New York Day 3 & 4

#3

SOHO SHOPPING. Ok is it SoHo or soho?
New sweet ass hell nike dunks.
MORE vintage tees. (It's an addiction, I swear. Got you something, Hewyyy!)
The rest of shopping was somewhat disappointing. I couldn't find pretty tops that I wanted enough. I think most of my money went to coffee that day, because I was so tired from all those late nights.
Mainly happy about the new sneaks though. Will only wear them after I spray it with leather protectant. LOL. I'm gonna take care of my sneaks from now on... After realising how beat up my other pairs have become. Nike dunks turned Nike ACG. lol.
When did I start using lol?

Got stuck in a tinyass Jap restaraunt run by Chinese people across the street from my hotel because it was pouring outside. It's been a while since I saw precipitation in a form other than snow.

#4

Went down to Times Square. Most exciting time of my life for the past few months (tragic, but true). There's just so much going on that you can't help but feel excited looking all the cars zoom by, the crowds, the massive billboards, the crazy lights... and Broadway!

Watched A Chorus Line, instead of Les Mis/Chicago/ Mary Poppins because 1. We're cheap students with starving purses and 2. Most of them were sold out for the next few days.

Found a snowboarding shop. Going to check it out asap. Heard that it's having massive blowout sales! Can't wait. Wonder how I'm going to bring all my stuff back in my suitcase. It was pretty full when I brought it here. Maybe I'll have to ship some of it back. Damn.

Going to go look up research institutes now... For when I come home in JUNE!! Can't wait. Although I'm having so much fun here right now, I could deal with not going home for a while more :p

New York Day 2

Slept at 3am trying to settle all our accom and itinery. Woke up at 11am, unanimously decided that it was too early, finally rolled out of bed at 2pm. Ness led the way. Sharveen next. William last because he literally jumps out of bed into his clothes for the day. Amazing, but true.

Chinatown = Amazing fun. Got so excited to have good Chinese food (DIM SUM IS AWE-SUM), see the shittyass Singapore Cafe (Nonya Restaurant was more Singaporean than it was). Felt strangely like walking through Shanghai at some parts, what with the large number of Chinese people... But with like black people. Don't know why there were so many in Chinatown. Must remember to go back for: Dim Sum, more char siew, wanton mee, malaysian food, chinese desserts, egg tarts.

Stumbled into Little Italy. Must remember to go back on non-Christmas day for dinner there. Had tiramisu at Cha Cha, though. Ness had amazing 3 layered brownie chocolate cake, but still think PS Cafe's was better. Maybe because it wasn't so cold, and choc tastes better warm and rich.

So excited to try out all the food!

Going to soho tomorrow for shopping! Can't wait to blow some cash hell yeaa. Gonna check out that snowboard and gear. Super excited for school to start so I can go snowboarding on the weekends. Can't imagine going to school in NYU. As convenient and happening it may be, it's not the place a Bio scholar like me should be at. DISTRACTION ALERT DISTRACTION ALERT.

How many I (heart) NY shirts should I get as tacky souvenirs?

New York Day 1

Fucked up blizzard in Madison, the morning of the flight. Gale force winds and snow was not ideal conditions for lugging luggage. Somehow, luggage ended up the size of a rhino. Flight at O’Hare got cancelled, mad as hell, tired as fuck. Didn’t sleep the night before - watched Harold and Kumar, let Tim and Adi hang out in my room while I did laundry at 1 am, practiced Melbourne Shuffle on Youtube with Tim, packed bag for New York. Not a good idea in retrospect.

Finally got to New York. Super excited because I’m back in a proper city, with tall buildings and pollution and traffic and rude fast-walking people! Loves. So many Asians here. Full of immigrants actually. Hardly see any ang mohs around but probably because it’s Christmas Eve and all of them are at home with their families. Asians got no family here, damn it.

Met up with Michelle! So nice to see her again. Miss Her Crazyness. (her fake mole fetish?!) Had awesome Moroccan food (ate with my hands!), took the subway like I knew it, took many pictures like I’d never seen one before. Camwhore here couldn’t find her memory card, so her camera has been rendered obsolete. At least the others have cameras! Camwhore for rent now.

Fucking tired. Can’t find more cheap hotels to live in after the 29th! Damn New Year’s Eve. Present hostel is relatively decent. Hoping not to catch cooties from my bedsheet. Ignoring strange noise coming from radiator. Cannot wait to go to bed and sleep in, then wake up for midday dim sum in Chinatown. Probably the only place open in New York over Christmas.

Oh yes, Merry Christmas loves!

Halloween pictures are up on Facebook!

Omg I ate so consistently that I woke up full today. I slept over in Timmie's room last night because both our roomies were with their parents over this weekend. This weekend's parents weekend, and especially meaningful for my roomie whose family's from Michigan. We played Michigan yesterday, or rather we BEAT Michigan yesterday heeeelll yeeeeaaaaa :) 38-21 and to think I thought we would lose because Michigan's ranked and we're not! Hoho. Maybe I reverse-cursed us :) Well anyway yesterday was our last home game and it was a great game and an awesome way to end the season. Work was crazy busy my feet still ache from walking up and down the club seats all afternoon, but we made good tips and I took home yummy food for the last time :(

Just got off skype with mommy and daddy dearest. Grandma had an asthma attack and while she's healthy now she's in a coma. For now it seems like she may never wake up, so they're thinking of putting her in a home. The other alternative is to have dad take care of her, but it's gonna be hard because she needs attention every 3 hours. I'm not sure how I feel. I may be in shock, or I may not care, or I dunno how I feel. I'm not sad, I'm definitely not happy... But when something as unprecedented as this happens, how do you know how you should feel? Mom and Dad seem to be a mix of emotions too, and I think we're all trying to grapple with the situation. I really just want to go to Chicago and look for a temple in Chinatown or something. Sigh.

On the plus side - Mom and Dad like my DIY new haircut. I think it's cute and mushroom-y but it really doesn't do that much to hide the roundness of my cheeks. The bangs kinda frame my face that has gotten slightly rounder since I got here. :\
So much for squares and rectangles.

So anyway back to my week(end).

Friday night was spent hanging out at Ness's dorm with her dorm-mates(who are HILARIOUS FUN), discovering what Beef Chop Suey is (bee hor fun - hor fun + rice), reading fortune cookies and watching V for Vendetta (FINALLY!). After such a homey night I figured maybe I should go out and live it up on Saturday night, especially since last weekend all I did was stay in and study for Human Sexuality. But Saturday night came and went and all I did was lounge around in the den downstairs and watch movies with my dorm (the ones who weren't out partying, or getting fucking stoned in David's room, anyway). I had a nice big cup of hot instant cappucino, my fruit+nuts mix, my warm fluffy slippers, and Transformers. Life was good. Timmie and I really wanted to go out, we did! But we didn't wanna dress up and go out to State... We wanted to wear our track pants and tees to somebody's house, drink and talk shit. But it seemed nobody had a house to go to, so we stay in our own. It wasn't as bad as I thought, really. We tried watching a horror show after that but the bad acting put me to sleep. Sam was snoring throughout the show behind us in one of the sofas and it was kinda distracting too... Heh. I lugged my plush purple floor cushion over to Timmie's room and we talked for like an hour in the dark about how fucked up everyone else in the dorm was (it's actually damn funny how fucking weird almost everyone in my dorm is) then went to bed at about 4... One of the girls came home with a boy and met us in the hallway while I was moving into Timmie's room, and man it was awkward. They were both drunk as hell and she like came over randomly, and made the most awkward comment about her presently occuring sexual encounter. It was bizarre and WTF-inducing.

Girl: *knock knock* Randommm commennnntttt *drunk giggle*
Me: *opening the door and wondering wtf she's doing in the hallway in a towel* mmm?
Girl: It's sooo hard to make guys come!! *drunk giggle*
Me: mmm...okayy... maybe you should try massaging?
Girl: Does it work??
Me: I suppose if you're desperate it doesn't matter... *closes door*
Timmie: Ok wtf was that?

It's warm today in my room :)

Woke up at 8 because I fell asleep by 11, reading Across the Wire for my PoliSci class. Still reading it.

