Randoms and Entertainment - The London Edition

OH NO OH NO YOU DONT YOU NASTY PIECE OF PROCRASTINATION!

2010-09-02T11:23:00.000+01:00

By gee and gollies has it been AAAYE-JUS!
What happened? It's a constant wonderment myself.
The leafs took a while to spring forth after the crummy winter we had over there in London. And then let's be honest... It's more or less the fact that I let myself get taken over by the comfort of being back on familiar ground , -walking the streets with an air of familiarity. It's nice -not having to constantly second guess oneself.

Rest assured, I am going to make it once again a nearly daily ramble.
I have to get back into the swing of things. The other day, just trying to write a random ramble seemed to be the single most difficult thing to do! It came as a depressing shock needless to say. And thus the determination to get my fingers on the treadmill that is the keyboard and that long drawn boarding on complaining ramble back out to the masses -the grand total of one person who might be reading this. heh.

But before I go, can I see if I can successfully describe in familiarly richly-descriptive fashion what just happened to me? Hush hush, I shall.

After my second slightly heavy snack for the day even before tea time, I decided to get this ole gal a-movin.
I'd planned to jog, use the stepper, do some crunches and be on my way.
That didn't pan out. I ended up skipping for about 45 mins and returning home feeling as though my lungs forgot how to take in air and my brain was starting to turn a hazy grey from the lack of oxygen.

All is much better now, not to worry.
But I am officially behind with preparing for Nick's folks anniversary dinner tonight -EEPS!

More soon.

On Vampires...

2010-05-24T03:40:00.000+01:00

(As you can see, I'm doing Susan Sontag post titles... Anyway...)
So! Even though I'd exhausted all episodes of Greek, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Gossip Girl and How I Met Your Mother whilst I was doing my curation essay, the serial bug hadn't been stamped out of my system. It had very much been fueled actually. So, I started The Vampire Diaries -and finished it. I know, I know... I was flogging it no end only to realise I'd been hooked. But I've finished it now and because the last episode of the season was such a cliff hanger, I then progressed along the vampire theme and started watching True Blood.
That title sequence (clip below) to that show is killer ass! And the show itself... That it's set in Louisiana where they all drool a southern drawl and they preach about Jesus and run around in tiny shorts but can get away with not looking slutty because they're so innocent and shit... Well, lets just say, it's no The Vampire Diaries, but the fact that it's so different -the accents, the setting (that there's way more sunlight footage)- ensures you don't compare the two directly.

Andrea Fam; On Studio Portaiture

2010-05-22T16:43:00.003+01:00

Unit 5 at CSM BA CCC has been fun. And I say that with no sarcasm at all.
Photography has created within me, a depth of patience towards a skill that I have not witnessed in a long time. For that, I am truly grateful.
Enjoy.

Vampire Diaries

2010-05-20T01:37:00.003+01:00

Seriously?
I hate shows that are 'shot' (because we know most filming happens in a studio anyway -I saw the making of Greek. Whoa there are some things I didn't think were done that way...) more in darkness than in the daylight.
Yet, there's this lure over the viewer to stay tuned and to keep watching. It must be the powers of the vampires working through the screen that's keeping me glued.
On that note, I didn't know vampires had the power to hypnotise. Interesting.
And these rings... That keep the brothers grimm in the sun. How the producers do stretch things.
Have we lost the gumption to create new evil creatures? Where's the fun in the constant remaking?
Our world has time yet; producers everywhere could invest some time and effort into creating a new creature and 'force' its presence upon society.
The soundtrack is its redeeming grace. It's pretty good.
Anyway... I could do with some SATC right now... Vampire Diaries just doesn't float my boat the same way SATC does...

It's movie week

2010-05-19T19:58:00.000+01:00

I recently tried explaining scenes from Requiem for a Dream to a few friends.
Whilst I was describing, one of them kept going, 'oh, like Trainspotting.'
Now, because I'd never watched Trainspotting, I didn't have anything to argue against her statement.
But watching Trainspotting now, I can safely say, No, Requiem for a Dream is Not like Trainspotting.
It's entertaining, for sure. But no Requiem that's also for sure.
Also watched Breathless and Worried about the Boy.
I love escapism.

On Music.

2010-05-17T01:38:00.001+01:00

Listening to songs - regardless of whether you've heard them before - have a way of tapping in on memories and spurring thoughts of the future.

Paranoiavera by Vera Korman

2010-05-09T12:43:00.003+01:00

Innocently stumbled upon,
An interesting collage.

http://verakorman.com/

Andrea Fam interviews littlewhitehead for FADwebsite

2010-04-30T08:40:00.012+01:00

Sometime last year I interview duo littlewhitehead for FADwebsite. Do read on to find out how that unfolded.

left: The Thing shown at the Arcan Mellor Gallery. littlewhitehead are Craig Little and Blake Whitehead and they are based in Glasgow, Scotland.

...

1 How did the two of you come to decide to start working together?

We became friends whilst studying together in Glasgow. We decided that after graduating we’d work together. We thought it’d be easier that way. If there’s two of us it means less work.

2 How did littlewhitehead evolve into a professional artist and what does being an artist mean to the two of you?

I don’t think we’ve really ever thought of ourselves as professional artist. I don’t think anyone that met us would call us that either. We make things because we like doing so.

3 Which of you is struck by inspiration first? And can you explain some of your inspirations to us –some of the works at your Gilt Hole Complex exhibition for example?

It always differs. One of us has the idea, then we talk about, so by the time we make it, it belongs to both of us. It’s strange but we often forget who actually had the initial idea. The collaboration process is crucial to all the work though. We have an idiosyncratic sense of humour, that becomes more and more peculiar the longer we know each other. But the humour is what fuels most of the work. For the Gilt Hole Complex, one of the works ‘The Thing’ is a 200 year old bible that has been battered and deep fat fried, however we were actually joking about David Cronneberg films when we came up with deep frying as a form of artistic production.

4 What are the difficulties faced as artists today? And are there any tradeoffs that make life hard as littlewhitehead artists specifically?

For us, we often have ideas that far outstrip our technical skills and budget. So it can be frustrating, having to put works on hold in the hope that one day we have enough money to make them.

5 How do you start the process of making work?

It varies. We definitely do not have a set process. Sometimes we make things in the studio, sometimes we get other people to make it, sometimes it’s just a case of planning something. Every work needs its own process. But before anything starts there’s always a lot of talking about it with one another.

6 What determines a successful piece?

If we still like it in about a years time then we’d say that it’s a success. Others may disagree but they can go fuck themselves.

7 What are the pros and cons of the art market?

We’d be lying if we answered that. It’s a very steep learning curve from graduate to working artist. We’re only beginning to get our heads round it, and the idea that someone would actually want to maybe buy something we’ve made still baffles us.

8 Which of your pieces is the most memorable and which would you most like to be remembered for?

That’s always going to be for others to decide. We have different favourites from one another. One we both really like is a piece called the Fourth Wall, where viewers individually enter a pitch black room and eventually trigger a sensor that sets a stage spotlight on them and a cassette of raucous canned laughter. If they stand still it stops but as soon as they move it starts up again.

9 Who has been the biggest influence on you?

Maybe dad. He was a miner and hated his work but had to do it to keep food on the table. So he’s always been very encouraging of doing something we want to do.

10 How many artworks have you given away and to whom?

We gave a piece to the Glasgow School of Art MFA auction, which was funny because I applied for the course in 2007 but got rejected.

11 What was it like for littlewhitehead to showcase with Saatchi?

It’s great. Anything that may raise your profile is good. To be able to say you have been part of an exhibition in the Hermitage is very exciting. Most of the artists on display there are dead, so we feel quite privileged.

12 Which artists would you most like to blatantly rip off?

If we told you that you’d know who we’re ripping off.

13 Has there been any turning point for littlewhitehead –Whether as a team or as individual artists?

Getting into New Contemporaries in 2008 gave us a platform to work from. We hadn’t really done anything before that. We’d been working in a basement under a vintage dress shop in Glasgow, but nobody was seeing what we were making. So that exhibition gave us enough exposure to get more shows.

14 What does the future hold?

We’re taking part in the Madrid Art Fair next month, then a group show with Gimpel Fils. We’ve a few other things in the pipeline, but will keep quiet about them until they’re confirmed.

www.littlewhitehead.com

www.fadwebsite.com

What does it mean to be an international student?

2010-04-27T17:08:00.003+01:00

And I don't mean the type of international student that has but a 2 hour train / plane journey home to their native country. I mean the real, cross-various-oceans-and-time-zones type of international student.

I'll tell you what it means.

It means being brave enough to leave your comfort zone which entails your friends, your family.
But over and above the obvious, it means having to put yourself out there to being vulnerable, very very vulnerable.
A new country brings about a new culture. Without family, without friends, that means not only do you have to understand a totally different way of life, but you can't question it because you've got no one who understands where you're coming from; no one who understands the comparison you'd be making.
In my case, I knew and understood the culture I was coming to. And in thinking that, that was where everything went so very wrong.

