Food Cravings
I'm beginning to really like vietnamese pho. It's just a bowl of light broth over rice noodles with servings of beef. Pho is to the Vietnamese what the burger is to the americans, I've been told. It's just really satisfying to tuck into a bowl of steaming hot pho, no matter what your mood is and it's healthy too! Unfortunately, I dont think there are a lot of these pho restaurants around; I've only really actually tried 2 joints so far.
I'm going out today to catch 2 films from the
Film Fest. First up is "Bowling for Columbine" and the second is a French one "Monday Morning."
They are back-to-back till rather late but I'm already thinking of what to have for supper. (God! I'm going to so regret it tomorrow). Roti Prata is pancake-like bread served with hopefully-good curry and if you have a cup of good strong coffee, it'll be almost heaven. I havent had them for a while now cos it's not exactly the most healthy food around. But I have been craving it for a while now. I spied a good place for that the last time I was in the area and will check it out tonight. I think I'm more interested in the food than the actual movies..
You know you've made it big when...
I was roaming round HMV today and picked up this EP. My favourite track is No. 7,
Thank You Jack White (for the Fiber-Optic Jesus That You Gave Me). I laughed out loud when I heard it at the listening station (and if I can hear my own laughter over the headphones with the volume cranked up and the usual stuff they were playing in the store itself, I must have been pretty damn loud, which would account for a couple of weird stares my way). It's basically what it says it is: a tribute to Mr. Jack White of the
White Stripes.
From their
website (you can also listen to the track there):
'Thank You Jack White' is a straight ahead country confessional in the style of Johnny Cash et al. Straightforward though the music may be, with pedal steel and jangling guitar, it just happens to be the tale of how Jack White (of White Stripes fame, and who Wayne didn't really know too well at the time) gave Wayne a fiber-optic Jesus backstage at one of the Beck shows, thus thoroughly cheering up the Lips. This particular fiber-optic Jesus was so shiny and bright that Wayne, "Couldn't help believing it would save me." Suffice to say, the song goes on to espouse the positive good time feeling that comes from hanging around the White Stripes.
I've always admired
The Flaming Lips for their originality and cool, sometimes random lyrics. In my own little way, this post is to thank the Lips for making an otherwise mundane, and actually not-very-good day a bearable one.
The Slacker Life
There are, undeniably, benefits and perks working in a book/music store. I will be the first to admit that. It's a good feeling knowing that that latest CD/book that's coming out next week/month is definitely yours, if you want it, before it even reaches the shelves. And when you are friends of the people responsible for taking the stuff out of the actual cartons, that makes it even easier to get hold of the stuff you want. You no longer have to do the looking yourself! For me, what I do is, I have a list of the stuff I want (most of the cds listed below are on it) and I pass it to them and when they come across it--which they inevitably do--they will put them aside for me. And when you are on really good terms, sometimes, they will pass promo copies of the new releases along as well! Same for magazines. I get them in pristine condition, should I want them, before they get pounced upon by crazy customers. Normally, I would flip through them from friends who bought them, or in the backroom.
Of course, however, work is work is work after all. No matter how good the perks are, there are loads of bad moments as well. I'm not going to articulate them here but they mostly have to do with the management. Customers are not
that bad (notice that I'm saying this with the greatest of reluctance): they are a pain in the arse, but you will eventually get off your shift, light up a cigarette, have dinner with fellow colleagues, go home, and forget all about it.
Now, if only they pay me more, this life would
almost be live-able.
p.s: thanks melissa, for the kazaa hack.
So many CDs, so.little.time.
New or Pending Releases:
oh. dear. god.
where will i get the money!?
Just in case anyone is wondering
sorry about not updating lately. I wished I could say that I'm busy with writing but seriously, I have been lazing around for the most part of the week, resulting in a enormous feeling of guilt at this moment.
I tried to read some secondary materials for the thesis but I keep falling asleep! That's really bad. The weather here has been iffy as well. Raining one minute and then shining bright the next. This is not good, since people get sick more often. This is NOT a good time to get sick because the SARS shite-virus is still going around. My friend got hit by a flu bug today and everyone was so paranoid! So did I, too, I have to admit. But I'm glad things are alright
Festival to die for
a.k.a. "Damn! Why am I not in NY?"
The Field Day Festival:
Field Day Quick Facts:
What: Field Day - A two-day music, arts and camping festival
When: June 7th and 8th
Where: Enterprise Park at Calverton
Calverton, NY
70 Miles East of New York City on the North
Fork of Long Island
Saturday, June 7
Radiohead
Beck
Thievery Corporation
Spiritualized
Beth Orton
Interpol
Royksopp
Liz Phair
Tortoise
TheRaveonettes
Ben Lee
My Morning Jacket
Gemma Hayes
22-20s
Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players
And More!