I really don't know how Ness manages to be so perky/excited about every day. It's a skill, really it is. Especially for someone who's so easily bored, like me. Or maybe it's just that very specific things/ people get my psyched. I'm getting super sian of school already... People think that being in Madison makes school more exciting. But there's nothing to do here! I not 21, so that means I can't hang out at bars/ clubs as and when I feel like it. I'm on a budget so I can't shop freely/ eat out all the time. All my money's going to trips/ groceries/ rent... With whatever money I do have left, I have to be so careful spending it that I almost always never enjoy spending it.

The people are nice, for sure. But I haven't met anyone who's totally on the same wavelength as me... Someone who listens to my music, watches my favourite shows, doesn't judge me (critically) for my strange eating habits and can hang out with me for hours without a moment of awkwardness passing. I've met many who're almost on the same wavelength, but like trying to fit a square into a rectangle mould, something just isn't quite right.

Bitching aside, I'm really grateful that I'm here and not at home. Even though at home it's comfortable, warm and there're people I love just a lunch date away. Waiting for the snow to fall so I can bust out my winter jacket and boots. I'm pretty sure I'll hate it after 3 days or less but I really just wanna wear my new clothes... Heh.

Okay so Halloween weekend came and went, I'll upload pictures on facebook once Sharveen is done uploading the pictures to his com. Here're some I stole off facebook from my friends:




So really the highlights were:
- Partying Thurs,Fri night BEFORE Sat night (Because Sat night itself was a little lame)
- Seeing all the coooool costumes other people had (and wearing a costume too, of course)
Sesame Street
Smurfs
Carebears
Traffic light pole :\
Cross-dressing bunny (boys?)
Cross-dressing boys in generally <3
- Watching Lifehouse play at the State Street Halloween party!
- Having a super cute beer pong partner at Fri's party

And the kinda sucky/lame thing was:
- My super cute beer pong partner is from out of state
- State Street Party was somewhat lack lustre. It used to be this massive crazy party out in the streets much like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans but now it's regulated, cop-infested and ticketed. :( I'm sad I missed the earlier years!
- It was cold out and I didn't have my jacket on me. -3C apparently. FUCK! I was a shivering bundle under Ness's shawl by the end of the night/beginning of the morning.
- NOT GOING AS CATWOMAN. DAMMIT. It would have been warm and Smokin Hot. DAMMIT.

So the rest of the week passed by like any other week in school, and this weekend was a stay-home one as I prepare for my Human Sexuality midterm on Monday. :) It's a nice break as well, since I've been out at least one day of the weekend, every weekend. I'm a peaceful homebody at the end of the day... *Happy Sigh*

Okay now for the giantbug.blogspot.com excerpt:
Winter Bitching.

Ok seriously it is ridiculous how cold my room is. Like hello it's 7C outside, and you're not turning the heaters on yet?!?! WHYY!!! I tried telling the housefellow on my floor but apparently the housefellow who has the thermostat (I assume that's the thingy that turns the heater on) is OUT OF TOWN OVER THE WEEKEND. Seriously? Omg. And it doesn't help that not everyone is freezing. Only people on my side of the hallway are freezing. Everyone across the hall has warm stuffy rooms!

Yesterday when I heard the microwave in Timmie's room go off I wanted to throw myself in there. Ahh it's driving me NUTSS...

And now we have daylight saving. So apparently I have to turn the clock back by an hour, because winter makes days end earlier. I'm very confused. I have an exam tomorrow and if my teacher hadn't sent an email out telling me about it I'm pretty sure I would have missed it. Knn wtf does this country have winter?! So fucking problematic. jfaosrihbnkfj;xn'IRGFJU;FDNGDF;

And my roommate googled my symptoms of cold hand and cold feet and apparently there's a disease that affects your circulation... and I may have that!!! Ahhh whyyy whyyy is it the person who has bad circulation and blue toes that has the coldass room WHYYYY...

Wo de ming hao ku :(

I'm just waiting for my roomie to wake up now so I can go grab waffles from dining hall. It's sooo cold in my dorm I'm probably going there to study today. Pfft.

The time now is 12.38PM. I have a class at 1.20PM.
Meanwhile I'm sitting at the dining hall in Liz Waters (one of the dorms) after having lunch with Adi and Lavilla.
I really need to go pee but I can't be bothered to get up and bring all my stuff with me unless I'm leaving this place completely.
By the way, people here don't call it a toilet. Or the loo. They call it a bathroom! I had severe communication breakdowns my first few weeks here when I kena hightide. Haha. The people in my dorm like to make fun of my apparent language quirks -
How I spell yoghurt/programme/centre.
How I say 'claHss' and not 'claYss'.
How I never know how much I weigh or how tall I am because I use a different metric system.
One of the boys said that being international makes me immediately hotter than other girls, other factors remaining constant. Haha I suppose I couuuld exploit that... Hmm... Haha. Whatever.
And my accent is weird to them. But they like it. I find that so funny though, because the accent I used to talk to them isn't the one I usually have! When I'm talking to Ness or William I'm soo Singaporean, and I speak so fast because I don't have to worry about articulation. And I get kind of chorlor as well. Coz I'm so comfortable!
But maintaining the angmoh accent is easier these days. I'm getting more comfortable with it, and I don't have to think so much about articulation anymore. Sometimes when the angmohs hear me speaking to the other Singaporeans in my normal accent they can't catch what I'm saying. It's worse when I start throwing in the slang. Haha I love it. It's like my very own Singaporean code. It might as well be a different language to them, honestly. My roommate's getting accustomed to the accent though. She actually understood me when I said "Eh we go another day la." Heh.

Hey yaaa'lll :)
I'm too lazy to type more stuff so I'll just paste what I posted on giantbug.blogspot.com:

gloria just texted me in the early hours of morning waking me from my slumber with HELLO MAXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!

friday night drunken acts :)

what was i doing friday night?
i walked for half an hour out in the cold to a DAMN GOOD IDIAN RESTAURANT for dinner because one of the indian singaporeans had his bday ystd night. hahaha it was worth braving the cold. nxt week we're going for their lunch buffet HAHAHA.

omg i really eat like a pig here.

then i came home and i slept (haha eat full go sleep waaaaaaah) BECAUSE i had to wake up at 6.30am today to go to WORK!

we had a football game today at 11 so i have to be at the stadium by 7.30am to prepare. i go there to swipe my card and study until 11am HAHAHA. den when the work is done I GO DOWN TO THE KITCHEN AND RAID IT. omg they have like MILLIONS OF COOKIES/SALAD STUFF/HAMBURGERS/HOTDOGS... i just took enough for uhmmm i dunno, a month? HAHA. I gotta work again this sat, we're playing Indiana. i hope we trash them. we creamed northern illinois today 44-3. it wasn't even fun to watch the game. :\

i have definitely put on weight here. it doesn't help that angmohs are fat so i feel safe putting on weight. den when i go home u all will laugh at me. :(

Ok so I'm in the Steenbock Memorial Library trying to study for my PoliSci exam on Monday, I flip open the intro to one of the books (Identity and Violence by Amartya Sen, who is THE man.) and I come across one line that immediately grabs my attention -

The centre is dedicated to the study of the future, and the chosen title of the series of lectures was "The Future of Identity". However with a little help from T.S. Eliot I was able to convince myself that "Time present and time past,/ Are both perhaps present in time future." By the time the book was done, it was as much concerned with the role of identity in historical and contemporary situations as with prognostications of hereafter.

For all the lit-ty kids out there, T.S. Eliot is probably nothing new. But for a science-y like me, I was like WOW. INSIGHTFUL. Haha. Well anyway, I liked it enough to go Google it and here're the first few lines (which I really like, before the imagery kicks in and it gets a little harder to immediately follow, although no less beautiful)

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.

Burnt Norton, No. 1 of 'Fourt Quartets'

Fuckin insomniac
It's like 4 in the morning and i can't sleep
(ok really it's me not wanting to sleep with my hair wet)

Just got back from the Sigma Phi party
It was alright
The basement was converted into a (very stuffy) club
with lotsa horny boys
out to find a piece o' ass
(A little less action a little more conversation, please?)

"That's the way we Americans dance, babe"? I don't believe it. Haha.

