Tuesday, January 31, 2006

What's left

Inuyasha: he's not going to put his hands on her butt, is he?
Kagome: don't be stupid inuyasha. He knows his limit
Inuyasha: kehh if you take the pervertness out of Miroku, what's left?
Shippou: his kazana

::

If you take
the laughter out of jack
the patience out of Po
the nonsense out of karol
the silence out of Yuke
the calmness out of Widi
the height out of Peru
the crappiness out of SellV
the loyalty out of Andri
the maid instinct out of buika
the slowness out of Qutu
the optimism out of Ria
the sense of humour out of del
the stare out of Poni
the diva-ness out of shir
the temper out of me,
WHAT'S LEFT?

Here's some idea:
the street-smartness and self-confidence
the persistence and tolerance level
the style and wit
the patience and maturity
the height (haha), poise and elegance
the erhh nothingness (hahaha),intelligence
the loyalty and photo-crazy freakiness
the crappiness
the medan look of course
the patience and story-telling blood
the pride
the fun
the nonsense
the dedication and altruism
and
I guess for me what's left is my paranoia

Grinning Goat at 1/31/2006 04:24:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

This is what you get for flirting in gunbound

Just for your information I absolutely loathe the language.

ILVNOOBS: yo sg ppl, anyone got msn?
People : (busy shooting, ignoring him)

::

Waxerin (my team mate) left the room. --> probably his mom was shouting at him to get him to sleep because if he's not lying he's still in primary school. And playing gunbound at 2 am in the morning.

ILVNOOBS: eh toughen you boii right?
Toughen: who? me?
R: (shooting at Toughen)
ILVNOOBS: yea. you must be boii right.
Toughen: What makes you say that?
R: (Shooting at Toughen --> 1000 damage acheived)
ILVNOOBS: must be la. from your name. are u a ger ger or a boii boii?
Toughen: Im a ger
R: (Shooting and killing Toughen)
ILVNOOBS: you got msn?
Toughen: yea
R: (shooting at ILVNOOBS)
ILVNOOBS: how old are you?
R: (shooting at ILVNOOBS --> 2000 damage achieved)
Toughen: (coming back) why?
ILVNOOBS: I'm 15
R: (shooting at Toughen)
ILVNOOBS: (shooting Toughen accidentally) Which skul you from?
Toughen: (some school I can't remember what)
R: (shooting and killing Toughen again)
ILVNOOBS: not sleeping yet? it's already 2 plus
R: (shooting and killing ILVNOOBS --> 3000 damage achieved)

See? this is what you get for firting in gunbound.
And my team mate wasn't even there.

Oh and I guess that Toughen isn't all that dumb because she left the room without giving the creepy ILVNOOBS her msn.

Grinning Goat at 1/31/2006 02:43:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Sunday, January 29, 2006

An art is an art

There was this time when I was reading this book by K.A. Applegate. Unlike others who were into R.L Stine or the Hardy boys I was into that. Which to tell you the truth I don't come to regret at all because R.L can't write. In my opinion. (You'd have thought that after all the suspense endured by the main character that she was actually SANE and not delusional)

Anyway I didn't get to finish reading the last book until quite recently when Wedy hunted for the book and had it ordered in advance.

The ending wasn't satisfactory. So I thought.

It was about these bunch of kids who defended earth against parasitic aliens. The only power they had was te ability to morph into animals. It did sound like your typical teenage rubbish you found sold $10 for three in some unidentifiable bookstore in some dark alley. But it was nothing like that. It doesn't have the shallowness you'd expect of a teenage rubbish with good publicity.

They bring morality into question. Whether it's ethical to morph into sentient creatures or if you actually need their permission. And whether the only way to destroy these parasitic aliens is by killing them. What about a peaceful mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship? I mean it doesn't have to be with humans but it doesn't eliminate the possibility.

