Tuesday 29 March 2005

Baby When the Lights Go Out




First it's the toilet, now it's my bedroom light that went kaput. Hmmm...here's me, playin with my cam ard my scented and tea-light candles. the flames are so pretty but my focusing is pathetic.

Saturday 26 March 2005

Bossa Nova by John Pizzarelli

http://bijitsu.multiply.com/journal/item/248
Hey! I have to share tis with u guys. I am crazy over tis genre of music at the moment. Beautiful...

Oh, wanna thank users bijitsu for allowin me to put up the link here and legendsiew for helpin me out with my browser problem.

Hope u guys can access it :)

Sunday 20 March 2005

Lethargy & spurts of Enthusiasm

*that's wat i've been feelin for a couple of days.

*spent friday wif bf, lovely time despite a bad mistake on my part in the mornin

*COOL: the name of Ralph Lauren's latest fragrance. got a sniff of it and it's yummy! i love it...makes me feel like runnin out in the open and embrace the sun! sweet but not girly, it's more like get out have fun kinda sweet. gee i dunno how u gonna imagine dat ppl. hahah! go check out its roadshow at Paragon's atrium, if u r lucky enuff to get into the mini-bus the event coordinator hauled outside the shoppin centre's entrance, u'll win some perfume & moisturiser samples.

*Crumpler bags: the very reason why i went to Paragon, to accompany bf to check the bags out. happened tt the model he liked did not come in nice colours, told him we should check out those at Wheelocks Place instead. So off we go but the selection there was worse. So bf chose another model but the display one was its last piece. what luck! bf was a lil agitated, sent me off to chinatown for my bd lesson then he went home

*BD: learned tis new move called jack hammer. the move made us look like someone grabbed our body and shake us many times. errk...but actually it's like Beyonce's move in her "Crazy in Love" vid when she goes "Oh,oh oh oh,oh no no" at a lil faster speed. Got it right but not technically right. Gave some pointers to my classmates but they were not satisfied cos it's not like what the instructor taught despite the fact that the she told me it was fine. Whatever! At least i dun look like some strugglin chicken doin the move in the choreography :p

*Crumpler bag: bf decided to get his 2nd choice bag. off to paragon after class. i'm left exhausted from the walkin and the dancin. bf was pretty happy with his buy.

*Victoria's Secret: will be comin to Singapore! It's not exactly confirmed but Hafi told me that, when i met up with her today as she was fillin up its survey form. Yeay no need to pay expensive shippin cost for a piece of v-string anymore but hmph...everyone else in Singapore will have a piece of VS. it'll be so common. bah!

*SportsKaki Carnival 2005: The instructor from True Yoga was there, conducting a trial yoga session. Yikes! Juz reminded me of the experience i had at the club. I almost wanted to join in but recallin the massage, i stayed out of the work out area. But Hafi & I took part in the BodyCombat & BodyJam session. Woohh it has been quite some time since i've practised my jabs and kicks and did some hip hop dance. find it a lil hard to coordinate my moves today, slow responce, bad coordination. i usually get very perked up after goin for combat sessions or dancin, but i was left feelin wat i'm feelin rite now. and my arm aches. boohoohooo....i'm gettin lousy...i have a feelin that my fitness level has depreciated, not because i'm old cos i dun exercise much already!

*Raspberry Frapuccino: was a treat from Hafi after our work out! I like it! taste like strawberry shake...Yummm...thank u babe!

*ZARA: went to tis store and found a couple of nice clothes. tried on but all were a size too big. so i enquired abit abt them. here's how my conversation went.

Me: Hi, is there any more stock comin for these items?
Salesperson: Maybe
Me: Oh...so when will ur next stock be in store? Thursday(recalled tt another salesperson told me abt their new stocks comin in every thursday way back when the store juz opened, so gotta double check)?
Salesperson: Dunno...Maybe
Me: Riitee...@^^$%%@@$##(under my breath)

I was so pissed and juz too tired for any mockery! I know workin in such boutiques can be hectic but for God's sake, be professional lah! Pfft!

*after typin n readin thru my entry, i sound like i'm bein real whiny, petty n bitchy here. hmmm i'm juz too tired to even give a damn...

*yawn*

Thursday 17 March 2005

Problem Solving-the Female Way

Got tis from user:eduardo1dacosta. An interesting read for understanding the different ways the two genders think and act. Enjoy!
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Men attack problems. Maybe women understand that there's a better way.

By Deborah Tannen

In asking why there aren't more female newspaper columnists, Maureen Dowd confessed that six months into the job, she tried to quit because "I felt as though I were in a 'Godfather' movie, shooting and getting shot at."

"Men enjoy verbal dueling," said Dowd, who is the only female Op-Ed columnist at the New York Times. "As a woman," she explained, "I wanted to be liked — not attacked."

Dowd put her finger on one reason fewer women than men are comfortable writing slash-and-burn columns. But she didn't take her argument to the next level and question the fundamental assumption that attack-dog journalism is the only kind worth writing.

