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.