The prose and corns of Az. She sleeps only to dream. She thinks the world is a tub of ice-cream: too cool but too sinful. She loves sad songs but life is good...life is good. If she were to have plastic surgery, she'd have headphones permanently stuck to her ears. Her cat won't scratch if you just sit still. Kindness is a state of mind. Make yourself at home. *spanks*
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 10:52 p.m.
###
Friday, July 1, 2005
"i'm just a temp."
darn. i already miss serving free ice-cream to kiasu doctors at the nephrology conference.
it was a pleasant 10 bux per hour job working with familiar people and umm..german guys (oh i'll miss jurgen). the sponsor's booth we were placed at was hot pink! haha. even though we had to stand and serve coffee, tea and ice-cream to doctors who come back 4 times a day for more free scoops. even though we had to keep verbally repeating what flavors we offer to each "customer" for a lack of a signboard (and the flavors change every time a tub finishes). even though we had to tolerate listening to how jonah lomu got his loife back in a video clip that keeps looping after every 5 seconds (ok i exaggerate, maybe 5 minutes, but hey it felt like every 5 seconds!). even though i had to wake up early and take the overcrowded train for 3 days. i'll miss this job! too bad it's only for 5 days. and we had a rawkin team leader who had our welfare in mind. wot a caring bapak. got a chair for the ice-cream booth so we could take turns sitting when we're tired. got us paid for more hours even though we sit around and lounge when we come early in the morning. (shhh..) made sure we had our break and made sure we even get paid for going for breaks. grabbed freebies from other booths for us. grabbed food from the buffet for us. best kan! and o yaa...the freeebiess...were everywhere...i got meself a mini fan, water bottle, pouch, shoe bag, memo pads, bags, alarm clock, water timer hourglass thingy, pens, etc etc..plus the sneaking of a few scoops of ice cream when the big boss isnt looking. and a few cups of the hot lemon tea and the super delish lavazza espresso which we sometimes mix with a scoop of cookies n cream ice cream (omg i'm so gonna miss all thisssss) so yea..u can imagine the frenzy. its overrrr! ..and before this, i didnt even know the term "nephrology". thanx yan for the ummm..lobang...glad i agreed to this even tho we had no idea what we were in for. muahah. wot a cool experience. now the fat cheque in the mail would complete it.
no i wasn't wearing the free NDP visor ok. just a baseball cap. ice cream ger had to wear it. beside me are the coffee(espresso!espresso!) gers. ice cream got too popular that they soon had to join my ranks. fun la. let's do it again. haha.
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 11:15 p.m.
###
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
guns and dozes.
tired. been awhile since i took the train. i hate cramming into a cabin with people who don't have the common sense to brush their teeth in the morning and lack the decency to close their mouth when they yawn..o it's worse than a dragon spitting fire, it should be illegal. tomorrow i'm bringing with me a packet of mint to donate to the toothbrush/toothpaste-poor. i'm charitable like that.
tired. on the train ride home, closed my eyes to subdue the agitation of an invasion of my personal space by a moron reading the papers beside me, on my left. And, another nincompoop on my right kept peering to get a glance at the lianhe zaobao/wanbao/whichever that the guy on my left was reading. was too tired to move la. like, ughh,
*daydreamt about a scenario of me snatching the papers away, tearing it into two down the spine and giving each of them each side to read*
when i opened my eyes, it was already my stop. time flies when you daydream. felt like i had my overweight baby cousin on me, piggyback. like darrn difficult to get up. saw a lil girl awoken by her parents when it was their stop and they had to get up. sleepy lil girl gets agitated, flails her arms, father picks her up and carries her, lil girl catches up in dreamland, lying on father's shoulder.
darn. wish i could do that. flail my arms then hop on a shoulder and have someone carry me home while i catch a few winks on the 10-minute walk back. ahahh..imagine that. arr. kids have it all don't they. hah.
-----
you know how food tastes really good when you're hungry? it's the deprivation that keeps whetting your appetite.
so when you're exhausted and deprived of rest, sleep tastes reallyyyy goood.
i'm hungry for some shut-eye now. time to break the fast. nite.
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 11:55 a.m.
