Out of bed, out of comfort

Antlers - We Were Evergreen

Tell Us Your Name - The New Limb

Drifting In & Out - Porcelain Raft

Overjoyed - Bastille

Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective Experiment

Collective Mon Amour - Éléphant

Entertainment - Phoenix

Pompeii - Bastille

Everything's Gonna Be Undone - Band of Horses

No Other Plans - Sunny Levine feat. Young Dad

Big Parade - The Lumineers

Towers - Bon Iver

Charleston - Set Sail

Son My Son - Milo Greene

Wild Things - San Cisco

Cousins - Vampire Weekend

______________________________________________________

Here's what I've been listening to lately, songs plucked out from youtube obscurity & also my Facebook timeline (!): The latest from WWE, tracks from the Celeste & Jesse Forever OST & the lesser-known from Coachella. These are the songs I could spend entire rainy days listening to, days like the ones we've been having, falling asleep beside melody & lavender tea.

I also received my We Were Evergreen package I blogged about earlier this year (x), all the way from London! I had to stifle screams of excitement as I ripped apart postage paper & airmail bubblewrap to get to its contents: a signed poster, handwritten lyric sheets for Penguins & Moonboots by Fabienne & best of all, their first album from 2010! Every track is different, slightly incomplete, but beautiful. There's a fifty-second demo at the end of the record entitled Verano ('summer', in Spanish), a mere fragment of a song which begins with nothing but whistles & a plucking guitar & repeats the lines 'Hang on to summer / Don't let go / Don't let go' over & over. It's perfect in its simplicity. I love how much you can fall in love with a song & how much comfort it can give & how it never asks for anything in return.


I don't know... I'm feeling strangely content right now, just listening to fresh music in my room. Haven't felt like this in a while & it's nice.

Writing the City

'Prose is all well & good, but it seems to me that poetry is full of music...'

Julia Bell

Last week, our creative writing fiction class attended a short seminar entitled 'Writing the City' by Julia Bell & Jean McNeil from the British Council & that was a nice change from the lessons that we've been having. Creative writing classes have always been a beacon for me in the past two years of college, with the exposure to interesting literature & the rediscovering of an innate hunger to write, but somehow this semester's fiction course was a little... drab. Perhaps it was the way classes were conducted; three hours of sitting in a circle & workshopping other people's work, which sometimes tended to go in circles without answering any quintessential questions (What does it mean when one says that a novel has a voice? When does one draw the line between fiction & autobiography?). Talking about writing, to me, is always necessary but often dull. Perhaps it also had to do with the kind of fiction my coursemates & I were producing, a lot of it being self-absorbed & overly-personal biography, only with disguised characters & changed names. Most of all though, it was largely because fiction doesn't come naturally to me at all, like how poetry or songs (sometimes) do, & these thirteen weeks were spent feeling largely like a fish out of water. Last week's class however, felt a bit like a breakthrough.

It was more of a reading of their work & discussion than a direct teaching seminar. The pieces they read, both excerpts of work-in-progress-novels & poems, were impressive & on occasion, brilliant. Jean, a travel writer whose work encompasses both Antarctica & Africa, talked about how good writers never let their life experiences & people & current landscapes directly translate into their writing, but how they used these tools to provide a template, a vibrant background for the invented story they had to tell, & I could definitely see how that was the case in her stories. There's a certain richness & creativity & also a curious authenticity, when a writer infuses the surrounding culture & his/her own life into a story without allowing it to be a true reflection of their own lives.

Julia also addressed the issue of fiction vs. autobiography, where she talked about how writing fiction isn't equivalent to ranting on the author's part. Throwing up your emotions on a page is the least of any kinds of writing, which often happens to writers in their early stages. Adolescent angst & bitter romances & painful experiences are treasure troves because of the strong emotion it invokes in the writer & his/her readers, but truly magnificent writing pays attention to how all of it translates onto a page & transforms personal experiences into something powerful & sublime. That is why writing is above all an artform, where things like rhyme & form & style are utilized to craft stories to the best possible form.


It was a good hour. What a terribly awful rant that must have been to some of you, but it was an eye-opener for me... I enjoyed it tremendously! Anyway, I haven't been blogging nearly enough & I promise I will soon when the obligatory final exams are over & summer holidays kick in. Till then... au revoir!



