving grace of this show is Kim Sun Ah, who lost an amazing amount of weight to depict a lady who is diagnose with 4th-stage cancer and 6 months left to live. It did provoke some thought in me as I have been thinking of the phrase, "if today was your last day, what would you do?", and to always live life to the fullest.. and this was an example of what living life to the fullest means, love life non-withstanding.

The best part of the show for me was Kim Sun Ah telling Lee Dong Wook (supposedly hugely popular in Korea and very cute, but for me, is cute, but not that cute. Incredibly good looking from selected angles.) that she doesn't just have him in her life, she still has her family, her mom, her friends... and that she has a commitment to all of them. It's good since it's realistic... one can't face death without involving the many people who are a big part of your life. It's not just your spouse/partner as is often depicted in other drama shows. It was 4-stars, but I reduced it to 3.5 stars due to the ending. Throughout the show, I was wondering how they are going to deal with her passing on, since it's obvious that this is not going to be one of those feel-good shows where they find a miracle cure, and they, totally avoided the issue. *face-palm* Giving one of those crap endings. Of course, it is a good show, just that I was disappointed by the ending.

4. Prosecutor Princess (검사 프린세스, 检察官公主), 2.5-stars

Watched but did not manage to complete the show. I actually quite like the lead actor, Park Shi Woo... the lady is a little more forgettable. However, her role as a bimbotic prosecutor got too much on my nerves, I don't do very well with stupid females (nor stupid males for that matter) and after one too many ridiculous scenes, where the lady does not even understand why everyone is angry with her, I can't seem to continue with the show. It reminds of this Taiwanese drama show, "It Started With A Kiss Part 2", where Ariel Lin is acting as a silly girl. If you can't even do simple things like photocopying properly, you are better off in a home. Seriously. While Kim So Yeon's role is just too self absorbed and since I cannot even find it cute, nor can I identify with her love for fashion and labels, it was a show that just went "whoossh" over for me.

5. Protect The Boss (보스를 지켜라, 守护老板), 3-stars

Watched, but did not manage to complete the show. Was somehow, bored during the fights between the male lead, Ji Sung and Young Woong Jae Joong (another dude from JYJ, formerly DBSK). It was a show that I think was successful, buy which somehow, didn't quite gel with me. 3-stars. I actually suspect I would start to like the show a lot more if I had mustered up the patience to continue watching

6. My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (내 여자친구는 구미호, 我女友是九尾狐), 2-stars

Watched, and could not get past the 5th episode. It was sooo boring. The lead actor, Lee Seung Ki is not particularly good looking, although the lead actress, Shin Min Ah, fits the bill of an innocent fox spirit. There is this incredibly good looking guy, No Min Woo, but who is a little too weird an insertion into the show, and since he's not the male lead, not a very well-developed character. Of course, I didn't have the patience to watch out the rest of the show... it was quite a failed production, considering it came from the famous Hong Sisters, who wrote one of my current favourite drama - The Greatest Love.

7. Lie To Me (내게 거짓말을 해봐, 對我說謊看看), 3-stars

Watched and completed it. Yoon Eun Hye, an actress that I have quite liked since watching her in Coffee Prince (The 1st shop of coffee prince). She is cool in this show, at least she'a hardworking and successful lady in the show. However, the guy, Kang Ji Hwan, I think his gay-ness could not be hidden. I actually wonder if it's his tenor voice. His voice, is really too high for a guy who looks like him. This brings to mind selected actors who have nice deep voices that I like, for e.g. Cha Seung Won and Lee Sun Gyun. Being a bit of a tenor is not a bad thing, but there has to be this deeper reasonance, a man should sound manly. >< Anyway, the entire show's scripting and storyline is a bit weak. Of course it's watchable, but it's definitely not a great show.

and I even found the time to re-watch The 1st shop of Coffee Prince... hahahahaha....

Performance Review: 张惠妹 AMeiZING 世界巡回演唱会2012

2012-01-10T18:45:00.000+08:00

Date: 07 January 12
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Singapore Indoor Stadium
Kaki: GeeNah & her 2 friends
Rating: 4.5 stars
Language: Chinese and Cantonese

Sypnosis:

张惠妹 AMeiZING 世界巡回演唱会2012.

Taiwan pop diva A-Mei will perform in Singapore on January 6 and 7 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium as part of her AMeiZING World Tour Live concert series.

Celebrating 15 years in showbiz, Asia’s reigning Queen of Mandopop - AMei (Zhang Hui Mei) returns to Singapore with not just one, but two nights of exciting musical extravaganza this coming January!

Best known for her powerful vocals, stage charisma and popular hits, AMei made her music debut in 1996 with her first album SISTERS. It immediately topped the Taiwan IFPI chart for a record nine consecutive weeks and made her an instant hit on the music scene. Having graced the covers of TIME Magazine, AsiaWeek magazine, interviewed by CNN and awarded US’ Billboard Most Popular Asian Artiste award among other achievements, she is the undisputable Queen of the Mandarin pop music scene. Often commended as “Pride of Taiwan”, the multi-award winning vocalist and Golden Melody Award’s Best Female Vocalist remains one of the biggest and most popular music sensations in the Mandarin pop music world.

Review:
So what did I think of it? It was Ameizing. Really. She is a born performer and she had the crowd eating out of her hands by the end of the first song.

My first impression was that the stage wasn't really something to laud about... it was a pretty standard layout, nothing impressive. But that was soon forgotten as Amei's on-stage charisma and her ability to control the crowd truly is top class. Humble and very willing to communicate with the audience, chit-chats, sharing her thoughts about the song she is going to sing... and being able to bring about the passion and emotions for each of the songs, from the fast paced ones.. that got the entire stadium jumping along. At one stage, I wondered if everyone was prancing and jumping around like a mad person as I was, and thus turned around and took a look around. For the very first time, I saw the audience in the balconies... even those on the 3rd level, (generally reserved for the reserved lots, seats which I take for the artistes which I quite like, but I know it's not a very "high" type of performance, and it's okay to just lean back and enjoy the music without jumping along) were standing up and jumping.

Considering that Singaporeans are a generally reserved bunch, hey, I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed Jacky Cheung's performance, but I didn't even stand up to jump along... that of course, could be due to the fact that A-Mei repertoire of songs has quite a number of fast-paced, jump and and dance along type of songs.

She dances and sings and nary breaks a sweat or a beat... it was a major ktv session I think.. and her vocals.. are WOW. If I were to compare to the king of songs, jacky cheung, I would say, his technique is better. On the other hand... she is able to convey the emotions of the songs is better. That and it was obvious the budget for Jacky Cheung's show was much higher... more dancers, bigger stage...

Oh oh oh.. and I have to add this. Her costumes, and her make up... were really really good... I think they have managed to really make her look darn good... And I have to say, she's one of the rare few who looks good with long wavy locks (without looking aged by the hair)

I am glad I have attended her concert, something I wanted to do at least once in my life... so.. now I can tick that item off my checklist... and for those of you who are deliberating about whether to go to her concert. Don't wait. Go. :) It's ultra fun and definitely worth the money!!!

2nd last day...

2012-01-05T10:18:00.000+08:00

Today marks my 2nd last day in office... this particular office that is.

And... even as I say usual, the truth is I am feeling sad today, for this has been an extremely short tenure. No farewell lunches, no fond farewells... well, there're a couple, but a lot less than my previous postings... afterall, it's only been 8 months and I am located in a little silo of an office building where only my department is located.

I feel like I haven't done much, contributed much, made much of an impression... In general, I feel like quite the loser here... I know I am capable of so much more, but I feel stifled, lost and useless here. I am not challenged half the time and I just feel aimless and bored. That is why I am leaving, before I lose all sense of self worth

But.. the day looms close and I just feel sad... of course, the usual questions such as, could I have done better or could I have achieved more comes to mind. Truth is, I think not. If any, it would only be that bit more that I could have done. But this is not really the case here... things just work a little differently from what I am used to, and I wasn't willing to make a change for this place, as I saw it as a slide backwards, instead of moving forward. If I had gotten used to the place here, I would have become a failure elsewhere if I was ever to leave. That is just my opinion and one could say I never did give it my best shot. Probably true. But there was never anything that required me to give it my best shot...

Of course, going back to my previous company may not have been the wisest move (time will tell for that), and much as I keep thinking about whether it's the correct move, the truth is, the chess piece has been moved, now I can only look forward and work towards the best outcome. With a lot of praying for a smooth and successful journey...

Today, is just depressing. I should get used to this conflicting feeling since this is not the first time I am changing jobs.. but it feels as bad each time. Will I ever get used to it?

Movie Review: Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (龙门飞甲)

2012-01-01T18:00:00.001+08:00

Date: 31 December 2011
Time: 9:30 pm
Location: GV Tiong Bahru
Kaki: SamY
Rating: 3 stars
Language: Chinese

Synopsis:
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate picks up three years after the infamous Dragon Inn was burnt down in the desert when its innkeeper JADE vanished. A new gang of marauders had taken over: innkeepers by day, and treasure hunters by night. The inn is the rumored location of a lost city buried under the desert, and its hidden treasure would only be revealed by a gigantic storm every sixty years. The gang used the inn as a front to locate the lost treasure. The storm is arriving. But the situation becomes more complicated when a pregnant concubine who escaped from the palace came to the inn. The concubine was saved by a mysterious woman WEN, and the two fled to the Dragon Inn in hiding. Hot on their trail were the Imperial Assassins led by the powerful eunuch YU, followed by the righteous general ZHAO who was determined to take down Yu to restore order in the palace. As the gigantic storm loomed in the horizon, ready to wipe out everything in sight, the cat-and-mouse game inside Dragon Inn grew fiercer. Everyone was trapped, and there's nowhere to go. Fortune, love and vengeance, could very well be gone with the wind

Improved Synopsis:
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate picks up three years after the infamous Dragon Inn was burnt down in the desert and its innkeeper Lim Yan Qiu vanished. A new gang of marauders have since taken over: innkeepers by day, and treasure hunters by night. Chasing a wisp of a rumour that the inn is the rumored location of a lost city buried under the desert, and its hidden treasure would only be revealed by a gigantic storm every sixty years.

After all that waiting, the storm is finally arriving. But the situation becomes complicated when a pregnant concubine, Jun Xuang Yu, who has escaped from the palace. The concubine was saved by a mysterious woman during an earlier encounter where she was almost caught by the imperial guards, and the two had fled to the Dragon Inn to seek refuge. Hot on their trail are the Imperial Assassins led by the powerful eunuch Yu Hua Tian. They are closely followed by the righteous Zhao Huai An, who is determined to take down Yu Hua Tuan to restore order in the palace and in China.

As the gigantic storm looms in the horizon, ready to wipe out everything in sight, the cat-and-mouse game inside Dragon Inn grows fiercer as subterfuges grows within the different groups and even within the group. Everyone is trapped and there's nowhere to go. Fortune, greed, love and vengeance, will all be swept into the open when the howling winds of the storm blows down on them and there's no where to hide.

Review:
I watched it in 2D if you were wondering, as I have more or less given up on all 3D shows... as the 3D is never quite worth the discomfort of the specs and trying to re-orientate and constantly refocus on the visuals, instead of enjoying the show for the acting, the plot and the movie's many nuances...

Okay, bad synopsis aside, the show has some pluses and minuses...

Plus points
I actually quite liked the majesty and beauty of the show, as with most Tsui Hark shows, there's sufficient grandeur and beauty in the composition, costuming and make up to wow me... the plot was actually not that bad, the twist at the end involving Mavis Fan, the concubine Jin Xiang Yu was pretty cool.

In particular, a few characters in the shows stood out (in order of how deep an impression was made):
1. Chen Kun: Probably made to test his acting chops by taking on a dual character of both the Eunuch (Yu Hua Tian) and the role of the street-spy, a man who sells information (Feng Li Dao). In particular, his role as the eunuch was well conveyed, he was sufficiently "艳“ enough and effeminate without over-doing it. His role as Feng Li Dao was a bit more forgettable... Oh, and he definitely looks better fairer, even though we all know it's the power of make up and it's not like I am expecting him to go bleach himself...

2. Kwai Lun Mei - first saw her in the movie "secrets", where she acted opposite Jay Chou... and she continues to impress in her role as the princess... a tad overdone at times, but I can overlook that given that she's still young and will continue to hone her acting chops. Mostly impressive throughout the show...

The fighting scenes were good, as to be expected with actors the calibre of Jet Li and Louis Fan (yes, that bad guy from Ip Man)... probably... I would have preferred if they had used less CG and instead, focused more on the actual skills...

Minus Points
I am sure you know that the minus points are going to be much longer than the plus points, since the movie had only received a 3 star rating. Well, first off, I was disappointed with the character or acting from the top billed leads, Zhou Xun and Jet Li. For all that there were fighting scenes, I actually think there wouldn't have been much difference if they had replaced Jet Li with some other actor. There was so much CG that there wasn't much of a focus on the actual "skills" that's required. It's the same as all the other pseudo fighting shows by those pretty boys who can't fight, use stunt doubles, add in a lot of CG, and just pose at the end of the fighting scenes... the CG/3D effects has spoiled the show.

And Zhou Xun's character is just too... over. She's like asking to die for Jet Li... so that she can forever be in his memories... she asks for nothing but to die for the man she loves.. I cannot tolerate such females and so, cannot tolerate her character.

Finally, that stupid stupid fighting in the eye of the cyclone... and Jet Li challenging Chen Kun... follow me if you dare... seriously, that has got to be stupidest addition, in the name of them wanting to add in CG, I am sure. I mean, Chen Kun, moved to become a top eunuch, controlling the entire West Chambers (aka, the internal security force with mandate from the emperor to do anything), can't be stupid. Sure, he has really good martial arts skills.. but which stupid idiot would take up a challenge to fight in the eye of the cyclone? I mean, if he had just let stupid Jet Li ride off into the eye and not take him up on the challenge, Jet Li would have just died inside. Wouldn't that achieve the same end without even needing to lift a finger? For that stupid portion, I reduced my rating by half a star, resulting in 3-star.

I hate to say this, but I wouldn't really be recommending this show, even though I have loved all the previous movies that has Tsui Hark and Jet Li... I would wait patiently for cable to show it or perhaps to rent it. I wouldn't waste too much money on it unless you are a huge fan of swordfighting shows.. :( And I was so looking forward to this pair coming together again... Sigh...

Drama Review: The Greatest Love (최고의 사랑)

2011-12-30T11:42:00.003+08:00

Title: 최고의 사랑 / Choegoui Sarang

Also known as: Best Love, The Greatest Love
Episodes: 16
Watched: 20 December 2011
Rating: 4-stars

Synopsis:
Ae Jung was once the most popular member of girl band The National Treasure Girls. However 10 years ago the band broke up and she received most of the blame. Despite her warm personality her career has suffered ever since and she now spends her time fighting for air time on variety shows. Dokko Jin is a top movie star at the height of his career. The two meet and become involved in each other's careers. Yoon Pil Joo is a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry but agrees to make a dating show. Dokko Jin helps get Ae Jung a role on a new reality show called Couple Making. Pil Joo is the bachelor being set up on Couple Making. Both men fall for Ae Jung both off and on the screen.

Grouch's Synopsis (just cuz I think the standard synopsis doesn't say much):
Goo Ae Jung, who once experienced the peak of stardom when she was part of the four-girl group - "The National Treasure Girls", has since fallen on bad times after the group disbanded. Her shaky solo career now relies on her ablity to fight for air time on variety shows. In comparison, Dokko Jin, is a highly successful movie star, who is at the peak of his career with multiple endorsement deals under his belt. An extremely proud and confident man, he is highly rational on the importance of his public image to his career and is fully aware of the perils to look out for as a "top star".

After a chance meeting and a series of mishaps, Goo Ae Jung and Dokko Jin's fates are irrecovably tied together in this "doomed to fail" relationship, where Ae Jung's image will take a further plunge if the public even gets a whiff about a possible relationship. She knows without a doubt that she will be depicted by the media as the seducer and gold-digger. While Dokko Jin's image will suffer as the guy with "bad taste" and who has abandoned his legions of fars for this "has-been" singer/entertainer.

To add spice into this whole mess, Yoon Pil Joo, a highly eligible bachelor (rich, handsome and intelligent), who is an Oriental doctor running the highly successful family "oriental medicine hospital" business gets embroiled into a three-way relationship after an accidental meeting with Ae Jung where he falls for her. He is unwittingly sucked into the dirt and scandal-filled Korean entertainment industry from his safe haven.

Goo Ae Jung, at the bottom of the barrel in the entertainment industry will now have to choose between being with Dokko Jin and risk sinking even deeper, pulling Dokko Jin down with her, or with Yoon Pil Joo, who offers her the opportunity to leave the harsh and cruel entertainment industry.

Review:
Yup... the expert on all sorts of dramas - Korean, Japanese, Hongkong and Taiwanese drama... I am a huge fan of drama series =) And... so... here we go!!

The Greatest Love, one of the better romantic-comedy around due to its witty script and the experience of the two main leads - Gong Hyo Jin (Goo Ae Jung) and Cha Seung Won (Dokko Jin). As opposed to the recent spate of pretty boys drama serials from Korea (not that I don't like them.. who doesn't like eye candy?), these two are good looking, but not exceptionally so.

Instead, they are very smooth in their delivery, believable in their characters and even the "at times" over-the top depiction, which adds a comic element to the show are somewhat done in okay taste (borderline bad taste, but still manageable due to the stars' very credible acting chops).

The characters are developed well, and the pace of the show is very well managed, which is the exception rather than the rule for korean dramas. They didn't even add too much flashbacks, and there wasn't too much crying *Like!*. I am not saying there's no crying, but it's contained...

In particular, I love the role played by the little fat boy, Yang Han Yeol as Goo Hyung Kyu, and his nickname in the show - Ding Dong. And I absolutely love Gong Hyo Jin (Goo Ae Jung), she is just soooo good and this show, although her role is that of a matyr, is very tastefully done, and her quiet strength to support the people around her is instead, very believable.

It's also nice to watch a show where the leads are closer to my age, and are realistic about their expectations and commitment to love. Love the realism shown in the movie, and even the ending, is one that was realistic and rational on how they overcame the difficulties. The ending doesn't disappoint.

Love the show. Go rent/buy it.

Movie Review: Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2011-12-24T18:20:00.002+08:00

Date: 22 December 2011
Time: 10:10 pm
Location: GV Vivo
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this

Review:
Somehow... somehow... the movie didn't really resonate with me. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the stunts.. especially the one involving the ultra high building in Dubai. Maybe it's the plot, although one does generally watch an action movie for the action, not the plot...

It was one that I sort of finished watching and went, okay... quite cool.. quite gritty... quite fun... and that's about it. I was going to give it 3-stars... except.. I have suddenly decided to be really kind and have it at 3.5 stars... the reason?

FOR ONCE! There was no damsel in distress! There wasn't a lady who was helpless and which the hero had to constantly pull along and rescue and they have make-out scenes just so that there's a sex component to it... for that... I have to give the movie an extra half a star.

The action is definitely 4, if not 4.5 stars. It was possibly a mixture of a fairly weak plot, storyline and script that let this movie down. And I absolutely loved Simon Pegg, although the scripting, his role, and possibly the storyline, just doesn't quite allow for his character or his comedic skills to be given full rein.

Of course, Tom is super fit and good, and I am absolutely and totally impressed that he did most of his stunts... I suspect even Sylvester Stallone can't boast of this claim. He does look older, and for some reason, his nose looks quirky.. like it's a little slanted.. but I can't be too sure (and that would be nitpicking at someone who looks as good as him)... Anyway...

It is still a fun movie to watch, I wouldn't label it as a must watch.. but if you wouldn't feel shortchanged if you paid to watch it at the cinema.. :) It's a definite Can-watch... :))

Making Life's Tough Decisions

2011-12-13T18:35:00.000+08:00

Sigh... it's 12 minutes before I knock off work, and I suddenly feel so burdened for having made the decision I made. I have made this totally rational decision to go back to the banking industry, from the tourism industry I've just joined.

Leaving the bank was an emotional decision I made about half a year ago... I felt unappreciated, I felt like the boss wasn't one that I can report to, I felt angsty and horrible. In fact, if I were hardworking enough, I can possibly unearth the blogs I had posted about how sad and horrid I felt...

However, since joining this more "laid-back" industry, I have come to realize that I don't seem to fit in with the organization I have joined. It is not about getting along with the people I work with, it is not about not liking my bosses.. however, something is off. I explained it away as settling-down blues 3 months into the job and told myself that I should try it out at least half a year... and so, 7 months into the job... the decision was made. This is not the right place for me. I know now that I should start looking for a new job.

Hunting starts, resumes sent, Crickets chirped.. nothing. Calls from headhunters didn't yield much result.. it was either a wrong job fit, or the bank/organization wasn't one that I wanted to join.

And so, when the question came - do you want to come back? I was in a position where I seriously considered whether I wanted to return... and answer was, "Actually, why not?".. I had taken a pay cut to join this new company, and the simple act of returning, regardless of whether I could negotiate a higher pay would already mean that I have a pay raise.

