easy does it

so here i am, sitting here on one of the last days of march thinking...always thinking. am i slipping back into being a melancholic?

i don't feel too well though. headache, headache, go away, come again another day...

as such, i've justified my decision not to go to class today. that means no Singin' in the Rain (1952) and that famous umbrella dancing scene with Gene Kelly. i want to go but the flesh knows i won't be able to take it. i think drew may be right and i might have some watered down version of narcolepsy, since everytime i think of going to my tute, i feel sleepy. and im sure that's how i'd be if i actually went to my tute today. paying attention requires so much effort. so does trying to say something, anything, in order to get participation marks. hmm...you'd think that my experience in subjects like auditing would help me be totally comfortable waffling on and putting in more than my 2c to pilfer marks...

i'm also really anxious about the whole recruitment process. all those interviews, written answers, preparing, wondering, worrying about how people perceive you. it's really disconcerting. i guess i'll just have to rely on God once again to fish me out of my little hole where i'm so insulated against the world and its opinions.

anyway i think i'll gonna go back to watching House. i've got the first season on DVD and been watching intermittently since monday. pretty inspiring really. i think i'll make it a thing where whenever im watching House, i'll watch it from the treadmill while losing calories. 45 min episode, 45 mins on the treadmill. yeahhh...

My Date With...

Yeah so I last left you guys with a rundown of my Saturday.

Since then, I've put myself through soccer training on Sunday afternoon which sucked a lot of energy from me since it was a hot day. But it was good getting out there and sweating it since I'm on a renewed bid to give up some of these love handles.

After training, went to have a meat dinner at Ann's which came at a great time since I needed the protein after the training session! Thanks again to Ann for the patties and wings, Anna for the salad and Vanessa for the fruit!

Tonight I watched this movie called "My Date With Drew" which I totally loved! The premise of the feature was that this production assistant, working in LA who has had a crush on Drew Barrymore since he was five years old, goes out trying to get a date with her in 30 days with a budget of $1,100 that he won on a gameshow akin to Taboo or Articulate with the final word his teammates trying to guess being, yep that's right, Drew Barrymore! Anyway, I don't want to spoil this pseudo-documentary for anyone so you can hire it yourselves or go to www.mydatewithdrew.com but it's really sweet and just a fun type of movie. I'm sure most of you will be able to relate to it as fans of someone famous realising the dream, but I guess it helped that I'm a Drew Barrymore fan myself. I adore her as Julia Goolia from The Wedding Singer!

Anyhow, it's really late and I have to work tomorrow. Have a good week people, I know I'm going to be busy with plenty of dates! Work, uni, assignments, golf, soccer, youth group, catching up with friends. Hang on, I thought I'd have more time after my exam...? D'oh!

The Day My Wings Were Unclipped

This morning I woke up feeling terrible. In fact, I was woken by a stirring in my stomach, which moved down to my large intestines and then became a strong urge in my bowels. The AGB (After Grog Bog) hit hard but turns out it was more like an AGR (After Grog Run). Terrible!

So we'll pick up where my adventure began yesterday after my exam. I was walking through the underpass of Caulfield Station when I bumped into Carol! That was a mighty coincidence since that's the first ever time I've gone down there, Carol actually is based in Sydney and she says she never goes to Caulfied! Good to have that little chat with you before you left again Carol, after piking on Friday night since I was studying! Hope to see you when you come back next!

Anyway, later that night I headed off to the city (which was almost like a foreign land since I hadn't been there for social reasons in sooo long) for Tracey's (Julz's sister) 21st at Decorum on Flinders Lane (the scene of the crime for Jade's 21st if I remember correctly). First time in a long while but reunited with ppl I hadn't seen in such a LONG time like Isaac (my Melbourne High buddy, not church/Pictionary Ike). It was a good night, reminded me that getting out once in a while is always a good thing!

Also had my first ever shot of chartreuse and man, that s**t is mean dawg! I can't remember the alcohol content (Sanji said like 40%?) but I know it was high enough to burn my mouth, burn my throat and leave my stomach feeling a little worse for wear. Despite being a vice, I think alcohol in moderation can be entertaining. Julz's mum was absolutely hilarious! But I guess you always have to know when to stop, hey Ikey? I thought I went too far after I finished the night with a chicken souvlaki from Stalacs. Did not sit in my stomach with alcohol well AT ALL. And you know what? I made this little pledge to not drink or eat chocolate during lent! Not that I blatantly flaunt this self imposed abstinence, but I hardly ever drink alcohol anymore, and therefore didn't realise I should've kept away from it! I also had Twix in the break during my exam, but that was because I needed sugar to keep me alert. Oh yeah, which reminds me, something that's been bugging the b*oody h*ll (censored coz I don't want any British, Canadians or Americans to ban my blog) outta me - does anyone know what the difference between categorical agreement and qualified agreement is?