Took some pretty gorgeous pictures of (gorgeous) people that I can't upload coz my camera is totally busted when my friend dropped it
But it's cool
As long as he fixes it
I mean
I've got his camera meanwhile

So I can still take photos. Yeaa :)

One word summary: Distasteful

I preferred the social night when we just went over and played beer pong and me and Tr0y kicked maaajor ass whoohoo! Instead of Tr0y grabbing my ass tonight :\

Haha I must learn to censor like GABBAG. These angmohs are damn google-savvy.

Hello ya'll

I know you haven't been hearing from me but rest assured I am

Missing and loving you xoxo

ESPECIALLY RUSSELL WHO SENT ME THE 881 SOUNDTRACK FOR MY BIRTHDAY

EXTRA LOVE TO HIM <3333

Listening to it makes me miss home SO MUCH it's crazy.

So what's been up?

Nothing particularly exciting in my opinion :\

A month of college

Getting used to going for classes

Really love discussions (like the tutorials we have in JC) because the topics are so exciting and everyone has such interesting comments and points of views

Psychology

Human Sexuality

Political Science

Midterms next week. Seems like they're all MCQ so that's awesome :) Still need to catch up on my readings though.

Physics is easy because it's all A Level physics (yessess!)

Dorm

I'm living at this dorm called Jorns, by the lake. I figured the best way was just to upload the pictures of the place so you can see it. Heh.

I sleep upstairs, my roommate, Hannah, sleeps below. The purple floor cushion was donated by Caleb who has since left Madison for NS :(

Work

Yes! I'm working! At the football stadium's VIP viewing gallery. I'm a runner, which means I take food from the kitchen and bring it to the people. It doesn't pay awesomely well but it's pretty decent - $8/hr. I only work when we have home games (which has been every Saturday for the past 3 weeks),

AND I get to watch (parts of) the games (even though I haven't managed to get my paws on season tickets!!),

AND I can use this employment letter to apply for a social security number so that

I CAN LEARN HOW TO DRIVE HERE!!

I'm too excited.

OH AND BREAKING NEWS -

Yesterday while we (Ness and I) were at bellydancing class (DON'T LAUGH IT'S HARD OK) the building we were in had a LOCK-DOWN because there was

a SUICIDAL BOY

claiming to be ARMED

who ESCAPED from the nearby hospital

roaming the streets and the police were trying to look for him!!

The campus was paying for all cabs last night, so we took a cab home the moment the building personnel let us out...

I was actually kinda worried for a while, but once I got back to my room I was fine.

I was hoping they would cancel classes today but I guess there wasn't that much danger. My day went perfectly normal, and I almost forgot the mild drama that was last night. :\

Until next time!

xoxo

Max.

I really like Madison.

Can't really think of anything else to say right now.

Too tired. Hectic past few days.

Enrolling for classes is a bitch, especially when you're the 2nd last batch of kids, and all the classes you want are full from the American kids that enrolled in like, JUNE.

So here's what I've got for my first semester as a Badger:

• General Physics
• Politics in Multi-Cultural Societies
• Introduction to Psychology
• Human Sexuality: Social and Psychological Issues

Fun sia. Heh.

Sian to update. Dunno where to start! So I shall just go sleep since I've been rather sleep deprived. I have NOTHING on tomorrow (OMG!) so I'm going to sleep in and wake up in the late morning, call my fellow Sg'ns out for lunch, or just amble along State Street on my own and pick up some things for my room... I need a mini basket.

Aah! Urban Outfitters having saleeeeheeeheeeheee...

Ok enough with the emo-ness!

Now that it's only a week till I leave, I'm in considerably much better spirits. No time to be pensive and reflect, just PACK PACK PACK AND CAN'T WAIT TO GO!!

Let's see I have done 3 of the 5 things I was supposed to do when I woke up... I would consider that a moderate success, wouldn't you? :)

Went out with my mom ystd and we bought my birthday/farewell cake. Chocolate Exotica. I think it sounds like a Black Stripper! But anyway, we were trying to figure out what to put on it. I didn't want HAPPY BIRTHDAY because that's just really boring.. So now I have

19 and going

written on my cake ^^

I thought it was rather appropriate.

Life's only just beginning, and I can't wait :)

All I want to do is be alone for a while and emo.

Too much people time.

Me time.

Me me me me me.

I love you all but
it's just I need to
have some time to
wonder
and hope
and worry
and slowly piece together the next 8 months of my life
into reinforced nylon.

Honestly?
I'm not really gonna miss anything.
Coz I'll be back! (And I'm just a skype phone call away heh.)
Hasta la vista, baby.

And I'm starting to feel really... normal;
A feeble flutter in the heart.
Like going to Madison is just
another step.
Which it is.
Okay I guess it doesn't feel as
momentus
as it used to.
It's just something
I have to do
alone.

I think I'm ready to go now.

To school, I mean. I've spent just enough quality time with everyone to bring with me wonderful memories of them.

I don't know why it feels so momentus, like I'm migrating. I'll come back! Next june. 8 months in between. Next december! 4 months after returning to school.

I'm fiddling with the new application on Facebook - Superlatives. You nominate people for Most Likely To Be titles...

Who is most likely to be your best friend for life?

Nominate/ Skip

Skip.

What struck me as odd was how I used to be bothered by this. Mom just told me, "Your only friends for life, are your family. So you better start treating us as friends, not just parents."

So true.

I was just sitting by the river at Clarke Quay with Jo and Zhiyuan, people I've known for 10 years now. I meet Jo occasionally, but the last time I met Zhiyuan was 10 years ago. Heh. But sitting there it felt like time had lurched forward, and we hadn't missed a beat. It was perfectly comfortable, the three of us once again. Edwin was missing, but we'll remedy that soon enough. The 4 of us (Me, Joanne, Zhiyuan and Edwin) used to hang out all the time in school when we were 9. That's in Primary 3 by the way. We'd do prefect duty together during recess (Yes it was called RECESS!) and we'd always eat on duty even though we weren't supposed to. Heh.

And I'll always remember the time Zhiyuan got knee-d in the balls by Edwin. Or was it the other way around? Heh.

Hmm. 10 years is a substantial chunk of a lifetime, and tonight felt as if we'd be friends for life. Every 10 years we would meet by the river and our conversation would start exactly the same way - Oh my GOD! You haven't changed a BIT!

It's strange how close I feel to them, even though I hardly see them. Perhaps long ago, when the 9 year-old me said that I would be best friends with them for life, it left a permanent impression on the 19 year-old me.

I'm the kind of person that needs milestones. Distinct phases in life. In Singapore, schools are pretty much the best distinction. And I'm glad that at each phase, I've picked up a few keepers willing to stick around too. Fuck the rest of them heartless bitches! Haha.

I've been going out enjoying myself, spending time with my friends. Hanging out doing shit having fun... Pretending that I'm not leaving so soon.

About 2.5 weeks. 16 days to be exact.

That's how long before I leave home for the next 9 months or so. Am I ready? I thought so. But maybe I'm not. Mom bugs me everyday about packing and all that. Starting to seriously get on my nerves. I know she means well and I totally appreciate it but you know, I just wish she wouldn't be so sarcastic and mean about my inertia (or my incompetence when it comes to overcoming my inertia).

Got this whole afternoon to seriously think about what I want to bring over. Not having to rush off anywhere to meet anyone... I'll start packing the clothes first (naturally, you bimbo) but I need to pack my ROOM first! OH well.

Probably should check up the immunization and all that too.

Need to buy a new camera... As well as those locks for the luggage... And hunt for a router... An ethernet cable...

Oh and bug people to pay me for the party... I'm still short of like 600 bucks. You buggers.

Feeling rather anti-social today. Was supposed to go out with Smrits tonight... Plus mom's pissed off with me for being pissed off with her, so I'm not sure how I'll be coming home tonight. Definitely don't want to cab. It's night time extortion! Maybe I'll sleepover at Smrit's.

Suddenly wish I had more time.

Finally, July 28th.

Insane party.

Not to be repeated any time soon.

For fear of ruined livers and reputations.

But insane fun, nonetheless.

I love my friends :)

Sorry for the lack of details... It's just one of those things that need to be remembered and not recorded. And the collective sober recount pieced together from everyone's fragmented intoxicated memories.

Good times.

I promise I will NOT have as much fun when I'm overseas.

I might get raped.

(Kidding!)

Or worse, sent home. :\

Sitting around, bored once again.

Wide awake, waiting like a target.

