Singapore is so much better than the other country. The Singapore train that we took back was so much better than the M train we took there. We only had to pay a little more (S$6 vs RM$20 for the ride back) to enjoy the comfort of fixed seats, air-condition and a more speedy ride rather than fear of losing seats, stuffiness (enclosed train without aircon) and squeeziness. Many other things were also better.
I brought back half of the things I brought there. We had to carry alot of food stuff and things for the kids and the guys even had to carry many cans of food (which were mostly not eaten as Grant cooked most of the meals with groceries bought there). My sports shoes got dirty and wet after the trip to the waterfall and they didn't dry even after 2 days so I simply left them there.
Kaoz, unaired dirty wet clothes are one of the stinkiest things I have ever touched. The weather there is weird. I hung my t-shirt for more than 2days and it was still damp.
I swept and mopped so much (for a person who doesn't do much household chores like me) that my palms hurt. haha. Slacker.
Grant talks alot of crap, like for the tsunami incident, he was saying its no big deal, not even 1% of the human population of 6 billion...
And there were disgusting mayflies and many other kinds of insects. I still feel them now.
Ouch, my bottoms still ache.
I think I always take very long to warm up to people of my age. I didn't really chat with my Endau Rompin mates until the train ride home when we randomly picked our train tickets and I got a seat next to Wei Bin. Luckily he could talk alot, so we were engaged in a conservation almost throughout the whole 2+ hours. Actually he was doing most of the talking. hahas. The others weren't talking much except for PeiLing and Ken who both kept turning around. They really behave like a couple - the huan xi yuan jia type. hahas. kk, back to the train ride. Initially I thought it would be quite awkward and very boring for him to sit with me, 'cos I'm the type who can't start a conversation. If this did not happen, I think I'll leave the 4-day trip as if I had been though a 4-minute one. hahas, abit exaggerated, but we really didn't form as close bonds as we should have.
It was the same case as for NKF WA - I didn't really start crapping with them till the last week of the attachment, and it was only during our meet-ups after the attachment (twice for the videos and once for the party) that we got to know each other more.
heys!!!! What's wrong man! My post keeps disappearing before I get to save them. Irritating! GRRRrrrrr
Now I have to type again... Arggghhh
kk, I rmb le:
Except for Jia Chien 'cos we have mutual friends (Janice and SingYin) so I found it easy to talk to her since the start. I think the greatest change in my perspective was that of Teck Kuan 'cos initially, the first time I met him - we coincidentally took the bus to NKF on my 1st day - I was abit scared of him. But now, the few of us (JC, TK, Wei Zhe and me) can be very lame among one another.
whoas, its already past 12.30am on New Year and the sms network is still jammed. hahas, reminds me of today exactly a year ago, when we were at esplanade.
Okays, now to list what happened.
Day 1 (27/12/04)
We were supposed to meet at 8.30am at Tanjong Pagar MRT station but I was 15 min earlier, just after Ken. They kept reminding us not to be late and I was quite paiseh 'cos I had arrived the latest - 20 minute late - for the briefing the Tuesday before.
Then there were lots of waiting, which was just the beginning of the dozens of hanging-around-doing-nothing periods there were during the trip, like what Yazeed correctly pointed out during one of such periods. Sounds like it was quite slack but no, it was because the house was so small and there was really nothing to do when were not allocated a job.
Okay, so we boarded the train which was supposed to leave at 9.35am but only left at 10am 'cos another train from Langkawi arrived. Before that, we had to go through the customs and this officer (do not imagine those you usually see at Changi Airport, imagine one at a decades-old un-airconditioned train station with rusty gates) questioned me why I had so many (21) sets of foam-made alphabet. I couldn't say we were going there to set up a school 'cos Grant told us not to and I fumbled awhile before he let me pass without getting a proper answer after frightening me.
I sat with Alexis, Pei Ling's eldest sister, an accountancy undergraduate for this near 4-hour train ride. I slept through a large part of it 'cos the train conditions were bad and I was tired. My bottoms were aching after 2+hours and the squeeziness of the seats and the people without seats standing around with frowns and all the noise didn't help at all. However, it was better than I had imagined when Grant and Pei Ling described to us the train conditions before that.
Upon arrival at Bekok train station, we proceeded to a local restaurant to have lunch (Grace, Alexis, PeiLing and I got to sit in the small bus-like van with all the baggage while the others walked). Actually the "restaurant" was more like those you see on TV in the shows about the '60s, just that this was more on the 'house' side of a shophouse. To make up for the disturbing houseflies, there was a 14" TV showing the cable programme, planet animals, though I would rather have neither.
