mudslinging

What's your excuse? Idiots....

2008-01-25T17:02:00.000+08:00

I went to watch two movies recently. Well, three if you count I Am Legend. But my rants today are for the two I just watched, Cloverfield last Friday and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street yesterday. It’s time to get some things off my chest. So to all cinema goers please take note. Take note and be a good cinema goer, or don’t listen and remain the idiots that you are.

First rule to watching a movie
Know what type of movie you’re about to watch. I’m not saying you should watch all teasers, full length trailers, read reviews, blogs, memorise cast and all that. I know I don’t do this for fear of spoiling the whole movie experience. But the least you can do is find out the type of movie. You know, is it going to be a drama, action packed adventure, romance, fantasy, comedy, romantic comedy, black comedy, spoof, satire, whatever, just find out the bloody type of movie you’re gonna watch!

If it’s gonna be filmed through a hand-held camera and told through the first person or whatever you call it, like Cloverfield, you can expect it to be shaky. Of course! That’s the whole point of the story, it’s a bunch of amateurs like you and me trying to film what must have been the most terrifying experience that they were going through, using a bloody video cam. So of course it’s gonna be shaky! Bunch of idiots!

And you know it’s a monster movie. Of course there’ll be a (gasp surprise surprise!) a monster! Again, bloody idiots! You know it’s a monster movie, so suspend reality for an hour and 15 minutes and just watch the bloody thing already! Stop sighing, whining, groaning, complaining, heavy sighing and complaining some more. It’s a monster movie. Deal with it. Don’t laugh, don’t talk loudly, don’t discuss the storyline. Just don’t. Shut your gob and watch. Damn bloody idiots. If you don’t like it and can’t stomach it, leave. That’s what the exits are for. Don’t ruin the experience for other people.

When I bought tickets for Cloverfield, the guy at the ticket counter actually gave my husband and I a warning. He told us that many people complained because the picture was shaky. I just laughed out loud. Yep, right to his face. Sorry man, didn’t mean to laugh at you. But I feel sorry for you because you had to inform everyone who bought tickets about this. I’m sure this part of your job sucks. This was probably due to all the idiots who watched it and thought, Oh what a dumb sucky movie this is and oh how shaky it is. I think it’s my duty to complain to the cinema management. And maybe they’ll waste their time trying to warn others. Shaky, I hate that word. As I hate all idiots.

And guess what? The same thing happened when I watched Sweeney Todd in sunway yesterday. I was unfortunate enough to watch it with a cinema full of college kids who mostly fell in the idiots category (sad to say- hah!).

Again, know what type of movie you’re watching. If you’re watching Sweeney Todd, well obviously you’re gonna watch a musical. And of course there’ll be singing. IDIOTS! Every time the characters opened their mouths to sing, there were groaning, and moaning, and giggling, and ‘oh no’s and whatever else their sorry little minds could think of doing. If you don’t like to hear singing, DON’T WATCH A MUSICAL! Go watch some insipid brainless movie instead; there are lots of those that you can choose from which I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

Second rule to watching a movie
For the eleventh hundredth time, we don’t care about what happened to you in class today nor do we want to hear you talking about your cheating girlfriend, so stop talking. Never ever talk during a movie. It’s just crass and shows how senseless and dim you are. So hush! Again, if you find the movie not to your liking, then please leave. Leave and make the world a better place.

Don’t spoil other people’s experience just because you’re too dumb to understand what’s going on in the movie. If you really don’t understand, read the bloody subtitles. If you still don’t understand, hey perhaps that’s not the movie for you. Maybe you should try watching something simpler, like I don’t know, The Little Mermaid? Easier plot to follow, fun characters, colourful movie, and oh my, the crab sings too!

So that’s it. Two simple rules to remember. Easy peasy. Nothing too taxing for that small pea-brain of yours.

Bloody idiots….

Back on square one

2008-01-03T16:24:00.000+08:00

So it’s the New Year. Happy New Year to all! New Year means new resolutions. I think I mentioned some time ago that there was one year when I resolved not to make any more new year’s resolution. It worked out just fine. Till maybe a few years later.