How far into savagery must one go to defeat the savage? Is it alright to kill the enemies when they're defenseless and rendered incapable of fight, to win the war? Do you sink to the level of your enemy just to win?

There are other questions of course. But those are some of the good ones I can remember off hand.

In the last book, one of the main characters died. It didn't really sit well with me at first. Actually to the point of me wanting to re-write that last book myself. But when I think about it again now, I can't come up with one that's satisfying and yet as realistic. I suppose there's something about a tragic ending. It puts things into perspective. It's not like watching Superman the movie where you know that eventually, Superman will not die for the simple reason that the movie is named after him.

Anyway I've thought about this whole book-writing business. I conclude one thing: the readers are almost always assumed to be stupid.

Why does J.K Rowling make the character Hermione? See, for one thing Harry can't be too smart. Why? If he is, then he'll do things without telling the readers why he did what he did. He just did. Which, from the point of view of a reader who doesn't know what the heck is going on, would be very very irritating.

So. Harry's this average boy (which adds on to his appeal - you know, the old champion of the underdogs concept). And the smarter Hermione is around, tagging along. To serve as a book guide.

And if you ask me why Rowling makes Ron:
Harry can't look too stupid either so there's got to be a Ron as a contrast. So we can all think, hey Harry's not that dumb, folks.

By the way I don't object to them having a good looking boy play Malfoy.

Anyway.

I just finished reading Michael Crichton's State of Fear. I've never complained a single thing about his books so far. But this one is, in my opinion a tad below Crichton's standard.

As always he did his research. I think he knows what he's talking about. In fact, in Timeline I somehow manage to convinced myself that maybe time travel is not entirely an impossible feat.

But in State of Fear, it's almost as though he's trying to FIT his research materials into his story, never mind that it bores the readers. And to do this he plants two stupid characters who suddenly want to tag along with the main characters just so that the main character can feed them with information (after all the main character has got to look smart, being a Harvard graduate and what not). And indirectly feeding the readers with information. They do not seem to serve any other important function.

If I were being to be more blunt. It's as if we -the readers- are the two bozos because whatever questions they ask are those that we -normal folks- will most probably ask under the circumstances.

I was telling Po the other day that I wished I was forever reading the middle of the book. Thread-milling along, you know. Moving yet remaining stationary. Some good books deserve that.

And I discovered that State of Fear deserves that too. Because if I were to never reach the end, the disappointment probably wouldn't be as intense.

I'm worried that Crichton's losing his touch.

Write a couple more books like this and he could just retire. For good.

Grinning Goat at 1/29/2006 10:18:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Saturday, January 28, 2006

A ca ca ca pella

This is the plan. Me, I'm singing base. Shir, she's the jack of all trade but I think she's doing treble. And a friend of her the higher treble.

I'm pretty excited about this. Because I've daydreamed about setting up some a capella stuff with her and this is it. Plus an audience.

This is one of the songs we have in mind. Some songs with nationalistic theme. It sounds good and that's what matters. Okay, actually I think the lyrics are good. Poetic to some level. But not entirely honest. Here, let me illustrate.


Indonesia Tanah Pusaka
by Ismail Marzuki

Indonesia tanah air beta --> true
Pusaka abadi nan jaya --> not true
Indonesia sejak dulu kala
Slalu dipuja puja bangsa --> not true
Di sana tempat lahir beta --> true
Dibuai dibesarkan bunda --> true
Tempat berlindung di hari tua --> not true
Tempat akhir menutup mata --> most probably not true

Grinning Goat at 1/28/2006 04:22:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

All that glitter's not gold

That was a long entry below. So I thought I'd break it up into 2.

Do you know what's funny?
When I tried to find out people's expectation I put myself in their shoe. I tried to see how they think. Their philosophy in life. The principles they live by. I actually remembered them.

And at times it's destructive because I discovered that the standard I've unconsciously set does not work in my favour. In fact it undermines whatever I believed to be true. Call it a wake up slap if you will.

