Movie *Mary & Max*

*Watched *Mary&Max* today...
yes, I am quite up to date with movies... esp those that will only screen for a short time, usually i watched them on the 1st or 2nd day of screening (to avoid disappointment).

So.... *Mary&Max* (more info here)

Synopsis: "Mary and Max" tells the simple story of a 20-year pen-pal friendship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle, a chubby, lonely 8-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horowitz, a 44-year-old Jewish man, who is severely obese, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, and lives an isolated life in New York City. It is very much a triumph of emotion, insight, and eccentricity-a complete delight. Animation's ability to capture the intricate complexity of life has never been on display in as absorbing fashion as with the storytelling of this Australian filmmaker, who truly makes you forget what you are watching. The originality of the voices in this ever-spinning kaleidoscope of innocence and idiosyncrasy comes straight from an incredibly rich imagination and complete artistic vision. This desire for acceptance and love amid the pain of existence is masterfully narrated by Barry Humphries and fleshed out by the voices of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. This film that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, trust, copulating dogs, sexual and religious differences, agoraphobia, and more, and is rooted in a very personal relationship, is proof of why we go to the movies and a truly exceptional portrait of compassion and love.

I have little doubts why it is NC 16 and of cos why it won so many bloody awards... it's dark, gloomy and the friend who watched this with me described it as a "Poignant little film."

Kitty Videos

Took these some time back...
Creamie loves to play with this whenever I am back, she will whine non stop begging for me to play this game with her! She will even pick up the toy and drag it over, drop it in front of me then give me her "sad kitten" look aka "Puss in the boots" look....

Cute lah... all the weary just melt away...

Here's Nugget enjoying the comfort of his make-shift bed-my legs. he's really cute, kept trying to catch my attention while I was reading and and "listening" to the TV. When he realised that I am not abt to give in to his nudging, he ploughed himself in between my legs and settled in comfortably!

Sweet lah!

Staple for the past few days...

Bleah... i am not feeling well again...
i think i'm coming down with another bout of cold...
think i got it from the endless hrs i spent in my wet swim suit.... either toking to parents (who will stop  me whenever they can to ask me abt their child's progress)...

Everything nasty will come after the bad sore throat... at least that's usually the case for me... all things bad starts from a terribly pain sore throat...
and on wed night, i woke up every 2 hrs interval to drink water... the pain is just unbearable...
thursday morning - go back to hospital then to cycling assignment... have to tok relatively much and shout at the kids to "KEEP LEFT!!!"
By thursday nite, my throat is Kaput and i was feeling feverish + nausea... i slept with a cold pack on my forehead again and cancelled all my other plans for fri, except for swim class in the morning...

Fri night, I slept relatively well by sucking on a lozenge. Sat morning, i survived without choking to death by the lozenge... the pain is more bearable now, but I officially lost my voice... bleah...
Sunday still not voice, though not too painful liao.

I literally survived on this:

HONEY LEMON DRINK



Wish me good health soon....

argh! i want my voice back!

Changed iPhone

My Orange MePhone has been cranky lately...
I have received a portable battery since my last birthday, but honestly i hardly use it since I am mostly at home... But lately, i resort to having both charged to full b4 leaving the hse and yet, even after a recharge from the portable battery, i arrived home in style - running to the charging station cos the phone is left with 5% and is auto shutting down!

Damn... the phone is about 1 year now... i feared for the warranty if battery drainage is the problem.

Before I go jump to conclusion, i must try to narrow the problem, is it cos I'm running apps, or cos it's too bright etc...
So,
1st, Brightness! Set to dim but to where my eyes can still see (everyone who looks at my phone complains that it's too dim!! but it's ok - tat's how I conserve battery and maintain the astigmatism degree since 11yrs old)
2nd, turn off most app's notification and locations services.
3rd, shut down running apps - not MINIMISE them! u can do this by double clicking the home button, hold the app widget and it will start to wiggle with a "Minus" sign on it. select to shut down tat app.


Ok, sleep on it now - literally! It's now charged to full and at 12am, I am announcing bed time...
DAMN! 8 hrs later when I woke, the battery drained to 70%! How can it drain 30% when on Standby mode! DAMN! Battery's kaput!