I think I also mentioned somewhere that I used to make dumb resolutions like ‘work harder’. If you didn’t know me, and you heard of my resolution, you’d think I was a slacker of some sort. Ignoring work or procrastinating till the last minute. In actual fact I’m neither (or at least I think I’m not.) I work as hard, maybe harder than other people.

Maybe this year I should be more concerned with being a better Muslim. Cut down on gossip. Spend more time with my family. Be thankful for what I’ve got. Celebrate the little triumphs in life. Forgive others.

Blog more? Heh heh….

That should keep me busy for a while….

Jingle all the way....hey!

2007-11-30T16:21:00.000+08:00

I’ve got a stupid song in my head. Well, it’s not stupid and it’s not really a song. More like an annoying radio jingle that’s been playing in my head like a broken record. How about I infect you with my plague….

Ryan, you’re calling Ryan….
Not John, or Paul, or Bob, or Steve, or Mike, but Ry-an
Ryan, R-R-R- Ryan
No one but Ryan will answer your call….

It’s annoying but freaking good fun to sing along to. If you listen and sing along to radio jingles, what does that say about your life? Sad, huh….

Ryan….
You’re calling Ryan….

Year-end Crazy Parade

2007-11-27T16:29:00.000+08:00

It’s that time of the year again. We’re almost at the end, but not quite. Every time I get to this year-end-but-not-quite season, I am enveloped by a sense of…. malaise, if you will. Some sort of laziness creeps in. Well maybe not laziness, maybe more of a worn out kinda phase.

I feel like working less and taking more leave. It doesn’t help the matter that I have unintentionally accumulated all my leave days into a big lump to be utilised in these last few months. So I get 25 days of leave a year (yeah, I can hear some of you scream foul), plus the 12 days that I carried from last year, that makes it 37 days of annual leave. And now I have used up about 12 days, leaving me with about 25. So now I carry forward 12 to next year and I still have a total of 13. Minus the three I took last week and I’m still left with 10. Ten days of leave to be used up between now and the 31st of December. Sigh, what a lovely mess I’m in. I’m not complaining.

The laziness creeping in is making me tired of all things work-related. I just want to say, okay, let’s just get it over and done with. Enough of this year already. Let’s just do nothing till January. When January comes we will start with such gusto and drive, and work harder. Note: working harder is the stupid resolution that I seem to make yearly, except maybe last year when I declared it to be stupid. And I’m beginning to sound like a mad woman already right?

Ah well, the good news is that I am so lazy but yet have lots of time to watch tv. Or is it because I’m lazy that I have time to watch tv? Anyway, my current favourite shows that I catch on Astro are Brothers & Sisters, and Big Love. I love them to bits…. I love Criminal Minds too but I think the season ended last week on 8TV. So I watch tv and read (labouring to read as I get so sleepy at night after tv). And I spend time on Facebook. You know that other idiotic time consuming social networking utility shit… but hey I love it too…. It’s fun catching up with school friends and what-have-yous….

Ok now I’m too lazy to wrap this up, so I guess that’s it. Time to go check Facebook.

And go home. Yeah… now we’re talking….

Of food and relatives that come once a year

2007-10-05T11:24:00.000+08:00

It’s almost Raya now. Ramadhan is well on its 23rd day. I am looking forward to Raya. Not as much as I did when I was a kid, nonetheless, still looking forward to it.

This year we’ll be celebrating it here in KL, my beloved hometown. Yeah yeah, don’t make cracks about not having a kampong to balik to. I’m a city girl and my so-called ‘kampung’ is here. My grandma is here and my parents are here. And contrary to popular belief, it is meriah to celebrate Raya here. People who say otherwise are just people who don’t belong. They need to go balik elsewhere, so just go already, and leave us to our merry-making. I don’t mean to sound rude, but if they are patriotic over their respective kampungs, why shouldn’t I be? KL is all that I’ve ever known.

Oh well….

