thestateofman

On comes the panic light
Holding on with fingers and feelings alike
But the time has come
To move along

When the fire fades away
And most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses

And it's too hard to say
I wish it were simple
But we give up easily
You're close enough to see that

You're on the other side of the world
To me

Stupid KT Tunstall, gets me everytime.

reeeeech

So since I didn't get any work done at all yesterday, I asked JS out to study today at One Fullerton's Starbucks because Val mentioned that it was perpetually empty ('Yah yah nobody go one'). Well there are 6.7 million people here, much of them angmos. I suspect it's because of APEC.

Before studying, we had brunch at the Empire Cafe at Raffles Hotel:


Looks delicious innit? But this was not the brunch we had it is a picture off Google. We had an Apple turnover (no, not the US$207 billion type. Think carefully, what other meaning does the word 'turnover' have think think), a raspberry Danish (think sour, jealous, frigid-cheeked Dane) and twain chocolate croissants (the chocolate oozing out reminds one of... I have evidently been seeing the baby at home too much). It was very nice and civilized, but gave me an intense craving for a $1 chicken-n-mushroom puff from OCK.

So now, pretending to study at One Fullerton, with a view of Marina Bay. If I had a lot of money, I'd build a house on top of One Fullerton. Can never get bored of splendid construction views across the water.

reeeeeeeeech

 Just finished SLS - it was quite easy, but in a terribly difficult way, black and white in the way grey is; a rainbow of grey, hard and sharp like clear fog, a hot dry vortex of wind that blows dreams into dust, not, not fans - they are cliche! 

Sorry only Junyi will understand this

I am so drained but still so pumped on caffeine that I feel like running around and jumping in a tired way. Oh who invented contracts anyway

reeeeech

Oh I am in Love with Pomplamoose. They're this girl-and-guy band and sound exactly like the archetypal whimsical Feist you've always fantasized about. And the band's name means grapefruit in French. And wow, her Voice. The arrangement is always amazing, it never hits in the face but grows on you and keeps growing. I have had them on loop for about three days now and am always freshly amazed whenever their cover of September comes up on shuffle, but their rendition of La Vi En Rose Takes The Cake. It sounds like every small French cafe in black and white you can think of. I don't understand a single word but henceforth I'm going to pronounce rose as 'hhoseh".

reeeeeech 

 LIFE IS GREAT. I AM HAPPY MY LIFE IS JOYOUS.

No actually Stat Viva starts in 2 hours. Fuck, but in the end we all die and end up as piles of dust, so it doesn't really matter in the end. 

I realise hor that I subconsciously enjoy walking around and mugging alone. Must get out of this antisociality. 

reeech

I traded fame for love without a second thought.
It all became a silly game;
Some things cannot be bought.
I got exactly what I asked for - wanted it so badly -
Running, rushing back for more,
I suffered fools so gladly.

And now, I find - I've changed my mind.

The face of you, my substitute for love,
My substitute for love.
Should I wait for you?
My substitute for love, my substitute for love

I traveled round the world, looking for a home.
I found myself in crowded rooms, feeling so alone.
I had so many lovers who settled for the thrill of
Basking in my spotlight - I never felt so happy.

Famous faces, far off places,
Trinkets I can buy,
No handsome stranger, heady danger drug that I can try.
No ferris wheel, no heart to steal,
No laughter in the dark,
No one-night stand, no far-off land,
No fire that I can spark -

The face of you, my substitute for love,
My substitute for love.
Should I wait for you?
My substitute for love, my substitute for love.

And now, I find - I've changed my mind.
This is my religion.

reeeech

So the Law Reach Weekend happened last... weekend. Went to help out on Sunday. It was a pretty cool experience; really got to see the legal problems faced by real people and concluded that all you need to do to practice law... practically, is the Community Legal Manual and a list of stat board numbers. I guess that's only for the pro bono part.

Highlights:

1. Lunch alone at New York, New York because I was pang-sehed by Juyuan, who spilled a curry puff on himself. Retribution, no? 
2. Continuing above, lunch at NYNY was Carbonara with roast chicken. Quite delicious, the carbonara was the properly un-authentic Pastamania type. When I set up my restaurant I will serve real carbonara and charge people $18 per plate, and you can add $2.50 to get the set meal.
3. Look of horror on the face of the lawyer I was assisting, when he asked me what type of law I was intending to go into, and I said I was thinking of corporate, but now am thinking of going along the DPP route.
4. "Stay with corporate, I hate it, but stay with corporate. If you want to help others, do Pro Bono stuff".
5. Free bread!
7. Journey home: I gave up my seat(s) to 2 old people and 1 parent with child, and when I got home my mom scolded me for being inconsiderate (I left the switch next to my bed on) 

Okay, need to work on Stat Viva. What cool names for such shitty shit.

reeeeech

I cannot wait for Christmas (though will be disgustingly broke due to the dearth of classes after the exams). The decorations are already up in Orchard and I have been rummaging through Nigella Christmas nightly for the past week. 