For those alcoholics out there, let me suggest some liver tonic pills - St. Mary's Thistle vitamin supplement or something. It helps your liver process things better including alcohol. Speaking of which, yesterday Vic gave me these Blackmores Vitamin C tablets which I thought were the chewable type. Little did I know that THEY WERE NOT! So I dashed out with a disgusting taste in my mouth, drank some water from the bathroom tap and tried to swallow that damn vitamin C pill. After half reaching, I managed to swallow the pill with upchuck mixed in water. Yummy.

So it was an interesting day of sorts, I realised that there was a lot of odd input into my system. I really gave my stomach a bit of a thrashing ey? EY! I guess that's why I woke up early just to do the AGR, and it's all outta my system now. Ahhh...

Hollywood and Art Cinema

It's the fourth week of semester and I've already learnt so much!

I think it's been somewhat of a forgotten segment of my life, Uni has, since it really only occupies just over four hours a week of my time. But every Wednesday afternoon I'm definitely pushed in terms of thinking of film and expression in general in a totally new way.

The first week we watched the classic (but they're all classics!) Citizen Kane (1941) directed by and starring a true auteur in Orson Welles. Based loosely on the life of William Randolph Hearst, Citizen Kane is one of the most influential movies of all time, with Welles and his cinematographer Gregg Toland using revolutionary cinematography which included a new way of using deep focus to make everything in the mise-en-scene perfectly focused (foreground, background and everything else in between). If you're looking at a film from the era of the Hollywood studio system, this is the perfect example.

After finally managing to read my set articles in week two, I learnt a great deal about studying cinema, especially that to properly learn about Hollywood cinema, it's imperative that it's viewed as an industry, one that like all others, seeks to make profits and generate more revenue. Hollywood began in the 1920s and by 1930, the motion picture industry in the US was largely an oligopoly (controlled by a few firms). These "Big Five" as they were called were: Paramount, Loews (parent company of MGM), Fox Film (later Twentieth Century Fox), Warner Bros and RKO. There were also the "Little Three" (Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures and United Artists) with the primary difference being that The Big Five owned their own cinemas across the States whereas The Little Three had to pay fees to have their movies screened in any of the Big Fives' cinemas. As you can see, most of these are still major players in the industry and one of the articles outlined the amazing ability of these companies to stay in power for so long, given the serious setbacks like the great Depression in 1929 and the advent of television and cable. The major reason given was their propensity to catch on to new technologies like the Technicolor camera (invented by Thomas Edison) and sound quality (DTS, Dolby, THX).

In the third week we covered His Girl Friday (1940) starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. I would say the movie was quite witty, essential for a screwball comedy. For so much of the movie I, and many others in my tute as I later found out, found it difficult to follow the lines of both main characters Grant and Russell because they were delivered at astonishing speed! I've never heard people speak that fast, and I thought it was amazing how well it was done - there are a few occasions when the lines are spoken so fast and you think the dialogue is going to end, but it keeps on going at the same pace! It's an interesting love-type comedy that I recommend, a lot more light hearted (obviously) than the dark Citizen Kane.

Yesterday's leture, after the screening of Scarface (1932 NOT 1983) revolved around censorship. As such, we were shown The Celluloid Closet which is a collection of interviews and snippets of movies with subtle gay connotations. It was hilarious! I will never see movies like Ben-Hur (1959) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) in the same way again. One of the movies questioned was Howard Hawks' Red River (1948) which is your typical cowboy-western and there was a scene with the two leads admiring each others' guns. SO FUNNY! Hmm gay cowboys - who would ever think?

At the end of our lecture, we were shown the beginning a movie called Irreversible (2002) with Monica Bellucci. Dave had told me about this movie before and what it entailed but we didn't get to watch the infamous rape scene. The lecturer strongly advised whoever was squeamish to leave the lecture early due to the gratuitous nature of the movie and I almost think myself fortunate that we didn't get far enough into the movie to see anything really shocking. I'm still in two minds about seeing the movie, even if it is done for research purposes.

On a brighter note, even though I was one of the last to pick my presentation week, I managed to get (in my opinion) the best week of all - Week 12! Not only is it the last week of Uni, but considering my somewhat limited taste in art-house cinema (compared to the really artsy-types doing the subject), Week 12's topic is "American New Wave" and the movie is Taxi Driver (1979) directed by Martin Scorsese which I've actually heard of! I'd say that this a much lighter option than other weeks which include neo-realism, key European movements, European new-wave and avant-garde.

