Squareface @ 31°North

Farewell again

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:48:00 +0000

Hey, I think I shall stick with my move to my new site. The Great Firewall of China is just too intimidating. Please redirect your bookmarks/links to www.squarefaced.com

Thanks! This blog looks more fanciful though, and I spent so much time on it I can't bear to leave!

But one must move on, one must venture...

Has the great firewall of China crumbled?

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 07:51:00 +0000

I can access blogspot blogs again without using anonymouse! I wonder how long more it'll last though.

Now I'm wondering whether I should continue with this blogspot blog or be a little more adventurous with www.squarefaced.com.

Blogspot in beta

Pros: Incredibly user-friendly with widgets, so I can play around with some stuff like what you see on my sidebar here; FREE; more patronages due to public listing

Cons: May get blocked by China anytime; no own domain

Squarefaced.com

Pros: Own domain; FREEDOM in many aspects such as design and layout; lower risk of being threatened by the Great Firewall of China

Cons: Webhosting and domain name not free; since I'm not a techie I'm not all that affluent with HTML and mySQL or php etc so things like designing and manipulating are not at my fingertips

Lunch at a greasy spoon

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:46:00 +0000

Eating at a grimy place such as a greasy spoon in the suburbs of Shanghai makes me view myself as a good cook. Although cheap (5 yuan for a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and 5 scoopings from dishes), the vegetables were almost ice-cold since they were displayed on the table for who knows how long, uncovered, in the blistering cold. Bringing sticky rice to my mouth and sipping the salty soup, I realized I'm not such a bad cook afterall. I nibbled on 3 different salty oily chewy vegetables, a tough fried egg, and an unappetizing pork fillet.

I ate at the greasy spoon on the sidewalk leading to my apartment building, and sat with construction workers who seemed ecstatic to be having a hearty meal. While gobbling and slurping down their rice and soup, they kept looking at me, as if knowing it was my first and last patronage. Then, suddenly, while returning the stare of one construction worker, he spit some small parts of meat on the table and some bigger ones on the floor.

Well, I paid S$1 more for the experience than for the food, and walked away feeling happy with the knowledge that I can (and should) actually cook. :)

So Sam and Squareface can look alright

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:43:00 +0000

Sam and I went for a photoshoot at the beginning of this month. The place is called 莎莎, not excellent service but reasonably priced (and highly bargainable). While the stylists there were helping us with our make-up, there was quite a commotion because they couldn't decipher whether Sam was a guy or a girl and didn't know what to do with her make-up. Then there were lots of questions and....well, I shan't go there. Sam wanted to leave but it was really fortunate that we stayed 'coz the photo taking itself was quite fun and the pictures turned out...well, it's pretty nice, some of 'em. If you wanna take a look at all our pics, make a comment below with your email address and I'll send you a link. Heh.

For RMB550 (raw cost only. Of course you'll pay more if you wanna have the copies of more pics, which you quite certainly will), we had 3 sets of make-up and outfits each, an 8.5 inch (length) book, a 5 inch (length) book, a crystalized photoframed photo, a 20 inch poster, and a CD with 18 pics (or more if you order extra).

Hmm. I still can't believe I did that. Friends of mine may agree with me that it's so not me to go for this kinda thing. Muahahaha. But anyways I did enjoy myself and I like the pics! Almost like wedding pics eh? hAh.

Students are almost alike almost all over the world

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:42:00 +0000

Okay, it's not fair for me to use "all over the world" since I've only observed students in Singapore and Shanghai, and these two countries are just 30 latitudes apart.

Anyway, I have noticed that students from both Singapore and Shanghai exhibit the following:

Multi-task while attending lectures (though in Shanghai, the students multi-task by reading other coursework during lectures whilst students in Singapore multi-task by simply doing other things instead of listening attentively)

Sleep in lectures

Twirl pens!

However, I bet you have never seen the following:

I spotted a student using a binoculars to view the projector screen! I apologize for the lack of power for the zoom of my camera phone though.

Rather amusing, isn't it?

Squareface achieving square body

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:39:00 +0000

I haven't eaten this much for a long time, and it is indeed rather gratifying.This morning, Birte (a friend from Germany, is staying at my place for around 10 days or so) and I went to buy fruits, and boy did she buy a lot. I have never had so many fruits in my house before. She bought a pineapple, a pomelo, pomegranates, bananas, oranges, mandarin oranges, and kiwi fruit.