And I thought back about my sources of unhappiness, and I couldn't quite recall why I was so upset. I was upset for sure, but either I forgive easily, or I have a bad memory.

So, after talking to a few people, I decided to return. Most seem to be celebrating my return... especially those people whom I worked closely with before I left. I am now telling myself that these are the important people and that they are the ones that matter as... there are the nay-sayers.

In particular, one that would hurt the most is this close colleague turned friend, who had left just a few months before I did. She is giving me the vibes that she is pissed off with me... and the amazing thing is, we have a lot of friends in common.. so, gatherings are going to be tough if she continues being pissed off. And of course, she knows that she is a very influential lady, being extremely sociable and gregarious.. and the no. of people who will also think I am a wuss for joining back the same company I had left within such a short span of time, would increase if she makes public her disgust with me.

I am sad mostly that I seem to have lost a good friend with this decision. I am dreading having to face the "friends" who would condemn me.. I am telling myself that they are not really my friends if they think this way and that it doesn't matter. But it does. Who likes for others to hate them?

I must do some state management...

Performance Review: Wicked

2011-12-11T20:01:00.001+08:00

Date: 10 December 11
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Marina Bay Sands, Grand Theatre
Kaki: SynocoID & JosC
Rating: 4 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
WICKED tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Review:
Ohh... having very vague memories of Phantom, and lovely memories of The Lion King, it was a really wonder experience for me to have watched Wicked. It was a lovely lovely musical.

Well, for one, I am all for the "story behind" fairy tales and all. I loved reading Phantom (the story behind Phantom of the Opera), the romanticized version... I love watching Shrek and their satirical take on Fairy Tales... and I am now, a fan of Wicked.

I love how the plot weaves in the characters in Wizard of Oz and provide a very different take. I like how evil is never evil, and it's the need for humans to have a common enemy to unite. Think "Weapons of Mass Destruction". In most cases, it is as the wizard sings, "A man's called a traitor, or a liberator. A rich man's a thief, or philanthropist. Is one a crusader, or ruthless invader? It's all in which label is able to persist". When evil is very evil, sometimes I wonder if it's ignorance...

In any case, philosophical thoughts aside (cuz there's no end to them), the soundtrack is great! I was actualled sucker enough to buy the soundtrack at $30. Only to wonder if it would have cost less if I had just popped into HMV to get it instead. Haha.. ah well, it's too late. Since I've already bought it, better for me to not know how much lesser it COULD have cost. :)

And everyone's favourite track? - I'm not that girl... Close your eyes and enjoy... :)

Movie Review: The Ides Of March

2011-12-08T23:38:00.001+08:00

Date: 2 December 2011
Time: 10:50 pm
Location: The Cathay
Kaki: YD
Rating: 3.5
Language: English

Synopsis:
Stephen is a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career that men twice his age would envy. During a tight presidential primary race, however, Stephen's meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives, and his one night stand with a teenage staffer proves to be more complicated than casual. Farragut North is a classic tale of hubris set against a contemporary landscape - about the lust for power and the costs one will endure to achieve it.

Review:
Actually, I was trying to decide if this should be a 4 or 3.5... and finally, decided n a 3.5 star as it's a movie that is really good, but also somehow not that good. Ryan Gosling was great as usual.. however, the intensity somehow felt a little overdone at the end... the cynicism came across as being just a little too grim and self-righteous. I sort of expected a little more greed in the behaviour.

The plot was great.. love it. The script was good. In fact, really, it's a 4-star movie. At this stage, can't quite put my finger to it.. it's a great movie that somehow, could have been greater. Could have left me with even more conflicting thoughts.. but it didn't. It was a serious movie that left me exiting with the sentiment that it's a commercialized movie. The almost here, but not there kind of movie.

Still, it is a really good film, definitely worth the ticket price and it's a good movie to watch when you are not in the mood for frivolous movies, and all you want is a good movie that somewhat makes sense, provokes a bit of thought without being too heavy.

Movie Review: Your The Apple Of My Eye (那些年，我们一起追的女孩)

2011-12-08T23:34:00.001+08:00

Date: 3 December 2011
Time: 8:50 pm
Location: Cathay Cineleisure
Kaki: SY & JoC
Rating: 4
Language: Chinese

Synopsis:

Adolescence is like a heavy rain. Even though you catch a cold from it, you still look forward to experiencing it once again. Ko-Teng has several close friends who had a crush on Shen Chia-Yi. Those friends of Ko's thus moved in unison from Ching Chengs junior high school straight into the senior high school division in pursuit of her.

Naughty in nature, Ko was ordered by their homeroom teacher to sit in front of honor student Shen for her to keep close tabs on him. The two hadn't hit it off at first but Ko gradually fell for Shen, who was always pressuring him to study hard. On the other hand, Shen became impressed by the contrasting values Ko represented. Ko started pursuing Shen but Shen remained hesitant.

After graduation from senior high, Ko and Shen almost became a couple but the deal was spoilt by a dukeout competition organized by Ko. Growing up together to witness their beloved Shen walking down the aisle to become someone else's wife, these boys have learned their coming-of-age lessons and continue to pursue eachs happiness.

Review:
I know, this is probably a cultural thing and possible biased... how come some Taiwanese flick get 4 stars, while Marches of Ides get 3.5 right?

Well, sometimes, it is about how much you identify with a particular subject topic, with how close you feel to the movie, and how authentic the movie is. This is a heartland movie, that somehow, despite the cultural differences between Taiwan and Singapore, does bridge the divide. For me, this movie left me with so many thoughts and realizations on how far gone my youth is.. that it deserves a 4.

The exploration of adolescence, although distant from me, is done with an extremely delicate touch. It serves to bring back memories of my own secondary school years. And while the movie is filmed from a guy's point of view, there are still many things that I can identify with. For e.g. even in secondary school, I was asking, what's the point of learning differentiation and integration? When or how will I ever be using it in future, how can you say that you are preparing me for life and work using differentiation and integration?

We sort of all come up with our own theories, or simply just accept that, yes, differentiation and integration will improve something within us, e.g. help us be logical, or help us broaden our way of thinking, help us understand complex stuff, forces us to use our brains more, whatever that may be. The movie invokes flashes of my thought process and memories back then...

Of course, there are areas that I cannot quite identify with, which I felt was sad, but also something which is true and which I accept, that is... I am, was, and seem doomed to be, the best friend. While everyone was courting "Shen Chia Yi", I was always that good friend. The girl that the guys will befriend, so that they can get at my friend. Sigh.. SIGH!!! Like I said, good or bad, this movie brings back memories. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

I would say, go watch the movie, it's still running at selected cinemas, it's really good. While I suspect that being a Chinese would help you identify a lot more with this movie, even non-Chinese would be able to immerse yourself in the world of youth, and of the funny, meaningless and wasteful indulgences that marks our youths.

Performance Review: Jump Comic Martial Arts Performance

2011-12-04T00:05:00.001+08:00

Date: 15 November 11
Time: 7:30pm
Location: IBK Seoul Jump Theatre
Kaki: JoC, SY
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: Korean

Synopsis:
This musical tells about an eccentric family who brags about their amazing martial art skills. The story begins with a man who’s in love with the daughter of this family and visits their home in which the lady’s grandfather, father, mother and uncle, all live together and are all masters of martial arts. Since her grandfather loves to practice martial arts with all the family members every day, the man has no choice but to join them.

However, contrary to his weak appearance, he discovers that he is actually good at martial arts and the daughter begins to fall in love with him. One day, two thieves break into their house, but there is nothing for them to steal. All they could do is just run away before they get caught.

Review:
So... the show is good as generally, I love comedy and for them to mix kungfu (aka, taekwondo, gymnastics, acrobatics, wushu, etc) into the whole performance just meant to me, somebody took time out to think it through, wrote a great screenplay, and which resulted in a performance that is hugely entertaining.

It gets 3.5 stars for being entertaining, 2-stars for props (although I know, one doesn't watch such shows for props, haha, but you know, I was a backstage helper before and I did spend an entire vacation building up props... there were times when I worried for their safety as the props looked unstable, or weak in structure. Especially while they were doing their stunts on some unstable looking sofa/table...

However, ultimately, gave it 3.5-stars just cuz the entertainment value is really high, and they must have thought about tourists dollars, or maybe they figured the kungfu sort of performer would not do soliloquy very well, and it's best to let the "body" do the talking... :) Which is the smartest move. Of course, it's not like you will feel very inspired or think deeply after the show. It's a light-hearted, feel good type of performance where you are impressed with all acrobatic these performers are. It's not Shakespeare, and it's not meant to be. :)

Well worth the ticket price, and it's a fun way to end the evening in Seoul if you are visiting.. remember to book your tickets in advance to get good seats (there's an english website and they accept international credit cards) as I think it's pretty popular with the tour groups...

Performance Review: 2PM Concert in Singapore

2011-11-22T14:52:00.001+08:00

Date: 19 November 11
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Singapore Indoor Stadium
Kaki: JoC, SY, JoC's sistar
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: Korean, with some English

Sypnosis:
The wait is over for all Singapore's hottest fans who will be able to catch their favorite idol group perform their signature music, mind-blowing dance works, and explosive performance in this mega concert LIVE! The first ever full solo 2PM concert "2PM Hands Up Asia Tour in Singapore 2011" kicks off on November 19 at 7:00 pm at the Singapore Indoor Stadium!

The Concert will be featuring a unique T-shape runway and three mosh pit sections to offer fans an up-close experience with their favorite 2PM members. Only 6000 tickets (including 1800 mosh pit tickets) will be on sale!

Review:
I was tempted to put the rating at 3 stars actually, however, the efforts on dancing and singing and attempts to gel with the audience through the use of English did not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

The Good
The cheoreography was good, their dancing abilities cannot be faulted (even those that were a little off by half a beat), understandable since it's live performance afterall.

The guys looked as hot as ever (considering their fans are called Hottest, I think)... and for my very first Kpop concert, I would say they delivered. I wasn't in time to make it for SHINee's concert some months back, but one of the feedback that the inability to converse with the crowd did leave the concert with a somewhat incomplete feeling, I mean, if you are not going to talk to me, wouldn't that be the same as watching a Concert DVD? So the presence of Junsu, Taekyeon and Nickhun helped heaps, a little more effort by the reminaing 3 dudes to have memorized something to say to the audience would have been good, but I am not gonna complain.

The Can Be Improved
Funnily enough, and perhaps as I wasn't in the mosh pits (one of my regrets, since I generally would prefer to be down there, but it was the day I just got back from Seoul and I knew I would be exhausted, and I was), the truly fun and party-like atmosphere only really came alive at the end, as they were bidding their farewells... the only time I stood up and started dancing with the group, but that too ended 2 songs later... Maybe if they had continued this atmosphere for another 4-5 songs, my score would have gone up by 0.5 star.

I was wondering if it was due to the experience of the group, or the more organized nature of these groups, I mean, if you are a dance group, adding fun stuff would be good. For e.g. having a "faked" impromptu dance competition would have been fun... and maybe a broader theme to stage the concert, e.g. a storyline that runs through, with the appropriate songs brought in... I know there were individual performances and they were fun. I don't know, I think a little something could have been added to add that final "ommpphh" would have made the concert experience more complete.

It was a rather short concert, at only 2hrs15mins, and since they started at about 715. Ending at 930 meant, they still had a good 1.5 hrs from the 11pm deadline that I know Indoor Stadium has before a fine is levied. Did feel somewhat shortchanged, but a quick chat with friends also revealed that they had sang all their "top hits", so maybe it was cuz they did not have sufficient songs under their belt. Or the physical nature of their performance didn't allow them to dance for 3 hours straight. Well., I wonder...

Overall
Anyway, I am just picking at bones, since the average age of the group is like, what, 22? Still young boys, despite all that biceps... I would say, there should still be a lot more time for them to pick up the experience of truly interacting with an audience, and what it means to put up a smashing concert for a live audience (and not the 1/2 songs they do at the shared concerts). They must remember, there is no "MC" to help hype up the audience, they have to do it themselves... You actually do have to say things like, "C'mon stand up, clap along" and continue making us stand and dance hahaha, it seems stupid, but essential when you are leading a huge group of people... we are all sheeps when we are in a crowd... HAHAHA

And, I am still considering, at $218, if they were to come back next year, would it still be a concert that I want to attend? I am half-hearted about it... it had the potential to be so much better if only the boys had more experience under their belt... and the simple fact that I even bought their tickets has already shown me to be a fan, just maybe not as mindless a fan since I am a lot older.

Ah well, this is a question that I can answer when they hold their next concert...

Seoul, South Korea Travelogue

2011-11-20T14:58:00.001+08:00

A very fun, and somewhat hectic trip, although we already did our best NOT to include too many items in the plan... ah well, as they say, the best laid plans will go down the drain once you're there :)

Day 1: 12 Nov 2011 - Saturday
And soo.. on a "what started out as a" very bright and hot Saturday afternoon, my mom dropped me off at the airport and I met up with my two partners in crime, JoC, and SY... we walked around T3, had our lunch at BK inside the checked in area... then proceeded to board our flight. It was pouring cats and dogs... what can I say.. I love our every-changing weather..

Entertained ourselves with movies, TV and general chit-chat about our grand plans... By the time we arrived at Seoul, it was night (9pm_... fairly cold, not unreasonably, I would peg the temperature at about 12 degrees...

We took a taxi, decided for this as we really had no idea where the place we were staying, Changmuro Residence is... after searching through the GPS system, and making at least 3 calls, our cab driver finally seemed to locate our Residence... ~W90,000 poorer, he found the place. He was a v sweet and cautious driver and he even went with us to the lift lobby, it's more of a service apartment style that is part of a normal residential building... and talked and ensured we were 100% at the correct place before he left... :)

And... for the amount we paid for... it was well worth it... JoC and SY slept at the bed downstairs, while I slept on the loft. Partially cuz I think I was the only one willing to climb up the steep ladder, and I was the shortest. HAHAHA... It is really very small... but I am glad we had found the place... :)

We then walked out to look for dinner (yes, it was almost 11pm)... and just across the street were quite a couple of restaurants that were open 24hrs... good location! And we settled for this... with all the famous side dishes, I think kimchi started growing on me by day 3... my selection.. beef stew... probably abit too little meat... but I have read somewhere that beef is v expensive in Korea as they do not allow beef imports.. so, a matter of demand and supply :) We explored our neighbourhood, despite the fact that it was 12, to orientate ourselves to the nearest subway station, Chungmuro... and also, to pick up some drinking water... by the time we took turns to shower and went to bed, it was 130am... the start of many late dinners and late nights...

Day 2: 13 Nov 2011 - Sunday
Being tourists, we had to do what tourists do best... visit hotspots and allow ourselves to be lured into tourists traps... :) We took the subway to Chang Deok Palace...

When there, we decided to have breakfast at Dunkin Donuts just outside the subway station :) That and we all needed a caffeine injection... We then moved on to the palace... between the road signs and directions we had obtained from friends and relatives, and also downloaded from the web (thank you all for sharing in this information age), we managed to locate the palace fairly easily... we signed up for the tour around the palace and inside the "secret garden"... It was a beautiful place, filled with tourists of course, but the area was large enough to accommodate us, without losing its serenity...

My thoughts after touring the palace, it is sad that no members of the royal family are left... as a country with a rich history (I mean, my country is so young, we can't even claim to be part of any major war, except WW2)... and with a history of royalty, it's a pity that this is not continued. Even in the event that they are just a figurehead, it adds richness to the culture of the country... ah well, sometimes, things are not meant to be...

Moving on, we decided to visit the Bukchon Hanok village, renowned for its ancient architecture and which remains a residential zone. (Actually, it was also cuz it's within walking distance from Changdeok palace, and it is a very convenient additional place to visit). Aka, those houses we view along the streets are not for show only. I did feel bad and tried to make less noise as I can imagine the frustration of living in an area where tourists come to gawk, take photos and "pollute" your home. Having said that, unless you inherited the area, I would imagine if you had made the decision to purchase a home in this area, it would be a given that it is not going to be a serene zone.

Next up, it was almost 3pm, and our stomachs were growling for lunch.. we headed for a famous ginseng chicken spot.. which SY's cousin had recommended - Tosokchon Ginseng Chicken. Once again, it was just 1/2 subway stops from where we were... Enroute, we chanced upon the famous spicy rice cake, aka tteobokki... and couldn't help but stop to try... it was spicy (for sure!) but pretty yummy... this turned out to be a staple whenever we were running places and got hungry...

At about 330/4pm, we found the place! :) Yummy ginseng chicken that was generously stuffed with a huge ginseng root, chestnut, red date, gingko nuts and rice... well worth the effort of travelling down specially to eat this.

And so... after the nourishing food, we headed down by sub to Ehwa Women's University to do some night shopping along the entire street, to link back to the Honggae area, and meet up with SY's cousin... window-shopped abit and succeeded in picking up some stationary that can serve as gifts for friends back home :)

We didn't want to hold back SY's cousin as it Monday the next day, a work day for her, so we went for dinner at about 10pm. Shared pork stew hot pot! :) We then subway back home, in anticipation of the next day... Lotte World!

Day 3: 14 Nov 2011 - Monday

Waking up at 7am, we left our residence by 8am to head for Lotte World. Breakfast was a yummy sandwich at a small store located when you exit Jamsil station (where Lotte World is located).

We stoned a while more.. and then headed over to Lotte to pick up our tickets... :) There was a Singapore tourist discount, so we paid 34,200 won (~S$40) for our full day admission.. very decent price for a theme park. :) So it was that we spend two-thirds of the day in Lotte, trying out their rides and stuff. Can't say that it's the best (although I haven't been to many), and some of the staff were obviously on their part time shifts, and had sullen faces... :P But of course, no sullen staff is going to spoil my day!! A few pics of the rides we took... - Some roundabout thingee (that left us wanting to puke, NO MORE ROUNDABOUT STUFF) and Gryo Drop, one of the funnest, I went up twice! :)

The rest of the rides were fairly mild, and fun for a day out.. but I would imagine, given that the theme park is quite an old one, the newer ones, like Universal Studios in Singapore (somewhat new attraction) features funner rides and stuff.

Still at Lotte World, we decided to drop by the Folk Cultural Museum, also housed within the same area and part of entitlements for the full day ticket... it was a fun cold place.. but good for understanding the history of Korea... :) and the full sized/mini sized figurines are very well done and maintained...

After Lotte, we had actually dropped by the Lotte supermarket (also at Jamsil) to look see into what local products we can buy back as unique gifts :P We found loads of stuff, including yummy cuttlefish. Regretted not having bought on the spot, as we were headed for Seoul N Tower in the evening and didn't want to carry many items. Regret as the other supermarkets we went to subsequently didn't offer the same range of products. Ah well, another lesson learnt in travel, sometimes, assuming it's within your limits... the cuttlefish.. the fun looking pastries... ah well...

And so... after supermarket window shopping, we made our way to N Seoul Tower... and enroute, we realized that we only had the sandwich from breakfast, ice-cream at Lotte World, and a coffee bun from the super market... BUT... for some reason, we still didn't sit down for an early dinner and proceeded straight to the tower. I think the three of us are really focused people. Hahaha...

By public transport, take the train to Changmuro station, exit no. 2, then take bus no. 2. The Namsam Seoul Tower is at the top of hill, and it's like a terminal point, so no worries about which stop to get off :)

The view is magnificient... possibly over-rated, but still beautiful... and what is a trip to N.Seoul Tower without visiting the Teddy Museum as well right?? :D Loads of cute bears.. and my favourite, of the bear carrying the ancient "backpack".. hahaha...

And... after our Tower and Teddy Bear Museum visit, we were starving and cold... I think we were really running on reserve energy by then... and.. we somehow, still made our way to Dongdaemon, a shopping district. For some reason, instead of eating at some nice restaurant, we decided to eat tteobokki and fishcake for dinner again. Somehow, that seemed to work. We did some minor shopping (as Dongdaemon closes at 5am!!) but our stamina was all drained out, and we headed home... ahh.. but the story doesn't end here...

As we were exhausted, it was 12+, and the subways had stopped their service, we decided to try the much famed "affordable" taxi. Unfortunately, we were silly enough not to insist on the meter service. So the first cab we flagged down refused to take us, possible as the location we were headed to was too near. And the 2nd cab we flagged down told us he charges, 1000won. Now, we had never taken a cab before this, and although I recall my friends telling me the cabs were affordable, I have no idea what was the flag down meter rate.

And less than 2 minutes later, we were home. Wow, we didn't know we were that close... and... the cab driver turned around and demanded, 100,000 won!! We were shocked! Seriously, 100,000 is like S$120... for a 2 min ride. We were adamant and refused to pay, although two of them got out and I was still in the cab argueing with the cab driver. He reduced it to 10,000, which I still refused to pay. And then to 5,000, which I considered, but since I didn't have a 5000 note, giving him 10,000 means he won't give change, so I still refused. For some reason, he switched on the meter at the stage (I think he was shocked that we were so adamant) and it showed 2880. I think he was trying to tell us that the midnight meter rate starts at 2880. Me being the bozo, thought that WAS the actual cab fare... and I took 3000 out, shoved it to him, said I won't pay more than 3k and alighted. He was so pissed off, he moved forward by a metre, then opened the window and threw the 3k out the window. He then drove off.

