A little bit of PLP, a little bit of chinese

亲爱的《女友》，
我是你们最新的崇拜者(convert)。我是在一个月前，刚好周末有空就买了本《女友》来打发时间。没想到，一看就不能自拔，爱上了你们。我年轻时有学过裁缝与摄影，结婚后便没再如何地去追寻这些兴趣了。不过，当我看到你们一页页如诗如画的服装，便觉得每张照片都拍得很美，把那服装与模特儿的精华展现的淋漓尽致。瞬间，我对服装潮流和摄影的热忱又被点燃了。如果时光能倒流，也许我会执着地往理想迈进。我也被你们所介绍的精美高贵的手表给打动。我的儿子是个爱表之人，常常出国收集寻觅非一般的手表。看来有你们的好介绍，他也能留在新加坡满足他的恋表欲望。
谈谈你们的《当你跟伴侣只剩亲情》，我觉得这并非升华或升天，而是一种自然的过程。即使，男人在婚姻里没了爱情，也不必再“出巡民间”，另结新欢。亲情包含了爱情，也是爱情所剩下的回忆。爱情的回忆是可以让人回味无穷和死而无憾的。爱情的回忆也是一种爱。它虽然不是情窦初开，热情奔放的那种爱，但它的悠悠情意，阵阵芳香也能让人满足。爱是永恒，指的不是一段爱情会经的气时间的摧残而完好无损。它指的是爱情的回忆，它的余味在我们心里是持久的。过了数十载，也能在我们的心池中找到一段一段爱情的涟漪。在热恋当中的情人，那一刻的刻骨铭心，为了爱情而作出的重重蠢事或烂漫的壮举，是在心里找到永恒的。
热爱中的那种感觉，是由新鲜与超高的荷尔蒙所保持的。人一旦习惯了，荷尔蒙的效应也会变淡。这是自然规律。爱情变亲情的过程，相似进化论。亲情和稳定才是可以伴人终老的。只有在亲情里才能看到真理。他们说爱情是盲目的，没错，因为我们在热恋中做出的傻事，往往只有在事后情绪稳定头脑清醒后才发觉做错了。
有人觉得亲情少了爱情里的那份刺激和未知数。有人是为了那刺激与兴奋而活，没了就走人，去开启另一段爱情。大多数，这种人都永远找不到幸福，应为他们不懂得付出。在亲情里也能有爱情一般的刺激，只不过需要你下功夫，找出让生活更有新鲜感的事情。烛光晚餐，亲手做的小礼物，国外旅行都需要你的费心力血，不过所得到的满足会远超过付出的精力。
如果当爱情变成亲情时便另结新欢，那就是说当初的爱情只是虚情假意。又何必流泪，依依不舍呢？
碧琦

PS:
迷糊主编的佳静，其实你的风格在《女友》让我欣赏不已。迷糊到可爱也不容易，乱中有序也是需要功夫的！

Food, books, camera and jewellery

There is a reflection of a dreamy stare upon the 13" widescreen laptop of mine. That is a glaze devoid of feelings and yet able to expertly communicate the feeling I am having now. It is one of tiredness and a wish for the familiar comfort of my bed. Yet I am a few blocks away from home, sitting at Starbucks like a freeloader and indeed I am one.

I abhor the costly prices of beverages and food at Starbucks or Coffeebean. I still view myself as a customer because I have purchased something from them before and has been doing so occasionally. That should entitle me to occupy a chair and table in the establishment as and when I like.

I am debating whether to make my way to the Sitex exhibition. Perhaps I could pick up a good deal or two as the vendors are scramble to offload their mechandise during the final hours of the exhibition/sale. I have heard of Creative players going for as low as $10 or $20 as the sellers just wish to recoup whatever bare minimum they can. Or was it even lower.

