wedded bliss 12:38 AM

congratulations to i & s, for taking that huge step towards commitment, for promising to be best friends for life and for learning to find yourselves in each other in the days ahead!

t'was lovely to be back in shalom although i wish it hadn't been under such an awkward circumstance - awkward because weddings always generate that dreadful hair-raising question which plague singletons:

"so when is it your turn ha?"

fortunately, there were many people who wanted to say hi during the tea-reception so i was able to continuously weasel out of conversations when they began to veer towards the inevitable. and with most people distracted by the happy couple, i was able to gobble down 3 cupcakes before fleeing the scene.

dinner at the ritz was a lovely affair with beautifully dressed and coiffed patrons strolling about the grand ballroom. i managed to evade the dreaded topic until one eagle-eyed acquaintance pounced on me with an admonishment to stop making my poor parents wait. that blip notwithstanding, i enjoyed inventing mock violent scenarios with the company in between the fine courses. the elongated pace of dinner was a stark contrast from the snappy wedding ceremony the day before but, hey, i'm free, free, free today, so it's all peachy.

night @ the museum 2 1:55 PM

i hadn't intended on watching this, but with d in town and plenty of time to kill, we decided to after mulling over the limited choices.

it's tough (and unfair) to assess this movie as i was snoozing on and off throughout. i didn't catch the 1st one so it was harder to appreciate the dynamic among the original ensemble right off the bat. the premise is simple to follow and the action/comedy that ensues weighs heavily on a few key and new characters. however, the dialogue isn't as sharp as it could have been resulting in jokes that wear out their welcome quickly or scenes which try too hard to be funny.

with limited screen time for the returning cast and forced writing for the new, the whole movie feels disjointed and uneven. it's suffice to say that the best bits are all found in the trailer. thanks, d, for the company and for sharing my big bag of calories chips.

sigh 5:57 AM

it's late, or rather, early morning and once again i'm at the tailend of a sleepless nite. this is getting annoying.

~ sent from my e63

the spotlight 3:19 AM

michael jackson, one of pop music's most acclaimed and enigmatic stars for nearly 40 decades, passed away on thursday leaving behind a legacy of startling musical talent and a colorful public life mired in constant controversy.

however, what i remember most is the incessant criticism and ridicule that was heaped upon him over his appearance and behavior. he was a laughing stock the world over as tales of his "strange" and "bizarre" exploits made the news again and again.

yet, everyone has a story to tell; i just wonder if he ever had the chance to tell it fully and truthfully? and even if he did, would there have been sympathy and understanding shown, or would he have been further mocked into his famed reclusive hideout?

yes, the teary condolences are now pouring in alongside acknowledgments of his genius, but when he was alive, it was almost as if everyone preferred him dead.

masochism 8:15 AM

i really, really want to adore touchscreen phones. i simply love the way they exude such effortless minimalistic chic. as proof of my adulation, i lovingly went through the htc touch, the lg viewty, the samsung f480, the nokia 5800... and simply despised how slow and inaccurate texting and navigation was on each of those beautiful phones!

what could be more devastating?

so now i've decided, in utter disillusionment no less, to return to the tried-and-tested keypads of yore. the nokia e63, featured here, replaces the 5800 as my internet-on-the-go. at least now i can blog and email without fighting the urge to smash something. hopefully.

clumsiness is me 4:54 AM

woken up by a jarring sms alert, i decided i was thirsty. too lazy to flick the light switch, i fumbled about in the dark and ended up dropping my mug in the kitchen with a shockingly resounding crash. it's a wonder the whole neighbourhood didn't get up in a fright.

so i had to turn the light on to clean the mess up and now i'm wide awake. oh well, might as well slip on the running shoes and start the day early for a change.

transformers: revenge of the fallen 10:22 PM

the cruel curse of sequel-hood is inevitable comparison. with expectations running rabidly high against the jaw-droppingly fun outing from 07, this summer offering needs to impress every single step of the way.

while it still retains the core winning formula of eye-popping mechanical transformations and massively destructive brawls, the plot around the action was severely weighed down by the introduction of numerous redundant characters, both human and robotic. the result is a visual spectacle that is also a poorly-told and overly-lengthy story of repetitive screaming matches among fleeing humans and even more repetitive fisticuffs between the warring robots.

if you enjoy a mind-numbing sensory overload, this is your movie. thanks for the company, s.

making room 6:17 PM

surveying my room: dusty stacks from the office still untouched since the day they were brought home, an amalgam of papers and wires all over the writing table and little untidy mounds of books everywhere. i think i need to get rid of some stuff.

