To make up for yesterday's venom

Here is a Friday treat, and just one more reason for me to love Jim Halpert:



Also, check this out:



I am feeling all giddy today because Spitfire and I are leaving work (early, I hope) and driving down to Provo by way of IKEA for a Weekend o' Fun, consisting of:

An IKEA run

A makeover at the MAC counter. Jen is ready for a new look. I'm hoping green eye shadow will be part of that look. Also, they did a good job on me last time. This time I think I might go with something more like this:

I love how subtle this is. It's like she's not even wearing makeup!

An all-you-can eat sushi lunch, wherein I will try things I've never tried before. And will eat until I have rice coming out my ears.


A family birthday party with presents and one of these, courtesy of Jen:


I expect everything else will be a blur after this.

Happy Weekend, everybody!

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Re-inspiration

Yet again, my all-time favourite teacher, Mr. Dalvey Neo, has successfully re-inspired me. We had a great chat at his table today when I went back to Nan Chiau High in the name of Teachers' Day. He's still the anti-religious, egocentric, extremely popular, cynical (although we have both toned down in that aspect) person that I absolutely enjoy talking with. I only got to know he is a deist today, which was relatively shocking, seeing how such a cynical person would still believe in a form of cosmic force or higher authority. I guess people do need a form of excuse or 'feel-good' factor to get by life.

After chatting with him, yet again, after so long of a hiatus, I certainly felt I have matured quite abit from what I used to be, even compared to early last year, when I was still into my rebellious/angsty/anti-Christian ways, which was redundant. I think I shocked, or surprised him quite abit by my recent decision to lean towards a more Buddhist stance in my philosophy and thought, which I am going to stick with for a long time.

All in all, I am just plain glad to have found such a great figure to look up towards, always up for a great chat on all things philosophical and everyday life, which never failed to make my day better. And, moreover, he listens to Pain, so that's another plus point. He introduced me to Nailbomb today, whose one of their song titles goes "While You Sleep, I Destroy Your World" and album name is "Proud To Commit Commerical Suicide". You just go "wow" when you know you have known such a great man whose musical tastes/thoughts are even more superior. Talking to him is such an pure pleasure, I just hope our friendship will last long into my adulthood and beyond, for I treasure such a great chatting/musing partner. And, I will definitely look forward to more book/music recommendation from him. Surely, I shall not disappoint him by doing decently well for my A Levels.

Mr. Dalvey Neo. You will always be my unceasing source of inspiration. Thank you, so much.

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Forget the high road

Normally I wouldn't do this, but since I've burned scorch marks into my chair from The Rage I obviously can't leave this one alone. Others must know.

So y'all know Cicada, member of my Circle of Truth? She recently got engaged to The Second Sweetest Man in the World. (It would have been TSMITW, but Daltongirl already has him. Anyway.) She gave me permission to tell this story, since it happened this morning and we're all livid over it.

Last year she had a brief relationship with a guy who didn't really turn out to be her type. When I met him I was kind of surprised that they were dating. Cicada is funny, attractive, young, outgoing, and wears stylish, age-appropriate clothing. He . . . was not like her. But I figured there must be something there that I couldn't see. While they were getting to know each other, he said that almost every girl he dated ended up marrying the guy who came after him--he referred to himself as a "springboard to marriage." This, now, to me, make soooo much more sense. Anyway, the relationship soon fizzled out, but she wasn't that bothered about it. And then soon after that she met Murray, who is wonderful and whom she is very much into.

ANYWAY. She and the first guy, whom she named The Flossing Republican, were still on friendly terms so she emailed recently to ask a design/printing question. She mentioned that she's engaged, and said TFR must have been right about being the "springboard to marriage." And she asked about a girl she'd seen him with the last time they'd run into each other. (Also, I read her email and it was not smug or anything. This is important.)

He emailed her back, and she was so stunned and irritated at his reply that she sent the email on to The Circle (me, Daltongirl, and Sakhmet). I'll just include the most important parts, with my additions. And no, I feel no qualms about publishing TFR's email. He was obviously very proud of it.

Congratulations on your engagement! That's great! (Aaaand this is where he should have stopped. He didn't, though.) Normally I would hesitate in endorsing such brief courtships, however, in your case you should do it asap! Your mom is probably relieved. (Blink. Blink blink. "In your case?" Excuse me? And was she asking for your endorsement? Are you the King of Town or something?)