Then, I went to Jing An temple area to have Brazilian BBQ buffet lunch with Rowena. It's a cosy, warm place with delectable dishes. For 55RMB, you get to choose dishes from the buffet table, and a free flow of juicy meat that will make a mild eater instantly a carnivore-convert. You can choose from chicken, lamb, beef, duck, in different forms like leg, shoulder, heart, thigh, etc. These meats are served by the chefs -- they go around table to table slicing the meat off a huge chunk with a large knife at your face. Drinks are charged separately, of course, and a can of coke/sprite cost us 9RMB, which is 3 times the charge at common eateries. So a lunch meal would typically cost you 64RMB. Very worth it, though, if you're okay with being carnivorous for a day. We sat there for almost 4 hours just eating and talking, and eating again.

The Brazil BBQ Buffet eating house

The buffet table

Chicken heart! (And Rowena's fingers trying to form a heart, albeit the Roxy trademark one)

Rowena and I agree -- if anything gets us down, the food/price here in Shanghai can lift our spirits anytime. :)

Walking the Terry Fox Run

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:36:00 +0000

I haven't been punctual for morning classes this week but I mustered up the discipline to meet my friends to join the Terry Fox Run event in Shanghai. We were supposed to complete the 8km path but finished with the 3.8km event in the end since we exceeded the timeframe. About half an hour after the gunshot was heard, we were still loitering around the starting point taking pictures and depositing bags haha.

Left: Busy businessmen having to deal with queries on this leisurely walk on the Terry Fox Run.

Right: Fishing!

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Farewell, Blogspot

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 06:03:00 +0000

Due to the "Great Firewall of China", I have relocated.

Impending 2 weeks of Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 03:23:00 +0000

I woke up this morning smiling, happy with the thought that I'll be waking up tomorrow with Sam beside me.

I've placed a countdown at the top of my sidebar for the time till I get back to my miserable blogging. I want the 2 weeks to never end.

Do remember to drop by 2 weeks later to read about my adventure in Yunnan, yar?

Applying to Fudan University

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:56:00 +0000

Although it was only slightly more than a year ago, I had clean forgotten about how I applied to Fudan University. I was just looking at my email archives yesterday to clean it up, and found several correspondences with a few universities in China -- Fudan University, Beijing University, Renmin University, and Donghua University. I applied and got an unconditional place in Donghua, but it wasn't practical because the school doesn't really offer much to me since they specialize more in design (like Laselle-SIA). Beijing University required my original documents and the registration period was very short. According to the email in my archive, the program officer required me to submit my documents by that very weekend, in person (they do not accept documents by post). Then I was stumped by Renmin Uni's prerequisite of a recommendation letter and an entrance exam. Fudan required an exam too. But all good universities in China require you to take an entrance exam so I thought I'd give it a try, but narrowed my final choice to Fudan only, since every application meant some money I might throw away, and I already threw away quite some of it if you know about my situation then. After getting the necessary documents, I sent my application to Fudan University by post, and asked for an extension from University of Queensland (UQ), and turned down the other letters of offers from the other Australian Universities I applied to (ok, so you can see they readily accept Arts students).

The first email I enquired after the various Chinese universities was sent on 7 March 2005. I didn't know the outcome of my application to Fudan till June 19 (I checked every single day), which happened to be the Yamaha Electone Festival (YEF) Finals day, and UQ's orientation was July 18. During the whole period I was worried that UQ might withdraw their offer because I was really dragging time by not accepting the offer, and was scared shitless at the thought that I'll lose both sides if my entrance exam to Fudan didn't pull through. I wouldn't know what to do then man. Work, I guess. My mother kept trying to get me to work till I was 21 and enrol in SIM's Open University's various degree programmes that sorta had what I wanted. On top of studying for the entrance exam, I was practising for YEF too, so that I wouldn't let myself down on that day by not having too many obvious glitches. I wanted to continue working at Borders at that time, but the schedule there was hectic and I couldn't get my leave approved when I needed to go for the qualifying round, so I left, which was good because I joined a preparatory course for the entrance exam that would not have left me much time and energy for work anyway. So the timing for everything was rather tight, but everything pulled through and I'm here now and not in the saturated down under.