We were still standing there staring at the money, and asking each other, eh, should we pick up the money? then one of us said, "pick it up and go, before he comes back and beat us up"... so we quickly picked up the money and ran into the lift lobby and quickly made sure the doors were locked behind us. So, after a huge fright and fight, we somehow conned the cab driver into giving us a free ride! It was the weirdest... (as a post edit, we took a cab somedays later during the day and during heavier traffic, from almost the exact same spot, and the meter didn't jump. It was that near. So now we know, even giving him 3000 was in excess actually, and we stopped feeling bad after that)

Anyhow, the morale of the story from this tale is, don't get into the cab when you are a tourist, unless the cabdriver agrees to going by meter in korea.

Day 4: 15 Nov 2011 - Tuesday

And our 4th day... is Nami Island Day... in case you are wondering where that is, it's the famous "Winter Sonata" island, which started the whole Korean Drama craze that is fairly rampant throughout the world (yours truly is a victim of this K-Drama/K-Pop fever as well)... Well, I didn't really know what to expect, but the tickets were quite tough to get. We had to enlist SY's cousin, who works in Korea to help get the bus tickets to get us to the ferry terminal to cross over to the island. The shuttle bus was 15,000W round trip and it starts from Insadong (which is near Jamsil station, short 5 min walk, can't remember Exit no) And since we were quite late, breakfast was a calorie laden affair, burger, fries and coffee from Lotte Burger (aka, the local version of McD), which we scoffed down in record time at the pavement next to the bus before it left.

When we arrived about 1 hour later, we were all excited after the nap in the bus to take the Zipline! :) Supposedly the longest zipline in Asia... :) Check out the height of that tower, and don't worry, there's a lift that brings you up, so it's not like you will have climb up the ladder! :) And the funnest thing, stepping on this Politically Correct weighing scale that ensures that you are [1] not underweight (<40kg), and [2] not overweight (>140kg). Phew, all three of us made it within the limit...

Although setting off was a little scary, cuz you feel the cold autumn breeze when you are that high up, the seats felt safe... and although I was expecting a dead fall, where I zoom off at top speed, it turned out to be a rather controlled zip down towards Nami Island. Supposedly lasting more than a minute, it felt a lot shorter than that... :) But it was fun and added spice to an otherwise boring island. :P

So... other than the fact that it's a man-made island, with some weird UNESCO kids theme on the island, it has got to be one of the most garish and weird tourist attraction that I've been on. Sure, there are beautiful stretches of pine, and the air is so fresh, it's divine (main selling point, the fresh air)... but really... there's nothing on the island... good for brisk walk and probably refreshing for the soul, if it wasn't for the copious number of tourists walking around, including me! :P

Having said that, it was a tranquil morning/early afternoon, where we just strolled around this v small island, chatting about random stuff and looking at the weird UNESCO art pieces that REALLY spoiled the beauty of the place, and laughing at the tacky winter sonata stuff we see around the island. I am a fan of that show, really, but the stuff on the island... is really. very. tacky. hahahaha... after all that walking, naturally we are back to food, and we chanced upon the cafe that seemed most popular with the locals.

What we ordered to share - Ramen, Udon, Pork Dumplings, Normal Pancake, Kimchi Pancake... It was yumzz.The ramen and udon were forgetable, but the pajeong (pancake) was good. And the dumpling was above average too :)

After lunch.. we explored the other parts of the island, took more photos and took the ferry back... :) Before boarding the bus, we went to pick up some stuff.. and I bought mandarin oranges from the back of a truck (just cuz it seems fun) and also, picked up the famous banana milk. My conclusion, the mandarins were okay and I still don't like milk (flavoured or not) :P

And after the bus journey into Seoul, the madness began again. As, we were trying to make it to Cityhall to try out a really good barbequed pork store (Nam Mae Jip), followed by action-comedy play, JUMP!... And... after finding out from the very very helpful staff from Cityhall station, exact instructions on how to get to this BBQ place, we still got lost. (=.=||) and so, after 20 minutes of wandering around in the dark, and after bugging the locals who were innocently minding their own business... We finally found the place... and it was super duper yummy! Although I think we were not too good at minding the pork and of not burning the meat, resulting in us being the worst offender in the restaurant and we were really smoking and stinking up the area. While it was a rather rushed meal (we were behind time as we had spent too much time being lost), it was definitely a super good meal...

We then took off at the speed of lightning towards our next destination, IBK JUMP! Theatre, a place or location that evidently doesn't ring much of a bell for the locals as we were not able to locate the place! By then, we were on the brink of being really late, that it wasn't even good-natured meandering to try and find the place. Instead, it was more of the Amazing Race format, where we were running around, with the ticket confirmation (which doesn't have the location written in Korean, damn!) I am quite sure that we burned off our dinner with that jog around the entire area... trying to find the theatre.

The funny thing is, we were just in time for the show... but after a heavy dinner and all that running around, we really need to visit the ladies before the show (as there's no intermission) and because of that, we missed the start and had to wait until the opening was done. *face palm* All that running.. but ah well, most importantly, we found the theatre and the show was very hilarious and very entertaining. Quite worth the ticket price of 50,000W (including 1,000W booking fee) ~S$60.

After the show, we went to the cafe next door, for hot chocolates and lattes to just stone (after the experience of being lost twice in a day and our Amazing Race evening) and chill. That and to enjoy the free wi-fi at the cafe. :) I love being constantly online there as they are one of the most connected cities and there's always some free wifi or other that you can tap on. And yes, the cheese cake was yummy haha and we headed home and crashed at about 2am.

Day 5: 16 Nov 2011 - Wednesday

And... what do you know.. Wednesday was an even more shiong day... today, our aim was to visit Mount Sorak, also referred to as Seoraksan.... and the journey, starts with a 710am bus from some main bus interchange (Seoul Bus Interchange if I recall correctly). We took the subway there as usual, so we were up at 5am... The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with us at this stage. Waiting for the bus at the designated terminal... and comfy seats as usual for our 3-hour journey and we knocked out cold before the bus even drew out from the station!

And 3 hours later... we are at the port town of Sokcho... from there, it was another public bus ride to the base of Mount Sorak...and this is the last stretch... :) View from Mount Sorak is great, the cable car ride (well, it was a cable car ride, but I am glad it exists, else I would have to trek up!) The wind was HUGE and for me, where I am short and not thin, one would think my centre of gravity would be low.. but nope, still felt like I was going to get blown away quite a few times...

And after fighting with the wind for some time, enjoying the sights, and frankly, enjoying the adventure of battling the cold and strong winds... we descended to visit the temple. I have to say, it's one of the more serene ones I have visited. There are bustling temples, and there are serene ones. The one located on the base of Mount Sokcho, and within the National Park is a serene one.

For a Buddhist, I am glad to have visited and it's one of the rare spots where I think my mom would have really happy to visit and she would have spent the whole day meditating there if she could. It was a beautiful place.

And after that, as it was a day trip, we had to depart, despite not having trekked through the national park, cuz it would take too long, and we would miss our bus back to Seoul if we were to attempt that. So, we went back down and headed for the wharf for another late lunch. :) 230pm...

After walking up and down the port, we decided to lunch by one of the small make shift stores along the port, where the lady grill and BBQed stuff for us. We had clams, shellfish, fish, squid with glutinous rice stuffed inside (this was the yummiest IMHO), that and a bottle of soju... no meal is complete in korea without having tasted SOJU :) And after stuffing ourselves full and turning quite red from drinking this highly intense rice wine/alcohol... we walked back down... and decided that we absolutely couldn't resist it, and had to order more stuff... deep fried seafood... SINFUL!!

On hind sight, this meal was possible (one can't quite confirm, since I ate so much rubbish) the cause of the rash that started and which has been with me for 3 weeks. ARRGGGHHHHH.... I think I am allergic to seafood & alcohol as a combination, I just hope it's not a permanent allergic!! *damn itchy and ugly :(*

We walked all the way back to the terminal (about 40 mins walk) to work off the effects of the alcohol... back to Seoul, and it was time to do what Singaporeans do best. SHOP!!! Henceforth, no further photos were taken as it was intense shopping for end of Day 5, and 6... except... mandatory photo taking during meal times... We... shopped till we dropped. I just wish.. I had bought more! Hahahhaha.. next aim, to go during spring/summer, so that the climate is similar to Singapore and I can buy clothes that is more suited to my weather! :)

Day 6: 17 Nov 2011 - Thursday and Day 7: 18 Nov 2011 - Friday (almost two-thirds of the day)
We Shopped. Nothing else but shop. And... here're some random photos of the food we had :)

Cold noodle with Fried pork (@MyeongDong)

Kimchi Fried Rice (@Restaurant near our Residence)

Pollack Soup (@Restaurant near our Residence)

Beef Porridge (@Restaurant near our Residence, specializing in porridge)

Cold Buckwheat Noddles (@Dongdaemon, Doota! Foodcourt)

Chicken Stew (@MyeongDong)

Roasted Rice Porridge, fairly tasteless but quite fun to eat just cuz it's unique (@MyeongDong)

And that's all folks! :) This particular blog entry I think has taken the longest ever to write. It's been three weeks since my trip, I am still rashing and I am still working on this entry. :) As you can see, I got lazy towards the end... and my final words? That I went with 10kg of luggage and came back with 27kg... I think if I hadn't taken so many "by the way, can you help me get this when you are in korea" shopping items from friends... I would have been at about 20kg for items that I bought for myself.(including presents for friends and family) and so.. if ever there is a next trip... I will not be taking orders, except for those closest to me! Must be firm and learn to say no!! :)

Over and out...

Checking in from Seoul...

2011-11-17T01:20:00.001+08:00

Massively fun and tiring... More when I get back... Haven't slept much and the body is protesting... Say kimchi people, I'll be back before you're done!

My Bucket List - Top Ten Things to do before I die..

2011-11-08T14:42:00.001+08:00

And cuz I have constantly been reading about how we should live each as if it was the last... I shall start my bucket list.. and I shall cap it at the magical no. 10.. since.. well.. I can always add on to it...

Write a TV Script for a Rom-Com... of course, I don't know how to, and I don't know in what language, I suspect both my first languages (chinese and english) would suck and the whole dialogue would be ridiculous.. but I am quite confident of my ability to come up with a storyline that would win hearts of young fan girls like me (if not awards :P)
Fall in Love... while this is only item no. 2, I suspect that it is potentially the only one where I would not be able to achieve even if I set my mind to it. I believe in fate. :)
Be very beautiful once... not those glamour shots kind ah.. but.. to have a fantasy like moment when I am not plagued with self imagined horrors and fears about my inadequacies, and just feel like the most beautiful person, perfect hair, makeup, dress, shoes, gait, weight, skin, everything ah! Where I am outstandingly different and obviously beautiful.. HAHAHAHAHHA... that one I also think cannot be achieved.. hahahaha.. cuz my skin is my skin lah.. it will always be scarred, at most, can reduce the blemishes.. maybe I should focus on more achievable stuff
Ski and Skydive... I have even trekked in Nepal before.. so seriously, I need to check these two items off my list, preferably before I turn 35, when I may get too old to break my bones. This one, I think I will try to target to achieve in 2012.. Ohh.. just thinking of sky-diving gives me the jitters plus adrenaline rush at the same time... The Ski-ing just reminds me that I should increase the amount of stretching I do.. seems like doing splits is a side-effect if I can't control my skis...
Develop a product/process/idea that will truly change people's lives for the better. E.g. the light bulb, penicilin, etc... another one that is not that attainable.. but if I sit down and think about it, maybe I will think of something... this one, is still achievable. Maybe not on the scale of the light bulb or of penicilin... but it's an idea/concept that will radically make life simpler..
Watch a mega scale football match - I am deciding between a champions league match that liverpool is playing in (when they finally get back into Champions League, WHEN, not IF) or a World Cup final.. hmm... Hmmm... this takes some planning and a whole lot of money. But it can be done... :)
Safari in Africa... to watch the animals.. this one I MUST DO before I kick the bucket.. my giraffes, and elephants and lions... and zebras... ooohhhh.... must must!

I shall add on as and when I think of things that I really want to do before I do.. :) Akan datang...
1st Update (Pt1&2): 8 Nov, 240pm
2nd Update (Pt3,4 &5): 8 Nov, 525pm
3rd Update (Pt6): 9 Nov, 125pm
4th Update (Pt7), 6 Dec, 305pm

changes, they are a-coming

2011-11-02T19:22:00.002+08:00

and so... my itchy fingers decided to click on the "upload to blog" while fiddling with the new templates available on blogger... so all my old settings are gone...

I am not sure that's quite what I wanted... hmm... but that sounds abit like my life now. I am apathetic towards my work environment... by my standards, that's bad. As I am generally pretty passionate about work.

So, here I am, with an assignment that is pretty urgent (pretty urgent only ah, not super) and I decide to fiddle with my blog....

So... what do you think of it?

Anyway... I just got confirmed at work today.. after 6 months.. and I am being asked the same question... do you want to stay on? And as usual, I am stumped. I know the answer is no, but no skin off my back if I stay on cuz 1) haven't found a better job, 2) haven't found another job and 3) nobody wants to hire me as of now, so I am really not that marketable at this stage...

And during my confirmation lunch chat, feedback includes:

I am getting rude, as I am too assertive in my comments. Noted. I shall tone down... from being over compliant, and making a very active effort to be less compliant, I have swung towards the other extreme. I actually think somehow, as my sup is very much like my mom, she brings out the most rebellious side of me, but that would be shirking responsibility. Being polite is a basic human virtue. I almost see it as, since I cannot "out-good her" (cuz she is really very nice, patient and saintly), I just sort of give up on it. But these are excuses. I shall change.
I am not really doing myself any favours as I am not "setting myself up to be mgmt" - good counselling advice and I said I would think about it. Cuz I am not ready for management, and my sup asked if I am limiting myself... and I had to answer, at this stage, yes. I am not quite ready to be management and therefore, do not feel the need to be impressing anyone with my abilities at this stage. What I did not add was, heck, i did not even like management, why would I want to join their ranks? And the responsibility.. omigod.. I still want my work-life balance, and managing bunch of human resource issues, almost being thrown issues with no solutions.. no no no... for now, until I hit 35, I am content to remain in the reporting line. :) One/two staff reporting to me is fine... but no departments please!

But do I want to stay here? How do I reply my sup and boss's question?? SIGH

Movie Review: Real Steel

2011-10-24T11:22:00.002+08:00

Date: 1 Oct 2011

Time: 9:20 pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: Vera (not Wang)
Rating: 3.5
Language: English

Synopsis:
A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Review:
Well, the plot.. it's a pretty clear cut plot... and it's the triumph of the small gritty guy against the big conglomarates... they have even made it easier for you to hate the big organization as the leads for them is some funny "Russian/East European lady" and a "proud-looking Japanese guy"... Very cliche.. but of course, it would have been even more cliched if they had used an Arab or something... (But you know, you should really give the Japanese a break, they are still trying to recover from a huge disaster)

Anyway... to be fair, they also laughed at their own, with the western drawl and shiny white teeth being pushed to the limit by Kevin Duran (who played the role of Ricky)... it was worth a laugh though...

Anyway... while on the practical front, I cannot condone a man who goes around "owing" money, borrowing and making bets that he can ill afford, it is also important to cast such thoughts aside when watching movie, cuz there's really no room for realism when watching a movie (hear that you practical brain? Stop trying to analyse things when watching, you are spoiling your owner's enjoyment)...

So... the action, the fun, the excitement, good versus evil, David versus Goliath, all these added up to very good fun, coupled with a good soundtrack and selected humourous moments, and it all makes for a nice, easy to watch movie (practicality has to be suspended of course)

It is definitely a good watch for TV, fun as a movie rental, and for the effects and the immersive experience, probably worth the ticket price... :)

About Karma

2011-10-24T10:11:00.001+08:00

I believe in Karma. Do you?

My Newly Renovated Room

2011-10-22T00:06:00.001+08:00

View from the doorway.. my workdesk, my bed (Simmons... very comfy, with a King Koil Topper, which makes it really soft and snuggly... I LOVE MY BED)... unique feature, the shelf beside my bed, housing the alarm clock, and whatever bedtime reading I have, in this case, "Game of Thrones" (Good book!) I am reading this series really slowly as I am hoping to save the series for my Korea trip... =) And yes, I have a PC, a Macbook and a Laptop on the table. What can I say... I am a gadget freak? I am lying.. the laptop is my work laptop, I brought it home as there are some stuff I want to do, and I wasn't in time to save them all to my thumbdrive just now...

Next up, we shift to the left, where you can see the air-con unit, and abit of my lamp (with my ceiling fan above it, also a new addition, I love ceiling fans!) ... my new Sony 34" TV and Sony Blue Ray Home Entertainment Set (yes, surround sound! woo hoo)... and of course, a TV Console table. Also visible is my floor to ceiling bookcase.. mounted securely against the wall so it's in no danger of falling atop me, with drawers at the bottom... and this is excluding my manga collection, which is still in a box somewhere as the collection is too huge (and it's not just mine, my brother also has his within, and even if I can house my collection within my shelves, he doesn't have the space to house his... dilemma... to open or not open the box?) I miss reading my manga... >< and I have MORE books within that box too... and only one last shelf left... how?!!!

And to the left of the bookshelve, is my little vanity corner, possibly the only truly feminine corner... hahaha... very important... and all my many bottles of skin-care regime.. cuz I have lousy skin... and all that TLC I give it, only serves to help my skin look more normal (not even good okay! Just normal) And you can see the unique timber strips of the wardrobe door, that helps break the monotony of the wooden laminate that was selected...

There you have it, view of my doorway... :) And Sapphi who was running into my room with a toy, she must be wondering what I was doing, snapping away with my phone.. haha... this was a random addition... Other than, it is actually important to have a full length mirror when dressing up.. don't let anyone tell you that a half length mirror is sufficient. It isn't...

And.. yah lah.. lastly, full view of my working desk, with side drawers and a sliding keyboard drawer in the centre (hidden by the chair) and you can see my precious Strawberry Shortcake collection (although it's really small) on top... I bet it's a collectors item as I have had these figurines since I was 7-8? Which means they are almost 25 years old! :) Antiques I tell you!

So there you have it.. my room... and ms YD... I am sharing them specially for you! :)) Damn, I love my room... hahahaha... I think it's absolutely bootifool and super comfy... hiak hiak hiak... my bed beckons... :D

My Upcoming 3 months...

2011-10-19T15:12:00.001+08:00

Yes sirree... many many plans...

Just came back from my annual Bintan, Sun, Sand & Sea trip... 3D2N is too short.. really should do 4D3N at the minimum... next time will plan better
Then I have my upcoming Seoul trip, 12-18 Nov
Then there is the 2PM concert on the 19 Nov
And I have tickets to the musical - Wicked, on the 10 Dec
And I have just made plans to go for A Mei's concert on the 6/7 Jan...
Planned (but not confirmed) trip to Hong Kong after CNY... aka, Feb... woo hoo!!

And... the hustle and bustle for the build up towards Chinese New Year at our family biscuit shop... and of my baby nephew who will be born in early March...

And... I need to make some major career decisions, which has been the cause of my migraines these past few days... and least importantly.. the review for Real Steel coming up.. hahaha... soon... I think.. soon...

And the last week of Oct will be madness for me in terms of work... seems like I shouldn't have time to get angsty huh...

upcoming movies

2011-10-10T10:45:00.002+08:00

And recent movies I am interested in watching:

1) The Sorcerer and the White Snake, of which I have already jio-ed YD, should be opening soon, am very excited.. I have high hopes for it... WUSHU!!!!!

2) Real Steel, which Skycloud just told is darn good... so... who's interested?

3) ... I don't know.. what else is good? the movie season is coming up, so I am anticipating a lot of feel-good family movies (which I suspect I am not too interested in hahahaha)

Movie Review: Friends With Benefits

2011-10-07T12:08:00.004+08:00

Date: 1 Oct 2011
Time: 4:20 pm
Location: GV Grand
Kaki: SA & HOW
Rating: 3.5
Language: English

Synopsis:
A young female headhunter (Mila Kunis) in New York convinces a potential recruit (Justin Timberlake) to accept a job in the Big Apple. Despite an attraction to each other, both realize they're everything they've been running from in a relationship and decide to see what happens if they leave emotion out of it and keep it strictly physical.

Review:
Woah, I am in a romantic comedy overdrive in terms of my movie selections, or rather, my friend's movie selections. What? This is what us girls accompany each other for right?

Anyway, as a normal hormonal sucker for romantic comedies, this is a pretty good one. Not the best, but definitely funny and a very relaxing movie to watch. There are various scenes which I found hilarious, but for some reason, only my 2 friends and I were laughing out damn loud. The rest of the audience were fairly silent.

The chemistry was pretty alright, not super intense, but alright. And I like that there is a real-world creative element to it, in that, Justin's role is a creative director, who is not gay (I assume they are playing with stereotypes as the sports editor is the gay instead).