Also, I can't take credit for being a "springboard relationship to marriage" since you and I never dated. (Wait . . . excuse me??) I guess for belated clarification's sake: When I mentioned your tendencies to exaggerate or actually make up scenarios in your blog, I was NOT referring to your comments about me "flossing," etc. I WAS referring to you stating that we were dating! You didn't get that! (Wow . . . this is belated clarification. Wouldn't you want to clarify that right off the bat? I mean, your way was absolutely clear and not at all ridiculous, but still. Some of us slower folk might need more.). . . Despite kissing twice ("curiosity derivatives" that I made sure never happened again), (oh you did not) my intentions were based on friendship.

Ergo, despite having no romantic interest, I definitely was interested in a good, friendly rapport (even after listening to your issue-based "rants"). Those "rants," etc. were good times. . . . ("So even though I wasn't attracted to you and even though you made me listen to your stupid opinions and also you were delusional, I still wanted to be friends. Because I'm big like that.") Either way, I think it's great that your delving into marriage. I think the institution will make you happier in general. And, that's a good thing. (You know what else is a good thing? The end of my boot making contact with your groin and shoving those things so far up there that it's even more difficult to confirm their existence.)

He then went on to say that he's currently dating a lawyer and made sure to mention that she is a skinny, skinny model. He also managed to be condescending about her, too. So way to insult two girls in one paragraph.

Now . . . see . . . I couldn't trust myself to speak for about a minute after reading this. Plus I was busy trying not to choke to death at my desk. What kind of severe, severe personal issues must a guy have to turn what should be an occasion for a simple congratulation into a long-winded, heavy-handed, condescending, egotistical, nasty piece of revisionist record-straight-setting? "Um, by the way, don't be thinking you've moved on to better things because we never dated in the first place and so neener, this must be so embarrassing for you!" What the heck? I don't think Cicada thinks she's moved on to better things--she's pretty sure.

Anyway. This probably isn't the best blog post ever, but it's what I'm worked up about at the moment. So here you have it. Would love to get your comments.

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Here she is

Oh dearie, dearie me. Lots of you have probably already seen the recent Miss South Carolina interview, but if you haven't, Happy Wednesday!



I love how she tries to save it there at the end with the reference to "our future." And I love how Mario Lopez (excuse me while I have Saved by the Bell flashbacks) is trying not to fall on the floor laughing. But seriously, the poor girl. Also, that was a mean question: "Why is it that so many Americans cannot find the United States on a map?" The easiest answers are:

1. I guess Americans are just stupid.

2. I guess America's educational system is just crap.

3. Why should we need to find it? We freaking live here!

Either way, not likely to make her popular. So I can see why she choked. Also, she was probably scared to death and feeling all kinds of make-you-crack-in-horrifying-ways pressure.

That said, I'm going to go watch it again. It makes me giggle.

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This is me whimpering at my desk

And not in the good way. In the bad, bad, I am a wide-eyed woodland creature whose fluffy bunny foot is caught in a trap and I'm being held over a shark tank way.

A lady came in to ask a question about LDS authors, so I went to Deseret Book's website to see if I could find what she was looking for.

I saw this:


The London background intrigued me, so I clicked on the link and read the following description:

Anxiously Engaged: A Piccadilly Romance

First he found a fiancée, then he fell in love.

Carson Wells is a good-natured Returned Missionary from Montana who is engaged to a trendy girl from London. But before he is allowed to take Lucy to the temple, he must first find a husband for her sensible, older sister Jema. One by one Carson's attempts to find a worthy suitor for Jema become more than he bargained for as his feelings for Lucy begin to change. Anxiously Engaged is a bright romantic comedy where two culturally different people find love in an uncommon way.

There are so, so, so very many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to begin.

First of all, since when do we capitalize returned missionary?

Also, what is even up with the movie's premise? Who exactly sets those conditions? Who is it that decided some sassy English girl needs a Montana hick to find her a man? I just read that it's her grandfather who makes that a condition. Also, is said sassy English girl actually going along with this sexist bit of awfulness? I'm sorry, but I would kick my grandpapa's false teeth right out of his head. My brain is leaking out my ears at that one.

And the name Jema? Were they possibly thinking of Gemma, which is an actual English name? (Note: Just checked on IMDB and the character's name is Gemma, not Jema. Freaking Deseret Book.)

I don't know where this thing was released in theatres, but apparently some people have seen it. The family who commented on the IMDB page have seen it four separate times. Which means they must live in a cactus or something where there's absolutely nothing else to do.

Maybe I should track down a copy and watch it this weekend with my sisters. We haven't gone into a full on harpies-from-Macbeth rant in a while now. Might be funs.