When I was younger, my mother used to make nasi tomato for every Raya. We’d have chicken curry and sambal tumis and acar and daging dendeng and cakes and cookies. My mum loves cooking and baking. Those were great fun times. Now however my mum doesn’t cook up a storm like that anymore. She buys all her cookies. Lucky for us she buys most of the cookies from my aunt. So it’s still homemade, though not made in our home. Haha!

Both my parents and in-laws will be here this year so we need to go visit both, and then we shall go visit my grandma and aunt. Can’t wait for the wonderful food that will be waiting for us. My grandma’s house will be the meeting point for all my aunts and uncles. I’m looking forward to meeting them all. Now that I’m a working adult, I don’t get to see them as much as I used to. I haven’t seen an uncle of mine like ages ago! (Ok I exaggerate, it was probably a year plus ago.)

So I’m definitely waiting for the food and the relatives. In that order. Yeah yeah, can’t you tell I’m a glutton already. *smile*

13 is depressing

2007-09-24T12:31:00.000+08:00

13? That’s it? 13 measly books read this year? Ah what is wrong with me? How can I ever read more than 20 at the rate I’m going?

Hubby’s solution was simple. “Read thinner books.”

I look at him incredulously. The mere suggestion emitted a cry from me, “And for what?” Downgrade my reading level so I could have more books on my list? Substitute quality for quantity? Such nerve…. Giving such a suggestion to me. Well you have to applaud the guy for coming up with a fast, easy (and cheaper?) solution. But no thanks. I’d rather have read fewer books that are notable, compared to more books that are…. how do you say… mmm, fluff? Hahaha, that’s the book snob speaking again. I am honestly not a snob in real life. Honestly….

Now, come to think of it, it’s not that I consciously choose to read less books, it’s that I’ve just got no time to spare, more so now in Ramadhan. Days after work are spent with dinner, prayers and maybe 30 minutes of channel surfing or magazine flipping. That’s it. I get too tired to do anything else. My attempts to read, ahem, keyword here being ‘attempts’, are normally just that. Attempts. No action follows whatsoever. I take a book, curl up with my pillow, read one page, and doze off, while the book remains unread save a page or two. That’s why it took me so long to finish Gaiman’s book (though I started reading way way wayyy before Ramadhan). And now that I’m finally done with that book, I’m on a deliberate break from reading novels.

13 books huh…. Sad….

Status: Not connected

2007-08-29T15:59:00.000+08:00

I have no email?

I have no email!

There’s something seriously wrong with my email. Something’s screwed up somewhere. And to make matters worse, the only person who can come and look into this matter happens to be on leave today. No!

It seriously sucks. I cannot see what I have to do for work, I cannot send out any for fear they might never reach their destination.

I cannot just sit here and not get email.

Seriously!

mudslinger rummages around for online games to keep her occupied till 5.30….

Sometimes I just wanna snap my fingers....

2007-08-28T17:01:00.000+08:00

Buying a house is no joke. Both hubby and I are first-time buyers and we sure don’t know a lot. And to make matters worse, we have to be the unlucky ones with the wishy-washy developers. I am just so frustrated sometimes. I don’t know what to do. And then there are these problems of late delivery and being given vacant possession without water and electricity. I mean, what gives????

Wish I could snap my fingers and all would right itself.

Talk about wishful thinking....

My preciousssss....

2007-08-27T16:20:00.000+08:00

Life at high speed continued, that’s why no blog posts. My sister was in the hospital and I had deadlines (again!) and I had to move office.

Last week I was busy with packing and unpacking. Moving office is really no small matter, even though my office is actually just me, me, and me.

Now I’ve got computer boxes left over from my move. I intend to keep it for moving house end of this year. Yep, you read right, moving house. That’s gonna be more hard work coz I’ve been in that rented house for about 3 years, so I’ve got stuff lying about everywhere. I don’t even know where to begin! Should I start with the store room with my boxes of books? Or maybe our bedroom with errr.... more boxes of my books....