That is the blind spot that explains why women are missing from many of the arenas of public discourse, including science (as noted by Larry Summers of Harvard) and opinion writing. (The Los Angeles Times was recently criticized for not running more women on its opinion pages.)

No one bothers to question the underlying notion that there is only one way to do science, to write columns — the way it's always been done, the men's way.

There is plenty of evidence that men more than women, boys more than girls, use opposition, or fighting, as a format for accomplishing goals that are not literally about combat — a practice that cultural linguist Walter Ong called "agonism," from the Greek word for war, agon.

Watch kids of any age at play. Little boys set up wars and play-fights. Little girls fight, but not for fun. Starting a fight is a common way for boys to make friends: One boy shoves another, who shoves back, and pretty soon they're engaged in play. But when a boy tries to get into play with a girl by shoving her, she's more likely to try to get away from him. A recent New Yorker cartoon captured this: It showed a little girl and a little boy eyeing each other. She's thinking, "I wonder if I should talk to him." He's thinking, "I wonder if I should kick her."

Older boys have their own version of agonism, using fighting as a format for doing things that have nothing to do with actual combat: They show affection by mock-punching, getting a friend's head in an armlock or playfully trading insults.

Here's an example that one of my students observed: Two boys and a girl are building structures with blocks. When they're done, the boys start throwing blocks at each other's structures to destroy them.
The girl protects hers with her body. The boys say they don't really want their own creations destroyed, but the risk is worth it because it's fun to destroy the other's structures. The girl sees nothing entertaining about destroying others' work.

Arguing ideas as a way to explore them is an adult version of these agonistic rituals. Because they're used to this agonistic way of exploring ideas — playing devil's advocate — many men find that their adrenaline gets going when someone challenges them, and it sharpens their minds: They think more clearly and get better ideas. But those who are not used to this mode of exploring ideas, including many women, react differently: They back off, feeling attacked, and they don't do their best thinking under those circumstances.

This is one reason many women who are talented and passionate lovers of science drop out of the profession. It's not that they're not fascinated by the science, don't have the talent to come up with new ideas or are not willing to put long hours into the lab, but that they're put off by the competitive, cutthroat culture of science.

The assumption that fighting is the only way to explore ideas is deeply rooted in Western civilization. It can be found in the militaristic roots of the Christian church and in our educational system, tracing back to all-male medieval universities where students learned by oral disputation.

Ong contrasts this with Chinese science and philosophy, which eschewed disputation and aimed to "enlighten an inquirer," not to "overwhelm an opponent." As Chinese anthropologist Linda Young showed, Chinese philosophy sees the universe in a precarious balance that must be maintained, leading to methods of investigation that focus more on integrating ideas and exploring relations among them rather than on opposing ideas and fighting over them.

Cultural training plays a big role too. Mediterranean, German, French and Israeli cultures encourage dynamic verbal opposition for women as well as men. Japanese culture discourages it for men as well as women. Perhaps that's why Japanese talk shows rarely include two guests (they'll have one or three or more), to avoid the polarized debates that our talk shows favor.

This brings us to our political discourse and the assumption that it must be agonistic in method and spirit. If we accept this false premise, then it is not surprising that fewer women than men will be found who are comfortable writing political columns. But looking for women who can write the same kind of columns that men write is a waste — exactly the opposite of what should be the benefits of diversity: introducing new and different ways of doing things.

In a book about female lawyers, Mona Harrington interviewed successful female attorneys who said they were more successful when they were not being as aggressive and confrontational as possible but instead listened, observed and better "read" opponents. In taking depositions, they got better results by adopting a "quiet, sympathetic approach" (instead of grilling and attacking) so that witnesses tended to forget that the attorney deposing them was their adversary. But, Harrington noted, they couldn't tell this to potential clients, who assumed aggression was the only way. Instead, they had to emphasize that they were seasoned veterans of large aggressive firms who could slug it out with the best of them.

Of course a political columnist must be ready to expose wrongdoing, look critically at events and public figures and be ready to offend if necessary. But attack-dog journalism is not the only way to do this, and it probably is not the best way either.

As Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, has put it, we tend to think that if you're not an attack dog, you're a lap dog, taking everything politicians say at face value. But the true role of journalism should be a third way: a watchdog. And a dog who is busy attacking is not watching.

, Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, is the author of "The Argument Culture" (Random House, 1998).

Source: LA Times, 15 March 2005.

Wednesday 16 March 2005

My Organic Chemistry Phobia is Me?!








C...Carbon
You scored 32 Mass, 31 Electronegativity, 30 Metal, and 0 Radioactivity!
Nobody understands you... no, not even organic chemists. The social individualist. You like your attention... but not TOO MUCH attention. You are able to form incredibly close relationships with many individuals, but you don't really get along with preexisting groups. You value equality in relationships, and don't deal well with overly submissive or demanding people. Well, whatever... thanks for making life possible... oh, and cut the global warming out.





Link: The Which Chemical Element Am I Test on Ok Cupid


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Whoa the description of me in tis test is kinda accurate.