I suppose I should have woken up with a more proactive mindset.

Hit the gym!

Cook your own lunch!

Call your friends out!

ROAR!!

But well. Here I am, sitting

Wide awake, waiting like a target.

Tonight's going to be my party. I hate calling it my party, because it's really a random assortment of friends of mine coming together to pay 1.5 k for a little privacy to party and booze. Clubs are filled with strange sleazy folk so it's much better to be high amongst friends. :)

Well anyway yesterday I was given a piece of paper that said I'm officially an A* Scholar so whoopdeedoo! I was less excited about that, and more excited about the deed signing on Wed that said I'm officially funded by A*. How practical, Max. :) But it was a nice little ceremony (Haha I lie, it was really extravagant. Like Mediacorp Star Awards liddat. So now you know where your money goes... to Us! Heehee.)

After the ceremony it was a camwhoring session unlike any other. Worse than prom! And I was a lot happier to take photos with the other scholars. It's not that I love them more than my friends but there was this urgency to capture the moment? In a month's time half of us will be scattered across America. And in 2 months' time, the rest will be scattered across the UK. The next time we see each other will be June 2008!

Haha we really are sort of like superheroes flung across the world to save... Singapore's scientific society? The being paid to study overseas by your government makes us feel a little larger than our physical selves, but it's weird to think of ourselves as saviors of any sort. But I suppose even the most mundane of ideas and products need their champions. Like Kim who wants to find a cure for Shortness, as if it were a disease!

I like being short though. Some of the cutest guys I know are short. Heh.

One month will pass (Farewells, shopping, settling in)
Another. (Birthdays, classes, socialising)
Another. (Classes, school activities, more socialising)
Another. (Jumping in snow, freezing, more shopping)
Another. (Winter break, travelling, skiing, will I see you?)

Then Spring sem and hopefully I'll move into hall with a nice roomie. She doesn't even have to be fun, she just needs to not bother me and I'll be happy.'

Then it'll be Summer and I'll be home. I'll be planning my first Singaporean meal on the plane, I just know it. :)

Asian Boys

Went to watch Asian Boys ystd night with the Hoes... I love how when we meet up it's just like that how it's always been and it's always so much fun. Nothing's changed and that's awesome. I need to be assured things will be constant right now.

Also had some velvety smooth warm chocolate lovin at Menotti's (oh dear I hope I spelt it right.)... Is it any wonder why they say it's an aphrodisiac?

Can't believe I'd never caught Asian Boys before (then again, I never really had the right people to watch it with ) and it was good. It was very honest, and reflective without being emo and annoying. It's been a long time since I last watched a good local production. And I've always kind of liked Alfian Saat's scripts... I bet Hadri really liked the script too. Heh.

I'm really trying to stuff myself with as many Uniquely Singapore experiences in my last month.

I really liked Asian Boys because as Smrit puts it - It was about human emotions and problems, not gay emotions and problems. And that's exactly how I feel when it comes to gay men all the time. Why does it have to be about two men? Why can't it be about two people? Haha I suppose this sounds somewhat pretentious since I am neither gay nor a man, but I'm trying to be supportive here. I'm even imagining myself as a lesbian! But it kinda stops at holding hands and kissing I cannot bring myself to imagine lesbian sex it's just... Not for me.

We all have our quirky little preferences.

Like a particular scent.
Or small ears.
Or a less than perfect grin that splits the face with such ease.
Or how one tooth is slightly crooked.
Or how she is a girl,
Just like me.

Haha ok NOW I sound like a lesbian.




Some quote-worthy snippets from Asian Boys (I probably misquoted on many accounts but I hope I got the meaning anyway!) -

I'm as queer as a 3 dollar bill!

Singaporean men are like prawns - only good from the neck down. So when you want to eat them, you must take the head off!

I don't understand how young people dance now. When you dance with your partner, you should be looking at each other, looking into each other's eyes. It seems that now you people look over the shoulders of your partners instead!

(Max: Have you ever been lost in someone's eyes, the way songs tell you it happens? It's the most glorious feeling on earth; like falling and floating at the same time.)

I told you Morris had died (when he had run off with a younger man) and some part of me began to believe that too. Writing this biography with you made me realise that maybe it's not about what my life is, but what I can live with.

Had been walking around town with Jeremy and his friends before that... It was kinda awkward at first, but it got LESS awkward by the end of it. It was weird because we were both sober, it was day, and his friends were ALL around. Like EVERYWHERE. Made me really conscious of the looks people were giving us.

But anyway, I brought them to eat hawker food (they had nothing but pizza and burgers the whole time... WHAT A WASTE!) and the verdict is:

Chicken rice is good.
Frog legs are VERY good!
Sugar cane is good.

And oyster omelette tastes like swimming in the San Francisco river.

Oh well. I tried. Haha.

It's always interesting to see what foreigners have to say about our little island... And bringing them around is kind of like a mini-rediscovery session for me. Hearing them tell me the little quirks they notice makes me notice them too and I begin to appreciate the little things that make Singapore, Singapore.

Haha now I better run before I break out into song... This is home, truuuly. Where I know I must beee...

Beautiful Stranger

Last night was officially THE most fun night I've had in... a really long time.

I realise the common thread for all the Most Fun Night I've Had In A Long Time nights is alcohol (and really awesome friends).

Liz calls it Liquid Courage.

I call it excuses. Haha.

TomaYto, tomaHto.

Just think about it - Orchard Circuit Bar Hop, nights out on Bar Street in Siem Reap, watching Borat with Cognac... and now, I can add - Beautiful Stranger Encounter.

I saw him walk in and I smiled at him (he was cute). Liz dragged me to the bar where he was with his friends on the pretext of buying me a shot. He turned around and ask me what seemed like the strangest thing on earth.

Him: Hey! Do know what this is, the bartender gave me these when I asked for a redbull vodka.
Me: (Sniffs the jug) It's... Redbull vodka?
Him: I asked him for four glasses and he told me I should get this instead (points to jug).
Me: OH THAT... Right that's a jug.
Him: OHH A JUG!

I guess... they don't... have... jugs... in Iowa?

Then he tells me he would like it very much if we were to hang out with them, and Liz wanted free drinks so we did (haha sure, blame Liz).

This was the exciting and fun part, haha. I'd never been approached at a bar before! (Liz and I were just lamenting this when we were at Velvet) Especially not by a white guy, who didn't want to stuff his hand down the front of my shirt, might I add. At least, he didn't act like he did. He was nothing but nice and sweet and funny and a perfect gentleman.

He gave me space when we danced (don't you just hate it when guys you barely know try to grind you or hold you like they own you?!) and he talked about things that were important to him (his career, family, opinions on the American way) and he did stupid tricks and silly dances to make me laugh. :)

I know his name.
I know why he's here.
I know where he's from.
I know his mom and dad divorced, and that he emails his grandpa.
But I don't know how I'll ever see him again.

Sigh. It figures that the guy that seems the most perfect would be the least permanent.

Home Sweet Home

And what complicates the confusions of the Global Soul is that, as fast as we are moving around the world, the world is moving around us... So even the man who never leaves home may feel that home is leaving him, as parents, children, lovers scatter around the map, taking pieces of him wherever they go.

More and more of us may find ourselves in the emotional or metaphysical equivalent of that state we know from railway stations, when we're sitting in a carriage waiting to pull out and can't tell, often, whether we're moving forwards, or the train next to ours is pulling back.

The Global Soul Pico Iyer


There really is nothing like home. Just landed a few hours ago. First thing I did was call up the parents, and friends...

...and ask them what booze they want from DFS. HAHA.

Nobody wanted anything though, surprisingly. Not anything I could bring in at least (ciggs?). It was so nice to just slip into Singlish again. 3 weeks of trying to make myself understandable to Australians/ New Zealanders was kind of surreal. I felt myself slowly learning the accent, the language practically. The way they phrase everything and add 'eh' to the end of their sentences... At the end of it I really felt like I lived there in Auckland, as Hieu's sister.

Probably because I got my own room and toilet and the entire ground floor to myself, too. Hieu lived on the 2nd floor with the kitchen and living room. His parents lived on the 3rd floor... with I dunno what else. I never went upstairs.

