You belong to me.

I had a great time with the rest last night - yakiniku buffet dinner with 10 (TEN!!!) servings of beef, 8 serves of chicken and other things (damn the corn -_-). Thank you guys, it was great fun. And thank you too, for making me smile.



I suppose you'd agree with me that with the exception of Gunther, all of us had a good winter -_- Bwahahahahhahaha... Mamy Poko VS Huggies? ;p



Now don't you just wish you were there with us? :>



mm and me (that stunned look was done on purpose, btw ;p)



mm the EXCELLENT cook doing what she's best at.



Pigs on Collins, with Piggy looking away because she couldn't stop laughing ;p



My personal favourite!

Well I guess I only have one thing to say after putting these pics up: Time to start shedding the extra kilos -_-

X X X

See the marketplace in old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember when a dream appears
You belong to me.

Vonda Shepard - You Belong To Me.

Soulmate?

A few days ago I wondered about how people decide to get married when they believe they have found their lifetime soulmate - someone whom you share the rest of your life with, someone who reads you like a book and finishes your sentences, someone you can connect with, yada yada. But really, how will you ever know for sure that this particular person is truly your soulmate for life? What if, you meet your soulmate after marriage? (Okay fine, this is a question that will never have an answer, but I just couldn't help wondering)

X X X

Gunther, happy now? Pay me the fees! (you know what kind) ;>

X X X

I asked you the one very important question today - the one I've been dying to ask for the past month ... Though I don't know why I did it - because I already knew very well I wasn't going to do anything with it anyway. Maybe, just the thought of getting it from you makes me feel good. Maybe it's because you asked me that question first and therefore I had to ask you back.

Maybe, just maybe.

Why do men always ask for your number when they don't even have the slightest intention of calling?

Like a school kid
Waiting for the spring
I'm just sitting here
Waiting for you
To come on home
And turn me on...

Norah Jones - Turn Me On.

Procrastinating procrastinator.

I should be given an award for being the "Most Outstanding Procrastinator in the University of Melbourne", because .... I just got my history essay extended today. Again. After going to the doctor and looking as though my "diarrhoea" was just about to rip my gut, puncture my kidney and tear up my heart, that is. I got an MC for 4 full days. How much easier can it get?

I don't remember handing in anything on time for the whole of this year - my Gender and Development essay and Criminology essay were extended for at least 5 days each (but I got H1 for both, weirdly enough!) I am so developing such a bad habit (CaLi, I'm winning you now!!!). But nevermind, there's always Gunther to be on par with me, right sweetie? ;p

X X X

Had my first "minor injury" from Kendo just now. Strip of skin on my first toe got ripped off while sparring with the seniors. Didn't notice it at first until I felt a slight pain on my toe, then when I lifted my foot to look.... hhhh! A small part of skin behind my first toe was 80% ripped off... ewwww. I wanted to post a pic but I shall not traumatise you all ;p Small injury, no worries. (I'm just not used to it -_-)

And because my essay has been extended again, here i am ... blogging, slacking, chatting, surfing, thinking, pondering, and missing.

X X X

Well I'm willing to forgive you
But I can't forget
'Cos you really really really really hurt me
This time.

Aretha Franklin - Willing to Forgive.

X X X

With that being said, when are we going for Japanese BBQ? ;p

Hot in here.

(I was about to go off to bed when Gunther just had to send me a link which is making me so glued now!)

Everyone check out who's making an appearance on my blog!



Nakata!!!!!!



Nakata in cute specs!



hj: nandayo??!!! *wink*



My personal favourite: Gorgeous Japanese man in a suit - what more can I ask for? ^..^

Good night!

I swear.

If I could swear on my blog now, I would - but I'd refrain from doing so, since my blog is rated PG-13.

Never mind that I was wearing Sunday best and in high spirits.

Never mind that Vicki said that I was a champion at reverse parking.

Never mind that I did correctly all the things I usually did wrong.

Never mind that I was hovering around a wonderful score of 97 out of 100 (??!!).

And, never mind that I was just 5 minutes away from completion.

So tell me, HTF could I possibly fail my driving test on an immediate failure??!!?!

It was only my first attempt, yes. But I failed so stupidly, so terribly, so wastedly, so wrongly.