I sent my application form to Fudan on my own, but actually Crestar has collaborated with Fudan to offer you a BA in Chinese language, under Fudan-Xinsida Chinese Institute. Located next to Serangoon MRT, you can actually submit your application and payment conveniently through them. This piece of information is probably not necessary for Hwa Chong JCians or other LEP students or some other scholar but more for a layperson like me who doesn't have a clue how to go about applying to Fudan University but can do it easily now through Fudan-Xinsida.

With major hooha over China being up-and-coming, I hope to see a greater diversity of Singaporeans here instead of the usual suspects.

Stuff in my life that might have pushed me to pursue my BA in China

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:16:00 +0000

In the dead of these many nights I start to question myself all over again why I'm here in a Chinese university. One day I tried to rake up my past to check out possible signs that I was actually meant to "eat rice (and steamed dumplings, noodles and duck!)" and not "eat potato", and that I got deviated and ate potato when I was supposed to be eating rice all along.

Was in Chinese dance ECA throughout Primary School.
Was in Chinese enrichment class for a couple of years I think. This class definately honed my hanyu pinyin and spoken Mandarin.
Attended abacus classes for a year or so at some learning centre at Centrepoint.
Attended Chinese Composition class for 2 years or so in Secondary School with Advanced Learning Centre (are they still around?)
I think I came in 3rd or something in some intra-school calligraphy contest, but I think it was 3rd from my class so actually it's nothing, cheh. Received some chinese books I never read till this day.
Chinese Short Play Competition (got into finals ok) in Sec 2. I WAS FORCED INTO IT BY SOME FRIENDS. I played a dying father(!) whose lines went something like "*cough cough cough...* You..! *cough cough* y-you...!". Reina, I still remember wearing your dad's shirt (and tie?). And Celine's scream was/is unforgettable. Eh, Celine, that kickstarted your fame, eh? Now so famous, should have gotten your autograph with a picture of me and you as husband and wife (or was it mistress? oh! You played my wife who cheated on me issit?) at that time, then if I'm ever in need of money you'll have to give me 'coz I'll blackmail you with those photos that has your signature muAHahahhaa. Ok, the script in my head very cheena, right? Proves my point for this post.
Nanyang Junior College.
THE NYJC Dragon Boat and Canoeing Team (what was known then, 'coz now they're 2 different CCAs). Coach speaks Mandarin (but sometimes he used English with me!), teammates spoke mainly Mandarin and laughed at mine, dragon boat itself is a Chinese concept.
Father. He has always been passionate about calligraphy and tried to get me interested, only to receive disappointment. I think he played a big part in making sure my Chinese didn't get as atrocious as my brother's, who till today does not know that "fat hope" is not "肥希望" (but this made it into our family lingo).
Mother. For always telling me I cannot make it, that I'm not clever, that I was just lucky whenever I try to prove something to her. She was the one who first put the option of studying in China inside my head though, after the 'A' levels. And she recently asked if I would like to transfer to UQ (University of Queensland, Australia, where I initially planned to go) by transferring credits from my first year because she's afraid my chinese really cannot make it.
Watching all those Chinese television dramas while having dinner every evening at 7 since my younger days.
Professor Chen Qi! Meeting and talking to her at Career Fair 2005 was my turning point.
Sam! Let's just say she's doesn't like to eat potato that much.

I'm sure there's more, but this shall suffice for now. So stop saying I belong to the "eat potato" gang because maybe I wanna be a cheenapok now. Though Winnie pointed out something when I told her I was eating mashed potatoes just now, that it's weird that I'm eating potatoes in China while she's craving for dumplings in America. I think this metaphor goes a little further because among the 2 of us Winnie has had more passion for the Chinese language than I (ever) did.

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 14:18:00 +0000

"While each has its merits, the trick is to manoeuvre so that you can find that niche for yourself. Complaining because others have done better than yourself will only serve to ignore your own weaknesses and eventually compound your own self-inflicted misery. "

我和云南有个约会 (I have a date with Yunnan)

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 09:05:00 +0000

There were many glitches while planning for my Yunnan trip with Sam. I have 20 weeks this semester, when we usually have 19. So since mid-term exams were usually on week 10 when we have 19 weeks, I assumed our mid-term exams would be on either week 10 or 11, and Sam will be here on Week 9 and 10, so we can take our holiday on week 9.

Glitch no. 1: Computer exam on Wednesday, 1 Nov, week 9.

My response: I changed my trip to start the day after that, 2 nov, so that I can come back in time for my assumed English exam on week 10.

