ide: Aldo
ilustrasi: Jade
character based on: Shelly
summary: Andi is a struggling medical student studying for his final exam tomorrow morning. He’s spent the whole day staring at his textbooks and still he has another pile yet to be read. His farmer parents have run out of money to support him for another semester. Summary Girl comes to the rescue…
(click to biggify)
I like making my friends happy…
Categories: Random
Tagged: hallucination
Woke up this morning with the phrase “INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE” playing over and over in an endless loop in my head. Can’t get it out. Shit.
You know the movie Gangs of New York? Yeah the you-gotta-watch-it-it’s-really-good oscar movie? Well I haven’t watched it. At least not entirely. Got a cheapo pirated copy in my hands and watched it until it stopped working after an hour or so. I CAN’T JUST WATCH A MOVIE HALFWAY! There are unresolved questions! I would imagine the souls of people who die of heart attack in the middle of a movie would haunt HMV. Gotta gotta gotta get a working copy of GONY. Oh and, I think Daniel Day Lewis is much more appealing than Leonardo diCaprio. Maybe this is a sign that I’m getting old. Or maturing in taste.
Impending Doom! They’re coming! I hope Harisson Ford and whatever-that-guy-who-played-Luke-Skywalker-name-is come to my rescue on the amazing Millennium Falcon!
Anyway, this is the view from the window next to my desk in the office. Those cranes really remind me of those gigantic mammoth(esque) walkers from Star Wars.
Dropped by the NUS museum again after a quick lunch. It’s so nice to be able to immerse myself in culture during lunch break! It’s my 3rd visit there and I’ve just realised that they have another level above! Contains the Ng Eng Teng permanent collection (I must say I love his work! There’s this still life of durian, rambutans and mangosteens from his early years that looks like Georgette Chen’s, I was wondering if they painted the same scene together). I’ll definitely pay more visits to the museum, I haven’t really gone through the iron sculpture from Spanish artist exhibition thingy, so yeah now I have more things to occupy myself during lunch break – other than eating and staring into space. Although the museum is quite small, it’s just never enough to really stare and wonder at everything during lunch break. I’m thinking maybe I should arrange for someone to take me on a tour or something there. That would be really nice.
The museum visit made me happy. But the weather is a bummer. Couple of weeks back it’s been just super hot sunshine. Now it starts to rain almost everyday, too. So in one day, the weather goes like this: cheerful sunny sunrise, dark cloudy skies, half hour drizzle, super hot sun with some rainclouds hanging (which makes it almost unbearably humid), then followed by dissapointing pouring, and stabilises around drizzles/overcast sky until dark.
I think I have a cavity (or more). Better make a dentist appointment ASAP. I hate to imagine that the cavity will grow bigger and start eating into whole teeth, and my jaw, and eventually my whole face.
On another note, France sounds like a nice place to work in. From CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/27/60II/main704571.shtml
“… Like most Frenchmen, Marchand has no guilt about taking so much time off. In fact, it’s the law: full-time workers in France are guaranteed at least five weeks vacation — guaranteed those long lazy days in the sun, and leisurely lunches in outdoor cafes.
On top of the five weeks, there are another dozen public holidays, and a maximum 35-hour work week, with no paid overtime allowed. Managers like Marchand, who work more than 35 hours a week, get more time off.”
Categories: Experience · Fun
Tagged: Art, french, hallucination, museum
Dropped by the newly opened Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street last Saturday. I can’t remember exactly how long they’ve been closed for renovation. I just remember that I liked being in the former school. It was initially another branch of the Asian Civilisation Museum but I guess they choose to make it more specialised and thus the Peranakan Museum. Honesly, I don’t know if I’m counted as a peranakan. I’m not even too sure about the family’s genealogy. But it’s definitely fun to see those things that we have at home (or keep in boxes) displayed in the museum – our TV table at home was a functioning altar until my Granpa died about 17 years back, and our house is filled with random (straits?) chinese antiquities.