Seriously, I have 4 rectangular boxes of books in my bedroom, plus two Ikea cardboard boxes filled with more recent purchases. And loads of Penguin classics and Archie comic digests in the storeroom. I just can’t let them go. They’re my preciousssss…. Ayaya, where am I gonna put them all in our new place? All this still doesn’t take into consideration hubby’s books - his architecture books and his paperback novels. I think our home will be filled with books, books and more books. We need to invest in some real hard wearing covered book cases (hear that hubby?) to keep them all. They’ve been staying in boxes for three years, and it’s time they got some fresh air.

I love my books....

And away we go!

2007-08-15T15:35:00.000+08:00

Aaah, blogging. I’ve missed it for quite some time now. Yeah yeah, I’m a terrible blogger, blog updater, blog writer, whatever….

Life was at high speed these past few weeks. After Harry Potter, we did not watch any new movies at the cinema. No more movie outings I guess. And I have been busy at work. Yeah I know, it’s a sorry excuse. But it was quite taxing. An avalanche of work. Many things to prepare: reports, presentations, etc. etc. etc. Many distractions around: email, Friendster, other people’s blogs, Second Life, free pc games, Facebook. This leaves no time to blog (pathetic, but true).

So here I am, back to talking gibberish and rambling on and on about inconsequential stuff that probably only affects me. Hahaha, it’s good to be back!

Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-25T16:45:00.000+08:00

I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during its opening weekend. I thought I’d immediately write somewhat a review of the movie, but I just got buried by an avalanche of work. So that idea was scrapped. Now, almost two weeks later, I finally have some time to breathe. Thinking of writing a review is somehow not that appealing as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is stale news already (to me anyway).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth in the ever popular Potter series. Directed by David Yates, the movie continues with Harry trying to convince everyone that Lord Voldemort is back and that it is up to the Harry and his friends to stop him, seeing that the Ministry is not only refusing to stop Voldemort, they are in denial and are refusing to even acknowledge his reappearance.

The movie runs for about two hours (138 mins) and ironically is the shortest Potter film which comes from the longest Potter book in the series (at 800+ pages). This was one of the reasons many have complained that the movie was ‘jumpy’ and did not include many things from the book.

On the other hand, I thought Yates did an amazing job directing and putting together everything neatly into a package where we know enough to get the story and to move the plot. Sure, we just don’t get the full wham of the book. This is understandable, as in almost all cases of book-turned-movie; the book will always be far superior to the movie. It’s incomparable.

I really enjoyed this movie, and my husband (a non-Potter reader) seems to enjoy it as much as I did. I liked the fireworks scene with Fred and George Weasley, and the duelling scene at the end between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. The wand duelling was almost a great big dance, with ultra cool moves and stances. I like!

Harry, well what can be said for Harry. Harry is a bit more matured (especially his voice - no more squeaky talking). I feel his pain, anguish, frustration, but I’m at times missing the scar. Perhaps the director thought it wise not to make it too obvious on his forehead. Sure it’s there, it just happens to be a bit inconspicuous.

As for Ron and Hermione, I love them both. The voice of reason, Hermione has grown into a beautiful young woman who takes control and is one of Harry’s biggest advocates. Ron is also comfortable in his role as best friend and provides comic relief.

There is one scene that is still on my mind. This was where the three were discussing Harry’s kiss with Cho which took place earlier. Harry, Hermione and Ron ended their conversation with a great hearty laugh. There’s something about that laugh that made me love them all the more. And after some snooping around, I found out that that laugh was a real laugh from Daniel, Emma and Rupert after they’d said their lines. It was a great laugh that the director kept the film rolling to capture it.

This movie also introduces some new characters, which I truly enjoyed watching. Luna Lovegood couldn’t have been more perfect. The faraway look on her face and her at-times wistful voice is exactly the way I thought she should be. Luna was among my favourites. Bellatrix Lestrange was her crazy self, but perhaps not as crazy as I had imagined. Perhaps there’s more to her in the next movie. And Umbridge, with her pink clothes, and her kittens, and her throat clearing “hmm hmm” was really so annoying and mean that I felt like asking her to write lines! A great portrayal indeed. Other characters had too little screen presence to make an impact (like Tonks).