Let's say you had a close friend telling you that her definition of a close friend is someone who dares to jab you in the ribs, only to discover later on that the very person who tells you that doesn't dare to jab you in the ribs.

It's a little like that.

And it's painful.

Ironic isn't it? That a jab in the rib is not painful? But when someone doesn't jab you that's when the pain comes. Are we all addicted to pain?

All that glitter is not gold, is it? I really thought it was. But if she doesn't think it is, can you still call it a gold? Friendship should be two-sided, should it not? I guess I'm stuck here because I want it to be gold. Not silver. Not bronze. Not plastic. Certainly not paper.

Anyway someone told me once a long time ago that she thought I'm the kind of person who thinks about things when other people just skim through them. Too much sometimes. So maybe I'm writing all this now because I'm trying to realise her image of me.

And no, I'm not suicidal. Delusional maybe.

Grinning Goat at 1/28/2006 03:47:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Ungrounded

Image is a scary thing is it not?

You make images in other people's head, sometimes without meaning to. I guess everyone imagine a great deal. It's like others gave you a piece of the jigsaw puzzle and you constructed the whole picture in your head.

The funny thing is, it's never 100% you. There's a bit of you and then there's a bit of what other people make of you. I believe character is as much an innate property we inherited as it is something that the environment shapes.

When I think about the concept of image, I'll think about a self-fulfiling propechy. Like what I said before, we're never 100% the image others make of us and yet the image that get stuck in other people's head become a kind of reflection, call it a measuring stick. It sets this standard. You would know when you deviate from that standard because it usually makes other people uncomfortable. It may make you uncomfortable too I guess but I know for sure it certainly does make other people squirm.

There's security in knowledge, eh? When someone you know doesn't behave like how you expect him to behave then you'll start to think if you know him at all, eh?

A self-fulfilling prophecy.
Once the standard is set you'll end up trying to realise that image. Regardless of the starting line. Regardless of your capacity to change. In fact it makes it harder for you to change.

Image = expectation
And most of the time you're obliged to fulfil an expectation.

Even at the expense of social segregation. Even if it makes you different from everybody else. Even if it results in your own alienation. Let me explain.
I was taking this module last semester and I stumbled on this article that basically said that japanese women tend to hear and respond. They'll act according to what they think others want.

I thought, well most of the time isn't that what people do? I mean let's say you don't like person A. You tend not to divulge that fact to person B unless you're confident that person B doesn't like person A too. Again, security in knowledge.

Sooo if you have a tendency to act according to what you think others expect, how would you ever be freed from this obligation to live up to the image others has built of you?

The problem I have with this is that I'm stuck in this cycle. The only way I could resolve it (without resorting to the impossibility of erasing others' memory and to re-introduce myself anew)is by changing and then dealing with the backlash. Which isn't easy. Which is why I'm here moaning about it in the first place.

You know what's the irony? The irony is that when you start off, you're barely conscious of the kind of standard you're setting. The image just kind of accumulates over time without a pause button. And by the time you realise it was all the wrong image, it's too late. Because you just can't change others' mindset in one night. Assuming that you can change it in the first place.

I talked to my ex-student today. He errhh has moved on to higher grounds I guess. From someone who actually SLEPT, PLAYED AND WATCHED TV during tuition time to someone who lectures me about psychology. Actually I'm kind of proud of that. He always said I liked to hao lian (show off) when I taught him and I guess it's my turn to say that he's the one who's showing off now.

He actually said my hao-lian-ing was good because if not, then how can anyone teach me?
So you need a show off to teach you stuff?
Yeah definitely. Otherwise I won't know if people teach me the wrong stuff
You DON'T READ the textbook, you WON'T KNOW even if people teach you the wrong stuff..
Errr okay I'll start reading the textbook

In his lecture he mentioned that Hinduism has a saying, "thinking is like a drunken monkey". You need to control it but sometimes you just can't.