P.S. You can read about Jean's work here, & read some of Julia's poetry & short stories here.

Haiku for Autumn

A lonely bird sings

the gaunt tree sheds red and gold

on a bare pavement

____________________________________________________

2012 is almost over. So here's a thought: If the earth is apparently coming to an end in less than two months, why are we wasting time writing terrible essays about things we don't care about, instead of travelling the world & going for all-you-can-eat-buffets? 

Alright, I know that's ridiculous. I'm just really keen on getting through the next three weeks. Godspeed, everyone. 

(hashtag) Twitter

(25/10/2012. Spotted: John & Yoko on the MRT)

25th Sep

'Love, like art,comes from the moment.' 'Minor correction, love comes from a confluence of chemicals and hormones in the pineal gland' #bones

The backs of all stamps should taste like bacon

Dinner is a diet coke & a two-day old frozen chicken steak how sad is that

OK, I lied about the coke being diet. 


26th Sep

WHO ATE ALL MY PRETZELS

27th Sep

tried to wipe a speck off my screen for ten seconds before realizing it was a full-stop in the middle of the page #ibetrippin'

Why are Harry & Ron always complaining about studying for exams you're in a magic school doing magic homework for crying out loud

Just walked home in the pouring rain... Yeah I really carpe-d that diem. Take that, dead poet's society!


28th Sep

Just had my first slice of mooncake I FEEL SO CONNECTED TO MY CHAINESE CULTURE #notreallyno


29th Sep

When's the new Jonas Brothers record coming out?

Yeah anyway I'm apparently my mom's mooncake delivery assistant how did I get here what did I do in life


30th Sep


Ants in the bathroom. Who's been eating Reese pieces in the shower again?!

Oops yeah that was me.


1st October

For once in my life I want somebody to threaten me so I can say 'I don't respond well to threats.' in a cold, steely voice

My dad has the same waist size as me okthxbye

Oh right it's October. Time to get excited about Halloween.... TV specials.


2nd October

DON'T TALK IN THIRD PERSON UNLESS YOU'RE DOBBY THE ELF OK? ok

Likely death scenario: choking on a chocolate biscuit.





Yeah so, follow me @stacecake on twitter #irrelevanthashtag

'TV's the best dad there is...'

This is a unicorn cloud. It's a cool picture I found on the internet. I like clouds, & I certainly like unicorns (squeeeeeeeee.)

Also, I'm spending way too much time watching telly. It's a guilty pleasure. Any more pop culture references or science-fiction series or NBC comedies, and I might end up morphing into a female Abed haha #community #sixseasonsandamovie #okbye (I also spend too much time on twitter)

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 7

'What does the word 'love' mean to you?' 

'Love is... I don't really know. I'm only 19. All I know is that love happens to us everyday of our lives.' 

'So you're saying it's possible to fall in love with just... anyone?' 

'Not anyone. Anything. Sometimes, I fall in love with a book. I fall in love with the scent of lavender. Or the colour orange. Sometimes I walk the streets, and for a while I believe that I'm falling in love with the stranger walking three feet in front of me.' 

'Isn't that strange, that we 'fall' in love?' 

'Yes, it is strange, this notion of falling. Then again, we are always falling. But unlike most things, when we fall in love, we don't fall into endless oblivion but into the comfort of a mug of tea, an illustrated novel, or a warm pair of arms.'

Conversations 
(with my mind)

Violet

Today is just one of those days where everything seems a bit off. The tea is cold, the favourite movies are less entertaining & the comfort novels that I run to every time don't seem quite right. I am tired when I have done nothing all day. I feel like crying one second, and then I find myself laughing at absolutely nothing in another. I play guitar and listen to music and try to write, but the notebook paper remains blank, like the insides of my mind.

I know I sound a little bit depressed, but honest to God, I'm not. Maybe it's just too much Plath or Foer I've been reading lately, or work coming up next week (still not entirely sure how I feel about that), and having so many things on my mind. It's just one of those days, and tomorrow is a new one, so there.

Prufrocking

'Let us go then, you and I

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells;

Streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent

To lead to an overwhelming question...

Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'

Let us go and make our visit.

...

There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet

...

