My Condolences.


My deepest condolences to You.


Al Fatehah.



Fin.

Sex and the City


It was more like: No, Singaporeans are prudish about sex, thus we will cut out the sex scenes.

And true to form, i saw some letters about the movie in the Forum page of T*he S*traits T*imes.

My take on the scene cuts:

I was really unhappy.

*no im not a voyeur or porno freak*

I just felt that the movie was disjointed because of the cuts.

There was no reason that the movie had to be rated at M18

If it had to be R21 so be it.

Personally, I HATE CENSORS!

They cut out the parts and give the movie this "cut & paste" feeling.

I do not want to feel this way when I pay perfectly good money (movie tix now very expensive also you know!) to watch a movie.

Besides the fact that the movie was cut at certain places, i felt that the direction of the movie was also good.

*All hail Michael Patrick King*

The flow of the movie was great, there were collective gasps and i truly felt that the audience were completely enthralled by Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte.

Though i missed the first 10 mins of the show, i'm glad that i followed the series because this movie is like an extension of the tv series.

The on-screen chemistry between the four girls was undeniable.

I was tickled pink and i shed a tear at the end.

But most of all, I loved the way that the central theme of the movie revolved around relationships and more accurately, friendships.

If i were ever in a jam, I'd definitely turn to all my girlfriends for support.

I'm glad i have the same support system that Carrie had when she got jilted.


For all hard-core Sex and the City fans, this movie is not to be missed!

I've finally found my fix and closure for this show.

$10 for a 2hr 25min movie?

Worth it i say.

Sans the cut parts that is.

And what girl doesn't get a kick from seeing a walk-in wadrobe the size of a master bedroom?

I rate it a 4 out of 5.

Watch it before it ends its run!


Fin.

Counting Down The Days...


Its my last week at work here...

>_<


And i honestly don't know how i feel.

Well one thing's for sure.

I am so happy to be rid of LL my sales manager.

*all smiles*

Hahaha...happy taking over my post Kha!

Anyway...yeah...im feeling mysteriously light and carefree.

'Cos my holiday is just around the corner!

Yeay

I loved being here.

*Kha has already kind of taken over the workspace and doing most of the job anyway...hence the past tense*

The atmosphere was not so stressed.

Sans the amount of nonsense that i had to tolerate from LL. Hah.

The guys here have been really great!

Yes. All the people in my office are Chinese guys.

Hence the non-issue of office politics.

They are gerek-nak-mampos people here.

Even our new addition, Jonas.

Whom we both affectionately call Adik Nas.

*member dari Subang...haha...*

But coming to work this whole week has been great!

Cos i have a friend to share everything with.

We share the same workspace (for now)

And we've been giggling while i TRIED to teach her the ropes.

So thanks for making it a worthwhile week!

This weekend...Making The Video: Darwis.

Just a little tribute to him for his farewell cos we won't be able to make it there for his.


Anyway, a little shout-out to a new friend made over the net (via Suli)


Liyah! Happy Belated Birthday!


Fin.

Finally!


Finally, a new blog skin.

I think its been a while since i've changed my blogskin.

The last change i did was back in 2004!

Its taken me FOUR looooonnngggg years to change the blogskin.

That picture on top is Times Square, NY.

That's the closest i'll ever get to New York after plans fell through.

But anyways...do you like it?

Cos i do!


Fin.

The Mango Season.

Remember this photo?

Yup, that was the book that I was devouring after reading Candace Bushnell's dreary Lipstick Jungle.

The Mango Season was soo much better!

There were witty moments and those that kept me at the edge of the seat!

Basically, Amulya Malladi, the author that is; navigates her way into the labyrinth of Indian social and familial customs that seem to faze the rest of us.

She weaves a beautiful tale where the protagonist of the story (your lead character you might say), becomes displaced in her own country and family after her 7 year absence.

The young Priya Rao (protagonist) has come back to India for a visit (note: VISIT! and not come home!)

She finds herself lost in all the intricacies of her own culture.

She takes centre-stage when her parents set her up for a pelli-chupulu or bride-seeing ceremony.

The thing is...she's already ENGAGED to an American which is a BIG no-no in her society.

And that's where all the conflicts begin.

What?

You thought I was going to give you a run down of what happened.

Go find the book and read it for yourself. Teeheehee.


The book's called The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi.

Available at all NLB libraries!

Enjoy the read!

Next up: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.


Fin.

So Much For Losing The Voice on Friday.

Yes pple...prior to my last minute "jom-lets-go-karaoke" by najib i had lost my voice on friday.

YES.

I was croaking.

*hmmm....probably one of the reasons why it rained huh?*

Oh yeah.

And i played hooky from work on Friday.

Which meant that i worked a total of only 3 days this week!

Haha. But after all the merry making i had...i still felt that the weekend was a tad too short.