PS. There's an official website with a trailer, which I haven't watched yet. Will be getting right on that.

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not wanting to change the subject

I'm still having a great time reading all of your comments from the last post, so I don't feel quite ready to move on yet. Keep 'em coming! My roommate told me last night that nearly all of the guys she's chatted with through sites like LDSLinkup have tried to initiate the dirty talk. What the heck, guys? Why can't they just call 900 numbers or whatever like normal deviants?

I never had anyone do that, but the one guy that I chatted with through Linkup (about a year ago) seemed very nice and funny and all those good things. Only, he turned out not to be too honest. Or smart. His most recent ex was an acquaintance of mine and I eventually found out through a mutual friend that they had gotten back together, that he hadn't told her he was still emailing other girls, and that he was keeping me on the line as a backup in case things didn't work out. Also he had misrepresented himself to me in a lot of strange, unnecessary ways. Like he would speak about "past girlfriends" when it turns out there was actually only the one. So once the Network of Women finished connecting the dots, she broke up with him and I cut off communication. That's what you get, boys. And he still had the nerve to act all baffled by this strange turn of events.

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Watch this and feel yourself disgusted by it in the end.

Depressing.

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"He who feeds on fame and power shall find himself stricken with malnutrition. "

Heed that well, unperson.

Anddd! I miss my Nick loads.

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Let's hope I can hold out a bit longer

Yesterday I got in touch with my friend Jaime after much too much phone tag. The conversation turned to dating and dating websites. She actually met her husband through LDSPlanet.com after her family badgered her into giving it a try. She agreed to give it one month and by the end of the month she had met someone.

Anyway, she was saying that she was glad it worked out for her because with her life/work/living situation, she just wasn't meeting people she could date. However, she says that she still doesn't think she could wholeheartedly recommend the online dating thing to people, because, in her words, there are a lot of freaks on there. And if you're not savvy you could put yourself in some bad situations.

I've had a few encounters already with the kind of guys who hang out on these sites. In fact, last year I got an email through LDSLinkup from someone who, at first glance, I took to be an old bishop of mine. (Not that bishops are on there to pick up on young girls, because they're not. I hope. But sometimes they get on just to keep in touch with the members of the ward.) Anyway, he was not my old bishop. He was a 50-yr-old man in Washington. And he thought I could be his soul mate.

I was so annoyed that I actually did write him back to say that while I was flattered, the age difference of 25 years made us unlikely to be compatible and that I wished him luck as he searches for a more age-appropriate companion. Well. That put him in a right snit and he emailed back this long, rambling thing about how true love knows no age and I'm so judgmental and I've probably missed out on what could have been the greatest thing ever. Yeah, because in my head, "the greatest thing ever" translates to "changing my husband's and children's diapers at the same time."

Anyway. After hanging up with the lovely Jaime I got on the LDSPlanet site to take a look around. Fifteen minutes later I was still sitting there with a dropped jaw and sure-to-be-permanent eyebrow furrows. She wasn't kidding when she mentioned the freaks. Also, the site itself is just kind of clunky and basic and amateur-looking. The search features are really lame and don't let you do any kind of keyword search of people's profiles. So if I wanted to look for someone who mentions travel in his profile then I'm out of luck. Also if I wanted to weed out all profiles with the words "hook up," or "truck." Or if I wanted to avoid the profiles where the young (or not-so) men choose the "stunningly good-looking" option to describe themselves.

I don't know if this is the cool new thing in online dating, but I noticed a lot of pics like this one, taken while the subject is lying shirtless in bed. What exactly is that about? Are they already trying to fan the flames of my desire or something? Is that the setting in which they plan for us to spend a lot of our getting-to-know-you time? Do they think that women find anything remotely attractive about the male armpit? Because believe me, we don't.


There are also the shirtless-while-posing with ex in hot tub shots. What is that meant to convey, exactly? (Hey, this chick was willing to get in a hot tub with me. You should want to, too.) This gentleman also included pictures of his car, his friend's cars, and the hotel bathroom from his latest trip the Vegas. Don't ask me what that's about.


This one, though, this one was my favorite:



There are just no words.

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I weep for the world sometimes

The lovely Eva forwarded me this article about a recent Associated Press survey about the nation's reading habits. She must have known that my blood pressure had been taking it relatively easy and needed a kickstart.