4th, call my SUNSHINE company and asked if i could "WALKED" to their SUNSHINE shop at paragon  or Plaza Singapura.

So i went the next day... i was pleasantly happy when the reception counter told me that waiting time is abt 30mins and upon served, it will take abt 30mins for them to rectify whatever problem.
only 1hr? Tat's managable?! Considering that the last time I went there, it wasted 3hrs of my non-existence youth...

I knew it's too good to be true.
of cos the Fruit Vendor dun repair their Oranges devices since it's an integrated device. It was a one to one exchange.
Me: Is this a Re-con (re-conditioned) set?
Sunny: No, all these device comes from the Fruit factory?
Me: So it's Totally New?
Sunny: We wun know, but there wun be any duplicate in IMEI number.
Me: So the warranty for the new phone is ONE year from today?
Sunny: No, the Warranty starts from the day you bot your 1st iphone, in our records - it will end on 1 Apr 2011, but since u are getting a One-for-One exchange, we are giving a 90 days warranty. so 90 days warranty starts frm today.
Me: I dun understand, you said this is a New Phone. it shouldnt break down within 1 yr else I am still covered...
Sunny: Yes, this is a new phone. but as I have already said, your One-Year warranty will start from the day you 1st  bot an iphone. *
Me: Yes.... so if this is a New phone, why wouldnt u give me 1yr warranty from today?
Sunny: (repeat*), I think u understand what I am saying right?
Me: Hey, I understand English ok. (by now I am rather pissed by this SUNNY person)So how can I be sure this is even a New phone?! Is there a box? Was it sealed? I dint see u break the seal in front of me!
Sunny: Erm... this is the box... it's from the Fruit Factory... it's new and sealed, i just broke the seal.
Me: Now, how can i be sure of tat? shldnt SUNNY pple break it in front of customers like when they bought a new phone?
Sunny: Erm... yah, sowie.
Me: I guess I have no choice and I have to take ur words tat it's new right?
Sunny: U can be assured tat there will be no duplicate of IMEI number.
Me: Honestly, i am not assured at all.
Sunny: Erm....ok

*Sideline: I dun quite buy the IMEI number thingy... did u know that when u buy a used car, the odometer (not trip meter) could be tampered to show how much the car had actually travelled? Bet u didnt, now u know! Of cos the IMEI could be like the chasis of the car which is unique, but then again, it could be sand out and re-engraved!?! Who knws what goes on in the Fruit Factory with staff jumping to their death?!"

Hey, I'm not stupid k. Of cos I know they wun give another 1 year warranty lah, was just trying my luck and putting a point across. the price they sell the Orange Device at, is probably enough to cover 2-3 phones for one-for-one exchange! Do u realise their profit margin?! Operationally and financial biz point, of cos they wun give another year, even if they could! So that u have to buy new ones!! COME ON! Admit it, alot of us are FRUIT SUCKERS!!

Still, I am rather impressed that they dun ask much question for the one-for-one exchange. they merely did a "litmus" test... they shone a torch into the openings of the phone, to see if it turns blue. I caught this information thru the mumbling of the receptionists. I presume it means tat if the litmus paper at these areas indicate BLUE, it's a corrosive set (kena water).

Fingers and toes crossed.... no battery problem till 1Apr2012...  so i can get another ORANGE from the FRUIT VENDOR! Told u! I'm one of the suckers!! Heck!

i'm too serious for my friends...

It's the truth, often I find myself vexed by my friends... but that's just cause I am too serious for them...
All my friends out there, I know u'll put up ur hands to agree with me... it's a known fact that I am an overly serious/sensitive person.... As friends, they would already know I am a serious person. this is me, a total n complete package of Soya. Take it or leave it! Dun say something offending, then say "joking lah, why so serious!"
blah blah..."dun be so serious lah", "relax leh".... easy for those pple to say.

Recently I had an episode that i still feel rather *^(*#%&$#&% about...

HATE 1) I hate being the Meat Patty...
I hate being part of the sandwich, esp between two other friends, who are closer to each other as compared than to me...
A & B.
A:"If B ask u, can u dun tell i go out with u?"
Me: ....(wtf).....

