Thursday, December 30, 2004
mother nature.
i won't exactly say it's mother nature that caused the catastrophe on sunday.. it was more of God at work.Non christians must be wondering what kind of God we have, by allowing such a disaster to claim so many many lives; lives of the poor, the rich, the innocent and the naive. my heart goes all out to the parents who have unfortunately lost their lovely children in this earthquake, the innocent who have inevitably lost their homes which not only served as a physical but also a mental shelter for the many memories they had with their family and friends. the picture in the straits times of the weeping father holding on tightly to his son's hand never fails to make me go red eyed (and i'm starting to get teary already).
all i can say is, there is a purpose and a reason for God to have let such an event as great scale as this to happen.
watching the news on CNA, BBC, and other news channels reaffirms the fact that there is still warmth and love in this world, admist all the bloodshed, the indescriminate killings, bombings, crimes and all other evils happening right now. Sinagporeans have been relentlessly coming forward, lending their support be it in monetary forms or volunteering their services to the needy in the affected areas.
actually, so much love and goodness have come out from this event. a recount of the event by a survivor mentioned the cameraderie that was so apparent among everyone at that time. people were just helping each other irregardless of skin colour or nationality; offering food, warnings due to the numerous debris lying around or simply just a kind helping support to get to safe grounds. groups too have come to a consenses for peace even though it might just be a temporary thing, countries are coming forward together to lend support to the quake-torn countries who now suffer the likelihood of severe outbreaks due to poor sanitation and the hundreds of rotting bodies lying out in the open.
okay. enough said about the terrible tsunami.
i guess 2004 will be remembered best by this destructive earthquake just as how 2001 was etched in our minds by the september11 attacks.
don't think the partying mood will be affected much tomorrow during the countdown events, but even as we welcome in the new year, i think it's best to reflect on how blessed and fortunate we are admist the so many have-nots that we, more often than not, clamour after.
i want a simple life.
sarah at 8:58 pm
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
chopchop.
hahaha.right. i havent been blogging for days..make that weeks.
shall not bore you all with my hongkong trip. all i can say is.. I MISS THE WEATHER!
met the scorching sun the next day after i came home while having bball training.
am totally sun burnt now, with my legs having ugly,distinct tan lines as if i'd dipped my legs into chocolate fudge or something.... it's that bad. hahaha. what to do, i have flabby legs, can't wear any other shorts 'cept for square-cut drifit nike shorts. bahahahahah.
anyhow, yeah, was saying about the weather in hk. Lovely.
walking in the open streets in natural aircon of about fourteen to eighteen degrees celcius. how cool is that (literally). at night's a different story altogether though. some nights it gets so cold until i really felt a shiver down my spine, or at worst, this pricking sensation in my spine.. not very nice if you ask me.
the most memorable night was on christmas eve.
if i remembered correctly, the govt actually closed some roads so as to let the people walk freely on the roads, enjoying the refreshing brezze and the breath-taking sea view, just taking in all the lovely sights of lighted buildings and fireworks taking place on hongkong island... awesome.
i'm in pain now. how does one ever enjoy pain ?
bleah.
silly question.
am suffering from hamstring pull, ankle problem (still), right thumb's kinda sprained too due to bball trainings...(the freaking ball is just so hard and big and diff to control man!) and to add to the list, my right toe (which is kinda bruised now and the nail's about to come off and i hope it comes off fast and soon!) and my right arm. sheesh. i feel like some invalid. how to continue training at this rate ?
my dad always gives the same tone and expression whenever he says " aiyoh, injured again?" and it kinda makes me wonder what exactly am i doing to myself.
seriously.
sarah at 10:26 pm
Saturday, December 18, 2004
alicia alexis ashley.
so happens that names that i think are really nice and unique all start with the letter A, and why is that. hms. and i did think of naming my daughter after me. (that is if i -do- get married and have kids eventually..hahah)btw, i have a feeling this blog is getting too mundane and boring. it's basically about me myself which seems so narcissistic. initially i tried to blog on general stuff.. movies, books, food, music and so on. after a while, or rather ever since school started, this blog seemed to evolved into some sort of diary.. with me inputing stuff about my daily life and my what nots instead of more substantial and worth-reading ramblings.. now -why- is that *again* ?