One thing that I thought was glaring was the incident with the Thestrals. Among the six students from Dumbledore’s Army who went to the Ministry, only Harry and Luna were supposed to be able to see the Thestrals. So how did his friends ride the Thestrals if they couldn’t see them? This was explained in the book, but in the movie, no one seems to have noticed that the kids are all flying on the Thestrals. Hmmm….

The movie was great for me. I think it was dark enough to be the successor of the Goblet of Fire. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was worth the wait. I can’t wait for next year’s Half Blood Prince!

A must watch for Potter fans. And to non-Potter readers and non-fans, give it a go, you never know…. You might enjoy it yet.

Shame on you!

2007-07-23T17:20:00.000+08:00

Much has been said about the Harry Potter price wars. Many have spoken and conveyed their views. My two cents:

To the bookstores who refuse to sell (MPH, Times, Harris and Popular), good for you for making your stand. I may not agree fully with your action, but I understand where you guys are coming from. Fight!

To the hypermarkets (whom I shall not even name, coz I hate their guts - it’s my blog and I can say what I like), what’s the matter with you? Suddenly being goody-goody and offering such a ‘dignified’ service to sell cheaper books to people?

You are not practising good business conduct. Surely you’re out to make money, with cheap publicity stunts like that, it’s without a doubt that you will cover your losses through the sale of other items.

It blatantly shows that you don’t honour the unwritten rule of appropriate business etiquette, and you have no sense of fair play whatsoever. Shame on you!

Nice? Who're you calling nice?

2007-07-11T16:10:00.000+08:00

Recently I went to a seminar on Systems Thinking and how it can help solve most of our complex problems. It was a great seminar and I think it would be beneficial to everyone. During the seminar, I found out that my main problem at work was caused by a negative archetype called the Attractiveness Principle.

And what is the Attractiveness Principle you ask? Trying to please everyone, because saying no is too hard to do. The mental model here is: We must please everybody all of the time.

How do you like that? Never in a million years would I have that of myself…. Being too nice and accommodating? But after thinking about it, I realised that it was somewhat true. So now I have to work on its positive archetype, which is to Be My Best. The mental model here is: We make choices about what we can and cannot do, knowing that it may not please everybody all of the time.

Now that is surely something that I need to practise and believe in. No more being the doormat and saying yes to everyone at work. There are times when I just need to say no.

Movie: Transformers

2007-07-10T16:03:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday I watched Transformers for the second time. Yes, the first was during its opening weekend at Cineleisure. What a blast! I’m still contemplating writing a review of it, seeing that it’s old news already. Ah, what the heck….

We all know the Transformers story. Most of us kids who grew up in the eighties would be very familiar with the cartoon. I’m not a fanatic, mind you, but I did watch episodes together with my brother when we were younger. He even had a Transformers lunchbox. It was red and depicted a battle scene between the Autobots and the Decepticons (hey bro, remember this?).

So basically what we have is the Autobots who are trying to protect mankind from destruction by the Decepticons, who are in search of something called the Allspark. The Allspark (the Cube) is a vital piece which holds power to create life. It was lost in space and landed on Earth a long long time ago. A map to its whereabouts was imprinted into the glasses of Capt Archibald Witwicky, the grandfather of Sam Witwicky. Unbeknownst to Sam, he holds the map to the Allspark, and while the Decepticons are trying to find it, the Autobots come to his rescue. Okay, any more telling and I’ll spoil the movie experience.

So it being Michael Bay, you can expect to see lots of action and crashes and explosions. In this, Bay does not disappoint. However, the ending was a bit too abrupt to me. Sure, you have the prerequisite battle scenes between the Autobots and the Decepticons, and they are heart-thumping awe inducing scenes, but the end of it all….

<=== HERE BE SPOILERS ===>

I felt that it was a bit to easy the way Megatron died. I mean, Sam pushes the Allspark into his chest? That’s it? The evil devious Megatron was defeated just like that? Just doesn’t cut it….