They have a fuckin nice house eh. I suppose land and construction isn't quite the same price as here but... If I lived in a house like that, I'd be happy. :) It's not too big, and pretty enough. And it was so fun to have a brother for 2 weeks.

I stopped blogging about my travelminiadventures after I landed in Auckland because I couldn't connect my lappie to their net and it's just rude to blog on someone else's lappie... Esp since it's such anti-social behaviour.

My time in NZ was defined by Hieu. Haha sounds lame but it was really all about hanging out with this friend of mine, that I've known for 9 years, yet only seen twice in my lifetime. (This was #2) And it never fails to amaze me how well we get along in real life, even though so much of our friendship is online.

Soaking in every single thing about Auckland through the window of Hieu's car.

Hieu: I keep forgetting that you've never been anywhere here. Even the boring places. So I never bring you there.
Max: Dude. Everything is exciting to me here. Even your bloody pavements and powerlines.

Having ice cream embedded with maltesers, gummies and chocolate chips!

Max: (In a dreamy child-like manner) Is that an ice-cream factory?
Hieu: (It clearly states on the outside that it is) ...Yes.
Max: Wow... So they like... Make ice-cream there?
Hieu: No, they make bombs. It's a fuckin ice-cream factory, DUDE!

Sitting in cafes, people watching. Discussing the NZ way of life.
Watching Borat on his big-ass TV screen, while getting pissed drunk (somehow it made it really REALLY funny.hmm.)
Watching Transformers (HELL YEAH!)
Making our rounds to his favourite shops.
Meeting his friends, making them my own (HAH!)
Baking at his dad's bakery!
Yum Char in the morning and showing off my Mandarin/Canto prowess (HAHA.)

Hieu: Ok tomorrow we Yum Char.
Max: Dude wtf is Yum Char?!
Hieu: You know, when you go to a Chinese restaurant and they're like FENG ZHAO FENG ZHAO CHAR SHAO BAO CHAR SHAO BAO and they bring the food to you on those carts...
Max: That's Dim Sum.
Hieu: Then what the hell is Yum Char?
Max: It's like... drink tea. Like, 'hey let's go for coffee!' It doesn't mean 'breakfast'...
Hieu: Well ok we call it Yum Char. Even the Chinese people here call it Yum Char.

Learning that pho is pronounced 'fao' not 'fo'.
Sitting in a bus watching the NZ countryside (COWS! SHEEP!) as we make our way to Ohakune, Carrot Town.

Max: OMG THOSE ARE SHEEP. (on the hills)
Hieu: *Pause* OMG YEAH. FUCK, I THOUGHT THEY WERE ROCKS.

Max: OMG THE COWS ARE ON THE HILLS. How come they don't fall off?
DJ: Because... They're... Standing?
Max: Well they look like they might roll off. (They really did the hill was so steep!)

Learning how to play Bridge (FINALLY), Last Card Torture, and Ultra Speed.
Cooking my own breakfast at our motel in Ohakune.
Learning to snowboard the painful and slow way - Multiple bruises on my knees and ass, and a mild concussion.
Crawling up the slope under gale force winds conditions.
Reading comics in a cafe like the nerds that we are.
Shisha and conversation at a turkish cafe blasting Hip Hop on K Road. Next to the drag shows and strip clubs.

Hieu's so into Hip Hop, Soul, street wear etc the whole gamooot that woah nelly I'm actually kinda into sneakers now. But 3 weeks without my heels and skirts was harsh man. Brutal. I feel so tom boy it's scary.

Max: I've heard more Hip Hop in my 2 weeks with you, than I have in my entire life.

Hieu: What's Deathcab?

Well, bro... I'll cya in December. If not here in Singapore, you better come by Wisconsin. No actually forget Wisconsin, there's nothing to do there. We'll figure out a city to meet. I'll definitely do a mini-roadtrip around the country. Or just head down to the nearest mountain to ski. And we're definitely heading to Japan together next year... To hunt down our respective life-partners HAHA. Damn I love them pretty jap boys.

Oh - Final Note: I could count the cute boys I saw in Aust/NZ on one hand. And most of them weren't even local (Brazillians on my plane! Yummyy..) and of course, Hieu Quang Tran. HAHA.

Melbourne Day 3,4 & 5

Heh I got lazy and let 3 days pass before my next TravelBlog entry (so Jess calls it).

Let's start from where I last left off - the Caribbean Gardens.

30km out of the city (Yay to Shane's car!) and the best part of it was the conversation in the car, and in a way, how not-so-fun it was. It was so not-fun that it was kinda memorable. Well the day began dull and wet and pretty much continued like that for the rest of the day. We were walking around with our hoodies up looking so gangsta haha.

The Caribbean Gardens is like a massive fairground. Or, it would be if it was summer! There's lots of wide open spaces for picnics, a relatively sized water body for rowing/ feeding the ducks, a playground, and of course the flea market!

Too bad it was cold and wet.

It was also half-empty because of the bad weather. Which made for really poor pickings at the flea market... I suppose it was just nice to see something... Different.

We walked one round the half empty marketplace, and tried to leave. Tried, because Shane accidentally left his headlights on so his car battery ran flat! Then, while he was trying to call for road assistance his mobile credit ran out! Hunted down the pay phone, called for help, pleasantly surprised that the payphone gave out change :)

Shane: When I first came here when I was 6 it was SO fun. Then 4 years ago I came here again and it was... Alright. And today, well. (Are we noticing the trend yet?)

When we finally got back to the city we just walked about exploring the little lanes in the city (again) and we came upon the Church of Scientology!

Went in just for fun (But really, I was hoping to meet Tom Cruise) and met this scary-enthusiastic woman who kept laughing at things that really weren't particularly funny... I kept asking her questions about it though, and Shane thought I'd fallen into that religious trap. Okay, it wasn't a trap that was mean. But it's also not a religion. Ok THAT was mean, I apologise. But it really didn't seem particularly like a religion... More like a method, and a psychological method one, not a spiritual one.

Walked in the rain all day around the city and my jacket was pretty wet by dinner time. Went back to the apartment, grabbed dinner, let my jacket dry off, skyped with Matin till 11 when Shane came by to go down to Lounge.

We thought it'd be live bands because it said indie, old school, punk etc etc on the poster but it wasn't! It was a DJ spinning indie, old school, punk etc etc!! But it wasn't a complete disappointment. The DJ was Fuckin Awesome. I thought he was anyway. I liked everything he played and how he mixed it. If only I had a whole gang of friends with me, I might just have been tempted to the dance floor. But nah, Shane and I just sat outside on the balcony listening to the music pump through the walls and drinking our beers. Haha.

Had a little trouble waking up the next morning. Managed to navigate my way to a City Circle Tram stop to take me around Melbourne City. Hopped off whenever something caught my eye and hopped back on when I was done exploring the area. Here're some of my more interesting finds -

Cafe beneath RMIT Uni.

Aussie Mint

Couldn't resist this shot

Gentlemen's Club ;)

The Docklands

Announcements on Spencer St

'nuff said.

Chinatown - the only place where the street lamps have tassels.

Shop in Chinatown

Then had a mad buying spree at Cotton On (which is like their Giodano, except with MUCH nicer designs but the idea is the same - sell basics cheap). Thank goodness Shane called me then to stop me (and allow me to dump my bags in his car haha) Then we headed down to St Kilda's to look for Pelican but we parked too far from it so we just settled for Bala's that sold overpriced Asian food. These people seriously don't know how to sell Asian food properly. Mine was still alright it was like Mixed Veg but Shane had a cold prata with no curry. He had to steal my curry because when he asked for curry they gave him peanut sauce (the satay kind?!!) Then we headed down to the nearest bar that seemed interesting. Live music -

They projected random old videos on the wall next to the band (had a nice effect actually!). The band was... interesting. I liked them because their style was very funky, but the singer was... Weird. He was like scatting bboy style, and dancing all over, and singing 'boy-band' style with his voice all high and whiny... And going like "OOOOhhhhh gurrrrrrllllll..." Which kinda didn't fit with the whole funk-jazzy vibe from the rest of the band.

Well so we left by 12 and headed down to Crown Casino. It's a real nice and swanky place, too dressy for me in my jeans, sneakers and bomber so we gave the casino a skip. I don't know how to gamble well anyway. Unless they got a Mahjong table... But I doubt it. :( Ended up sitting at Grecco's for greek coffee (mmm-mmm...) and chit-chat. Then when Grecco's closed we walked down by the Yarra River (fuccckin' cold!)

