3 dollars in hand
Proclaims the family man.
Buy food or buy hope?
Congratulations
On your son's birthday! Hooray!
Eh, buy 4D lah...
Haha ok that was honestly lame. If anyone asks, Tulips is definitely one of Sylvia Plath's better poems.
4.25.2007
4.20.2007
Two Funerals and an Opposition Ward
Today, i chanced upon two funerals on the idyllic grounds of Potong Pasir.
Basically, one was large and one was small. The former was closer to the main body of Potong Pasir, otherwise known as 'the busy area', while the latter was embedded deep within the heart of the ward, aka the void deck of the flat which i stayed in.
For the uninitiated, overly wealthy species homo sapiens who have never visited the 'heartlands' of Singapore before (foreigners/expatriates/legal aliens are forgiven), a void deck is the empty space located at the foot of a HDB flat. Think 'void'.
Okay, so maybe i didn't 'chance' upon the smaller one. It was already in existence for about a week already, though i was surprised at the sudden appearance of the second, bigger funeral. The dexterity at which funeral parlours establish their temporal constructs - steel girdles and tarpaulin, altars draped with yellow cloth, plastic tables and chairs - really amazes me. Thereafter, a usually long, occasionally teary period of mourning ensues, but then that ends as well.
This is the small funeral. The big one is much, much more colourful. With a live band. Seriously. The garlands, i couldn't count them. They were lined up like a wall, keeping my eyes out and away. We had to walk around the whole thing just to avoid looking awkward. Some big shot maybe? I hope he spent his money wisely before he died... extravagant funerals are kind of pointless after all.
When my grandpa died, i can safely say that i didn't really miss him all too much. Not that i didn't care about him or anything; death really was an escape route for him after all, what with being tube-fed, having no privacy and suffering from bed sores just because his stroke prevented him from rolling over... agony.
From my room up on the 17th floor (quite high, ya?) the wails of the suo na resounds, a dramatically modest bemoaning of the death of a human i didn't know. Before that, the monotonous chanting of monks echoes, and a bell rings, a startling chime to revive the sullen minds of the living, a reminder that they haven't joined the dead.
Yet.
Basically, one was large and one was small. The former was closer to the main body of Potong Pasir, otherwise known as 'the busy area', while the latter was embedded deep within the heart of the ward, aka the void deck of the flat which i stayed in.
For the uninitiated, overly wealthy species homo sapiens who have never visited the 'heartlands' of Singapore before (foreigners/expatriates/legal aliens are forgiven), a void deck is the empty space located at the foot of a HDB flat. Think 'void'.
Okay, so maybe i didn't 'chance' upon the smaller one. It was already in existence for about a week already, though i was surprised at the sudden appearance of the second, bigger funeral. The dexterity at which funeral parlours establish their temporal constructs - steel girdles and tarpaulin, altars draped with yellow cloth, plastic tables and chairs - really amazes me. Thereafter, a usually long, occasionally teary period of mourning ensues, but then that ends as well.
This is the small funeral. The big one is much, much more colourful. With a live band. Seriously. The garlands, i couldn't count them. They were lined up like a wall, keeping my eyes out and away. We had to walk around the whole thing just to avoid looking awkward. Some big shot maybe? I hope he spent his money wisely before he died... extravagant funerals are kind of pointless after all.
When my grandpa died, i can safely say that i didn't really miss him all too much. Not that i didn't care about him or anything; death really was an escape route for him after all, what with being tube-fed, having no privacy and suffering from bed sores just because his stroke prevented him from rolling over... agony.
From my room up on the 17th floor (quite high, ya?) the wails of the suo na resounds, a dramatically modest bemoaning of the death of a human i didn't know. Before that, the monotonous chanting of monks echoes, and a bell rings, a startling chime to revive the sullen minds of the living, a reminder that they haven't joined the dead.
Yet.
4.17.2007
Lecturati Randoma
Brilliance abound in pseudo-philosophy lectures!
With the Leftside-aide Debs and Rightside-aide Andrew we reign victorious in producing irreverence!
Blessed be thy socks
Hundred % cotton shocks
Ugly-worse-than-crocs.
Physics lasts as long
As you can keep you eyes open -
Momentarily.
Chinese can get tough
If you get really hungry -
民以食为天
Lateness! I sleep.