Grant was telling us this would be the best meal 'cos after that it will be all his bad cooking but it turned out to be a lie 'cos his culinary skills are good.
Next, all the NJCians (PeiLing, Ken, WeiBin, Dax, Yazeed and I) took the small bus-like van again to the house (a small hall cum dining area, a small kitchen, a small toilet, 3 rooms) and spent 2+hours cleaning it up (moving the remaining rusty junk left behind by the previous owner into one of the rooms; sweeping out all the dust, dirt, hundreds of mayflies wings, cobwebs etc; mopping the floor with the 2 dirty mops - I was in the toilet changing the pail of water dozens of times 'cos the water turned black everytime the mop came back. Oh, I haven't mentioned the floor was concrete, except for one room which had some plastic covering) while the adults went shopping for groceries. They took real long - only returned when we were done cleaning up.
The rest of the first day was free-and-easy, so we played cards, took turns to bathe, had dinner at 9pm, played more cards, and heard some scary death stories that we were supposed to ask Ken yes-no questions so that we can solve the mystery. Then we had to clean up the hall again 'cos so many mayflies and insects had entered. We got to sleep at about 11.30 and the night was horrendous. More mayflies (attracted by light) invaded the hall where most of us were sleeping. There were two rows - 1st row nearer to the door and window beside the door were Ken (at the side), Yazeed, Weibin and Dax. 2nd row: Me (also at the side), PeiLing, Grace and Grant. Mayflies were buzzing all around us and I had to hide my head in my sleeping bag. Still it didn't keep me from awaking repeatedly and I was awake much of the night. I only found out the next morning that Ken had moved into the room where adult couples Lay Keng and Swee Beng were sleeping (together with the canned foods and stuff for kids) because a swarm of mayflies had enter through the window beside the door.
Day 2 (28/12/04)
We woke up at 8am and had breakfast before the 6 NJCians and Alexis spent 3hours washing up the school (its actually just a concrete-floored hall about the size of two classrooms, with a small toilet and a small storeroom). It seemed small but it was difficult cleaning up and there was no water supply in the school due to some problems so they had to connect hoses across the sand, grass, slopes and roads to a house i estimate more than 50m away, and the water supply kept getting cut-off when ever a vehicle passed and rolled over the hoses, breaking the connection and they had to keep going up the slopes to reconnect the tubes. I was scrubbing the floor with detergent (fortunately Grant had bought scrubs attached to poles) followed by sweeping the water out (there's no drainage system). Alexis, Wei Bin and Dax were scrubbing the windows but the 2 guys got to slack abit 'cos the adults went out to get more groceries.
At about 12, we got shooed away by representatives of the village head because according to Yazeed (they spoke Malay so he went out to speak to them), they weren't informed about the settling up of the school and the village head was unhappy about it, thinking we were up to something bad. Yazeed said the woman was really sarcastic, saying "Go, go wash the school!" so we had to return to the house and wait for Grant to return before things worsen.
When Grant returned, we went back to finish up the cleaning while he explained to the woman that he had gotten approval from the local authorities.
In the late afternoon, we went in the van again to a small waterfall. It was raining but fortunately, there was a wood hut on stilts for us to take shelter (we stood outside hut on the short extension) while waiting for the adults to come in the 2nd trip as the van was too small for one trip. When they finally came, we had to walk through the forest in the rain to the waterfall about 10-15 minutes away. The ground was muddy and there was this part where we had to cross over some slippery stones. Then just before reaching the waterfall, we had to cross a wooden bridge. Alexis was the most afraid of heights and furthermore it was wet and there were holes in the bridge which was less than 2feet wide and only had handles on one side.
At the waterfall, we went into the area that was level and had water flowing at a slower rate. I was quite scared 'cos I was barefooted and there were rather sharp rocks and I-don't-know-what underneath. It was generally neck-deep but some parts were deeper and I drank a gulp of water. It didn't taste as bad as swimming pool water but the feeling wasn't good. We climbed abit up the rocks on the other side which we just beside the waterfall and the rocks were real slippery I nearly cut myself when I slipped. Luckily I didn't.
Ken got adventurous and climbed onto the rocks in the middle of the waterfall. Yazeed and Dax also followed and I was a little scared that there would be an accident.
Anyway, it was an experience, though it would be much better if I had footwear on.