Glitch no. 2: Teacher announced English exam to be on Friday, 3 Nov, week 9.

My response: What's with all the exams on week 9?! Ok nevermind I'll leave on that afternoon after the exam instead then.

Glitch no. 3: English exam rescheduled to Wednesday, 8 Nov, week 10.

My response: What the hell. I almost bought the plane tickets already loh.

After breathing, my response: I spoke to my teacher, and she very kindly let me take the exam on 1 Nov, Wednesday, week 9, so I can leave the day after. She even allowed me to take 3 lessons off! Just gotta make sure I catch up with work. :) What a lovely teacher she is. She kept smiling throughout the conversation too.

So I bought a one-way plane ticket to Kunming for 2 November, 8am, yesterday. I called many different places to get the best price, and it was delivered to my door 2 hours later. Hey I just realized "8am" looks a lot like "Sam" haha. Anyways, my one-way trip costs 960RMB, and it's already tour package price. Lets hope the ride from Kunming to Shanghai will be cheaper purchased from Kunming.

Moral of story? You can make things happen if you ask. Wanting something very much helps too.

So, my teacher deserves a handsome souvenir from Sam and I, doesn't she?

Haha, yeah man, but nothing for the rest of you I'm afraid. Unless you can tell me why you deserve it.

My friend, the Beauty Queen (a.k.a. Maximizer Bra wannabe)

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:46:00 +0000

MY BROTHER sent me the youtube URL to watch the interview with Celine Tan on SMUBE Campus Beat..Check her out! I've known her since we were Primary 3, and shared the gory details of our lives even till after Junior College. Though we've drifted apart as I have with everyone else, she has never put on airs nor brushed me aside whenever I needed a listening ear. :) Busier than a bee, she always makes time for her friends!

A true queen of a beautiful heart, presenting to you, the wonderbra wannabe!

Babe, I'm happy to see ya achieving greater heights as time goes by. I just hope you're truly happy and not putting up a show like most of us do. ;)

The Cuckoo's Nest is recruiting!

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 07:56:00 +0000

Looks like I'm not the only thing going crazy around here. The first enemy I have made in the asylum is the weather here.

Yesterday the real feel for temperature was like 26 degrees, today it's about 16, since the sun went to sleep. I could feel that my toes were numb after I removed my shoes. I hate being partially numb because I can actually feel where I'm numb via the un-numb places. Get what I mean? Anyway it was really quite cold today and I sure don't look forward to even colder days to come (after Sam leaves).

I suspect China has started blocking blogspot sites again...I haven't been able to access my own site since yesterday, which means I have to use an anonymous proxy just to take a look at whether my post was created successfully...

And I just received a call to learn that only 2 students have signed up for the tap dance class I was raving about a while back, so it looks like the class might be cancelled, but I'll get my money back. Argh.

And someone just called me on skype, some stranger. Why the hell should I answer and talk to you (she's really a stranger, I'm not trying to use figurative language).

[04:17:39 PM] angelina says: hi
[04:18:16 PM] Squareface says: hi
[04:18:38 PM] angelina says: i come from china
[04:19:18 PM] Squareface says: do you always call people like that?
[04:20:03 PM] angelina says: no,i just have a try,do you mind ?
[04:20:17 PM] Squarefacesays: yes
[04:21:48 PM] angelina says: why
[04:22:04 PM] Squareface says: its weird to answer a call from a stranger
[04:22:06 PM] Squareface says: you don't think so?
[04:22:11 PM] Squareface says: sorry go bug someone else

Self-destruction

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:42:00 +0000

Okay so lets do some math:

If smoking one cigarette takes away 7 minutes of my life, and assuming we are supposed to live up till the age of 85 (very optimistic so that we can concoct stronger potions):

Okay this plan is not feasible...thats too many cigarettes and too much money...
I would gladly do a calculation if I were to add alcohol to that, or pills with alcohol, but dammit I don't have the figures.

A different approach can always be taken. Why should we rely on such vices? Why not enjoy it while it lasts? Another way to self-annihilate is to just keep eating. I've got a talent to score in my LDL levels, so I just googled foods with the highest cholesterol content, which is hard, 'coz the results for "food with highest cholesterol" were all about LOWERING cholesterol, which just shows how we're being brainwashed by all these channels of information. Anyway, here's a good site that debunks the egg yolk = high cholesterol theory. Or and that's not the only one.