Stumbled upon an interesting place – a small graveyard in the Armenian Church’s yard. Pretty interesting, since I’ve never actually seen any old Christian grave here. Small tombs arranged in 2 curves with some tombstone figures losing their extremeties, no mausoleum or whatnot. But still a nice find, afterall. And apparently the famous Vanda Miss Joaquim (namesake of the Singaporean Orchid) is buried there.
Another interesting find is the Civil Defence Gallery at the pretty (as in, beautiful) old Fire Station opposite Funan (near the Philatelic Museum). Saw some old fire engines there, including a steam-powered one. The second level was less interesting IMO, tho. Contains a replica of an ambulance’s interior, some rescue scenes (including a really boring elevator scene where all you did was look at the level-indicator lights and listen to some woman’s voice telling you that the firefighters are coming to help you at level 18), and hazmat suits.
Categories: Knowledge
Tagged: Fun, museum, singapore, weekend
Yes that was an attempt at the (annoying, monotonous, sounds-like-satanic-ritual-chanting-after-the-100th-time-you-hear-it) Chasing Cars song.
Anyway. I fell this afternoon while chasing Bus #33. Was going to have lunch with Elisa and realised that the 33 bus was already at the bus stop! And I’m still at the other end of the bridge! So I started running and I fell! No bloody injuries, tho. Just scraped my knee (technically my jeans scraped my knee), and a bit of my ankle.
My knees have been victims of asphalt-kissing accidents for quite a number of times in the past few years. I don’t know why.
Categories: Random
I’m not sure why but ants are crawling all over my work desk. They crawl on me, and bite me at their own convenience. If you imagine fire ants or man-eating ant colonies, no they’re not that exciting – just regular small annoying ants. The only explanation I can come up with is ants have developed a taste for me. So I’ll just have to wait for the time when I develop a taste for ants, then I’ll get my revenge. Muha ha ha!
Anyway, the cough isn’t gone yet and it’s getting much more annoying. Yesterday my throat felt like it’s got a whole Monthong Durian stuck in it and my body tried to cough it up all through last night, letting me get 3 hours of sleep. Fortunately today the durian is gone, but I still can’t finish one sentence without coughing my lungs out.
It’s only Wednesday – and Wednesday’s not even over yet, so still half a work-week to endure through *sigh*. I went over to the NUS Museum to see the S Sudjojono exhibition, which was quite interesting and pretty refreshing for lunchtime entertainment. Billy went along too, as he had an interview in Science Park earlier in the morning so we thought why not just meet up for a sandwich lunch and drop by the museum.
The position he interviewed for was Assoc Engineer (image/print) with MINDEF, which deals lots with image retouching – I have my suspicion that what they actually do is airbrush many photos in the press, like maybe Mas Selamat doesn’t actually look like the short javanese guy with a thin mustache, or maybe some political figures weren’t actually at the place the photo was shot at. Or maybe conjure up gruesome photos for cigarette pack warning labels.
Until the end of Friday, I’ll just anesthetize my mind with the thoughts of things to do this weekend. We’re gonna watch the new Indiana Jones movie starring the sagging Harrison Ford, catch the Singapore Arts Fest opening at Boat Quay, featuring Water Fools – which looks like Cirque du Soleil on water to me, and my first training session for the Singapore Art Museum Volunteers. And how smart of the Museum! Apparently guides in the museums in singapore are all voluntary guides – so the Museum doesn’t fork out any money to pay these people. And we, the volunteers, even have to pay for the training fees! Which is not really that cheap, but if you consider it as a college-level crash course in art, then it’s not really that expensive at all. And I’ll get to know more people, too! And it gives me something productive to do on weekends, other than doing the laundry or sweeping the floor.
From the International Herald Tribune -
“Singapore succeeds at managing everything – except dating”
SINGAPORE: It was like a college mixer, a classroom full of young men and women seeking a recipe for romance.
They had assembled for the first class of “Love Relations for Life: A Journey of Romance, Love and Sexuality.”
There was giggling and banter among the students, but that was all part of the course material as their teacher, Suki Tong, led them into the basics of dating, falling in love and staying together.