People go mad when they can't shut the monkey up in their head. When you keep talking to yourself, you talk yourself silly. Someone told me once that she knows this person who thought about life so much that he almost killed himself.

I think that's true. People who think too much about life tend to commit suicide.
They can't shut the monkey up in their head so they have to destroy the zoo.

R: so what's the basis of belief? Why do people believe in something?

Ric: Because you want to know more about that something. Like God. I believe in God because I want to know more about him (I consider this to be a little like a fanatic's gibberish but I forgive him)

R: you believe in God because you want to know more about him but THAT's assuming you believe he exists in the first place, right? I mean if he doesn't exist how can you know more about him? Can you know more about something that doesn't exist?


Or maybe, you believe in something NOT because you want to know more about it.
Maybe you just believe. For no particular reason. Isn't that why it's called belief in the first place? It's like instinct. What's the basis for instict? why do people have instinct?

I don't know.

In all the thinking that I've done so far, there's something I realise is always there: Truth is adaptive.
When you think, you're defending yourself as much as you're berating yourself. But when you try to put those thoughts into practice, you'll end up defending yourself more. There's no truth. Because the truth you have is a truth that you custom fit in conjunction with your defense mechanism. Can truth be ever-changing? I thought the whole concept of truth is that it HAS TO BE CONCRETE AND ABSOLUTE.

I think I'm trapping myself sometimes. In my attempt to postpone other people's image-building of me I tend to do what japanese women do (this is in no way a self-proclamation of me wanting to sound like a japanese woman the way some people do. It sickens me. Deal with your origin folks, don't try to be something you're not) I wait and see. And respond to what I think others expect of me. But that's a little like the blind leading the blind, isn't it?

What do others expect of me? Can I ever know for sure?
If I'm not sure of the expectation, how can I respond? How do you define something you don't know?

But before I know it, the expectation is there. All those time when I was thinking about this elusive expectation, others made it for me. And since I was too busy thinking, I don't really know why they have such an expectation. I woke up to find the plate of food already being shoved in my direction. I don't know even know what ingredients they use to cook it.

I suppose that's why they say " people who live trying to find the meaning of life doesn't live". Because they're always too late for everything.

Grinning Goat at 1/28/2006 12:09:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Friday, January 27, 2006

Too good to pass

This is the kind of joke I'd want to recall when I suffer from dementia in my old age.

Po was urgently needing the toilet and we went up to this toilet only to discover that all the cubicles were occupied.

Po was queueing..

Karol: apa pada beol semua neh
Marmar: what's beol?
Karol: it's shit

::

Karol: (very very AUDIBLY and CLEARLY) IS EVERYONE SHITTING? (quickly left the toilet)
R: (shocked, quickly left the toilet)
Marmar : (shocked, quickly left the toilet)
Po: ....( bladder-full but shocked, quickly left the the toilet)

So.

I guess noone's ever going to find out who asked that, huh?

Grinning Goat at 1/27/2006 04:32:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Advocate of a good read

I'm deleting the last post. Bitter people write about bitter things. And if I were to become the advocate of a good read I shall not resort to such mockery.

In any case you would only be bothered by something which you give a damn about. I want to not give a damn but I guess it's not really a choice after all.

Grinning Goat at 1/25/2006 10:12:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Saturday, January 21, 2006

The simple truth

I am a horrible horrible liar.

Ok let me tell you how terrible the lie was. It was a little like telling the police you don't murder anyone after the skeleton has been found on your closet.

It was bad.

And I felt so bugged I decided to call back to admit the lie.

Someone please tell me the art of lying. The talent just isn't there.

Grinning Goat at 1/21/2006 10:05:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Friday, January 20, 2006

Look over my shoulder

Flashed on the screen: What's the first word that comes to mind when you think of these places?