I actually preferred my earlier rom-com, which is "Crazy Stupid Love", in that I found that a little funnier. But this movie is sufficiently good that it stands by itself. Good DVD rent, not so sure if it would be better at the cinemas, not quite the big scale type of movie.

What Do I Want?

2011-10-03T12:24:00.003+08:00

And a random search actually yielded results on Google. Which poves that you can actually live your life through Google.. but I digress... given that nowadays, life is increasing making me feel like I am the protangonist in "The Scream" by Edward Munch, I thought it was time that I broke out of the rut.

I am happy, but not happy.
I am doing well at work, but not doing well.
Is it more my problem, or the environment?
Is it a wrong job fit, organization fit, or me?
What do I want? Assuming it's the organization, environment? I don't know.
So the answer is me.

What Do I Want to Do With My Life - 8 Questions to Figure It Out

by Catherine Pratt (http://www.life-with-confidence.com/)

I shall now attempt to faithfully answer all these questions, since it's amongst the top five search answers from google, it should be correct (notice there is a lot of faith placed on Google for this)

1. What did you dream of becoming when you were a child?

I dreamt of being a... nothing. I never did have dreams when I was young. When I was a teenager, I dreamt that I would want to be in the hotel frontline (a result of too many drama shows I suspect) and now that I know the actual working hours and the standing hours, I can say with certainty that I am glad I did not study hotel management in Switzerland like I had wanted. So where does that leave me? I am not sure. But the straightforward answer would be that I never did have dreams of becoming anything when I was a child. I think I was too busy playing.

2. Where do you spend your free time?
Largely at home, watching tv, reading, surfing, listening to music or working (well, working just means work intruded into my free time doesn't it? so technically it doesn't count). Being with my family & friends, shopping, eating, watching movies, hanging out at cafes.

3. Listen to your inner self. What does it really wish it could be doing?
I wish I could be living life in a workspace that is creative, has a lot energy and lots of events and plans, so that I constantly feel like I am contributing and helping to move things forward. Where the environment is sizzling with happy energy and work is about how good can we make it out to be, not how can we cover our ass and write more papers to justify our existence.

In terms of the what, there isn't really a what, I would love to be involved in music making, but I lack talent for music making. I am not the worst person out there, but through lack of passion and a lack of exposure, am definitely not one that is super musically inclined.

I want to find a passion that I can sustain forever, like those old lady/man who are interviewed, whose whole life is on paper cutting, or furniture making. It is so beautiful. I could make furniture! I am good with my hands and I am good at random designs... Should I worry about a market? Or the lack of a market?

Nobody just becomes an artist right? So that's tough... especially since you hear more of poor artists than rich. After some time, you compromise cuz nobody said that you have to make your passion your job. But I would really love if my passion is my job. Except I don't have a passion. I can't answer this question too I'm afraid. So moving on...

4. What activity do you do that makes you feel happy and when you do it, the time just flies by?
Blogging? Penning down my thoughts (when I have them)... reading, watching dramas. But those are activities where it's meant to sustain my interest through fiction. I know that the source of joy is an external one, and not one where I can genuinely say that it's generated from an activity that I really like and feel happy with.
I used to spend time doing art and craft and I find it extremely fulfilling, I am most immersed when I am developing something, eg. understanding how to do up my websites previously, doing powerpoint layouts (I actually quite enjoy that), designing and doing layouts... of course, all that I get at the end is a bad back and crick in the neck. There is a also a sense of satisfaction that I have created something that looks beautiful... and which also makes sense at the same time.

I am happier when the work I produce has a tangible outcome, and to a large extent, where I have a say in what that tangible outcome is.

5. What activities, events, shows, books are you attracted to?
Rock concerts, fantasy books, romance, most new activities and experiences, e.g. padi planting, mountain trekking, exploring new sites, understanding new ground. Being immersed in a new culture and wonder why and what it is that makes the same human being, but yet have such different thought processes and understanding of the world.

6. Resolve your past issues. Your past does not have to decide your future. If you let your past go and any limitations you’ve placed upon yourself, what would you be doing?
I used to imagine that I would be a reporter or writer. But what I have realized is, my style of writing is too informal and my grammar is the pits, so I never did manage to evolve into someone who can write for a living. Not good articles anyway...

7. What would success mean to you? What would the perfect life be?
Success would mean that I spend my time working on something I am passionate about, which provides me with a sense of satisfaction, and is challenging and keeps me engaged. Whether it is a position in a company or a business that I carve out myself. Position in another company just means there are the normal human stuff that irks me, such as politics, such as not being promoted, such as perceived lack or recognition, such as colleagues with weird habits. Being alone in your business means a total lack of social network support. It means being alone to face the challenges instead of it being a team. It means do or die, you can't blame your boss or the organization anymore.

The perfect life would be that I have my family and friends with me, and my other times are consumed with passion, that I wake up each morning knowing what I want to achieve and I head off to work knowing that whatever I do, is useful, is of contribution and makes the world a better place. What this is? I don't know. But it should be something positive.

8. What would you do if you had the Universal Credit Card (money is no object)?
I would travel the world, look at where needs help, build schools and homes, project manage them... and ensure that the money I am contributing goes towards the correct people. Seriously, and also, it would be good to know that I can help my family and I get out of debt and be able to afford what we want.

----------
Can anyone summarise what is my next move? This 'google found' question to help me find answers is helping a little, but not much at the same time... so how?

Ahhhhhhhhhh...... hands on face, does a silent scream and looks up into the sky...

Beautifying my desk

2011-09-27T09:37:00.001+08:00

Amongst other things, there seems to be a need for me to clarify in the minds of others that I am not inclined towards the same sex... Hence the huge poster of 2PM... to put to rest the questions in small minded people's heads... Talk about prejudices towards unattached females at the old age of 33... Life sucks...

And now I find it even more difficult to concentrate at work, hahahha...What have I done?

The Sad Truth About Singaporeans Supporting Asian Artistes

2011-09-19T23:33:00.002+08:00

We are a sad lot, that's what we are... as most of my friends would know, I move on from one obsession to the next in a matter of weeks/months... generally, it revolves around the same few items, but I seldom obsess about more than one item at the same time. So.. it is generally these few:

Reading Fantasies.. this goes on for weeks until I complete almost all that the author has along the same theme (you know, magical lands, knights, sorcerers, saving the world, etc)
Reading Manga.. if I start on one that is good, I end up collecting all, and will just obsessively read until I am done with the entire series, then I will start the hunt for the next good series until my next phase comes along
Watching Anime.. closely linked to the above obviously... I have loved cartoons since young and till now, I continue to watch them... and the occasional Scooby Doo and Tom&Jerry...
Watching Drama Serials.. and I am easy on this. Generally Asian, Taiwanese, Hong Kong TVB, Korean sob stories, Japanese cool flicks.. you name it, I have probably watched it.
Following Asian Pop Idols.. admittedly, slightly less although music is a huge part of my life. Sometime back, wayyy back, I had the "Gackt" craze... Japanese dude who is cool as cucumber. And recently, it's the korean wave that's got me busy.. Shinee, 2PM, Super Junior... many many...

And since my craze only started recently, I obviously have nobody to go to the Shinee concert with.. although I am contemplating the 2PM concert, since I do have friends who like them... so it would be fun.

AND... after all that meandering, back to the topic of why we S'poreans are a sad lot. When I am not being a screaming fan, the cynical side of me rears it's ugly head and these are thoughts that run through my head:

Where's the Profit?

Singapore is but this small island that makes up depressing album sales... there is this tiny pocket of super fans, but the numbers are depressing compared to other countries. So in our tiny Singapore, what they do is to price UP... so we have ridiculous ticket prices, sky high prices for memorabilia, and one-night concerts that I am not even sure they train or practice for. And I just feel like such a "vegetable head" (chinese translation for loser)... cuz there is an audience for it and whatever the price, if it sells, then it's profit for the band/group/artistes that came. Right?

I can't quite blame them, when the numbers are small, you have to crunch the numbers and so, something has to give. You have to price up. Of course, since it's a one-night concert, or just an autograph session, I seriously wonder if they even remember what Singapore looks like, outside of Changi Airport! So moving on...

If their time here is so short, do they even really know anything? Do they even care?

They all seem to give standard answers - Singapore is clean (seriously? Is that all you can say? Japan is clean too, but I never ever hear that comment on Japan!)

Singapore's chilli crab is delicious (I kid you not, they all seem to eat chilli crab when they are here.

We would love to come back to Singapore, the fans are so passionate (and seriously, I see them sweating buckets, cuz we are a hot hot country, and I wonder, you are not joking right? That you want to come back? When you have countries with better climates where you can sing and dance to without working up such a sweat, and you can tell me, without batting an eye, you want to come back to sweltering Singapore? and the fan thing, you see it being repeated in all reports about all the countries visited) I have lived here all my life, so I have no complaints. But I would imagine those from temperate countries would find it a tough pill to swallow.

Also, while I know, there is no point in hearing truths like, "Oh, the tour was done in such a haste, I can barely remember anything... there was this part in the concert when I thought I would faint from the heat, Singapore is so bloody hot, I would rethink another concert unless it's held at a skating rink!" aor how about "As an artiste, I have to watch my vocal chords and my weight, so I was lying about chilli crab. I actually eat only salads and chicken breasts. But the PR company said that it's a famous local dish, so I tried a mouthful and then answer in all interviews that the chilli crab was best"... and "You guys are so clean, it is ridiculous".. Well, actually that would be the only thing I would agree to is that yes, my country is truly a garden city and I have not really seen any other cities that is comparable in terms of cleanliness, other than Japan.

So yeah, nobody wants to hear the truth, but the PR answers sorta rubs me up the wrong way sometimes... seriously? You love coming back to Singapore? Then can I get you to agree that we are a key, important Asia stop (and not just cuz we are a good node to fly off from, so you might as well earn some spare change since you are transiting here?)

Japanese markets must yield the highest profit margins

All the korean bands/acts interviewed are learning Japanese and are looking to focus to break into the Japanese market. So I got to thinking, how come no one ever says they are looking to break into the Singapore market? The answer is, refer to point 1. We are not a high-yield profit generating country.

If you were the recording company, would you bother to break into a market that doesn't need to be broken into? As a lot, we seem to be easily enamored by any act that is non-Singapore (other than JJ and Stephanie Sun). So, we will pick up and find out more about the korean bands, there is no need for them to come down to do marketing (free viral marketing on youtube and popular kpop websites would suffice)... There is no CD sales to push.. not in this age of piracy... and it's not like you can tell them they have to pay $10 to queue to get your signature. Oh wait, I take that back since generally buying the album is a pre-req to these autograph sessions. Hey, I would do that to! If not, who's going to pay for the airfare down?

The way I see it, the manner in which these autographing sessions are arranged works like this. If you have that free slot in your schedule, and the record labels in Singapore push hard enough, you will schedule half your team to come down to do an autograph signing session... just to whet the appetite of the fans. I call it, the token appearance. It will push some sales, add some "visibility" to the stars, to show fans in the home market that hey, this "group" you are supporting is popular internationally (yeah, we are international! don't you know?)

And until you are sufficiently popular, you cannot even earn from concerts..

I did think it was kind of weird that even during the concerts here in Singapore, the questions will inevitably go to, "Yes, after this concert, we are focusing on breaking into the Japanese market"... with the unspoken 2nd half, "where the money really is"... Singapore is like pocket money, you drop by, earn some spare change, then move on to the next bigger and better player.

I wonder if any group would ever ever say, "Well, we had to push aside a lot of schedules that could potentially earn us bigger bucks as we wanted the Singaporean fans to know that, despite the small size of the country, we realize that there is a real and true fan base, and we really want to make the effort to come down, visit the country, get in touch with our fans, and give them a really smashing performance to thank them for their support"...

Seriously...

What am I griping about? Actually nothing. I just wanted to have an entry that acknowledges the fact that I know we are a sad lot, we are a "spare time slot" / "Earn some pocket money" country for these visiting artistes and that we will never have a big enough fan base for Singapore to be deemed as an important stop. There will not be a series of same concerts (with the exception of Jacky Cheung, I have never heard of a 5-night performance that is sold out) where the performers appreciate performing in Singapore.

Weirdly, maybe due to population size, maybe due to our inherent dysfunctional thought process (hey, look at all that crap I just spewed), we almost never ever support any Singaporean artistes, and even if I do, it's just that 1/2 who have to prove to me that they are a success overseas before I would even consider buying their album. Why so?

I watch our local production and sometimes, I cringe. I wonder... why? What are we doing wrong? Why does it always feel like there is a mile and more to climb before we even achieve the success of our Asian counterparts? I used to watch our own productions a lot more, and I enjoyed them. Nowadays, I can barely watch half an episode without cringing. We fail at English programs, we somehow also fail at Chinese, our effective bilingualism doesn't seem to work on media... our English sounds like fake ang moh accents, our chinese sounds like ang moh speaking mandarin... we are doing something seriously wrong.

I don't have the answer, but I do know, I, for one, am shortchanging my own country's artistes, to pursue and spend on other country's artistes, who probably don't give two hoots about Singapore. And that, I hate to say, is the sad fact.

Movie Review: Crazy Stupid Love

2011-09-18T11:49:00.002+08:00

Date: 17 Sep 2011
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: The Cathay
Kaki: SkyCloud
Rating: 3.5
Language: English

Synopsis:
At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream--good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quickly unravels. Worse, in today's single world, Cal, who hasn't dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth.

Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protege to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal's eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can't be found at Supercuts or The Gap.

Cal and Emily aren't the only ones looking for love in what might be all the wrong places: Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal's makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can't be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began.

Review:
Funny, entertaining movie. Very optimistic and almost makes you believe in love. Almost... except I am too cynical :P

Still, Ryan Gosling is coooooolllll and has a body that looks photoshopped! :P And the rest of the cast were good as well. Well, without giving too much away, this is almost like the American version of the British romance comedy - Love Actually.

Both are good of course, in a slightly difference manner. I wouldn't say I prefer one over the other, but it's nice to have a good romance comedy that falls into my category of being not too stupid :) I love my romantic comedies...

Of course, being quite out of sync with the movie market recently, will have to thank Skycloud for dragging me along for this movie. Especially since there were like 3-4 tries of attempts to confirm a movie date, only for me or her not being able to make it. :) Glad we managed to catch it... and glad that for once, I didn't watch it at GV, and I sincerely appreciate the more comfortable seats at Cathay, as well the fact that I wasn't forced to watch through 20 mins of adverts that have been shown to death... and I actually think the sound is better too (but a romantic comedy is really not a very good gauge of the sound system)

So.. all in all, well worth the ticket price, and also good as a stay home movie :)

Waiting

2011-09-14T12:41:00.001+08:00

Waiting for a bus that will never come

And you are left wondering... Did I just missed it? Or have I just been waiting at the wrong place all these while?

What if it comes when I step away to explore?

Outcome - Inertia!!!

Restless

2011-09-12T00:12:00.001+08:00

Sapphi's looking in at me too...she must be wondering what's causing me to feel so restless and dissatisfied and unhappy?

I am not, but I am at the same time. Questions that I tend to ask at the end of the year are emerging very early this year... Like... What am I doing with my life? Is this it? Shouldn't there be more to life?

I keep feeling like I am shortchanging myself... But I am too lazy to pursue a dream that I haven't even defined yet...

Sapphi, how???

Performance Review: Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century World Tour Concert 2010-11 (張學友1/2世紀巡迴演唱會)

2011-09-10T11:41:00.001+08:00

Date: 30 August 11
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Singapore Indoor Stadium
Kaki: ZXL
Rating: 4.5 stars
Language: Chinese and Cantonese

Sypnosis:
Jacky Cheung Half Century Tour is one of the most-anticipated musical experiences of the year, as Jacky’s live show is renowned for his incredibly high-energy theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements, all conceptualized by Jacky Cheung himself. He has been repeatedly breaking records with his current world tour. From the opening show at the Shanghai Exhibition Center at the end of last year to the recently concluded concerts, he has already performed more than 50 gigs.

張學友 Half Century Tour （世紀演唱會）是今年最備受注目的樂壇盛事之一。張學友的現場表演是以他精彩而又充滿活力地呈現戲劇化的圖畫、設置和視覺元素而聞名，所有概念來自於張學友本人。他目前的世界巡迴演唱會曾多次打破紀錄。從去年年底在上海展覽中心舉行的開場秀到最近結束的演唱會，他已經表演了超過五十場演出。

Review:
Well, what do you know, the intended partner I had was ms BN... who unfortunately, due to work, had to give up her tickets. So Ms ZXL was the lucky recipient of a $170 ticket! :) Well, I did get a free ride out of it, so I can't complain.

So, back to the concert, it was great! It was almost a display of athleticism from a man who has hit the half century mark. I am not sure if it was meant to, but since the audience seems to be made up of my age group, the thirty-somethings, it actually left me feeling ashamed of how painfully unfit I was in comparison.

Still, his voice was really really smooth, some parts I thought I detected an occasional crack, but seriously, after that amount of dancing, it is amazing that he could even continue to sing! I would be bent double trying to get my breath back!

I also have to admit that he lost me the first part of the performance, not that I wasn't involved, but as I didn't know the songs >< But the dancing and musical like storyline kept me engaged. But of course, I lost my head and just drank in all the old songs that he sang... and I just felt so nostalgic about my youth suddenly and how life has just gone back in the blink of an eye.

One moment, I was in secondary school, training hard at badminton, trying not to be last in class, feeling unfounded angst about the many things in life (as teenagers are apt to be), and finding solace in music during commuting time, with friends in class, at night in bed... wondering about what life has in store for me...

The next moment, I am all grown up, feeling angst about the youth that has flown by me, trying to live for the moment, as I realize there is no point in looking past, or to the future, as the moment is now. (while balancing that with planning for the future)... and all that while he was singing.. I almost felt like he was singing my life story...

The power of a long-staying musician, is that his music has really accompanied you through the many trials and tribulations of life. Even now, when a particular song comes on, and if that song was the one that accompanied me through a particularly poignant stage in life... the emotions and memories of that point would come flooding back...

Music.. is very powerful. That the man can still bring out such emotions after such a long period of time.. is testament to his depth as a musician and his staying power.

Performance Review: The Lion King

2011-08-16T12:20:00.010+08:00

Date: 2 July 10
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands
Kaki: TH, SA, XiaoMei, The Baker & Wife and the exSM
Rating: 4.5 stars
Language: English (with some African? :P)

Sypnosis:
Experience the heart-warming tale of Simba and his epic transformation from wide-eyed cub to King of the Pridelands. Brilliantly reimagined by acclaimed director Julie Taymor, The Lion King explodes with glorious colors, stunning effects and Elton John and Tim Rice’s Academy Award-winning song ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’. Winner of over 70 major international awards, The Lion King has captivated over 51 million people worldwide.

Review:
Fun fun fun. Delayed as this review is... it's quite worth the ticket price (I had purchased the $128) as I can see the quality of the props and generally the quality of the singing. I don't know if it was cause I was watching an afternoon matinee, most of them had really great voices, but there was one/two where the voice wasn't that great? Hence. 4.5 stars, instead of the full five. However, it is still a very high score as it kept me entertained throughout! :D

Costuming and Props were GREAT! Considering that I worked as a backstage crew for a theatre production before, I think whoever did the props are the smartest. The props are much better than those from other musical production.

I could be biased, cuz I love animals, but I really like the "animals" inside the Lion King. Redundant statement I know. But they are lovely and I can really visualize what "animal" they are based on their costuming...

The difference between a production and a movie, is you come out amazed that everyone would be able to reproduce the same great show day in and day out... that is commitment and that is talent! :)

Go watch if you are in Singapore, try to sit on the ground level along the aisle :)

Movie Review: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2

2011-08-08T22:04:00.007+08:00

Date: 05 August 2011
Time: 7:10pm
Location: GV Vivocity
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 4
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. The much-anticipated motion picture event is the second of two full-length parts. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.

It all ends here.

Review:
And so it is, we finally get closure... and what do you know, the best was saved for the last and in a 8 movie sequel, I finally get the 1/2 movie that I think is good.

There was action (check), emotion (check), improved acting (check) and a clear plot (check). It had to be the last one, so there really isn't much to look forward to... having said that, I wonder how many people are harbouring thoughts like mine, which is to buy and rent the entire monstrosity and attempt to watch 1-8, over a couple of days of course... just to get a sense of the entire plot and see how the characters grow up. It is sort of like watching Britney Spears or the Olsen twins... you literally see them grow up (and ruin their lives o.O)

The final piece of the puzzle I am sure, is as much a revelation for some (those who didn't read the books, but the watch the movie) and a 'oh yah' reminder (for people like me who read the book a long time ago and can't quite remember the plot after all this time). I always thought it was a well-thought out series, where the story was built up from book 1, and not a sudden, "Oh, it seems like the series is making money, so instead of making it a three-part book, I shall extend a subplot and make it a seven-book series".

So, go watch, I rather think you would enjoy it. But you do need to have read the books, or have some vague recollection of the previous movies before you watch it. Or you will end up being like the audience who sat next to MLSA and was asking her boyfriend questions throughout the whole show. MLSA was also treated to the explanation that the boyfriend gave. Both apparently have rather loud voices. Haha... poor thing.