They surveyed 1,000 people and found that 1 in 4 people read no books. Like none. At all. But before I could start freaking out about what is wrong with people, I kept reading. According to the article, the people who read no books "tend to be older, less educated, lower income, minorities, from rural areas and less religious." So what this indicates to me is that at least some of the non-reading is to do with literacy levels. If you can't read, or read at a low level, or at a low level in a language that is not English, then of course that would be a barrier. Also, it's harder if you don't have the money to buy books and either don't have access to good library services or are too busy or intimidated to use them.

Yesterday was a good time to read the article because earlier in the day I went to a luncheon at Cache Valley's English Language Center, where they filled the local librarians in about what they're up to. Also they fed us upscale funeral potatoes. Mmmmm . . . funeral potatoes. Anyway. They received a grant to help the children of migrant workers. What the studies are finding is that the ESL training for these kids in school is not enough--they're not retaining what they're learning, so there needs to be more reading at home. So one of their big goals is to get these families reading together at home and using their local libraries. They told us how this program works, and to expect to see some new families coming in--families who might have very limited or no English and who may have never been in a library before. So we need to be sure to be welcoming and helpful, etc. I think this is pretty cool.

But. Back to the article. Here are some more of their findings:

Women read more than men, and old people read more than younger people (shocker).

There are more readers in the Midwest than in the rest of the country. This, to me, makes sense. If I lived in Ohio I would spend as much time as possible with my nose in a book, imagining that I was someplace else.

Southerners are hooked on religious books and romance novels, which sound like strange bedfellows, but whatever. Maybe it's one group reading the Bible and another group reading the smut.

Democrats and liberals read a little bit more than Republicans and conservatives. Am not going to make the obvious joke about conservatives not needing to read because they know everything anyway. Oops, except I kind of just did.

Men read more nonfiction than women do.

And now I'm running late for work, so I can't do anymore analyzing. But seriously, if you can read, will you please pick up a book and read it? If not for me, then do it for the stats.

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characterized by assumption of dignity or importance

So I have this friend who accuses me of being pretentious. He's wrong, of course. What he considers pretentious is just right-headedness. But anyway. It got me thinking about the things that I do tend to be a bit picky or snobbish about. And here's what I've come up with.

Grammar & Usage--being an editor will do that to you, as will living in a state (or, fine, country) where people routinely cripple, maim, and strangle the English language before leaving it dead in a ditch somewhere.

Recycling--around here, wanting to recycle and conserve somehow labels you as a hippie snob (and possible Democrat who slaughters babies for fun) right off the bat. Which I think is absolutely unfair to assume. You'd think that people wanting to conserve our natural resources would also be in favor of conserving babies. But there's just no reasoning with some people.

Movies--I used to watch pretty much anything that wasn't rated R. Only then I think I sat through one stupid movie too many, and I realized that these were hours of my life I couldn't get back. So yes, I still love movies, but I absolutely will ditch out if people are going to see a movie that got awful reviews. I don't care how "fun" or "cute" or "Mormon" it is. I haven't even gone to see the Fantastic 4 sequel, even though my fiance is the leading actor. That's how snobby I am.

Fast food--Yes, I realize that I went to Wendy's last night and got a hamburger because I was heading out dancing and it sounded like a good idea. Only I wouldn't have had to if the stupid grocery stores didn't keep giving me yams labeled as sweet potatoes yet again, thereby ruining the nice dinner I had planned for myself and leaving me open to fast-food temptation! (breathe . . . breathe . . .) Anyway. I've started thinking more about what I eat and the whole "garbage in, garbage out" principle. And the "eat nothing but chemicals, get an extra hand stump growing out of your torso" principle. I expect I'll become a fruitarian next.

Thread-count--I blame Mistress of Mayhem for this one. I stayed at her house a couple years ago and became acquainted with the glory that is extra-soft Egyptian cotton. It has spoiled me forever and I just can't go back to sleeping on polyester-blend potato sacks like I could do back when I was a college freshman and cheaper equaled better. Plus, I figure if I can't have a hot man next to me in bed I can at least have nice sheets under me.

Standing ovations--I'm sure I've documented my feelings quite enough on this blog, so I won't get into it.

Wedding invitation etiquette--Especially with regards to registry info. Feelings already documented.

Milk--This is not official yet, but I'm probably on my way to becoming a milk snob, since I've just started getting milk delivered from a dairy. Yay! These are all the reasons why I'm excited:

1. It's almost the exact same price as what's in the stores.
2. The dairy is local, so it's good for the environment (less shipping, reusable bottles) and good for the local economy.
3. This milk doesn't have all the additives and hormones, and it gets to me when it's about 48 hours old.
4. They bring it to my door, which is convenient for me but also lets me imagine that I'm living in a simpler, happier time of milkmen and darling milk bottles on your front porch.