Shane: Okay NOW how much would you need to jump in, clothes and all.

Max: Hell no nothing in the world.

Shane: 100?

Max: Nope.

Shane: 1 million?

Max: Nope.

Shane: w;lcvkj ONE MILLION AND NO? Come ON. 2 million!

Max: No way man. It's one thing to discuss this in a warm cafe it's QUITE another to put me here in front of the freezing river and ask me again. I already FEAR THE WATER. There's a psychological barrier!

Shane: But you'd be rich!

Max: Haha ok so I give you a million you'll jump in?

Shane: Yea just show me the money, man!

Max: Haha later monopoly money then you die.

Shane: Yea like I jump in then when I get out I'm like WHERE'S MAX?

Max: Run off with your monopoly money. Then I'll always tell this story, where I went to Melbourne and conned this idiot into jumping into a freezing river for a million bucks. Haha.

Walking along the river, we spotted random chalk-art on the ground! The pictures were really... random. But kinda cute. Heh. We found a cartoon drawing of a map of our location -


- and we went around trying to figure out which part was where on the map...

Fountain of chalk

Pimp Shane's ride (PLEASE? Haha.)

Shane is Pimpin'.
And in need of a shave.
And in need of sleep.
And on a roadtrip to Sydney! :( (Go forth and stop poverty, my friend.)

Been really fun getting to know Shane. He's had a pretty interesting life so far! He's like still water that runs deep (haha, corny) because he looks like the quiet (and possibly boring) type at FIRST then when u know him betta... Haha he's still a really sweet and nice guy too. After walking around Yarra River we went back to Lygon and ate (AGAIN) at Notturno's even though we weren't THAT hungry. I wasn't, anyway. Sat there talking till I was literally falling asleep at the table and then he sent me home and by the time I got bed-ready it was 3am?! Had no idea it was so late.

Well when I woke up at 12 I only got outta the house at 2 and here it gets dark by 6 so I only had like 4 hours of light to explore the city. After that everything's closed except for the places that serve dinner. And I didn't feel up for sitting alone at a table in Brunswick so I headed back before it got too late and dark and I might get mugged. Especially since I was near the druggie housing estate, without any mode of transport except trams that didn't go to my apartment and my own two feet.

It's quite nice to walk alone at night with Deathcab playing on the iPod.

Melbourne: Day Two

It was nice to finally get some sleep last night. Proper sleep, not sleep interrupted by a cat who wants to play fetch. Tigger (the cat) slept very soundly by my side all night which was rather sweet actually! He however, did wake me up around the time of 8.30 to feed him.

Weird fact of the day: Tigger needs an audience to get his toilet business done. I suppose that's good. I can flush it all away and disinfect the bowl immediately... ><

I'm glad I ate the food I bought at the supermarket last night for breakfast! Saves on spending needlessly on breakfast. Which is served about all day anyway. Angmoh food always tastes like breakfast. If it comes between two slices of baked dough, it's breakfast-y. Not that I'm complaining! Had really good food today at random spots.

First, it was these marvellous little cookies at a small cafe called Two Fingers. I was telling Shane I think they call it Two Fingers because that's like the width of the entire cafe when you look at it from across the street! I almost didn't go in because it was literally a hole in the wall - you walk in through the glass door and you see this long booth down on side of the wall with coffee tables placed at intervals before the booth seats. On your left is the kitchen where they cook the food they serve (cafe lunch/dinner types), have the counter with the cookies/tarts (all homemade, of course) and behind the counter is where the coffee-making occurs. It's like how you'd expect them to fit a cafe into a train carriage. Cute.

Anyway back to the cookies - They were these amazing Wagon Wheels-like cookies. It's like, buttercookies sandwiching a generous marshmallow (like in smores!) and strawberry jam filling. The top and bottom of this cookie-sandwich has a layer of chocolate crusted with rainbow sprinkies! Sugary delighttttt :D

Then, Shane brought me to this awesome VEGETARIAN restaurant on Brunswick St called Veggie Bar. I've never really been able to endure a meal without meat, but man that place was good! The decor's pretty nice to begin with, with huge windows to front the restaurant (good for people watching) a choice of tables and chairs or cosy sofas in the dimmer section, and an interior with mostly concrete walls covered in concert posters and wooden roofs, pillars and floor. Considering it was a place for vegans, it was understandably organic and cottage-y!

Wanted to pop by Il Bimba for a beer but it was packed! And it smelt funkily of cheese. I hear from Mich that they sell GREAT pizzas for like $4?!?! Only during lunch though, so maybe I'll head down another day. Il Bimba is kinda unusual - From the outside it's just plain concrete wall and a glass door with a Giant Lit-up Baby hanging over it. I was honestly freaked out, but well one thing I've noted about Melbourne, and Brunswick St in particular - they pride themselves on quirky decor. Which I love, btw. It makes for such a nice romp through the neighbourhood!

These little discoveries are so very exciting indeed. Spent the first half of the day literally roaming the streets of Melbourne. Turning corners along streets whenever it struck my fancy. I got fantabulously lost somewhere along Exhibition St when I discovered Two Fingers (as well as my whole hand WAH DAMN FUNNY SIA).

Suddenly reminded of that Nokia ad - It shows you the way to places to get lost in. (Something along those lines anyway). Couldn't be true-er! It's wonderful to be lost in a city's culture and sights and shopping! Found my way to Swanston St and there was this AMAZING vintage store (must be the size of River Island at Vivocity = HUGE) full of ALL sorts of 2nd hand/vintage-style clothes and accessories for men and woman! I bought myself a Roxy beanie for $15 and some vintage postcards. I would've bought more but I didn't have time to dig around. It's like House of Japan, but more well-stocked and better organized... Without the funky smell. Haha.

Then onto more quirky+vintage clothes shopping at Brunswick. Really starting to enjoy myself now... Shane's bringing me to the Caribbean Gardens tomorrow for the flea market! Should be fun eh.

Link here and on the sidebar to the photos of the trip!

Melbourne Day One

My first day in Melbourne. Not that alone afterall with Matin's friend, Shane, bringing me around! But I should probably start from the beginning, if I'm to tell a good story.

The flight was relatively unexciting. Emirates flies well, serves good food, and alright tv shows. Listened to the radio mostly and it was good stuff. Slept most of the time because I spent all night before packing (how traditionally last minute haha). The only thing that was weird was probably that it's Emirates. I'm not used to announcements being read in Arab first, then English. And having a radio+TV channel with the Koran being broadcasted non-stop. And a guy having convulsions before me and nobody giving a shit about him.

No offence to the Arab world, btw. I qte liked the exotic-ness of not being served by a Singaporean Girl, and the general feeling of something new.

But anyway back to Spasing Man.

This man in front of me suddenly started flailing his arms about and it looked a lot like he was having some form of a fit from behind (I could really only see his flailing arms) and it REALLY freaked me out! At first I was like "OMG WHERE IS THE STEWARDESS WE NEED MEDICAL ASSITANCE THIS MAN IS HAVING A FIT!" But 10 minutes came and went and so did one or two stewardesses and NOBODY attended to this man. That was when I pretty much guessed that this is somewhat normal and by no means potentially dangerous...

By the 2nd hour I was much less concerned and a lot more annoyed because he would hit the chair next to him and it was so noisy! I was really trying to get some sleep...

This is the skybus it's really nothing much just a bus that takes you from the airport to the city.

This is where the skybus takes you to, whereupon you take the city shuttle to a hotel in town. Unfortunately I was there at 3am and the earliest shuttle is at 6am... So I called Shane and he came by to pick me up. I sat outside on the street bench for a while, looking like a homeless person. It was cold. Haha but it was nice and quiet. Later on Shane told me this was the dodgy side of town and could very well have been mugged, sitting there... Oooops.

This is Alicia's cat that I'm helping to take care off while I'm living in her apartment... It's a sweet place. And the cat (who is reading this as I type) is really friendly. Like REALLY friendly. He also has abandonment issues, which took me a WHILE to get used to... He tried to play fetch with me in the middle of the night I was throwing paper balls in my sleepy stupor until I locked him out of the room... Whereupon he began yowling. :( But it's alright now, he's less excitable after he's gotten used to me.

