2.24am

this is why i am... strongly opposed to my country:

*excerpts from a NYtimes article*

“We want to tell students, ‘Don’t wait until you have built up your career,’ ” said Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, the minister of state for community development, youth and sports, at a news conference in March. “Sometimes, it is too late, especially for girls.”

The courses are an extension of government matchmaking programs that try to address the twin challenges embodied in a falling birthrate: too few people are having babies, and too few of those who are belong to what Singapore considers the genetically desirable educated elite.

Over the past 25 years, the mating rituals organized by the government — tea dances, wine tastings, cooking classes, cruises, screenings of romantic movies — have been among the country’s least successful social engineering programs.

~~~~~~

“Teaching our youth in school how to fall in love” is a good solution, wrote Andy Ho, a senior writer at The Straits Times, a government-friendly newspaper that does its best to help out in Singapore’s many campaigns.

In 1991, for example, when the government began offering cash bonuses to couples with more than two children, the newspaper printed tips for having sex in the back seat of a car, including directions to some of the “darkest, most secluded and most romantic spots” for parking.

It suggested covering the windows with newspapers for privacy.

(to read the entire mortifying article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/world/asia/29singapore.html?ex=1210132800&en=a8e257f63e1e73d2&ei=5070&emc=eta1)

And... this is why i love my country:

http://www.foodieparadise.sg/

____________________________________________________

ok that was written like, 2 nights ago in a fit of boredom.
in other news... here are some updates on life, in efficient point form:
- christine has very nicely booked the hotels in greasy!!!!!! i am excited until can pee!!!! omg! the pictures are BLOODY beautiful but for... security and privacy reasons (heheheheheheh) i shall not post links here
- my japanese drumming concert is this sun! excite!
- the weather is shit.
- i have so much work it is not funny.
- i skyped nat last night
- i am in love with cristiano ronaldo and his red cheeks again

today was a nice day. went for lunch in jap restaurant with eric, had nice (for shitty angmoh faux azn restaurant) seafood udon soup, went for class where professor now hates me and isaac cos we were sniggering for a good part of the lesson, hung out with somin for a while, took nap, did some homework until linda dan elena and siyou invaded my room for a late night visit.

BUT THEN THE DAYS UNTIL THE 16TH SHALL REEK OF HELL.

ok night.

cannot wait to go home cannot wait to go home cannot wait to go home cannot wait to go home

i want to eat meepok walk around heartland mall run in bishan park sit in corduroy sit in father's car take afternoon naps in mother's room chase nemo around the house watch hbo take public transport stay out late at night in clarke quay go lido shop in vivo go to jerrine's house sit in christine's car dabao food from newton walk around botanic gardens cycle in east coast with naomin nat and sk stay over in nat's house eat at simpang watch the skyline at night watch a play at esplanade.

so lazy to blog

but i will, cos i have 20 minutes to econ TA and i have nothing more to do on the internet.

so. friday was hectic day of mabuhay preparations, but the performances were damn fun! i do fan dance and indonesian tarian-like thing, all the while discovering my inner exhibitionist. heheh. damn fun performing lor. mebbe by senior yr i do... naked dance la. after that went late to japanese hall pre-gaming thing, got drunk, then headed over to the mabuhay after-party for some... lancing lancing. was v comfortable fun cos i was squished in the midst of friends all the time. no nonsense orhlang or angmohgui try and touch touch. GOOD.

and zen, saturday. woke up late, pho with eric and somin. wasted afternoon away doing dunno WHAT also, then at night was singaporean bbq!!! a lot of high-quality meat entered my body, damn shiok la. ok that sentence damn lousy, but whatevs. beef steak and lamb chop and sausage and corn (haha i love calling corn 'jagong' SO UGLY ok the name wah lau.) WOOZ.

after bbq, wandered around sch with motley crew of singaporeans.. andrew luke mark andrew's cousin, trying to find something to do on campus at 11pm. nothing to do. ended up in luke's room with jenny and siyou talking about funny nothings till the wee hours of the morn.

sunday was 4/20! didn't smoke, but sat on hill in nice weather with ppl. was very nice running around hill and finding ppl to talk to everywhere, cos EVERYONE was on hill. got cloud of pot in the air, which was funny and gave me a sore throat. at 4.20 pm on the dot, everyone started lighting up then... suddenly got banana run across field. then... got gorilla chasing the banana. then.... got naked bunch of ppl chase the gorilla. then.... a marching band came one. hahaha i love it la.

ok i very efficiently wasted 12 minutes. now must go learn about indonesian factories and the general satisfaction of their workers. WHY DOES THIS MATTER, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. ACTUALLY, WHY DOES THIS MATTER, PERIOD.

fortune cookie is scary

after complaining on phone to jerrine yesterday about the shit that is econs, today i get this:

Facebook Fortune Cookie: Don't major in minor things.

0.o

in other news, if i have been ignoring/not making contact with you, friends, I AM SORRY AND I WILL COME BACK TO LIFE NEXT WEEK K.

oh and in OTHER news.... THE PETITION FOR KOREAN DEPT WORKED AND IT IS NOW BACK YARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHARHAR WE ARE DAMN POWDERFUL.

un-blah

ok days like these negate nights like the last. (sorry my engrish spoyl.) today wasn't eventful or exciting, but nice and lazy and useful. i shall micro-blog now, just cos i am sleepy and do not want to start studying for french, which i swear, is taking over my life.