The week was a delicious one as I scintillated my tastebuds with treats from many gourmet eateries. There were a couple of misses as well and they proved to be quite expensive too. Thanks mainly to Women's Weekly's one for one coupons, I was able to enjoy chicken rice at Chatterbox, pasteries at Bakerzin, Michelin Star pasta at Restaurant Bologna and so on.

The regret was definitely Window on the Park buffet which is merely a collection of average tasting hawker food. There is mixed rice with the standard dishes and some fanciful veal or mutton which really resemble burnt rubber. DIY laksa was fine and the nonya desserts collection was paltry. Even the chocolate fondue fountain could not temper the disappointment and sense of loss with the $40 bill.

Chatterbox was worth it for the novelty of uberexpensive chicken rice. It certainly delighted my palate as the chunks of cold, melt-in-your-mouth chicken meat entered my mouth. The warm and fragrant rice was a direct constrast which only served to complement the whole gastronomic experience. I have long learnt not to associate price with taste because very rarely if ever do astronomically priced food warrant the price tag. Value for money, I would go for an egg or Kaya toast at home any day. The view on the 38th level of Meritus Mandarin was unspectacular, simply because everywhere our sight falls on appears to be a construction site. The view was ameliorated when the sun went down and only the bright streetlamps and christmas lights reached my retinal.

Bakerzin never disappoint as I ordered an apple tart and a warm chocolate cake. It was a mistake to be eating both simultaneously though as the strong and sweet chocolate overwhelmed our taste buds, rendering the apple tart slightly sour and offbeat. However they are both princely in dessert terms when eaten on their own. The night was completed by a meal at NYDC. It was not part of SWW's promotion but I have vouchers for it so I might as well use them. Hawaiian Pasta definitely will rank high up in my food heaven. Speaking of which, the seafood pasta at Bakerzin deserves another look from me soon.

Speaking of vouchers, the $50 NYDC vouchers were used in 2 settings. I also managed to acquire in my possession a $50 Border gift card and $60 worth of Times vouchers. They were won by simple written submissions to the New Paper, CATS classified and Library Board. I think another $60 to $80 is on the way and I can make another onslaught at Times soon. My latest trip earned my 4 books: Eclispe, Un Lun Dun and two other books which I struggle to remember. I bought them because the authors won the Man Booker prize and the Pulitzer prize, accolades which the publishers unabashedly printed on the front of the books.

Then you have Ristorante Bologna. If ever I were asked for a definition of exceptional service, I would not hesitate to use RB as an illustration. Yet to just praise them for having wonderful waiters would grossly undermine the restaurant. The Squid Ink ravinalli with such generous helpings of fresh prawns mimicked the effects of ecstasy and heroin to a great extent. The bread they served before the main course was made to shine with their special olive sauce.

Mushroom Pot is something C would like. There is something similar with all steamboat places and to be successful you really need a good soup base. MP delivers on that count and the meat and vegetables added more brownie points to them. However I get tired of steamboat easily so I definitely will not return there by myself soon.

Last of all Friends at Chomp Chomp brought an end to my gastronomic adventure together with a high note. The ambience is wonderful and because the whole restaurant was empty even on a sunday morning, it felt like I had booked the place exclusively. I enjoyed a 3 course meal with each of the courses being just less than filling. That of course when added up do just nicely. The mushroom soup with white truffle essence was a mouthful. Truffle is actually a type of mushroom but you cannot be blamed if you detect a hint of dark cocoa in the soup, such is the richness of it. The perch fillet was just fried fish in a big plate but it was not unpleasant. Lastly the desserts consist of a marble cake and an upgraded($8 more) chocolate cake. The chocolate cake had sticky thick fudge oozing out of it and the cold ice cream almost made the whole experience spiritual.

I have no idea why I lunged into such a lengthy chronicle of my dietary memories. Perhaps it was a welcome break from my writeup. I am left with the last part on discussion and I really need to find extra motivation to finish it.