Okay before I digress and start talking about another issue altogether, foods with the highest cholesterol include chicken liver and giblets. I think the Chinese should have their lipids tested regularly. Ok next on that list is eggs, with cholesterol content 4.24mg/g.

Alright, this seems more feasible...about 47 eggs to eat...if I eat one egg everyday, I can collapse in a heap less than 50 days from now. That's before Christmas man. How's that for a Christmas gift for both you and me, eh?

Not that easy, I'm afraid. The likelihood of having my arteries clogged up enough for me to get a heart attack depends on my LDL (bad cholesterol level), which figures I cannot remember, but it shares around the same ratio of my level : normal level of 2.

It's highly achievable though, since I'm in a land of oil. And there's always my favourite dish that is also on that list of artery-clogging list: Beijing crispy skin duck.

Ah, wish me luck.

Just go away

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:00:00 +0000

I hate it when I reeive condescending looks from you, and you, and you.

I wish I never knew you, and wish even more that you never knew me.

Stop trying to force a smile at me. You don't want to know what you asked, so why do you try to be nice when you don't mean it and when you don't mean it it comes across so clearly that it makes me even more pissed so you just go ahead and flash that phoney smile of yours and spoil my whole day and make me want to just gorge your eyes out with that condescending look of yours.

i'm just not like you nor you nor you so why can't you just leave me alone since you don't have the capacity to accept someone different from you and neither do i have that gift but i like it that way so maybe you could learn to like it too because i think my life would be much better if you would just ignore me and pretend you have never seen me before because i'd very much prefer that to watching how you try to speak on my level which you give the impression that you have to lower yourself for that so if you think you gotta bend your back to talk to me that just get lost because i don't want to be blamed for you to have a broken back.

and don't you dare laugh at the term brokeback because you have no right to and you don't know what the hell you talk about sometimes but you can just go on and on and act all high and mighty just because your eyes have moved over several pieces of paper with lines across them because that just doesn't prove anything if your intentions are just crappy and you don't delve into your own thoughts because you get too busy burying yourself in someone else's thought because they are god to you just like how god is to her so since you cannot accept things any other way then let people live their own life because i sure do hope whoever's thought you worship advocates letting people be happy and i sure want to be happy but the only way i can be happy is if i don't see you you and you again so just leave me alone leave me by myself don't talk to me i hate the things that come out of your mouth and that look u never fail to give haunts me i don't give a damn about you i really don't and if you ever see me finding out about you its because i don't want you to find me this game of hide and seek really sucks because i hate to be found so can't you just count to ten and run away and be happy

or i'll bite.

Skills only seen in China

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:47:00 +0000

These pics weren't taken by me...I received them in an email...
I do want to have my own shots though, so watch this space (or this spot since it's blogspot)!

Log off soon

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:43:00 +0000

Have you been surfing online for more than an hour already? If so, I'm hurt that it took you this long to pop by, and my advise is for you to log off real soon. Staring too long at your computer screen promotes myopia, squinting eyes, and crankiness. I should know because I was online for 48 hours out of 72 over the weekend.

Just for a few moments, I didn't feel so cold

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:19:00 +0000

I just received a rather sweet series of messages from my landlord...

最近天气变冷了，自己要当心一些，上海的这个季节特别容易感冒呢。
现在早晚的时候，还是比较冷的。
晚上回家晚了，也要注意安全，现在天黑的早了。
没有来电预约的来访，一定不要随便开门。
祝你在这里生活的一切都好。
我要下去了，你继续忙你的吧。。。

Just a bunch of easily-typed words, but thats the only voice of concern I've heard these days.

Lala lalalala...

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 15:11:00 +0000

Hosted by Zooomr (testing it out)

Okay I'm rather slow with current affairs, so this is old news.

"China's first hotline for lesbians is set to open following the success of a service for gay men in a country where homosexuals still face stigma and discrimination, a local newspaper reported.
The hotlines, which operate in China's booming coastal cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou where social change outpaces the rest of China, are run by the Hong Kong-based Chi Heng Foundation, which oversees AIDS-related projects.
The new line will be staffed by lesbians, just as the volunteers for the existing one are all gay men, said one of the hotline's counselors, adding that the organization had had trouble recruiting enough qualified volunteers.
"To have female counselors at the center will make the women callers feel more secure," hotline staff member Shen Yiwu told the Shanghai Daily.
During the Mao era, homosexuals were persecuted, especially during the Cultural Revolution when prison terms and death sentences were meted out. Homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder in China until 2001."