Yes... now back to the intended post.

I had intended to spend the WHOLE afternoon (or whole day) at home.

There were NO prior plans watsoever.

I was already plonked on my bed watching Season 4 of SEX & THE CITY courtesy of Justin my colleague.

Then around 2.15pm, I received an sms from my darling Suli.

It an invitation to join her, Shasha and Aisyah Spec at Far East.

Mind you it was a sweltering HOT day.

Even though I had a late shower that day, i was already perspiring buckets.

I was still undecided at about 2.30pm

But then i was like "Ahhh...Wat the Heck....I'm going out!"

I was getting pretty restless at home anyway.

tried to get ready as fast as i could.

Was out the door by 3.30pm.

That was really fast by MY standards.

-the fabulous 5-

Reached my destination and saw Seri!

I was so happy to see her and the girls! (The more the merrier i say)

*get well soon babe!*

But she had to leave soon after to go and get ready to go to Gentarasa 2008.

-tgk mereke berdua di background-

We were then soon joined by Najib.

*mmg tak plan langsung!*

Had lunch at Cahaya and decided to go Karaoke!!!!

My second time Karaoke-ing at Cash Studio.

The first being with my AISS girls.

It was WAYYYY different!

That's cos we sang

a lot of English songs.

This time we sang a lot of MALAY songs!

-Najib tgh feeling sampai naik atas kerusi menyanyi-

*Mary nyanyi lagu melayu???!!!!*

Of course i still sang my english ballads...and i sooooo loved belting out Mariah Carey's "Forever".

-me and my chica; Suli-

-Go Sya Spec & Shasha!-

Hope you enjoyed the pics!

-Left with just the 4 of us; supper-ing-

Fin.

My Not So Hectic Weekend.

Compared to last weekend, this weekend didn't make a dent.

I barely did anything.

Save for going to town to go and get KiKi fixed.

I miss my phone terribly!

I want her back and to cradle her lovingly in my arms.

Okay-okay...i'm sounding a bit like a crazy woman.

Anyways...i really wanted to blog about my last weekend but i kind of got sidetracked by the fact that i went go-karting.

So it totally eliminated the joy factor.

Right.

Last weekend i tried to rally my girlfriends for an enjoyable day out.

Which only resulted in seeing the same faces again and again.

Not! That i'm not happy to see you girls but really, we're turning into this pathetic group of 5 where Hafiz is starting to get cranky about the fact that he's the ONLY guy around.

So PLEASE you other girls, try and make it the next time round okay?

So what did we do besides cracking up with laughter every 5mins?

Just a simple lunch and a game of bowling

Which i might add im pretty bad at.

I can play all other forms of sport save for bowling.

I played quite well in the first game.

But failed miserably in the second one.

Where all 3 frames went down the drain.

Literally.

We only met for the afternoon and parted ways around 4.30pm-5pm.

And mind you, we didn't even leave Yishun!

We bowled at SAFRA Yishun...sad right?

I think its just age catching up with us *Yikes!*

But i realised i wasn't done with my day yet.

Instead of staying home alone (yes the parental units weren't at home either),

I decided to join them wherever they were.

So i went down to toa payoh to meet them at the pool.

And yes! They decided to lengthen their sojourn , my little brother in tow of course,

Plus my uncle's family to Arab Street for dinner.

We ended up having a great big dinner at AlaTurka for some authentic Turkish fare.

Yes I am definitely raving about this place.

Its got the freshest salads.

The best oven toasted bread.

And tasty moussakka.

The kebabs weren't bad either!

And for 10 hungry people, we pretty much scarfed down all that food in a jiffy.

The hummous was DELISH!

The pricing was reasonable too!

And service was TOP NOTCH!

Yes i am totally won over by the hospitality and how fast our food was served.

I would definitely go again (hopefully with the bf one day).

Can i just say how much i've missed middle eastern food?

*And TEH AIS!*

I so miss teh ais for sure.

The closest that i've gotten to M'sian tasting teh ais was at Bilal Restaurant over at Sembawang Rd.

*Okay ter-sidetrack again.*

Anyway...I am UBER excited about my trip to Bali!

Yeayness!

Okay then...

More updates soon!

Promise!

*MY blogging mojo's finally BACK!*

Fin.

On Being "Blah!"


Side-track:


Yes, thanks for reading even though its been so boring and bland.

But i really appreciate the: "How come you've stopped writing?"

And the "Any new entries?"

Thank you for the concern...hehehe...

I'm touched that pple still read my blog!

Thank You!

And all you CLOSET readers, come out and tell me WHO you are!

I'm tired of thinking I'm writing all this for no-one!


Now back to the intended post.


I know since I've graduated as an English Lit grad I should be picking up more noteworthy and "literature-ish" type books.

