The Gnomes Made Me Do It!

Tonight is my first CSI class.
I call it CSI because we're doing Forensic Chemistry.
How awesome is that.
We get to study the chemical structures of Cocaine, weed, amphetamines, ecstacy, and by the end of the module, I should be able to put together a designer drug of leathal strength in the lab :p
They also teach us how to secure a crime scene and test for semen, gun powder, blood etc etc employing various chemical methods (Pam, Ed, Roy, I saw HPLC techniques and all those other obscene chemistry things and I wanted to faint). Ya, gun powder in Singapore. Pfft.

Urg.
Ask me again in a month and probably tell you how much I loathe Forensic Chemistry.

Like I said to Drummer girl.
We've got to keep walking towards the light.
There's no turning back now.

Ok bye.
I'm going to molest Grisham's brilliant mind.

Posted by sideshowjo at 4:14 pm | Permalink | Comments

Plastic girls make my skin crawl.
I hate pretenciousness and big egos.
Your job does not define who you are.
Neither does wealth nor beauty nor social status.
Nor is it defined by the parties you go to
or people you rub shoulders with.
Nor is it defined by the clothes you wear,
the car you sport or the man you're with.

I watched Pink's Stupid Girls music video a couple of days ago and it totally craked me up.

Pink does a Paris Hilton sex video


Pink does a Jessica Simpson MTV


I really love the lyrics as well.

What happened to the dream of a girl president?
She's dancing in the video next to 50 cent.
They travel in packs of 2 or 3,
with their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny weeny tees.

You can watch it here PINK'S STUPID GIRLS

And in the words of Pink:
Girls with ambition, that's what I want to see.

Posted by sideshowjo at 10:35 pm | Permalink | Comments

17th March: Day 2 and I'm not sure when a large number of blogs will be up and running again, mine included.
I better start backing up all my entries from 2003!!! Gosh! It's almost 3 years of accumulated entries. Perhaps this is their way of reminding us that we should all take precautions because the internet is such a transitional place, having said that, your hard disk can crash at anytime too, so really, having it in print is the way to go. Gone are the days of beautiful (albeit tedious) handwritten entries into leather bound journals or high school ones with stickers and pictures.

So KINGS OF CONVENIENCE played a glorious 60min set.
In case you don't know who they are, they are a 2 man outfit from Norway and have been coined as the modern day Simon and Garfunkel. The Duo were born out of a 90's indie band called Skog playing Joy Division covers.

This is Eirik Glambek Boe

The more subdued and quiet of the 2, has such a phenomenal voice it sounds as if 2 people are singing at the same time. I still think he looks like hybrid of Eric Bana and Mr. Froddo and is, my favorite.

This is Erlend Oye

The attention seeking one of the 2, and seems to remind everyone of Napoleon Dynamite (I haven't seen the movie), and is the one that jazzes up the performances with is antics.

Erlend doing his geeky dance thing


Some concert photos which mof managed to snap stealthily with the phone camera under the watchful eyes of the crew camera nazis.



Erlend is also into DJing and The Juayster went for Erlend's set the day before the concert and said that it was strange.



Because...he just happened to be standing there at Poptart, requested no flash, and mof said I'll regret it if I didn't go up and say hi.

All in all, the concert was a bloody steal at $50 and the acoustics were so good, I've not heard an act sound better live then on CD. I never expected to be so...entertained. Their music paints a picture of polite civility and that clearly was not the case! There was dancing, whistling, claping, humming, and even strange girls jumping on stage to dance. Crazy chord changing and guitar tunning before every song, hip swiveling, the blacking out of lights, birthday song singing and Norwegian chicks.

I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

BUT! Nothing Sigur Ros can't fix in 3 weeks :)

Posted by sideshowjo at 3:33 pm | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday mornings are spent with 2 irish nuns.
Sister Una and Sister Chad. Lovely benevolent women and IT very unsavvy.
This morning I helped Una catagorize her prayers and reflections, by typing out all her meticulously handwritten calligraphy! in word.

I know that the older generation struggles to keep up with the breakneck speed of technology. My mother still insists on using dail-up after reapeated persuasion from my brother and I to switch to broadband. She also still uses ancient floppy disks. Una and Chad are in their 60's and they have to do their best to learn new technology to help them do the work they've been called to do.