1. Arts canteen
2. Esplanade
3. Africa
4. Iraq

When I look over my shoulder this was what was written under the column "words"

1. crowded
2. trying too hard to look high class
3. black
4. bomb

One of the answers are my favourite answer. No price for guessing which.

Grinning Goat at 1/20/2006 11:44:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Naw I don't mean to be rude but this is just the last straw

X: Yamaha band vocalists meeting and audition this sat at 5
R: I have to work on saturday
X: aiyah u no need money one ahh hahaha
R: that's not the point

I HATE IT when people said that. Regardless of the truth, it's a stupid stupid thing to say. It's a baseless assumption that sounds cynical and to tell you the truth, deserves a more curt answer than a "THAT'S NOT THE POINT"

I usually let it pass but this time it just got on my nerves.

What's with people and a loose tongue?

Grinning Goat at 1/19/2006 11:49:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Blind rage is in the eyes of the beholder

A friend of mine wrote once that memories can be distorted and I thought yeah sure we forget things all the time.

But that's not what makes it sad. WHat makes it sad is the fact that memories get distorted too when you do remember things. Especially when you remember things or try too hard to remember.

You try to re-inforce ideas in your head that are of the past. No, it's not that they're irrelevant of course. It's just that people have moved on. And you haven't.

You're half a step behind everybody else. Ah now don't go with the whole late boomer concept because if you ain't bloomin now you probably never will. A little like what my crazy lecturer said today, we should all look for 40-ish year old partners in our youth because they're millionaires. And I thought what the? until he continued, because if a forty year old hasn't made his first million what do you want him for?

WHich is sad. But true.

And as memories get distorted you'll see shadows of the past that are stuck between the past and the present. Neither here nor there.

Like when a couple need a child to bridge the distance. Or when two friends are rendered incapable of having a conversation without needing a third party to shift the conversation so you won't talk about the weather all the time. (Or some woman in some tv shows you don't know about, come to think of it. Or does that not count?)

Like when information that should come first hand comes second hand. Better still, third hand.

Like when you talk to a mirror, this is what I think. And the mirror frowned back at you, naww don't be ridiculous. I don't think so. You're imagining things. But are you??

Like when the whole world thinks everything is fine and you just want to chuckle because really, only you know where the time bomb is. And when there's a question that needs to be avoided, you can see that really, people actually ask God to suspend time in the middle of a test because they have the sudden urge to play video games! Hah. You don't even know whether to be mad or to laugh for not being taken seriously.

And you can't even tell anyone about the time bomb because then everybody'll think that you're trying to start a world war. Which of course you're not. But if by having a war you'll actually get things moving, I think sometimes, why not have a war?? The problem of course is the fact that you could do some irreversible damage. And who's going to help you then? Some things are not worth damaging for. Especially when you don't know what kind of damage you have inflicted unwittingly before the war even starts.

Like there's an invisible wall to the part of the house you just went to yesterday. Like you feel like a trespasser in your own house if you cross the line. In fact you don't really know where the line is. You just know it when it's been crossed. And once crossed you always end up taking a step forward but two steps back each time.

And this is a ridiculous situation. Because if you don't take a step forward in the first place you ain't moving anywhere. While other people do. And once you stop, it takes twice the original effort to start moving again. And yet if you do take a step forward you end up farther than you originally are.

Not a really good situation, is it?

So. Do you move or do you stay still? You know what my problem is? I actually want to move forward. Psychologically forward yet physically backward. Maybe it's just that important to me to cross that line. I just don't know how. You tell me.

And if you can't blame anyone then there really is no easy way out of this, is there?

Obsolete.
That's not a pretty word.

Better action than inaction. Better say a word than be labelled permanently mute. But if the weather is all there is, is there a point in saying a word at all? I suppose even that is better than being labelled permanently mute, huh? Besides if you don't, how can you even hope to move forward?

But then again they said that if you live looking for the meaning of life then you're not living.

I suppose in the same way: if you live trying to figure out if human relations come with an expiry date then you're not living.