today was spent meeting up with friends... met up with a oldddddd friend whom i knew since primary 2 *my goodness*..hahahaha. we did our usual stuff.. daytona, spending money on food, movies and nike stuff and hence busting our budget majorly. (whats new right keng..hahah) hecks about the budget, it was fun anyhow. hey keng, remember our date for 31st ya. hahaha. ^_^ following, met up with a few friends for coffee and coffee club. woo hoo...the new coffee club at holland is so much nicer..meaning more seats with better lightings and lotsa new yummy food added to the menu. i kinda miss the old comfy long seats though they always had that stinky smell... its the fabric ya. hahahah. hey fellow ex-hpb colleagues.. (You know who you all are)..MUST meet up for a big feast at coffee club soon ya...start saving up so that we can stuff ourselves crazy with those superbly yummy food. think iced mocha van, garlic prawn pasta, wedges with tartar, seafood lagsane... muahahah) and i do know that i'm a hopeless food person. haha. :P
christmas is inching closer and closer yet i don't seem to feel ready for it. as in, i've bought my cards, wrote on some to send to close friends and those whom i'd lost touch with but still want them to know that i do remember them :) but i don't feel as enthu as i always did at the same time of the year as compared to previous years. must be the whole getting and feeling old part. i feel awkward whenever i go orchard road these days. i look around and all i see most of the time are students younger than myself, with a trendy and hip sense of style ( apparently, according to er singapore's fashion for now) and i look at myself.. t-shirt and jeans with my teva sandals or my fav pair of exodus sandals, and i start to feel a little out of place. and these days, skirts seem to get shorter and shorter. either that, or i'm getting more and more conservative which, shouldn't be surprising since i -am- getting older. baahahaha. anyway, enough of the skirt, we're in a free society man, dress however you wish. and this reminds me of that newspaper article and the whole hooha over nus undergrads not dressing appropriately (according to 'them') when attending lects or tuts. hehs.
having countdown parties on the beach (to me) is quite a bad idea. ok, it is a VERY bad idea. imagine dirty foam getting all over your bodies, include smelly and stinky sweaty bodies all 'moving' (i wouldn't call it dancing..) and most of time people's bodies coming into contact with yours.. plus sea water smell and horrific loud music that blasts trance and all other trashy genres... oh my.. i can feel the onset of a headache already. no offense to party and clubbing goers...it's just me la. ^_^
and this blog will face some sort of neglection and stagnation for next week. will be leaving for hongkong (for the third time since last december) on the morn of 21st... back on 26th. wish me a safe and comfy journey ya. in case you don't know, i suffer a bad bout of motion sickness whenever i take the plane. feel terribly awful even though the boeing 777 is amazingly steady thru out the flight. i get crazy pains in my ears whenever there's a change in pressure esp when the plane's dipping in altitude during landing too. sheesh. i just hate travelling and i do admire those peeps on amazing race who can still do their 100m sprint for taxis after alighting from the plane. amazing stuff.
for now..enjoy the weekend and the last minute christmas shopping.
i'm dreaming of a white christmas...
sarah at 1:13 am
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
played out.
hump.in my hall now.. my room rather.
checking out lame webbies and furiously tagging on others' tag-board when i should have been having a nice dinner at boon tong kee's with my family now.
carrom practice was cancelled and no one told me about it. at least i wasn't the only one in the dark. but that's not the point.
i mean, the caps should at least have -some- decency to inform the few of us instead of making us look so silly, waiting outside the recre lounge or wondering if we'd got the venue wrong and what nots. responsibility and accountability is all i can say.
and my room smells of chicken chop now, and that reminds me of the garlic chicken chop i had yesterday after bball training. hahahah. then again, the chop was disapointing. first time i ate it was when someone ta-paoed it back to hall for me and man, it was super delicious. Law of diminishing returns. seriously.
i could really -taste- the garlic and garlic rocks, though the after-breath from eating raw garlic really stinks. had a nasty experience on the mrt train once when this middle-aged guy sat beside me. whenever he opened his mouth to yawn or just.. bleah..OPEN his mouth.. could smell the garlic breath. wah piang aye.. and garlic never smelt SO bad.
think he had popia before he boarded the train, and i kinda gave him the stare.. you know.. THE stare whenever he opened his mouth and he..well being the intelligent human beings most of us are, got the hint. thankfully.