With the Leftside-aide Debs and Rightside-aide Andrew we reign victorious in producing irreverence!
Blessed be thy socks
Hundred % cotton shocks
Ugly-worse-than-crocs.
Physics lasts as long
As you can keep you eyes open -
Momentarily.
Chinese can get tough
If you get really hungry -
民以食为天
Lateness! I sleep.
Ta Dah
Got a new book today... some know that I don't read that often, unless I get hooked onto a particular author (Paulo Coelho) or series (Harry Potter).
Of course, there is the "aspire to read" list which undoubtedly most people should have, save the most primitive, whereby a carving/ook or two should suffice.
Mine happens to split into the "finish reading" and "start reading" lists, in that order.
Finish
1) The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, by Julian Baggini
2) The Wisdom of Imperfection, by Rob Preece
3) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Start
1) The whole Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett
2) The Lying Ape, by Brian King (New book! yay!)
"An Honest Guide to a World of Deception"
Nice. Plus the foreword reads: "Every word in this book is true. I may have accidentally arranged some of them into misleading sentences, but I hope not."
Have a nice midnight.
Of course, there is the "aspire to read" list which undoubtedly most people should have, save the most primitive, whereby a carving/ook or two should suffice.
Mine happens to split into the "finish reading" and "start reading" lists, in that order.
Finish
1) The Pig that Wants to be Eaten, by Julian Baggini
2) The Wisdom of Imperfection, by Rob Preece
3) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Start
1) The whole Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett
2) The Lying Ape, by Brian King (New book! yay!)
"An Honest Guide to a World of Deception"
Nice. Plus the foreword reads: "Every word in this book is true. I may have accidentally arranged some of them into misleading sentences, but I hope not."
Have a nice midnight.
4.13.2007
Amaranthis
Though they're often meant to bind,
Words can seem to say or find
What divides the auras, two
Of mere consciousness, me and you.
Through the cracked and peeling walls
I hear your whisper, hear your calls
Like a sullen being, denied
of breath, and tears, those which I cried.
Through the rattle of the rain
Upon your shattered windowpane
My heart beats fast
Races past,
Run-in last.
But just so you know,
I'm not letting you go.
Words can seem to say or find
What divides the auras, two
Of mere consciousness, me and you.
Through the cracked and peeling walls
I hear your whisper, hear your calls
Like a sullen being, denied
of breath, and tears, those which I cried.
Through the rattle of the rain
Upon your shattered windowpane
My heart beats fast
Races past,
Run-in last.
But just so you know,
I'm not letting you go.
4.10.2007
Pride
Oh great, Merlion
Your facade begs a question,
one: "Spit or swallow?"
Heh... today was, as someone put it, surreal.
Practically everything passed from moment to moment, such that the whole day seemed like one huge mass of blur stuff... like a ball of lint.
Today's chem-chem was quite hilarious though, what with England-borne teachers wielding English like an axe... pronunciation police, methinks.
Is phenolphthalein fe-NOLF-tha-leen or fe-nolf-THA-leen?
On further checking, dictionary.com pronounces it as fee-nolf-THA-leen. oh well.
One must give lee-way
to guests; the crunch comes when asked:
"More celery, please."
Your facade begs a question,
one: "Spit or swallow?"
Heh... today was, as someone put it, surreal.
Practically everything passed from moment to moment, such that the whole day seemed like one huge mass of blur stuff... like a ball of lint.
Today's chem-chem was quite hilarious though, what with England-borne teachers wielding English like an axe... pronunciation police, methinks.
Is phenolphthalein fe-NOLF-tha-leen or fe-nolf-THA-leen?
On further checking, dictionary.com pronounces it as fee-nolf-THA-leen. oh well.
One must give lee-way
to guests; the crunch comes when asked:
"More celery, please."
4.07.2007
When asked if paper
was made of trees, he replied:
"Nah... that's pulp fiction."
... which is in truth a lie of course.
Today, the artsie students went to the Singapore Tyler Print Institute where a particular exhibition, Focus on Paper, was being held. Hence the lame entrance to this post.
... Nevermind.
Anyways, I love paper! Yay!
Things one does with paper:
1) Fold Origami
2) Make papercuttings
3) Write long, pseudo-essays (blog on paper?)