For I have known them already, known them all;

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

I have measured out my life in coffee spoons;

I know the voices dying with a dying fall,

Beneath the music from a farther room

So how should I presume?

...

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets,

And watch the smoke that rises from the pipes

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of the windows?

...

And I have seen the moments of my greatness flicker

And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short,

I was afraid.

...

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red & brown,

Till human voices wake us, & we drown.'

Excerpts from 'The Lovesong of J.S. Prufrock' 

T.S. Eliot.

_____________________________________

I love that phrase: 'streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent.' I don't know the exact word to describe the way I feel when I read it, except that it is a pleasant and warm sensation that prickles through me. Strange, the things that poetry can do.

Last week, I was dozing off in a linguistics lecture, and the professor used the word insidious in a statement (which I now forget. It was related to phonetics, or sociolinguistics, or something equally sleep-inducing.) and I immediately snapped to attention. It just reminded me of this very special poem & how it made me feel. I began to smile like a complete goof & my course-mate looked at me like I was completely off my rocker. Like I was mad. 

I continued to smile widely to myself though, because it was all strange and funny and lovely to have this secret connection to a certain word that no one else knew about. Well. Perhaps all aspiring writers are a little mad, inside.   

Call it what you want!

CNY is coming to an end! There are a lot of essays to write. Some times I lie in bed at night and have mini panic attacks, just counting off the list of things I have to do. Then, the moment passes and I go back to reading the latest Marquez novella or scrolling through pages of 9gag. You know, just saving the panicking for future me.

Also, you know the dream where all your teeth fall out? I had that for the first time yesterday and it was tres frightening. It was terrible because in addition to the teeth falling out, my jaw broke into two and my dad refused to take me to the dentist. I don't know why he was a douchepacker in my dream. That is all!

Another day, another fall

 

A couple of days ago, I was trying to turn on the air-conditioner in church before music class, when I fell backwards and managed to impale the sole of my foot on an upturned three-pin plug. A lot of blood and a quick visit to a GP for one stitch later (yes, ONE. As if my life isn't cursed enough that a hundred dollars must be forked out for ONE stitch. How lame is that?) and I'm at home, missing a couple of days of school and wrapping my leg in a plastic bag before showering.

Too much time at home and not enough human contact is driving me insane. On the other hand, I've gotten extremely adept at hopping around the house on one foot. Which must also, drive my downstairs neighbours insane.

I'm so grateful for friends who helped me on that night, and subsequent ones who visited/dropped a text/promised to help me when I get back to school! And of course, family, for putting up with one whiny kid who wheels around in her desk chair and plays a lot of noisy ukulele. 

A sudden epiphany in the deep of the night

Playing ukulele in the dark can be haunting, disconcerting and extremely fun at the same time.

I didn't come out of a cereal box

That is ridonkulus. Wait, donkeys? THAT IS IRRELEPHANT.

I don't know.

On absolutely nonsensical cliches

I have just got to say this...

11:11 doesn't exist.

*gasp!

'Skeptic!'
'Dream-shatterer!'
'Next thing you're gonna say is Taylor Swift sucks!' (well...)



Maybe it's just pms, or the daily influx of the same tweets on making wishes. Like please, grow a pair. I mean, c'mon, once a year, that's fine. But everyday, kinda takes the excitement of things right?

Definitely the PMS.

The colour of evening stars

Today was magnificent. And now, back to reality!

Sigh.

Love is art

DUE TO SCHOOL, PRELIMS, UPCOMING A-LEVELS AND ENDLESS TESTS, there has been an alarming shortage of radness in my life. Is it sad that the most exciting thing that happened to me today was when Ms. Yoong threw my GP essay into the bin cause I was reading it during math class? HURRAH!

Hurrrrr the school thinks it's smart to ask us to have 'potluck' on Teacher's day so they don't have to fork out moolah for light refreshments. Golly thanks! And the kong-monster's elaborate morning speeches have always been unbearable, but lately they are worse. Like, cut-throat-worse. IDK WHAT I'M SAYING SCHOOL MAKES ME INCOHERENT.

To avoid doing any sort of productive work, I've been watching movies from the DVD box (the count is stagnant at 287 movies, of which I have watched about 50), reorganizing my CDs and playing obscenely loud guitar at the 1ams.