All in all, I must say that I did enjoy the movie. It was fantastic. And I watched it twice. What does that say? It contained enough inside ‘jokes’ for fans, like the yellow Volkswagen next to Bumblebee who’s now a Camaro, and a bumblebee hanging from the rear view mirror of the Camaro.

So if you haven’t already, go watch it. It will not disappoint.

More D'Rimba photos

2007-07-02T16:34:00.000+08:00

I was at D'Rimba again on Saturday, and these are more photos of the place. They've got the nameplate thingy up already....

And they've completed the path from the clubhouse to the gazebo near the pool....

There's even this foot reflexology path thingy.... (i really need to brush up my vocab!)....

Can't wait....

Transformers transform!

2007-06-25T09:31:00.000+08:00

Can you feel it? Can you feel it yet? It's coming. It's so close you can almost smell it, grasp it, taste it.... It's breathing down your neck. You just reach out a bit more and you can feel it graze your fingertips.....

The biggest, highly anticipated, most exhilarating, electrifying experience is about to happen....

TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!!!!!!!!

See the person who didn't heed the warning. Face the wrath of Megatron!

p/s: Cool promo!

D'Rimba Pictures

2007-06-19T09:56:00.000+08:00

Ok, these are for the benefit of future owners of units in D'Rimba in Kota Damansara. We've bought a unit there, and a fortnight ago, we went to get some pictures of the place.

The first picture is of the clubhouse and the ones that follow were taken from the clubhouse. It shows the playground, the pool, the river and the little bridge.

These are of the clubhouse and the units. We don't have any pictures taken inside the units as they were locked.

And here is the last batch of pictures. Plus our unit and the outside area.

We hope to be able to move in by this year.

Helllll-loww? Anybody home?

2007-06-18T15:08:00.000+08:00

Ok, why are the months in my archive not in English? Junio? Mayo? Hell-low....????

What's up with that....????

Welcome to the real world

2007-06-13T14:42:00.000+08:00

We depend so much on the internet. I know I do. First thing I do when I get to the office is to log in online, then check my email, then check my superior’s schedule for the day, after which I reply to my email and update his schedule and alert others of meetings or appointments, also through email. Then I switch on my messenger to keep in touch with co-workers, and also husband, brother and sister in Damansara, KLCC and in PJ respectively. All of these I’ve described above depend solely on the internet connection that my office so generously provides.

So the worst thing that can happen is to see this:

Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage
Most likely causes:
You are not connected to the Internet
The website is encountering problems
There might be a typing error blah blah blah blah blah....

This is like the pits! So I have to resort to doing things that don’t need the connection, like, oh I don’t know, play downloaded games? And listen to songs, and type out my blog entry on word, and basically have a party. How’s that for a Wednesday?

Now all I have to do is the wait till the connection is back on so that I can post this.

*mudslinger hums along to Estranged’s ‘Itu Kamu’ and thinks dreamily of lunch time*

My love affair with Big Apple

2007-06-12T11:01:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday I was at the Curve, to especially look for the new donut place. My brother had recommended them to me and when he said something was good, I’d normally take him seriously, more so when it comes to food.

So hubby and I went traipsing through the flea market after our usual rounds at Borders. Ok, directions said, the place would be behind TGIF’s. And lo and behold, so it was. Follow the smell and you’ll find it, said my brother.

Big Apple Donuts & Coffee, beautiful!

They were having a special promotion where you purchase a dozen donuts and get half a dozen free. 18 delish donuts! Now who’s going to be able to wolf down 18 donuts right? That’s what we thought too. Still since it was the last day of their promotion, we bought the donuts and took home all 18 in two boxes. There should be some people at my in-laws place who would be hungry for donuts for tea.

I didn’t do a good job of taking down their names and taking decent pictures, as I was salivating over them so much more so with that smell wafting in the air. The only thoughts in my head were “eat now eat now eat now”.