My room for now.

The doorway.

Spent the first day in the apartment walking around figuring out where the light switches were... And how to turn on the heater... And how to feed the cat...

The cat is toilet trained btw. Like it literally shits and pees in the toilet. I was AMAZED the first time I saw it do that. Ok it's kinda gross, coz I'm just standing there watching a cat shit and pee into a toilet bowl but MAN it's fascinating. I wish MY CAT could do that, but she'd probably fall in and I would NOT want to be the one to have to clean her after that.

I am NOT in an enviable position right now.

To be unsure of the next 3 years of my life? That's where I am now.

Wishing and Hoping and Waiting.

Listening to Bon Jovi feeling all nostalgic and emo.

For small moments in my day, I allow myself the indulgence of imagining I will definitely be going to UWM. Daniel asked me if I'd miss anyone, I said no. Because I know I'll keep in touch all the time anyway... But today I'm meeting Jo for dinner at JP and for some reason I'm really sad about that. Haha. Because I know I won't be able to just walk out to some mall and meet my friends for dinner whenever I want to, if I'm at UWM.

And on Monday, I'll be out tutoring, then heading over to town to meet Matin and bunch and pore over our pretty laptops in some Random Starbucks till late.

matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
ok we both bring lappies tmr
macMattar
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
HAHAHA
WTF U ARE A BURGER.
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
lol.
its the name of my mac.
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
seriously
mine would have been....
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
sounds nicer then iMattar
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
MacSin
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
HAHHA!
thats hot!
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
yes it would
HAHAHA
i can name my ipod that, i guess
hoho
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
then we can pair our devices and get married
Hey it's Max, I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep! *BEEP* says:
HAHAHAHHAHAHAA
matin.mattar ماتين مطر you could be my cinderella-ela-ela eh eh eh. says:
and ure ipod can be the kid
one big apple family

Then maybe on Friday I'll just take a bus out at night and meet Yiggs for ice-cream. And Dee and Anita and... Sigh.

I never realised how easy it was to meet up with people in this country. I just hop on the train for an hour and I'm at Ivee's place at the other end of Singapore.

And now I'm wondering why I haven't met up with some of the people on my Never Become Strangers list... If it was that easy. Must be some kind of psychological barrier. Or maybe we've already become strangers. Pah!

Finally. A little breathing room.

Been busking for the past 4 days, helping the BMDP raise money. I'm sure the girl before me (Amanda Tee) raised much more than me (she's so lovely), but hey - I did manage to pull in some money!

Only managed to pull through today with Ivee's magical Difflam lozenges. They're highly potent I suggest you only try them In Case of Emergency. As with all highly potent drugs there are some slight side effects, including a complete numbing of the throat. This is both good and bad - Good, because then I can sing all I want, and not feel any pain at all. Voice is nice and smooth and clear too. Bad, because as I hit the high notes, I could be shredding my vocal chords and I wouldn't even feel a thing.

Max: Wow. Difflam really works. I can't feel a thing. Actually I can't even feel my throat. But I know it's there because when I swallow, I feel like, this constriction.

Ivee likes to use me as an outlet for all her anger and violent tendencies. When I'm around, I somehow incite her to curse and swear for no particular reason. Ivee, btw, does not usually curse or swear. But SOMEHOW, I am to blame for her cursing and swearing. SOMEHOW. And I said a grand total of 3 'fuck's in the course of 2 days. HOW I influenced her, I do not know. I suppose it is my sheer being there that induces such behaviour.

Haha. But it was fun, wasn't it, Ivee? Busking I mean, not swearing. It was nice, knowing I was helping people. That when someone puts money into that box, it was kind of because of me... Hee. It was nice to build performing confidence. It was nice to have people come up to me, tell me they love my voice, or that I sing really well, or just shake my hand and say they really liked what we did. That they were touched by our performance.

Now for the next 2 days I will just be at scholarship briefings, clarifying finances and accomodation and all the other nitty gritty that make going to Wisconsin so much more real. Yet, this makes me realise how scared I am - so afraid that I don't get into UWM and all this will be for nothing. I actually do like the scholars, after getting to know them better. They're a really nice bunch of people, and to be with such eccentric and smart people is always kinda intriguing.

But for now, I shall indulge in what all Man needs to do more - Eat, Drink, (Sleep) and be merry!

Because it's ladies' night,
and the feeling's right,
Because it's ladie's night
Oh what a night!
(Ohh what a niight...)

And I can't wait till I travel to Melbourne and Auckland to meet Liz and Hieu respectively! I wish I had the money to travel down to Sydney and Perth as well to visit Mei and Auntie Pat... Wow I am going to EMPTY my bank account for this trip... But it's worth it, I know. It's going to be awesome, travelling alone, visiting friends... NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT I'LL DO WHEN I GET THERE, other than spend lovely hours on end catching up and seeing how life is like for them now...

Life is well and truly good, my friends. :)

Conversation of the day:

Me: Mom send me to Zouk leh
Mom: I'm already picking you up you go yourself la
Me: I suppose I could la *SIGH* It's just such a dodgy time to go out... Ok bye then.
Mom: Just before Max hangs up the phone Cover up.

What I want to know is - How did she know I was planning on wearing my new ________?!

Empress Nons refusing to enjoy himself at Sahara. Actually I didn't enjoy it either. What's to enjoy about chalky, flavourless shisha? Fucking good chicken wings though! Just like how Mommy Mattar makes them... mmmm sedapp... (HAHA OK I CONFESS I LEARNT THAT FROM MAKANSUTRA.)

The main attraction in this photo is supposed to be the choc cake on the table.
Wait, are those emtpy margarita glasses?! Now, that just ain't right!

The Verdict on the Cake:
Spend another $2 and get it at P.S. Cafe instead la.

Concluding the night without Hadri and Tim :(

And Zul :((

Sitting in my room, on my floor, using my pretty little laptop... Forcing myself to sit upright or face possible back problems for life.

Everyday, someone will come up to me and ask my about my uni plans. I should start writing them on little cue cards to flash at people. Don't need more reminders that I haven't finished my UWM essay (it's coming along though YESSesss) OR received the link to apply to UIUC (which should come in tmr!).

Having this cute little laptop is so convenient! I am beginning to store my entire life on this... Esp when I have so much memory+the ultra light external hard drive. Plus my trusty cam/phone, hoho I'm unstoppable!

And I'm beginning to wonder if my neighbours notice my room light's always on till weeweeweehours of the... morning? Well, I like the night way more than the day. Dee said it's something to do with giving up the expectations of living by day and sleeping by night. I think I agree! There's a lot of freedom that comes with being the only one awake in the house. And a very comfortable type of loneliness. I used to wake up at 6am before school to stand in the dark by the window with my mug of milk, looking out, waiting for the world to light up before my eyes. I would notice everything - the first person moving around outside my house, the first morning jogger, the first dog to be walked, the first kid with the heavy backpack... I don't think anyone noticed I did that. When the sun rose, I'd wake my parents up. Breakfast, wash up, change, off to school!

Geewhiz. Off to school. Wonder what THAT'll be like...

Rohai: EH DON'T GO OVERSEAS LA... Then we can have lunch together EVERYDAY!
Max: Yes, because that's the REAL reason I want to go to NUS.
Rohai: Of course!!?!
Matin: Nevermind la we can skype over lunch!

NUS or UWM, it seems that the next 4 years will be rocking preeetty hard. Whoohoo!

New com!

Acer TravelMate 6291 :)

It's cute and small and light. And BLACKk... Hoho. More importantly I got it at a reeeally good deal - $1800 with free

1. Printer/Scanner/Copier that came with a trolley to lug it around haha!
2. Upgrade to 2GB RAM
3. Optical mouuuse
4. 120 GB external hard drive
5. Internet security software

Wowweee Yippeee I'm so glad I can access the net from the comfort of my own room now... And YES I AM FINALLY ON MSN! Haha. My other com's got so many viruses I can't use MSN for more than 5 mins at a go, and it hangs all the time too which is ;alkdsjfvoihsfm,bngwiu

Mom made me buy the webcam too (but the laptop comes with a built in cam!) haha because she wants to keep in contact with me by skype.com heehee

but what if I don't get uwm or uiuc?? OMG the fear is crippling...