So, bring on the snobby, I say. I'm sure there are some I've forgotten, but does anyone else want to share? What are your big pretensions?

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Haha.

Today, in Biology STAR, I got so cranky I can't believe I thought of the following. Mrs Wong was saying something like, ".... so that you could date the fossils..." I immediately thought to myself in the fashion of an MSN conversation:

Friend: "So are you going out with someone recently?"
Me: "Yeah, I am dating a fossil recently."
Friend: "Wow, congratulations! Is he good in bed?"

I amaze myself, that made me "XD" in the lecture theatre. [trying to keep a straight face still]

Other than that, Nick could claim a damn castle if he were to move to Germany, due to his noble germanic roots, I am rather hyped at that notion. The castle is called Klevenow Guthaus or Schloss. This is just too kickarse. I am aristocrat-to-be!

Haha.

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Hip Hop Abs

The other day I was flipping channels and came across an infomercial for an exercise DVD called Hip Hop Abs. I only kept watching because Usher's "Yeah" was playing in the background and my neck started doing this twitchy thing than in other, more coordinated people might resemble The Dance. Also, I was finishing off a carton of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream at the time. I find there's nothing quite so gratifying as eating ice cream while watching other people perspire. I should probably never be assigned a chain gang.

The abs I could see on the TV were quite admirable, but I'm sure they didn't get those things just by dancing. Making a pact with the devil, more like, and sacrificing babies at each phase of the moon. Anyway, the commercial promised that if you don't lose 3 inches off your waist in 6 days then you could send the DVDs back for a full refund. Are they serious? Three inches in 6 days? How can they even promise something so completely outlandish and subjective? Why don't they just promise that 3 men will propose to me in 6 days?

I've decided that my abs are just fine, wherever they are down there under that layer of tummy fat. Because you know? Maybe they just feel safer and more comfortable and insulated down there. It's not my place to ruin that.

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Working for the man

My brother in law Ed just did a cool post where he listed all the jobs he's had and what he's learned from each one. Also, just reading his list made me exhausted. I liked the idea so I'm borrowing it.

So, starting at about age 10:

Babysitter. When I think back on it I can't believe that people let someone so young and inexperienced watch their kids. Also? $2 an hour is a shaft, people. My daughters are going to have cutthroat rates, including overtime and additional charges for more than 3 children.

Yard crew. Our neighborhood association hires truckloads of kids to rake all the sand and debris left over in the ditches after the snow melts. I learned that raking leads to wicked hot shoulder muscles. Course, since they were on me and my Olga-the-milkmaid shoulders, I kinda looked like a boy.

Temporary office assistant. I learned that office jobs are better, because you can order lunch from Pizza Man and eat it at your desk while you work.

Subway Sandwich Artist. Cucumbers on sandwiches are good. I also learned all the words to "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis and "You Live, You Learn" by Alanis Morissette. They were on the audio track that summer.

Restaurant Hostess and Busser. There are people who will feed their babies the dregs of their own margaritas in order to have a quiet meal. If any of you are reading this, you are nasty, nasty people and somewhere there's a brick with your name in it. If you had any sense you'd be doping them up on medicine like the responsible parents do. I also learned that older coworkers, when drunk, may suddenly start hitting on you. And I learned that people you work with (not the older drunk coworkers, because like they even got a look in) will sometimes give you mono.

Custodian. Nobody should start work at 4am. Also, men's urinals are disgusting. And boys leave newspaper all over the floor near the toilets.

Editor/Proofreader. Again, office jobs are better. And proofreaders are fun, fun people.

Course Maintenance Superviser Person Thingie. Suddenly becoming the boss of your friends can be tricky. But also rewarding, if you're sick and power-hungry like that.

Marketer Person. Sales are not fun. Traveling is fun, but not nonstop traveling. All places have merit except for Ohio. Could not find one single thing to get excited about there.

Librarian. So far I've learned that librarians are awesome. I've also learned that being a librarian means being a lot more than I thought it did. I'm also a babysitter, a tour guide, a computer support technician, an errand girl, a counselor, and a whole bunch of other things I didn't really see coming.

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Mondays can just kiss it. And then they can roll over and die.

Really should have stayed in bed this morning. But first, let's give out a Happy Birthday shout for Saxon! I won't even tell you how old he is. Except it's not as old as me, so I'd better not hear any whinging. Also, check me out with the Britishisms. I've still got it. I'm sure that work visa will be in the mail for me any day now. As will marriage proposals from Ioan, Clive, Richard, and Colin. Might need help sorting out which one to accept.

