Archive for November, 2007
ramblings
Posted on November 29, 2007, by soph, under Psychobabble.
Knowing I’ve got a long day ahead does not help. I am simply not in the mood today. I cannot wait for lunch so I can go home and see my Grandma and the very recently-reunited siblings (Jessie came back last night). Or at least, we will be reunited once I show up.
My current, immediate sentiments can best be described in that phrase my sisters and I shamelessly ripped off the movie Ever After - (I am in a) foul disposition. It’s a slight exaggeration considering I’m probably just grumpy and sleepy and restless, but it sounds right. I like the melodrama of it.
I totally should not be blogging at work.
I am also totally up. to. here. with people who PMS (read: mood swings) first thing in the morning and spread mood-dampening germs around. More than that, I am utterly annoyed that their germs affect me!
We had a good chat with Sivin (a thousand thanks, Sivin, appreciate it more than we probably let on) last night - it was almost therapeutic, except on a more spiritual level. This is probably also what psychologists are paid to do, minus the God-talk.
I don’t normally talk about me. Well, not me the person anyway. As Y will attest, I talk lots about me in relation to what I do and what people in relation to me do (usually that means work stuff). So to, in a way, be forced to verbalise normally-silent mullings and ruminations is, in a weird sense, liberating - if not also slightly confusing for the listeners - because to articulate those thoughts is to be as random and incomplete and uncertain as the thoughts themselves.
It’s also liberating because it forces me to confront an issue I’ve been working on for the past few years - learning not to care so much about what other people think about me. That fear of ‘what will people think’ probably plays a bigger role in my sayings and doings than I would like, but I am pleased to note that I am learning not. to. care. As much.
See, this is what happens when I procrastinate at work - I get all self-aware and start rambling.
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Still despondent, by the way
Posted on November 27, 2007, by soph, under Celebrities, Sports.
After four days of blogwriter’s block, I have given up trying to think of what to say and have decided to just post up pictures instead.The past week has been an obsession over these people:
and
These guys rocked up first:
I’ll confess I wasn’t nearly as excited about them as I was about Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, but it was pretty cool to see them in the flesh all the same. Besides, they were a hell of a lot more accessible than the other two, and I have these to prove it:
I hear Jeremy Dalseno is really jealous about the Rafael Nadal photo. If I’d known he was such a huge fan, I’d have gotten him an autograph! See, people need to tell me things like that, because sometimes (and I can’t stress the ’some’ part enough) I can actually help out.
Jeremy (and any other closet Nadal fan I may know), this is an extra for you:
Nadal and Richard Gasquet flew in on Monday and played their exhibition match on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, Federer and Sampras flew in.
These are from their very eventful pre-match press conference:
Pete may be charm itself during an exhibition match, but I assure you the Pete that did the press conference that day was quite the opposite. Roger was nice enough about signing autographs, assuming you managed to get past the eight or so members of his entourage that surrounded him wherever he went. As you might have noticed from the above link, these were seriously big guys too.
I got neither an interview nor a photograph with Roger, so I had to be content with just being in the presence of greatness. Plus, my media pass got me pretty good seats for the match so I shan’t whinge. Here is a photo from the post-match press conference, which lasted all of six(!) questions.
As you can see, Pete is no happier to be doing post-match press conferences than he was a day earlier. I suppose it comes with being retired, not to mention he’s probably feeling the aches and pains of trying to play against Roger at 36.
I’ll admit they were both being a bit of a diva throughout the two days, but (luckily? ha ha) for Roger, I’ve always had a thing for tall, skinny guys (like you can’t already tell from Y). Add that to the fact that he is a beyond brilliant tennis player…
For more photos, you can go here.
xxx
Speaking of photos, these are just two other blokes I’ve met up close of late - and just for the curious, they were far more obliging.
Ekin Cheng
Wang Lee Hom
If you’re Lee Hom-obsessed like a certain member of my family is, you can also go here. This was my pressie to Jessie, and I’m relieved to say I’ve never done anything this fan-crazed in my life for myself. I seriously doubt I ever will.
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Despondent
Posted on November 23, 2007, by soph, under Creatures, Uncategorized.
After the tennis-fueled high and higher of the past four days, I have crashed rudely back into routine. It’s been so hectic I haven’t played a Scrabulous move in four days!
I have much to say/show, but that will have to wait. For now, I was amazed to read about this:
Jellyfish attack wipes out Irish salmon farm
I have an unfortunate history with jellyfish. They like me. In fact, they’ve liked me four times since I was nine. You would think I’d have developed some kind of immunity towards them by now, but I still panic if I see a jellyfish when I’m in the water. This from a girl who wants to go scuba-diving.
Anyway, I cannot imagine what 26 square km (and 35 feet deep!) of jellyfish looks like. I’m totally not dying to find out. Literally.
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saturday comics
Posted on November 17, 2007, by soph, under Politics.
This is funny (and so wrong and so embarrassing) in so many ways I can’t even begin to expound on all of them.
I’m actually embarrassed for the spluttering dude, who in case you missed it, is our very own Information Minister being interviewed on Al Jazeera News re last week’s protests.
The transcript - because I know that incessant blubbering can be quite hard to understand - is as follows, thanks to this guy.
Minister: I commend yo-yo-your journalists trying to project… to exaggerate more than what actually happened. That-that-that-that’s it. We are not the-the and I-I congratulate your journalists behaving like an actor, that-that’s it…
Reporter: As you say that, sir, we’re watching scenes of protesters being sprayed by chemical-filled water!