I knew, understood, appreciated and in some ways participated in their culture in Singapore. And so I felt that apart from undertaking the life of a tertiary student, and with that the regimentation of essays and the question of making new friends, there would not be a whole lot else to adjust to. But how naive I was to think that.
Then there is the trivial element of, oh I don't know, being a university student. No one can ever make you understand fully the meaning of being a tertiary student. Less so if you're trying to explain this concept to someone who knew before the age of time that she was not destined to be an academic. Who was more confident with a crayon and a piece of drawing block than a book.
And then friendship. "Aaah, making friends is a piece of cake!" She thinks. "After all, I love people!" And rightly so, she does! But what if people don't often like being made friends out of?
Finally there is HQ. Where you rest/relax/recharge. But really, I am now conscious to the fact that this place is harming me more than enabling me.

So the question is, what does it mean to be an international student?
In the context of myself, it means that I am fragile.
It means that I am insecure. It means that what I thought all along, was not so.
What I thought would be an easy place to adapt to being in, is not at all.
What I thought would be an easy feat to achieve -making friends, good solid friends you can lean on- was not so.
What I thought I understood -being a student- turned out to be a challenge and the least of which is the essays that I have to churn out.
What I thought I could call home, is prison.

And when I can finally sit back and say, "Yes, I have amazing friends. Yes, I finally feel like I am part of a university in that it accepts me and I know my place in it. Yes, this house is shyte but I kinda know how to work around it", a heavy cloud hangs over my head at the fact that I am feeling guilty for not contributing as much to my extra curricular activity as I could/should be.

After 8 months of subconsciously battling through issues I never even understood I had, I think that I deserve this much -to be released of this one last burden.
Please do not claim to know what an international student is going through unless you've been my definition of international student before.

Who's the hottest girl in the world? My Desi Girl, my Desi Girl! (Menreet, this isn't me.. someone's taken over my body and gone bizerk!)

2010-04-24T23:20:00.000+01:00

OMGOMGOMG
Someone please.. Take the Bhangra music awaaay from me!
It's not something that should be listened to before bed time! My...shoulders...They...Can't...Stop...The...Boppppinggg!

;

Today's weather was the most extraordinary I've ever witnessed it be since my coming this time around.
As the bus went past the droves of people in full on summer kit -shorts, slippers, shades (SHADES! Because it wasn't smoggy...)- I got to thinking... No one probably thought they'd be enjoying such glorious weather right now, what with the (apparently) worst winter we've just had.
This (and sooo many other examples since becoming a uni student) is testimony that there is Always, ALL-ways, a light at the end of the tunnel; There's also warmth.

;

I want cuddles.
):

Woah

2010-04-22T09:13:00.001+01:00

So out of it this morning.

I mean...

2010-04-17T23:40:00.000+01:00

As I salivate from looking at one Accessorize item to the next on their site, I realise I'm playing Me Against the Music -Rishi Rich style.
I love Bhangra, I love Indian inspired clothes/accessories...
*DEEP SIGH*
Why can't the Chinese inspire coolness like they do?
):

Feeling:

2010-04-17T17:09:00.000+01:00

Revengeful.

As $$$ always seems to be the anger-issue between myself and my mother, I think I am subconsciously revenging her shy-of-passing parenting skills by spending guiltlessly on ... things.
Tops, shades, shoes -you name it. If it looks pretty enough, I'll want to get it, and I do.

*shrugs*
I've learnt a lot through the way they've parented, on how to parent my own children. Don't pretend to be giving them (your children) full independence only to pull back the mask to reveal that you've deceived them all along. It just dont work that way momma.

Bought a real sex pair of Accessorize shades just now, and I'm one click (okay, a couple've clicks) away from purchasing something from Anthropologie.

Mad Men

2010-04-17T12:06:00.009+01:00

I've been wondering about the title for a while...
And the more I watch, the more I understand.

These days, we use such crass words to get our points across when quite simply, simple nouns can get the job done.
I suppose in the '6o's being called Mad was enough to entail a while gamete of negative connotations.
And so, I guess, it does sum up the program and the actions their characters are made to undertake.

Anyway, I am and have been hooked for a while (:

/
I'd been a bit sian at the thought that yet another member of the family was descending and likely to ruffle my familiarly preened feathers. But since Kat's arrival, I've been reminded the type of sync she and I have always had.
Endless hours of conversations, lots of long walks, good laughs... I am really going to miss having my confidant around.
She leaves this coming Wed (if the volcano eruption hasn't effected her take off schedule).

/
Recent talks with my bestest friend has made life feel nostalgic without the sense of us moving back in time.
It's wonderful -technology, to afford us this ease in communication like it has.

-peace out-

Natalia Vodianova: Vogue China May 2010

2010-04-15T10:25:00.001+01:00

See rest of spread here at Fashionising.com

I'm frantic

2010-04-15T10:05:00.002+01:00

at work because I am both on a role in feeling a buzz of productivity as well as feeling a sense of pressure from the looming deadline of this research piece.

But I had to drop by to feature this website:
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/bevolking/cijfers/extra/bevolkingsteller.htm?languageswitch=on

I'm not going to elaborate. But when I was scribbling down the digits for the research report, my mind started to realise it was a live counter...
Do you know what that means?...
Yeh... Kinda icky-freaky.

Today.

2010-04-14T20:25:00.000+01:00

It's been a long time since I felt I was in complete control of things -versus my emotional mood swings being in control of my life...

Knn c.c.c.cb.

2010-04-13T12:41:00.000+01:00

Normally, I am quite tom boyish and so, I stear clear of any self grooming routines.
Thus I have no idea what possed me to do this -I cut my cuticles.
At the time I thought it the most normal thing to do.
And I would have continued to think so had I not realised a strange reaction the skin around my nails have been having to the seemingly innoncent act; the cuticles have not been growing smoothly and in fact cracks have formed. Also, the flesh is overall much drier.
The dryness I put down to climate, and I'm probably not entirely incorrect, but the rest of what's been going on was alarming and worrying.

My eldest, Kat, has been here 1.5 weeks now (on business) and when I explained that I cut them, her already large eyes expanded an even greater diameter which really did not help my already worried mind.

I have been making such progress in ensuring I do not pick the flesh around my thumbs so for this to happen, I'm really quite upset.

ivillage: One cardinal sin of cuticle care is cutting them.

omgf.

I am really not at all thorough...

2010-04-12T23:02:00.005+01:00

It's well and truly terrible how not detailed I am!
I have only JUST JUST JUST looked through all the different options on blogger and I have finally updated things such that I have new functions. All this with just one click!
I can now do ~~this~~ ! I kept wondering how the hell people managed it!
I've been holding my own; opening Microsoft word, making edits there then copying and pasting here.
Sigh... Technology... What can I say?

-Have you seen my fish?

It's been

2010-04-12T16:18:00.003+01:00

One hectic day.
But, all the better to help pass the time quicker.

#Work...
#Misunderstanding between me and Nick due to miunderstood communication and crappy technology ...
#Meeting with Mark from FAD during lunch...
#Misunderstanding between me and Nick continues...
#Work...

Through all of it, I realise I was longing for the strangest of things.
I longed to read my readings. Maybe it's the constant of it. The Times New Roman lettering strung together in that familiar fashion...
The way the consistency of the words mesh together to create meaning. Constructed, directed and recieved meaning and understanding.
That's all I wanted to do...

Corporate life...

2010-04-12T10:15:00.000+01:00

zzzzz...

Interesting...!

2010-04-09T16:24:00.002+01:00

Article.

So many pretty things

2010-04-09T13:35:00.010+01:00

Maybe I should rethink my career choice and do something that affords me a lot a lot of money and then keep my appreciation of the Arts and Design to that of a hobby; Maybe my appreciation of the Arts and Design would be magnified even greater!

(From top) Thomas Tait -Graduating from MA Womens Fashion Design, Lady Gaga/Josh Olins/Vogue, Ek Thongprasert's latest collection, Dior advertisement campaign in Shanghai

Good Morning Dearies!

2010-04-09T09:20:00.002+01:00

Aaah!
What GLORIOUS WEATHER!
18 and sunny. Oh divine!

I'm the first at work today...
I have a spring in my step (pun unintended)... And it's not because of the new boat shoes I've got on (:

I swear, sleeping early does a world of good! I really must make a mental effort to get myself to turn in earlier from now on... The results are full on rewarding!

I know this is going to come as a surprise because I've not hinted at it at all, and I have to admit that I hate when I come across as secretive -Please don't regard me as such.
Kat (the eldest sis) is here. Has been for shy of a week.
With her around, I realise how much I've missed like-minded company!

Anyway, other colleagues have arrived, so watch this space throughout the day... (:
Tata for now!

The Sun and the Shoes...

2010-04-08T15:25:00.004+01:00

My darling girls know what's been going on with me the past few weeks.

Money Money Money... It's always a money issue with my mom and me.

Anyway, as though I'm doing this out of subconscious retribution and also because they were just so pretty, I bought myself two pairs of shoes!

/The weather is so marvelous today! It's so radiate-ing-ly gorgeous!

//I had a good heart to heart chat with Naomi San today.

She's my older sister confidant without feeling like an older sister.

I know that didn't make any sense in the least but I'm not sure how else to put it.

[I embarked on a very long explanation of what exactly I could mean but into the 4th line of explanations, I realised I was talking myself in circles, so gave up -haha!]

We got to talking about life... And everything in between.

It's really easy to talk to her. Because unlike my sisters and my mother, telling her about the problems I've faced comes so naturally. My sisters and mothers are very strong headed, driven and determined so I sense that they look at reflection and all that jazz as weakness... And with that, whatever 'advice' that they offer, leaves me feeling really bad about things (particularly my when talking to my mother)... But we're not here today to talk about them.