Hmm.. I may borrow. Rental means limited timeline and you don't want to do that when it's a monster 8-part movie marathon and I don't quite like the movie enough to spend $ buying all 8. I already have the 7 books (if and when I can find them), so that is a sufficient show of support.

So... does anyone already have a ready collection somewhere that I can borrow please? :)

Stoning while being Intensely Sleepy

2011-08-08T10:26:00.007+08:00

Is there such a combination of word? That I am intensely sleepy? I am you know, intensely sleepy. Amazingly sleepy doesn't quite cut it. Very sleepy sleepy is too mild... and I feel like I want to be a stone... to just exist, no reaction and thinking required.. just let me stone...

Well, I blame it on the fact that I had to go to work on my beautiful sunny island (or rainy as was the case yesterday), then report for duty at the Bishan shop, and I only reached home after closing shop at about 930pm. Whatever happened to idyllic Sundays?

In any case, after showering, I was at the work desk with mommy dearest who just got her new HP laptop, both guiding and coaching her on how to use her new laptop, new windows interface (she was using the sucky windows vista on her old acer laptop). And then walk my sapphi.. and finally, when I should hop into bed and sleep, I had to stay up and watch 3 episodes of De-Gray Man cuz it was one of those multiple episodes to end a plot type of story, and I just had to finish it....

And zzz... this morning, I was late in waking up. I was saved by this cabdriver, who drove fast, had a well-oiled engine, meaning it was a very smooth ride, and he was a non-talker. Which I liked, cuz I was still stoning.. and I got to work in like 20 mins! Meaning, I reached at about 920am... 20 mins late, but it's not the "OMIGOD, this girl is soooo late today" type of late... it's the Monday morning, most are also still stoning and wouldn't really notice type of late (or so I hope!)

In any case, I just cleared 2 work items, in the midst of being extremely stoned... I hope it's not overly sub-standard work (although I think they are standard work matters and nothing can really go wrong)...

Random sidenote: The stone I found from the net, it's a very nice looking stone right? I like this stone...

Trip to the Vet

2011-08-01T15:35:00.007+08:00

My darling Sapphi, on her trip to the vet to check on her wound after operation. She had to remove a toe nail (one digit as the vet puts it) as there was a growth that is potentially cancerous. She doesn't look happy huh.. look at her flattened ears... Not Happy...

Slight improvement...

Being Childish...

2011-07-25T09:54:00.006+08:00

1) And so... I am not going to write a review about Transformers movie cuz I have waited for too long and I cannot remember my thoughts about the movie. Other than, it was alright, not great, but alright. Too many plots, but the action is still cool. And the female lead has weird botoxed bee-stung lips and can't act and is entirely superfluous.. but I still like to see my transformers transforming! hahaha.. love the sound

2) Touchy relationship with the youngest these days. So, I think, this could spell the end of a 'I thought it was close, but obviously I am wrong" brother-sister relationship. Sad lah, but I guess it's not uncommon... takes two hands to clap even if you are linked by blood.. obviously I feel hurt, but it's a fact of life.

3) In the same breath, my very close relationship with my eldest sis has also hit a snag. Soo... no more dajie to seek counsel from.. firstly, I don't deem her as being that wise anymore, she doesn't feel trustworthy and reliable and she is no longer interested in maintaining family ties and relationship, so there's nothing much to talk about if you are not around much anyway... life sucks.. suck it up grouch! Laugh and get over it!

4) Luckily... my mom is still the best! And counsels me so that I don't slip into depression totally and I know someone still loves me! :) I don't hate going home still as there's someone I love at home and...

5) My other younger bro and his wifey... are still at home, and we are getting along fine, not great, but not bad...

6) My new job is not particularly challenging and I am bored. Maybe there are new things for me to learn, but I am oblivious to it, or it isn't as challenging as I thought. I think, I am not used to a supervisor.. thus far, I have always reported to the boss... so I am not used to being curtailed in my thought process, etc. But it could also be a combination of me not being used to the environment, the pace is too slow, etc. Either I stay on and just fall into an abyss of thinking I am efficient (when I am not, typical gahment syndrome), or I may opt to leave...

7) More importantly, it is critical that I know what I want... what would challenge me and to seek it out myself. I almost wish I was sick, so that I can stay home and rethink my life. Cuz I am still under probation and cannot take leave... well, encouraged not to take leave that is...

8) Why oh why am I feeling so unsettled? PMS? Mid-life crisis? I am 33... Have I hit mid-life crisis??? What do I want to do with my life???

Pooms and Puddles

2011-07-21T10:15:00.007+08:00

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Poosh, there lived a poodle and a bishie prince named Poom. Poom loved puddling his poodle. Poodle loves puddles, thus it was named Puddles because of it.

So one day puddles decided to make some pudding for Poom. It was Prince's Poom's birthday, and Puddles wanted to make something special, so while Poom was busy with his princely stuff one morning, Puddles snuck out!

Puddles snuck to his favorite piddling puddling pudding palace to order a cherry pie for Prince Poom's party, planning to go over the top with the bash, puddles decided that Prince Poom's pomegranate limo would be used to pick up his fiancée.

Suddenly! Puddles realized something!

"Oh noes! I have forgotten to send out the party invitations!" cried Puddles, most upset at the oversight.

So Puddles calls LW while she was in some far flung place doing her training.

LW was busy training new minons when the call came through. "Hello?"
"Woof woof arf arf woof woof Arf!"

"?!"

Then Puddles remembered LW isn't the dog whisperer, DOH! So puddles apologizes and starts speaking in human language.

"You have to help me, LW! The party MUST go on! Also because I once let Sapphi sniff my butt, so she owes me one."

LW goes, “Hello? Who's this??? I'm in the middle of playing Ronald at a Macdonalds party! can you call back???"

"You're at Mcdonalds? Perfect!! Ask Ronald to the phone!" as an idea hit her.

So the real Mcdonalds got on the line, and Puddles explained the situation to him.

Since Ronald was the one who picked up the phone, he said he will arrange for something to happen tonight! (And) he will send out his own Macdonalds jet to pick up the guests! Just in time too, because Prince Poom was done with his Princely duties and was about to head back to the royal ballroom where the party was supposed to take place!

As Puddles rushed with the birthday goods and the pomegranate limo made it's way to pick up prince poom's girl friend lady paddapeem, all of a sudden, the entire city went dark. the sun started to fold inwards and turned neon pink.

And as the sun expired, an array of fireworks filled the sky, as the words "Happy Birthday, Prince Poom!" sparkled and the peasants watched in awe.

"You did all this? For me?" Prince Poom looked at his royal Pooch, touched by all she went through he was close to tears.And as they partied on in the night, the prince, puddles, peasants and Ronald Mcdonalds all had a royal good time indeed and all was well, except LW, who was still stuck training the minions in an island far far away.

But you know something? The prince wouldn't have minded just a pudding for a present either.

-THE END-

(C) Copyright of SyncopatedID & JoscK, Story contributed by SyncoID and Josc during a random MSN conversation.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-06-05T13:13:00.002+08:00

Date: 04 June 2011
Time: 9:10pm
Location: GV Bishan
Kaki: MOM and 2 Laus
Rating: 3.5
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
In KUNG FU PANDA 2, Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Review:
Hmm... well, it's a fun movie to watch, nothing really dramatically good, the first obviously (as is the case with most of such movies) was better. So if I were to give the first movie a 4 star rating, then the second movie would get a 3.5 star rating. Good, but not great.

It does fulfil Walt Disney's standards of being kids-friendly. I was more amused by the kids who were laughing out loud very excitedly then I was about the funny scenes in the movie. Of course, I smirked at some parts, but those were generally the parts that the kids didn't get. *smirk again*

Had friends who told me to bring along tissue, cuz there were tear-worthy moments. Hmm... I am still wondering which moments that was. From start till end, I was guffawing through it, so not too sure were the sad parts were, if there were any, it was really short, and nothing that would get me emotional. And in case you're wondering (as I did actually)... the VO credits:

Jack Black ... Po (voice)
Dustin Hoffman ... Shifu (voice)
Angelina Jolie ... Tigress (voice)
Ian McShane ... Tai Lung (voice)
Jackie Chan ... Monkey (voice)
Seth Rogen ... Mantis (voice)
Lucy Liu ... Viper (voice)
David Cross ... Crane (voice)
Randall Duk Kim ... Oogway (voice)
James Hong ... Mr. Ping (voice)

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

2011-06-05T09:31:00.002+08:00

Date: 29 May 2011
Time: 1:40pm
Location: GV Bishan
Kaki: JoC
Rating: 3.5
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed adventure. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penelope Cruz), he's not sure if it's love--or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the "Queen Anne's Revenge," the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past.

The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack's longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

Review:
Another pirate movie, another entertaining instalment. I actually quite liked this particular one a little more than the previous. The previous had this fake fighting scene out in open sea, where I didn't quite understand anything, cuz it was so confusing.. anyway... a cooler instalment, but not too sure if I can deal with Captain Jack Sparrow having "stirrings"... hahaha... the man who has no loyalty to anyone but himself..

Still, fun to watch, and while I cannot say you can watch this fourth instalment as a standalone, cuz I have watched the first three, but it does seem to be able to hold it's own... on wait a minute, scrap that, there are really too many references back, e.g. his need to find his beloved black pearl, his first mate, and the bloody monkey! hehehe...

Enjoy, fun to watch at a cinema, may be less fun to watch at home, cuz the movie is the type that would look good on an epic scale on a large screen.. make your own decision which you would want :)

Compartmentalizing My Life...

2011-05-29T23:07:00.004+08:00

You know.. I tend to think of my life as separate compartments.. the part where I am with my family, with my friends, at work and alone time.. these are the four major areas anyway.. and the random errands that don't quite fall into any category... and so...

My family life has been busy, with the opening of the third store and all, and I can see the tired looks on the remaining family member's face. Namely, my brother, my sister-in-law and me. My mom is exhausted too.. emotionally and mentally drained, as there has been some changes (all negative) in my family and she is still trying to accept it. As am I.. but my saving grace is that I lead a hectic life that doesn't leave much time for thinking, and I try not to think if I can anyway since thinking tends to lead to more negativity... Anyway, with the store and me tending to help out Sunday afternoon-evening, life's busy enough...

My work life is ramping up, rightly so, since I started my new job 3 weeks ago, and by week 3, I ought to be shot if it still doesn't ramp up. Nothing sucks more than being bored at work. And there is the fact that my work now requires commitment of more saturdays... default being one saturday per month where I have to get back to work. That sucks, but it's also part of my job... so it's alright. So you can see where all my time is being used up on... (saturdays at work, sundays helping out at the store, working regular hours mon-fri)

My travelling time to work has also doubled, as the location is now farther.. so I technically have to wake up about 645-7am each morning, which is unearthly given my sleeping habits, so I am shifting and getting used to it... I am seriously considering getting a van now...

My friends life is also healthy, so I meet up with friends every week, 2-3 times.. which means some weeknights, and avlb weekends is spent catching up with them...

I insist on me time, where I watch inane drama serials/movies one after another, or read books, or stone, or sleep, (this is in short supply this week)... and so...

I think, while I have my life planned out in compartments, and across a calendar of events based on my scheduler, I have come to realize... my body doesn't work in compartment. Just because I am hanging out with my friends, as opposed to being at the biscuit shop, or being at work, doesn't make me any less tired... and so... and so...

SIGH. I. HAVE. NO. ANSWER.

I should up "me" time, but there's a million and one things to do... and me time is so selfish... and I do want to be with my family and friends, and I do want to do my best at work... there's no answer... it's a fine fine balance... I wonder if I should go for my meditation again... god knows I need to re-introduce peace into my life...

Movie Review: Thor

2011-05-21T21:29:00.005+08:00

Date: 20 May 2011
Time: 8:40
Location: GV Vivo
Kaki: Skycloud
Rating: 3.5
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
The epic adventure THOR spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero

Review:
Wow.. what can I say? From what I hear, it was a funny, entertaining movie. And...? It was a funny and entertaining show. I have to say... this is one of those rare occasions where the physical presence of the actor actually lives up to the hype of a comic book hero. Previously, all the other guys, had to rely on their acting to bring across the presence, that and a whole lot of prosthetics... this dude, Chris Hemsworth.. must have put in hours at the gym.. plus he's got the height.. really looks like Thor...

The story.. ok la... v clear cut and obvious plot.. but quite funny.. I actually wished it could be funnier... And.. while there's great chemistry between Natelie Portman and Chris Hemsworth, the storyline doesn't convince me that they love each other.. when they have barely begun... nvm.. if you have watched it.. tell me if you agree with me or not :)

The Courage of Conviction

2011-05-08T12:11:00.015+08:00

Flanked by DPMs Teo Chee Hean and Wong Kan Seng, a solemn PM Lee said, "We hear all your voices... It is a different world and a very different Singapore".

He added many Singaporeans wanted to see "a different style and approach in government, with a new generation who want to see more opposition."

And now I wonder, how much have they truly heard, and while the intent is not for the ruling party to pee in their pants, a lot of what's happening is a direct reflection of sentiment on the ground. And if they will really take time to think things through... a lot of what is being asked for and that the people on the ground are asking for is

(1) Our housing is really really too expensive.
We are not just whining and we are not just griping. It is really too expensive. Practical example, my brother has been married for nearing 2 years, and still, we are all staying under one roof. I love him and my sister in law and have no issues that they are with us. It does however, make for cramped conditions, and if you ask me, not an ideal environment for them to start a new family. Already cramped at the maximum of 2 persons to a room (and we all know the size of an average HDB room)... the baby would have to sleep in the hall? My siblings are by no means poor and our income is above average.

So buy a resale you say? But what about aspirations to start a business or to venture out and be an entrepreneur? Do we want to go into such heavy debt for our homes that our aspirations are compromised by the need to buy a roof over our head? Is this not a basic necessity, and shouldn't the price of property be controlled by the government to a certain extent? And what happened to reasonably priced public housing? Is the intent of HDB to serve or to generate a profit? Is the intent to help everyone get a home, or only to help everyone get into extreme debt? I understand the home is a commodity and it is unreasonable to provide excessive funding. But it would really help if there was a reduction in mindless bureaucracy and senseless "oh, you don't fall into this scheme" and ridiculous calculations on eligibility, that nobody understands except the HDB has to be reviewed.

I don't want examples to be cited for us to be compared to other countries where we are doing so much better. We are an extremely practical bunch, and very good at "doing". We know we can do better and we should. It is as simple as that. If it takes a process redesign, then it takes a process redesign. If it means you need to engage a "design thinking" expert, then please do it. Be clear. Be precise. Just Do It.

Do not overspend like the YOG (ACCOUNTABILITY... Where is that?), but really, the public agencies are not profit generating agencies!

And so being practical Singaporeans, we will hunker down and do what we can as life goes on... but some help would really help. Really.

(2) Our Transportation
Now our public transportation is something that I look upon with mixed feelings. I appreciate our new fleet of vehicles and of the (most of the time) good infrastructure that it comes with. However, it sucks big time when:

We know that the median income of the people who are leading and serving us means that they do not (they really do not as they cast their spells from ivory towers, chauffeur drawn cars for them and their families) know what it means to take
- buses that are reducing in frequency and in routes,
- to take trains that are perpetually crowded,
- to attempt to flag down a cab (when you really need one) and they are not available, charge an arm and leg in additional peak/CBD/fuel surcharge, etc, or just zoom past you as they want you to call so they earn another surcharge.

And if you are sick and tired of public transportation, cars are not affordable and so you sink deeper into debt. But really, the gripe against the public transport is more along the lines of, CAN YOU PLEASE SHOW MORE EMPATHY? I know you are rich and you think plebians and peasants like us should just shut up, and free up the roads so you can cruise in your air-conditioned cars... but please lah... it really really sucks when you flaunt that in our faces!!!

SMRT CEO referring to crowded trains, was reported to have said;

“People can board the trains – it is whether they choose to.”

Where were our leaders when CEOs of a major public transportation agency says things like that? Do we deserve to be packed like sardines? Do you take the train everyday to work? Do you understand the irritation of being pressed up against another person in cramped conditions? Do you know what sort of mood, tone and emotion it sets for the day when you start your day off like that? It is this amazing lack of empathy and understanding of the ground.

...

And midway through, I have decide to stop my blogging diarrhea. I am just so sick and tired of the current ruling party's high-handedness and while I am extremely grateful for what we have achieved, I am also tired of being treated as a 2nd class citizen in my own state. I am not going to go into foreign talent, and cronies being in power and of Singapore being a monarchy. Because, I am tired. I am sick and while I am cautiously hopeful that the ruling party would listen, I am aware that after being in a position of power for so long, after all the "noise" that they have heard on the online mediums, and after being maybe "slightly" worried for a day or two, they are still the dominant ruling party. Within a week, they will lean back into their easy chairs and say, "Singaporeans only like to complain, but they will ultimately vote for us" and I am sad for that.

It is so sad that the entire estate (since morning) has been eerily quiet... I am sad cuz it was a relatively narrow margin that we lost by... today is a day for reflection and thoughts for the average citizen. Nobody likes the current ruling party, but most lack the guts to force a change or are hypocrites. They expect the other estates to vote for oppositions and they shout for blood, but they will vote for the ruling party within their own, estates. Hypocrites and Cowards. This I feel, is about the Courage of Conviction. If you are going to mouth off about change, then you need to put your money where your mouth is.

So for the next five years... we will meander on. My sentiments and feelings felt today will no doubt be diminished over time. But I am still young, and 2016 will come along again. I hope the opposition will field stronger candidates worthy of our votes... I am all for change and I will put my money where my mouth is. Are you?

Time To Spare

2011-04-25T19:31:00.004+08:00

*whistles*

I've got time to spare... it's a very very nice feeling, not doing anything. Almost 3 weeks break. SO SHIOK!!!

constantly hungry

2011-04-20T00:38:00.004+08:00

Constantly hungry for some reason... maybe it is cause I am finally relaxed? Would being relaxed up your metabolic rate? Cuz seriously, I get serious hunger pangs, I had dinner at about 5pm... so I ate durians and mangosteens at about 10pm... so seriously, I have no reason to answer my stomach's call at 1245am now...

But.. my stomach's so sad now... she's so hungry.. like a hungry hippo... dammit... what can I eat? Oh! Nvm... I am going to give in.. I promise to go to the gym tmr... cuz I cannot go in the evening as planned.. :P *REALLY!!*... I think... I hope...

Movie Review: Morning Glory

2011-04-10T18:00:00.004+08:00

Date: 9 April 2011
Time: 12:30 pm
Location: GV Vivo
Kaki: JoC
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:

When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller (McAdams) is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at "Daybreak" (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford). Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts - let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Keaton), a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who is more than happy covering morning "news."

As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky's blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett (Wilson) begins to unravel - and soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, herjob and ultimately, the show itself.

Review:

Fairly entertaining show, that would make a great "stay home" movie, light hearted, witty banter and quite fun to watch, with just the right amount of romance...

3.5 stars cuz, there was the propensity for it to be a great show.. you know, the "Devil wears Prada" type of great... and the cast is huge (as most would agree) as most of you would agree...

Still, like I said, it's quite funny, and very relaxing to watch, and I would recommend this movie to those who just want a relaxing movie to watch after work to destress, to watch on weekends to while away time, and to rent if you just want to cozy up at home... you know... I would really give it a 3.9 rating.. it's like a nearly 4 star show...

As a sidenote, Amy McAdams.. is damn skinny and I have always wondered... in a job where you are running around a lot, and you work super long hours, how do you wear stilettos and still be able to run around? I wonder... conclusion... if you are skinny enough, there is less weight on the feet, so it doesn't swell as much, therefore, you can wear it day in day out for long hours. Skinny people... is this true?

Movie Review: Security Police The Motion Picture

2011-04-02T22:30:00.003+08:00

Date: 31 March 2011
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: Looney Tunes & GG
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: Japanese (with English Subtitles)

Synopsis:

SP, the duty to protect. Professional bodyguards that safeguard important people even if it at times means sacrificing their own lives.

In the 21st century, regarded as the century of terror, Japan's myth of infallibility is greatly threatened. With domestic and foreign terrorists active behind the scenes, and pleasure-seeking criminals with no political ideology able to easily obtain information from the Internet, an era in which terrorism can be carried out has gradually dawned. The role played the SP in protecting domestic and foreign VIPs has become varied and crucial. Bodyguards who guard important people with their own lives as "moving shields", locate "moving shield blind spots" beforehand as well as anticipate unforeseen circumstances have been increased on an experimental basis.

Inoue Kaoru is assigned to this new role. Inoue possess special abilities, and is an entirely new type of SP. He will boldly take on the fight against terrorism as section personnel regard those abilities with skepticism.

Review:

It was a free movie screening compliments of Ms Looney Tunes, we unfortunately, didn't realize it was free seating. Suffice to say we had shit seats. But of course, since it's free, I am not going to whine about that.

And so... about the movie. Well, it was good, and all along, I have had my eye on Junichi Okada, since his V8 days (errr... I think it's V8 anyway, okok.. some Jpop boy band)... cuz I thought he was cute with his puppy dog eyes. Anyway...back to the movie..

