Painful Humongous Pimple

Errgh! I have a humongous pimple on my right jaw!! It's been a week, yet it doesn't seem to be going down, and it's still as painful as when it first popped out. This is by far the most stubborn pimple that I remember getting. Can someone please help me get rid of it???

Mango Central

Met SY, QJ and CT at Orchard on Saturday for dinner and some shopping. Had dinner at Central, a HK style cafe at Takashimaya's basement, after dropping by Mango, where there was a sale going on. I couldn't resist the tempatation and bought a red linen dress, which is the 1st all red clothing that I have ever bought. Talk about being adventurous!
We walked around town for abit after dinner and had a little girls' talk on (what else?) beauty and skincare products, among other stuff, at a secluded corner outside Takashimaya, recommended by QJ. At least we do not have to pay to sit at some cafe... Haha
Headed back home nearing 11pm, and was really tired out. But... I stayed up till almost 3am, watching anime on Channel U as well as surfing the Net. My panda eyes will get even worse after this...














The red dress from Mango, an Abercrombie top that I bought on Friday, and a small foldable mirror from Muji.



At Central....

How good was the food? Look at how engrossed everyone is with their food...

Eternal Summer * 盛夏光年

Met up with CC on Thursday to watch Eternal Summer, a made in Taiwan movie directed by Leste Chen. It revolves around 2 boys, Shane and Jonathon, who are in the same class when they were in primary school. Shane is a hyperactive child, and Jonathon, being the class monitor was asked by the form teacher to befriend Shane. He does so unwillingly, and thus begins a journey that Jonathon never thought would change the course of his life. They became best friends, and went to the same secondary school and college. As they come of age, Jonathon slowly realises that his feelings for Shane is not as simple as he thought.

Matters become complicated when Carrie enters their lives, discovering Jonathon's secret, while Shane falls for her. Shane also realises how dependent he is on Jonathon and begins feels that Jonathon's treatment towards him seems to be more than just friends. Tension builds between the 3 of them, and when they arrive at a seculded beach, secrets are revealed.

The story is interesting, and I like the way some of the scenes are shot. However, there were too little dialouge, and the whole plot was not tight enough. Leste left too many scenes for the audience to guess, and this is not a very good thing as the whole story may be lost on the audience, which it did in this case. I feel that the pace is abit too slow too. Conclusion? It would be a yawn for those who are used to fast scenes and clear storyline. But if you can't catch the plot, at least you can oogle at the guys. Both Bryant Chang and Joseph Chang are cute! CC likes Joseph. Bryant is my personal fave though.

Planet Earth - Caves

Caves, Earth’s final frontier, is the theme for this week’s Planet Earth. The different caves in the world are explored, and one of it is the Swallow Caves in Mexico. It is one of the biggest cave shaft in the world, and the entry to the cave plunges so deep (400metres) that the entire Empire State Building can be fitted comfortably into it. As such, many extreme sports enthusiasts come to here to base jump.
The Deer Cave, located on the island of Borneo, is so wide that a jumbo jet can fly in it. Millions of bats live in here, and their droppings form a 100 meter mound on the cave floor, providing a neverending supply of food for the countless of cockroaches that live in this mound. In a place where sunlight doesn’t shine in, one can, bizarrely, find crabs living among the cockroaches.
Living side by side with the bats in the cave are the swiftlets. These small birds build their nests on the steep walls of the cave using only their saliva. A nest will take a whole 30 days to complete, and it is one of most precious nest because it is – you guessed it – the origins of the bird’s nest that we consume.








The swift & its nest


When a cave is flooded, it becomes a gigantic freshwater well, which supports a variety of plants and animals, in addition to preserving features in the cave intact.
One of the most recent discoveries is the Lechuguilla Cave in USA. The whole cave is covered with gypsum crystal formations, carved out by sulphuric acid. These formations can be as high as 6 metres, and they sparkle like the stars in the sky as light is reflected off the crystals and minerals.








Clear, still water in Lechuguilla Cave












The Chandelier Ballroom, Lechuguilla Cave


Animals do thrive in these seeminly harsh places where there is no sunlight. Subtarannean, eyeless animals like the Texan cave salamandar, white crabs and cave angel fish live here, feeding on whatever food or minerals that brought into the cave by the flowing river.
This is indeed an eye opener for me. Although there are no stunning photography in this episode, there are still some beautiful scenes peppered throughout the show.

Retail Theraphy - Gone . Dessert - Yummy!