It hurts - so, so bad.

Who's gonna tell you when
It's too late?
Who's gonna tell you things
Aren't so great?
You can't go on
Thinking nothing's wrong
Who's going to drive you home tonight?

Cars - Drive.

Hours of suffering in the Baillieu.

I've been hibernating in the Baillieu library doing research since 4 pm so it's been almost 3 hours that I'm here -_- And as you can tell by now, I am super bored and I need a break.

xyz you said ice-cream mooncakes won't go bad in the freezer? ;> Are you from Singapore? Maybe you could consider buying and keeping them for me till end of November ;p (And at the same time I can find out who you really are!).

Saw the poster ad for "New Police Story" today. Someone watch it and tell me if it's any good ... (though I kinda think Jackie Chan movies are kinda losing it).

I need dinner, and I want to go back to Singapore :(

September Spring.

So it's my holidays now. But I have alot of work to do (just like everyone else so I shall stop whining).

Things to "look forward" to (within the next 2 weeks):

1) Driving test (practical) first attempt at 1045 hrs - 22 Sept, Wednesday. Why do I get this very ominous feeling that I am so gonna fail?

2) "Modern Southeast Asia" Research Essay, 2500 words - Now due 28 Sept, Tuesday.

3) Japanese 1B Composition Test, worth 10% of total grade - 7 Oct, Thursday.

4) Migration and Tourism Research Essay, 2000 words - Due 8 Oct, Friday (I can already foresee myself going to the doctor on the 3rd ;p).

I hope I can start crossing them out one by one soon...

By the way, did I mention to anyone that I am just dying to taste the ice cream mooncake from Haagen Dazs?

In Singapore, that is >.<

Any idea if they will go bad if kept in the freezer till 27 November? -_- Just wondering.

Beauty so unavoidable
Everywhere you turn it's there
I sit and wonder
What am I doing here?

Savage Garden - Santa Monica.

After one superb first album in 1997, Savage Garden came out with two more ho-hum ones, then vanished into thin air, leaving Darren Hayes to wander alone in the industry - with less than desirable results?

Love, love, love.


You are Billy Mack! You have had numerous good
shags in your rock and roll career, excluding
Britney Spears (because she was rubbish.)
Besides your music and crap holiday single, the
major love in your life is your chubby
employee.


Which Love Actually Character Are You?
brought to you by
Quizilla

Dumb quiz with even dumber results -_-

X X X

I just officially made friends with my next-door neighbours. Cool, funky people - Mom's Vietnamese who migrated to London at age 13, met her British husband there and had a Vietnamese-British 7 year old son who is so, so cute (He just might be the one to change my opinion on kids, serious). Will upload a pic of him soon.

After spending almost 2 hours chatting at her place, I came back with a bowl of rice and meat stew - because she was absolutely horrified that I eat out all the time.

It rocks to have nice friendly neighbours :> No it wasn't because of the free dinner ;p

X X X

Sigh. Boring Saturday night. The hols are here, but there's no excitement in my life - no dates, no appointments, no activities (well, with the exception of essays and homework -_-).

Little Murders.

To the anonymous person who left a comment earlier today: Yes I do have the entire monologue, in a book. Are you looking for it? Uh, but how am I supposed to pass it to you? O_o You should have left behind an email address for me to contact you though.

And Perrin, thank you for your concern but guess what!!!! I just obtained a 4-day extension for my essay this afternoon *beams* (FOC! Didn't need an MC at all ;p) Uhm... will let you proof-read when it's done ;)

11.50 pm, Friday night. Let the 2-week spring break begin.

X X X

When you're near me
I close my eyes
I want to feel you by my side
When you kiss me
I close my eyes
I want you by my side.

Gregorian - Once in a Lifetime.

Bookworm.

I've been reading books from cover to cover lately like a bookworm (I am using the term "bookworm" literally because I am reading books at worm speed, ie: slow). This is so not good, because I'm so glued to fiction that I neglect the non-fiction - very important readings for my tutorials -_-

My two-week spring vacation has arrived - except that it isn't exactly what you would call a break, because I have a shitload of work to do ... and not to mention my driving test (first attempt!) on the 22nd.