Does it?
I wonder if mine does.

Grinning Goat at 1/17/2006 11:22:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Monday, January 16, 2006

The hair too red. The heels too high. The price too heavy

It was weird how your brain works. Sometimes you get angry at things you're not supposed to angry at and yet you're not mad at things you should be mad at.

It's even weirder to have other people not only disregarding it but also treating it as a passing remark. Like you can just click the pause button. Like you can just go up to God and ask him to suspend time in the middle of a test because you have the sudden urge to play a video game.

They said you should just fluff up your pillow, put your 2 hands below your head and mull things over in the middle of the night.

But it just doesn't work that way because you usualy either 1) give up and sleep or 2) end up not sleeping which is not exactly favourable because sleeping is enjoyable. Do you know how I discovered that fact? It's when I woke up one day and felt my whole body ache. I knew that lying on the bed longer wouldn't cure this ache but there's just this bugging sensation that if only I was lying on the bed longer then it would somehow ease the pain.

Either way it's stupid because usually half of the plans you made at night you don't dare execute in the day.

So. What if God really listens to you and have time suspended in the middle of your test? Do you play your video game? Or do you think God, this is ridiculous let me finish my test!?

Can you actually blame anyone for your behaviour? You know how they always said, "He made me do this", "He made me do that". And how in some corny song lyrics they'd go "You make me a better man"?
I suppose if someone can make you a better man, there's got to be someone else who can make you a worse man?

Or do you think this is all bullshit and that great people don't get influenced? That outside influence should have minimum impact on you?

And let's say you are a great man. Can you go and honestly say not having people affect you bring greater good than bad? Whatever happens to self-reflection?

I've always argued that getting influenced is not such a bad thing and when people disagree I just want to bite back. But my teeth just got tired real fast. They must've known when to avoid a conflict.

Being influenced makes you weak.
This, coming from someone who hangs on the media's every word is hillarious. But I'm not laughing. Because humour is as humour was - subjective.

I've asked this before:
Do you defer from making critical remarks when you're in front of a friend more or when you're in front of a stranger more?

I see that in the answer lies a great divide. An abyss of silence. An unspoken disagreement.
And you can't change any of that.
Funny, no?
Again, humour is as humour was -subjective.

Grinning Goat at 1/16/2006 11:57:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Saturday, January 07, 2006

The smile button

I'm resolved. This is definitely what I need.



A smile button.

I actually asked if I should smile on stage yesterday.

Ok if you want the whole truth I actually asked if I should smile when I see people I know on the street. I don't mean to be unfriendly I really don't, it just doesn't come naturally to me. The smiling bit I mean.

See there was this incidence when I was sitting alone minding my own business when a friend came over to ask to have her picture taken. Unfortunately, with me on it.
Ok so I put on something which I thought was a smile, that is until she got hold of the picture a second later (welcome to the digital age) at which point she turned to me with a "thank you ah, ROss"; sarcasm dripping all over.

I guess it took me that long a time to figure out smiling can do magic.
In the event that someone makes derogatory remarks it always pays to smile. I just remember the basic rule of political correctness: Making someone else looks bad doesn't make you look good.

So that's what I'm going to do.

Smile more.

And laugh less at the LT, probably.

Call me a stiff old bat but I used to think that there's something wrong with smiling when there's nothing funny to smile about. Of course there's always a point in smiling. Smiling people get things they want half the time.

If I can't have the smile button the least I could do is practise.

This year should be the beginning of the end of the frowning era.

Grinning Goat at 1/07/2006 08:30:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Toilet Trip

Okkkkkk. Your average toilet in China: stinky, you see substance on the floor whose identity (and source) you don't want to know or think about, free entrace for male but not for female (I have some complaints about this later), a drainage system consisting of a running gutter down the middle of the toilet (sometimes with malfunctional flushing system) and of course the jackpot: DOORLESS

Wedy and I were in this toilet - after paying of course being the unfortunate females that we are. On one side of the toilet there was a row of doorless toilet cubicle, on the other side (thank you Mother 'O God) there was a row of cubicles (God bless) with door. You don't have to ask in which row we were queuing.