The picture I sent in for Spring@Northeast was selected and published. That earned me a cool Nikon S3 camera as a prize. I was just deliberating on whether to borrow a camera for my Japan trip. My present Kodak camera is a tad too bulky and sells me straight out as a tourist. If I want to utilize or practise my addictive bargaining skills, I should be better off appearing as a local. I would not look out of place in Japan I guess with my fair skin and oriental looks. Some people thought I was Taiwanese and M actually asked if I were from Korea.

My mother was also delighted when she saw the article I wrote on her behalf appear in Nu You magazine. Perhaps she was astounded by my chinese pensmanship or she was just really happy with the pendant which she would soon receive. That comes hot on the heels of her Risis Bamboo inspired Jewellery set. Since I am too poor to buy proper jewellery for her, earning them as prizes would not be too bad either.

So the debate within my head rages on. Sitex, writeup or just go home and wait to go for dinner with my parents?
Clueless, blur and unmotivated.

Blue Christmas Tree, Green Guanhongikum, Golden Union and White faces

Merry November and Looking forward to a great Christmas

One Rochester.

A cup of water. A cup of memories.

My night at the airport

Within my memories or brain, there is a very serene night at the airport. I am not certain if such an event actually happened but the feelings it inspires are very real. Let me describe the scene to you. It is a quiet and blue night, the airport runway is lit up by thousands of lamps and everything is very peaceful.

There are some movements by cargo trucks or technicians on the runway. Very subtle but because it is so quiet, their actions are magnified. The droning sound of a landing airplane is heard. The plane is then spotted faraway and gradually becomes bigger. It is a night where you can see the stars but not from the plane. However the ground looked like dense clusters of stars albeit very squarish from the plane.

The stars on the ground are golden in color interspersed with rectangles that are dark blue and very dull. Although the plane is very noisy while landing, there is a serenity contained in the night that overwhelms everything. I do not notice other passengers, not even my mother who was with me. I know in my subconsciousness they should be there.

Perhaps they are too tired. I suspect their tiredness comes not from the flight but a wariness of life and of the lonely night. I feel like I am among zombies. Not those vicious menacing ones but people without souls. They move around me in a slow blurness. I am in high contrast and richly colored.

AS I moved towards the arrival hall, everything seems so vivid and yet silent. No, they are loud, not audibly but visually everything is loud and clear. I know somewhere in B1 the hall is empty and there is an emptiness waiting for me to occupy. I know that I will find solitude in the level directly below mine.

Why am I writing this? Because it is a sleepless night for me again. How I long to return to this airport of my dreams. So I may enter the basement of loneliness. The nothingness within it will engulf me and I will finally find my peace.

