Because After 2am is When Things Get Legendary

Cluedo is a God-send! I have spent many late nights the past week suggesting and accusing and I am so addicted to the game that I find myself looking forward to coming home just so that I can play the game with my brother and his wife. Addictions are nasty business indeed.

On one such night, my brother and I were deciding where to take the family for dinner. Every weekend, we pick a location that we've not been to before and once a decision has been made, he drives us all there. To make said decisions, we entrust the help of this site, Hungry Go Where. I absolutely am fascinated by how organised the categories are and you are literally spoiled for choice! It caters to lifestyle choice, time of day, craving, preference of location etc. That's how David's birthday dinner location was finalised and believe me, it was a memorable dining experience.

But that's not my point. A couple of days back, my brother asked if I knew any nice places that he could take his wife to. Without blinking an eye, I very casually said, "Oh, go to boredgowhere.com" and he really did! I think my natural passive nature fooled him and he couldn't tell that I was pulling a fast one on him! Damn.

Then it hit me, BoredGoWhere.com does sound like a legitimate site. Think about it, if there really is a Hungry Go Where, why not the one which I made up? It must have been the night air but the hamsters in my head were racing on their wheels; I started coming up with ridiculous yet believable site names.

• Bored Go Where - I would honestly visit this site quite religiously.


• Antisocial Go Where - For those, like me, who shun crowded spots. The only downfall is popularity would defeat the purpose of the site.


• Emo Go Where - For those who are tired of sitting in the bathroom slitting your wrists, visit the site for more locations to brood with your posse.


• Lazy Go Where - Haunts located a stone's throw from your area of residence.

A crazy thought was to have one that catered to your lifestyle choice (Straight Go Where, Gay Go Where, Curious Go Where etc...). Come on, it's hilarious!! Don't get me wrong, this is just meant to be a joke but as Barney (as in Neil Patrick Harris' character in How I Met Your Mother and not the purple dinosaur) would say, "If you don't laugh, it would just seem mean."

Plus I was awake way after my bedtime so I had to stop coming up with site names... and for the record, if those names do get used, you heard it here first.

Oh and Aqil, stop reading what I KNOW you're reading before you get addicted. Ask me nicely and I may just share with you my favourite stories *wink wink*.

C Is For Cookie

Now what starts with the letter C?

Cookie starts with C

Let's think of other things

That starts with C

Oh, who cares about the other things?

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C

(spoken)

Hey you know what?

A round cookie with one bite out of it

Looks like a C

A round donut with one bite out of it

Also looks like a C

But it is not as good as a cookie

Oh and the moon sometimes looks like a C

But you can't eat that, so

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me, yeah!

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C, yeah!

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C, oh boy!

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C!

(Cookie Monster eats the cookie)

Umm-umm-umm-umm-umm

Hooray for the long break!!! Happy Holidays everyone and stay out of trouble :)

Forlorn Junkie

Yes, it has been that busy.

My Creative player has died on me... along with my 3000++ songs on it. It took me a month to organise and categorise the songs only for it to last no longer than a year later. Tsk. So now I'm stuck with my Samsung T-10 and I'm already bored with the songs!? I've currently 4 albums on it:

• Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay
• 808s and Heartbreak by Kanye West
• Fast Times at Barrington High by The Academy Is
• Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette

I got very easily bored with Coldplay's. It took 2 years and it is far more complicated than their previous 3, I have to admit, but I found it the least appealing album. It didn't make me feel; it felt very disjointed emotionally as if there was no soul in any of the songs.

Kanye's album didn't stick with me until my 3rd / 4th listening. A couple of his songs used the auto-tune device, which I personally do not mind but it's his lyrics that stood out. There was no fancy/showy rhymes or sick beats, just pure heart and soul.

I cannot get bored of the latest album by The Academy Is! It is leaps and bounds better than the first 2. You can tell that they have grown as a band and that in the first 2 albums they were experimenting with a sound and style to suit them. They have found it. This isn't bias-ness, but I do love EVERY single track on the album.

I needed a new sound but the only album I had on my computer at home was Alanis'. The album is sheer genius, don't get me wrong but I feel so outdated when it comes to music now. I have no clue about what is up and coming and what is hip. Just don't ask me to listen to teen-boppers or RnB - I do not care for either.

My current predicament depresses me.

Guilty Pleasures... One, Two, Three

ONE

For the first time ever, I left school right on the dot. There wasn't a meeting or a workshop to attend, heck, it wasn't anything work related. I just had lunch with my colleagues. I felt so guilty, still. I completely blame it on peer pressure. I really wanted to stay back and get some marking done but they were so persistent on me leaving and lunching with them. Peer pressure is a dangerous, dangerous affair.