Then as I was going to cross the bridge, I felt something between my leg and my foot (I forgot which side). It was a leech! Initially I wasn't sure it was a leech 'cos it was rather tiny and the leech I had in my mind was fatter and longer. On the hike back to the road, more people got leech bites. Fortunately, there weren't that many leeches as the previous trip that Pei Ling had described.
Back at the house, we took turns to bathe again before we (everyone except Grace and Grant) went to paint the school (Lay Keng and Swee Beng had drawn most of the outlines in the afternoon while we were washing the pavement around the school). We had to us torchlights for the 5minute walk (it will be reduced to 2minutes the next time when the next group cuts a path across the long grasses so that it would no longer be necessary to walk on the sand, grass, gravel and road) to the school as it was pitch dark. We completed about 20% of the painting before having dinner at 10+ and continuing to paint. Initially we had decided among ourselves to continue only the next day but a few words from Grant and we continued painting till 12+.
The second nite was better as we took precautions and close all the windows but there were still mayflies and I only awoke once but that was to put myself into my sleeping bag (I had been sleeping on instead of inside it). Dax and Wei Bin joined Alexis to sleep in the room when our bags were 'cos mayflies didn't really fly in there as the lights were spoilt (all the lights in the rooms and the toilet were spoilt).
Day 3 (29/12/04)
We were supposed to wake up at 6 so that we could go for the morning hike at 6.30am. I was the last person to wake up at about 6.15am (piggy me). Then it was raining so the hike was cancelled and we hanged around till 8+ before we had breakfast then continue painting the other half of the school. It was still drizzling so our ponchos were of use. After lunch, there was more painting and we even painted our Green Link logo. Then Ken and Pei Ling got into a paint fight. It was very funny and I would have caught on video on my digicam if I weren't concentrating on a painting job.
Oh, I haven't mentioned, the paintings were of the a train, a train station, flowers, trees, animals, a pond, insects, signs and logos. Almost everything I painted were minor jobs like grass, flowers, branch etc. The best one was the Green Volunteer Network logo 'cos Peiling and Ken complained it shouldn't be so nice otherwise our Green Link logo wouldn't be outstanding enough.
In the late afternoon (it was still drizzling and we weren't expecting the kids to come), 2 kids appeared near the school but they didn't dare to come in. Then awhile later, 3 appeared again. One entered but the other 2 were very wary. In the end the first day of school had 4 students and no proper lessons 'cos only Yazeed and Ken (M'sian) could speak Malay and Grant didn't come over 'cos he said he was 'cooking'. When he finally did, the kids, had left.
In the evening, everyone except Alexis, PeiLing, Yazeed and me walked to a river about 15min away to bathe as water supply from the reservoir to the house had been cut off in the afternoon and water supply from the water tank was running low (this was much due to excessive usage as Grant kept emphasizing the water is free). The few of us didn't want to go 'cos we though going there wouldn't make ourselves any much cleaner since we'll get dirt on us again on the way back, and we didn't perspire much in the day.
Just before they returned, I found out that water supply from the reservoir was back though everyone was still wary of our usage cos this supply is only connected to the basin. Water to the toilet was from the tank.
Then we had dinner before we went to the school again just for a short while to do the final bits. Back in the house, Alexis and 5 of us NJCians played asshole dai di (Dax didn't 'cos he doesn't play cards) for more than an hour before it was time from dessert.
Oh, I haven't mentioned, we had to sweep and mop the hall floor every night before we sleep 'cos it just gets dirty so easily you step on something (either dirt or bug) almost every step you take.
The third night was the best - I slept well straight till the morning. We slept at about 12 and took the best precautions and I use clothes and my towel as 'cushion' to protect my poor tailbone from more pain caused by contact with the concrete floor.
Day 4 (30/12/04)
We had to wake up at 6 again so that we can go on the morning hike. This time I woke up soon after the first few (Grant and Grace) did though I continued lazing in my sleeping bag since Pei Ling was still asleep (I was between her and the wall).
We left the house before daybreak and after a near 2-hour bird-watching walk (the scenery was very beautiful and when we only photograph the greenery and the skies, you can't tell that the ground is so muddy and dirty), we went back to pack up and have breakfast before the 7 of us left for Labis train station while the adults took another vehicle and stopped by Bekok to buy stuff. Labis was the one after Bekok so the van-ride there was much longer (more than half an hour compared to 10 minutes) and Ken was taking sneak photos of everyone sleeping. Fortunately I was also playing with my cam so I didn't fall asleep.
When the adults also arrived at the train station, Grant suggested going to a prata store across the railway tracks across a road since there was nearly an hour before the train was scheduled to arrived (at 11.45am).