I must be real tired out yesterday. I woke up only at 1130am today, and I still felt I did not sleep enough. Ate one mee chiam kueh (pancake) with peanut fer breakfast (or should I say brunch) with a warm cup of milo. Yumyum. Watched tv, play on my laptop and ate the other mee chiam kueh at 2 odd.

Got out of the house at 5 odd to meet RL at Novena for some shopping and dinner. We were both hungry, and so decided to go fer dinner 1st. We wanted to try out Harry's but somehow, the staff practically ignored us. And so we settled for dinner at TCC. Food was good, but dessert is even better! Hahaha. We talked and and ate for like 2 over hours, and by the time we are done with our meal, it was already past 9 and most of the shops have closed. Talk about shopping. Haa. But had a nice time though, chatting over dinner. Thanks RL! You were such great company. Shall get my dosage of retail theraphy next time.

Planet Earth - Fresh Water

Fresh water – which contributes to only 3% of all water found on Earth – defines how the life on land is distrubuted. This week’s Planet Earth focuses on this life-giving source, right from where it all starts – rain.
Rain is the source of most fresh water, and with it, the beginnings of a river is formed. A river usually begins as a stream high up in the mountains, and as streams gather, it grows and form a river. And as the river flows, making it journey down the highlands, it will encounter many obstacles. And one of the obstacles that it faces, and definitely the most spectacular, is the waterfall.
At 1000 metres tall, Angel Falls is the highest waterfall found on this planet. As the camera moves from the river to the edge to of the cliff where the river makes a steep descent, one can see the sheer height at which the water falls. Swivelling 360 degrees around Angel Falls, one can see the beauty of the waterfall. The water falls unbroken all the way down, and being so tall, it gets blown away as mist before it hits the river below.
The river has a destructive nature too, and this is vividly demonstrated in Grand Canyon. Carved out by Colorado River, it is the world’s longest canyon system, a 1000 mile scar clearly visible from space.
Animals need freshwater to survive. And to get to the source of fresh water, animals may have to migrate. The wildebeest is one such species. Herds of wildebeest will do the annual migration through the plains to the Mara River for fresh water, and the vast numbers of these animals, when seen from the air, looks like an army of ants moving on the forest floor. Once they reach the river, they will encounter their nemesis, the crocodile. In a sequence, with the speed slowed down (just like the shark sequence in the 1st episode), one can see the crocodile pounce on the wildebeests drinking at the edge of the river with lightning speed, snapping their jaws tight around the animal with a vicelike grip, never letting go till its meal has died.
Where there is a beginning, there will always be an end. For the river, its journey either ends in the sea or lake. The largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal, is home to the Earth’s only freshwater seal. Coupled with the corals that grow in it, Lake Baikal looks more like a sea than fresh water lake. Certainly something that I never knew about till I watched this episode.
This episode is a little bit of a yawn for me. The images are good, but not exactly fantastic and somehow, it sounds more like a documentary made specially for O-levels geography lesson.

Still Sick . Do Not Disturb

It's been a week since I got this god-knows-earth-virus/germ in my body and it still refuses to go away. The medicine that the doc gave doesn't seem to be working. Sighs... Think have to go back to the doc again...
Watched Do Not Disturb on Arts Central today. This week's episode talks about the affair between a lawyer and his legal assistant, and what seems to be a fling turns out to be more than just sex. Quite an intense episode, I must say. But too tired to talk anymore about it today. Need to go to sleep... Slept only 4 hours last night. And I am havin a running nose *Nose!! dun run away....!Come back......*

50 Ways to Cook Instant Noodles

Another boring Sunday spent leafing through the Sunday Times, my usual weekend read. Love the Sunday Times because of its Lifestlye section, where there's usually something interesting to read, be it that controversial book or a new eating place or some special feature. And this week's main character? The one quick-fix food that most Singaporeans love - the instant noodles. Not only did they do a story on it, they invited chefs and food experts to come up with a different way to cook this seeminly unhealthy dish, what with all the MSGs and high sodium content of the seasonings. And the end result? Lo-behold, 50 different ways to cook the instant noodles. And most look worthy enough to be served in a restaurant. So tempted to try each and every of the recipes. Yum yum. Who says eating noodles has to be unhealthy? Just minus the MSG and packet seasonings that comes with it, and add some meat and veggies, it can become a tasty meal too!