I’m not a great big fan of donuts, as the ones we find here like in Dunkin are not to my liking. But believe me when I tell you, these are damn good! They’re so soft and soft and soft and yummmmm and soft and soft and …. Ok, sorry that got me salivating and I can’t think straight….

We had these donuts (from top L - R): blueberry, mango, almond, nutty chocolate, two oreos, two vanilla, icing sugar (I called it snowy hehehe), belgian chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter. Sorry I don’t remember their actual names....

And the free ones are the original glazed donuts, yummy……

I’m still waiting for Krispy Kreme. And since KK is not in Malaysia (yet), this is a good substitute I guess…. Just so you know I think I ate four or five of them donuts…. Hahaha!

I’ve made plans with hubby to go there again this Saturday. This time we’re gonna have coffee and have our donuts there. Hmmm, and if I can think straight while I’m eating all those donuts, I might take more pictures.

Sometimes....

2007-06-12T10:07:00.000+08:00

Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you plan them. No matter how hard you plan and strategise and plan and counter-plan and plan some more, things just won’t work out the way you want them. Kinda puts you in your place, doesn’t it? That there is a bigger power at work, that there is a single entity that controls all things like the galaxies and the universe and the planets and the sun and the moon and the insignificant little speck of dirt that is you.

Aaah well, at least you tried. That makes all the difference. If you didn’t try and didn’t challenge yourself, it won’t mean anything. Time goes by, the world goes round still, and the planets move in their course. But the thing is that you tried. That means you rose to the challenge and attempted and struggled and made a great effort to change things. If they don’t work out, well, at least you tried.

Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you plan them….

Pain? What pain?

2007-06-07T17:13:00.000+08:00

My legs hurt. I know I should be blessed by the fact that I have two legs to walk, but I can’t help but to complain a little today. Oh ye, allow me to air my grouse....

The pain is some kind of dull throbbing in my knees and ankles. My joints hurt when I walk. I feel so frustrated! Here I am, trying my best to walk properly and the best that I can it seems is to resort to taking clumsy steps that prevent me from walking straight.

I am mortified and hope that nobody sees me, but too late. This morning the lady security guard asked me what was wrong with my legs. Can I walk, she asked. I forced a grin and told her I had sprained my ankle. There, a lie. It makes me feel even worse.

Strangers hold the door open for me and wait patiently while I shuffle along, trying to move fast so that they don’t have to wait on me too long. That happened twice today. Twice! And the day is not over yet.

I am walking to my office, a dozen things to do, and I just can’t move fast enough. I wish I could run, or moved faster, as fast as I used to. Sometimes, I’d wallow in self-pity; oh woe is me, why is this happening to me? Most times I would just blame myself. When that happens, I have to force myself and give myself a thorough shake-up.

Stop being such a weakling! It’s all in your head.
If you pretend it’s not there, then it isn’t.
If you want to be normal, you’d stop all these ridiculous whining.
If you want to be taken seriously, act like you’re ok.

Act it....
Act it....
Act it....
Play pretend long enough and it will be real....

Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

2007-06-06T17:17:00.000+08:00

I got a chance to catch this last week. I did not have such high expectations of this movie, what with it being the third instalment of the Pirates movie. That, plus the fact that the second Pirates was not so great and kind of forgettable. Well, to me anyway. So if you don’t have high expectations, you should not be so sorely disappointed right?

It’s a movie about pirates. Pirates have a code of conduct, the Pirate Code of the Brethren, a set of rules to live by, pirate’s oath of allegiance and all that…. and that includes double crossing everyone and anyone that you can. Savvy….?

The first 10 minutes or so into the movie I was confused. Mostly because I don’t really remember what had taken place in the second movie, and how everything ended where it did. The third movie picked up where it left off and we are thrown head first into the goings on of the rescuing of Capt Jack Sparrow from Davey Jones’ Locker at World’s End.

The movie moves fast, has lots of actions, contains many many subplots, and you’ll be taken for a real ride on choppy waters. You cheer for them, laugh with them, and hold your breath when they fight. What else can I say? It’s a pirate movie! A good swashbuckling swaggering movie!