It is a pretty cool show, with lots of action, and quite a bit of funny moments. Fairly engaging and retrospectively, different from other Japanese movies which are really slow... e.g. Departures, that mountain climbing show, and various others.

To me, a sure-win formula for the Japanese filmmakers is to adapt from some cool and popular comic series, I mean, just look at Death Note, 20th Century Boys, etc, and the show would have a pretty strong plot. :) Of course, I am a huge manga fan, and the only thing stopping me now from starting some new series to follow would be the lack of bookshelf space, so I may be biased.

Moving on, in terms of special effects, they are good, but not great. In terms of action, it's good, but not great. In terms of plot, it's good, but not great. In terms of acting, it is still somewhat better than good, let's say, very good, but not great.

And so, a 3.5 stars rating. It could be the filming, it could be the plot (maybe I should bite my tongue and take back my words on manga adaptations... it could just be a Japanese thing, and maybe I don't get it as a result. But somehow, my gut feel is that Japanese films somehow just lack in a little something and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's the restraint they show in the movie (am wondering if it's a cultural thing, where in the first place, they don't really exhibit a lot of emotions, stoicism and restraint being key for them, resulting in a show where there isn't much emotions?), or the exaggerated behaviour when they are upset or angry (another cultural thing, maybe to them it's not exaggerated, but to me it is?)... somehow, I just feel like, watching japanese films is just a little awkward... maybe I really need to understand their culture better.

But still, I would consider watching the 2nd installment. All in all, it ain't that bad a film... :)

Submission of a Resignation Letter... The Saga

2011-04-01T22:56:00.006+08:00

So here I am, home after an overly abundant dinner with MLSA, on a Friday night. I am waiting for the heater to well, heat up the water so that I can shower, and then walk the dog, and then, depending on my mood, surf more, or jump into bed.

And I was ruminating again (as I am oft apt to do) about the whole resignation saga that I went through midweek. Despite the numerous times that I have been through it, the whole incident was still able to somehow leave me with a splitting migraine, which is now into it's third day. And yes, panadol popping (even though I know I really shouldn't) is now in full swing. I tried the first day not to eat it, the throbbing was so bad that I was starting to feel like vomiting.

And so... I resigned on a dreary Wednesday evening, way after working hours, as I was waiting for the boss to come back from a late meeting that she was attending. I had planned to resign on a Thursday, but I had realized midway into Wednesday that I had back-to-back-to-back meetings slotted on a Thursday and knowing my boss' schedule is usually also very packed, I realized to my horror that I had no time to resign! Seriously, it would be very tough to find the time to resign between meetings, and the chances that my boss would be in her cubicle so that I can resign was extremely low.

And so, on that dreary Wednesday evening, I waited for her return, and after talking shop for about five minutes upon her return, I asked if she was in a hurry to get home. She said no, and I said, okay.

I ran back to my desk and got the letter. And... despite all the stories that I had posted on my blog, and various other mediums about what a cold hearted woman she can be, she was so shocked when I popped back into her cubi with the infamous white envelope in her hands that she said, "Oh no.... why?" and promptly burst into tears.

I. WAS. SHOCKED. I really was, I mean, I have seen various other colleagues resigning before me and never before, had I seen such a response. It shows that, even though I thought I was doing a shitty job of hiding the fact that I am about to leave, and of my unhappiness, I must have done a much better job than I thought, as she was really very shocked and upset by my resignation. I have never seen her cry, and I seriously, just sat down, and kept muttering, "I am so sorry, I am very sorry..."

I have to explain her shock to all of you. The truth is, I had just been promoted and I had also just received a rather hefty (hefty to me that is) pay raise. I had stayed on as I was waiting for my bonus, and then move on to my new organization. I don't think I was being tagged as the person in danger of leaving. Truth of course is that the promotion is a little too late, the damage (emotional and financial) was already done in 2010, when I was pretty insulted in the entire appraisal done... the decision to leave now would not be swayed by whatever she is offering or has given me now in 2011. As far back as 2010, I had already decided that I couldn't work under this boss and the industry is not one that I have taken to, despite 2.5 years of trying.

Anyway, after she had composed for a while, we talked about why I wanted to leave, where I obviously, told her partial truths... I was frank about where I was going, as she knew both my new supervisor and boss, so there wasn't anything to hide.

So I left the cubicle, with a pounding migraine, and until today, as more and more people find out that I am about to leave, the fact that I have finally resigned and am serving notice and that I will no longer work in this organization, is really sinking in. And I realize that my migraine just keeps going on and on.

And my usually very focused and stone hearted boss looks depressed, with significantly reduced energy level. I wonder if I am delusional in imagining that she is sad... Anyway, I feel bad. I won't change my mind as I know the next step is one that I want to take.. but I feel bad at having caused hurt and of course, I know I will miss the colleagues that I am closer to currently.

Ah well, life moves on... I hope my migraine goes away soon. Blogging is supposed to be therapeutic. Right?

Of Irritating Brother(s) And Such...

2011-03-28T21:50:00.005+08:00

This entry (for now) is dedicated to my youngest brother.

You Are Irritating. Go And Sleep So I Can Sleep.

And yes, sometimes, one brother is irritating. Sometimes, the other brother is irritating.

Sometimes, both brothers are irritating.

Oh, and a non-existent sister.

I need my bed. :) Night folks!

Movie Review: Unknown

2011-03-24T21:57:00.006+08:00

Date: 18 March 2011
Time: 9:50pm
Location: Iluma Filmgarde
Kaki: Looney Tunes
Rating: 3 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesnt recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far hes willing to go to uncover the truth.

Review:
And so, obviously I have procrastinated in getting this review up, as there are many changes in my life that I have been trying to deal with.. (more on that in a proper blog post)... but back to the movie. Surprisingly, I only somewhat enjoyed it.

It fell into the dangerous ground of being a very average film, with some lapse. Maybe I am too critical, since not every movie is an "Inception".. but seriously, when I watched it, I started to spot errors like, there was this scene when Liam Neeson walks into the underground subway station and jumps into the train to get away from this guy who has been trailing him.. weirdly, it was night when he entered, and day when he emerged out. Now, I don't know how things work, but I somehow doubt that he took the train the WHOLE NIGHT.

Anyways, it was not a great movie as the twist didn't really have a kick. It was not like I expected the twist, it was more like the built up was fairly weak, and so, when the "AH HA!" moment comes, it was as weak as a day old soda. So, sorta failed for me.

Other aspects that saw the rating drop was due to the lack of chemistry between the "European Beauty" and "Liam Neeson"... he looked more like her father lor!! Let's not be so ridiculous, if he falls for her, I can understand. How can she fall for him? (I really like Liam Neeson, and of course he is attractive, but seriously, they are like 20 years apart)

Anyways, it would make a good rental... it's just not quite worth the box office ticket price.

P.S. And I have to say, the cinema at Iluma Filmgarde leaves a lot to be desired. It STINKS OF SWEAT!!! absolutely gross...

Game Review: Restaurant Story

2011-03-13T14:34:00.006+08:00

Game: Restaurant Story
Platform: iPhone 4
Started Playing: December 2010
Current Level: 43

Synopsis:
The #1 FREE iPhone and iPad virtual world "Story" series returns with Restaurant Story! Design your own dream restaurant to show off to your friends. Don't forget to make sure your customers are happy and well-fed by choosing stunning decoration and tasty new dishes! New content will be released EVERY WEEK so the game continually gets even better!

Review:
This is essentially the same game as Bakery Story, with the exception that

The food you get to cook is different
The furniture you get to purchase is different
and lastly, the interface is slightly different (seriously, it is just that bit different)

So... not too sure how to review it, since I will feel like I am repeating myself. The aim, as usual, is to level up, decorate and have the most beautiful restaurant ever, which is why they insist that you must have neighbours (my Storm8 ID is leewaythegreat if you wanna add) is to increase this sense of competitiveness...

E.g. Oh.. I just visited one of my neighbours, or random restaurant, and their decor and restaurant is soo cool and soo nice, so I have to play more to earn more money and diamonds, so that I too can decorate better. (Note, do NOT ever use your diamonds to instantly cook your food, or to revive it if it's spoilt, that is the worst waste of diamonds ever. Save them, cuz seriously, there is no urgency. If it's spoilt, just cook a new pot, doesn't matter if your popularity ratings drop, cuz when you start serving again, it will just go back up. There is no backlash, and no virtually programmed customer is going to feel hurt that you didn't feed them for a day or two) So you play more and try to earn more, so that you can increase the size of your restaurant and improve the furniture you purchase, etc.

Fun game. Considering that I am still at it, although I cook really long term dishes (minimum 1-day dishes) these days, as I don't have time to keep checking in on the food when it's cook. Anyhow, still entertaining, graphics are pretty, and yes, I am into the brown/red theme for now. Wonder how long this theme will last. Hiakz...

Movie Review: Rango

2011-03-13T12:49:00.006+08:00

Date: 11 March 2011
Time: 9:20pm
Location: The Cathay
Kaki: SyncoID
Rating: 3 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
From the director of The Pirates of the Caribbean comes RANGO, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West.

The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt - a lawless outpost populated by the desert's most wily and whimsical creatures - the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt . . . until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be.

With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town - and himself in the process.

Review:
About Rango... well, it ain't that great a movie. The graphics are good, but frankly, it was a little like the Owl movie sometime back. For animated movies, somehow, the focus always seems to slant towards creating the most beautiful graphic you can... and they forget the main purpose of a movie. It is about telling a story.

The more intriguing, engaging, funny, romantic, say what you will, a movie is, the better it will be. So, what this story lacks, is a good storyline. It sorta falls flat, and while it is funny, it is not that funny. It is not particularly romantic, it is not particularly entertaining... the lead characters are not great... I don't identify with them... I even found the voiceovers rather stale (but that could be blamed on the weak storyline)...

It has fallen into the worst trap ever.. it is a mediocre film! And really, not quite worth the buck if you ask me...

Movie Review: Black Swan

2011-03-06T12:29:00.005+08:00

Date: 5 March 2011
Time: 11:50pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: JoC
Rating: 4 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
"Black Swan" follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition.

When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well.

Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Review:
Well, it was only a matter of time and you probably knew a review on some Oscar/Academy Award film was gonna make an apearance... Anyhow, it was an impromptu decision my JoC and I to watch the movie as we were attending a mutual friend's wedding. And to be expected, we were really not in the "frame" of mind to watch the movie.

So, the movie left me traumatized. Seriously, I was quite spooked by the movie, in the same way I get spooked by the "the prestige". I am horrified when the obsession with a certain something, be it ballet in this movie, or magic in the other, ends up consuming the sanity and humanity of the person.

Soo... that and many "shock factor" moments, you know... the kind where things sorta jump out at you, or limbs get chopped off... I am a person with an extremely vivid imagination (so is JoC as well), and I think we were the only two idiots who were gasping in horror and cringing in pain at certain moments. And at the end, feeling depressed at the sordid depths that a person's mind can sink to...

But at least, this movie as a clear theme. The downward spiral of an emotionally weak person, when thrust into a position with shoes too big to fill (Happens in real life too! Just look at all these emotional wrecked bosses with phobias about putting a foot wrong and being caught out) and who seeks out perfection...

Somehow, my takeaway from the movie is that sometimes, as a parent, you should not overly shelter your children, over-protective parenting results in overly-sheltered kids. I mean the character that Portman plays, is strong physically... god knows you have to be strong to be a ballet dancer... but she is weak emotionally. Her emotional anchor point lies with her mom who at the same time, is such a strong parent that as a lady with weaker character (the compliant child syndrome for any of you who have been exposed to the Transactional Analysis Framework)... the one who always gives in and says sorry, that it is an unbalanced relationship. The person with the weaker character ends up repressed and a passive aggressive. Which is why, when the "inner demons" are unleashed, her very sanity is threatened... to a certain extent, you can take it as a emotion overload and her Operating System crashed.

But you know what.. it warrants a 4 star from me as it is a movie that sucks you in.. leaving you wondering between what is real, and what is not. It is meant to be thought provoking for sure, but at the same time, it is rather slow... soo.. I had to minus a star for that. (Hey sue me cuz I am a action flick chick haha)...

Ok.. truth is.. there are many more theories / ideas that popped into my head.. but they were too many to list and I have to shower to go off and run some errands... HAHAHA... soo... watch this movie if you liked "The Prestige"... I label them as one and the same.

Game Review: The Smurfs' Village

2011-02-26T20:54:00.007+08:00

Game: The Smurfs' Village

Platform: iPhone 4

Started Playing: Februrary 2011

Current Level: 29

Synopsis:

Based on the original cartoon and comic art, players begin the game under the guidance of Papa Smurf, with only a single mushroom house and a lone plowed plot of land. From there, things quickly progress, allowing players to build specialized houses, elaborate gardens with colorful crops, bridges to span running rivers, trodden paths, and more.

Review:
Soo... upon special request, am writing a review for The Smurfs' Village. :) It is a pretty engaging game and it's a mixture of several types of possible game play on the iPhone.

(A) The standard farm and harvest format

It has the standard harvest and earn XP (experience points) and $$.

They limit the plot of lands you can have by the number of smurfs you have in the village to farm the land.

No. of smurfs you can get is limited by the amount of housing you can get, which is limited by the level you are at.

(B) iPhone's motion sensor detector type of game

There are additional mini game within this farm and harvest game which allows you to earn extra XP and $$.

These games are really more meant for kids, but my take is that it is also somewhat limited by the type of play that you can get out of the iPhone - e.g. reaction, timing, shaking the iphone (to mix potions) and what not.

(C) Storyline Based

The addition would be that they have tied a storyline to this, so it's not just a "farm, harvest and play mini games" game, instead, they have papa smurf sending you on selected missions, all of which of course, earn you extra XP.

Quite entertaining and the graphics are pretty good... I am just entertaining myself as I like games which I only need to check on once in a while, as opposed to the "Angry Birds" which requires me to staring at the screen and playing at the same time.

I play all types of games of course, including "Angry Birds" and "Bejeweled 2", but those are in a different category as they are what you would call puzzle games. :) Nvm... anyway, Smurfs' Village is not bad a game, just remember not to waste your berries, they're very precious and should be used to buy unique houses, that allows you to earn more XP and level up faster (instead of wasting it to build houses/for the plot of land to harvest at a faster pace). :)

The new Q - SQ

2011-02-20T22:18:00.003+08:00

Wait.. before you start wondering, I am referring to Social Quotient, not Singapore Airlines :)

So here's my theory, and remember, you heard it here first on Grouseland!

When it first started, there was IQ - a measure of a person's intelligence, and obviously, what people found out were that the really smartass people in the world, had IQ levels that were off the charts. :) Jolly well and good for these smartass... except people started to realize, hey, for all that they have high IQ, e.g. they can understand the blackhole, and all that crap, these people seemed to be emotionally challenge.

Therefore, EQ was born! Emotional Quotient, the ability to identify with people and to display empathy, and connect with people. So that's why people who are successful in business, etc, are not necessarily high in IQ, but were necessarily high in EQ.

Jolly well and good. And there another smarty pants decided, hey, you know what's really important? It is Adversity Quotient. The ability to never say die regardless of circumstances, and that's how they achieve success. So these people, are the top founders/CEOs, the people who will, regardless of the odds stacked against them, succeed.

Genesis of the 4th quotient:

And during one of those tests that we did as a department, can't recall the test, but it involves you being more or less of selected bird types - Eagle, Owl, Peacock and Dove. Now, I am in the line of customer service and training, and my boss, rightly so, is the customer's advocate, managing both complaints that come in, as well as processes or projects that drive improvements for the customer.

Okay. Then we realized, she had almost 100% Eagle (meaning she is extremely result focused and oriented)... and her two tiny birds were Owl and Peacock and NO DOVE. It was actually in line with what we know of her, as a person with relatively low empathy, the type who would tell you that you have been taking too many MCs (medical leave for readers not from my country), instead of being concerned that you have been ill for such a long period of time.

And so, after the results were released, to a certain extent, she was disturbed by the results. You should have some basic level of nurturing and love to help or care for others (dove's traits) if you are in the service line. Youl almost have to have some, else, why the hell are you in the business of trying to help people? Anyway, subsequently she went around announcing that she has thought about it, and she deems herself to have very high EQ, regardless of the result of this test.

Now... moving on back to why I started this long story... I was obviously, extremely pissed off just a couple of days ago as having been ill for about 4 months (it's a bloody tough flu virus I am telling you! I have never been sick for such a long period of time. NEVER!)... I had an MC for the day, and I had still reported for work, as I had a meeting that I was committed to attending, and a couple of work items that I wanted to get off my plate before the weekend. So at about 4+pm, after clearing most of the work items, and the meeting was over and done with, I passed my medical Cert to the dept secretary, and walked over to the boss's desk to inform her that, actually, I was on medical leave for the day, and will be going off shortly - BAM! I got slapped with a - "you have been taking a lot of medical leave recently"... DAMMIT! Anyway, it was my 2nd day of medical leave for the year, so if you are counting, that averages out to once per month (since it's only February now)...

So I started thinking, how can this lady claim to have EQ, when she doesn't even have basic human empathy? I am rather obiously ill, I had already been at work 3/4 of the day, despite being deemed ill enough by a doctor who has granted me leave, and still you want to get on my case about constantly being on medical leave (a false accusation at that)?

And I was thinking, well, you cannot deem her to have low EQ, since she is extremely sociable, gregarious, and witty. She definitely has high IQ, and AQ... but I am adamant, that her EQ is LOW. Nobody with high EQ would tell her staff off for being sick. How does one stop being sick? Who would want to be sick? That was the most ridiculous thing! (amongst many others, but of course, you wouldn't want me to flood the entry even more with complaints.)...

So, on the trip back home (after working the full day I have to add), I realised, there should be a new quotient - Social Quotient. She is good at socializing, she can outdrink most people, joke and laugh. But she has low EQ. She doesn't want to, and is unable to understand what goes through other people's mind. She is unable to display empathy, and when she tries to be concerned, you know she is not sincere, and she is doing what she thinks needs to be done, to drive up her employee engagement score. Every single action, has a motive, and it is not borne out of high EQ, and that she understands or empathises, or wants to understand any of the people around her. Mind you, I am not just referring to the staff reporting to her.

She is not sincere to all around her (probably other than her family), and if trying to understand a person's needs or feelings is a sign of high EQ, then she has none. But she is socially competent (not some weirdo outcast), so... I hereby introduce you the 4th quotient - Social Quotient.

Social Quotient - A measure of how well a person interacts and communicates with others in a social environment. (TM GROUCH)

So whoever smartier pants who is reading this and is planning to do research and earn tons with the new quotient - remember, you read it here first, and royalties/licensing would be most appreciated!!

Movie Review: Shaolin

2011-02-20T21:33:00.004+08:00

Date: 2 February 2011
Time: 11:00pm
Location: GV Marina
Kaki: Family
Rating: 4.5 stars
Language: Chinese

Synopsis:
China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin's masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan of rescue and escape.

Review:
It's been a long time since I raved about a Chinese movie, and people... this is it. =) This is a good Chinese Martial Arts Flick... and surprise surprise, it doesn't have Jet Li or Donnie Yen inside! :) Instead, we have good ol' Andy Lau. Well, and bit parts for Jackie Chan. I will get to that later.

It is a good movie because:

The fact of "kill or be killed" is something that we all face, so how do you break the pattern that we are all so immersed in?
For once, I feel that buddhism is not misconstrued.. well, largely anyway. A lot of times, a lot of romanticsm is added into shows with Buddhism. For one, Buddhism is a way of life, and it is less to do with (A) Super powers, (B) Karma Sutra, and (C) Immediately grants you peace. Enough griping... :P Moving on..
The action sequence was very good. The use of real shaolin monks and of course, the various key roles were by people with some martial arts background, so the fights were v good, and I really really appreciate them. I would watch the movie again if I had the time. I am convinced that on the many movie channels that I have on cable, I will definitely get to watch it again. Now it's whether I wanna get the DVD, so I can watch it anytime. (Yes, I like it that much)
Andy Lau acted very well. I think he should get a freaking Golden Horse Award for this man!
Nicholes Tse was not bad...
A touching movie... even if a trite overdone in the destruction of shaolin temple at the finale.
Oh.. and I have to add, I think whoever did the costuming and cinematography ought to get some award of sorts as well. Some scenes are just too poignant, and till now, I still remember the scene where Andy Lau is shadow practicising martial arts moves with this young monk. That scene, I thought... was perfect.

Why is it not 5-star? The 0.5 stars was deducted due to the following:

Fan Bing Bing, or Bai Bing Bing (either one, I keep mixing them up) is ALWAYS in the role of the long suffering wife. so *yawn yawn*, boring! She is also the long suffering wife from Ip Man in case you're wondering. (Post Edit - Error Admission! The wife of Ip Man is not Fan Bing Bing but Xiong Dai Ling :P)
Jackie Chan. I never thought I would say this, but to a certain extent, I think he is getting a little over indulgent. I am a huge fan, and will always be a fan of his. But really, the weird dialects (just cuz you can do it, doesn't mean you need to do it at every show, and especially if the value add is zilch?), and the funny action sequence. This show, to a certain extent, is serious. The theme and topic they are dealing with, is also serious. Some light hearted moments are fine, but the "slapstick fighting in your face" is actually at odds with the entire show, and results in a little bit of a "misfit" in the overall scheme of things. However, I know, he's the "dai gor", and he is to be respected. So.. k la... but it did spoil the movie a little bit.