Planet Earth - Mountains

While the 1st episode gives a broad overview of our blue planet, the 2nd instalment of this series delves deeper into one of Earth’s most incredible creation – the mountains.
Erta Ale in Ethiopia, the world’s longest continually erupting volcano – it has been spewing lava the over 100 years – starts off the documentary, showing one of the ways that a mountain can be created. The camera then pans to the nearby highlands, where the geladas baboons literally live at the edge of the mountains. They are the only primates whose diets are entirely dependent on grass, which they share with the walia ibex, a highly endangered species of deer.
Guanacos, a relative of the llamas, have to endure the volatile weather of the Andes, where one can experience four seasons in just one day. Sitting by the steep slopes, they endure a sudden blizzard serenely, accepting these sudden changes as part of living on the mountain ranges.
With high mountains comes snow covered peaks. Yet at the Matterhorn on the Alpine range, with its steep slopes, refuses to allow snow to settle on its peaks. Be it spring, summer, autumn or winter, the Matterhorn is always brown like dark chocolates among soft, flourlike peaks.
Perhaps the most famous of all the mountain ranges is the Himalayas mountain range, where Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world sits. Mount Everest and its surrounding peaks, which include K2, are termed by the locals as mountains ‘so high that birds do not fly through it’. Yet annually, the demoiselle cranes, in its migration south to seek shelter from the harsh winters, have to battle these mountains and the intense turbulence. It is also on this mountain range that the Earth’s biggest glacier, the Baltoro in Pakistan, can be found. 69.2 kilometres long, the glacier is so huge that it can be seen from space (amazing stuff).
Among the inhabitants that live on the Himalayan mountains is the rare snow leopard, so rare that this is the first time that it has been caught on film in its natural habitat. It took the crew one year of patient waiting to give us this footage, and it is sure worth the effort, allowing us to see such a majestic, beautiful creature come life on television, watching it hunt along the steep slopes with such grace it looks as if it was dancing, as well as taking care of its offspring.
There are, of course, a few memorable shots in this episode. One of it is caught on the Ethiopian highlands, where is seems as if the end of the rainbow has touched Earth. Coupled with walia ibex in the foreground, it is just postcard picture perfect. The waterfall within the glacier is another unforgettable scene. Surrounded by blue, cold, seemingly immovable ice, the image of the movement of water is simply breathtaking. And who can forget those majestic mountains? With the use of extensive aerial photography to capture all the main ranges, the mountains seem to exude quiet strength and rugged beauty.
This episode just serves to confirm my belief that the Planet Earth series is one of the best documentaries ever filmed, if not the best.

I Am Sick

Am totally sick now. Woke up at 4am this morn, and felt my tummy churning and as if something was gong to come up from my mouth. I immediately went to the toilet (luckily it's just right outside my room) and started vomitting. I thought I would be okay after this, but vomitted like 3 more times throughout the night. My tummy felt totally bloated, as if someone had pumped lotsa air inside. Had diarrhea too. By the time I was done, I was totally weak and tired.
I woke up at 9 odd, showered, and had my mum take me to the doc's. The doctor didn't know what was wrong with me too. He only said that I might have some viral infection, gave me medicine and MC and said that if I were to come down with fever, I should go back to the clinic.
After I was done at the clinic, I asked my mum to drive me to the train station so that I could go back and rush a report (where do you find such a deidcated employee like me? hahaha). Big misake mans. I was breaking out in cold sweat and felt woozy throughout the whole journey. Even while I made my way up to my office, I could feel that my legs were giving way. The road to the office never felt so long.
Finally made my way to my office without fainting. But I couldn't take it any longer. Asked my colleague to help me finish the report, and went to take the train back, 1 hour after I stepped into the office. So wanted to take the cab, but it was difficult to catch one at lunch hour. Mum came to pick me up at the train station, where I slept like a rock throughout the whole train journey home. Once I reached home, I plonked myself onto my bed and slept for the whole afternoon.
Totally hated the feeling of vomiting. And I wonder why there are bulimics out there who use this method to control their weight. Your throat feels dry and parched, and it certainly didn't taste nor smell good when you throw up your food.
Whatever infection that I have right now, I certainly do not want to vomit another time for the rest of my life. Horrible feeling!
Funny how being sick makes me crave for certain food. Lychees, mango sago, ice cold sprite, milk tea... ...

Pardoxical. Void. Change.