###
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
i'll drive.
as of today, i will no longer need to drive with the burdensome "P" plate...weeeeeee. yea you probably think, ah no big deal, but i'm ecstatic. you have no idea how much psychological barrier lies in a stupid dark orange triangle against a lime background sign.
so,
here's to a more pleasant drive
here's to a less prejudiced view of me as a driver
here's to easier filtering of lanes
here's to getting lesser bullying by other drivers
here's to me bullying other "P" platers...kidding (..or not)
here's to clearer and nicer-looking P-plate-less windscreens
here's to no more of passengers asking me "so how long has it been? so when does this come down?" upon seeing the P plate. (dah kasi ride tu dah lah....)
here's to a big Phew on my part for having survived the first year of driving..*checks limbs* yup..still alive. (syukurrrr syukurrrrr)
here's to my starsky & hutch amah teng ride for banging..i mean..bearing with me. through thick and thin (walls, pillars and tiangs). love you, honda.
sorry for the bruises.
cheeers! *throws confetti made of torn kit kat wrappers*
ok i'm making a big deal outta this aren't i. anyway, quite exhausted. ironically, after all that waxing lyrical, i didn't drive today. coz parking charges for a whole day at suntec woulda been bombastically heartache-inducing. i'll let you know how it feels like to drive without the P plate soon.
until then....do NOT, like, i'm totally warning you, do NOT cut into my lane on the highway when i'm cruising at 90 and you're a truck full of illegal immigrants going at 50, coming into the rightmost lane thinking i go as fast as you do. not only do i have to brake really hard quickly but i have to trail behind you for awhile with 20 lecherous eyes on me! eeee-yerrr! (chehh, just coz now no more P plate, action ah eh..)
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 11:59 p.m.
###
Monday, June 27, 2005
do you like ice - C.R.E.A.M?
coz...
C ash
R ules
E verything
A round
M e.
*&#^@*&^#@#!
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 09:53 p.m.
###
Friday, June 24, 2005
lucy in the sky with cholestrol
anorexic supermodel : "Gosh, I'm so hungry I could eat half a cracker!"
-----
i watched this documentary once about a particular tribe in Africa where the men find only fat women beautiful. (guess watching MTV would be a cringe-ly experience for them.)
there was this young girl, whose grandmother (her sole guardian) was gonna marry her off to this family. this family hasn't seen the girl (she's thin by the way). and the grandmother promises that she will give them a fat bride come wedding day.
so for the next few months, the girl has to go on "get-fat" diet. her grandmother will force her to drink milk every two hours. everytime threatening her with a cane telling her to finish the whole huge pot. then after she eats, drinks, she's forced to go to sleep. and so is the routine for the next couple of weeks. heaven! you might think.....
during the personal interview, she spoke to the camera sadly and choking back tears..talking about her apprehension over married life..how she wanted to go to school to study instead but her grandmother insists on marrying her off. kesian eh...
then she was talking to her grandmother, asking "what if he beats me up?" to which, the grandmother replied, "you just keep quiet. it is your duty as a wife to respect your husband. when there is something harsh that you want to say, keep it to yourself." - something along the lines to this effect. haiyohh...
so then she got fatter...the groom's delighted..and they got married..and i couldn't finish watching the documentary 'coz had to go off somewhere.
ah. just found it interesting.
you. you. and you. don't kill yourself la ah. fat is beautiful to these men! although in terms of health, i wouldn't promote an african-tribe bride-to-be fat diet (or a keep-quiet-if-your-husband-beats-you-up principle, for that matter). just that..you know..paris hilton is probably an alien, so why must ikut-ikut to that extent? and look at snoop dogg! thin is not That perfectllybeautifuldropdeadgorgeous whaat..wahahah..got milk?
---this post was probably to console myself after having just devoured a kaya toast and half a chocolate muffin for an unhealthy midnight snack (lapar ok). o heck.
do you know what feels good? the things that are bad for your health of course.
oooo baby baby...it's a cruel worrrrld.. *munch*
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 12:41 a.m.
###
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
the boogie that be
mom's hogging the tv, watching a Queen Nefertiti documentary on arts central. i think she's purposely hogging the telly so that i won't be able to watch manhunt on channel 5. hah. berdosa (sinful) perr. o well.
hmm...went to 2 job interviews today. wah after so many rejections or no-replies the past weeks, suddenly i may have more than i can handle. but can handle la...hopefully.
the later job interview was for a job we had no idea what it would be about. 4 of us only came lured by the really good pay with no clue what the job scope was. we kept guessing, "so what's the catch you think?"...last night yan and i were imagining the possibility that they'd want us in some sorta bunny suit or some funny suit running around giving pamphlets or something..coz for a pay that high..surely gotta have a catch..so hmmm..we reached the mysterious place...turned out to be an ad agency..we had to wait really longgg for the interviewers to come...heesh..they wasted alot of our time. alOt. uncool. then when they reached, told us to fill up a form..then the woman said "ok you girls hold on, i'll go find us a room"...imaginations ran wild...we were thinking..skali she'll ask us to parade in the room or something...huh? parade?...then once we were left in the room, our imaginations ran wilder...nahah..shan't say what we thought of. eventually the job is ok la, may sound intimidating dealing with big shots but manageable i hope. i wouldn't call us "hostesses", sounds so ktv. i'd call us "facilitators"/"singapore ambassadors" or sumthin sumthin. muahah. yannn..shammon, i pray you get a replacement for sunday.