Modern Southeast Asia Research Essay (2500 words) due 24th September, and I have no clue whatsoever on how to approach it. Blame it on the fiction ;p

But the good news is, I am flying off to Japan tomorrow for a week!!!

Said we'd be forever
Said it'd never die
How could you love me and leave me
And never say goodbye?

Boyz II Men - End Of The Road.

Breaking up is hard to do.

Wednesday, September 15th. The day I received news from two of my very close friends that they'd just broken up with their significant others. Yup, two separate break-ups in one single day. I didn't really know what to say on those two occasions - friends always come to me when they experience break-ups, but more often than not, I realise that I cannot say anything more than just "Don't think too much" or "Everything will be okay". And I don't know how much comfort these words can bring them, because no one knows how life will carry on from here. I guess ... ultimately, as a third party, you can never comprehend the exact same feelings of the two people directly involved.

I'm just wondering if I can say the same comforting words to myself if ever my turn comes?

(UN?)happy 21st birthday Z.

Oh well.

X X X

On Monday night after Kendo training, Sponk and I decided to have dinner together since we didn't want to go to La Porchetta with the rest. It was probably the only chance I'd ever got (since the two years that I've known her) to speak to her one-to-one about personal stuff, like previous experiences, childhood happenings et al. We didn't exactly have a very long talk over dinner but whatever she told me about her life stories, her experiences ... man, I was going OH MY GOD (???!!!) after every ten seconds or so. I never thought that a 19-year-old girl like her could have seen the world through so many different ways. Regarding the questions about her that I've always been asking myself, I found the answers that night ... and for that, I truly admire her.

If you think you know what life is, you haven't met my friend Sponk.

In fact, 21-year-old me now feels like a flower in a nursery, compared to her.

X X X

After doing a full 5 weeks of "Beginners' Kendo" (which, I must say, is quite an amazing feat) I've come to realise that Kendo is actually quite a mysteriously alluring art, in the sense that you can only see your opponent's face in bits and pieces through the "men" (think of the helmet-like head gear with metal lines). The idea of not knowing what your opponent looks like, in my opinion, is such a turn-on!!! (especially if after the game he/she lifts his/her "men" off with dripping sweat and you go "OMG, what a gorgeous face..." - okay enough of fantasies Lynn)!

I just spent more than AUD 130 on a very dignified-looking, high-quality Kendo gi and hakama (the "uniform" kinda things). I just hope I'll be able to carry it off without looking stupid -_-

X X X

And this love is about to carry me off somewhere. The current's too overpowering; I don't have any choice. It may very well be a special place, some place I've never seen before. Danger may be lurking there, something that may end up wounding me deeply, fatally. I might end up losing everything. But there's no turning back. I can only go with the flow. Even if it means I'll be burned up, gone for ever.

Murakami Haruki - Sputnik Sweetheart.

Only halfway through but, what brilliant writing.

Gone.

Two nights ago I had such a sinful dinner feast with DOK that I almost, for lack of a better word ... went - the key word is ALMOST. We each had a huge plate of katsu curry with rice, a side order of yummy gyoza, PLUS a small serving of sake (which totally burned my insides!!), and if that wasn't enough, we threw in another can of 650 ml Sapporo beer to share ... but even after all that alcohol I was still in one piece so it was all good. I have to explain that although that wasn't an amount of alcohol substantial enough to make a person drunk, you have to think it in terms of me, who hardly ever drinks. (But then again, being able to hold alcohol well is an inherited trait in my family, thank you very much).

And thank you DOK for telling me that I was supposed to "shot" sake - as in, drink it at one go.

After dinner I went to DOK's place to (finally) watch the Last Samurai on DVD. Nice story, great acting (I thought Tom in particular did a pretty convincing job). Ken Watanabe was exuberating so much manliness and charm onscreen that he made me decide to marry a Japanese man like him in future - yes, though I haven't exactly decided on that yet ...(but he is 1.88 m tall??!!!).

X X X

I just took an online test on love and relationships (what else?), which gave me results I thought were pretty accurate. Here is my analysis, but it's pretty boring stuff so you can skip it if you wish.

You are a XSYT--Expressive Sentimental Physical Taker. This makes you a Firebrand.