I tell u guys, Carbon is the most studied element in my Organic Chemistry module. So many chemical reactions evolve around tis particular element. Give me such a headache!! Organic Chemistry sucks! No...actually, i suck at it. Boohoohooo...




Monday 14 March 2005

A lil Psychedelic touch


Stepped into Ikea today and boy, some things i juz wanna take me home! Bf went on a computer chair and mattress tryin spree! he sat on a certain chair and remained there in his own comfort for quite awhile before he plonked himself on some beds, tossed and turned like they are his own beds! So cute...takes me back to one moment of our first date, when we were at Marks & Spencer, haha his spontaneity is juz soo.... *heart flutters*

as for me, i went gaga over a globular lamp, some reddish/bluish globular and liney pillowcases and quiltcovers and especially One room decor. I can't quite decorate my room exactly like it BUT i got myself a piece of it-> strips of plastic draping thing for the door! k i dun think u understand wat i'm sayin here, so i'm showin u wat it looks like below. i so Love it! tis coupled wif music by Lush and candle lite...ahhh perfect chill out ambience! Oh cosyness!

But my mum was not too pleased the last time i got myself a groovily loud bedsheet and now tis? hahah i dunno how she'll react when she sees it later. heck, i love it, it's my room anyway ;p

We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine...

Mental Notes on a Sleepless Nite

Hah! Make dat mornin!

I'm havin trouble sleepin, no point tossin and turnin on my bed and lookin at the no longer glowin "Glowin Stars" on my ceiling...so here i am, lookin thru my mails, respondin to someone who needs assistance to modify his page and typin away in my journal, when i am supposed to be sound asleep. Maybe it's stuff tt's happenin ard me tt got me all awake. Words juz keep pourin in my head, flashes of things, thinkin abt life and ppl i am involved with. and most of all, abt me, my actions, my position, my future, my life...gonna jot down some random quotes/short notes/questions here, pls dun mind me.

*sensing one's feelings but not able to act on it, is as good as bein insensitive

*one can be great in academics/socialising but when comes to tending ppl's feelings, tt same great person can be a total twat! how come, wtf is wrong wif such person??

*it's not enuff to be juz nice to ur partner/parents/friends, there's a need to b able to give emotional security, emotional stability and make that person feel special & truly loved

*to make one feel special, go make a difference, walk the extra distance. but which direction??

*should one expect? only to noe tt somehow, more than half the time one will be disappointed? isn't it better to Anticipate, so that one dun get disappointed, but Gain a new perspective and in return do not feel hurt...since somethings are juz beyond one's control?

*why does one makes the same mistake over and over and over and over and over again?? too stupid? too lazy or juz can't be bothered to learn?? wat if it's inborne? like the sayin goes "the guys dun get it??" well, i dun get it either n it's sickenin!

*one loves another yet keep on hurtin that other. can tt be called love? or is that love to torture??

*does one noes, when he is ready to be married? is there such thing as the time will come? in fact, is there even a need to be ready to get married? juz look at those match-made couples from the past, they last.

hmmm some of the questions i can't seem to answer. juz too Grey all these, my head's cluttered... o_0

Tuesday 8 March 2005

Singapore Street Directory

http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg
Very handy and efficient online street guide. I especially love the Bus and Car routing, which tell how to get from one location to another in Singapore.

The website also provides maps for streets of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Taiwan.

Wednesday 2 March 2005

Yeay!


Finally I'm back in School! First lesson was on Protein Purification. My lecturer is juz so blabbersome, as always. And i have 2 modules taught by him for tis semester. Oh man...here we go again...

When i came back from class, i finally received my results slip for last semester's exams. I dunno whether to rejoice or sulk, cos I scored CQ for my Plant module. CQ=E for ur info. Hmmm...but there's hope to get a P(ass) for that module, cos I have not gone thru the practical sessions. Ooo i hope i can make it!!

So much for schoolin stuff, guess what?! My Kuku Cantik today man!! Well, i went to Marlini's shop and got myself a manicure and pedicure and my nails are lookin gorgeous! I gave her a hard time cos the colour I chose was a lil hard to paint, the texture was a lil too dilute. But she was so patient and did a wonderful job! Look at my nails now, So shiny, no streaks and i've even got some "bling bling" on my toe!! Wheeee~

Thank u Mar and Kak Yan (see photo) for fussing over me and Hafi, for photographing my nails ^_^

Tuesday 1 March 2005

Cuzzins Colour Riot




Objective: a psychedelic 70s feel for the pics cos my cuzzins are so funky but the original pics were so *blah*

Procedure: meddled with Photoshop again and tried to experiment abit with some foreign functions. From it, i learnt how to add layers and change fill effects.

Results: Kinda glad pics turned out pretty groovy! For me, objective IS met.

Comments: are welcome :)

27.02.05 Sweet Sunday




Hand Modellin->Lunch@Long John Silver->A Very Long Engagement@Cineleisure->Heeren->Tsunami Aftermaths Photo Exhibition@Paragon->CK Tang lingerie fitting room->Bugis Village->Home

Thanx for a girly good time ^_^