The course, which is in its second year at two polytechnic institutes, is the latest of many, mostly futile, campaigns by the government to get its citizens to mate and multiply. Its popularity last year has led to talk of expansion through the higher education system.
“We want to tell students: Don’t wait until you have built up your career,” Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, minister of state for community development, youth and sports, said at a news conference last month. “Sometimes, it is too late, especially for girls.” <<<< WOT????
…
“I’m not open to relationships in school,” said Wei Shan Koh, a former student who works as a teacher’s aide. “Boys in school are not my cup of tea. They are male chauvinist pigs. They’re annoying and childish. And they won’t give in to you. They’re just not mature.”
Another former student, Tian Xi Tang, was quick to respond.
“I think girls’ ideas are a bit childish, or you might say girlie,” said Tian, who hopes to become an engineer. “It’s a matter of pride. Guys are more outspoken.
We don’t like a girl to be more outspoken.”
…
Credits to Els for highlighting the paragraph above – and for starting a battle of sexes (and ego)
The six of us went to visit the Singapore Zoo last weekend. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy the other half of the zoo – had to attend the SAM Museum Volunteer interview. The training will start end of this month and it sounds like a crash course in Asian Art, and requires us to write papers and all. Sounds like it’s gonna be fun 
One of the most exciting part of being a guide there would be knowing what most people don’t. Heh heh. So I can *feel* smart. Talking about SAM, tomorrow we’re gonna drop by and visit the Giacometti exhibition, free entrance on Friday evenings. Yeah yeah I know. CHEAP :p
Anyway, back to the zoo – we bought 2 in 1 tickets which includes a pass to the night safari. We don’t have to do them both on the same day, so we’re planning to do “Zoo part deux: Night Safari” this weekend. Aldo mentioned that they’re open at 6 but the animals will only be out at 7.30 – Shenanigans, I say! Shenanigans!
Letting Nature Take its Course
Hmm… Anatomically Accurate, yes?
Was Googling for cough suppressants and found this on Wikipedia:
Recent studies have found that theobromine, a compound found in cacao, is more effective as a cough suppressant than prescription codeine. This compound suppresses the “itch” signal from the nerve in the back of the throat that causes the cough reflex. It is possible to get an effective dose (1 g, though 0.5 g may be sufficient, according to PMID 15548587) from 50g of dark chocolate, which contains 2 to 10 times more cacao than milk chocolate. Cocoa powder contains roughly 0.1 g per tablespoon (5g). Theobromine was also free from side effects in the blind test
Medicines have never tasted this good. I ought to give this a try.
From 1st to 4th May the boyfriend and I was in Indonesia, mostly to show him off to people in Jakarta. Uhm, I mean introduce. Yes, introduce. And it was the first time I stepped into my own hometown as a tourist. In a nutshell, Jakarta is very much prettier seen through my tourist spectacles. It looks like the old Batavia with bis kotas and BMWs and bajajs. Even buildings in the worst conditions are pretty and just add to the character of the city.
After we landed in Sukarno-Hatta, we went to Taman Fatahillah with Museum Sejarah Jakarta and Museum Wayang on schedule. But apparently both museums were closed although my parents called the day before to confirm that they’re open on labour day. Fortunately the Museum Wayang curator was in and he invited us in (for a free private tour! and he allowed Billy to snap pics using his DSLR). It was formerly a Dutch Church and grave stones are still embedded in the walls, including J.P. Coen’s (the Batavia Governor whose name got stuck in my head since primary school’s history class). Other than the obvious collection of hundreds of Wayang Kulit, Wayang Golek, and puppets from around the world (some donated by Presidents of countries), there is a more interesting story behind the museum.
The curator, Pak Daniel, mentioned that the museum does not get funded by the Indonesian Government at all, but from Private donations, the UN, and sales of hand-made fine wayang kulit (which goes at Rp 300,000 for a palm sized Gunungan that takes 1 month to meticulously carve out of Vietnamese water buffalo skin) -he’s a descendant of Wayang makers in keraton, and apparently his 118 y.o. great granpa is still kicking. He mentioned that a few years back the gov’t called him and asked him if he’d like some funding (yes please). Along with that, they enquired how much share of profit they could get if they funded the museum (wth?!). So he declined the offer and a few years back UNESCO started backing him up for funding of the Museum Wayang. He travels around the globe with the UN and through wayang educate people in cities about cultures, and in villages on the importance of family planning and education.