Oh and on a completely unrelated note, yes, Sigur Ros is indeed playing Hong Kong on the 7th of April! With the peanuts that the TeeVee station pays part-timers, I've got to put in ALOT more hours to make the airfare and concert tickets. After that, it's Polo buns and cheap milk tea for the next 3 days. Oh! but 1 day for goose with Jan, for whom without her kind assistance all this might not even have happened. And yes, dinner for Gary Gan for whom without I would probably never have met Jan. Thank you the lovely Jan and Gary!

Posted by sideshowjo at 7:34 pm | Permalink | Comments

Quite often do I read the articles in JUICE magazine because, they have good music reviews, and their writing, well their writing...

" An unforgettable mish-mash of plundering calliopes stuttering under the manical barking of a rabid carny is certainly hard to swallow, but will make you sit up and say "what the f**k?" And once through this piece of brilliant tomfoolery, the rest of the album is total musical genius."

-Exerpt from Article written by Elizabeth Lee on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah found in JUICE magazine page 26

Honestly, who writes like this! In that single sentence, I have learnt off Wikipedia:
1) Calliope was the muse of epic poetry. She had two sons, Orpheus and Linus with Apollo. She was the oldest and wisest of the Muses.
2) A Carny is anyone who runs a "joint" (booth), food "grab joint" stand, game, or ride at a carnival. Carnies are typified as sly and coercive salespeople, but the term itself merely refers to any employee of a travelling circus or carnival, regardless of behavior or intention.

Sonny and I recently split the CD (don't ask) and all I could manage was a "This is fun!", to which my friend added, "Yea, not your usual mopey indie music". Being a wordsmith is truly a craft.

Who said you couldn't learn anything from reading magazines. Tsk.

Posted by sideshowjo at 1:13 am | Permalink | Comments

Tonight in Chinatown they were trying to break the record for 'The Longest German Sausage being Grilled'. You can do almost anything to get into Guinness, really. Wow wee. How bout the world's smelliest shit, no entry found for that on their website, but of course, you've got to go online to submit a proposal first. I wonder how many joke applications in a day. Well if anything, it brings people together, and in this case, a mish mash of chefs from Singapore and Germany.

I really wasn't intending to blog so everything is going to be a tad disjointed as I'm just wabbling on. I really really do need to read alot more. As it is, I'm probably getting by with a book every 2 months, the Straits Times everyday, occasional Time, Economist, Nat Geo, Nature, monthly Nylon. I think I'm very one dimentional and need to expand my views alot more. I need to learn to research in depth rather than always skimming the surface. I hate being lazy! Argh. Laziness is a bane and I hate having lazy worms, more often than not, the worms always win. Fucking worms.

My brother is very different, a real go getter. This year, he will be competing in the European debating championships in Berlin, running for Vice President of the LSE debating society and amidst the commitment of debate, still find time to write his 3 essays due every 2 weeks, run 3.5km along the Thames twice a week and cook dinner as often as he can. He is the model son, the model student. I am pond scum next to this political genius.

I read blogs of brilliant doctors, doctors with world views, with opinions about the healthcare system, they write well, they have something to say. Plagued with self doubt, I'm charging forth with idealism in one palm and hope in the other. I will never be my brother, and I will always underachieve. Everyday is a constant battle with worms and most days I don't put up much of a fight. But! The clock is ticking and this probably the LAST loan I'll get from the daddy bank. This is it. This is war. So give me my worm spade, cause by golly, this time I'm going to put up a good fight.

Posted by sideshowjo at 12:32 am | Permalink | Comments

LIFE'S LESSONS

These are 20 nuggets/advice/metaphorical phrases/lessons/wise words that I've amassed through my 26 years and I just like to write it down as a friendly reminder.