Okay uni update time:

I got astar but it's subject to my attending either UIUC or UWM which explains why I am still applying to colleges when everyone's beginning to pack for school!

I got NUS Bioengineering & Econs Double-Degree Programme, USP but I DIDN'T get GMS and I'm still trying to get a reply out of the Engine Fac regarding my scholarship results...

Hey ho let's go!

UPDATE: I just skyped with Matin omg it's so much fun! but urgh i cannot look unglam at home anymore?! what the hell that ain't right. haha Matin wore a cap because his hair was ugly. So VAIN!

UPDATE: My free optical mouse has just stopped working. I suppose it's not seeing very well... HOHO OMG I'M SO FUNNY-EH-HEHEHE...

Here I am, not filling in my application to UWM.

Damn vague essay topics. Damn freedom. Damn my need to be different. Give me guidelines! Give me structure, organization and METHOD!

Actually, just give me every album produced by Dim Mak and I'll be happy.

Haha. It figures that the only thing that can keep me obsessed for long enough to stray from my COLLEGE APPLICATIONS is music - More specifically, Steve Aoki's music.

Brother to Devon Aoki.
Founder of Dim Mak Records.
DJ Kid Millionaire.
1/2 of Weird Science.
Rich Asian in America. (haha)
And so so very much more.

Interesting life aside, he ONLY happens to own some of my favourite bands. And created my favourite remix of Bloc Party's Helicopters. How many more markers do I need to figure out - Steve Aoki has awesome taste in music.

Click here for good music.

It's the Dim Mak Records site... Just listen to the radio on it and fall in love :)

Today

Brilliant and Bizarre.

I'll try to recount this as best as I can -

Met Sean for coffee at Starbucks
Dee and Yan came by looking for me (We were supposed to have dinner then kbox before Yan leaves for the US for a WHOLE MONTH. Lucky bitchh!)

4 people sit outside Starbucks, catching up and people watching

Sean spots John Mark (hand-in-hand with his gf)
John Mark and gf come over
They sit down at our table and we make friends with his gf while he goes over to another table and talk to another friend he spots
Dee spots Hadri and Matin
Hadri and Matin come over and sit down
Hadri bitches about ______
Matin takes pictures of everyone
Sean's friend calls him (it's Jing Wen)
Jing Wen comes over
Christian joins soon after
Hello, hello I've heard so much about you from so-and-so
Chit-chat, small talk... We swap stories and become friends
Matin gets a call (it's Rohai)
Rohai comes by - Kiss, kiss, hellohellohello i'm rohairohairohairohairohairohai...
Matin takes more photos
Rohai recognises Christian - Excuse me, are you an SJI boy?
Sean gets a call (it's Cheryl, who used to be Sarah Lee)
Cheryl runs over, immediately friendly and nice (JTG approve!)

12 people sit outside Starbucks, catching up with old friends and making new ones

"Eh I haven't seen the SJI brudduhood in damn long!"
"We're meeting them later for dinner! Wanna join?"

9 people head to Tony Roma's, three people remain at Starbucks

Kiss, kiss, see you this Sunday, darlings
Dee, Yan and I arrive at Tony Roma's
"LLOYD! NICK! LINCOLN?!"
"Oh hi Dex, I'm ____"

14 people sit at a long table in their own section at Tony Roma's, catching up with old friends and making new ones

"What's a Lankan?"
"So how do you know him?"
"HEY you're a cross-er right?"
"Oh you were from ___? Do you know ___??"
"I love his shirt"
"I love how he looks like the guy on his shirt"
4 more people arrive, who never get introduced

18 people sit for dinner, catching up with old friends and making new ones
Swapping stories about friends, and sharing stories about maids/army/schools/families

Eh since we all don't know each other we should just play whacko at the table la.

I am living the Facebook dream, my friend.

I wish I could talk in-depth about something. Like

art or
music or
movies or
books or
comics or
ideas or
people.

But all I have stored in my head is a mish-mash (?) of random information absorbed from everything around me. I'm uncultured, uncouth and uncaring. Hee.

But anyway - today is a day worth documenting. Scratch that. Yesterday AND today are days worth documenting. So because I'm too effin lazy to write in my diary, here I am - blogging.

I am also an attention-loving-whoreee :)

Yesterday

I tried shisha (that how you spell it?) at el-sheikh's with my cast from The Day I Met the Prince! It's on the intersection of Aliwal St and Pahang St if you're interested. They're easy to scam! (Details ahead)

Sab was dying to shisha, and everyone else was a shisha virgin. She corrupted us all that night, with that damned Grape Mint shisha! Sab got sooo high it bordered on disturbing. But she wasn't even high on the shisha. She was just high knowing she was shisha-ing. She's too cute! Personally, I felt nothing. It's yummy though! And it's a good excuse to sit your friends down for a few hours, just lazing around and chatting. And soooo cheap too!

Max: I think I'll order some calamari.
Bind: Eh isn't that like lime juice?
Max and Sab stare blankly at Bind.
Max: Lime juice? Then realisation, followed by horror. BINDI THAT'S KALAMANSI!!!

Jane: OMG you know just now, some guy nearly tried to knock me down while I was on the phone with you guys??
Max: No wayy...
Jane: YEAH! He was like driving really slowly behind me and when he finally drove by he was like giving me the Fuck Off Face! Like URGH whatever.
Max: You were standing in the middle of the road?
Jane: Yeahh. (Like, duh.)
Max: It's people like you that I will hate when I learn how to drive.

Something astonishing was revealed at the table.
Jane: LIKE, OHH-EMM-EFF-GEE?!??!!!!
Max: Stops laughing IMMEDIATELY and points fork directly at Jane OH MY GOD DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN... EVER.

A bunch of un-hot Arab guys sit down at the table next to ours and one of them attempts to ask Bindi out. She refuses, but he is insistent (and kind of creepy too).
Weirdo: You want to go Sentosa?
Bindi: No.
Weirdo: Zoo?
Bindi: No.
Jane: LOOK, DUDE - SHE'S LESBIAN. Kisses Bind on the CHEEK. Haha.
Weirdo refuses to acknowledge Jane and keeps repeating the same questions.
Jane: Say it with me now -
Everyone: Ohhhh-emmmm-efffff-geeeee!!?!! (What the hell is wrong with this guy?!)

Now all you have to do is wait for the pictures of us puffing like chimneys! Jane and Xuehui also have pictures of them looking like blow up dolls while uhm... inhaling. Right. Heh. Shisha-ing is definitely smoother than the Dunhills Zul smokes (those are like Thailand air in a neatly rolled up stick). I don't think I really like it.

Max: You need to try it before you know you don't like it.
Dee: Yeah but that only applies for like 90% of everything.
Max: Yeah... murder doesn't count!

The smoke irritates my sinuses. And I woke up with a slight sore throat in the morning. It's still a little raspy, in fact... But as I said, it's an excuse for a social gathering.

How to scam El-Sheikh:
We were on the 2nd floor, and when we left nobody bothered to check if we'd paid. They were all so polite even, as we left! Doing their table-waiting obligatory 'Bye's' and 'See you again's'... After like 100m we started running though. Me and Sab ran because we were high from the rush of escaping payment+fear of getting caught; Jane and Bind ran because they thought Arab men were chasing us; Xuehui ran because everyone else was running. Haha.

Later we just sat at Blu Jaz Cafe, eating brownies and indulging in sordid gossip. Ooh! Then Xuehui's investment banker friends came by, Jane left... and Sab and I were the only two girls left with our brains fully intact and functioning. Xuehui and Bindi were in full flirty bimbo mode, complete with flirty laugh, hair flicking and full-on 'OMG YOU'RE SO INTERESTING TELL ME MORE TELL ME MORE' lines.

Max and Sab exchange looks.
Max: Whispering Is it me or did everyone's IQ drop by half while I wasn't looking?

But to be honest, those investment bankers WERE interesting. Travelling so much, growing up all over the world, speaking so many languages, earning so much money... But I just felt like Xuehui was doing enough asking for the both of us (oh yeah Sab and Bindi left after a while). Heehee. I just sorta sat there and tried to play it cool teeheehees.

Actually, I kinda regret not getting Shang Hai's (yes, like the place in China) contact. He seems to have SUCH an interesting life, and a really great personality to boot.