Anyway, that's enough drivel for now. Will keep you guys updated, especially after this massive weekend. Have a good one!

The Clean Up

Okay, so I've noticed in the last few posts I've done a bit of photo spamming. And this post won't be any different.

BUT I do promise that I'm going to make it more interesting than just whacking up any old photos and explain more in depth what each photo represents.

Anyway the story begins in the quiet suburb of Kew, just after 1300 hours on a Friday in a little house on the prarie. Well not really, but sounds pleasant doesn't it? The house in fact, is actually an Asian one with a throng of shoes outside the front door. Upon entering, we're hit with the remnants of strong odours such as chilli, curry, seafood and of course, soy sauce.

Once into the area that is the living room, we hear a bit of shuffling in one of the rooms down the hallway. A little walk down there and upon further investigation, it appears as if there's someone in there breathing hard whilst doing some sort of labourious task. Slowly but surely, we creep forward, not to alert the stranger of our presence. We turn left into the room and then...

WHAMMO! It's Gregory Wong Xiong Wei cleaning up his room! We almost die of shock! Greg? Cleaning his room? This we gotta take pictures of. And thus we did.

We begin with Exhibit A. It seems to be the case that they are trading cards, the kind kids from 1993 collect when they're in Grade 5. They both appear to be encased in some sort of card holder so as to protect them from the normal wear and tear of hyperactive prepubescent boys. There were more of these sorts of cards at the scene but it's suspected that the Shaquille O'Neal card on the right holds certain monetary value (Greg: It's a rookie card!) and the Captain America card...well it must be some inside joke (Greg salutes).


Moving on our little investigation to Exhibit B. We stumble upon another card, but this one is different. A 1995 Upper Deck Emmitt Smith Collectors Edition card in a thicker, much more durable casing than the others. It's even got screws to hold it in! Appears to be the most prized card of all of them, one that Greg will keep for a long, long time.


Now this, this could be described as a little bit of a conundrum. A ball no less, but composed of some sort of thin plastic sheet. After careful lab analysis, it's concluded that the material is actually glad-wrap. A whole ball, made entirely of glad wrap. One can only suggest the hypothesis that Greg must have worked at say, David Jones Foodhall and had plenty of free time and a love for cricket.


The photo speaks for itself. This guy has his own little collection of Pez Dispensers. What a freak. It's assumed that there were more to this collection but they must have been lost amidst the struggle to apprehend the suspect.


Ah, yet another fine collection. Trophies, seven in all, six of which were given for achievements in tennis and one for indoor soccer. So promising yet one can only ask, "Where did it all go wrong?"


Looks to be the identity badges of Greg's many various places of employment, ranging from little known nursing homes as the "Maintenance Assistant" to more public roles such as a sales assistant with David Jones and a ballboy for the Australian Open.


At least he won't smell in jail. (Favourite from left to right.)


The next piece of the puzzle is something a bit different. We know what it is, for we are chocolate lovers. Godiva is one of the more divine chocolates there are in this world. Not known to be available in Melbourne, this empty box has an American price tag on the bottom. $50.00 US is nothing to sneeze at, but we're most relieved to see the red marking that reads: "$24.95" Post-Christmas sales in New York City truly are worthy to be called sales.

And thus ends the story of our little journey into Greg's room. Hope you enjoyed yourself and stay tuned for more exciting adventures in the future!

Labour Day 06

It's been a while since I last posted and I was even kindly reminded last week by Garry of that fact.

But, I have been here and there juggling whatever I do to fit into my week but it hasn't been easy. In fact it's been downright difficult. I really have to start finding some work ethic in me to get me through these laborious times. On top of the stuff I have to get done, I've been invited to countless things in the past few weeks to which I've piked on almost every single one of them. The one thing I remember not piking on is my golf lesson with Chops last Wednesday so apologies to everyone else. (Chops, don't you feel special now? Haha...well I did pike on the driving range yesterday...)

Since I haven't been doing anything other than working, uni and church stuff, there's not really too much I can report. But I bet you bloodhounds are hanging out for something juicy and if you don't get what you want, you're going feel jibbed reading this post.

I guess I'll start off with this email I wrote last week to the Thursday mixed soccer team after our 1-8 drubbing. The email basically outlined my sentiments that our individual skill was there, but our teamwork was not. Although it happened to be "three pages" long, I included everything that I could think of in order to be complete. This included reminders about registration, playing times, suggestions and someone to post match reports on the youth group blog. Anyway, over youth group on Friday night and yesterday at church, I got the feeling that people thought I was either really pissed off or really hardcore. I definitely wasn't pissed off.