so began the process of realizing i actually had 3 phones stashed away in my shelf where all the empty boxes of tech toys are sent to collect dust (or await re-sale). so i put up a couple of ads online last night and am heading out for the first transaction already.

bye bye.

late night report 2:44 AM

so the breaking news for the evening has to be the brand-spanking new cluster of h1n1 cases discovered right in pasir ris, riverlife church to be exact - which is mere minutes away from me.

the prospect of catching this famed flu doesn't particularly alarm me. in fact, i think the quarantine, as long as it doesn't involve some form of house arrest, would be much welcomed with open arms and a grateful smile. some alone time away in a resort sounds good, no matter the reason for being there. well, i can hope, can't i?

anyway, on to other newsworthy snippets. i had to give my legs a break today from all the running i have been subjecting them to lately, so i felt kinda lousy for not burning any calories and attempted more push ups as a poor substitute of sorts.

today's evening program was dinner at a's where he demonstrated steady improvement on his soon-to-be signature culinary offerings of pasta and chicken-wings stew. special thanks also to d & c for introducing us to the spectacular delight of salted-caramel macaroons. the rest of the gang enjoyed champagne and even durians as the night progressed while i sulked alone in front of the tv. thankfully, 2 rip-roaring rounds of cranium raised the mood bar considerably and i drove home humming random tunes in my head.

why? 2:46 PM

painting the ceiling with a small hand brush perched atop a step ladder is really hard work; even in as claustraphobic a space as a bathroom. scraping the old paint off prior has left a gigantic flaky mess behind and i also succeeded royally in getting gunky oil-based paint all over my hands which had threatened to dry into some sort of cast.

i'm not so sure all this trouble was worth it.

i love you, man 5:22 PM

this "bromance" has received lots of positive attention, but i failed to see what the fuss was about.

from the time the 2 male leads get together the movie peaks and plateaus, never going past mildly amusing the rest of the way. despite a fresh premise and likable cast, the end result is pleasant at best, and even mundane, but in a good way, at worst.

lookin' up. thank you. 9:06 PM

it was an unbelievable scorcher of a day, no sane person should be outdoors, but there i was, all the way at central lunching with old friends and new.

the highlight of the torturous trip there was a gladly-received comment from r about my weight loss. her astonishment resulted in me doing mental cartwheels of glee, after which i proceeded to celebrate by wolfing down a 5-course luncheon topped with double desserts of gui-lin-gao and mango pudding.

i think i'm allowed a little splurge!

the high must have spilled over to the rest of the pm as i worked assidiously on tweaking my resume in the air-conditioned sanctuary of coffee bean with a frosty frappe by my side; or perhaps it was impending brokedom which played a (small?) factor in urging me forward. quickly.

the day ended with a fantastic stopover at refresh where my therapist worked extra hard on my stubbornly-knotted lower back.

what a nice day. i must not get used to this.

state of play 8:31 PM

i've always enjoyed a good whodunit, and this one, endowed with an intriguing overarching political premise is clever, relentless and quite gripping.

the multi-layered story unravels like a loose ball of yarn and one has to pay attention to the names, organisations and motives which tie them all together. the mounting tension created by each revelation and red herring is deliciously palatable due to the deft direction and effective ensemble made infinitely sweeter by the inclusion of rachel mcadams. however, be warned that this verbose and thoughtful work will not appeal to those who need death-defying chases and loud explosions to be entertained.

blood: the last vampire 7:27 AM

i had my misgivings about this one but i chose (badly) to ignore them.

korean sweetie-pie jun ji-hyun makes an appealing lead as the lethal vampire-killer but that's about all this movie has going for it. typical for the genre, the flimsy plot is incidental to the action which delivers a fatal blow for being surprisingly yawn-inducing despite numerous scenes of artistic slicing and dicing. the biggest disappointment, however, was saved for last in the final "climatic" battle which left me rather incredulous at how quickly it ended.

don't make the same mistake i did of watching this.

just one more step 3:25 AM

just in from tv and junk food nite at a friend's place. time 2am. feeling buzzed and a little guilty from the indulgence, i went for a run.

that's right. a month after starting power walking, i've finally brought it up a notch to actual running. granted, it doesn't take me long to be out of breath and i slow down to a brisk walk, but i pushed myself to repeat the cycle again. and again.

an hour later, with loud music still pumping through the earphones, i reached home feeling really satisfied.

oh yeah.

topsy turvy 4:21 AM

the months of turning in at odd hours and waking up noontide has finally caught up and kicked my lazy ass hard. my sleep schedule is totally messed up.