Now. On the doorless side there was this woman. She entered, pulled down her pants and started doing her business.
She must be setting up some seriously big chocolate factory because she squatted there for a while (from when Wedy and I were still in the queue until we're both done).

I didn't mean to peek you undestand but it was kind of hard not to notice a shitting squatting woman whose cubicle was exactly in front of the cubicle I was queuing for, especially since there was this woman who just entered the toilet and stared at her, looking a mixture of shock, disgust and amazement (probably a foreigner like me eh?) and to actually have the shitting woman return that stare with a "yeah I'm shitting, haha" and a big (and sincere) smile.

I thought that was amazing. Crude you may think but I was thinking not everybody could do that, right? "Yeah I'm shitting haha" " DO you like the smell?"?
I mean defecating is a natural process, no? So why should what she say come as a shock to me- well, I assume to us normal folks growing up with the so-called social ethics?

It must be liberating to be able to do that. And to actually think there's nothing particularly wrong or crude about what you're doing while you're doing it.

Grinning Goat at 1/05/2006 12:56:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Cheap Translator

I had this conversation with Ono on this trishaw in Beijing. See the trishawman (is that what you called them?) asked me something in chinese, something which I fortunately understood so I could reply him but this turned out not to be so good after all because from then on he kind of assumed I spoke chinese and kept telling us things in chinese along the way.

Trishawman: &^%^$%^$&#$#)#(%)#(%_)%#(_#(%_(!%!@
R: soooo...... what is he saying?
Ono: something about a jar
R: what about it?
Ono: no idea
R: ahh that's it? something about a jar??? I could've guessed that myself seeing how he pointed his finger to a jar...
Ono: GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR
::
::
Trishawman: %#$@$#@%#^%#%&^%#%#$@@
R: What's he saying?
Ono: I don't know
R: You make a lousy translator eh I should get Wedy here with me
Ono: He speaks weird chinese
R: ahhh excusessss
Ono: I need my chinese teacher here with meeeeeeeeeeeeee
R: Huahahahaha
::
::
Trishawman:^$&$%^#%$*^(*&((&%&$%#$@
ONo: AHHH I KNOW WHAT HE'S SAYING!!!
R: Really? what did he say?
Ono: He said not many people are adventurous and they're scared to go down the frozen lake
R: finally huh?
Ono: GGGRRRRRRRRRRRR

ANyway being accompanied by a cheapo translator of a brother aside, we stopped near the edge of the lake during the journey (actually it was supposed to be photo-taking session but the lake's frozen and there isn't that many people who have the chance to walk on water - Jesus aside- right?)

Are you sure it's safe to walk on?
See there at the far end? people are skating on this thing
Oh yeah! eh there's a couple heading this way
Yea I see them
Let's call them over here
Whatever for?
To check, see if this part of the lake's safe to walk on
Huahahahhahaahahahha.......... seriously?

It turned out to be safe to walk on. We all - well the adventurous sort ones - went down. I noticed though that none of the Singaporeans went down. Seriuosly, how can they miss out all this fun?

ANyway we had to climb this fence surrounding the lake and on my way back the trishawmen were soooo helpful they held me two arms before I had a chance to tell them I didn't need help (see this took time because what is "I don't need help thanks but no, thanks" in chinese?)I lost my balance and my shin bone hit the stupid wall. And yea it's still swollen now.

Grinning Goat at 1/05/2006 12:39:00 AM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Bengawan Solo

I like the song. Not at first though. I didn't even realise we can actually put a Bossa Nova feel to it. ANyway this was what happened during jamming just now.