All in all, go watch the movie if you can, or rent the DVD. =) I would rewatch it anytime!

Movie Review: Season of the Witch

2011-01-30T21:40:00.004+08:00

Date: 22 January 2011
Time: 7:50pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: English

Synopsis:
A 14th century Crusader returns with his comrade to a homeland devastated by the Black Plague. A beleaguered church, identifying sorcery as the culprit of the plague, commands the two knights to transport an accused witch to a remote abbey, where monks will perform a ritual in hopes of ending the pestilence. A priest, a grieving knight, an itinerant swindler and a headstrong youth who can only dream of becoming a knight join a mission troubled by mythically hostile wilderness and fierce contention over the fate of the girl.

Review:
A beleaguered movie. It got a 3.5-star cuz, it's not a bad movie, it's well filmed and generally, you can still trust in Nicholas Cage's acting skills, even if the hang-dog look is one that is tried and tested.

So, throughout the movie, nice as it may be, I finally managed to put my finger on what's really wrong with it. Other than Cage's role, the rest of the supporting cast came without any of the flashback/information that lends them more character or depth. So it's like, the whole movie is supposed to be one of those epic movies, where a group of very different people come together, with their different emotional baggage, that through the journey, they learn to trust each other, or they learn more about each other, but it just sorts of drifted around so, the "guide" came without any background, and died without any reason... and the BFF that is around, but doesn't seem to have much role to play, except to be the ugly sidekick.. weirdest.

Also, methinks the problem came cuz they focused too much at the start of the movie, which was on the crusades.. probably cuz they spent too much money filming (cuz of the multiplr war scened and all), and sorta felt that it had to be included in the movie.

See.. if you want to focus on the crusades, and the cruelty or the religious theme, then stick to it. Instead, they chose to dwell too long on it, only for it to not be very relevant to the rest of the movie, which was about the journey to bring the witch to trial. Maybe it's a man-thing... but really, if you want the movie to be on witch-hunting, then be focused. Don't bring in the crusades, cuz it really doesn't do anything to progress the plot. If you want to do crusades, then just do a crusades movie!

Anyway, the twist towards the end of the show when the witch is revealed for what she is (nah, I am not going to spoil it for you) is quite a nice one. So.. I would say, maybe not that great as in the movie meanders a little too much, but worth it for a DVD rental, or stay home movie when it comes on cable as the entertainment value is still there. This is the kind of movie that as a Singaporean, I would say, "Not bad lah, not great, but not bad"... Now the next movie that I am eagerly looking forward to in anticipation - Shaolin... *shadow punch and kicks* bring it on!

Game Review: Bakery Story

2011-01-27T20:08:00.007+08:00

Game: Bakery Story
Platform: iPhone 4
Started Playing: December 2010
Current Level: 57
Synopsis:
Design your own dream bakery to show off to your friends. Don't forget to make sure your customers are happy and well-fed by choosing stunning decoration and tasty new pastries! New content will be released EVERY WEEK so the game continually gets even better!

Review:

Funnest! And for some reason, this is just that little bit more popular than Restaurant Story... I wonder why? Am playing both, so am just reviewing the first one...

Well, hmm.... it's even stupider than Zombie Farm if that's possible. The purpose is even more meaningless, I have to keep cooking to satisfy my customers, and then I earn money, and experience points. As I move up the different Chef's level, I earn gems which I can use to purchase "nicer furniture" to beautify my bakery. Of course, the money I earn can also purchase furniture, just not the really nice ones. :P

So... stupid yes, addictive, also yes. :)

Post Edit: And for those who wanna add me: Storm8 ID: leewaythegreat

Game Review: Zombie Farm

2011-01-22T11:39:00.009+08:00

Game: Zombie Farm

Platform: iPhone 4

Started Playing: December 2010

Current Level: 28 (as at 20Feb2011)

Synopsis:

Farm on the go! with Zombie Farm for iPhone.

Zombie farm is a unique farming game where you can relax while you plant seeds or plant zombies or both! Pick up your plow and enjoy the undead countryside!

Review:

Zombie Farm has been pretty entertaining thus far for me. Essentially, I farm both zombies, which are necessary when I attack enemies and crops that I can sell for money. The trick is not to use your "hearts" cheaply. Hearts are earned after you have attacked the various enemies. Enemies are virtual (aka, not some unknown player/friend you know) and you will earn certain items (e.g. instant harvest / instant plot / hearts / extra money)

So I am constantly on the rampage, attacking my enemies as soon as my zombies are hungry enough. The hungrier the zombies, the less prone they are to distraction, the smoother and faster the attacks, which leads to higher chances of success.

The important thing is also that you have to constantly invest in zombie mutations, so as to guarantee success for each invasion.

So, is it a very meaningful game? Nah... has it been entertaining thus far, quite. I started playing about late December, so I would imagine, it has been about a month or so... let's see how long this will last.

Post Edit (20Feb2011): My BootiFool Zombie Farm... added images (top two)... Bwahahaha... beat this! I wonder if there's a most beautiful Zombie Farm competition?

Movie Review: The Fourth Portrait 第四張畫

2011-01-14T23:31:00.004+08:00

Date: 18 December 2010
Time: 12:30pm
Location: GV Europa
Kaki: YT
Rating: 3 stars
Language: Chinese

Synopsis:
Ten year-old Xiang faces a lonely future after his father dies. Just when he thinks he's going to spend his life in the orphanage, his estranged mother shows up. And his life changes forever... A loveless mother, a hateful stepfather, a chilly home. Where's Xiang heading to? He finds comfort in drawing and his work reveals his longing for care and affection. Life is full of hope again when he meets the old school janitor who doesn't show his kindness easily and a portly man who has crazy ideas and is haunted with nightmares of his brother. A scary truth is about to be unmasked. Will Xiang be able to depict his own image in the fourth portrait?

Review:
The whole movie is a rather lackadisical movie, self indulgent in the filming (not that it's not nice, it's just indulgent), with the director seemingly more concerned with showing off his skills in filmography, then he is in telling a story. Of course, this is the perogative of an art film and maybe he will even win some awards, since it was fairly well filmed. However, I just get the sense that the movie is trying too hard, and I am not as drawn into the life or story of the "Xiang", as I am staring at the movie as a product in itself and musing to myself throughout the movie, "I wonder if this is what it takes for the director to be a success at the Golden Horse Awards, or Cannes, or Sundance or something.

In any case, even though I had placed the movie synopsis up, it's actually all wrong. :P But I lifted it off the GV website (which ironically, would have misled me, since I watched the movie at GV)... Something along this line would have been more apt:

Ten year-old Xiang faces a lonely future after his father dies. Just when he thinks he's going to spend his life in the orphanage, he meets the old school janitor, a man who despite his gruff exterior, is the only person who cares for Xiang.

That is, until his estranged mother shows up. He is forced to join and intrude into a new family as a stranger - A mother who doesn't love him, a stepfather who resents him and a new stepbrother.

Where's Xiang heading to and where is his real home? Drawing portrait after portrait as his life moves on, his artworks becomes an open book, revealing his grief, his longing for love and for the need to belong.

To add to his troubles, his efforts to settle into his new life is impeded by nightmares of his missing brother. Are his dreams a manifestation of his need to find love, or is his brother trying to tell him something?

With a new found friend, Xiang attempts to find out the truth behind his dreams... Will Xiang be able to depict his own image in the fourth portrait when he finds out the truth, or will the truth kill him?

My favourite time of the year is coming...

2011-01-14T22:17:00.004+08:00

My favourite time of the year is coming... Gong Xi Fa Cai people! :) Ok ok, admittedly, Chinese New Year is still sometime away, but this year, I am full of hope that a brand new life awaits me in this new year. :) Technically, despite it already being the new year, the year doesn't quite start for me until the Chinese New Year.

Surprisingly, since I am not a particularly traditional person, to hold such Chinese beliefs... :) Anyhow, for some reason, I feel the need to buy new clothes, try to gear up to look good over the 2-3 days of celebration, to slim down (dammit! slim down!!) and of course, to try and maintain my skin condition, so that it is as rash-free as I can get it to be. Tough, since I am starting to binge a little on the CNY goodies.

No movie reviews of late, since I haven't been watching many. Oh, come to think of it, I did. I watched "The Fourth Portrait"... ah well.. belated post coming up.

So what's good to watch these days? I am bored.

Mandatory New Year Blog

2011-01-01T13:03:00.004+08:00

And so, rather obviously this photo is not taken by me, but it does seem to exemplify what New Year stands for... somehow, New Year's Day is always associated with Fireworks. And the fact is, in my entire life, I have only ever seen fireworks up close and personal ONCE. But I have to admit it's really beautiful, ridiculously expensive of course, but very beautiful.

What I am not, is someone who tries to take photos. So even though I have been eyeing the Canon S90/S95, I know that I will not buy one. Mostly, because I am too lazy to lug around a camera most times, and to a lesser extent, I think the peripheral type of products I have, like a camera phone / video phone actually serves my purposes quite well. Discounting work of course.

Anyway... back to New Year and the purpose of this blog... what are your new year resolutions for this year? Mine from last year, due to an exercise held by my sister, had four categories:
1. Financial
2. Physical
3. Emotional;
4. Mental

Financial was to attain "x" amount of savings, did not achieve that.. maybe I hit the 3/4 mark, but eventually invested it all (to me, it's still counted as savings, since it's a stable investment and I cannot spend the money anymore). So I guess though I fell short, I did sorta achieve that. Oh, and to donate "x" amount to charities, which I exceeded, which is good :)

Physical was to achieve a body weight of "x", and I am about 6 kg off the mark by end 2011. The good thing is, after losing about 7/8 kg since end 2009, I have managed to maintain this weight loss. But I did not succeed in losing the 6 kg required for me to be in the healthy weight range to achieve my target of "x" in 2010. Of course, what is "in" is for me to be underweight, but hey, let's take things easy and go for healthy huh! The resolution also included a 2 x gym class per week (still more or less on track), 2 x swim per month (failed), 1 x trek per month (well, I sorta do a jog once every two weeks, so I shall count this as a success)... Anyway, morale of the story, the 6 kg shall have to come from 2011... And, I am very inspired by Asia's Biggest Loser.

Emotional was to plan for a short family trip - did one with my mom and one with my dad. So the list is checked. It also included 2 x outdoor trips with Sapphi (my darling dog shown in my profile photo in case you're wondering), which I did not succeed in doing.. I am sorry Sapphi.

Mental was to read at least 4 self improvement books, I read two/three (depending on how loosely you categorise self improvement), so target not met (but hey, I read a LOT of fantasy lol, does that count as anything?) Oh, and to pay respects to Buddha each morning before I leave the house, have to admit I failed in that too...

So... some targets met, some not. Generally, there were improvements, since not deteriorating into something worse is also a bonus (e.g. gaining more weight, or becoming more inefficient, or becoming more evil)... Religion seems to be my weakest link thus far.. mebbe it will improve with age?

This year... I will have to ponder... what would you include in your 2011 resolution?

Post on 57

2010-12-16T22:17:00.004+08:00

五十七

Why is it that blogger the web version never seems to load properly on mobile phones? It doesn't even seem to load properly on the almighty iPhone.... Very very weird

Anyway, so here I am, sitting atop bus 57, testing out the route as well as the traffic conditions, this is turning out to be a rather disturbing route... Thru CBD, city hall and bugis... It's just crying out for a jam during morning and evening peak hours... Sad, this almost means I will be taking the train, which while packed, is at least free from jams.

There is also this small problem that I have with shitty and jerky bus drivers. Esp like the one I am on... Jamming on the brakes seem to be his fave past time.. Irritating and puke inducing...

Yup, at thIs odd hour, due to ever present roadworks, we have a jam moving into beach rd..or isit rochor?? This feasibilty test is dying a natural death. Train it will have to be...

Lastly, STOP STEPPING ON THE BRAKES, JERK!!

Visit to An Orphanage

2010-12-14T23:11:00.003+08:00

As a lot of you would probably know, since it's all over my FB page, this Sunday past, I visited an Orphanage in Batam to celebrate Xmas with the folks. Photos are available in FB... and I had uploaded some of the videos into youtube:

Whaddya Think?

2010-12-13T00:14:00.009+08:00

Thinking about starting some dialogue / review on the many Fantasy Novels I read... do you think such an endeavour would be:

(A) Interesting
(B) Hazardous (to my health and your eyes)
(C) Whatever lah! (Since most of the stuff I write and review is pretty crap anyway)
(D) All of the above (of which I would take it that you dun care about the type of crap I spew :P)

Post Edit (13Dec): This is disgusting.. not even a single vote.. hokay.. means I will just do my own thing! :P

Movie Review: Rapunzel A Tangled Tale

2010-12-12T23:39:00.004+08:00

Date: 10 December 2010

Time: 11:30pm

Location: GV Vivo

Kaki: MLSA

Rating: 3.5 stars

Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:

When the kingdom's most wanted-and most charming-bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) hides out in a mysterious tower, he's taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn's curious captor, who's looking for her ticket out of the tower where she's been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs.

Review:

Well, movie would have gotten a 4 star rating from me cuz, it's been a while since I have enjoyed a 2D Fairy Tale flick that didn't try too hard. It was funny (they followed Shrek's Formula and it was romantic (they followed all their previous movies, such as Little Mermaid, etc). Well, sorta like a romantic comedy for kids.

But one thing that was missing from this whole movie.. was magic, hence the 3.5 points. If you know me, and I would assume most who read this blog know me.. I am very into magic and fantasy, knights and warriors, magicians and wizards. So... the hag didn't really know magic and would go around kniving people to get what she wants. That is rather, un-Disney. I wonder why they decided on this route.

Having said that, it was a very very funny and very relaxing movie. A feel-good sorta movie. I think it's better than Shrek 3, though not neccessarily Shrek 1 & 2. It is nice to relieve some of Disney's cartoon and to just be simple minded (seriously, who falls in love in 3 days)... and to just enjoy some of the childhood innocence of believing that someone will come along, sweep you off your feet, resolve all your problems and you get to live Happily Ever After. *insert sigh, cue music*

Is there such a thing as too much rest?

2010-11-23T16:09:00.008+08:00

Is there such a thing as too much rest? Let's analyse this a little further:

18Nov Thu: By lunch, I felt a very bad flu descending upon me. Throat was irritable, headache, bodyache, sneezes, sinus-ish... despite my best efforts, I could not get someone to help with this training program on Friday. So I knew, there's no way I can take medical leave for Friday morning at least. Night was terrible, as for some reason, I resisted eating any medication, thinking I wannt "sleep away the bug"... after the 3rd/4th time waking up in the middle of the night/morning due to my throat being extremely painful/body ache being so bad... I had two Panadol Extra (silly me, should have had it). I got about 2 hours of un-interrupted rest.

19Nov Fri: Went to work really early... finished my segment by 10am.. in a rather nasal, hoarse and terrible sounding voice (hope I didn't spread my bug to the poor participants)... by then, feeling feverish again. Gave up on the 1030am meeting I was hoping to attend and went to see the doc. Got one-day MC. Went home and konked out. Slept the whole afternoon, barely swallowed my porridge dinner. It's very tough to swallow when the throat is in pain. Watched a bit of tele, felt exhausted and went back to bed.

20Nov Sat: Woke up, lazed around, still didn't want to go near my computer, seems like the bad posture I have in front of the com always makes my bodyaches worse, so despite the huge amount of time I have at home, I am still not going anywhere near it. Broke the monotony of being at home by walking out to buy fish sliced beehoon soup for dinner. Tadah! Exhausted me. hahaha. Slept most of the time again. And watched more tele (Asian Games are very good haha)

21Nov Sun: After a disgustingly huge amount of sleep, I am still exhausted. Slept, Tele, abit of computer... Managed to swallow some rice for dinner... would have preferred porridge by overruled by family (they are sick of porridge)...

22Nov Mon: Woke up still not feeling optimal... went for 2 morning meetings.. first of which started at 845... by lunch, I felt bad again. Went back to the doc.. got a different dose of medication, all stronger of course and two-days of MC. Came home and slept the whole afternoon again. In between, making a life-changing decision (not sure if it was good to decide while under so much medication, but still, I think my mind was already made up, it was just deciding that I will ponder no more on it).

23Nov Tue: Finally the throat pain subsides a little, swallowing still difficult, but not as tough, and I am good enough to be sitting in front of my PC for the better half of the morning, before taking another nap in bed. I even told my mom, I think can have rice tonight.

So, it's back to work tmr, no more MC... hahaha.. time to snap back to reality instead of hiding at home to rest... seems like an awful lot of rest... do you think it's possible to make up rest? Maybe I have been driving too hard these past few months, so the body's saying - GIVE IT UP! TAKE A REST!?

Whatever it is, I am so glad that after the false start on Sunday night (when I felt better), I seem to really be on the road to recover this time round. :) And my conclusion, there is no such thing as too much rest, especially since my body seems to really appreciate it. hiakz...

xx Nov Post Edit: This was a pointless blog.. cuz, I am still sick! Soon, it will be official, I have been sick for a week. ONE WEEK of being quite sick. I am back at work and running around, but it is draining a lot out of me, and I just feel on the verge of falling... if only the phlegm would clear, my ears would pop, my sinus would clear, and my cough would stop. If only my cough would stop... I hate nights. No rest for me...

xx Dec Post Post Edit: It was a sickness that was 3 weeks long... and am finally in the process of recovery... well, at least I am in time to allow for Xmas Gluttony.. :D

12 Dec Post Post Post Edit: from the date I was down with the flu... 18 Nov... till today, I am officially on my third round of antibiotics... 7 days of MC in total... and many sleepless night.. I am praying darn hard that I will recover very soon..

Sicko...

2010-11-21T10:46:00.003+08:00

I wish I am not sick. I hate being sick and it seems, I am delusional about being sick.
My mom recalls that I have been frequently sick this year. My memory, this seems to be the first time I am sick this year.

Yup, the conclusion is, I am very good at chucking away anything unhappy. Cuz... I really hate being sick. The fever, the aches, the painful throat, lots of phlegm, the lethargy, the inability to cope with crowds, cannot be cold, cannot be hot... being sick is a damn troublesome thing.

I am glad to announce however, the worst seems to have blown over. The fever seems to have gone down for good, the throat is just a sore ache, but not accute. I could swallow my breakfast quite well this morning... No reason to go on MC tmr then. hahaha...

Which is good, since I am quite busy. :P Ah well.. enough of whining... c'mon... the holiday month is almost upon us... let the good times begin! :)

Movie Review: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1

2010-11-20T10:11:00.002+08:00

Date: 17 November 2010
Time: 16:00
Location: GV Tiong Bahru
Kaki: DTCH & Wife and MLSA
Rating: 3.5 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, is a much-anticipated motion picture event to be told in two full-length parts.

Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort's immortality and destruction--the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart.

Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort's Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort...alive. Harry's only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale--the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks. Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became the Boy Who Lived.

No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.

Review:
Well, truth be told, I was hedging from this movie, as the previous movies have been rather disappointing. The book is much better. I have always felt that they truncated too much and lost much of what was good about the book.

So when I heard that the last book was going to be made in two parts, my first reaction was disgust. Disgust that they are at their wits end on how to earn more money out of this hugely successful franchise and that they would resort to having the last book in two parts, so they can earn double the tickets... and frankly, I am sure this hypothsis remains true.

Having said that, the fact that it was in two parts gave them a lot more leverage in the movie and you don't have to jump quite as abruptly or to drop bits of the book. So surprisingly, the movie turned out alright. I actually think this is the best movie adaptation for the HP series.

But warning, the movie is long, at 2 hours 25 mins... so make sure you go to the toilet first! :) And yes, the general consensus is, only Emma Watson grew up alright.. the other two boys are... hmm... let's give them a bit more time to grow up. :D

Movie Review: The Social Network

2010-11-07T19:01:00.002+08:00

Date: 6 November 2010
Time: 12:10
Location: Cathay Cineleisure
Kaki: YD
Rating: 4 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications. From director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin comes The Social Network, a film that proves you don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Cean Chaffin and based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich.

Review:
Well, first off... trying to differentiate fiction from the truth. It's tough, so I googled it... *naturally*... and tadah... http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2010/10/4/the-truth-about-social-network-fact-vs-fiction.html

It did answer some of the burning questions I had... assuming the source is correct that is.. Soo... it is a good movie... sufficiently fast paced, with extremely witty dialogues and leaves you wondering what the F*** you are doing with your life when you should be doing your thing and discovering the next big "thing"... Yeah right...

Anyway... the story was covulated but they spoilt it a little at the end, as the approach was partial fact, partial fiction. It is like a documentary that does not respect fiction and fiction that does not respect documentary. It is like those sports drama that are based on "true" stories, they add vinegar, pepper, non-existent characters, and a dash a truth.