then on, i had a revelation. NEVER eat popia before you board the train or the bus or just any public transport. goodness. do yourself and those near you a biggggg favour la. ^_^
today's dinner was nasi lemak though i would have liked to have garlic chicken cutlet but my weekly allowence is dwindling away and i have a rough idea where all the money went to. food transport food transport food food food. hahahahaha. think i've grown fatter even with all the trainings going on. oh wait, i had an apple mr quaker bar after dinner. yelps.
my mum just made her announcement while i was watching tv some days back. she just went, "we're going to hongkong over christmas and everything's been confirmed." thats it. my protests of her not being 'kind' enough to inform me in advance and thus messing up my trainings and appointments over the next 2 weeks were met with that look.. you know the look that most parents give that spells out ungrateful...yep..that look. sighs.
i'm so sick of hongkong. i was there last december, this june and now this coming december. worst part is, i'm spending christmas in some cheena land..nono..canto land when i'd wanna have my christmas buffet at shangrilas, go around carolling, pay surprise visits to friends, enjoy the christmasy mood with close friends and loved ones at home, see others open their prezzies and observing their what-nots expressions, listen to lovely christmas songs and chilling with a cup of hot chocolate, loads of candy canes and chocolate log cakes, going to church and singing christmas hymns yet at the same time, remember the birth of christ and all that He's done for us.. now thats christmas to me.
okie dokes. tomorrow's netball day. hahahahah. okay, inside joke. non-KR netballers will not understand what i'm saying, so just ignore me.
meantime, you all have a swell of a time soaking up all the festive mood at orchard roads on saturday nights... feeling kanchiong yet immensely happy doing christmas shopping for others, and just simply enjoying each others' company.
sarah at 8:48 pm
Sunday, December 12, 2004
sheesh.
the last episode of the fourth season of gilmore girls was nothing but ......i was pissed when the credits appeared.
the fourth season ended with rory calling her friend (the korean girl...i'm too angry to remember her name now), then played dumb and hung up when her friend answered and sobbed at the front steps of her own home.
tell me, what kind of ending is that?
even my mum commented something along the lines of how rory suddenly became so.. casual and indecent, actually allowing herself to succumb and sleep with dean. DEAN..my goodness..another total let-down.
first let down was rory. i mean, rory's all along been painted as the smart, wise, obedient and thoughtful girl who's studying in Yale uni. in short, mummy's girl who would never commit such a major folly of cheating with a married man. somehow, the idea of dean=married man still doesnt imprint in my head cos he's too good to be married to such a slop like lindsay. but that's besides the point.
point is, why did the show producers suddenly -do- such a thing, tarnishing the goody image of two of my favourite characters in the show, rory and dean by "making" them do such a thing. sighs.
don't tell me, nothing really is perfect in this world ay.
i'm disappointed. was Grr-ing away when they played the ending song of the show.
oh. and i hate it how channel 5 ALWAYS slot some other stoopid programme into the gilmore girl's timeslot and push the coming episode 2 weeks forwards. i believe gilmore girls is a show of more substance than some silly mtv awards show with crappy hosts and horrible music.
and i'm not regretting what i said.
at least there are instances of witty humour interspersed in the conversations between the characters. story plot's getting alittle unpredictable too but i believe loreli will end up with luke. haha. they so suit each other and it was obvious (at least to me) that they should end up together.. with that jason guy finally out of the picture now. bah.
at least there's -something- to look forward to in the fifth season of gilmore girls.
sarah at 10:54 pm
Friday, December 10, 2004
twelve is the new eleven.
i get excited whenever i see the ocean's twelve trailer.weird.
the show's not exactly oscar material but seeing the goofy yet charming smile on brad pitt's face esp at the end of the trailer where matt daemon and him just laughed themselves silly at some bar really cracked me up somehow.
even at the very begining where george clooney went " so what are we stealing now?" made me want to watch the movie there and then.
and catherine zeta jones looks so glam (as usual) in the show. no idea why, but i never realised she was -that- pretty up till recently when she became the spokesperson for elizabeth arden. really envy those people who are able to age so gracefully.. even with all the wrinkles showing, they still look so good. some people are just plainly blessed with good genes. bleah.
had a good rest these past few days thanks to my swollen ankle. the ankle's kinda okay now, but the big toe (nail rather) is still giving me problems. and i don't know if it's cos of the way i walk so as to try to avoid the nail inching into my skin, but now, my shin hurts too. i do realise i am getting old....