Naomi... Good person.

///See By Chloe is crap this season.

////I want to hunt down the Accessorize factory in India and wipe it out. Seriously.

/////I wish I was Latino

Indian Sandals meet American Boat Shoes. Love is in the air.

2010-04-07T14:22:00.005+01:00

Last sem we did a censorship module and lots of Benetton stuff (adverts) came up as controversial.

Irked.

2010-04-07T14:03:00.003+01:00

I cant seem to make edits to the layout of my blog.
Anyone know how to shink the blog shoulder size there on the left?
Whilst I'm shouting out to people for advice, anyone know how to get rid of cellulite?

Apparently

2010-04-07T12:10:00.002+01:00

at work, but not working.

2010-04-07T11:55:00.006+01:00

Credit: Fashion16x9
Director: Stephen Blaise

Designer: AF VandevorstCreative Director: Catherine Camille Cushman

Cinematographer: Ian Bloom

Stylist: David Dumas

Featuring: Flynn @ Wilhelmina

Hair: Raymond McLaren @ MILDRED INC for Stephen Knoll

Make up: Nicole Potter

Research: Bon Duke, Annie Sui

Music: Courtesy of DeWolf

Too.cool!

2010-04-07T11:27:00.006+01:00

Rest of article HERE.

Last weekend

2010-04-06T18:53:00.007+01:00

We took advantage of the promising weather and made a jaunt down to Brighton.

There should have been more, much much more pictures taken of the trip but between having to drive both there AND back (I didn't sign up for that when I agree to book the car...) and also a tiny feud with the other half whilst we were at the theme park (the Brighton Pier is known for it's mini theme park), what you see -above- is what you get.

All in all, it was a good trip.

BUT, there were certain aspects that could SO have been left out. *rolls mind's eye just thinking about the events*

I have to say that one of the highlights of my day was getting to drive a manual VW at insane speed, which I know probably isn't indicative of a good trip, but driving manual to me is up there with all things exciting so in that context, the trip really wasn't too bad.

suffocation and release

2010-04-06T11:03:00.005+01:00

I know that my dear girlfriends don't want to allow themselves to get overly excited before due time -till I've bought my ticket and sent them a copy of the itinerary.

Because I've missed going up once, I'm feeling the pressure of showing them that I am way serious about it this time.

But of course the 4 attempts (Emirates, Qantas, BA, BA) at purchasing the ticket online have been proving somewhat miserable, making me feel even more pressured.

My empathy level is on overdrive; I'm feeling the surprised excitement on their part that is being interwoven with threads of the thought that I might possibly pull out last minute -I WONT!

Sigh.

I don't have the energy to feel everyone's anxiety -yet, my mind body and soul seem to be making it their lifelong mission to do just that. I can't. I can't support this.

Trust that I will be there okay girls?

I am not going to call SG to get my mother any more involved.

I want her as far removed from monetary matters as possible; her flapping about is another facet of anxiety I don't want to add to the weight on my shoulders.

I want to stand in a large field of long blades of grass, my eyes closed, my arms stretched out. Feel the breeze brush past skin and grasses.

Hear the rustle and feel the blazes of grass tease me.

Feel the breeze against my pores and my mind body and soul being awakened to a pleasure of ease and alleviation.

Sometimes...

2010-04-06T10:01:00.002+01:00

You just wake up feeling different...

In a good way.

Good Morning pleasantness...!

Sometimes...

2010-04-05T21:54:00.002+01:00

I've been allowing myself to slip into the whole, 'what if' hazy zone again.

It's dangerous and unhealthy.

Shit.

Without giving too much away, shopping and facebook are causing floods of wonderment.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I'm either living in the past or the future never right here, right now. Sigh.

STOP.IT.!

No, no problems in paradise. Just problems in the Pandora that is my head.

Demons CAST OUT!

Currently infatuated by: Jonsi.

If you only have time to play ONE song (booo you suck!), play the first: Go Do.

2010-04-02T18:20:00.002+01:00

Fuck you...

For spoiling my day.

I hope that your kids all suffer bad grades and have to work in factories like those shown in Fast Food Nation but much much worse... I hope your kids get their spanish / mexican (Whatever) passports revoked and shipped off to god knows where... I hope that on your way back from the store today, the bag split and all the contents fell out and this happened as you were walking across the road, a busy road and you nearly get hit by a bus.

There.

Know never to spoil my day.

F off.

It's that time again...!

2010-04-01T12:36:00.007+01:00

I guess coming to work is really a win-win situation.
1. I make money
=
2. I learn about different countries and their industries (because that's a part of the job [see above] that I am being paid to do... -haha!)
3. Means designated -9.30-5.30- time in front of the computer = distracted by various sites = indirectly causing me to visit sites that I use to but havn't in a while
=
4. Blog more! + Style.com more! and + FADwebsite more!

= Yays! to Culture + Yays! to £££!

___________________________

Ah.. Researching what to do in Melbourne is sending voltage surges through my being! ((:
]Heide Museum of Modern Art
]Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
]National Gallery of Victoria
]Tarra Warra Museum of Modern Art
amongst others.
And I'm leaving bitterly cold London only to be thrown into constant and consistently humid Singapore only to be flung out to Melbourne in Winter and then back to humidity and then back to London in time for the cold weather again -ARGHSSS!!!

______________________________________

Apps apps apps... We need to find me more apps!

omg.onthego.runwayshows.faint

Hello Style.com app

Two of my favourite people

2010-03-31T22:00:00.003+01:00

Seriously, if I could choose, I'd have a gorgeous face and work shit ass hard on my body...

I work shit ass hard on my body now anyway... Sigh...

Dearest blog...

2010-03-31T09:55:00.004+01:00

It's been a while...

And I think you know why.

I've been visiting someone else. I have been for a while.

I feel somewhat bad about this, but I don't regret it.

And there're even thoughts and internal talks about making a move over to the other persons place.

You know that it would pain me... To unlearn and purge myself of things that I've known to make space for things unknown. And you know how intimidated I am by the thought of new experiences...

_____________________

It's so strange how I allow myself to go into these panic attacks...

One moment I think I am familiar with something... That I understand something, I am confident.

And then all at once, it's like I did not fully understand something... And so, I panic.

It's a terrible downward spiral I've allowed myself to get trapped in -when I'm in it.

Anyway folks.. I actually drafted this out extremely early and I had lots I wanted to say but since then and now so much has happened and I've lost my original train of thought. Oh wells...

The test is what would have happened if the pigeons poo hadn't missed me...

2010-03-14T17:58:00.004Z

TODAY HAS BEEN MARVELOUS!

For the uninitiated, weather really makes or breaks my mood and the fact that today was gloriously sunny; the wind chill was strong but considerably less cold, left me feeling like I could run through the streets singing, "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE!, WITH THE SOUND OF MEU-ZIC!!"

After a good heart-pumping session at the gym today (where I really really pushed myself with the circuit training...) I get out to bright enveloping sunshine and decide to finally enquire about life drawing classes at Candid Arts Centre; I pass it everyday on my way to the gym and somehow have never ventured in till today. As I get to the entrance, literally by an inch, a pigeons backside-exiting misses me...

Now, in any normal circumstance, had the poo landed on me (poo has never landed on me but this is a likely scenario of how I would have reacted...) I would have let out a deadly curse to all things living and non and their ancestral molecules... So it got me wondering: How much of this bubbly exuberating-ness would have been enough to ensure I didnt curse everyone till kingdom come should the poo have landed on me? Would todays fantabulous gym session and radiating weather have been enough?

Hmmm... I wonder...

Anyway!

Things to do now that we can stop hiding under layers and layers of wool and thermal wear:

1. Shave my legs -hello dresses!

2. Paint my toe nails -hello sandals, slippers and opened toes!

3. Look into sleeveless / Call on the village folk (who are coming up as a herd in May and leaving for Sg one day before myself...) to bring some up with them...

4. ... There'll be more.. I'm sure.

Alrighty then, I'm off to do some PPT work.

I know

2010-03-13T21:04:00.004Z

this isn't The most ground breaking piece of news... But the more I watch What Katie Did Next -itv-, the more I think the kids she had with Andre look an EXACT split down the middle of both of them.

Freaky!

You know...

2010-03-13T17:41:00.003Z

how there are times when you just feel like taking yourself away from things...?

Removing yourself from everything that you know to be real and 'taking' yourself to somewhere where you can pretend it to be real. It's these places to which druggies and fruity people land up I guess...

But I digress.

What I wanted to highlight was the power in which movies wield.

As I was walking back from the gym... Pumped from endorphins; everything always seems rosy,

but even more so now that I can feel the change of mood in the atmosphere...!

This SAD thing is a real bummer and I had no idea (I wouldn't need to) of its existence till I rocked ashore the English soil. But by golly does it have a terrible effect on the psychology of a person! (Me, if anyone)

But anyway, what does all of this have to do with movies?! -you say. Well, it's when you feel all glowy on the in and outside that you remember the emotions evoked when you watched certain movies for the first time. The way they encapsulated you and removed you from the real and conscious world into some other dimension.

Lord of the Rings...

Shinobi...

These popped into my head as I decanted the groceries from Sainsbury and Iceland plastic bags into the fridge...

xxx

From the insulated 1st floor pad at no.59 Swinton St.

grr...