I turned up at work to find half the computers down and all these angry children beating on the front door and monkeys and dogs living together. That is just not good for me, I tell you. And of course tech support can't come until closing time. Because THAT meets my needs. So I'm just here at my desk trying out some camouflage techniques in the manner of crafty Amazon treefrogs in the hope that people won't notice I'm here. I've applied sticky notes all over my body. And I'm holding very still. And in case anyone does come in for a closer look, I've arranged for the fires of hell to blaze in my eyes.

That oughta keep 'em back.

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Glorious sighting!

Yesterday, at Vivo City, I saw a long haired blonde guy, who seemingly looks like of a Scandinavian breed, wearing a Halloween shirt. He looks just like Varg Vikernes. *drools*

Varg looks like this, if you are wondering;

Teh kvlt.

*oops to Nick!*

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Going to the airport really soon to see Kevin off to USA. Kind of sad. I was just starting to enjoy the friendship together, watching films and stuff.

Won't get to see him until next summer, I guess.

A great loss to Singapore and the flourishing community here indeed.

Sigh.

Anyway, bon voyage, Kev H!

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This is for my dad

Because he wouldn't let us watch The Simpsons at our house. Not that I really watch it now, but still. When I was in 5th grade all the kids wore the Bart t-shirts and all the adults were horrified by Bart's bad attitude. (Except for the ones who were buying their kids the t-shirts, I suppose.)

Anyway, this is what I would look like as a Simpsons character.



I went with Burger King's version, which asks you to submit a photo. Although I don't think they actually use the thing. You can also do it through the movie's official site or on the Milk and Cookies website.

Maybe I'll do one for my dad next.

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YouTube is dumb

I wrote this whole post for you this morning all about how I'm taking the day off work to avoid killing people and children and puppies, and even included a video and dumb YouTube still hasn't posted it. Dorks.

Anyway, I'm not at work today and it's heavenly. I just went to the grocery store and strolled up and down the aisles at my leisure, buying all manner of fabulous things like Guittard chocolate chips and toasted sesame seeds and coconut milk and artichoke hearts. Later today I'm going to a farmer's market with a friend where I will bask in the superiority of my environmental footprints as I purchase locally-grown produce. Because that's attractive.

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I am actually talking to Devo, over Myspace.

Life seems to be taking a better turn now.

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16th August

Exactly 2 years ago, I was half insane over Slipknot's concert here at Fort Canning Park, although it is getting increasingly hard to recapture the imagery of that day and the concert itself, but I remember enjoying myself thoroughly.

Exactly 1 year ago, Jon Nodtvient of Dissection decided to take his own life, and I would like to honour this day to him, for his foresight in Dissection's ideology and the philosophy were paramount and most of all, unrelenting. Awake in chaos, Jon!Other than that, it is surreal to know a good friend of yours will be leaving Singapore in 2 days' time, to be gone for 10 months or so, especially if you got so used to seeing him almost weekly for the good old chill out, card flourishing sessions or film-watching sessions. Best of endeavours, Kev H!

And yes, I have sold my soul for Mephistopheles. =D

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Because it's time, and because I'm a bitter hag

Okay. I'm taking this one down. After thinking a bit about it I realized that I was being unnecessarily mean about people I would probably like just fine in real life. And if I did know them there's no way I would have said that stuff--not out-loud, anyway. Plus I have no wish for this to come bite me in the butt, like, say the next time I get my hair cut after word has spread through the stylist circles. (Hey, they could have them! And they could be vicious!)

So. My apologies.

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Note to Kyoto Sushi in Logan, UT

When attractive and witty librarians are at your restaurant to have some sushi for the first time in months and months and they want to have the best experience possible, here is a sure-fire way to make said librarians hate you:

Keep walking up to the table every 3 minutes to see if the party is ready to order. Just keep doing it, over and over again. Don't let the fact that they're still all looking at the menus and talking about what's on them dissuade you. That means nothing. They're just holding the menus up and looking at them like that because they're bored. And they're trying to psych you out. Don't fall for it. Everyone likes to be pestered at restaurants. Really.

Don't, whatever you do, wait for them to set down the menus and look over to where you are standing, arms crossed, watching them. Because that would just be crazy. And it might get you a tip, which, hi, like you want those.

So, yeah. Those are my words to the server at Kyoto Sushi. The food was fine, except that I ended up with a caterpillar roll only because the girl was staring me down and I was tired of playing her sick game so I just picked something. Too bad I ate it with a steaming side of hate.

