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January 31, 2005
The Ambitious Traveller
Awe-struck by Angkor Wat, I endeavour to finish seeing all these by the time I hit 35. Is it possible? I've already seen a few of them, even so, I don't mind re-visits.
I've been to:
1) Angkor Wat in Cambodia (definitely need to go back again)
2) The Empire State Building in New York City, USA
3) The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA
4) Hoover Dam in Arizona/Nevada, USA
5) The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6) The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia
7) The Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA
8) The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA
9) Mt Fuji in Japan
In two weeks time, I will see
1) Borobudur Temple in Java, Indonesia
and I hope to see
2) Krakatoa Island, Indonesia
This year I hope to see,
1) The Great Wall of China
and maybe the wonders in Europe!!!
Posted by lainey at 01:13 AM | Comments (2)
January 30, 2005
Supposedly
Alice Why isn't love enough?
I'm the one who leaves.
I'm supposed to leave you.
I'm the one who leaves.
-Patrick Marber, Closer
Which leads to the lyrics from the soundtrack
Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?
-Damien Rice, The Blower's Daughter
Posted by lainey at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2005
Danger in Love
Joan Price was our only star. I loved her without knowing what love was. Not having yet read William Blake, I told my love, though not to my love, and discovered that the rest of the boys knew what love was. Love was kissing. In the playground a gang tried to force us to kiss. The mask of fury of a girl can be terrifyingly adult. Joan Price beat me with her hard little fists. I learned, and have never unlearned, that falling in love is dangerous.
-Anthony Burgess, Little Wilson and Big God
Posted by lainey at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2005
My Kids
Today I miss Cambodia badly. I sat down to plan on my next travel trip and I realised, there isn't anywhere I'd rather go than back there. Not Europe (sorry Shwang), not New York (sorry Laling), not some beach resort, not to discover another city.
I just want to go back to that simplicity of life. Waking up daily only to look forward to playing with my kids. Or walking through the ruins of Angkor Wat, being locked in my own time warp.
I miss Kampuchea.
Posted by lainey at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)
A Second Best Life
Life without you is second best
I guess I'll get by
I'm lonelier today
Than I'd dare to say
To anyone who asks
I have a yellow and navy sundress
It reminds me of you
-The Softies, Favourite Shade of Blue
Posted by lainey at 01:23 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2005
Laughing on The Train
There came many failed attempts to read of late. Murakami's Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood failed to get my feet moving in rhythm. Simon Tay's Alien Asian started out fresh but ended up plodding along with his typical Asian observations in America without any beauty in his words. Was disappointed and prepared to renounce reading for this season until I picked up Anthony Burgess' short excerpt of his auto-biography - Childhood.
With that, I was enraptured. Reading on the train and laughing to myself. And all of a sudden, Singapore doesn't feel so lonely anymore. I've found my companion.
Posted by lainey at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
Terminally Ambivalent Over You
The best thing about the internet is....This! :)
Posted by lainey at 01:17 AM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2005
Yea I like doing these..
1 minute ago: Asked VJ for a nice song.
1 hour ago: Shopping for groceries in Supermarket
1 day ago: Sitting on the swing at Chip Bee chatting with new friend.
1 year ago: Excited about new career and refreshed from New York City
Words to describe the situation of now: Stuck stucker stuckerity - yet hopeful
Things I want: functionality, normality, trust, honesty, love.
Songs listened to: Damien Rice, Camera Obscura, David Bowie, Velvet Underground - yea, I'm on a rampage today.
Things accomplished: Spring cleaning (part of)
Windows open: Winamp, itunes, movable type, yahoo messenger
Things around the computer: Water bottle, credit card, notepad, pen, dictionary, thumbdrive, handsfree set, floss.
Thoughts of now: Sleepy and tired and friggin backache
E-mails: Class reunion discussion, film society discussion, Vasana discussion, post-cambodia trip discussion
Lyric: (in my head) And so it is...(from Blower's Daughter, Damien Rice)
Random: Am falling sick
Spell your name backwards: aiya dunno la
Where do you live?: Singapore
Describe yourself in three words: not-sweet not-young not-thing
Who is your worst enemy? Myself definitely
If you could have ANY animal for a pet, what would it be?:a Golden retriever.