I am going to Yokohama to watch Man U in action for their FIFA club world cup tournament semifinal. Of course me in any state of mind will not pay to go and watch the Red Devils. Blue is the color of the blood coursing through my veins. However this is an unexpected present and a free trip. It took me all of a minute to participate in the Sony Football Moments contest, a contest that requires you to vote for the best goal out of five selected moments. Naturally I chosen Samir Nasri's 2nd goal against Man U because it is indeed a work of beauty. I summed it up with the words: flowing football with a gush of quality at the end. And in the end I got a pair of tickets to Tokyo, accomodation for 2 nights and 2 tickets for the competition which is Chelsea had won in May, it would be the best thing that had happened since the invention of Katong Laksa. So well, this comes in second but it is still not bad. I probably have to start my revision like right now so I can spare that few days away frolicking in the white cold city of Yokohama and Tokyo.
I think I was wondering how wonderful it would be to be able to go to Disneyland. I think there is one is Tokyo, and I will be going there. If it is indeed in Tokyo. I should start digging my old Jap textbook out and relearn those hanakana or whatever those basic jap words and their pronunciation are. A 2-3 day itinery should not be too hard to plan. Without expenses like hotel and air tickets, I probably can spend a tiny bit more on food and sovenoirs over there. Not everyone will get one from me becauase I am not exactly that rich. Perhaps I should just get some for my parents. Since I am going with my uncle I probably will not have the chance to witness the sleazy side of Tokyo. I shall take plenty of pictures and visit all their famous attractions as I possibly can in 3 days. I will be watching the match on the evening of 18th.
Yesterday I went to watch Hell's Highway KM31. It is a mexican flick and another pair of free tickets. I still have not used my Dragon Hunters' tickets. There is only 1 screening time left at PS. I certainly hope it will still be around by next wednesday. Pray hard. Another way that was my 12th or 13th pair of free tickets this year. I guess it is pretty easy to win tickets to shows which are not that popular. Xueting did not find the Dragon Hunters interesting. My dad thought Hell Highway was crap. At least my mum was appreciative of Journey to the Center of the Earth. She got really anxious when the dinosaur started snapping at the heels of the kid who was looking for his dad or his legacy. Let me recall, the other shows I got free tickets for are: Black Magic 4, Dragon Hunters 2 pairs, Sing to the Dawn, Clones War, Boy A, Mama Mia, Babylon AD, 2 pairs of GV tickets which have no restriction on what I watch, a pair of Beyond concert tickets, 2 pairs of Misia concert tickets... Somewhere there.I think I missed out a couple of shows but it doesn't really matter.
I feel like eating rum and raisin ice cream. I cannot remember where I had last eaten it or whey is there such a craving. I shall buy it later after I have finished at least 2 chapters of my OBGYN notes. Today was a pain really. I had to lug around my laptop and two thick files worth of notes from NUS to KKH and back home. My back and neck is still aching from that exertion.
Someone mentioned that the prevalence of HPV is around 70 to 80 %. I was thinking ruefully that we as a batch probably end up in that 20% who get no exposure. It is kind of sad. After all my friend wisely said that we are like teapots, waiting to pour our tea into the teacups that are around. Stale tea doesn't taste too good.
So I shall spend an hour or so tomorrow to plan for the trip to Japan. Then many hours on studying the notes which I had reclaimed from the photocopy shop for a princely sum of 30++ bucks.
Life goes on.
Fucking hell. I am glad I copied this entry before attempting to upload. The connection almost took me for aride again.

I am really random.