Watched Julie & Julia yesterday with Junyi and JS and we bumped into... Mr Kwok. Very happening hor. Anyway, the entire show was all right, except for Meryl Streep's disgusting Julia accent; but I guess it can't be helped, Julia Child really does sound like that. Genius cook and all, but I'd punch her/ shoot self if I had to live with that horrible nasal falsetto. So, main highlights:

1. French Food, but I still think Singapore > Italian > French
2. A Vast Array of Enamel-Coated Cast Iron Casseroles, French Ovens and Skillets from Le Creuset. Oh God how I covet the bright blue ones.
3. Dry your meat before frying, otherwise it wouldn't brown properly. Very true, but a huge waste of kitchen towels
4. Amy Adams mentioned "I was wondering who was coming... no, not Nigella Lawson" and my heart sank and I lost interest after that
5. There was a scene in a French cookware shop. There were a lot of copper things. I saw a copper colander, and a copper tarte tartin dish and a copper saucepan. I came. Copper > Stainless Steel > Aluminium
6. Cast Iron > Copper
7. The Julie/Julia Project blog is still on! Go google it.

Alright, I should probably be listening to the British woman now talking about torts now. She's very funny.

reeeeech 

 

Meat sauce thing, to assuage depression. My sister bought these awesome toasted bagel things, which are crispy, moreish and ridiculously addictive.

reeeeeech

Oh baby write some words about
how you can't shut me out
how you must find a way
to see me one more time
one more time

and please call up
all your friends
and tell them it can't end
you don't know what you'd do
if you lost her
and lost me too

reeeeeech

 Thai is tongue-twisting! But must persevere! 

reeeeeech

 ARRGGGH ALOSS

I cannot deal with pitiful, selfless and conflicted women faced with dilemmas in movies. 

I cannot deal with sixteen year olds.

ALOSS GO AWAY

reeech

 I suddenly feel like going to Thailand to eat mango ice cream.

reeeeech

So... I'm at the airport now, caressing McBride and stroking him lovingly and sitting opposite this rather chio (J2, I presume) girl who thinks I am checking her out but hello if only she had a mirror for I was checking out the leaf stuck in her hair. Chang Aysuria will be back in about 25 minutes time, and she will remain here for about 1.17 days, out of which 0.33 days will be spent sleeping, I presume. WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOU COME BACK A LOT? Not complaining hor sorry sorry.



Wow he looks like this okay replace "caressing" and "stroking" with Respectfully Engaging in Mental Stimulation With

reeeech

Haiya very lousy allusion to recess time. Anyways, pretending to study at Starbucks at Harbourfront with Junsheng. The speaker is right above my head and it's belting out old jazz tunes. I now have images of Abdullah Tarmugi singing - is he still the Speaker?

'Tis been rather happening a holiday. I only wish I'd studied more.

Oh we went to Edwin's house for the OG Eight tea party thing, how dainty and genteel. His house is EXTREMELY LARGE and COMFORTABLE. I made a cake and crepes suzette which turned out okay mainly because I have uncritical and nice friends. We played a lot of Taboo and Monopoly, very competitive. For some reason, I've lost my drive to post photos immediately - must reawaken inner Facebook whore. The word whore keeps reminding me of Prav, hmmm.

The kids' PSLEs are in less than ten days, and till now they still do not know how to use the present perfect continuous tense. If they had been studying since June, I would not be panicking right now. 

Okay I need to ACE my own exams, otherwise waste all that transport money. 

reeeeech

Went to K with Junsheng today and wow, remind me never to sing ZHM songs ever again. Okay lah can manage, but kinda traumatizing. And, Lady Gaga = Tranny. 

After K Box, we went to be disgusting. We had a three course dinner (each) at the pasta place opposite the MOS Burger at Takashimaya, which was very, very good. I had squid ink pasta which was black, mysterious and smokily squid-filled while Junsheng had this Zawesome lobster salad (suspect crayfish, though) with a spicy chili oil and mango dressing.

After dinner, we had dessert(s) at Sun with Moon. Matcha parfait was Amah-zing, but aside from that we also had some black sesame pudding (more like a panna cotta, actually) and a Green Tea-ramisu. Everything was incredibly delicious, but my favorite is still the parfait. So many textures! It's the ultimate Happy Food.

I realise, all my friends inhale their food.

Then, went to find Teck at the airport because he was going to pick his mum up from Japan. I ended up with a bag of grapes, a box of chocolates and three plums. Oh the plums are AMAZING. I will really go crazy if I ever own a kitchen in Hokkaido cooking with all those plums. They (and the grapes) have the smell of candy and wine, and are ridiculously sweet and tender. Really the most perfect fruit I've ever eaten (save from sampling some Kyoho grapes at Paragon some years ago). Now I can't decide if I should finish them all in one go while they're still fresh, or stash some in the deep freeze and bake with them later. Don't think I'll risk cooking with them now, though.

And I was supposed to go for a long run tonight. Oh well, tomorrow tomorrow. 

reeeeech

My eating patterns: no breakfast, one tea-break, on dinner, three suppers. I feel like some sort of nocturnal hobbit.

reeeeeech

 I've got an assignment to hand up, a wedding to go to and Teck's birthday to attend today! Guess which one I'm most excited about. I AM GOOD FRIEND HOR T.T. HENG I SPENT YESTERDAY PREPARING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY OKAY. 

Oh my rule proof. I've got everything down already, save the proofing part. But other than that, 'tis fine. Which is why I've been engaging in some hardcore procrastination since 12am this morning. 

I fell asleep with my contacts on and now I've got amazing double-eyelids FTW. Oh yeah my sister made fudge yesterday and 'twas very good. 

Okay, Ireland and Georgia.

reeeech

I miss the old friends and the old days.

Just came back with a disgusting and oily supper with JS. I feel like I've put on 5 kg of happy fats. Now to do some exercise and sleep. I'm feeling ridiculously tired but happy.

reeeeech