Do you know what a spork is?: 2-in-1 spoon-cum-fork? Wonder why they don't have that in Singapore
What is the latest you've ever stayed up?: 6.32am I think
Ever been to Belgium?: No
Toothbrush: pink oral b, soft
Jewellery worn daily: white gold chain with solitaire diamond pendant
Underwear: almost always black
Shoes: depends on my outfit really, quite a shoe person, but for convenience it's always birkies. (since last August)
Nail polish: Sand-dust on fingers, purplish pink on toes
Handbag: I'm a bag person, but current craze is gold clutch Shan gave me
Favorite top: Currently the cowboy-chic tube I bought from Bangkok. Which is my most expensive purchase from Bangkok, can you imagine!
Favorite pants: My new skinny Diesel Jeans. Or my Earl Jeans.
Perfume: I like Eternity Moments, but I refuse to spend that kinda money, so have to continue using what I already have.
CD in stereo right now: Dubstar but not listening to stereo..kekeke
Tattoos: None
Piercings: a pair on the ears
Current music: Sonic Youth - Theresa Sound
Wearing: soccer shorts and camisole
Hair: curly!
Makeup: because of curly hair, make up is a must. powder, mascara, eyeshadow, eyebrows, blush, lip balm, Dr Feelgood from BeNeFit for a smooth finish
In my mouth: A bitter taste
In my head: tired, am falling sick
Hearing: Mom's chatter
Wishing: to be happy
After this: read, sleep.
Posted by lainey at 11:32 PM | Comments (1)
Books To Give
It's Spring Cleaning time and I've got these books to give away. If any of you are interested in any of these books, drop me a note and I will pass 'em to you somehow or another. It's just really a pity to throw them away so I'm putting them out here before I give them to whatever second-hand bookstore.
They are on a first-come-first-serve basis
Wally Lamb
- She's Come Undone
Anne Rice
- The Vampire Lestat
-The Queen of The Damned
Italo Calvino
-Invisible Cities
Jostein Gaardner
-Vita Brevis
David Malouf
-Conversations At Curlow Creek
-Dave Barry is Not Making This Up
Terry Prachett
-Pyramids
Stephen King
-On Writing
- The Talisman
Margaret Frazer
-The Murderer's Tale
An extensive collection of Singapore Literature incl. poetry, prose and plays - particularly useful for English, Literature and GP teachers. (drop me a msg if you are interested in knowing the exact writers.)
Posted by lainey at 12:37 PM | Comments (3)
January 21, 2005
Sunset by Tonle Sap River
From the cooking area of the hut I was staying in, I was granted the marvellous sight of sunset every evening. I adore sunsets. And seeing it night after night was like being in heaven for me.
Posted by lainey at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2005
Dance, Dance, unDance
Can't seem to read Murakami anymore. He is boring me. I guess I can't read more than 2 or 3 books by the same writer. Cept for Shakespeare I suppose.
Ah, well. Time to move on with life.
Posted by lainey at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2005
BKIFF mini-report
Just brief comments on the movies I caught:
1) Yasmin
Very powerful, controversial movie, quietly moving. Very raw in the recent aftermath of the 9/11 reports. We don't feel it here. But there are societies where it really matters. Loved the way the movie ended.
What happens when you are unwillingly tossed to the other side the society by default - by your skin colour? What happens when the society you trust, you chose to trust, turns against you and makes you the Outsider/Enemy? Do you still accept your fate? Embrace your previous rejected faith? Or do you turn into a fundamentalist with a vengeance?
2) Kontroll
This movie is an absolute trip! Totally fun, fantastic soundtrack and full of energy and laughs, and yet...full of heart. Kinda reminds me of Old Boy - just less melodramatic.
Protogonist stays underground in Subway station 24/7. By day, he works as a train inspector; by night, he sleeps on train platforms. We learn later that he had a high-flying job UP THERE but he escaped underground. So while trying to sort out his personal [i]hell[/i] , he has to be in a physical underground [i]hell[/i]. [color=white]He has to battle a phantom (is it real or a figment of his imagination?), real-life problems like defending his bumbling team-mates and falling in love with a teddy bear.[/color]
Well worth a watch over and over again!
3) Boats Out of Watermelon Rinds
The movie is a bit too slow to start my day with but it was poignant enough with good moments. The boys' love for movies - which resulted in their amateur attempts to build a projector and start their own village cinema was heartbreakingly hopeful. Of course, one of them had to fall in love and have his heartbroken. Just like every movie with adolescents in it.