Sunday, June 8
The Beastie Boys
Sigur Ros
The Roots
Blur
Elliott Smith
N.E.R.D.
Blackalicious
Peanut Butter Wolf
The Music
Polyphonic Spree
Le Tigre
And More!
On Sale: Friday, April 18 at 10:00AM. Tickets available at
www.fielddayfest.com and via Ticketmaster - 212-317-7171, 631-888-9000,
201-507-8900, www.ticketmaster.com and at all
Ticketmaster outlets.
Tickets:
There will be 3 ticket options for sale via
w.a.s.t.e
1 day ticket for Saturday 7th June $65.00 plus booking fee
Weekend ticket without camping $120.00 plus booking fee
Weekend ticket with camping $150.00 plus booking fee
* Single Day Ticket - Can be purchased for Saturday, June 7th or Sunday,
June 8th. Parking lot for day purchases will open at 8am on the day for which
you've purchased. Do not come earlier, you won't get in.
* Two-Day Pass - Ideal for those staying offsite in a hotel or for those
of you within easy driving distance. Parking lots open each morning at 8am.
Two-Day pass offers a $10 discount from the price of two Single Day tickets.
* Two-Day Pass with Camping - Allows you to camp on Saturday and Sunday
night. Price for camping is $30.
Aaarrrgggh!!
*fist shaking at the heavens*
From
Friday Five:
1.
What was the first band you saw in concert?
Smashing Pumpkins in 1997 (?) They were crap! Stupid Billy Corgan had a stomachache (he was mumbling about something he ate: the wuss!) and the concert only lasted 45 min! We were really pissed.
2.
Who is your favorite artist/band now?
Hmmm. maybe it's because i've been waiting so long for the new
yo la tengo , it has to be them for the time being.
3.
What's your favorite song?
That's a tough one. It depends alot on the mood I'm in really. Right now, I'm listening to
Jesse Malin. Track 5: Brooklyn. The line (from the track) that I like: "I sometimes lay awake until sunrise, wondering how we become what we despise." I can get quite hooked to sad bastard emo music sometimes, then just completely do a 180 and listen to Coltrane/ The Hives/ Tchaikovsky etc.
4.
If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
I would have liked to play the guitar, tried but because i have small hands (cant hold down the chords), I can't do it.
Second choice: drums!
5.
If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
possibly yo la tengo again for the same reason as Q2.
Back to work, tomorrow! sob
I've been actually on leave from beginning of April and will be going back to work this Friday. It's still a couple of days away but already I feel dread. It's not so much I hate work (although it does suck quite a bit of times) so much as I hate the
thought of work. It's not
that bad once you get settled in with a coffee and bagel for breakfast and gossip a little with fellow colleagues.
I actually took the days off to work on my thesis, which sadly, is not going as good as I hope. The funny thing is, I think I work better under pressure. You would probably never see me work on anything unless it's due a couple of days from now. But I've been told that I think and write better when I'm stressed like that. Weird, innit?
check this out: a
blogger code!
Definition:
Random is a useful shorthand for describing a pattern that's bigger than anything we can hold in our minds.
Letting go of randomness is one of the hardest decisions a person can make.
from
Douglas Coupland, Microserfs.
And I Proclaim Today is Random Day
I am sitting here by my window, watching and waiting for the rains. It's weird this time of the year around these parts cos it rains and then shines the next minute. It is as if the sun couldnt make up its mind whether to come out or stay hidden. It's only 7pm and usually it is still quite light, but as I peer through the window now, I see that everything's turned sepia. Yes. It's not dark; there is still a lot of light coming through though the dark clouds are really coming in now. But the sepia makes everything seem unreal. I peered out just now, and was struck by how unreal and different everything looks. I wanted to take a picture, but I realised that I could maybe take a nice picture but I'll never be able to capture the way I feel at this point of time.
Things seem to become more depressing somehow. Everything seems to press down a little harder on my chest as I inhale the evening air. It hasn't been a good day today. I havent progressed much in my writing and everything is in a mess.
I just realised that in the spirit of being random, I have just talked about the weather, or rather, the way it makes me feel. I am going to make a hot cup of tea with lemon and a little honey, sit by my window and maybe smoke a cigarette. I can only hope that things will look up soon.
This is
brilliant!
No more stacks of cds lying around.
And there's something strangely comforting about origami.
Happy April 3rd!
/random