But alas! I was spotted by none other than a student from my form class. SEE! Play truant and you get caught! Lesson learnt here, kids.

On the other hand, lunch was absolutely delicious...

TWO

I had a Transporter marathon the weekend before school officially started and boy oh boy oh boy am I hooked. Jason Statham is YUMMY! For the record I have no interest in action flicks ala the likes of Bond, Mission Impossible, Die Hard etc...

However, what are rules if they're not broken, yes? His character exudes so much confidence, poise and cool, I had to turn down the heating and refill my glass of water ever so often. Yummy is the only English-word equivalent to what he does to me. If I were to give it a non-English-word, it'd probably be something along the lines of "mmmmhhhhhyymmzzzzzzbbbbbttttt".

Yummy even when candid. Gosh. I'm such a groupie!

Don't tell me that does NOTHING to you?



sigh...

Yes, I am a hopeless case.

THREE

We may remember this... I sure do. Things have changed and I am glad though cautious, nonetheless. Losing a dear friend is tough but rekindling what was lost is even tougher. After a pretty long chat last night, not till the wee hours of the morning this time, there is a high possibility that him and I may satisfy our cravings and head to Ben & Jerry's later tonight. I sure hope they run out of Turtle Soup... but indulge we will.

I feel so elevated, but bearing in mind the above, I'm not inching my way towards heaven anytime soon... I may have just covered a good number of the 7 Deadly Sins, ay? Thus the title, my comrades! *wink-wink*

My Pants Are On Fire

You know how it is...

Tell a lie long and hard enough, you'll end up believing it.

It's good for my portfolio...

It's good for my portfolio...

It's good for my portfolio...

It's good for my portfolio...

It's good for my portfolio...

Hmmm... I'm still not buying it. I'll try again tomorrow.

Moving Like Clockwork

It is only the 3rd day of school and I can both remember and recognise the names of at least 3/4 of my form class! It's either I have a really good memory or the boys are that naughty. I have yet to get into the groove of things as it's been quite a while since I've taught Math. Right now it's all about routine and setting systems - something I'm absolutely horrible at, albeit them being essentially critical. I love free form and a sense of spontaneity in my classroom - which trust me, ain't always a pleasant affair.

Sigh. Only the 3rd day and I have 3 projects to work on. One's immediate while the other two are due in April. I do like to be kept busy, but I don't want to have to keep my nose above the water!

On a more pleasant note, Athena is getting bigger and a tad more aggressive. Her name really suits her, you know. Her idea of manja is nibbling at my fingers whenever I scratch her belly. Now that school has started, I see less of her. I don't think she's taking it too well though. Mum says Athena's sullen the whole day, not even mewing when she walks by her but when I enter the house and call out for her, she's desperately clawing her way out of her abode and mewing at the top of her lungs! Just yesterday, I was lying on the couch watching The Changeling (excellent show, by the way; kept me hooked till the end) and she fell asleep whilst lying on my tummy. I know, I'm growing extremely fond of her.

I have pictures of her, but they're unfortunately back-dated. It was taken when I first took her in. So she'd be no older than a week in the pictures. I'll snap more of her in due time, of course.

Snippets from Malacca

The last time I visited Malacca, I fell ill and I swear I might have just blocked it out. I have close to zero recollection about that trip! My memory is fuzzy and all I can recall are still images and fading voices. It's like something out of a Stephen King novel.

Good thing is I had a much better time there this time around. Albeit not much shopping was done and I wasn't all too satisfied with the food, the company was spectacular. I only have a couple of shots on my camera, I'll link you to Chia Lin's albums at the end.

Up at Bukit Cina, there was an open wet market where people were buying vegetables, meats and apparel off the floor! And by floor I mean gravel! This was the scene in Singapore like 30, 40 years back.

Here are the rest of the shots that I took... click and as promised, Leng's albums; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Clean Slate

So out with the old and in with the new.

2009 started with me cleaning out Athena's cage; making some adjustments to her living quarters so it's safer and bigger. Then it was lunch with my mum and grandmother, 2 aunts and an uncle and my cousin. I like it whenever family outings are organized. It always feels right to me. I can't explain it but there is a feeling of warmth and peace that encapsulates me as well.

I think it was a very promising start to the year; discarding of junk & spending time with the family. Very positive.

Might as well share the resolutions (in no particular order of merit):

• be nice to people
• think big & plan big
• be punctual for appointments
• NETWORK

Those resolutions may seem pointless to many of you out there, but trust me, it's not going to be an easy task for me. I am determined, however, to accomplish them all and become a better person. Geez, this post is beginning to sound so Hallmark. Eurgh.