So, the only grouse I have with this was, I didn't know what to believe. Even the link above just proves that there is no judgement to be made, it is fiction, fiction earning from the "talk of the town"... it's the same as the latest tabloid earning due to the scandal (fabricated or otherwise) of Lindsey Lohan or something.

Watch with a pinch of salt and assume everything false (other than some milestones dates, which are published on the FB website anyway and finally! I can confirm as facts).. still... good acting and very very good script writing.

Movie Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

2010-11-07T18:48:00.002+08:00

Date: 5 November 2010
Time: 9:20
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 3 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggies, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of GaHoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggies.

Review:
When I came out, my first thought was. this is definitely an Australian production and a quick Wiki confirmed it. Cuz of the amount of Australian accents for the VOs...

A boring film this was... in 2D, I would imagine, maybe it would be slightly better in 3D, am not going to pay to find out. As an animation, it's not bad (standard of animation that is). As a story, it sucks. Wonder why, since it's past on a 3 part book, and this was but the first, meaning, it really should have more depth...

So.. I wouldn't really reccommend it, unless you are into owls, or if you are into watching a cartoon that just falls short of saying "crikey" every 3 seconds. Definitely, an over-rated cartoon. Don't waste your last dollar on it.

the business of unpacking and packing

2010-10-10T23:29:00.006+08:00

you know... I have only just finished packing my suitcase... for the upcoming work trip.. that is after touching down at about 1pm... makan at suntec with family... followed by a jaunt to Carrefour... then home, shower, unpack from Cambodia... then off to my foot reflexologist... I wanna start the journey as fresh as I can... (had a bad massage in Cambodia, cuz I "suay", the rest of the girls got along fine)... so I gotta straighten out the kinks.

Then, I realized I left my black business pumps in office... yes, I only have ONE pair of black shoes :P ... so I had to run over to office to get it, and what do you know.. I ended up checking answering emails.. so that's another 2 hours of work... then I got back for my porridge dinner at 930... watched a bit of "painted skin"... half continued to unpack, to keep the items that are still all over the place, and the other half is to pack for business...

business is a troublesome thing... I have to bring along laptop... tokens, chargers... and then I need to consider the fact that I need work wear (cannot repeat/make it too obvious)... then I need gym wear, sleeping wear, and also, casual dinner wear... and if there is time for a spot of shopping (I seriously doubt it)... and... a helluva lot of work in emails... which I provided interim answers to... but didn't have the chance to seriously sit down and work... one week worth of backlog email... it ain't funny. Almost makes me wish I have a BB... so that I can answer them on the fly, so that the backlog doesn't build. But of course, this thought is very unhealthy... and I should banish it.

I am exhausted and I have to climb up at 530am tmr morning to make the 8am flight... gotta arrive about 645am... zzz... I am seriously lacking in sleep these days...

Focus

2010-09-29T23:28:00.003+08:00

FOCUS...

Do you know what you want out of life? Do you really?
Do you know what you want to achieve out of your job?
Do you know what you want to achieve in your personal life?
Do you know what makes you happy?
Do you know what makes you sad?
Do you know what makes you angry?

I don't quite know what I want out of life.
I know I want to be financially comfortable
I always to be in the company of my family and good friends, and to be healthy - if you can count them as achievements
Ditto the above...
I don't know... I am sad when I am unhappy
Not knowing what I want and being coerced into doing things makes me angry I guess... but how does that count if I didn't know what I want, then get angry when something I don't want comes my way?

This focus exercise is getting me nowhere.

Mess of a Life

2010-09-23T21:34:00.005+08:00

bee zee... I am running around like a mad dog at work these days. Amazingly enough, through a series of bad planning... well, not really bad planning.. just really bad timing.

I bought tickets to Cambodia sometime back (hey, it was heavily discounted!)... and it now clashes with quite a few meetings.. making life very tough as I have to reschedule. And if you are wondering why I would be scheduling meetings when I know I am going overseas, well, it's more a matter of this dear collleague of mine resigning and me taking over her work. Resulting in me inheriting her meetings.

Work trip (also compliments of colleague) fell into my lap. I will be headed to Shanghai the very next day when I get back from Cambodia

Finally, having stupidly signed up for ACTA, it has now eaten up most of my weekends (both Sat & Sun) all the way till November. This includes the Sat and Sun after I return from Shanghai (and I had to reschedule one module as it had clashed with my Cambodia trip)

And... we decided to take my dad to Thailand and we have booked for the dates 12-15Nov as it's his 60th birthday. Without realizing that... I have got ACTA class over the same weekend.

Now I need to reschedule the module as it clashes with my BKK trip. Argh... unbelievable.

Also, there's this external organization visiting us... and the BKK trip clashes with that. No worries *deep breath*, I believe I can get another colleague to cover that

Work is so busy, and I had to compound it by taking up this bloody course and making myself all tired and cranky... Grrrrr.... self inflicted I know. But hey, just a month ago, I was soo bored I was tweedling my thumbs.. which was why I decided to so something useful with my life. DIdn't expect it to backfire so badly on me. Grrrr.... x2

Now... there is also this delicate matter of me being on the lookout for another job. And so... this had added to the complications in my life. Cuz, not only am I focused on my work and studies, now I have to lend some thinking time to what I want to do with my life.

Ex-boss has asked if I wanna join her organization. This is not firm as they do not have the headcount for sure yet... so it's more of them having grand plans, and they think I fit in. Or I hope I fit in. Sooo... now I am asking if they are okay to wait till April next year? Since they do not practice sign-on bonus and I was sorta hoping to be able to get me bonus (I have worked hard for it). There is also the delicate matter of their fiscal year being from April-Mar.. meaning, me joining in Dec would result in me not being eligible for any bonus from this new org (most require at least 6 months in the org), so in chinese it would be called 赔了夫人又折兵.... At the same time, it seems rather unfair to expect them to wait for me for 7 months... well 8 if you include my notice period. This is such a dilemma... but at least I would have the same boss right??

At the same time, while I was mulling over Option 1, along comes another company who gives me a call, asking if I would be interested in joining their organization. While I was on the verge of rejecting it, my colleagues asked me to give it a shot. Saying it's a pretty good org, MNC some more. So okay lah... I submitted my CV. Now... it's been 4 days.. no sound no picture. Call me impatient... but bloody hell, you were the one who called me to ask for my resume... you would think, if you are no longer interested, or if my experience isn't as relevant as you wanted, you would have the courtesy of at least emailing to thank me and do the "I regret to inform you... " talk? No? Nevermind lah... since no sound no picture, I shall continue mulling over Option 1... no difference in my life, other than another wounded pride moment.

About Paying Attention In Class

2010-09-19T10:16:00.002+08:00

This is downright weird and wrong.. the fact that I am in class, trying to learn how to be a good trainer, and yet, I am not engaged. (sidenote: the 'enter' does not work on my phone in this blog = this sucks, so it will be a double space between paragraphs) anyway, just pretended to ask a question... so i sound like i am listening... bwahahahaha!!

Of Movie Watching and randomness...

2010-09-11T11:59:00.004+08:00

So... these past few weekends, I have been watching movies and feeling extremely random about my life... I have been thinking, actually, I watch helluva lot of TV, possibly too much come to think of it. Movies that I have watched on TV just over the past 2 weekends include:

Billy Elliot
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Kung Fu Hustle 功夫
Something's Gotta Give
Gorgeous 玻璃樽

I tried watching bits of the following, but gave up cuz they couldn't quite capture my attention...

Warriors of Heaven and Earth 天地英雄
Balto II Wolf Quest
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
Honey I Blew Up the Kid
Dragonball: Evolution

As you can see, as many hits as there are missess... and this is not including the other TV programs that I just sorta scan through... and the fact that the silly US Open, which I really want to watch, is at unearthly hours and I miss ALL of them! Arghh.. not a single live game have I watched, other than doubles of which I have absolutely no interest. Dammit!

Nvm, there's football again tonight! Yeah! :)

Why Study?

2010-09-06T22:31:00.004+08:00

I mean... seriously. In my bid to inject some life into my rather mundane and meaningless existence, I decided to go take up some courses. So... I took up the rather boliao ACTA (Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment) which is a WDA course.

What I heard was that there is the possiblity that it would become a mandatory training for all external trainers moving from now on. Soo... I just blew about 1K+ taking on the course.

Have been for the first two modules and really... really... nothing great lah. Sigh... well, I have a couple more modules to go... so I shall reserve judgement.. but it's really... I get the sense that it's going to be a waste of time. I keep comforting myself that the cert will be one that will come in useful.. but somehow... I doubt it. But now that I have paid for it, I obviously am not going to waste money and NOT go for it. So yah... sucks big time. Anyway.. the funny thing is, my organization is not too keen on this and I possibly can't get them to sponsor, which was why I paid out of my own pocket. I am still hitting myself over the head on this, cuz... ARGH!! Who pays for their own studies these days anyway? Well, not when you're working in a fairly reputable organization. One would expect that all studies would be funded by the organization cuz any improvement to your skills and abilities translates to improved productivity, knowledge and contribution to the job you are doing. ARGH... xin li bu ping heng.. and doesn't help that my sister is on my case of me wasting money on this course again.

ARGGGGGHHHHHH.... I SUPER REGRET... but I still gotta complete it..

Movie Review: Love Cuts 割爱

2010-09-04T20:24:00.003+08:00

Date: 3 September 2010
Time: 9:15
Location: GV Grand
Kaki: Skycloud
Rating: 3 stars
Language: Chinese (with some Cantonese)

Synopsis:
Forty-something Cecilia (Zoe Tay), better known as Sissy to her friends, is a cheery and vivacious seamstress. Diligent and keenly devoted to her art, Sissy has earned a respectable reputation in the trade for her superb craftsmanship and exquisite style. Her second-storey tailor shop Sissy's Seamstress at the Textile Centre is modest yet distinctly in a class of its own.

Sissy is recognized as an exceptionally talented seamstress, not only in her community but also garnering clients from far and wide. Moreover, Sissy's candid, affable and attentive disposition also makes her extremely well-liked and popular.Wai Mun (Kenny Ho), her husband of many years, is the captain of an acclaimed Chinese restaurant. Although somewhat discontented with life since his migration from Hong Kong to Singapore, he and Sissy are a loving couple and enjoy a blissful marriage. They have a 15-year-old son (Edwin Goh) and a nine-year-old daughter (Regene Lim) who has a very close relationship with Sissy and is a source of great cheer and comfort to her.

In a twist of fate, an unexpected occurrence befalls their seemingly mediocre and uneventful lives. One day, as Sissy feels a hard lump in her left breast. A gush of complex emotions overwhelms her...

Review:
Well, truth be told, I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of melodramas and if it wasn't because Skycloud asked me to go with her, I would probably have given the movie a miss. But I do owe her one for asking her to watch the expendables with me... sooo... I watched the movie.

It was pretty good, surprisingly. It was not great and probably would not win any awards, but it was a nice break away from the staple Jack Neo movies (and yes, I am boycotting whatever movies he will make henceforth, cuz I cannot tolerate the thought of adding to his coffers when he's such a bastard)...

The pacing was a little slow at the start and since the theme was on breast cancer, if you are not aware of it, you might as well just bang your head against the wall, since the message is glaringly obvious.... but the movie picked up and the family unit they formed was quite believable. Usual petulant teen, overworked husband, sacrificing mom (I think nobody can truly depict how great a mommy's love can be) and cute girl (just wait till puberty hits her I tell ya!)

It was a nice heartwarming local film, where even though the message of breast cancer was extremely strong, the acting by the cast (adding in of that hongkong actor was a great idea, since it did add a nice twist and a different touch to the movie) was not bad. Filming wasn't jarring or abrupt, and frankly for $7/$10 bucks, you could do a lot worse, just read my review on airbender. And at the end of the day, a rather good local production is definitely worth supporting and the movie while not as classy as 881, is definitely heads and shoulders above that old cow tender grass movie (disclaimer, did not watch it, just basing my opinion on adverts)

There were some cuckoo moments of course, like that model lady whose voice was dubbed rather terribly into this China sounding woman... *shudders*... and of course, the rather redundant scene of Allan Wu and this model posing nude was also one of my... "Hmm... actually, it wasn't critical to the storyline, I wonder what's the value add"

So... on a weekday afternoon or night, go watch it with your family lah.. it's not that bad... :) And.. a little bit of a tear jerker. Disclaimer again, a little for me, and a lot for Skycloud... sniffling for almost an hour! HAHAHAHAHA... :)

Movie Review: Step Up 3

2010-08-29T20:24:00.006+08:00

Date: 28 August 2010
Time: 3:20pm
Location: Cathay Cineleisure
Kaki: SyncopatedID
Rating: 3 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Luke is an orphaned street dancer, desperate to avoid getting evicted from his only home: a rundown New York warehouse thats a haven for young dancers from around the world. This de facto family has a dance crew, the House of Pirates. In order for the crew to survive, they must defeat their longtime rivals, the House of Samurai, at the upcoming World Jam Competition, where the best crews in the world compete for a huge cash prize. We follow Luke through the citys diverse underground dance scene, scouting new talent to help the Pirates win World Jam. At last, he finds the two dancers he needs: Natalie, a mysterious street dancer, and Moose, the comedic sidekick from the franchises second film, whos now a freshman at NYU.

Unbeknownst to Luke, Natalie has a secret that threatens to destroy their budding romance, and everything the Pirates have built. The Pirates put together a killer dance routine only to have it stolen by the Samurai. With time running out, Moose turns to his old MSA crew for help. Can the Pirates and the MSA crew pull together a new dance number at the last minute? And will it be good enough to beat the worlds best street dancers?

Review:
You know... the best part about any dance movies.. is how good they are.. how good they look.. and how good they dance.

Stories are the same right? There's a bad team (and usually, it just means they are morally deprived.. e.g. they cheat, they steal or they sabotage, standard stuff)... and there's the good team, who have given up everything in their lives to dance, or they practice v hard, etc. Hey, this is not a criticism.. that's the way this movie's made and the franchise has shown that this formular is highly successful. I mean, they are even in 3D!

Anyway... I love the dancing.. I wish I can dance. I think everyone who has watched these movies wish they can dance... and all of them have droolworthy bodies, I mean, it's a drool fest and I betcha... this is even better than any of the werewolves in Twilight...

And so happens, I was re-watching "this is it" on HBO just now.. and I realize... all the dancers in there have amazing bodies too. So.. all these while, I am doing it all wrong! I should be signing up for dance class!! Except, I have two left feet, maybe three right... and zero core muscles. I would probably pull my hamstring just trying one of the moves. But still.. I wish... ah well.. haha.. many people can wish for many things... doesn't matter. :) It's a movie, it has great dancing... cool moves, and great bodies. :) Watch if any of the three just stated is for you. If not, don't bother if the dance genre's not for you.

Movie Review: The Expendables

2010-08-29T20:10:00.002+08:00

Date: 27 August 2010
Time: 7:20pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: Skycloud
Rating: 3 stars
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
The only life they've known is war. The only loyalty they have is to each other. They are the Expendables: leader and mastermind Barney Ross (Stallone), former SAS blade expert Lee Christmas (Statham), hand-to-hand combat specialist Yin Yang (Li), long barrel weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Crews), demolitions expert Toll Road (Couture), and precision sniper Gunnar Jensen (Lundgren). Living life in the fringes of the law, these hardened mercenaries take on what appears to be a routine assignment: a covert, CIA-funded operation to infiltrate the South American country of Vilena and overthrow its ruthless dictator General Garza (David Zayas). But when their job is revealed to be a suicide mission, the men are faced with a deadly choice, one that might redeem their souls or destroy their brotherhood forever.

Review:
Well... I had fun. It was what it set out to be. A violent, back to basics fighting show. Lots of guns, lots of blood, lots of vehicle/plane/ crashes, for that matter, lots of explosions... (but no sex! seriously!)

Well... plot aside.. cuz one doesn't really talk plot, there's a bad guy that you have to take down (there's always one)... and cameos by many other famous action stars... it's a fun movie to watch. Skycloud didn't quite enjoy it, but in the first place.. she doesn't like violence. Hehehe.. paiseh! Next time I jio you for romantic comedies instead of action movies ah...

Stallone's makeup/foundation was a mite too heavy, resulting in a very white face vs tanned body. Everyone had deep creases in their faces and although I know the effect was for them to look very dirty... usually, in movies, they look dirty but good (but still good looking and we can see their chiseled cheekbones, etc), but maybe due to age?, they just look dirty. Hehehe.. but just for the good ol action, we had hand to hand combat.. we had the chase sequence, we had bombs, BIG bombs... a leading lady who wasn't too chio (but had a hot body and was wayy too young for Stallone), but in the name of them "getting back their souls", the whole thing did not even end with a kiss! I told you.. this is a "sex-less" movie :P

It will be fun to rewatch this on TV... but I wouldn't give it overly high ratings... :) But I miss all my action stars. I do... I mean, if "Masters of the Universe", "Rambo", "Huang Fei Hong" are in it... you can't miss it right? :)

Movie Review: The Last Airbender

2010-08-29T19:54:00.002+08:00

Date: 21 August 2010
Time: 11:40pm
Location: GV Tiong Bahru
Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 1 star
Language: English (with Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world. Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film The Last Airbender is the opening chapter in Aangs struggle to survive.

Review:
It sucks... it stinks so bad... I even considered going into negative star rating. Hahaha... BUT... cuz it was such a bad movie... it made me laugh, and therefore, I gave it a one. The whole plot, the script (OMG the scriptwriter... M. Night Shyamalan... ought to be shot), the acting... the everything (except maybe the cinematography).

And seriously, I don't mean to be racist.. but having indians talk about "chi"... a young boy who can't act... oh wait.. THEY ALL CAN'T ACT! and the freaking shitty script just sinks them into new depths.. hahahhahaa.... HAHAHAHHAHA... I pity the actors/actresses... their acting life just got bombed by the "night" man, who looked like he had just decided to import the cast from "Slumdog Millionaire" sigh... seriously.. in the movie.. there were british accents (like where did that come from?), american, cantonese accented ones... and there were gaps in the plot so big, you can put in the black hole into it. I cannot even begin to tell you, the "huh, why liddat?" moments I had in the show...

I have decided. I will never ever ever watch any more movies by M. Night Shyamalan... NEVER.

Trip Review: Western Australia

2010-08-28T23:14:00.000+08:00

As usual.. I have gotten too lazy to post up my trip to Western Australia, and it's been an entire week and my brain has gone back to the normal, working mode and I can hardly remember any of the events that took place while I was there. Well, I can, but describing how we felt, and the emotions... that's best summarize in the photolog that I did up in Facebook... Let me know if you can't view it... but probably shdn't be an issue, since most of you readers (if any) are my friends anyway. The value add to this blog would be the video filmed.. it's a a rather long video and the best video taken of a particular whale who was v sweet and was just hanging round the cove area for "sua gu" tourists like us. :)

Trip Review Albany, Perth

2010-08-14T22:02:00.008+08:00

The first night wasn't too exciting, since we arrived quite late, about 9ish.. and Perth's pretty much a dead town at night. We were greeted by my godsis and her family (They had arrived a few days earlier and my godsis extended her trip to continue with us. :))

The next morning, we visited Fremantle Market... lovely place.. a lot of quirky stuff. We then walked over to a restaurant C-something.. they're famous for their fish and chips and it's right by the bay... beautiful boats.. sea breeze... in winter. :) We still sat outside though and enjoyed the cool breeze.

Then we moved on to Murray Street Mall for shopping and dinner before dropping my godsister's family off at the airport. We then went on to http://www.goodlifebnb.com.au/ for our stay. It's a great placed. Manned by this very nice guy called Barry and his Japanese wife, Cherry. :) For one, you gotta love their names. And they have this beautiful dog, named Java. :) He is sooo cute, I was playing football with him in the morning before we left!

We then took a nice long drive down this morning to Albany...stopover at Williams where everyone went mad looking at some Merinho... :) Now are are staying at another bed and breakfast - Hideaway Haven. http://hideaway-haven.com.au/. Another great place, with our hostesses, Maggi and Becky. :) As we are taking two rooms, they were so nice and blocked off the third, so that the common living room and kitchen could be shared and we get privacy. the place is lovely, as was "the good life" and both of them have jacuzzi! Best of the best, at Hideaway Haven, the jacuzzi's outdoor and it's heated. We took a soak just nice in the cool winter air, in the hot tub. Shiokest! :)

Tmr, we will be taking a walk along the beach... to spot whales!! :) I have never seen a whale before.. I am v excited :) And... that's all folks, for now! Cuz it's 11:06 and although I didn't do anything at all today, other than the car ride, it is very unfortunate that my "da yi ma" decided to visit me today.. so my back is aching and my stomach is cramping a little. Me need more rest! :) So I can go whale spotting tmr!! Wish me luck :D

Pre-Perth

2010-08-12T01:07:00.003+08:00

Leaving On A Jet Plane
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go ... ... ...
'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back
Close your eyes and I'll be on my way... ... ...

And... I have filtered away all the parts in the middle.. cuz frankly the only bit that stays in my head is... "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go... "

Hur hur hur...