But you're never gonna love me like I need

A little shopping in the middle of exams never hurt nobody.

Cannot wait for this nightmare to be over. Wye Oak (and their latest EP, My Neighbour My Creator) have been good companions the past week. God knows what I would do without these incredible finds, thank you NPR and indiesecretmags :)

Oh, Leo borlock.

“You were smitten with me. You were speechless to behold my beauty. You had never met anyone so fascinating. You thought of me every waking minute. You dreamed about me. You couldn’t stand it. You couldn’t let such wonderfulness out of your sight. You had to follow me.”

My mom and I were talking about our favourite books the other night and as usual, I took a pretty long time deliberating and coming up with a mental list of five or so novels straight away. The top spot however, needed no consideration.

It was at a sleepover from eons ago where Lizzie tossed me the pink hardcover (first edition!) and we settled lazily in the reading room. Half an hour later, I was hooked. An ex-archaeology professor who talks to a cactus a.k.a Señor Saguaro? Who would want tacky porcupine neckties? More importantly, who was Stargirl and what was she doing wrecking the atmosphere around her, in all her glory?

So I started to convince my mom that there were other books out there worth reading, besides her regular subscription of reader's digest and the Purpose-Driven Life. After hearing me rattle off a few lovable quirks of Ms. Caraway (flapper dresses to the happy wagon pebble truck), mom said 'So... What makes a stargirl?'

It really got me thinking that beneath the obvious veneer of unique qualities, Susan Caraway's greatest attribute has to be that she has the biggest heart in the whole world. From her throwing-out of nickels and dimes onto the pavement (to the joy of the next six-year-old that comes alond) and her wish to take the world by storm with a shiny fleet of silver lunch trucks, her selflessness is enough to make anyone shed a tear.

So yes, the bunny-hop during prom night was entertaining. Stargirl inventing stories for strangers was amusing and creative. But my favourite scenes show Stargirl kissing Hillary on the cheeks after being freshly-slapped by the latter, or when singing ukelele happy birthday wishes to her embarrased schoolmates. This, truely, is the best we can take away from this powerful novel.

Me? I'm not Stargirl. I'll never be like her. What we can try to do is to embrace the starlight inside us and be someone real. It’s a real challenge, but not altogether impossible :)

“I’m not my name. My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn. I outgrow it, I change it.”

the general specific

On Wednesday, after three hours of disgusting math tuition, an urge to buy something just attacked me. So after dinner with Leo and shar at mos burger, we walked to that bright little shop at the basement selling an assortment of knick knacks. Among the tinkering music boxes and vintage coasters, the orange blackbird fly caught my eye (rhyme totally intended!)

After borrowing clare's pink bbf for a couple of months and shooting a roll of film on it, I knew I HAD to buy it. But procrastination, as always, prevented me from getting one (photojojo not having my colour in stock worsened the whole situation). Till two days ago!

Not exactly what I would call an impulse buy. Walked out of parkway feeling pretty darn good :)

Here are some shots from the developed roll!



The whole experience of shooting with a BBF is something really special; the warped world seen through a 1&1/2-inch circle and how the reversed images boggles your mind. It works very well with the holga 12mfc holga flash and has three different film formats (without frame, it produces shots with side sprockets!!)

Comes in aesthetically pleasing colours such as orange, red, blue, yellow and pink, to pile glory upon glory.

Can't wait to bring this to sydney!

'cause love's gonna getcha down

MIKA!

Well so, Mika was even more awesome then I thought it would be. It doesn't get any better than giant inflatable boots, ship sails, flowers and well, technicolour-everything. Two hours of mega hits and countless encores.

The crowd was surprisingly lovely (consisted mostly of preteens, cool caucasian moms and GIRLS IN GENERAL) and didn't have all that hooligan push-and-shove.

Loved the sets and the crazy crew. Hello, girl drummer!



And it didn't hurt that Mika himself was so incredibly cute.