so then this other job i got..after meeting the boss this morning...is very much the contrast. quite the slacker's paradise. hahah. instead of flattening my bum at home in front of the computer surfing the net, i get to flatten my bum at this place in front of the computer surfing the net AND getting paid for it. of coz there're some work to do la..but i've handled worse. not a trillion dollar pay but the more i do, the more i get, so that's fair. right? oh finally. something's fair. AND i started Today. AND it's quite popular with tourists/expats/etc (meaning: eye candies 8D). AND i get to hang out with a nutty ol' buddy who's manning the shop. how cool.
so everything's good. u think? well, what's a donut without a hole right. (gee..i dunno where that came from..may not make sense..haha..but i'll use it anyway.) what i mean is, there's a downside and the downside to all this is that i'll miss my cousin's performance for the teenage icon finals this sunday..coz that's the first day of the convention. Grrrrrah!
i know. you win some. you lose some.
now i guess i'm just waiting for when my luck runs out because life has made us all skeptics of good faith eh.
tra la la la along now....
nite.
sidetrack: yesterday liza and i were talking about krispy kreme donuts. gawsh i wish i could have a taste of those lovelies.
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 10:51 p.m.
###
Monday, June 20, 2005
no pain no bar-gain
lai lai lai...here's what i've learnt from a bonafide bargain-er. a rough guide to bargaining at bazaars and markets in thailand. Not all methods are effective. Often it takes a combination of a few methods. It's not enough to just go "discount?", "cheap cheap?".....
---tip #1: act-flabbergasted-at-the-first-price-they- offer you method
so you ask how much and they tell you some relatively high number..you're not sure what the "market price" is so you're not sure if it's cheap. but act flabbergasted anyway coz chances are they almost always introduce a really high price at the first asking. then immediately they will tell you they can lower it, and they'll ask you how much you want it. if you act holy-molly-guacomoli friggin surprised, it wouldn't look odd if you ask for a wayyyyy lower price.
so then they'll shake their heads and say your asking price is too cheap aye? so what do you do....follow next tip.
-----tip #2:the "meet-in-the-middle" method
always ask for a very very low price even if it sounds ridiculous. say...a cushion cover starts at 190 baht, say you only want it at 50 baht. so they'll go "no madame, i need money madame, no"...refrain from saying "well i need money too, don't we all hun" (or if you have to, say it in a language they don't understand)..then ask whats the lowest price they can give you. they might punch something like 100 on the calculator..and you shouldnt buckle..keep shaking your head and going..Nononono...50..*palm up and open*..of course they won't easily say "yea ok"..keep bantering..yada yada...and then...meet in the middle in terms of the figures. say their final price is 90 baht. so you go..70 baht..final!...then you say "you want 90, i want 50..so lets make it 70. you happy, i also happy." most of the time...it would end with an "ok madame, for you, ok"...ahahah..score! but what if it doesnt end like that....follow next tip.
-----tip #3: the "walk-away" method
this is quite a common method i suppose. my mom's favourite. she'll whisper, "bargain. if he doesnt give you 100, walk away"...so i'll bargainbargainbargain, and he doesnt give me 100 so i walk away..if he doesn't call me back it could mean 2 things. 1) the t-shirt at 100 baht would've been too cheap a price that if he sold it at 100 he'd make a loss, not a profit. OR 2)he's probably used to selling the shirt at more than 100, most people probably dont bargain 'til that low, but it's not like he doesnt make a profit selling it at 100. so he'll scoff and let you walk away coz in his mind, they're so many other customers who would pay even a lil more than 100. sooo...most times if they don't call you back. just walk away lor. if they call you back ..then score!
if they don't call you back, go to the next shop and follow next tip.
