ramblings
I had wanted to go swimming today but the thought of having to navigate and manoeuvre my way around screaming, splashing, generally highly annoying kids just turned me right off. I will probably go one of the weekdays, but it's going to be hard to find peace in the pool, seeing that the school holidays have started.
I watched Flaming Lips perform with the Chemical Brothers last night on the MTV Europe Awards, and oh my goodness, they were excellent!! It was easily one of the better performances of the award show. I've always liked the Flaming Lips, but their ability to constantly reinvent themselves, without losing what is essentially Flaming Lip-ness is amazing!
Seeing that it's almost the end of November, I thought I had better start on my Christmas shopping; I'm a last-minute kind of person which is v. bad. I really wanted to get this T-shirt as a present for someone but damn the buggers, they don't ship internationally (the irony!)!! T-shirts are good, but lots of cool shops don't ship internationally, which is a major drag. And the ones that do try and rip you off with ridiculous shipping fees that, incidentally, are higher than the cost of the actual merchandise I was going to get. I'm not that stupid!
Ideas for Christmas pressies, anyone?
stress revisited
I just got my formal report back for the dissertation I handed up eons ago (these profs really do take their time) and I got quite a few amendments to settle. Looks like lots of stress-induced sleepless nights ahead again. On the plus side though, I will probably get my "sunken-cheeks" look back very very soon. I should put up "before" and "after" pictures.
Have decided on swimming as my basic form of exercise. Once or twice a week, maybe 10-20 laps. Bought a nice new swim suit yesterday as "encouragement." We'll see how long this exercise regime lasts.
must.lose.weight..
I saw someone I haven't seen in a while yesterday and he remarked that I have put on some weight around the cheeks. I have no idea how I gain that weight since I have been eating more or less normally. I figured that since the "sunken cheeks" look is mostly attributed to extensive stress or drug use, I must have been less stressed-out than usual. But I still don't like the idea of looking like a balloon-fish! Help!
To hell with the wind!
Confound the rain!
I recognise no Buddha
A blow like the stroke of lightning--
A world turns on its hinge.
--Nampo Jomyo, Zen monk,
just before his death in 1308.
Random word of the day, i.e., you DO NOT need to know this word:
dasypygal (da-si-PYE-gul) adj
Having hairy buttocks
[From Greek dasy- (hairy, dense) + pyge (buttocks).]
I kid you not.
Well, I so did not need to know that, but it was in a daily word-of-the-day email to which I subscribed. What, they don't have enough thought-provoking words they could have send instead?!
/random
Project
You know, it's irritating when you see an unfamiliar word, check it up in the dictionary, and then promptly forget about it right after you close the dictionary. This is especially so if you are using a REAL dictionary, and not the online version. After lugging the big-ass dictionary onto your lap, or table and ploughing through the entries, the last thing you'd want is to forget the meaning of the word right after you snap it shut. (
There was this time I actually FORGOT about the word I was supposed to check up, being distracted by all these other words that I don't know...but that's another story).
I sort of got to thinking how nice it will be if one has a "personalised" dictionary or something; one filled with words you don't know, and have taken the trouble to check it up. I decided to do something about it: I took a old notebook and stick little post-its so that it's alphabetised and organised. And from now on, I endeavour to write down the meanings of the words I don't know right there.
I smell a Conspiracy
This is infuriating! I booked advance tickets to the Matrix Revolutions about 2 weeks ago for the 9:30 screening, but I read today in the papers that the cinema operators are pushing the screening to 10:00 p.m. nationwide. I see 2 possibilities for this:
1. The worldwide screening has also been pushed 1 hour behind what was originally scheduled. In that case, I really have no case to gripe.
2. The cinema operators in Singapore are in cahoots with the cab companies. The cabs here charged a 50% surcharge for cabs hailed after midnight. And I figured that since the show should last about 2, 2 and 1/2 hours, it seems highly likely that some kind of deal has been reached. But I should be able to know for sure tomorrow when the show has ended and I see lines and lines of cabs waiting outside the cineplex.
It has to be said though even if the original screening time has not been changed, I still probably won't be able to get a cab. They only mysteriously appear at around midnight anyways..
Fingers Crossed
I just applied for a job online... Wish me Luck!
New Template! Finally!
Thanks to
elementopia, whose site I stumbled upon earlier today.
Nothing much happened these couple of days. I was looking for job openings in the papers, but nothing... sigh. I am looking forward to the Matrix Revolutions though; it had better be good. One of my friends joked that the ending will be totally disappointing; he thinks that everything is a dream. What a lame ending that will be! I am just hoping that it will not be like Phantom Menace.