2010-03-13T13:19:00.003Z

So many times now I've wanted to cancel my msg before it gets sent out... But does iPhone allow me that one grace? Nooo...

And what's with them tricking you into thinking you're sending one msg when actually it's a couple of letters into the next? ):

*upset*

Maybe I'm not skilled or worthy enough of updated technology.. No, not maybe. Edit that instead to a more committed word.

We're

2010-03-13T12:40:00.002Z

a couple of weeks since Hayato San celebrated his birthday at my pad and the carpet (sigh... I know.. Let's not go there... I don't...) in the kitchen is still smelling suspiciously of the deep sea c/o Andre's menu -oysters -which he shelled and fried all by his capable self.

I've showered the kitchen carpet down with some spray-on deodorant which is making it smell not dissimilar to my bathroom. My home is going through a tad of an identity crisis...

[]

I feel ashamed that whenever I view people who's blogs are so well directed, I get a pang of longing to be similarly well guided in my blogging.

Shame on me! ):

Random and Entertaining is what I set out to sow and it's pushing through to be maturely so...!

[]

Ho hum.

Time goes by... So slowly... (cueue Madonna's Hung up...)

Something to fund Maldives (a bank robbery stint -I'm a pinky though ok? Not a brain... a lottery winning etc) would be very welcomed!

[]

Actually, my days are going by pretty enjoyably.

Wake, gym, Angel Islington aka a spot of grocery and misc shopping, watch a movie at home, surf, surf some more, sleep.

I reckon I could be a house wife! Save for this hunger within me to use my brain for a higher purposes...

No offence to house wives though...

Sigh what am I doing?

*exits Left as gracefully as possible*

2010-03-09T22:15:00.006Z

[]

Wow.. Hello, how time's flown by!

To be honest, the most urgent need I have right now is to shed the weight that is the layers from all these clothes (and then some...)! Most unglamorous...

Look, being a Singaporean whose staple clothing diet is shorts and slippers (yes, how we intend to promote fashion as an upcoming industry in Sg is somewhat suspect...), coming over here to constant, "this years winter has been the worst in 10 years", is just too much!

Oooh I get giggly goosebumps imagining the days I can finally wear [gasp] sleeveless!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Freelance writer/copy writer for hire!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last submission/presentation this Wednesday and I am done with my Spring term. Blimey we're going by in a jiffy arn't we?

Ooh, someone republished my article! Neat!

See you lot soon!

You

2010-02-27T17:01:00.005Z

I've never felt this way about anyone in my life before.

Venturing to say that yes, He is The One doesn't scare me -anymore.

Look, I'm not one to wave about flowery optimisms of the future; I'm not that sort of person, but something happened, I'm not even sure when the defining moment in time was, but I know that he is the one.

Maybe I'll look back to this post 5 years from now and laugh about it because I've ended up on another path in my life with another man, but for now, and for when I look into the future no matter how near or far away from now it is, I cannot imagine being with another person because this feels right.

///

For a while now, I've been watching shows or reading articles about people who have lost their loved ones.

Whether the lady / man is young or old, I get to imagining my life without him and a pang or fear, sorrow and loneliness fills me.

There is no right time to let someone go.

Whether you're prepared for it or not, whether you're young or your old... The days without the other will feel equally quiet and empty.

If you've only been together a short while, you are upset at all the memories you didn't make together. You are upset that you feel robbed of the opportunity to see how life unfolds with each other in it.

If you've been together a long time, you think back to all the memories and feel sorrow of everything you know not being available to you anymore and invariably feel upset with yourself for taking things for granted, but you know you didn't take anything for granted, you just miss him.

For everyone who is in a relationship, whether or not you'd let yourself believe he is the one, know that the time spent with him is precious.

Nick,

You're the only one I know who can calm the violent storms of my stress waves.

You're the only one I know who would put up with my vented frustrations because you love me so much you would allow that outlet to be yourself.

You're the only one I know whose characteristic traits are so opposing to my own but yet compliment mine still.

You're the only one I know who would fly thousands of miles across land and sea to surprise me.

You're the only one I know who loves me the way you do.

You're the only one.

xxoo

bbblue.

Dear someone,

2010-02-24T20:24:00.002Z

anyone, please help and guide me through this essay.

Thank you so much.

Yours truly,

Andrea

This film module

2010-02-24T14:24:00.008Z

is quite vexing, which upsets me because I love watching non main stream films, really!

But once you add into the mix critical-analysis essays and tight deadlines, things just get really upsettingly not enjoyable! );

Nonetheless, I feel I must share this film with those that do not know about its amazing-ness!

Falling under the expressionist category, this 1920 edition of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari by director Robert Weine is one of the most amazing films that I have ever watched.

///

On a completely independent grain, my new glasses are in! ((:

Pleased as punch about them. I feel inspired to wear contacts less and these frames more!

I really do hope I wear my glasses more often...

As a parting gift...

Urgh! Check these out!

HAHA! Oh Singapore you are too funny...

2010-02-20T17:27:00.005Z

No offence to Eva, but in order to explain what RazorTV is to the masses, I'd say it's humanizing and humoring normally dry print media.

-Removal of Video under the Disruption of blog viewing act-

Quote from About Us at RazorTV:

Watch what you want, when you want!

The Straits Times RazorTV is an online television service that broadcasts live from Singapore Press Holding’s (SPH) Multimedia Centre.

With a strong emphasis on hyper-local content, RazorTV is a unique convergence of web TV and social networking that delivers news and lifestyle content that is young, hip, with an informal tone presented by fresh faces. News and views are raw and edgy, unlike traditional TV broadcasts.

It feels so good yet so bad...

2010-02-20T15:15:00.002Z

Shopping I mean.

Gone are the days when it use to be all good.

The mask of consumerism has since been cracking such that I feel greatly upset by the amount of money that takes me milliseconds to sign away but might've taken me months long to accumulate.

The guilty parties this time?

A steal (I say a steal only because the marketing team did very well to emphasise how much I'd be saving.. Rather than how much I'd still be parting with nonetheless...) Viktor and Rolf sweatshirt.

And not one but TWO pairs of designer glasses. Yes, why do I need Two pairs of glasses right? Well, SpecSavers were doing this two for one deal... And... I don't know... I felt I needed that little extra motivation to use my contacts less?

Sigh... I'll need to work on the reasoning bit before mom looks at the bank statements end of this / start of next month...

On another note, my dearest friend Emily got engaged on Valentines day! Congratulations dear!

She elaborated on how Raymond proposed with much zeal... Cute la she.

I'm happy for her :)

We all knew she and him would get hitched.. They'd only been together for like ever... (having said that, so have you and Eden, Elie) but I guess it's still an awakening to the times when someone the same age as you is getting hitched.

The cherry on the cake is that I have NO leads on this new essay that's due a week+ from now.

Strangely, not much stress. But the lack of stress just seems to equate to the lack of any real emotion within myself of late. And when emotion dies strike, it's that of sadness and a sense of longing. Not a good trade I'd say...

Tata for now all!

2010-02-19T23:09:00.001Z

I don't know why I'm so wrought with angst and anger these few days.

2010-02-18T09:36:00.002Z

I wanted to post about yesterdays weather being one of the most gorgeous and promising since the new year rang round... But as I hear the tires of the vehicles go over the road surface outside and put the two and two together -it's apparently raining...

But, the combination of yesterdays good weather and good gym session as well a nice personal-time day, left me feeling somewhat pleased with February the 17th.

I cannot wait to start my life with him, you know?...

I know I know.. Premature? Much, indeed.

On another note, is purple still in?

Hello lovelies!

2010-02-14T22:31:00.003Z

Smooch smooch, air kisses! -I'm back!!

I'm watching Lady Gaga and Elton John's collaboration at the Grammy's on youtube now, and I cant tell whether the goosebumps I'm getting are from the performance or from the lack of heating in the apartment... Either way thinking about Lady Gaga... And the amount of make up and pieces of outfits she has on, I reckon she'd be a horrible pal to make plans with only because you know she'll be more than 2 hours late for any meeting. Well, her performance last year at fort canning was testimony to that...

Nick's been back in Singapore for a couple of days now.

I'm quite pleasantly surprised by how well I'm taking his absence. I thought I'd be a wreck, but I think it's helped to think of it maturely... I allowed myself to liken his leaving for Singapore with that of a long long business trip that he's taking.. Where we'll eventually be physically in the same place again soon.

I'll summarise the trip as succinctly as possible and flowering it just enough without going over the top (like how I tend to do...)

[1st week]

\He arrives..

\I'm stunned..

\Feeling somewhat displaced

because life as I knew it here in London

was knocked off it's equilibrium.

\Tension mounts because of the looming essay submission.

Ending in my taking it out on him

and erupting in a fight which ends in

our relationship never having felt this water tight.

\Charterhouse for tea with Colin Rose.

[2nd week highlights]

\Rio Ferdinand sited at a private viewing.

\Blisters from wearing gorgeous structured shoes.

(same night as above... -thank god I dressed up. The high browed crowd at that viewing... Let's say the photographers weren't allowed in and were lined up outside...)

\Saw Micky Brix (Adrian Lester) in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

\Shopping. Lots of it.

\Borough Market.

\Nick crashes the talk at the Stanley Kubrik archive in LCC.

\Imperial War Museum.