-----tip #4: the "introduce-competition" method
so the rows and rows of shops are usually selling similar stuff right. from cushion covers to accesories to sunglasses to clothes and sandals. what would lower the prices when you have similar products selling at the same place? competition!
so i walked into a shop selling sunglasses..saw one i liked, asked how much..it was going for 280 baht, she said. i act flabbergasted flipped out whispered in horror, "pang pang!" (meaning "expensive" in thai)..then the woman goes "oh but i can lower for you" ..hands out the calculator and asked how much i'd like it for. i punched 100 (which equates to bout S). then its her turn to act flabbergasted. (but of course it takes an actor to know one...i mean c'mon! you wanna act flabbergasted at MY asking price??)..
so then i'll keep insisting..and then..the important part..i'll tell them "oh there is another shop at the other corner, selling me for 100 baht, you don't give me, i go there.." ah. bullseye. at this point. she examines the pair of sunglasses as if deep in thought.."but this one not the same.." she tells me..(oh there must be a whole 'nother manual for salesmen on how to handle vicious bargain-ers!) so yea..then she continues saying "this one latest model.." ohhh like i'd fall for That. so i say, "oh no it's similar, almost the same..100 baht? no? then i go there..." then i pretended to walk away...then she called me back.."ok madame! ok..100 baht. ok." score! (yes this account was true. i know its cheapo of me to ask for 100 baht but when i was in a market in chiang rai, the starting price was 120 and i bargained it to 100, the final price. so i thought its only right that i pay 100 for this one in bangkok too. but as we walk away, the salesgirl didnt look too happy.. my mom was like "kesian pulak tengok muker dier.." (quite pitiful ah looking at her face..") and i'm like "ahh..takper ah" ("ahh..nevermind ah")...wahahah..oh how i've crossed over to the dark side!
-----tip #5: the "buy-more-and-bargain" method
this one's also common. only if you're certain you're gonna buy more than one of a similar product.
so you ask how much is one bracelet? and they say 25 baht. so you pick one you like..and bargain..say..they give you bout 20 ..then you take another 2..and say..ok how bout 3 for 50 baht? "i'm buying more than one..so gimme cheaper?"..then most of the time..its..score! if not..then just bargain..and meet in the middle or something..
-----
yea ok..thats all i could babble on about. if you know more effective methods lemme know...it's not merciless, i don't think, coz when they see you're a tourist, they'll ketok you to the max, so don't be afraid to bargain. of course on top of that, you gotta pepper some thai talk...not in a cocky way..but in a friendly banter sorta way.."pang panggg..not loi dai maiiiiiii"..(means "expensive..can i have it cheaperrrr")..as you know the thai language has a very gentle sound to it. so ya...sound gentle.. but firm on your final asking price.
also at some places. like shops at tribal villages. they sell stuff there bloody cheaply, but you only bargain if you're certain you'll buy, if not..well..you wouldn't wanna find out.
ok la. enough. i wanna go bangkok again and shop. jommmmm. some day. not-so-soon yet. right now, gotta worry bout refilling the bank.
oh...and some thailand pics:
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 03:15 p.m.
###
Saturday, June 18, 2005
are you there god? it's me. ann margaret.
conversations over selendangs..
grandma: aku ader selendang putih ni, cantik kau. Nanti aku meninggal aku nak korang tarok selendang tu eh. Nanti korang datang rumah aku tunjokkan. (translated: "I have this white cloth, very pretty. I want you to put it on me when I pass away. Later yall come over I show you.")
mom: aper mak ni...dah ingat meninggal sumer? (translated: "what la mother. you're already talking bout your funeral?")
grandma: eh mesti aperr, dah tua gini..mestiii (translated: "ah must what..old like this.. musttt")
mom: ah nanti mak tarok selendang tu dalam plastic bag gitu ah. nanti kiter sumer tahu. (translated: "ah later you put the cloth in a plastic bag or something so we'll know which.")
-----
their nonchalance scares me. or should i be scared that i find their nonchalance scary?
-----
god to harrison:
"You're alive. At this tiny moment in this vast span of eternity. You have this incomparable privilege to exist. You shouldn't waste it."
popular (1999-2001)
-----
sidetrack: gawd i lOve my bed after a tiring day. air-con and comforter on the side after a nice shower. mmmmmmmm......
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 09:56 p.m.
###
Friday, June 17, 2005
i wonder if i take you home.....
"even if it's just for a few days, making up for all that's less..."
our flight to and from bangkok kept getting delayed. it's annoying. time is money dear GARUDA airlines.
if you're a goddamn cheapo, you should shop with my mom, she bargains with no emotions. merciless i tell you. *reow*. and she gets pissed when my dad and i kept feeding her some conscience. hah. and i've become her young bargain-jedi and learnt i have, of the dark side. i'll share some tips when i've the time to process thoughts in understandable sentences. lately i've been plagued with this heavy head. hm. must be the sudden change of polluted air.
yessss...laptop's back. a new set of keyboard. which means...Clean keysss...no charges..wopp dee doo
-----
i want to find my astro twin. someone born on the same day, same month and same year as me. i dunno bout you but i find coincidences a beautiful thing.