1) Less is More
2) If you have nothing good to say just shut up
3) Don't shit in your own back yard
4) Quiet IS the New Loud
5) It's not always about you
6) What legacy do you want to leave behind?
7) Where you see yourself 10 years from now is what you ought to be doing now
8) People are never appreciated enough
9) You can never apologise enough
10) Wealth does not equate sucess
11) Money is not evil
12) Do you want to be happy at all costs or be good?
13) Everyone is just trying their best
14) Dogs and cats have different psyches
15) DO NOT mess with your hair after coming out from a relationship
16) Don't fart under the covers
17) Wear Sunscreen
18) Be nice to everyone, EVERYONE
19) Tell the truth
20) Things will ALWAYS come and bite you in the ass

Posted by sideshowjo at 4:57 pm | Permalink | Comments

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Later I must go and buy exercise book and draw margin line.
I also sharpen all my pencils and fill up water bottle already.
Then this morning my father ask me if I got pocket money.
So fun this thing.

Posted by sideshowjo at 11:07 am | Permalink | Comments

Wow. Are Singaporeans daft or what?
Everytime I commute by train and take the escalator, I am amazed at how people just park themselves on the right side. Do they not read the signs everywhere that tell them to KEEP LEFT! Geez. In UK and Australia, if you stand on the right, people will actually tell you, very loudly, to piss off and make way for others that want to walk past.

And in Asia? Hong Kong has managed to imbue social graces into generation X. No easy feat this 360 degree turn around. And I bet they didn't employ the help of a diabolical giant talking bear with flower petals for mane. I personally think the hand over was the best thing that ever happened to them in terms of customer service and courtesty. HKers saw the need to shape up or lose the race. Singaporeans? We're just plain arrogant aren't we. We don't need to shape up for anyone. When will we ever be a customer centric and socially conscious society? I don't think I'll live long enough for that day.

Posted by sideshowjo at 10:56 pm | Permalink | Comments

You know you're in trouble when..

You look forward to beverages that look like turd.
Ginger Tea is the best cure for a bloated tummy and stinking PMS blues (Sounds like Sonny's Stinky Fish Blues! Heh. Anyway). Been feeling crappy over the weekend and have course orientation today so I needed a quick fix to help me expel those nasty gases. Which basically means I need to fart and burp big time.

To make this miracle beverage:
1. Lightly pound a good half a fist sized portion of old ginger, complete with skin
2. 1 Pandan leaf, crushed lightly
3. I bag Lipton Tea

Place water, ginger and pandan leaf in saucepan and bring to boil, add pinch of salt. Simmer for 15, turn off fire, put tea bag in and leave to stand for 2 minutes. Add sugar to taste.

If you want more bite, 20minutes should sap the juice out of those ginger chunks. I love it. You know your taste buds are maturing when you look forward to teas and marmalade. Though, the concept of eating pickled orange peel still is revolting, I still have years ahead of me till that happens, I think.

Have a good work week everyone!

Posted by sideshowjo at 3:40 pm | Permalink | Comments

We will always be 10 year olds

On the bus today, I thought about all the nasty fat jibes my mother has subjected me to through the years. I think the worst one was when my toilet seat broke, because I stood on top of it to get to some insect high up on the wall, jumped and landed badly on the seat. She said my thighs were just too big and I should get rid of them instantly so I will not further damage furniture in the house! Sometimes she can be just mean.

Which got me thinking, we will always yearn and seek for approval from our parents. These governing figures in our lives, right from the very beginning, the ones we tried to impress with our crayon drawings and top marks in chinese spelling. The ones that smiled and patted us on our backs when we made it to triple science in secondary school, when we became prefects, made it to officer cadet school, the ones that beamed at our graduation, celebrated with us when we got a promotion. The fact that they are happy, makes us happy, because deep down we are relieved that we have not let them down, we've lived up to some of their expectations, and that they are proud of us. We have not failed them as children.

I will always be my mother's daughter, but at some point, I will grow up and learn to be me. Mof said before, you can never truly be your own person until to move out of home. I suppose it's true, but deep down I know, the invisible umbilical cord that binds me to her will always be present, and will manifest itself in my esteem, belief system, value judgements and approach to life.

And you know what! All this was triggered off by the fact that I am peeved that I have now developed disgusting uneven colour on my arms, due to the fact that I constantly feel fat and refuse to wear sleeveless tops.

Grr...Got to work on that self image and tanline.
It's either I slather on sun block on the dark areas or bake in the sun for half a day.
I think I'll go sleeveless this weekend.
Then again, maybe not.

Posted by sideshowjo at 5:22 pm | Permalink | Comments