[3rd week highlights]

\Michael Jackson Exhibition.

\Snow.

\Crashing the talk at The Guardian Newspaper.

\Avenue Q.

\Dinner at Hayato's.

\Poker Night...

Even though it's just a couple of day since he left, it's felt like months...

But not long till we meet again!

Some interesting shots by Matt Stuart as a send off into the night on this 14 of Feb...

2010-02-06T23:24:00.002Z

I've been virtually non existent for such a long time (=1.5 weeks) that being back on fb feels hazy and twitter lagi worse -back to being nervously unapproachable.

Virtual life resumes in T-5days.

12 hours later...

2010-01-30T01:08:00.004Z

and we're back to where we were 12 hours before -Nick, sprawled across the settee nestled under a pinched Finnair airline blanket, and myself wedged into my right angle corner behind my fortress of Barthes, Rainer and Hesse library books and readings. But since then and now, a healthy dose of Asia gets delved out in the form of Snipper (a canto show) as our cinematic entertainment and North Indian Khans off Bayswater as bodily nutrition.

Trudging on...

With Fleet Foxes playing on shuffled-loop for the probable 50th time...

A well utilised purchase if there ever was one I say...

The essay has taken over my life.

2010-01-29T13:23:00.003Z

Life resumes after submission on the 4th of Feb (but not for long as the next submission looms on the horizon... ready to pounce...)

Nick is cooking in the kitchen.

The smell of char hangs in the air and will no doubt continue to cling to every inch of my fabric covered little home (wall paper, carpeted floor, upholstered settee, 7 feet worth of curtain) for a few days to come...

Fleet Foxes spins on shuffled-loop.

V.Good album.

go.buy.

2010-01-25T23:10:00.003Z

As I listen to Arise and attempt to wrap my head around my Roland Barthes essay, I look at my darling, sprawled, sleeping so innocently beside me, and all at once, a sense of calmness wraps around my heart, like a pure cashmere scarf keeps one warm in winter.

Yes, it really is...

2010-01-22T16:37:00.000Z

A nail cruise.

I dont dig

2010-01-22T15:13:00.003Z

WhoWhatWear's new choice of type face.
Don't get me wrong, I like the type face -Georgia. In fact, I like it a.lot.a.lot.a.lot!, but, it's taken some identity away from WWW, somehow.

I don't know. It's just not sitting right with me, unfortunately.

On a separate note, Taupe nails -That's something I can pull off I think.

2010-01-22T13:36:00.010Z

As I get that nice buzzing, slight delayed-sensation of an alcohol induced experience (strongbow drunk as water because my mouth's suction glands know no pacing) over lunch, I try to recall this mornings events.

As I was walking home from Chapel Market today, assault bag filled to tipping point with tins and jars of various edible condiments, I remember playing out the worst case scenario in my mind: My falling either forward or backward, depending on the gradient of the road, and bruising the numerous fruits and smashing the many jarred goods I had perched on my back.

My muscles are so sore right now, typing is numbing -much like the feeling my brain is experiencing now.

I really thought I wouldnt make it (home). I really thought that my shoulder muscles would just cease up and somehow, I would fall. I imagined that this was what camels, buffalo and various other labour-induced animals must go through.

My eyes grow weary as my brain goes fuzzy and my muscles go unconscious.

mmm....must....start....on....work....some.ho.w....

OOOH! Delish! Let's get me some've thaaaat!

2010-01-21T23:06:00.004Z

Unfortunately Nick's going to be none too pleased about my going ga-ga over wedges, but he's just going to have to work around it... heh.

And yes, anything to keep myself from getting started on the essay ):

/-/

The first of this term's Film Club screenings - The Time of the Wolf -Michael Haneke, 2002, was... Well, interesting.

I've learnt not to wonder what the film is about anymore and instead just view it and appreciate what is presented before me.

I'm super annoyed with myself.

2010-01-20T14:24:00.003Z

So, I fell the other day, as I was walking along Chapel Market.

It was so slippery because the stupid shop owner doused the place with boiling water. Yes, the thought was there with the water being boiling, but if it doesn't melt the snow in time, what do you get? ta-da! Indeed, ice. Slippery ice at that.

It annoys me to think about it now because the chain events is such that I only realised that they were the culprits after a gap of quite a bit of time (did my tat between the fall and realising [realising being, my leaving the shop to see them pouring the water on the pavement] so it was quite a bit of time.. heh). And I guess, I didnt feel compelled to scream my head off and sue them at that time because my knee wasn't feeling quite so rotten.

BUT, a few weeks on, and when bending it, my knee feels like a taught rubber band who's hurting seems to indicate when it just cannot stretch (bend) and more, I'm really looking to someone to point a suspecting finger at!

Hais... Ultimately, I might have to point it at a mirror because, had I not provoked (did lunges and what have you) so intensely on it, it might not feel so bunged up. Damn.

/;/

Just 25 unread emails to go!

Most of which are lookbook and boooooom and wooster and grazia and whowhatwear and style and... ...

2010-01-20T09:48:00.003Z

______________________No dial tone ):

#As a pre-work get in touch with my inner-ness :

Time for some work, interspersed with random pick me ups.

Another Nice Site...

2010-01-19T16:18:00.002Z

dezeen - Design Magazine.

-enjoy!-

/&/

Someone please be proud of me.

From 570+ unread emails to just over 100 unread emails.

That was some chopping and trimming there my friends!

Sometimes

2010-01-19T10:26:00.004Z

some things just don't always work out as planned. *shrug*

Black Dog placement has been, well, currently put on hold. (I requested a postponement on availability date which allowed for the possibility of someone else jumping one in front of me) Which is a shame, but I suppose really not something that could be helped given the situation.

I don't regret the situation either.

True, I have numerous questions that need answering, but for the time being, given what's happening (because the motions were set at least a few weeks back) and is about to happen, I have only excited feelings abounding!

Naomi asks whether I will be able to cope.

ans: I'm not in a position to entertain the thought of Not coping. heh.

But you know what, thing's not working out as planned most definitely have their own reasons -some known (an arrival), some unknown... More time for freelance (Art exposure) / IE Singapore (paid) work perhaps?

In the structure of Yoda: Feeling Upbeat and Positive I am

omgomgomg!

2010-01-17T17:40:00.002Z

A little bird told me... !!!

Sure, it throws a spanner in the works (a mother big spanner which might make Everything come to a deadlock standstill...), BUT oooh Excites! -nonetheless!

Watch.this.space.

Fetish.

2010-01-17T00:09:00.004Z

I have a very bad shoe fetish.

I have NO idea how I'm Ever going to cart all my stuff back to Singapore (if ever).

First week .Check.

2010-01-16T21:39:00.004Z

This week has been undescribable (so I'm sorry to you full on description-Lovers, I'm not going to even try).

Yes, you can say that I am one who has moments of either heightened joy or heightened sorrow.

This week has been one that's been very joyful. I know, the word 'joyful' seems very dated and so should be reserved for rather ceremonial moments.. But still, it seems appropriate to associate with my first week (day) back at school.

I guess it stems from the fact that I didn't expect much out of it which in itself is the Heightened in heightened-sense-of-joy.

///

-Circle of (school) friends back together .Check.

It's always a nice sensation when you realise

that feelings towards friendships are mutual.

-Momentum of clocking in readings .Check.

Somehow, this sem has awakened a thirst

within me for knowledge. So much so that

applying concentration seems easier nowadays.

-Attendance at private viewings .Check.

Something (the third meeting with Mark from

FAD where he asks for the third time whether

I'd managed to attend any private viewings to

which the answer was No.) made me just get

out there and grab em! -London is brimming

with opportunity. The fact that ones days

doesn't feel fulfilled has nothing to do with an

unavailability of opportunities.

-Wrapping head around FAD stuff .Check.

Whilst admittedly I'm not fully up to speed with

what needs getting done at FAD, it's the comfort

factor that's developed which I am pleased about.

I no longer feel this sense of helplessness and an

un-suppressible sense of uncertainty and anxiety.

-Snagging work placement at Black Dog .Check.

1,3,5 I'm scheduled to intern at Black Dog -And I

Cannot.Wait!

And finally:

-At good point in relationship .Check.

I think I've finally crossed the threshold that

comes right after the honey moon period.

Being one that had never made it that far

afield in the world of relationships, I don't look

at what I've put us through and feel

embarrassed, quite the opposite actually.

I'm feeling pretty chuffed at where we've

come out in fact! heh!

Which enables all of the points to culminate in the following:

-Overall sense of being On Top Of Things .Check.

///

Now, I don't kid myself for one moment in thinking that this roller coaster ride won't plummet sometime soon or sometime unexpected, but for the time being, I'm going to allow myself bask in the blissful sense of inebriation.

Back to Requiem for a Dream on bbc iplayer.

It has begun; The Anxiety...

2010-01-13T23:14:00.004Z

Seems there was work to be produced for tomorrow's first lesson.

And once again, without even being conscious of it, I felt something rise up within me such that it was suffocating me from the inside; the air was being compressed out of me.

The lack of imaginary air sent my head reeling, light and frazzled -my brain was running around the cavity of my head like a headless (pun unintended) chicken; bumping into things (the perimeter of my head) as it's feeble 'legs' take it running off in all directions.

In moments like this (and numerous others), I wish that I could fast forward time to the future. To a presumably less hectic, less stressful and anxious and more cushy life...