Minister: YA! I am watching! I’m here! You’ve been trying… trying to do it this - to do this everywhere but in Malaysia people are allowed to, you know? We know our police head our colleague… Police have whatever allowed the procession to go to the Istana Negara, you know? Do police, first police, like, they handle them, they attack them, they… the police don’t, don’t, don’t fire anybody?
Reporter: Our correspondent came back to the office, sir, with chemicals in his eyes!
Minister: You-you-you-you are here with the idea, you are trying to project, what is your mind! You think that we Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. Everything you-you are thinking! WE ARE DIFFERENT! We are totally different!
Reporter: Well unfortunately when you refuse to let people protest, it does appear so.
Minister: Ya ya we are not like you! You-you have earlier perception, you come here, you want to project us like undemocratic country. This a democratic country!
Reporter: So why can’t people protest then, if it’s a democratic country?
Minister: YES, PEOPLE PROTEST! People do-do… of course they protest. We are allowing them protest, and they have demonstrated. But we just trying to disperse them, and then later they-they-they don’t wanna disperse, but later our police compromise. They have compromised and allowed them to proceed to Istana Negara! Police, our police have succeeded in handling them gently, right? Why do you report that? You take the opposition, someone from opposition party you ask him to speak. You don’t take from the government, right?
Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests…
Minister: Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?
Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?
Minister: I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!
Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?
Minister: No we-we are! We… this protest is illegal! We don’t want..this… the… NORMALLY…
Reporter: OK, so let me return to my former question. Why is this protest illegal?
Minister: YA! It’s a illegal protest because we have the erection in Malaysia. It’s no-no point on having a protest! We are allowing to every erection… every five years never fail! We are not our like, like Myanmar, not like other country. And, and you are helping this. You Al-Jazeera also is helping this, this forces. The, you know, these forces who are not in passion, who don’t believe in democracy!
Reporter: Alright, many thanks for joining us.
Minister: I don’t, ya, you, Al-Jazeera, this is, is Al-Jazeera attitude. Right?
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top three observations before eleven a.m.
Posted on November 16, 2007, by soph, under Uncategorized.
1. Chocolate doughnuts are not a good way to start the morning. Too sweet, too rich, too sweet.
2. I am definitely not going to complete Nanowrimo this year. It’s the 16th of November and I have 2000 words which I feel like deleting into pixellated nothingness.
3. I forgot my third observation. But on a celebrity note, Matt Damon is this year’s People’s Sexiest Man Alive. They say he won for his “irresistible sense of humour”, “heart-melting humility” and “rock-solid family man” attributes. I think he won because he gets to run around subway stations holding a gun. That, and his best friend is George Clooney, who by the way didn’t even make it into the top 10 this year - I don’t know what they were thinking. By the way, Patrick Dempsey came in second.
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This is why
Posted on November 11, 2007, by soph, under It's a Girl's Life, Married.
I’ll never be allowed to drive Y’s fancy sports car again. When/If he gets a(nother) fancy sports car.
Right bumper.
Left bumper.
Note: Left bumper looks worse when not exposed under direct, thankfully reflective, sunlight.
Y says I have officially done “that thing all girls do” by scratching my right bumper as I reversed out of a parking lot and forgot there was a pillar on my right. I swear this is the first time I’ve done that.
Of course this is also the first time I’ve had not one, but two accidents in the same night! Both within an hour! Bringing my squeaky-clean accident record of (I think) some four, five years to a rude, screeching halt.
But… the night was worth it, and J is supposed to tell you why - when he gets round to it.
(Left bumper happened when I hit a guy at an intersection as he was turning right from the outer lane and I wanted to go straight from the inner lane. I maintain it’s his fault, he maintains it’s mine, J reckons it’s just lousy road-planning, so we decided to part happy people and blame it all on the government. That, and karma.)
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The ad of the moment
Posted on November 6, 2007, by soph, under Movies Music TV.
For me, anyway. Love Yasmin Ahmad’s work.
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Of speed, trash-talking and pretend cars
Posted on November 4, 2007, by soph, under Hanging Out, Sports.
Once upon a time, J, Y, G and C decided to revisit the good ol’ days. And what better way to do so than by going really fast, destroying things without having to bear any responsibility, and pretending they were race car drivers? So they slotted in their tokens like good law-abiding residents, traded customary insults and they were off!
G got off to a good start…
But Y was right behind him…
J was proving incredibly adept…
And C wasn’t doing too badly either…
Four laps (I think), several crashes and numerous “You suck!”s later
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
G emerged victorious.
(I actually thought Y would win.)
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Boo!
Posted on November 2, 2007, by soph, under It's a Girl's Life.
Brilliant, as she often is.
Today, I woke up at the insane hour of 8am for no apparent reason and yawned my way through the 15-minute drive to work - I was actually hoping there’d be traffic so I could stone in the car to the cheerful tunes of Hairspray a little longer. The gloomy weather is not helping, and it’s all I can do to be sufficiently productive and not an inch more. Not today. It’s Friday and perfect bum weather and the thought of having to be presentable and sociable tonight makes me want to… well, yawn somemore.
I’m sure the day will pick up as it goes on, but just to compensate for wearing make-up and a strapless bra tonight (that’s pretty much my benchmark of ‘really dressing up’), I am spending the day in what must surely be one of my top three sloppiest outfits I’ve ever worn to work.
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