Dang: this is 11 right?
Yonghong: yea...eh wait (thinking)...no, no sorry it's a flat 5
Dang: oooooooookayyyy (Dang is more of the this-is-how-you-play-it-guy, not so much the what-is-this-chord-called-guy I guess)

Yonghong: the 9 is the re
Dang: Oh I got the re mixed up. You know how the french did it...I always thought the re is absolute. But there are other ways of looking at it, like the G can actually be a do but I always thought the re is absolute so it's here (press a string)
Yonghong: Yea but I think your way of looking at it is more correct. The re is absolute
Dang: you think? But it does make it easier
Yonghong: yeah it does
Dang: (realising they've been too absorbed in their own world) ohhh sorry ross...err...(to Yonghong) maybe we should discuss this later
R: it was uhhhh educational

Grinning Goat at 1/04/2006 10:48:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}

Monday, January 02, 2006

Flying garbage can

Ok guys I just got back. I thought I might as well write now because the rate my memory space empties is pretty much exponential.

24 December 2005

Ono: Oh mannn
R: Look at the overhead compartment, man. I thought everything was not too bad until I looked at the overhead compartment
Ono: See this window too... I wouldn't besurprised if it cracks halfway
R: Saying something auspicious on christmas eve might help you know
Ono: God, look at the wing. It looks like scrap metal
R: Hahahahaha your insults is just never ending eh?
Ono: and the smell...
Kaka: Listen to the song they play
R: yea very authentic.
Ono: this plane's no good for tall people
R: Dad thinks the pilot must be damn good
Ono: you think?
R: He better be with this plane and us on it.
::
Ono: akhhh
R: what?
Ono: the plane's moving!
R: err yea, why? Why can't it move?
Ono: it's a scrap metal

Well not off to a very good start was it?

ANyway the scrap metal proved to be able to fly and land safely.

The funny thing about this trip is that China must be so darn big because I discovered that I found there people who resembled somebody else.

See there's this bus driver who we all agreed look like Chuo Bo Dong of the "Legend of the Condor HEroes". Actually, he resembles this Hongkong actor more - I just don't know the name. I'll point it out to you if I see him on Tv if you want though. We don't particularly like him and there was this time when Ono asked to have his picture taken with him and he rolled his eyes. The proof of which documented nicely in the photograph and Ono actually asked me the technique of eye-rolling which to tell you the truth I don't really master because I think it harms the eyeball and not worth the pain at all.

Then there's this lady photographer which Wedy thought resemble someone (i forget who) but I thought otherwise - which was probably why I forget who it was in the first place.

Then there's this fellow Indonesian who looked like the Hongkong actor Lam Bao Yi except that Lim Bao Yi is handsomer, leaner, more muscular, better-looking and has better sense of style.

His father looked like my old dentist but Wedy disagreed and thought his hair looked like Elvis instead. (which must be proof that he doesn't look like my old dentist indeed, because how could my old dentist have an Elvis hair?)

But you know what takes the cake? It's this woman who resemble Wang Ming Chuen so much I promised myself I'll look up the real Wang Ming Chuen's picture soon as I get back to see how they can possibly not be the same person.

This Wang Ming Chuen -Hongkong actress- happens to be Wedy's idol sooooooo really, it was pretty thrilling. And wedy admitted that she actually suspected that we (kaka and I or our family) were somewhat involved in this star-meet-the-fan-show where Wang Ming Chuen actually pretended to be a tour leader in front of her ardent fan (Wedy). Of course when she admitted that I laughed out loud but on second thought maybe it really is her, although we didn't actually sign up for the meet-the-fan-show for the sake of Wedy.

THAT's how alike they were. Seriously, if I don't know any better she might well be Wang Ming Chuen's twin sister. I forget to ask her sur name though, being too busy observing her and couldn't be bothered to call her any other name other than Wang Ming Chuen.

Maybe I'll put up their pictures side by side and have you guess.

Grinning Goat at 1/02/2006 03:06:00 PM pontificated

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{buzzz out}