Heh. Having just put that in writing, I'd bet my bottom dollar that my future will mirror this current emotional situation: Aaah! Stress!

After

2010-01-13T18:06:00.002Z

a healthy dose of best and boy friend time, I'm feeling right as rain. And well equip to mention the gorgeous scene that I witnessed outside my window (up till the sky started to turn it's early-dark): It was snowing today.

Not just the occasional pitter patter that we've been witnessing the past few weeks, but a steady consistent down fall.

It was such a pretty sight. One best viewed from the safe and warm distance from behind the window in a well heated home of course.

The thought of school tomorrow is both exciting and sian-ing at the same time.

Exciting because of my friends and the fact that I'll once again be putting my brain through an expansion regime as it takes in more and more knowledge of the creative and (this time, also) media world.

But sian-ing because.. well, I've acquired lots of side-line things to keep me occupied that I now see School as taking up time from my schedule, rather than the other way around.

I knew this would happen of course, even before coming to London. But it was always a foggy ebb some distance away. Now, in the thick of it, it's somewhat overwhelming. But thrilling at the same time I suppose. So you know what, minus how I said it was sian-ing.

This new semester is ALL Thrilling!!

/back to some non-school preparation : Hustle Season 6 /

Displaced. Again.

2010-01-13T11:29:00.003Z

Sometimes I'm so paranoid, I become my worst enemy.

Is Alicia not replying for a reason?

Did I maybe phrase it too... *shrugs* cheesily?

What happened? Has the dynamics of my relationship changed?

Mind... You don't know how tricky you are.

Daily Rituals...

2010-01-13T00:25:00.001Z

I havn't paid so much attention to moisturizing and hair drying as I have since coming over.

Watch all of these good habits fly out the window when I touch down on humid Singapore soil.

But by golly, I can't wait for the day!

These aches don't lie...

2010-01-12T18:09:00.005Z

Seriously... Your body is a mute shadow (not that shadows can normally speak...).

3 HUGE ulcers (one which started under the tongue and has enlarged such that it's gone up the gum and is at the base of a tooth), one pimple (the painful boil sensation-ed sort) combined with a bag of aches and my speculations of an impending cold has been confirmed.

Once the cold has risen to the surface though, I really don't mind, in fact quite enjoy the feeling that accompanies it.

I feel sooo stoned. I feel like everything is just going over my head. It's sucha lovely feeling! I parallel this to smoking weed. Not that I'm in the habit and the one time I did, the cleanliness of this Singaporean body was just too overpowering to witness any sensation.

I'm not taking any medication so this is my own body's beautiful defense mechanism. It's bubbling me against all the nasties out there. If only my body did this more often. Sans the before and the cold itself.

Gym today was an experience.

Getting hit on at the gym when I reckon I look the most unglam is the least ideal situation of all the least ideal situations (considering I am happily long distance-attached).

I had to make like I was following a strict gym regime (which I wasn't and never have done) so that I could get away from the leading conversation.

"Sorry, I can't really chat, I'm going to get back to my workout."

Stomp last night was SO GOOD.

As the first performance since my getting to London, it was indeed a good choice as the start of more performance watching.

Girls, this song is to you guys.

Because when I hear it, I get this warm fuzzy. It's as though I'm listening to the sound track of my crystal ball gazing of our future. That we'll all be there, together, sometime.

IF...

2010-01-11T15:46:00.002Z

It is true that sweeteners makes one stupid, I am one sugar free sweet away from being a dum-dum.

/&/

It's true. I'm not confident when it's something I'm experiencing for the first time.

I have to stop allowing myself to assume I'm incapable rather than inexperienced.

Life's too short.

Look at it! It's already the second week of January TWO ZERO ONE ZERO!

2010-01-11T13:39:00.004Z

This mission (What people at IE Singapore call it....) is THE best mission I'm ever going to be handed here at IE I reckon.

I am to research FASHION companies to hopefully link some Singapore manufacturers to them.

WICKED laaa (the fact that researching fashion sites is a part of work) !

So pretty...

Paul Smith

Yay Singapore!

2010-01-11T12:18:00.005Z

To view entire article. Click.

Time after time...

2010-01-11T10:06:00.004Z

I SERIOUSly need to figure out this Time-Management / Time-Prioritising thing out.

I'm getting no where with being on top of things... And I don't like that!

Have I finished tagging (and bagging) the photos on Flick for FAD? No.

Have I gotten any more readings done? No.

Have I fully organised the new room etc.? No.

Have I got about 4 mother-of-all ulcers in my mouth, an achy back and dry eyes? Yes.

BUT, I have to say, that the thought that I'm actually going to make it through my first winter ( just barely..) is a lush one indeed!

Most would know that my greatest fear was the winter period. That I would die during and thus not live to see my first spring in the UK as a student.

That might not happen I think!

I miss Nick.

/Trudge.on.

Over./

Terri Timely

2010-01-10T16:13:00.002Z

Visit.

2010-01-08T23:16:00.007Z

Object Rotterdam 2010.

So cute right?

2010-01-08T18:29:00.005Z

ugh...

2010-01-06T11:39:00.002Z

I feel like my brain's been run over by a truck.
Groggy doesn't quite seem to best describe the feeling or lack thereof of my HQ (brain).

/
There's so much to do, with oh-so-little time!

/
The first floor flat is really coming along Amazingly! *eeps! SO EXCITE!*
My aunt and uncle must really love me to bits (or just find me endearing) because I succeeded in getting them to part with bits of random and superfluous furniture that my aunt has been religiously allowing to collect in her cash-in-the-attic Georgian home at no.59.
You can see the yearning in her eyes as I suggest her and the items parting.
The realist in her stands on the perimeter knowing that the items are really just lying idle but her heart, at the core of her being has strings attached from her heart to every item in the building. Hoarding is a simple term for this, but she's quite emotionally tied to each of the pieces, remembering the history and story behind the acquisition of each...
Whilst I love her to tiny bits, this place is the first time I'm ever ever staying on my own and having my entirely-OWN apartment. I want things to be as perfect as possible. Yes, I can't ask for a major overhaul because 1. I dont have the money for that, 2. Quite a lot of the quaint vintage stuff is pretty nice (albeit, too much in the one place like what it is at the moment, is rather overwhelming) and 3. The aunt and uncle are nice enough to allow me to stay there FOC (they don't know that the folks will be depositing cash directly into their account. They wouldn't take it otherwise.)
With a few minor things to finish; bedding and one last hoover, I should be able to move upstairs within the next couple of days. I shall miss the cosy little alcove of a room that I've been in the past 4 months.

/
Once again I am at work, with far too many tabs open.
It's happened twice this morning already where the browsers just closed from over activity. Haha.

/
Curious: I've wondered quite often what procedure people (that's you and you -the bloke over there) take on whenever they get their browsers opened in the mornings, or whenever their days start (pointed to the vimpires out there).
What do you do? Okay so, you go to your Office Outlook/Google Chrome/Mozilla Firefox/Internet Explorer and check the emails. Done.
Then what happens?
Your blog? Other's blogs?
And then which tabs do you keep constantly open? Twitter? FB?
It's interesting to think about.
Obviously you can create a million different Morning-Internet-scenarios and never come close to scraping a fraction of the options out there, but it's just a nice random thought to allow to cross your mind when at work... researching more seafood players around Europe for example... heh.

/
I have 700 photos to tag and add descriptions to for FAD.
Mark seems to be the door to the Creative and Media industry mansion here in London. He's got his finger on the pulse of the scene here (and likely elsewhere also). Just fathoming the thought of the amount that goes on, and then bridging it to the fact that he's right in the centre of it, knowing about the hum drum of activity is a tiring and overwhelming thought in itself! I wonder if I could ever keep above something as major as the Londons Creative+Media Scene.

/
Weather is crap today.

Who makes you laugh harder?

2010-01-04T00:34:00.005Z

Now, Singapore folks are well aware of Russel Peters.

*roaring of cheers*

Yes yes, calm down. Take your seats...

I've taken to watching Dara O Briain here in the UK.

Whilst Russel is OH so funny because he takes the piss out of races, Dara is OH so funny because he takes the piss out of everything else.

With that, I present Dara:

Or for those in the UK here.
(Sorry Singaporeans... The UK link is waaaay better)

And Russel:

Enjoy!, Goodnight!

The more I stay indoors, the less money I spend. And it feels sooo good.

2010-01-03T23:35:00.003Z

1. The Move

2. The Match

3. The Movies

4. The Motivation.

[1]Apart from fitting some sheets on the bed, the room is looking very ready for inhabitance, MY inhabitance. (:

I've got my clothes hanging and folded into the gorgeous Schreiber (I tried to find a nice picture but the images Google images pulled up epiphanised pixelated and pre-vis com era) wardrobe and drawer set/My bags hanging on a coat and umbrella stand that was lying around/My books lining shelves (those will be rearranged though..) and other bits and bobs up there.

Probably send the hoover round one last time before maybe sleeping there tomorrow or Tuesday night? *Excited!*

[2]Watching Leeds United play Man U today was too much to bear!

It's been a while since I sat down to watch a match the entire way through, let alone the fact that it was Leeds United player.