You are volatile, sexy and sexually driven. You're magnetic and fascinating, but you don't really enjoy playing the field -- it makes you nervous and preys on your insecurites. But when you fall for someone you fall hard.

You tend to over-analyze things, so the slightest comment or action from your significant other can send you into a tailspin. You crave attention and validation from your loved ones, so if your friends don't like your partner or your partner doesn't like your friends it makes you suffer. Unfortunately the two are often in conflict -- you have excellent insight with your friends, but in a relationship you are blind. Trust your friends!

You blow hot and cold, with big highs and big lows. This makes the bad times very bad but the good times very good, so you tend to stay in a problem relationship much longer than you should. But when a relationship fails, you hold a grudge. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but make sure your grudge doesn't cloud your vision the other way!

What would help you most in your relationships is confidence. You need someone who can help you feel good about yourself and not worse.

You can be needy and jealous. Fortunately you are cute as hell.

X X X

Spent more than 10 hours with the gang earlier on doing the usual Friday night stuff (dinner, movie, chit-chat over coffee), and of course mm's birthday celebration in advance. Angus and Robertson having 20% off all books, but today when I was there I couldn't find any book I really wanted. Saw my current read, Sputnik Sweetheart going for 23 bucks (before discount) so I was really "Arrrgh"!! about it ... because I bought it for 23 at Dymocks 2 weeks ago ... whatever.

Caught "The Terminal" (Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones) after dinner at Richmond. Pretty good stuff - and Catherine is looking better than ever after pregnancy and motherhood.

I'm thankful I've got wonderful friends in Melbourne to spend time with. It makes being away from home feel so much better. Thank you meanies, HJ and everyone else who makes a difference :>

X X X

You know, as I was in the car last night, I thought to myself that George Michael's "Kissing a Fool" would be a great song to slow-dance to.

With you.

X X X

Sudden revelation of the day: Women are innately deceitful creatures. And very, very, evil.

X X X

People
Will always make a lover feel a fool
But you knew I loved you
We could have shown them all
We should have seen love through.

George Michael - Kissing a Fool.

Christmas Cakes.

At twenty-five years of age, a Japanese woman is called "a Christmas cake," something for which there is no use after the twenty-fifth. Despite the fact that Japanese women are marrying later, they still worry about missing the opportunity to marry once they pass the critical age of twenty-five.

Kumagai Fumie - Unmasking Japan Today.

So ... if the above can be said for all of us - Nat's kinda dead, and I still have 4 years to go before I become labelled a Christmas Cake (Heh, just some random trivia).

X X X

I don't get what you really want. I truly don't - and I'm at a loss now ... again.

I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why.

Phil Collins - Against All Odds.

The Great Pretender.

Erase that whole shit about me standing at a crossroad waiting to choose the right path ahead - because now I realise, that there wasn't even a crossroad to begin with. It was just me all along, fabricating it in my neverending imaginations and fantasies. There were never decisions to make, and no options to consider - right from the start.

So why am I putting myself through such unhappiness? Why should I bother, when you've even forgotten where I come from? You ask if I've seen the photo - is it something you like showing off to everyone you meet? Do you have a habit of saying things to mislead others, only for them to realise very much later, that you are not what you seem to be?

And do you, thousands of miles away in the northern hemisphere, amidst sitting in two-hour meetings, arranging school tours, talking to frustrated parents, basking in the summer sun with freshly-poached abalone, and amidst giving her hugs and kisses before bed ... know how I'm feeling now?

Lay off Lynn, just lay off.

X X X

And Teacher
There are things that I don't wanna learn
And the last one I had
Made me cry.

So I don't wanna learn to
Hold you
Touch you
Think that you're mine
Cos it ain't no joy
For an uptown boy
Whose teacher has told him goodbye.

George Michael - One More Try.

But shut up and stop telling me to study hard.

Love me ... if you dare.

Standing at a crossroad where I have to decide between a NO and a GO.

Where do I go from here? Where do we go from here?

I don't have time for games - But I guess I will find a justification for this indulgence in something so unreal ... somehow.

We're halfway there
Living on a prayer
Take my hand
And we'll make it, I swear.

Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer.

It's not that serious, is it?