so. today only had econ class, where i got back test with miracle score of A-. AM NOT FAILURE. after that worked in CFA, where almost fell asleep over... letterheads and event forms. eric called and almost walked me to main street to get bloody social security number before i felt bad and chased him away. got SSN. FINA-FUCKING-LLY. bought cornflakes from pharmacy, came back, filed taxes ON TIME, Y'ALL, chatted with carlo for a bit. went to paclab to meet somin, dragged her to sit on foss hill cos the weather today was bloody nice and balmy. as singaporeans would say, it was feng1 he2 ri4 li4. met mikako, james and ruby and sat there for a nice long while. MY FACE GOT TAN. HAH. I LOVE IT. VITAMIN D FLOWS THROUGH MY VEINS ONCE MORE. siyou came, went for dinner at star and crescent with isaac. after dinner, siyou left for class and i sat on foss hill for a while again with isaac, eating kosher sweets which tasted suspiciously taiwanese. left foss hill, went to paul's room to chat for a while cos he is, again, a hermit, left to do my laundry, and am now in my room. if you have bothered to read until here, YOU HAVE PASSED THE TEST OF FRIENDSHIP. pls tag board to get prize.

ok now really must study, dammit. byebye!

blah

blog hopping is fun when you have a hundred pages of reading and no time left.

common theme among posts by singaporeans studying abroad: it's the time of the semester when we just want it all to bloody end. thoughts of home, looming finals, enough of the bloody cold and general sian-ness. at least it is nice to know i am not alone, eh.

in other, less depressing news... this weekend is wesfest, which is quite exciting! mabuhay, caliente, fashion show and... 4/20. nyeheheh. sk if you are reading this, i dedicate 4/20 to you.

kbye.

more signs that my brain has atrophied

last night i dreamt that salad fingers had a twin. he was yellow.

i forgot that singapore has had 3 prime ministers. i thought there were only two.

i giggled to myself when i discovered the french word for kahpuang: polochon.

and, finally, i keep watching this little gem that felicia has forced upon me:

wah shit so bored and, i love old music!

playlist for tonight:
Everything I Own - Bread
Without You - Air Supply
Everlasting Love - Andy Gibb
More Than A Woman - The Beegees
Rocket Man - Elton John
Who's Crying Now - The Journey
Make It With You - Bread
Baby Come Back - Player
Babe - Styx
New Kid In Town - Eagles

this is the only thing getting me through this long cold night of writing french essay.

old songs always bring me back to sitting in father's car on saturday nights. i know i've said this before but I love the feeling of complete comfort and fullness and security after a simple dinner at a hawker centre with my family, then letting parents take care of getting us back home safely, plopping in front of the tv and eating grapes while watching HBO.

sometimes independence is overrated. sometimes.

i sent my parents an email telling them i missed them, and the last sentence of my father's reply is this: 'you have to deliver the grades'.

those 6 words make me unimaginably sad.

hmm

econ midterm today, which means last night had.. minimal sleep.

studied with andrew in chinese house until wee hours, which wasn't very productive cos we... blind leading blind la.

however, we discussed primary school oral. DAMN FUNNY OK.

i remember the days when we had to look at a picture and say things like
'this seems to be a picture of a kitchen. there is a girl standing to the upper-right hand corner, and she looks uncertain. maybe she does not know what to cook'
'perhaps an accident has just occurred. the cars are overturned, and the man sitting on the ground seems to have blood on his knees'

SO STUPID. WHY MUST DO THINGS LIKE THIS. and it got worse with chinese, but i shall not go there.

in other news, i have been listening to v v nais old songs, by like chicago and air supply and the beegees. i don't know why they make me SO HAPPY. i am, after all, an old man under this youthful exterior.

ok. now the rest of the day looms ahead. weather nice like sai, but cannot sit on grass, cos am busy fuck :( must go. Bye!

still alive

hello, all ye five people who care about my wellbeing. i am alive, but just barely.

went to middlebury for the weekend for HELLISH water polo tournament. got kicked in crotch and grabbed on boob by huge yale women. scary shit. lost all games, needless to say.

this week is also hellish. i just need to survive the french essay, econ midterm, water polo championships (-.-), dance practices, jobs, mabuhay meetings, taiko practice and homework.

greece (and seoul. heheh.) lonely planet guidebooks came in mail today. NYEHEHEHE SO FUNNNN. i just wanna sit on foss hill in the sun and plan trip and highlight things but... cannot. sucks.

weather is getting better though! this makes me happy. ok that is all. my life is boring shit.

k bye. must read french again. merdeputainsallopecannard.

if you don't hear from me by this sunday night, it means i have met my watery death at the hands of a college butch with monster arms. :(

need... rest...

3.15am! :(

no time to breathe. but. here is a sign that my brain has, indeed, atrophied.

me: i like this singer, his name is... Normal.
shirin: harh? who?
me: er... he is r&b singer! Norma... EH WAIT. NOT NORMAL. HIS NAME IS COMMON.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WE LAUGH UNTIL SIT ON TOILET FLOOR.

ok. you had to be there la, for the full force of the stupidity to hit you. but can understand right. normal and common... the names quite similar hor.

and... GREECE :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D i cannot wait to be a beggar in greece. being a beggar in greece totally pws being a beggar in... middletown.

k. sleep. need sleep.

bloody french

living a life where i am almost never alone, where there is the constant cacophony of school work friends play study, i sometimes feel that i am slowly, gradually, losing myself.

this is why i am cooped up alone in room tonight, alone alone alone. DAMN SHIOK.

i booked the greece tickets! EGGS!!!!! (short for eggsciting, for those not in the know.)

also, i skyped naomin tonight for a very very nice 10 minutes. omg i miss home so much i cannot take it.

ok now i must... read french novel again. it is indecipherable, and i am sad. :(