I'm going to go back to give the place a second chance and to try more of the rolls. But so help me if I get that same girl I'm just going to tell her right from the start that it might take us awhile to order and we'll let her know when we are ready and she had better not come near me until then.

caterpillar roll image from www.asahisushi.com

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Bored.

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?

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Latest Procrastination Aid

I just heard this song by Regina Spektor a few weeks ago and am now ridiculously in love with it.

I'm trying to finish writing a personal essay for that Emerging Leaders application. Personal essays suck. But this song is helping, because I'm pretty much listening to it on repeat. And I'm possibly doing a twitchy sort of shoulder dance as I type.

Because I'm cool like that.

Also someone told me that this song was on Grey's Anatomy, which, yeah, of course it was. They always have the best songs. So now I also have McDreamy in my head while I listen. It's win-win, really.

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Yes, this video speaks to me

Which I find a bit alarming. Also, in the beginning when the guy places the book back on the shelf I totally stiffened and hissed "Oh You Did NOT."

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Stupid books that make me stay up reading til 2am

So I got Eclipse home and read it. My plan was to only read the first few chapters and then set it aside til the weekend when I'll have more time. Yeah. That got shot.

I think I'll have to read it again before I can do any kind of decent review. But I will say that this book has moved me firmly over to Team Edward. As has the scene in the Big Bed, about which I will say no more. Just . . . whew. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Jacob Black in a Sleeping Bag too but I think Edward totally won out in this one. Which is good since I spent the last book bugged at what a whiny baby he was being.

Also, I don't think Bella is very bright. I really don't.

So. For those who've read the books, which team are you on?

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Birthday list is up

Every year I have a hard time doing this. This year I'm trying make a good one. I've put the list up on the sidebar, but for those who don't see my sidebar, here it is.

• Nice sleeping bag like the grown-ups have
• Williams-Sonoma Dessert cookbook--or any fabulous cookbook, really
• The Enchanted April
  
• North and South DVD
• Notting Hill DVD
• new Pink Martini cd
• Anything made by this girl
• Or this girl
• sushi from this place
• gelato from this place
• imported chocolate
• sewing machine
• an afternoon at IKEA
• tickets to Greece
• a really great massage
• a Sephora gift card
• a good snog
• egg harvesting
• Mikasa Pure Red china

Oh my gosh. The UPS guy just got here with some Amazon boxes. Must launch self over circulation desk right now. Excuse me.

WHEEEEEE! They came!!!!

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Speaking of vampires and the Love They Share

Eclipse comes out today only they haven't delivered it to my library yet!!! What the crap is up with that? I should be hiding in a back room right this second getting all heavy-bosomed about Edward and Bella only I'm NOT! The UPS guy has already come and all he brought were two picture books that I had to refrain from stabbing and then lighting on fire.

So help me . . .

The world is not even fair right now. Why did I even bother paying $30K to become a librarian if the perks system is just going to completely fail me and leave me absolutely bereft of vampire lovin', people? Why is it that civilians are reading this book before me?

My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.

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Ensiferum - Lai Lai Hei (Live @ Barcelona)

Satisfying...

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Being an isolated metal-enthusiast is far satisfying than a flourisher in Singapore at this point of time. For sure. Thanks for some much-unneccessary politics.

Be hailed!

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Five hundredth post

Sorry for that little posting-hiatus, dear readers. *the school's fault*

So, so, so, what's new these few days? You might want to ask me, like any human on MSN would. To complement this, I would like to say, "I'm doing fine, thanks. And, you? Good?" =)

Besides getting incessantly grilled by endless revision lectures, exercises and examination papers from other colleges, I am still amazingly alive. Only one thing in school made me smiled geuninely, my Biology teacher gave me a black file for topping the class in her subject for the Mid Year Examinations, it's not the file that mattered. It's her observation that I like black that made my day when I received the file. I really appreciate people like that, especially if she is only a teacher.

Next week is a good week, I do only need to endure one day of schooling, to be precise, since my Tuesdays are usually crappy. Why, you inqusitive people might want to question? Well, thanks to the separation letter signed by our Minister Mentor Mr Lee exactly 42 years ago that we, Singaporeans, are able to enjoy this 3 day long holiday this year - 2007. Thanks Mr Lee!

Besides getting pseudo holidays in disguise for teachers to flung more work at us, I am still optimistic about having a great time. My friendly Earth friend - Jaspas, has decided to throw a party on the National Day itself, we are to completely ignore the Parade on TV and all the 42th hype, to stone around, drinking sips of Vodka, I dare to visualise. Very eventful.