Ok, both A & B did this to me on separate occasions... actually i dun mind it that much, as long as I duno have to lie... cos i am a lousy liar.

HATE 2) I hate Lousy jokes, esp those that is those emotional blackmail ones.
E.g.:
A: "Eh! I call u leh, why u never pick up? Dun want to pick up my calls is it?"
Usually it's....
My Option1: "I was in the shower/toilet/living room/riding my bike..."
but what i really wanna say when I hear things like that is,
My Option 2: "Yah, u are right! I purposely dun wanna pick up cos I saw it's you!"

My point is this, why say something you know is NOT TRUE!?! Definitely something I wun do what!? If I will not pick up ur calls, means - we are not friends... why bother to call me anyway?! I am not even the extreme type who dun pick up unknown numbers! It is BLOODY obvious that I was engaged and not able to pick it up. I really dun expect you ask after my well being: "Is it u too busy to pick up my call? Dun tire yourself too much leh... must rest well k..."

Usually if I rebuked with Option2, the response will be,
A: "Erm... i just joking lah, dun be so serious leh...erm...."
Me: "Joking? Is it funny? I dun think so leh....tell joke must make sure pple laugh, this is definitely not funny at all."

It's a small matter to many, but to me i have had enough!
Last week, I blew my top. This time with an sms reply. it was the worst combination of HATE 1 and HATE 2!
-A had smsed if I am free to have dinner with her, she said she had some manners to tok to me about. I said I couldnt as I was not feeling well. Actually I had cancelled all my afternoon assignments to go back rest after a swim class (which I couldnt cxl). 

-After my sms to her, I rode my bike to Orchard from Holland Rd(student's hse), cos it was along the way and I deseparately needed to repair my iphone (warranty ending + battery faulty liao).

-As fate has it, I bumped into B omw to the carpark-whilst I was still on  my bike! Since A n B are very close friends, and B was on the way to meet A for lunch, I casually mentioned that A had asked to meet me for dinner that evening but I declined.

-Then when I finally settled down, I saw an unread SMS sent to me by A (must have came thru while i was still riding), she told me not to tell B that she is meeting me. Shortly, she spoke to B and B had told her that she bumped into me!

-Ops! Bo bian, so I replied to A and tell her "Too late! I told B liao!"

-My guess is that A havent read my msg and she called me. 1st thing she said to me,
A: "Oey! I tot u say sick? what u doing in town!"
To me, hr tone was offensive. It sure felt like it ended with an EXCLAMATION mark, not a QUESTION Mark. It was as if I purposely dun wanna meet her for dinner, lied abt being sick.
Me: "Bo bian, my phone more sick than me leh... i have to bring it to see doctor 1st!"
*I admire myself for cracking this joke. though I was offended, I told myself that it's just that I am too serious...
A: "Orh... I tot what, U dun want to reply my msg ah!"
Me: "I was riding just now! Give me a break lah! I just saw ur msg only!"

Ok, 1st of all, sms is there for non emergencies.... anything urgent, pls for God's sake, spend some Cents to call k! If u sms me, do not expect me to reply IMMEDIATELY! C'mon, I dun live my life for u hor! Sms is for the receiver to read and reply when convenient hor! Get this right! It should never be the 1st means of contact for urging matters!

Also, will she be able to take it if i reply: "Yah, I purposely dun wan to reply ur msg leh!"
So A has done it! Both HATE 1 and HATE 2 at the same time! I am totally pissed now...
Yet I tell myself once again to be less serious, and I feel bad for being vexed by this matter. I am definitely not a petty person though I cant deny that I am rather Quick tempered.

I figured that A & B probably have some matters to thrash out.
Taking a deep breath, I was even kaypoh enough to send an sms to A & B separately to enquire if they had a gd tok...
The replies I got,
"nothing much to talk about"
"ok"
"like that lor"
"It doesnt matter anymore"

FML (F**K My Life).... I duno why do I even bother... dun get me involved... i dun like this mess.

Btw, next time someone provoke me with HATE 1 or HATE 2 in all variations, I am going make sure the person gets it with the bluntest reply!
You have been warned.....

*QUESTION: Will I still have friends after this post? It's really fine, cos I'll rather die lonely then to have to go thru this SHIT!