-----
i left my wallet at this cafe at the esplanade. thank god they kept it for me. i hate the moment when you realize that it is highly possible that your wallet's Lost. to some people that happens quite often..but as a false alarm...after rummaging through their bag once and not finding their wallet, they start to panic..then on the second round of rummaging, they find their palm touching that familiar leather pouch in that tiny compartment they always miss, then comes the relief and the "alwaysss know, alwayssss lidat". and then the same thing happens the next day and the day after that and...wahahah...i know some people like that and i always go "its there la its therrrrre"...and just stand aside and watch them rummage through their bag with a panicky face. ahahah. you know who you are.
-----
there's so many circles in life. i wanna talk about a certain cycle.
so i'd get to know someone who would otherwise be just a stranger to me. he's nice and was quite consistent in being friendly. and then over time, you just feel he's just being polite. i dunno, but i just know. and then you wonder if it's something you said or didnt say. and then you get tired trying to figure that out. and then you sorta just give up. and then you realize it could've been good if you'd just put in more effort. and then you console yourself by saying, no point regretting. and then it stagnates. and then you meet someone else and then it happens all over again. i give up if i'm certain that something's impossible even if i want it so bad. i mean i'd make the effort. but at the first sign of failure i flinch and turn away and move on and tell myself i couldn't have pulled it off anyway. thats not good aye, thats not good.
it's easier to burst than to make bubbles.
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 01:37 a.m.
###
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
back home to mundanity
hi. i'm back. we have so much dirty laundry to wash, the washing machine died on us halfway. am in school now. was from the computer shop coz my laptop's keyboard screwed up. dunno what my brother has been doing to it. well..not that i blame him or anything. (grr.rrr.rrrrR.)
thailand was nice although no one was interested in its culture or history. everybody wanted to shop shop and shop. singaporeans mah..
ok la. will update more later. right now gotta go down to the servicing centre at henderson to get the laptop serviced. i hope they diagnose it as "wear and tear" so i don't need to fork out mooolah. and i hope i don't have to wait long. we all know how computer and internet access is like chocolate. can't live without it these days.
strange. i quite miss driving. bangkok is perpetually traffic-jammed(so so glad i didn't have to do the driving) but funny how i don't hear many honkings. here in singapore, you have a car that goes an inch in your lane a metre in front of you and like a chip in your head that's programmed you, your palm's immediately slammed on the horns/honks (watchamacallit).
who wants weird-flavored chewing gums? =D
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 03:35 p.m.
###
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
lot noi dai mai...
am leaving for thailand tomorrow morning..no i wont sing you "leaving on a jet plane"..aha..
certain pple will have flown by the time i come back... to the mamasitas goin brisbane, kirim salam shaz hugs & kisses from singapore. pe'ah, enjoy your maiden flight..don't watch 'lost' k. wahahah. cya guys end of the month. enjoy ok enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. thanx mai for the bahts.
to the mademoiselles goin france (feli and wei yao), i hate youuuuu..ahahah..color me jealous. i dont have to tell you to have fun do i? ok. have fun to the max ok?
yayy...i love going to changi airport when I'm the one departing. *jumps on the couch like tom cruise on Oprah*
see you in a week!
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 11:24 p.m.
###
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
hard-earned peace of mind.
Ben Folds - Late
Under some dirty words on a dirty wall
Eating takeout by myself
I played the shows
Got back in the van and put the Walkman on
And you were playing
In some other dive a thousand miles away
I played a thousand times before
And like pathetic stars,
the truck stops and the rock club walls
I always knew
You saw them too
But you never will again
It's too late
Don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
it's been too late
for a long time
Oh no
Things were looking up
Least that's what I heard
Oh no
Someone came and washed away your hard-earned
Peace of mind
When desperate static beats the silence up
A quiet truth to calm you down
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
It's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time.
-----
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 12:56 a.m.
###
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
5th June 2005
from left to right: Joyah, Bedah, Maimunah, Petom, Eton. (missing: Pe'ah and Esah)
"boring seyy..let's do a singaporean hobby.."
11 yawn-inducing cringe-ly performances later..."ahh finally! some talent!"
chilling with junk food..ready to attack the thighs..
ok i know my story was boring...but can't you guyss at least pretenddddd? mukerr...
things that go 'bump' in the night.."aper tu?!"...irfan: "hmm..must be the ice-cream mann."
ballerinas: "ahh..cross legs lidat..lidatt..ahh!"
-----
oh you know what? so i gave feedback about the youth event at the mosque last saturday to this mosque volunteer dude. and he's sms-flirrrrting with me! *gasp* but not sleazily la...would it be sinful of me to wonder if he's cute?
these words I write to keep me from madness @ 02:50 p.m.