Speaking of Earth friends, one of them is leaving the Authoritarian state of Singapore for the liberal nation of The United States very soon, treat that National Day Party as a swansong for him. Will miss watching morally repungant and psychologically peverse films with him, for sure.

Bah, I ran out of ideas.

Yayzeez, it's my 500th post.

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This is what I like to hear

For the past 26 years, 3 months, and 6 days we've listened to my mom talk about how much she wishes she could go back to college and finish her degree. And we wish that she could, too. But it's like it was never her turn. She was raising us and frequently working part-time when we were little. My dad joined the Air Force right after high school, so it took him a long time to get a bachelor's degree (and then a masters) through night-classes and distance ed. And then all the kids were in college and needing money for things like tuition, books, and million-dollar plane tickets home to AK at Christmas.

Only now, see, we've all moved out and young Master Coolboy is the only one still needing tuition assistance. So now it can be Mom's turn. But I think that after so long she's kind of psyched herself out a bit. And there are always these other things that seem more important at the moment. Because I'm not sure what those things are I'll just take a stand and say they're not actually more important than education. Stands like that are easiest to make when one doesn't have all the facts.

I've told her, though, that if she ends up not going back and getting her degree, especially now that she actually has enough time & money to do it, then she's not allowed to bring it up again. Ever. Because she will have lost her whining rights and it won't be anyone else's fault anymore. We're all about the tough love here.

So when I see a story like this one I want to make sure she sees it, along with anyone else who feels like it's too late for them to go back to school or change careers or just do something completely different. Brian May, the guitarist from Queen, has just turned in his Ph.D. thesis to the university he left 36 years ago. He's 60 years old. And his thesis was about Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud.

That's what I'm talking about, people.

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why it is important to dress up for a wedding

I just sent Jen & crew on their way back home and now I'm trying to decide which is more important before work--more sleep or a shower. Aaaaand apparently I'm choosing blogging, which just shows how committed I am to all of you. Or something.

Yesterday's wedding was lovely. I wore high-heeled shoes and spent the duration of the outdoor reception sinking backwards into the lawn. Later I wondered why I'd been so silly as to wear high-heeled shoes, only here's the thing: I don't go to these kinds of weddings looking to meet guys, because I know that's not going to happen. I do know, however, that I'm going to run into people I haven't seen in years--including old Young Women leaders, boys younger than me who are now married with three children, and girls I used to babysit who are now engaged. And we're going to play catch-up and they're going to report back to family and friends about who they saw and what everyone's up to. So it's much better to make the effort and put on the makeup and the smile and wear the shoes and hold my head high. Then people can come away thinking, "Huh, she still seems pretty put together and good-shoes-wearing. I wonder what's wrong with the men these days?"

That, to me, is much better than them coming away thinking, "Well there's a cat lady in the making. Tragic."

Me, Spitfire, and Lady Walking in Manner of Bigfoot

Jen and Spitfire

Savvy and Darling Bridesmaid

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Brevity is the soul of wit.

Must run, have to get ready for a wedding. Was stunned to read the announcement in the paper and see that the bride graduated from high school in 2006. I didn't realize she was that young, although truthfully to me she'll always seem about 13 years old. What can you do?

So anyway, must go spend hours grooming and possibly get Botox beforehand. Also The Preciouses are coming up as well and will be staying at my house so I need to go toddler-proof some stuff. My habit of leaving half-filled water bottles laying around didn't go over so well last time when they found them in my room and dumped them all over their blankets when they were supposed to be going to sleep.

In the meantime, I could use your help. Turns out my library has never really celebrated Banned Books week, which is one of my favorite weeks of all time. So I asked if we could please do some stuff and got the go-ahead. (Edgy, I'll be picking your brain on this one!) I'll need to be pretty low-key this time around because hi, small conservative town where a lady complained that we had Harry Potter temporary tattoos sitting out for kids to take. (She objected to the tattoos more than to Harry.) So it's going to be more about "Hey, Celebrate Your Freedom to Read" rather than "Hey, Read Subversive Literature Because You Can!" That'll be the subtext, though.

My plan so far is to do posters, some book displays, the "100 most frequently banned or challenged" list, and some drawings. I'd like to give away as prizes some books that have been challenged or that are to do with censorship (like The Giver or The Landry News or Fahrenheit 451). Can you take a look at this list and tell me which books you'd like to get as a prize, especially if you were a kid or young adult? Or if there are other good ones please feel free to add those too.

Thank you!

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