Hair almost back to norm... after 9 months...

My hair is almost back to the norm... the top is still growing out...
Came across this in the 8Days...
Kym Ng looks great with the style David Gan gave her!

Can I carry off this look too?!
My jaw is not so square like Kym's.... she is reed THIN!!

Tell me if u'ld like me in this!

Am I a Masochist?

I am selling my road bike... my 战马... my triathlon racing comrade... yes it's true...
it's about time!

Email extract to my friend when she asked why I suddenly wanna sell my bike:
"Other then it's really underused n i'm getting more n more "pussy" riding a roadbike as I age.


Selling e bike also cos it was a gift frm my ex. I have already moved on, but it's cleaner without having to look at it everyday. I kept it so long to make sure I can deal with it, now tat I knw I can, it serve no purpose to keep looking at it! Yes! I am sadist in this manner!! I will keep staring at old photos etc, till I know if I bump into him in e streets, I will b able to react cooly-once I can do that, I'll keep e photo away! Wuahhaha! Sadist I knw-but I "train" myself for such situations!! Kekek!"

My friend replied my email n said tat I'm a Masochist instead of sadist!
I went to ask Best friend, Google.com what it means....

Ok, I ticked 3 outa 4... i guess i qualify...

It felt kinda weird to see an Empty Bike tower in my room (my friend had volunteered to help me sell the bike so she took it to do some swopping n cleaning)... the emptiness in me went away after 3 hrs.... wuahhah! it was such a relief!!

Creamie looking on....

Well, another friend comforted me by telling me that 旧的不去，新的不来! That is so True!!! i even started looking, researching for a new MTB (MountainBike)! Probably later.... let me settle my work stuff 1st... but budget for a decent MTB will be <$500... probably ard the range of $300+ bah... nevertheless.... i saw this in the magazine lately:

COOL! So tempting!

Anyway, I am happy to sell the wheelsets at a decent price.... that funded my need to get a new Tv during the IT fair recently! Was reading the papers n decided on getting this:

Swopping it with the new LCD TV in the living room.... Papa has been watching lotsa TV lately.... chasing a taiwanese drama series.... something like like endless *爱*Love* series currently showing on Channel 8.. it's terrible... he probably spend at least 6hrs in front of the TV till he is also afraid that the TV will burst into flame; he points the fan at the TV! 

One thing for sure, Nugget loves the TV... he is just as bad a TV addict as AhGong! He cant stop watching the big screen now!

Darn... is the TV too big for my room?!

Singapore Flyer's Food Trail

Have read about the Singapore FoodTrail 路边摊 at the Singapore Flyer... will be a great makan place after watching *大世界*. So decided to bring Papa n Lidna there to look see look see and makan!

Must say that the Hokkien Mee n

the Oyster Egg(Or-Jian) is quite nice!

Papa says that all the living room

looks like this in the olden days!

Much hype but the place is relatively small... Papa says that this kind of place, the local will only come once or max twice. The tourists needless to say lah-prob only once! He didnt seem very impressed with the small scale of the place and the variety of food available. Nonetheless, the effort to recreate an 80's food trail along the streets is really quite commendable!

Getting Old.... Getting Vain

Confession.... i am actually very vain... to a certain extent...

I love my hair... but i also recognise the fact that since it's short now, whatever fashion mistake i make now, it will grow out! I do spend time styling my hair on the days that i wan to look good... but i can also live my life normally with my hair unstyled for 2 weeks continuously, that include going out with a rather unkept hair since there is no impt occasion to style it!

I do use make up... for more impt occasions... but I can also live without it... although i value the basics of skin care.... i slack in taking care of my skin.... ok, i dun do the cleanser, toner, moisturiser 3 steps thingy... usually it's just cleanser. i dun even use a particular brand... i rotate around Johnson's facial foam, Johnson's facial scrub, Mandom facial foam/scrub, garnier facial foam/scrub.... ok ok... there must have been at least abt 6 types of facial cleanser i use.... when do i decide which one to buy? Simple - the one tat's cheapest during my toiletries stocking trips.... That's just me....