In more recent news (still outdated though), Qiao Qiao (乔乔), a Beijing lesbian bar owner (longest-running), is the first out lesbian singer. "She has released her first new single, "Ai bu fen” (爱不分), along with a music video depicting two women in love. Ai bu fen” (爱不分), which means love does not discriminate, is the first openly lesbian song in the People’s Republic, a country where homosexuality has long been fettered by tradition and the pressure to marry." Watch it and tell me what you think:

She also claimed that some of the Supergirls (超级女声, or 超女 for short, a singing competition that has a similar concept to American Idol, just that all the competitors are girls) are bent that way too, that "they know who they are", having seen them at her bar. After that news report, many rumours started to spread, and may have caused contestant Xu Fei (许飞）to have unnecessarily lost her chance to be the last 5 contestants standing.

Xu Fei denies being a lesbian and got very defensive when pressed for answers. Sheesh. Refuse to be out then out you go...(Xu Fei was eliminated after the whole incident, and is in the sixth place).

4 out of the last 6 contestants were very androgynous in my opinion...

Winner, Shang Wenjie, graduate of Fudan University's Foreign Language and Literature (French) *swoons*

Agreed? The andro look is definitely in in China (also).

A little Chinese lingo for your reference:

Pocket Dictionary of China’s Homosexuals

tongzhi (同志) (comrade): used by Chinese gays and lesbians to refer to themselves

lala (拉拉): lesbian

1: refers to the male role in a gay relationship [or as we refer to commonly as, top]

0: refers to the female role in a gay relationship [or as we refer to commonly as, bottom]

T: refers to tomboy, or the male role in a lesbian relationship [or as we commonly refer to as butch]

P: stands for the Chinese Pinyin po, or the female role in a lesbian relationship [or as we commonly refer to as femme]

bufen (不分): either andro or just unlabelled

419: used to indicate a one night stand

MB: money boy, normally known as male prostitute

Uncle: a respectful title for older tomboy

Squareface has a favour to ask of you

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:25:00 +0000

Hey hey you there who knows me by some way or another. Do this for me, will ya?

Johari Window, and Nohari Window. Please help me with both, yah?

Apparently they feature dichotomies between good qualities and "failings", though if I were to make that list, I would make several switches. For instance, being simple should be in the Johari Window. Many of them don't seem like direct opposites to me, but just do it for my curiosity's sake ok?

Heh.

The Hunt for a Photo Host

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:35:00 +0000

After testing out different blog hosts and sticking to blogspot, I've been checking out various types of Photo hosting sites and still haven't managed to hunt down one that I'm happy with. As you can see on this site, I'm actually using many different image hosting which means that my pictures are uploaded a little here and a bit there. I wanna have a site where I can upload albums for those interested in viewing Squareface's shots. I just got REJECTED though. Some @£$%&! site actually doesn't accept me! Now, I can understand if the meat world rejects me, but being turned down in the virtual just seems too...surreal.

So I checked it out and found this:

Here is a quick list rules for MyPhotoAlbum. Violation of these rules can lead to termination of your account. For more information please visit our terms and conditions.

1. No commercial use.

2. No posting of copyrighted material that is not yours.

3. No sites containing wallpapers

4. No sites containing screen captures.

5. No fan sites.

6. No accounts from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Korea.

7. No advertisements

And if you look at the terms & conditions under number 17 you get this:

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. MyPhotoAlbum reserves the right to restrict access to our servers from areas of the globe with a high level of abusive activity. These areas change periodically based on the origins of this inappropriate activity. The current restriction applies to Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Moldavia, Morocco, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yugoslavia.

Wah lau.

I wanted to sign up for this hosting site because it offers personalized designs and layouts, unlimited photo storage and albums, free photo and video sharing and allows votings and comments. But the country I'm in right now is an "area of the globe with a high level of abusive activity." What the...? What exactly does that mean anyway? I'm sure glad Singapore isn't on that list, and I'm laughing at a certain neighbouring country who thinks "Singapore is simply a neighbour too far." Okay, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm glad at least you think we're too far from your "inappropriate" activities.

And why isn't North Korea on that list?