One more word...

Kaching!

Isn't life grand?

And now our bodies are the guilty ones
Our touch will color hours

Spring Awakening 2009

And so it goes on the list on the ten top musical must-sees.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

What we need here, are more charming junkshops.

One thing I love about thrift-shopping (no, not frantic fleas where mass-manufactured store rejects or secondhand branded goods are hurriedly scavenged by masses) are the stories behind the carelessly-displayed knickknacks.

Going through junk shops often lead you to wonder the stories behind the dusty chain of dreamcatchers and wind chimes, the abandoned typewriter and collection of paper pinhole cameras. Rifling through a box of records is equally invigorating; a person who had previously owned a queer combination of 1980s alternative rock bands and the Everly brothers is someone I'd like to meet.

Junkshops are, in a way, a simple way of keeping memories alive. It makes us all innately inter-connected somehow, the same way one can feel when experiencing the finer things in life: a cup of tea and biscuits with friends, a midnight sojourn with the good old paperback.

So here we go, conjuring up images and epic, novel-like stories of people we've never met and probably never will. That would be, a great day spent :)

Summer of '69

To lie on carpeted skies,
How I struggle to tell you
that you were always my sandbox date.

__________________________________________

In an effort to keep fit, I made the biggest mistake of my life to go cycling with some t7-ers last thursday. Equipped with nothing except for George's hand-drawn map (hurriedly scribbled on the back of a faded Burger King receipt), we set off after GP paper.

And then I realised how amazing it was that four dudes had almost no sense of direction. ha!

Spotted: Ms Yoong doing the 'aunty-brisk-walk' @toa payoh interchange. She sure does have her fair share of paparazzi :)


The oil slick that sheri so cleverly walked in the same night cause she forgot.


We had to go through this narrow alley in one of the many deserted and dubious routes, i kid you not. Rather exciting

Ruizhi's bike spoilt halfway and Zhi yoong solved the problem!

Five hours later we were hopelessly lost, barely crossing the halfway mark and everyone was dying of cramps and steaming with frustration. So we had to call Ms Teo in the middle of her movie and ask her for cab numbers (lots of drama which I will not go into!!!)

Finally made it to Bedok corner about two hours late. Thanks so much to Tiara and Yiwen for staying there till 930 even though the famous hokkien mee was sold out by then! :))

Rushed off for family BBQ after that. Overall, a crazy day to 'celebrate' post-exams.

Okay so maybe cycling had its fun bits but I am never trusting George with any kind of daredevil expedition again :/ hahaha


Holidays are here and it's been alright so far. Skived school for most days ('cept lit. By the way the 2500 word lit essay is done! Took me five days.) because it's useless like that. Anyway, I hate to say this, but intensive math tuition has began which is putting an even bigger strain on my non-existent social life.

Went for a booksale last Sunday and got six books for less than 50! Although I really should be reading Tess/Women In Love instead of 'I married a Communist'. Dinner at Mezzanine where I got mauled by a hot but drunk caucasion (!) and sheri saved me in the middle of my stupor. Long story.

Also went to Malaysia on friday with my family and bought a ton of stuff! Developed my rolls of film and stocked up on polaroid packs and disposables. They are tres excellente. Now all I have to do is scan them in :)

Studying with sarah anne yesterday at the airport was mad funniness. The adventures of tweedle dee and tweedle dum. We are terrors on airport luggage carriers and smooth slopes. Tomorrow at eleven am again!

Jen left for Vietnam and didn't tell me! Mel is back! Faith is coming back soon! Life is great.

Tomorrow I am starting on my ham-and-cheese-sandwich diet, which mel points out, isn't really a diet at all. Considering the amount of food I consume, I would think it is. Stupid sarah and her lectures on the importance of health.



Well, that's a pretty lengthy update. Till next' :)

i took my lucky break and i broke it in two

‘I have learnt how to live…how to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch.”

Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina 1954