Now it might sound like I don't like Leeds, but actually, they're the team I support. haha! I guess it just doesn't interest me to watch them now that they're so far down and playing teams who don't get much notice (if at all) out in the far east. I know, what kinda fan am I right? Anyway, I watched the match like a true fan today. The fact that they were playing a Premiership team created the ripeness that was needed! haha. My heart was in my throat nearly the whole way through. Leeds had some good moments but it wasn't their skill that helped them win. Man U just played shyte. I'm sorry!, but it's True!

[3]Easy Virtue and The Painted Veil.

\Watch.Them/

[4]Product Designs + Designers, Art Galleries and Auction Houses, Concept Stores

I'm up, I'm up!

2010-01-03T09:12:00.002Z

Good morning you's!

Today I start to move things up to the flat.

After some Martha Organizing-concept viewing, and tricep dips, I managed to fall into a slumber.

Not feeling 100% recharged as such but revving to go with the transportation of things upstairs nonetheless!

Bags will definitely go up today. They seem to have an obvious place for now so they'll make the first trek.

Been trying to think of where the other stuff go... But all in time I suppose.

Sunday Mass beckons.

Bye for now!

激励 : Inspire

2010-01-03T00:17:00.003Z

BodyRock.tv

Yes, she's probably one of those, high met people to begin with... But I think what I'm taken by, apart from the fact that seeing toned and fit people spurs me to want to get off my lazy ass to do something, is how the entire site is put together.

The package of the site + the girl sold it for me.

/have.bookmarked/

Oh, and 'What's with all the Mandarin?', you ask?
I'm tracing my roots.
One character at a time... (:

HAH!

2010-01-02T22:52:00.002Z

So as a non-conscious, non-verbalised new years resolution, I want to slim down.

Now, I don't mean lose weight. I think that we're all old enough by now to know that there is a HUGE difference.

Chances are, by my slimming down, I'm going to weigh more. But okay, this entry isn't one on solving the common incorrect weight loss terminologies...

I know, I seem such a sad sad person to post again within 5 mins.. but it was too funny in an ugh..I feel fat kinda way...

Because I foresaw being up late enough to welcome the morning sun again tonight, I thought: lets see if we cant check out some motivating exercise videos online!

With my Hot chocolate+ Baileys drink in hand, I click on one. It opens to this man saying:

For most people, it's not a lower ab workout you need, it's a lower calorie workout that you need.

Tsk.

Looks like this one'll be audited a FAILED NEW YEARS RESOLUTION.

厌烦

2010-01-02T22:33:00.003Z

I think a round of applause ought to go to yours truly.

Geez, I don't know what's wrong with my body most times!

I get home from a jaunt to Ewell with the aunt and uncle quite sure I'm beat and knackered and ready to hit the sack. I lay my head down and (Literally!) remember my last thought to be: Jolly good! You've not fallen asleep this fast in a while!

An hour later (I checked. I fell asleep at 9.00 and woke up 10 to 10), something drags me to the surface of my sleep where I lay... my mind half awake half asleep... The side that is half awake starts to brighten... Energy seeming to have surged... And then the red lights go off: NO! DON'T WAKE UPPPPPPPPPPPP! And then like that, I'm awake after having apparently gone for a solid power nap.

Aka, another late night tonight.

Waaaah... Knnccb. ):

I've just made myself a hot chocolate drink and heavy handed some baileys into it.

Fingers crossed it works some Irish Magic on me...

明确 : A Cloth Entry : Spring 2010 Collections

2010-01-02T00:41:00.022Z

I think it is very important that an avant garde designer (fashion particularly) is clear with his collection inspirations but more importantly, is allowed the opportunity (and takes it) to translate that to his/her audience.

Aside from some straight-of-the-bat easy to appreciate designers such as [a] Celine (Phoebe Philo) and [b] Lanvin (Alber Elbaz), others like [c] Rodarte (Kate and Laura Mulleavy) and [d] Dsquared (Dean and Dan Catenacci) can be so under appreciated without 1. Understanding where they're coming from and 2. being able to see up-close the detail in the design+workmanship.

[a=]

[b=]

[c=]

[d=]

And because I always love these brands, I can't help but brainwash all the rest of you to love them too (in no order of preference)...

1.Givenchy (Love Love Love) [Riccardo Tisci]

2.Doo.Ri (DenDen and I's like)

3.Viktor and Rolf (Because you guys are just Insanity and I DIG it!)

4.Giambatista Valli ( :( no ass and good legs for this collection... as usual)

5.Thakoon (Love Love Love)

/MEN/

Cinched waist at Raf Simmons

(I'd never known that...)Viktor and Rolf Homme was SO NORMAL!

all images sourced from style.com

[LOVE/OVER]

Up(literally)-Grade!

2010-01-01T19:54:00.003Z

Bits of the new place are coming together!

I woke up latish again today (secretly: yays!) had breaky and headed straight on up to get started on the new place. (:

Mission: Clean-Up started off a tad irritatedly because none of the vacuums seemed to be performing optimally.

The aunt and uncle have the Entire place carpetted.

And for some strange reason, the fluff seemed prehistorically lodged into the carpet because nothing technology created seemed to be able to remove the stuff.

Eventually, I changed the head of their houses most powerful hoover to the brush one and on all fours, went at the carpeting with vengeance.

I write this post a good 10hours after with a report of good news!

Sunday (because Sat we head to their weekend place in Ewell) I'm moving my stuff up to my NEW bedroom. (:

Mood: 满意

2009-2010

2009-12-31T12:36:00.002Z

So.. The year gone by hasn't been as all encompassing as that of 2008

Recap of twenty-oh-8:

/FYP [final year project]

/graduation [*takes a bow* Yous truly, your valedictorian]

/Chick pox

/5-month gallivant round Europe

/Acceptance into CSM

Recap of 20-oh-9:

[]Acquiring a boyfriend

with which encompassed:

-a new way of living,

-a new way of loving myself and in turn, loving another,

-an introduction to parts/stages of relationships that I'd never before experienced...

[]Up and moving over to the other side of the globe

with which encompassed:

-making new friends,

-learning a new way of learning,

-working at International Enterprises Singapore,

-working at a pub,

-a nod to be an intern at Arcan Mellor

-Christmas and New Year in another country and away from family for the first time in my life.

Transition into 2-zero-1-zero:

*My very own place. Bedroom+Living/dining room+Toilet+Kitchen

I guess when I say that it wasn't as all encompassing as zero-8, I was really talking about the presence of chicken pox.

Am I ready for 2010?

Hell yeh! Bring it on!

毅力!

I LOVE JACQUIE VISITS!

2009-12-30T23:01:00.009Z

Whether it's talking about Monocle and Tyler Brule, (I think Rob Bound looks cuter leh! -Okay but then I think I'm taken also by the fact that he's the culture ed. haha!) or how retail therapy is a necessary part of the normal functioning of a humans (females) life, or how we agree that canto serials are just so-bloody-addictive, Jacquie is just so much fun to be around! I have to stop myself from tripping up the stairs to see her when I hear she's over!

The boy and I went through yet another milestone arguement/confrontation this morning.

He is sooo good to me. Yes, we're completely opposite but I well and truly appreciate that (more and more with each passing conversation/run-in that we have).

His not-artsy way grounds the (progressively) vacant/spaced yet with-it arts loving criminal in me.

We're both extremely strong in our own ways. But I treasure that he's portioned so much room in his heart for me.

We approach interesting times in our relationship. With the honey moon period (through default of my coming over here to study) well behind us now, I enter a phase of relationship-hood that I have Never embarked on ever before.

Lunch breaks...

2009-12-30T14:16:00.002Z

I think they should make it mandatory for staff not to leave the office during lunch. And offer alternatives within the office space itself to rest, relax and recuperate.
INSTEAD of allowing us out loose to shop and splurge and spend savings that're presently being earned and wont actually be seen physically in their hands thanks to debit and credit cards.

Alas,
3 (GORGEOUS) heels and a work/school top and day-night dress later, I'm feeling really chuffed (esp thanks to the shoes) but left wondering what I was thinking!
Sure, the whole selection process felt good even if I was groaning half the time what with trying to balance my bag and umbrella as well as try on several different pairs of heels, and I know that the effect of the heels being worn in future will imitate how I felt when I saw myself in them in the mirror; I felt good. I felt empowered. I felt I would command peoples attention.
I guess I'm feeling guilty not so much because I didn't need the items bought, but because I'm not saving the money instead.

*hohum*

Martha and my dreams...

2009-12-28T23:32:00.002Z

I cant sleep.

I thought I was sleepy. But I realise I mistook my headache for being tired. And I realise I have a headache not from the lack of sleep but from painting my nails in a closed room. Sharpest tool in the shed that I am...

Anyway, I thought that I could think about how I was going to decorate my new place in an attempt to tire my brain to sleep. BUT, that just turned into an overactive mind once again.

And now, I am awake and online looking at interior inspirations.

Admittedly, not much can be done to the place, what with it coming with lots of furniture that can't be thrown out, but it's an exciting challenge all the same!

Has anyone seen Martha Stewart's videos?

I happened to chance upon one titled: Organizing Closet.

I tell you that woman is a freak la!

Okay so she started off by talking about how to keep shoes tidy. That was still fine.. A bit weird with the hard cased clear plastic boxes. I suspect it was because the boxes were neat, in that they were all similar, but they weren't the generic square boxes you know?

They were a bit feminine. I can't explain. It's like.. If it was square, it would seem industrial and cool.. But this was kinda.. Lady like - wana be masuline, but not making it.