Unfortunately the Museum Fatahillah wasn’t open so we couldn’t get a peek of what’s inside – last time I was there was more than 10 years back but I only remember the huge Dutch cabinets and the dungeon. Anyway, we got ourselves some drink at Cafe Batavia which has a really pretty interior, I’d say lounging in there is not unlike lounging in some gentlemen’s club in the ’20s. Billy was impressed at how much more genuine colonial era buildings are in Jakarta. Sure, Raffles Hotel and the Museums in Singapore are nice, and they preserve the facade of the colonial-era buildings. But they’re not genuine, they feel too man-made, while the atmosphere of buildings in Jakarta feels warm, genuine, rustic, and real. Stepping into an old building in Jakarta is just like stepping through a gate that separates 2008 and 1898. (But I suspect there’s the factor of lack of funding. If possible, I believe they would make everything from shiny marble. Ew.)
On the way back home we stopped by the Gedung Arsip Nasional (National Archives). Again, it’s a really pretty residence and there were people doing some pre-wed shots inside there – which inspired my Dad to play with the idea of having a wedding reception there (shock shock horror!).
We headed to some Sundanese Kuring restaurant for lunch, and for the first time in his life, Billy tasted Oncom and Cincau Hijau. Apparently green cincau is such a rarity in Singapore (if not unavailable) that a few days back when I peeked at Billy’s MSN window, her friend wanted to make sure that it was genuinely cincau in green he was eating and not cendol…
Categories: Experience
Tagged: indonesia, travel
The concert was Good! A hundred buck well spent. With the same amount of money, we could’ve gotten a seat behind the stage (obstructed by a huge screen), or on the left hand side of the stage (and watch his back for the whole night) – Although for a mere $475 we could’ve high-fived Elton John. But it’s OK, for memorabilia and for the sake of adding value to my Class 6 tickets, I bootlegged Yellow Brick Road and Rocketman using my cam-phone. Crappy, yeah. Can’t even tell if those down there are human.
I kept thinking, this guy played for the royal family, for the biggest names in the world, even for american idol contestants. This is the short bald guy with extravagant glasses my mom saw on TV in high-school. So this is how it feels to be in near proximity with Elton John while he performs (Although I believe it was crazier when he was bald and less wrinkly. But he’s still good nonetheless).
He started performing just before 8.30 and sang and banged the piano almost non-stop for a good 2.5 hours. At 10 I thought he’d be finishing soon, but no, the concert just got more meriah! For someone his age that’s enviable! But like my aunt said, a busker has to keep his stamina up and most importantly because he has a boyfriend much younger than him. Ahah!
That’s HIM on the piano.
Categories: Experience
Tagged: music
That sounds like what I would name my band, if I ever play in one.
Bonbon, Elisa and I are going to watch Sir Elton John and his band who are playing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium tonight. Yep, trying to catch him before he expires – I don’t know how much longer the magical Sir John can keep his singing and piano banging up.
I caught a cold + cough when I got back from Jakarta but I must must must be well enough to go through the concert tonight! Comon I’ve paid a hundred and one bucks for it! Singapore! And when else can I catch him? Alive? I just hope I don’t start hacking like mad (but maybe that will grab Sir John’s attention huh).
The cough syrup from the doctor is pretty potent and pretty much wonderful. A dose gets me very drowsy and pretty high and it’s a wonderful feeling when you’re slipping in and out of sleep while your eyes stay open the whole while. Like now. I sympathize with those who chug the syrup to get high. But I’m in a dilemma, if I take the syrup I’ll start getting high and “bengong-bengong”, rendering me almost useless even for minimum brainwork. But if I don’t take my dose, I’ll start coughing and hacking like mad. Elisa suggested to reduce the dose, but Shelly has a point – I will start coughing and also bengong-bengong.