4) Make funny buzzing noises with
5) Cut oneself (on accident, of course)
6) Hold up against a light for whatever particular reason, such as noting angbao money ( oh my... punny! -note?-money?-notes? nevermind...)
7) Crinkle, maybe chew on (to DLWJ, it isn't very healthy you know, what with bleaching agents and all)
8) Wrapping presents! Yes!
and the list goes on...
Patrick and Pablo
campaign their Philosophies.
Two peas in a POD.
was made of trees, he replied:
"Nah... that's pulp fiction."
... which is in truth a lie of course.
Today, the artsie students went to the Singapore Tyler Print Institute where a particular exhibition, Focus on Paper, was being held. Hence the lame entrance to this post.
... Nevermind.
Anyways, I love paper! Yay!
Things one does with paper:
1) Fold Origami
2) Make papercuttings
3) Write long, pseudo-essays (blog on paper?)
4) Make funny buzzing noises with
5) Cut oneself (on accident, of course)
6) Hold up against a light for whatever particular reason, such as noting angbao money ( oh my... punny! -note?-money?-notes? nevermind...)
7) Crinkle, maybe chew on (to DLWJ, it isn't very healthy you know, what with bleaching agents and all)
8) Wrapping presents! Yes!
and the list goes on...
Patrick and Pablo
campaign their Philosophies.
Two peas in a POD.
4.05.2007
From the Land of Rising Sun
Ooooh... my mum attempted to procure a Japanese meal for the first time! so exciting!
So for dinner, the menu was basically like this:
1) Cold Soba with Shoyu, chopped spring onions and little bits of seaweed
2) Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) with her very own diced tomato dip, salsa-ish
... okay so the salsa thing just threw the whole Japanese thing off. But considering that i put wasabe on everything negates this, so there.
Quoted from Wikipedia, "Japanese hokku and haiku are traditionally printed in one vertical line, though in handwritten form they may be in any reasonable number of lines."
Long posts may lead to
Unreasonable Ranting.
Rah Rah Rasputin.
So for dinner, the menu was basically like this:
1) Cold Soba with Shoyu, chopped spring onions and little bits of seaweed
2) Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) with her very own diced tomato dip, salsa-ish
... okay so the salsa thing just threw the whole Japanese thing off. But considering that i put wasabe on everything negates this, so there.
Quoted from Wikipedia, "Japanese hokku and haiku are traditionally printed in one vertical line, though in handwritten form they may be in any reasonable number of lines."
- 古池や蛙飛込む水の音
- Furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
- Old pond
- Frog jump-in
- Water sound
Long posts may lead to
Unreasonable Ranting.
Rah Rah Rasputin.
4.04.2007
Humour
Drafting up my vote-list, i realise that certain negative votes weren't exactly spent that appropriately...
spending my votes on people-who-would-get-in seemed sort of wasted, and negativing people-who-really-wouldn't-get-in seemed similarly dumped.
... oh heck.
Local Kopitiam
singlet-wearing Ministers
the under gahmen
rah rah!
spending my votes on people-who-would-get-in seemed sort of wasted, and negativing people-who-really-wouldn't-get-in seemed similarly dumped.
... oh heck.
Local Kopitiam
singlet-wearing Ministers
the under gahmen
rah rah!
4.03.2007
Forum For 'em
Hmmm didn't go overboard with the title i hope.
Anyways, methinks that it's about time my dearest peers begin finalising their vote-lists, but mealsothinks that it wouldn't be very nice if one published one's vote-list on one's blog.
i'll just sorta poke at the names then... maybe. Like orange vegetable is obviously someone in the clu13... but then again i think i can afford to be a little vaguer...
Matrimonial
Repertoire: preferably
a Man who can sing
And a ring, or two.
Or guts to say, "Want to buy
a HDB flat?"
Haha... quite the Singaporean feel to this one, no?
Anyways, methinks that it's about time my dearest peers begin finalising their vote-lists, but mealsothinks that it wouldn't be very nice if one published one's vote-list on one's blog.
i'll just sorta poke at the names then... maybe. Like orange vegetable is obviously someone in the clu13... but then again i think i can afford to be a little vaguer...
Matrimonial
Repertoire: preferably
a Man who can sing
And a ring, or two.
Or guts to say, "Want to buy
a HDB flat?"
Haha... quite the Singaporean feel to this one, no?
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