I was under the impression, having talked to others in the team, that they wanted to be hardcore and work hard to be really good. So I would say I was somewhat surprised that when I stepped it up a notch (with just an email no less) and then got the feedback that I was maybe too hardcore. Hmm...maybe hardcore means something different to different people.

In other news, I think I'm stressed out about everything else that I might have something wrong with my stomach. I've heard stress can lead to stomach ulcers or something, but I don't think it's gone that bad. It's ironic because I didn't feel too good earlier this morning, then thinking about the horror stories about stomach ulcers made me worry even more and probably given me a higher chance of getting those ulcers! Far out...

To chill out I've managed to watch half of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and half of Aeon Flux. Half because I've had to be somewhere or do something and didn't have enough time to finish those movies. Now I don't really have the will to want to finish them because I'm not that impressed so far (even if Charlize Theron is in a tight suit in Aeon Flux - the quality of the picture is really crappy since it's pirat*d). I also have this tendency to fall asleep and doze off when watching anything ranging from movies to cricket matches to an award-winning production on Broadway, New York City! Anyone who knows me well will know about that little quirk of mine. I don't know why I can't stay awake for the full duration when watching something. Is that some sort of condition? You know what as well? One of my colleagues at work has this condition where, if exposed to sunlight, he sneezes. And it's an actual condition! How weird is that?

Anyhow, I'm very thankful for labour day. I don't think I could've done the 8 hours at work today. So here's to Labour Day - live it up guys!

Singapore Pics

Pic from out of my window at my Aunty Lily's

Pic from the stairs at my Uncle Mark's

They have rice burgers at Maccas! So Asian! Get the joke, "FAN-tastic" for you Chinese speakers out there

Singapore National Library. Huge. In a society where education is more valued than entertainment and celebrity, they certainly don't skimp on these things!

Singapore's Arts Centre. Meant to look like a microphone, but local joke that it more accurately resembles a durian.

Singapore's Merlion down at the Esplanade. In this pic it has sunglasses because of some promo by MTV, so don't think it normally looks so "cool" haha

My favourite drink in the world! Sugar cane drink from a hawker store. $1.00SGD.

Ahh...it's so comforting to know that pleasures in one country are similar in others. Pictionary anyone?

Mos Burger is the best fast food restaurant in the world! They have teriyaki burgers and other stuff which is really good! We should bring it to Australia!

Takashimaya Shopping Centre on Orchard Rd


Takashimaya with Wisma Atria in the background

Summertime

Wow! Once again I've deserted you guys then come back about a week later. The prodigal son perhaps? Haha...

Anyway, this past two weeks has been pretty hectic. In fact this whole summer has been quite full on for me, with my trip to the USA beginning late November last year (which also happened to coincide with the Youth Group annual dinner), then returning to jump straight back into the thick of things with one night at Soul Survivor and the commencement of Youth Group bible study again. Sandwiched in between that has been plenty of work at RED and also somewhat of a solemn but nostalgic trip to Singapore. With Uni beginning this week as well, it's been quite a summer for me!

Heralding the start of Uni for me was a twenty minute session in finding a four hour car park. That was annoying, I had forgotten all the tricks of the trade but found an all-day after double parking and waiting patiently till someone left.

Then it was off to class for me, and I almost dreaded Uni again. I felt out of place like I didn't belong. Which I kind of don't since I should've graduated last year. But you know, "I'm in sixth-year" doesn't quite roll off the tongue as nicely as you'd think it would. Anyhow, I made my way to my one and only subject, which began with a two-hour film screening.

Now that was cool, I didn't know the specifics, but it's pretty self explanatory. Basically from 3:15pm-5:15pm we watched Citizen Kane, which has been on my "to watch" list for so long since I saw it in the Top 10 movies of all time on IMDB. Then we had a one hour lecture on the theory of the film and a bit on the film itself. After that was my tutorial which was largely consumed by housekeeping matters. Then before I knew it, it was 7:15pm!

I also played soccer tonight for the first time in our newly created mixed team. Largely composed of YG people, it was good because despite it being almost everyone's first time, we didn't get thrashed. In fact, after the first half being 0-6 down, we ended up losing 3-7. Which indicates that if we only took the scores from the second half, we would've won! I guess a little more experience could be good, but I suppose the DBBs may already have their hands full with Sundays and on top of that, outdoor on Wednesdays. Any DBBs out there willing to give mixed a go on Thursday nights? But you know, I was proud of Uniting United tonight, despite not knowing the rules well (even I didn't know anything about the "males can't shoot after of the red line" one) and being our first outing, we did okay I think. There's definitely potential.

And that's about all really. Gonna be busy for a while yet, doing the whole graduate applications for jobs and all but you know, it's all part of this thing called life. Ahh...