But ever since I hit the Big THREE... also having to spend many hours in chlorinated water and sorching sun... i also had a scare with skin cancer... i have decided that i must start to look after my skin...

I have since finished off 2 tubes of LOREAL's hydra gel (one complimentary from Starry)! This is quite a feat mind u; I could never finish any beauty products i buy or receive as gifts... recently I am testing the Japanese Brand carried by WATSONS... Hada Labo... u must have watched the commerical on Tv with a catchy phrase of "Hada Labo!  锁住一个海洋（lock up one Ocean)!!"

*P.S: the correct one is the Clear liquid one!

The Milky coloured lotion is too greasy for my liking!

 I am pleased to report that it's really very very good, so good that i deligently put it on everytime after I wash my face... tat can be 3-4 times a day cos I will also wash my face after each swim lesson!

I have also started advertising the product everytime someone ask me what I am putting on my face - they all know I am so Heck with such matters!!!

Also, I finally finished my tube of Sunscreen (another Feat!) and Bot another bottle (yet another Feat)! So many feat within a span of 2 weeks.... amazing....

Wish me luck in maintaining my looks.... i intend to continue to look just a tad older than my other swimming coaches friends.... they are in their early twenties btw...=D

Am I logical? Think I'm illogical!!!

I think it's quite interesting how I always fall for the salesman words... Considering that I do sales myself!

Whenever someone tries to upsell me something, 80% of e time I will all right thru e trap... The remaining 20% holds me back with but with thin thread... what happens next is a blur... I usually end up paying more than the listed price!

There's only thing i volunteer myself for e upsell! the Aunty working at McDonald's is brilliant! Before she asks me, I will "UPSIZE FOR ME A BLOODY LARGE FRIES N GREEN TEA!!"

P.s: posting this entry with my Orange MePhone for e 1st time!!
Yahooooo!!

Two much debated movies...

I watched two much debated movies over the last 2 days...
*The kids are alright*  & *得閒炒飯 All About Love*

There were much write up about these two Lesbian themed movies that will be showing in Singapore.
*The kids are alright* were given a R21 rating, only showing at Cineleisure, while *得閒炒飯 All About Love* a R21 content rating and slapped with a One time screening rating (meaning no repeats after this period, no extension whatsoever!)

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*得閒炒飯 All About Love*

Director:Ann Hui

Cast:Cheung Siu-Fai, Sandra Ng, Vivian Chow, William Chan Wai-Ting

Plot:"All About Love" is a story about two women who were once good friends in school and reunites when they stumbled upon each other at a pregnant mothers' session. Macy (Sandra Ng), a bi-sexual lawyer, was sexually involved with a divorced businessman which had led to an unexpected pregnancy. Meanwhile Anita (Vivian Chow) got herself knocked up by a young guy named William whom she met online. As Sandra and Vivian catch up with their lives and stories, they end up falling in love with each other in the process!  

IMHO: *得閒炒飯 All About Love* revolved mainly ard 4 characters. Depicted Sandra Ng as commitment phobic, Vivian Chow as Alwis seeking for True Love and security, William Chan as the young punk suddenly threw with huge responsibilities, his young ways of pursuing his love, Edmund Cheung whose marriage is on the rocks, finds a "sex" mentor (Sandra) n eventually salvaging his marriage n sex life. Cannt deny thou that Lesbian theme is the bulk of the movie, there are many other aspects of the movie that the general public can relate to!   

Theme Song is niceeeeeeeeeee........

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*The Kids Are Alright*

Cast: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson

“The Kids Are Alright” focuses on a lesbian couple, Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening), who each gave birth to a child using the same anonymous sperm donor. When the older child, Joni (Mia Wasikowska), turns eighteen, her brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson), asks her to contact the sperm bank in order to meet their biological father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Once Paul is found, the household will never be the same, as family ties are defined and constantly re-defined, and then re-re-defined again.

IMHO: *The kids are alright* protrayed not just problems of a "dysfunctional" family... in fact I could identify my parents in this movies... the part where they struggled with their teens growing up, seeking their true identity, developing their inner most characters... aging parents struggling about self discovery, satisfaction from work, duties and even the mandate sex life.... isn't it what alot of families would go thru?

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Catch these movies before it;'s too late!