But I've picked up MORE chick lit since then.

I know I'm being such a bad example.

But after having so much Literature shoved down my throat for the past 13+ years, the only thing I want to pick out from the library shelves has been trashy chick lit.

Ok..maybe not so trashy but more commercial chick lit.

I mean there's nothing wrong in that, but i REALLY pride myself on being a well read person.

But there has been a silver lining within all that chick lit.

I actually picked up a really good book frm the POPULAR bookstore about 2 months back.

It really began as a love affair with the movie that I watched with my Encik Farhan.

*Thanks for accompanying me to watch the movie!*

You guessed it, it was "The KiteRunner".

I remember reviewing the movie on my blog sometime back.

But anyway, that was a movie review.

Now, i think Khasanah, more than anyone else knows how much i love asian lit.

More accurately;

"displaced-asian-author-trying-to-find-voice-in-adopted-Western-country."


Point in case, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amy Tan, etc, etc...

And my latest find....


Khaled Hosseini!


I've read the book twice.

Both in like very literature type mode.

Yes, I'm anal like that.

Reading it to gain a different perspective.

I loved it.

That's the thing with books.

You can read it AGAIN and AGAIN and you'll always gain a different perspective of the novel.

It was poignant, moving and heart-wrenching.

And the book wasnt written about Amir at all.

It was totally about Hassan.

Yes i only got it after the second read.

So girls, wanna go out and discuss books?

Oh!

And I was looking through Khasanah's Shelfari and I saw "The Road To Mecca".

I was sooo intrigued that I placed a reservation on the NLB website.

And then I was hooked into reserving Jhumpa Lahiri's "Unaccustomed Earth".


Her 2008 offering after her highly successful "The Namesake".


See, when the bug bites.

It doesn't stop biting.

Hahaha...okay that was corny.

Now I'm thinking, should i BUY "A Thousand Splendid Suns"???


Fin.

Pffftt...


I wanted to upload the pics from my spanking new K850i (in Quicksilver) today.

BUT

The phone died on me yesterday.

AaaaccckkK!

Now i can't upload my pics from the go-kart session i had.

And yes...

Now i'll need to revive her (yes she's now affectionately known as KiKi to me)

Boo hoo.

This is so sad.

Everytime i get a phone OTHER than Nokia, I have to send it back for repair in less than 2 weeks!

The last time this happened was when i purchased the Motorola E51 Rokr phone.

The phone would always die on me when i answered a call.

And this was WITHIN the 1st week after i purchased it.

I had to go all the way to Plaza Singapura to revive the damn phone.

And it took them quite a while to fix it.

Now that i've purchased this OTHER model, the phone instinctively died on me.

AGAIN.

Gah!

I am seriously ANNOYED!

Honestly, yesterday i thought the phone died cos the battery was weak.

But the thing that got me worried was, the lights to the keypad were still on and the light on the back where the camera lens was located was also lighted.

Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

Now i have to go to Wisma Atria to get it fixed!

I'm afraid to go cos I'll end up spending money at DP and Forever21 and Cotton On!

I want my KiKi bacccckkK!


Fin.

Lets Go-Karting! (Part 1)


The best part about being in a small company thats laid-back SANS my anal retentive sales manager,

is that we get to do FUN stuff!

And also cos we have a really generous boss, he foots the bill!



So thanks Mr. L*eow J*uLen!



Today, i got to meet D*awn Y*ang.

Yes, THAT D*awn Y*ang.

So wat did we all do exactly?

We ALL went karting in JB today!

The WHOLE company except the Old Fart.

Kewl right?

Kha, i hope one day you will get this opportunity to go karting with the company some time!

Yes, it was like a mini company retreat.

I tell you it was SUPER gerek to the max lah!

It felt like an extra weekend altogether! :D

I'm going to miss the people i work with for the past 5 months!

Pics up soon k?

And i WILL elaborate more!

Finally, something REALLLLY worth blogging about!


Fin.

Not!Stressed out

The Blushing Bride (Fadhiilah; The Duchess)

and the Dashing Groom (Ustz Khidir)

This picture would have looked spectacular had Ekhsan zoomed in!

But even so, good picture composition!

This would also have been a gd shot if MY hands were more steady!


The ethereal Duchess...

This picture of US and the bride looks AWESOME!

Nice colours! I loooooovvveeedd Hasanah's tudung kaler!

I seriously think we make a cute couple!

I wish i knew how to keep my head straight when taking a photo!

Notice that there were mostly just pics of girls? Hahaha...

It didn't even occur to me till I uploaded them to my Facebook account.

One more wedding in June!

Hasanaaaaahhhh i can't believe you're tying the knot already!

I will TRY to be @ your wedding.

I want to upload all the pics i took on sunday but Blogger is not cooperating as yet.

Stay tuned pple!

Fin.