The importance of having a hair stylist

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:39:00 +0000

My mother hardly gave me the chance to explore the world of hair salons because she could cut my hair perfectly fine, albeit making my hairstyle look like it was cut by tracing a bowl over my head. However, when I had some means of getting a haircut at any place other than the bathroom at home, no hairdresser pleased me. So I'd been on an endless quest to find myself a good hair stylist, or at least a regular hairdresser.

I couldn't find one back home in Singapore, so I was never satisfied with my hairstyle. I was desperate enough to try the relatively expensive hairdressing establishments, only to find myself more despondent and poorer. I tried different outlets of QBHouse, a budget hairdressing salon, but no haircut seemed to make me happy. The most satisfied I have been with my hairdo was at Tony & Guy Academy. However, I wanted a hair stylist, my own hair stylist, who knows how I'm like and what I want for a coiffure (hairstyle).

I'm so glad to have found her! It was a twist of fate, fortunately she delivered me from those wretched curls that I had been deceived into paying money for in my second semester (I only beared with them curls for a week).

She somehow knew what I wanted by looking and talking to me, and anyway her hairstyle was close to what I wanted so she understood perfectly well. From then on, she became my hair stylist, being the only one who can put a smile on my face after her work is done. I knew my hair was in good hands.

However, unsurprisingly, with her aptitude for hair styling, she clinched a position with a tv station and a higher-end hair salon, thereby leaving that no-space-to-improve place. I thought that was it, I could no longer go to her as and when at the beauty salon where we first met, and I had to go back to that endless tiresome quest. When I came back here after the summer break, Sam and I went to some crappy hairsalon, or lets just say cut-hair-place, and had our hair cut by young boys who were ah beng wannabes. It was cheap though -- but almost all hair salons in this area are -- 5 yuan per haircut. The shape of my hair that she crafted for me was gone under the scissors of that juvenile scissors-holder.

I thank her for believing in fate! She wants to keep me as her customer -- she rejected many others -- because she feels that our acquaintance was kismet. She's willing to continue being my hair stylist so all I have to do is arrange a prior appointment with her...

She chided me for letting those @£$%!& cut my hair though. If I hadn't done so, my hair would be in a much better state. Nevertheless, as usual she miraculously transformed a squareface into a not-so-square-and-smiling face!

Try not to hairdresser-hop so much. It's really better to have a hairstylist who knows what kinda style you want and like because you and her/him can communicate. She even learnt about Sam today.

Of course, I guess it helps if the hair salon is one that offers affordable services. It's actually rather degrading for her to come back to that beauty salon just to do my hair, since her customers at the higher-end salons pay 20 times more.

An account of what I spent at the beauty salon today:
Trimming of eyebrows: 10RMB
Haircut: Free today since I paid for other services (Usual: 10 RMB)
Dye: 88RMB (promo)
Treatment after dye: 58RMB (promo)
Hairwash: Free today since I paid for other services (Usual: 5 or 10 RMB)

I love cooking? damn.

noreply@blogger.com (Squareface) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:28:00 +0000

I swallowed that lump in my throat today whilst supermarket shopping. I know I'm being very self-indulgent by giving myself a pat on the back here but I'm quite proud of myself haha. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually beginning to enjoy grocery shopping and cooking! I still can't believe it. I bought necessary groceries to cook simple meals over the weekend, and I even asked one of the promoters how to cook the soup she was cooking haha.

Oh and here's an improved version of mashed potatoes. Thanks to cj's advice, I added milk. She suggested cheese along with the butter & salt combi, but I think one type of diary product will suffice, especially since time is running out, and I haven't lost much weight (I have a certain target weight that I hope to hit before I turn 21).

Okay the pic sux but the colour of the potato looks more like the kind of mashed potato people sell you after I added milk.

And then! I cooked salmon!

Haha, ok I admit I barely cooked it. I just placed it in my steamer for about 10 minutes or so, and then sprinkled some Szechuan Pepper over it. Delicious! But of course I prefer eating the ones my dad cooks. I called home wanting to ask what sauce he uses to marinate salmon, but nobody picked up the phone so I just steamed it and ate it au naturel, then felt a little pepper would make it more enticing.
Here's the bottles of pepper I use ever since I started cooking (which was...this week?).

Are you happy for Squareface after reading this entry?
	Huh? For what? What took her so long? Girls should...[Insert whatever age-old stereotypes of girls you have here]
	Yeah! Though it's about time.
	Sure! I'm happy for Squareface no matter what :)

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