It was drizzling and I was the only one who put on my poncho before we went over. Roti prata in Msia is called roti canai.
Anyway, the train was more than half an hour late so Grant was criticising alot about the Singapore government and stuff and everyone was listening to him. There was also the family of the guy who had been chauffeuring us around and Lay Keng was playing with his daughter initially. I think the Orang Asli are all small-sized people, but I don't know why.
So the train finally came at 12+ and I was surprised by the great improvement of train conditions. The door between carriages was automated (though I soon found it irritating as it open every few seconds as people kept walking around) and the whole train gave me that wonderful feeling of basic Singapore standard that I missed over the past four days. The passengers also looked more well-to-do and civilised (they were very quiet. haha, that's what I call civilised..)
Then like I said before, WeiBin and I were talking. More than an hour later Pei Ling took a video of us saying our feelings about the trip for the upcoming CCA carnival. I viewed it earlier on (I have all their memory cards 'cos I'm supposed to collate the photos and videos) and it was really funny. Its also I think the first time I got to hear myself on a video and although I have known all along that my voice sounds childish, I never knew it was really that high. Its like if someone hears the voice I hear myself and what people hear, you can never tell its the same person. I kind of find my voice that people hear disgusting. haha. My own voice.
kk, its already nearly 5am on 1st Jan. I am supposed to be at Yio Chu Kang MRT station in 5 hours and I just spent the past 3+hours blogging.. Time to sleep. I hope I don't oversleep!
wishing; 12/30/2004 06:24:00 PM
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
'09
-Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (another good read from Deveraux)
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (gosh such vivid descriptions! very well written book. i liked d theme of friendship and the realness of the story)
'10
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (a must-read!! i love the expressed thoughts of the protagonist, esp those about friendships, and the writing style - it seems like she's telling me her story specifically to me)
How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill (an inspiring read, for emotional liberation and greater joy in life)
Reading
on hold
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Other Recommended Readings by Marc
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.
Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée. Life was good. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.
Self-note: Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w TK, GH & SH
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherm (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w WLing, JT & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherm (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherm (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherm, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherm (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
30Sep08: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" w Sherm (i didn't like it as much as i thought i wld when i saw the ads)
31Dec08: "Yes Man" w Mom (inspiring and funny)
11Feb08: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" w Mom (not as impressive as i thought it wld be)
1Jul09: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" w Yumei, YY & Matt (the best thing was the soundtrack. heh.)
14Aug09: "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" w Joyce (it was awesome! best action movie i've ever watched)
17Aug09: "Food, Inc." w SYL & RuiQ (learnt some stuff abt the American food industry but it was a bit boring and not worth the $10)
22Sep09: "The Time Traveller's Wife" w WB, VanD, WLing, CHL, Irene, VanQ, Mf, Pg (i liked it. having read the book really helps w udsg)
21Nov09: "Gokusen" w Mf, Eva, Tony, Sarah (funny inspirational movie)
24Dec09: "十月围城" w Tony, WLing, VanQ (action action and a bit funny? tony criticised the plot. my fav scene was the running n jumping through the crowd along the five-foot ways w/o cuts)
30Dec09: "Sherlock Holmes" w Irene, Tony, Sweetee (my favourite genre of books made into a movie - what else can be more cool? acting effects humour excitement suspense all in)
12Jan10: "Avatar 3D" w Mom (didn't appreciate the digital effects which everyone wowed about. content etc was so-so. cathay's 3D glasses were too heavy for me)
8Feb10: "The Truman Show" w Ky n sis n Yuhshin (a must-watch. very thought-provoking, funny. reminder to be spontaneous and create your life the way you want, instead of falling into a typical routine
14Feb10: "New York, I Love You" w Mom (I loved it! a good couple movie with meaningful pointers to keep it going. but i think some stories could be more developed)
16Feb10: rewatched "The Pianist" (still find it good, tho i still feel first viewings are the best)
17Feb10: "Valentine's Day" w CHL n WB (laughed throughout - a feel-good movie; liked the fact that the various stories binded tog so well with the little surprises here and there, vs NY ILU in which each story was separate)
20Feb10: "赤壁二" w Addy, Karen, Sharon, SJ (should have watched the first one first cos i ended up not knowing who's who and what's happening and had to keep asking :/ and couldn't pay attn.. if not i think it should be a pretty good movie..)
4Mar10: "Alice in Wonderland 3D" w Mf (i found the 3D effects of this @ CCK Shaw SO much better than Avatar @ The Cathay =/ and the movie was much more enjoyable too! - cheered a sad me up :)) favourite quote - the Mad Hatter: “You used to be much muchier before. ... You have lost your muchness.”)