and i think my whole body smells of the tui-na oil... a mix between feng you and peppermint. hahs. i am a walking peppermint!! lame. craving for candy canes now.. blueberry, mint, tropical... and i want my dark chocolate digestives!!!
went to marks and spens the other day. saw a whole shelf of dark choc digestives and i immediately grabbed one. at the counter, the guy stared at the packet for quite sometime, then told me to get something else cos the digestives have past their sell-by date. sheesh. seems as though dark choc digestives have become a seasonal thing..and why is that? why!???
i want dark choc digestives.candy canes. more royce chocolates. earl-grey tea. harrod's doggie bag. jane monheit's cd. more books. dye my hair a nice crimson red with whitish steaks. new pair of sneakers. crumpler bag.
bahahhahaha. list is never-ending.
sarah at 8:33 pm
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Bah!!
im in pain now.my left toe nail just REFUSES to come off and it's inching its way into my skin such that i'm cringing whenever i get up from my seat or worst still, when i'm just walking. sheesh. stubborn piece of calcium, just come off and stop leaving me in excruciating pain! Grrrr.
oh yeah. and little miss clumsy just sprained her left ankle today with my right ankle still on the road to recovery. seems as though my body can't get enough dose of pain, with the already aching arms, thighs and calves and my partically sunburnt cheeks and nose. and i do realise i look like faye wong with the pink make-up just only over a portion of her face. can you picture it? baahah. okay, don't try. my left leg is totally retarded now la. ankle's down, big toe's down too. btw, the big toe is an important part of the feet. don't -ever- underestimate it. hehs. ^_^
and i do sound like i'm suffering....
my appetite seems to be getting bigger and bigger ever since trainings started. and i'm supposed to (hopefully) lose some weight la. BAhahahhaha. i NEED to lose weight man. apparently, my body fat ratio is above the average singapore female which is quite depressing. everyone keeps telling me that i'm not fat but im big sized 'cos i'm tall. but isn't big-sized kinda implying fat as well. sheesh.
okay, i'm starting to sound edgy. cue for me to snooze off to dreamland now.
countdown to a wonderful christmas day... 17 days! yipee !!!!!!!!!!!!
sarah at 10:29 pm
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
bad day.
blogging when you're not in the best of moods is a very bad thing.but. . i need to release all the angst/disappointments/sadness/frustrations/troubles
that are clouding up my mind now, and blogging seems like the best way to do so.
i don't actually have to find someone to complain/whine to and risk getting that person irritated at me.
bad thing is, blogging when you're in the foulest mood makes everything that appears on your blog seem all so wrong.
things come out, expressed in such a way that you didn't mean them to. feelings inevitably get shown, amazingly, though it's only a mess of words you're seeing. the whole language becomes so bad and incoherent at times 'cos you just want to vent out all the unhappiness that's weighing you down.
im dead tired today.
whats new right.
handball training today was quite killer. was totally physical stuff. my piece of meat above the stomach is hurting so much now such that laughing requires effort. my legs. oh man, don't even start. having problems getting up from the squatting position. and goodness, my thighs are already humongous, and all these conditioning seem to make them bigger and not smaller and leaner as i hoped they would.
my left toe nail seems to be giving way anytime soon yet it's still hurting so much whenever i walk. haikz.
the newspapers these days is filled with depressing news. reading the article on the Bopal industrial accident back in 1984 really made me wish i were some powerful figure who had the money and position to save these innocent, helpless and needy people. i HATE smoking and all forms of air pollution. i hate it.
sitting in front of a guy who just had his puff before boarding the bus isn't one of the most pleasant experience. that just happened to me on my bus ride home and already i was in a pissed off mode with my limbs and arms aching madly as if they were about to drop off and yet -you- had to deal me another blow.
could smell the lingering smoke smell from this person sitting directly behind me as if he were just facing me. the most lethal combination (in my opinion) is smoke smell and a whole whiff of cheapskate perfume that some horrible soul just indescriminately splashed on himself as if it were holy water. goodness me. the air suddenly felt so suffocating even though the aircon was blasting directly at me.