So well imma do something lots more interesting than Hypo-testing. Like, pumice my feet or get hit by a truck of hot garbage juice.

Thanks Juno, for giving me the words! See you guys soon :)

Make. Stuff.

When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in people's eyes!

Well, all I've got to say is there's bigger things in life than this drama. But still, you can't help but ask why. Why the lies? Why put yourself in that position? Why pretend?

And hey you, you're off to a brand new start from here and it's all uphill.


So this is me, us, moving on! There are new things to do everyday and we are wasting ourselves away in this clutter. Midnight! Off.

Crayola colours

Don't get the concepts of flower shops. Flowers should be free. Next time I'll open a free-flower stand for everyone. That'll show em'!

In the spirit of contradiction, I bought a cerise-coloured daisy. Love daisys. Accept I don't have a vase so I put it in a coca-cola glass.

Life is good. For now.

Beautiful Mess

Just when I was about to figure life out,
He came to poison my dreams,
The stranger clad in romance.
Now I'm stuck.

I'm slipping between the cracks here,
tangled up in lines.

Well to tell the truth.
Till you came along,
I had a perfectly ordinary life.

______________________________________

There are no words to describe how much I abhor my absolutely crap-CCA and its moronic leaders. No wait, there are.

Hello, is it your fault that your vice-head/wife Clara, only told me I had to write the article on Saturday? I think it's pretty darn swell enough that I managed to scrape together a half-page (small-font, mind you) of decently-written work yesterday night after I came home from Rockefella practise at nine o' clock. The email, dripping with wannabe-sarcasm was totally uncalled for.

Next time please forward your article to Eeban instead of me.

I have done it for you this time, but don't do it again.

Oh yar, it would be nice to have the article in on Sunday if you told me it would be in on Sunday'

Apparently, some people find it hard to differentiate the phrases 'I'll try to get it done over the weekend' from 'I'll get it done by Sunday'.

Not to say, it was unnecessary to yell at Clare. The only dudes that yell at girls when it's not their fault are douche bags who feel that they need to exercise the male ego/chauvinist-pig complex to exude manliness.

Well, not working, Ian.

Apologies for that rant, but Clare a.k.a fellow editorial-hater, doesn't have her phone and is thus not replying my texts. Sigh.



On a lighter note, here's some shots from Lit Night. Which we totally owned, btw.




aWe won for costumes and second for exhibition! Wicked stuff. Not bad for two days work, I reckon :)

Next up, Rockefella. Yesterday's rehearsal was beyond bad, let's hope tomorrow's one works out.

As for common tests, I believe the right word here is 'screwed'. Doomed. Shish Kebab.



Oh.

In the heart of Paris

Love my Glee boys.



Is it weird that I'm getting all nervous for school's reopening? Sure, we all know its a drag (hello crappy timetable) but that's never bothered me too much. Maybe its other things. On my mind.

Of course, there's always the undone math homework and the mental image of Ms Yoong that would make anyone shiver.

Well, enjoy the breath of fresh air while we can! See ya'll next week :)

wait a minute. OH HELL YES.

How could I forget? 2010 is going to be the best year yet.



I confess, when I started to get all these fb invites and paramore@SG updates, I was doubtful. And then came the most reliable sources, Rin & Justin. Cue, uncontrollable laughter and hyperventilation.

There are no words to describe how long I've been waiting for this. I recall once saying this to Jannabanana, 'After God, I love Paramore the most.' Of course, now that seems just plain blasphemous, but do remember that I was a young and immature two years ago

But no kidding. I AM STOKED ABOVE ALL THE STOKED PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF STOKE-ALITY. Brand New Eyes has got to be one of the best albums of the 2009 (Yes, I have a list) Finally, Emi and I get to go to the concert of our dreams :D

Plus, we get to see Blonde Hayley. Cause everybody loves Blonde Hayley, no?





Not forgetting, two very expensive tickets for next year as well.



Imogen Heap and Cat Power completes 2010's rollicking good music fests. So it doesn't really matter we missed out of Yeah Yeah Yeah tickets, or the fact that Green Day's sold out (both literally and figuratively)

For now, I'm walking on sunshine.

Once and fer' all, night guys!