18Mar10: "Nodame Cantabile" w Irene, Mf (i thoroughly enjoyed some of the orchestra pieces - SO impressive! the expressions of the actors were really amusing :D)
23Apr10: "Ice Kacang Puppy Love" w Mom (funny, touching and meaningful - about love between friends and family. i cried 3 tissues! cos some touching parts i could really understand the feelings of the characters involved)
Inception
Letters to God (very simple Christian movie)
22Nov10: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" w Ame, Irene (they loved it. pretty good, i guess the main problem i had was that im not familiar with HP :X)
13Dec10: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" w Sj (not bad, could follow the story unlike HP. like the meaningful teachings, too long - in a post)
2Mar11: "The King's Speech" w Ame (hilarious, inspirational, tho it doesn't impress me that much to understand why it's the Oscar winner)
Mar11: "10 Things I Hate About You" very funny. silly sweet high school romance. just right for having breaks in between doing homework
23May11: "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" w Wb Yl Ame Pg (pretty good - scenery, freakish parts, fighting scenes, dressing, humour, bits of Christianity like when the Spanish said "only God gives life")
6Jun11: "Xmen First Class" w Wb Ame Pg (i was very keen on watching it and it was really good! intellectual, makes sense, cool action, some humour)
9Jun11: "Legally Blonde 2" w Irene (seems like some dumb blonde movie but kind of meaningful too - speaking up for yourself and what you stand for)
17Jun11: "Something Borrowed" w Sandy Lisa (quite funny, somewhat meaningful wrt friendships. they didn't like the lack of sense for one part tho)
16Jul11: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" w Irene, Sweetee, Kw (not bad. i didn't understand some parts again but the humour and effects were pretty good)
Aug11 "Horrible Bosses" w Ma (she fell asleep! gosh. the movie was very crude i must say but there was the humour)
25Oct11: "The Three Musketeers" w H (i would rate it 3.5 for humour/intellectual language and 4 for action. it's by the same producer or director as Sherlock! but a bit less awesome albeit a good chill out movie)
5Nov11: "Real Steel" w Hl (action packed but not too hardcore for me. i liked that there was the father and son element and how the father eventually softened his heart and especially the part when charlie was having trouble telling max sth and max was so understanding saying "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." touching and demonstrates true fighting spirit)
12Dec11: "50/50" w L (adopting her words - a heavy topic put across in a lighthearted way, but not taking away d meaning. most of it was rather hollywood-ish trashiness but there were a couple of punch lines "u can't change ur parents, but u can change d way u respond to them.")
25Dec11: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" w KY (ultimate action packed! super tense almost throughout the movie, and interesting Tom Cruise made it such that not everything happened smoothly - he would jump and misland and get all sorts of injuries..it's really the courage to jump without hesitation even though you are not sure you'll be alive after that. KY loved d movie and said she would watch it again!)
3Jan12: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" w KY (i love mystery (: and the witty sarcastic dialogues. good level of excitement with the action. didn't understand some parts as usual. i like Holmes and Watson they depict such a true pair of buddies ;D)
23Jan12: "You are the Apple of My Eye" w mom (now i understand why guys like this movie so much - the anxiety of chasing after a girl and the acts schoolboys do to get the girl's attention and hopefully affection. the initial fluttering and the subsequent quarrelling)
22Mar12: "The Iron Lady" w KY (really love Thatcher's sharp words. inspiring and thought-provoking, tho i was still left uncertain of what to do with my life, the movie is definitely an encouraging one)
29Mar12: "Barney's Version" w SJ (a funny movie of a screwed up life of a man who had 3 wives, smoked and drank but very heartwarming at the same time, the relationships with the dad and the 3th wife - quotable quotes!)
27Apr12: "The Hunger Games" w Mom
4May12" "Avengers" w MF n PS (funny, action-packed)
7Jul12: "The Amazing Spiderman"
21Jul12: "The Dark Knight Rises" (fantastic depth, loved the twists)
20Aug12: "ParaNorman" w Mom (simple funny animated movie, heartwarming support)
Performances watched (listing started on 25Apr10)
20Jan10: Patrick Marber's Closer by outoftheBLUE, NUS Science w Pam (
13Mar10: The Rain Came Down Like Pearls the Night I Died... The New Musical - Sing & Tell by Mark Chan w Addy & Jy
21Mar10: Quintessence by NUSCO w CHL