4) Reconstruction
Caught this at SIFF last year. Still thinking of it. (check out my avatar!) and second viewing of it at BKIFF still managed to break my heart and blow me away.
5) The Nomi Song
I've no idea why I went in expecting something like Interstella. Instead it is a feature film/documentary on the short but stunning life of Klaus Nomi, New Wave Opera-pop singing of the eighties. This guy was an extraordinaire who sang with a falsetto and believed he was an alien.
We say it is on the life of Klaus Nomi and not Klaus Scherber (his real name) because it is really about the persona he became during the four years before his death. Totally funny and touching. Small audience but most of them have seen Klaus perform in NYC and the director was around to chat with us after the screening.
Need to check out some of his records.
6) Cafe Lumiere
My first Hou Hsiao Hsien's film. Fantastic. Slow...subtle and made me cry. The only film that made me cry. Supposedly a homage to Ozu...maybe must rewatch Ozu.
7) Short Films
Got lost. Didn't know the theatre it was screening in was sooooo far away. So by the time I got there, missed half of them already. Saw a documentary on Nigawli's youths who are brash and violent. That was a pretty good docu. Saw a short story about how a Thai village boy went to Bangkok to make his mark, only to have his dreams dashed and his life end tragically. Saw a super melodramatic Korean short. And saw Royston Tan's Cut.
So basically, the best thing abt the screening was discovering the theatre. House Rama at RCA. It is a arthouse cinema and they are having a Kitano showcase there too. So worth a checkout. Too bad it was my last day. But really nice theatres. Fantastic interiors.
8) The Birth of The Seanema
Ok. Was late for this screening too. Try lugging your luggage around and going to the wrong cinema and having to walk across the opp. mall to get to the right one. With a tummyache at that. So walked in to the cinema. Saw movie stills and words flashing across. Very cinematographically(is there such a word?) excellent stills. Very poetic words. But I realised the entire movie is silent without dialogue or any sound at all. It's just stills and words flashing on the screen. I fell asleep. My movie-mate fell asleep. We decided it was not worth being late at the airport for (we initially decided to take the risk) and walked out of the film and headed to the airport.
All in all, it was wonderful. I got mildly depressed knowing how many other films I failed to catch. The volunteers were extremely helpful and friendly. Had many a good chat with them. And the cinemas were so cool! The new theatres are totally comfortable and the old rickety ones...just reminded me of my Capitol and Picturehouse days. Made a mental note to come back for the FULL programme next year and enjoyed myself tremendously. Can't wait for SIFF now.
Posted by lainey at 12:47 AM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2005
The Boy Who Broke My Heart
Toot, which means "small" in Khmer, broke my heart and took my OCDness away for that brief period of time in Cambodia.
Dirty he was, but so precious, so adorable and I irrationally favoured him (together with two other boys) over the other kids.
Posted by lainey at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
In hope that today, and forever more, will be better.
Posted by lainey at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2005
Bangkok International Film Festival
Off to Bangkok for the weekend! Lotsa movies, fun and...escapism!
I know I've not even written about Cambodia yet. Will do it all when I'm back!
Seeya, take care! be good!
Posted by lainey at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2005
Hmm...apparantly Daisyspeak can exist for another year. Yipee! But I need to go look for my lost daisy.
It will be back! I assure ya!
Posted by lainey at 11:26 AM | Comments (1)
January 09, 2005
Inability to write
"And when he dreams he does not want to write, he does not have the power to dream he wants to write; and when he dreams he wants to write, he does not have the power to dream he does not want to write."
-Spinoza
Posted by lainey at 05:09 PM | Comments (1)
January 08, 2005
Displacement
Il me semble que je serais toujouis bien la ou je ne suis pas
(It seems to me that I will always be happy in the place where I am not)
-Baudelaire
Posted by lainey at 06:37 PM | Comments (0)
Hard To Say Goodbye
It's soon gonna be the end of Daisyspeak, unless I find a way or some knowledge on how to "migrate" the stuff here to another site.
In the meantime, I shall try to post as much as possible.
You never really know how much you loved until you are on the verge of losing.
I like Daisyspeak more than Catharsis.
Posted by lainey at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2005
Trying to Love Life
The hiatus was uncalled for. But it wasn't deliberate, the stupid site had been down. Now it seems to be working again, I promise to write about Cambodia, the New Year and my new...aimless life again.
Which means..more on books, movies and songs!
Posted by lainey at 01:10 AM | Comments (0)