Been abit restless and unmotivated lately. Nothing seems to get me going. It seems like I am bored with my current life. Need some change. Drastic change. Yet I dunno what to change... Nothing's really wrong with my life, yet there's something wrong, something that doesn't make the equation right... just can't figure out what... parodoxical... but that's me. Haha typical Aquarian behaviour... Nothing seems to satisfy me, except maybe... hmm... well will talk abt that another time. But really, I can't get satisfaction from what I am doing now. Guess it's one of those moments in my life. Feel like there's some pent up energy inside me that begs to be released. Not the 1st time I am experiencing this kinda feeling, but am more acutely aware of it now that I am older. Need to find something to satisfy this void before it gnaws me... Need to do something about it...

Missed!

Ergh! Missed that 1st half of today's episode of Do Not Disturb!!! Totally forgot about it until I was in the shower. Dashed out of the shower as soon as I was done and switched to Arts Central to catch whatever is left. But could not catch the plot... So sad... Geannie must now devise a way to never forget to watch Do Not Disturb... and Planet Earth too...

Rain, Bad Cyclists, Great Company, Sore Muscles

Met up with RL and CC to go East Coast Park today. It's been quite some time since I last went to ECP, so was definitely looking forward to it. Felt like a mini CT7 gathering of sorts, since we were all from the same class when we were in JC. This was the 1st time in a long time that I went out with both of them at the same time too. While on the way there, we were reminiscing about the days when we were in JC, and also indulged in some healthy gossips about our other classmates.
We got caught in the rain as soon as we reached ECP, however. So being pigs, we decided to have teabreak (I didn't have my lunch, so it was something of a late lunch too, hahaha). Continued talking and joking, and oogled at dogs and a cute Australian!
The rain finally stopped an hour later, so RL and me went to rent our bikes while our dear CC brought his blades to blade. We went on and on, and we cycled all the way to Safra Resort, which is near Changi. Everything was uneventful, until we decided to turn back.
While cycling back to where we first started out, I had a near collision with a girl, who, for God-knows-what-reason, was not looking at where she was cycling. What's even worse was the she was cycling on the wrong side of the road! She just suddenly turned her bike towards the side of the lane that I was cycling on. Luckily, I reacted fast enough to avoid a head on collision with her, missing by just a mere centimetres.
My dear bag was not that lucky though. It got caught on the girl's handle and the strap broke, promptly dropping on the ground with a thud. I was darn pissed off! The girl apologised, but I could not be bothered to say much to her. I was on the verge of scolding her for not looking at where she was going, and I knew if I opened my mouth, worse things will come flying out. So I just took my bag, tied a temporary knot and went on cycling. CC, on seeing what happened, and being such a dear, offered to help carry my bag by stuffing it into his humungous duffel bag. I accepted, and I cycled with renewed vigour, which was a result of that accident. Barely 20 minutes from my accident, CC had an accident too, with another idiot nontheless, and grazed his right arm. Luckily the injury was not very bad, and we were reaching our destination.
We walked to Marine Parade hawker centre with weak knees and tired bodies after me and RL returned out bikes and CC washed his injury. CC had fried kway teow, RL and me fried hokkien mee, and the 3 of us shared a plate of fried oyester with eggs, all downed with a big cup of sugarcane juice. *burps*
Walked for abit at Parkway Parade and headed home.
Enjoyed my day out today, especially with such great company from RL and CC. It would have been better if not for the 2 bad cyclists. To all out there who cycle or blade at East Coast Park, please, no matter what, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD! It's bad enough that it's crowded during weekends and the lanes are narrow, so please do your bit by being more careful. Let's make every trip to the park enjoyable and not one that's filled with accidents.
Haha I am pigging out on Kinder Bueno as I a writing all these. And my leg muscles are hurting.

Love Idiot?

Saw MT online on Thurs nite (Fri morn, to be exact) and chatted with him fer abit. Was complaining to him how boring my life has become, and that I have so much free time on my hands now that if I am able to sell them, I would've made a decent pile of profits. Haha and he told me to go find a boyfriend. Well, the prob here is not that I don't want to, but somehow, I have always be faced with a boy drought. Somehow, I have never gotten a bouquet from a guy, no guy has ever professed that he likes me, and no guy has certainly tried to woo me. I may not be drop dead gorgeous, but I am not ugly either. So I dunno where the problem lies really.
Seeing all my friends getting attached or busy dating, I asked myself, am I destined to remain single all my life? I certainly don't want to.
Friends have been consoling me, saying that maybe the one has not appeared yet, and I should wait patiently for him to appear. But... when will he appear? In my 30s? or even worse, 50s? Oh mans, by that time, I might not be able to have kids. And I certainly do want kids to call my own.
Maybe at the end of the day, I am juz a love idiot. Who doesn't know how to see nor feel love.