Okay, but that was the last of my freakish concerns. She then went on to talk about how she keeps a big box of acid free tissue which she places on the inside of every winter sweater before folding them and then placing them into a cloth and clear bag... and she recommended putting sear balls inside the bag to keep them fresh.

Oh heavens! This is too much!

Acid free tissues and sear balls people!

Even the most organised Human would feel awkward seeing this!

Eeps!

GG.

2009-12-28T15:41:00.004Z

Good Game.

Online shopping.

So good and so bad.

4 x CD's from Amazon.

Excited excited!

I well and truly am not a pirate. I tried. My com crashed. My life turned upside down without my computer rallying by my side and so, I am an advocate of Non piracy. Some people need to get caught and charged but we all suffer in our own ways before we make the change.

I'll be adding you Florence, MGMT, Fleet and Empire of the Sun to my CD rack (which cannot Wait to be set up on the first floor when I move up!)

Oh the removal from reality through mind boggling and brain numbing modern day soap operas: Gossip Girl. [I'd opt for Ugly Betty over GG on most days but someones taking a long while with uploading it on youtube... ): ]

But between being green with envy over their wealth (only because of the pretty clothes. Not so much the fact that there's backstabbing with every second that unfolds) and the fact that they like to pan to show Central Park a lot, I do think that I will make a trip to NY soon!

Random: Chuck and Blair look so good together.

It'd been a while

2009-12-27T23:39:00.002Z

since I went on style.com.

I'm torn.

I love shopping. I love fashion. Sure I might not know who's designing for which house and who's wearing who, but I appreciate it; fashion - the fabrics, the intricacies, the embellishments.

I think the biggest difficulty I had in being in the fashion industry was in thinking I might not be able to cope being in it. Keeping in time with the trends... Blowing money I dont have on revamping my wardrobe with each season. (I think this last part was the biggest problem for me.. The guilt.)

I'd invested a lot into making myself believe I was good enough to be in that line in applying to study it... I've not blown that all away, but I'm now wondering whether it could have been any different. I love what I'm doing. To.Bits. But who doesn't suffer from the What-If's? of their lives right?

2010 looks set to see many changes.

New flat, new after-school direction, more ambition.

I didn't want to have expectations of the new year, but I knew I was lying to myself by thinking I'd be able to steer clear of those...

Jingle jingle bells!

2009-12-24T12:23:00.002Z

It's mid day on this Christmas eve and I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit!

*Chuffed*

Sorted through some bits of banking, got the ball rolling with O2 broadband and wrapped prezzies.

A quick thought provoking question:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Make it happen.

It's Christmas time in the city!

2009-12-22T10:55:00.005Z

Aaaah... This morning has started out feeling good.

I awake at 10 in the morning (okay it was more 9.45 but adding that extra 15mins makes my mind body and soul feel just that little bit more rested).

You know the feeling of how the brain is all mushy? Well it is, but only because it's loading.. Not because it still feels like it's gone under the wheels of a 18wheeler...

I fear the cold.

I constantly explain this fear to people through this analogy:

I'd rather die in flames than freeze to death.

Somehow... haha.

Same as how I'd rather die from jumping out of the sky than suffocating from the lack of oxygen. Air Force vs Navy. Okay but I ramble...

What I want to get to is the fact that, despite knowing shivers run down my back when I walk past the freezer section in Cold Storage in Singapore, I'm beginning to notice myself getting use to the temperatures here.

Yes okay, standing under running boiling water for a good 20 mins with no effect last night did spark of this, 'hmmmm...' wonderment in my mind but I think I really am beginning to... be able to happily co-exist with it.

How I wish I was visionary and had gumption.

Fux I need to get writing...

Thanks Sfee c/o Lish for introducing Grooveshark to me.

It's my morning playlist producer. (:

In a nutshell...

[1]Doing it like the tourist do... (:

[2]As we make our way to out of the house...

Swinton Street.

[3]It was such a beautiful morning for us

as we made our way to Buckingham P.

[4]Changing of the guards.

[5] PRIMARK. No one leaves London with-

out a visit. And look at the damage made!

Pictures up soon...

2009-12-21T10:26:00.002Z

Well,
My best friend ( in the whole wide world ) has left.

):

At work again this morning...
Still ploughing through the Seafood industry players for IE Singapore.

//
I'M MOVING TO THE FIRST FLOOR!!
For those of you who didn't already know, I've been staying downstairs with the aunt and uncle in the basement.
My two aunts first came over to London some 40+ years ago. Eventually one went home, and the one that remained (my yeeyee) saved up money and bought the entire building.
She and her husband (my UT -uncle tony) have the ground and basement and lease out the top three floors.
The first floor people are moving out at the end of the year.
It was always assumed that I would be staying on the first floor.
But I think I wasn't ready when I first came over, whether or not the first floor people had moved out before I came over.
But now, I am... I well and truly am!!! (:
My very own apartment.
I'm bloody stoked ah!
I CANT WAIT!

//
Online shopping brings up some interesting sites with interesting brands.
Status Foe

//
Between the Singaporean visitors (PRIMARK + Oxford Circus) and winter (muji winter coat [I♥] + Uniqlo heattech stuff) and the festive season (presents and more presents), I've shopped FAAAR too much this month! ):
Need to review my accounts and be disciplined about things.

Good Vibes

2009-12-16T14:05:00.002Z

-.-
I dont like that it's snowing.
Okay, I tell a lie.
I think that I secretly enjoy it. That I actually dont mind the chattering teeth and the fact that my blood has turned to ice...

//
On the underground on the way to work today I looked around at the angmo's and realised that I felt very at home.
I feel utterly comfortable in this environment.
It's a place that has so much potential. And all you have to do is go out there and grab it. Or make an effort to attempt to at least.

//
Only in a cool weathered country can my feet get away with not blistering despite quick stepping it over many many kilometers whilst breaking in a new pair of (hard) leather oxford-styled shoes. You win some, you lose some with this weather. And at the thought that vanity can be less painful... I'll use that winning to counter the loss that is sleet. Lots of it. ):

//
The best friend finally arrives on my door step (literally, she's staying over at mine for 4 nights whilst her folks are checked into a quaint hotel 2 doors away) tonight.
BLOODYSTOKED!
The definite plan is SHOPPING!

//
I hope and pray that I get the work attachment with ArcanMellor.
Pleasepleaseprettyplease.

A hectic sprint over lunch time...

2009-12-15T15:52:00.002Z

Despite the fact that I was racing around (something which I normally hate because I don't like the sour taste that Anxiety leaves in my mouth as I'm rushing...) all during lunch (from the Strand to Kings Cross and back again. Late.), I'm feeling at least a bit satisfied that I followed through with my plan to get my banking done.

At work today, my mission (after addressing and sealing 40 calenders into envelopes to be dispatched to Friends of IE Singapore) [now] is to look for seafood importers in France, Netherlands and Belgium. It's indeed a very interesting job that the peeps here at IE undertake.

DB + Computer and you know that productivity level won't be good. Correct that.
DB + Internet = Nastaye.

As I was telling GuoSoon, fellow multitasker (aka, at work but surfing a lot of the time...), the ratio of fish related tabs to design+art ones is 1:10. Like I literally have one fish tab and 10 design+art tabs open.

Sigh.

//
I have to talk less and act more.

!!

2009-12-15T08:05:00.004Z

It's going to be -1 degrees today!

OMG Heavens help me!

I shouldnt be here!

I ought to be nestled in my darling boyfriends warm embrace! :(

Yesterday was a... What word can I use to describe, an experience which one never really cared to have and never ventured to have and so, when experiencing it, realised what a pleasant and exciting encounter it was...?

Yes, well, I had one of those yesterday as I headed down to Denmark Street aka Music (guitar) Land here in London.

The uncle and I were in search of a replacement guitar head and no where seemed to sell them loose. Eventually though, we were directed down into the basement to see Phillippe who omgoodness, makes guitars! (Now, I know that one of my friend's bf's makes instruments but as imaginative as the mind allows oneself to be seeing is something else!)

It felt surreal.

Here was this French man... Working away in the smoke and glue-fume invested wedge of a work space. MYGOSH it was so charming! He was making them for raw pieces of timbre dammit! You never get to see that in Singapore!

Have I mentioned it was charming? My only regret is not having taken a picture of the place! :( But I guess that gives me another reason to visit! ((:

After that, I attended the Kazakh chamber orchestra.

They were Brilliant!

I never knew what the Kazakh Look was... And Borat really didnt help paint an accurate picture (it would seem). Do you know what a Kazakh look is?

A mix of the Mongolian look with European.

Yup! I never ever knew! I was so taken by trying to spot who might be Kazakh last night. Some looked really Chinese whilst others... not. It was a strange but interesting mixture of looks that they had...

Anyway, I'm side tracking... The performance was excellent (save for the bloody photographer that was using her mother large zoom [for a football match more appropriate maybe?] lens which made a shutter sound that could bring down a house...]) !!! Not to mention the fact that the conductor is THE CUTEST THING la!

*smitten*

It was a musical night to say the least!

(Sorry guys, rushing to work. Cant elaborate on how the aunt and I raced around to buy programmes after the thing so that we could get a few signatures-that involving us running to a back room to get the booklets and then into cordoned areas to request the signing... Tsk we're shameless and can't be taken anywhere!)

Wish you were here!