The cast were all great (I’m being really generous here). Chow Yun-Fat was alright. Keith Richards looked ‘authentic’. And Depp was a great Jack Sparrow. Nay, Depp is Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea.

At World’s End is a fun adventure. I’d say I enjoyed this more than I did Dead Man’s Chest. But my favourite will always be Curse of the Black Pearl.

Book: Ender’s Game

2007-05-31T16:44:00.000+08:00

This is my first sci-fi book this year. Though I don’t think I did read any sci-fi last year or the year before that. This was recommended by one of my friends, and to my delight, it was a fantastic book.

Ender’s Game follows the story of Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggins, a six year old boy who lives sometime in the future. Earth has gone through two battles with buggers, or insect-looking aliens, and is getting ready for the next invasion. We are introduced to Ender on the day when he has his monitor removed. The monitor, well…. it monitors his actions and behaviour and transmits this to the IF or the International Fleet, the organisation responsible for recruiting commanders for their starships to fight against the buggers.

Being a Third in a United States that only allows two children per family, Ender is always the object of scorn and ridicule, more so now that his monitor has been removed and no one is there to ‘protect’ him. Kids at school bully him and hate him for being the extremely intelligent child that he is. On the day his monitor is removed, Ender gets into a big fight and injures one of the kids badly.

A day after the fight at school, Ender receives a visit from the IF, who take him away to Battle School to begin training for military command. The Battle School is a space station, thus Ender has to leave his family behind. He doesn’t mind it much, as he dislikes his brother Peter, who has such contempt for Ender that he often threatens to kill Ender. However Ender will miss his sister Valentine, as she is the only one that he truly loves and cares for.

At Battle School we follow Ender through his strife and the many obstacles that stand in his way. He goes through a very tough time, even for a six-year-old genius. He is manipulated and pushed to the limit by his teachers. He is shunned and alienated by the other kids. It is here that I find the book most interesting. The tactical strategies of battle that Ender comes up with, the leadership qualities and how he commands respect, the unorthodox ways of teaching and leading his army: these are the things that make the novel great in my opinion.

I love Ender and I feel for him. I understand how harsh and challenging it can be when you’re different. Ender’s intellect, conduct, and his way of thinking and treating others are the things that make me love him so much. I just can’t explain how fantastic and creative and imaginative this novel is. I just love it to bits….

The novel won two awards for Orson Scott Card: the Nebula Award for best novel in 1985, and the Hugo Award for best novel in 1986. The Nebula and the Hugo are the two notable awards in science fiction. Hurray for Orson Scott Card!

Ender’s Game is highly recommended. And just another bit of info, the movie (based on the novel and its parallel novel, Ender’s Shadow) is currently under production. No cast list yet, but you can bet that I will wait to see it.

Oh wouldn't it be lover-ly?

2007-05-30T17:17:00.000+08:00

This entry is long overdue….

My birthday present from hubby were tickets to go watch the musical My Fair Lady, which was staged here in Kuala Lumpur form the 15th to the 20th of May. Hubby and I together with sis-in-law and her husband went to watch the 3pm show on Saturday the 19th at the Plenary Hall in KL Convention Centre. It was my first time watching a presentation in KLCC so I was really looking forward to being there.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself that day. The performance was good. I loved the singing and dancing and camaraderie between the actors. I thought it was splendid!

During the show however, kids were restless. Yup, kids. They allowed kids in there. I mean little kids. There should be some kind of regulation that says no kids below 6 or something like that. So that was a distraction.

And the difference between KLCC and Istana Budaya were the lax rules. In Istana Budaya, as is practised elsewhere where musicals and plays are concerned, once the doors are closed, they remain closed until intermission. If you were late, that’s too bad. You’d have to wait till intermission to get in. Not here though, people kept going in and out and that too was a distraction. Not good!

Maybe on their part they were trying to make theatre more ‘audience friendly’ so that it would appeal to all. But what good are first class facilities if you can’t have first class attitudes?