I hate public hotspots. Forget to save whatever you are typing and the next time you click post, the computer fucking redirects you to log in again. What the fuck.
Anyway I am trying to recreate word for word a blog of a few thousand words because my fucking computer pulled this stunt on me.
I was just having a lazy afternoon where I do not feel like doing anything. I whisked a few hours away doing precisely that. Even when I feel like doing something, the hours spent on deliberation means I usually end up doing nothing. So I got to the point this time round. In the morning I wanted to go to the clinics but every one of them had a student in it already. The doctors only allowed one per person. One even told us that since its her first day, she prefers not to have anyone near her. Well suck thumb. It is their right. So not really feeling dejected, I trooped home for a rendezvous with my bed. I remained status quo till 2pm in the afternoon when my phone started ringing. It was the unwanted call. From the tuition agency asking for payment. LEt them wait. Ignore the calls. There is a perverse satisfaction in the whole evasion exercise. Eventually I will pay up. It is just a matter of time. I have plenty. Not money though. Something that is unlikely to change until next year when my students return to me.
It is not bad though, to be taking a break and engaging in some serious studying. Or some studying. I like getting phone calls from unknown numbers. Got a few from some insurance agencies and financial counsultancies. Then you have people from Serangoon Gardens Country Club calling to ask you to take up membership. Maybe if they pay me. So I told them to call me again in 2 weeks time. This has been going on for a few months. They are patient. Then I got another one. This time from the Singapore FLyers. Somehow I managed to get into their FIrst Anniversary celebrations list. I have no idea what that means. Just gave them my details. Last friday was the best. GOt a call from ESPN. Informed me I am in with a chance of winning a bonus prize for a trip to Japan. To watch Man U play in the semi finals of the World Club Championship. If Chelsea had beaten them in May, I would have been drooling till now. So if I do get it and since it is right smack in the middle of my study period, I can either sell it or enjoy a plane trip and visit some kawaiii girls before making my way back. Lets not count the chicks before they are hatched.
Talking about last friday, i attended a wedding of a cousin of this 4th Aunt that I supposedly have. The guy was a block of lumbering giant. I think his wife cannot speak English. No shame though about that. It is just education and the right opportunities. HOwever some of my relatives, alot of my aunties, in fact all of them are born with some hereditary ancephaly or had methane rich craniums. I think most of them do not know my name. Somehow they think they have a really intelligent nephew who is called YANhong. You know the thing about the old chinese folks, they are really bad at HanYuPingYing. In part they are heavily influenced by their mother tongue: Hokkien and the other reason is they couldn't complete their primary school education. Most of them are not working. Find a partially blind or tasteless businessman and get married and be a TaiTai. The only one who managed to find a job became a police. That is what happens if you do not study hard. Anyway they have farts for brains. I rather liked the sound of it. FARTS FOR BRAINS. They are now pursuing their hobby of imitating a barrel quite successfully. EMpty barrels. I guess the guys are not so much affected because they seemed to have some semblance of normality.
The wedding was held at FUrama Riverfront Hotel. Right beside 3 night clubs and I would not be surprised if they gifted the groom discount vouchers there for his bachelor's night. The wedding went quite well except my grandmother lost her ear rings. Someone said it was a heirloom, so I guess effectively she lost my earrings. The kind old lady is already 90 years old. Bless her and when I get my first pay check for an honest day's work, I will buy her another one. As long as she makes it a heirloom and passes it to the eldest son. The food was okay. Nothing spectacular. in Fact I have not been to a really memorable wedding. I guess we have to wait till I get married before things get really impressive. The gifts were quite poorly made. The colors were awful and the handphone holders still retained some of the plastic edges.
SPeaking of weddings, I had some inspirations about proposals. The kind that negotiates a contract with the girl of your dreams to become the woman of your life, the wife of the goon in your house and the mother of the kids if you are fertile. SO indeed such proposals tend to require the guy to be creative and romantic. The ingredients are usually the same:candles,romantic music, flowers, soft toys like teddy bears or hEllo Kittys, flowers, lots and lots of flowers: roses, tulips, lilies.. never crysanthemums even if they are are really cheap, chocolates, red wine, and a diamond ring. Of course the probablity of success is proportionately linked to the size of the diamond or the male phalanx.
Picture this: a hotel room, plenty of flowers and soft toys on the bed, the flowers arranged to form the words I love you or a heart shape. Gentle music playing in the background. Really romantic and soft ambience, dim orange light. That is the recipe of success. Change the settings, posh restaurant, candle light dinner, a bouquet of roses and a violinist playing a song for you two and you present her the diamond ring. I am glad I know a few musicians so getting a violinist to play for me should be no problem. I can even get it outdoors by the beach. If there is no violinist, perhaps I can go for a cello player! I know one as well. Another scenario: a trip on the boat along Singapore RIver. A nice dinner and floating candles forming a heart shape on the river. I have plenty more ideas up my sleeve but you have to pay for those. Too bad I will only do it once, what a waste of a whole host of splendid ideas. One note on the girl of your dreams, after marriage and giving birth, she will no doubtedly still remain the girl! But you might be having nightmares already.
I was just giving tips to my friend on how to celebrate his anniversary. LAst year I suggested a mini bbq for two by the beach. It worked like a beauty. Quite a simple idea, grab those disposable bbq trays and some seafood. You cannot really go wrong with bbq food. This year I suggested going to this teddy bear factory and make a teddy bear. The product of your love. So now you have added another layer to your relationship, you have created something together. Of course I would encourage him to translate that metaphor into physical actions. The time is ripe, the girl is right and the parents has left. Tian shi di li ren he.