and i'm going to regret what i'm blogging now. it's not me. no wait. it's not me when i'm in my normal mood. this is me when i'm pissed off and my heart just got crushed again. not going into any details here but, in case you're wondering, i'm still single. thankfully. ^_^
sarah at 8:50 pm
Monday, December 06, 2004
toe nails.
i will personally strangle the next person who steps on my left toe be it intentionally or accidentally. yeps.its the SHOE problem again. guess what, my new pair of shoes are only weeks' old, and they're still so white that they can pose off as school shoes! geesh.
my big toe perpetually gets bruised (under the nail) and the nail is half hearted as to whether it wants to forsake my toe or stay attached to it, hanging on by a mere thin piece of skin. OUch.
i cringe in pain whenever i try to press the nail so as to ease the bloodclot. sheesh. this isn't the first time i'm getting it but this time it seems to hurt even more. i'm getting old. baahhahaha.
okay. no link there.
i'm super tired now and why the heck am i still blogging? hm.
was that exhausted till the point that i fell asleep while waiting for the food to come just now.
today was the first day of all the IHG trainings.
had basketball at 8 in the morning, and netball at 4 in the afternoon.
basketball was alright until we did suicide runs. suicide both denotatively and cannotatively. felt my legs going all wobbly and jelly-like in the middle of the second sprint.
the mind is willing but the flesh is so so weak.
i perfectly understood what that meant while sprinting up and down the bball court.
likewise, netball training was ay okay, until we did horse stances and ab trainings stuff at the end of training. Poof. my legs really wanted to give way there and then. that one minute doing the horse stance felt like the longest minute i ever had and time just seemed to lapse slower and slower as the seconds went by...
seriously have no idea how i'm going to survive the rest of the trainings when today's merely the first day. F-I-R-S-T. i repeat.
oh my. and i can't stand the thought of all my energy and life (literally) being zapped away just by trainings. i mean, it's MY holiday! i'd wanna enjoy. slack. reward myself with a book and just read the whole day away. chill with friends at coffee joints just talking for hours on ends. thats what holidays are to me.
not having to worry when my other toe nail will get bruised or whether i'll have enough shorts to wear to sustain me for trainings for the whole bloody week. or when my ankle will finally give way again..
and there's so so many things i've set out to do this hols which i havent.
watch movies every single day.
read finish jonathan strange and mr norrell... sophie's world.. the unbearable lightness of being.. life of pi.
spend the whole day just browsing through the shelves in the library.
re-watch my favourite jap dramas one more time.
i need time.
sarah at 10:12 pm
Sunday, December 05, 2004
latest crush.
oh no.i think i'm having a crush on edison chen now. baahahahha. he's how cute!!!! ^_^
simply loved the movie 'final romance' with him and amanda strang in it. such a sweet lovey dovey couple in the show... some scenes really made me go awwww big time..and i could feel myself going all sappy and mushy all over again...
haha.
i'm a pathetic sappish soul la.
beach outing to sentosa with my fellow D-blockers last friday was Grrrreat. haha. though i wished i had gotten a wee bit more tanned. bleah. some things don't turn out the way you wished they would. anyhow, i'm thankful for that wonderful time with that fun group of peeps. we did everything from beach volley, ultimate frisbee , wadding in the (in my opinion) dirty sea water, and captain's ball to just sitting around doing pretty much.. nothing. hah. ^_^
think i even stoned for quite a while.
that feeling of just spacing out under the sun.. everything just seems so... peaceful even with the scorching sun beating down the your back.. amazingly.
just ended a pretty long phone call with my friend from UK. hahahahhaha. hope i don't burn a hole in her pocket 'cos of the phone bill. it was great hearing her voice after all so long again. really missed the times when she was still in singapore and we'd go on hours after hours on the phone about just anything under the sun. ah lalala. it's irritating and horrible how we humans, never seem to treasure what we have until they're gone.. well in the case of my dear friend.. until they're so so far away, when even the smallest thing such as a phone call to say hi or a snail mail to say 'thinking of you' means so so much. hey friend! haahaa... u know who you are. :) really thankful to have you in my life ya. ok..that sounded very les. baahahaha . *jokes*
IHG trainings start tomorrow..oh wait..today, since now's already past midnight. and my arms are still pretty sore from the beach outing last friday. *gulps*
and sarah tan, jane, and eleri! meeeet up!! can't wait to see you guys again man! ")
sarah at 11:55 pm