Planet Earth - From Pole To Pole

Watched Planet Earth on Arts Central at 10pm. Produced by BBC Natural History Unit, helmed by producer Mark Linfield and the same team behind 2001's The Blue Planet, it is the most expensive documentary ever made. Recorded over a period of 5 years in more than 204 locations, it is certainly a humunguous effort by the team, who risked their lives filming some of the most captivating scenes.
The first episode, titled From Pole To Pole, shows how the lives of plants and animals are dominated by sun and water, which trigger seasonal journeys.
The show starts in Antartica, where male Emperor Penguins huddle together in the dead of winter to protect their eggs, waiting patiently for their partners to return when the sun will rise again in spring. It then pans to Artic, where spring has arrived and the mother polar bear emergers from the den with it's cubs, and make the journey towards the ocean to feed on seals before the warmth of spring melts the sea ice.
The season's changes, from winter to spring - where the peach blossoms bloom - and then to summer in Japan, and from summer to autumn to winter in America, transpires in a matter of seconds, highlighting the beauty of the landscape as it changes. From the coniferous forests to decidous forests, the scene changes to the tropical forests of Borneo, where the rare birds of paradise live. The ultimate fashion victims of the bird world, this species of birds are decked out in vibrant colours and decorated with beautiful plummage. The males are the ones that are usually the 'prettier' ones, and there's always a mating song or dance, in addition to the beautiful coat of feathers, to help attract the females to mate with them.
One of the most dramatic moments in this episode is the chase of the seals by the great white. By slowing down the shots to 40 times the normal speed, the might and grace of the great white leaping out of the water and capturing the seal in its jaws is simply breathtaking, and the splashes of the water that are created in the process is beautiful.
The interplay of sun and water on the life on Earth moves to Africa, the driest continent on the planet. Here, the annual flooding of Okavango marks the start of migration of elephants, babboons and other animals to this seasonal oasis, where water and food are in abundance. The treacherous journey through massive sandstorms and tornadoes has to be made before they reach this little piece of haven.
And finally, the cameras takes us back to Antartica, where we first started out, where the arrival of spring heralds the birth of the baby emperor penguins, and the start of the migration of the penguins towards the sea.
I was totally impressed by the cinematography, from the aerial shots capturing the movements of the the migration of the animals to the closeups, and the showing of the changes of the seasons. This is rare gem in the world of documentary, filmed to stunning perfection. It allows me to see a differnt side of Earth, a side that will be lost if we humans, who have the power to protect, do nothing to save these lovely animals, and flora and fauna. Hopefully, this will not the only way our future generations will get to see the diversity that our dear blue planet has to offer.
There's 10 more episodes to go, and I shall make it a point to catch every one of them! Can't miss out such a wonderful piece of documentary!

Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb has finally premiered! Watched it on Arts Central today at 10pm. It is a drama series that delves into the relationships of 8 couples behind the walls of a budget hotel. The 1st episode, titled Perfect 10, is about a couple who are getting married and checks into the budget hotel so that they can have some peace and privacy to finalise their marriage, which will take place in 3 days. Things start to turn hilarious when the guy (David) ejaculates. The girl (May May), thinking that it was premature ejaculation, went to check on the internet and decides to check into the hotel again the next day to find out if her guy really has a problem 'down there'. One thing leads to another, and while having a trial run of 'what is going to happen after the wedding dinner', they finally lost it, after much resistence in the past 3 days and abstinence for 8 long years. After the deed is done, David finally proclaimed that they shouldn't have waited so long, which our dear May May agreed (she was so against having sex before the wedding). And the final icing on the (wedding) cake? David's parting words -- "The condom broke".
I thoroughly enjoyed the exchanges between David and May May. All was very natural, very believable. There was not fake accents or pretentious English; just English/Singlish that is spoken as we hear it everyday. Trust Tan Kheng Hua to come up with something like that. What made it difficult was that the episodes were not scripted i.e., there were no lines for the actors to follow. They had to improvise between the 4 walls and what their characters, given their characteristics, will say. And kudos to Kelvin Tong too, who directed this series. The scene were beautifully shot, even though Kelvin could not prepare in advance (there was no script to follow!).
This is really a series to catch every Monday!
Talking about Arts Central, there is another show that is a must catch - Planet Earth. Saw the trailer for it, and I must admit, they really did capture nature beautifully. Will definitely catch it on Wednesday 10pm! Better write in down n my diary before I forget... ...