Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sette colori dell'arcobaleno, sette colori per dipingere il cielo
The title of the post is part of a lyric from the song Improvvisando by Neri Per Caso. It means 7 colours of the rainbow, 7 colours to paint the sky. Why I put it as a title? Well because I saw a rainbow on my way home today. I let an audible "wow" which perhaps stunned the people who were walking near me. They might be thinking that I'm some kind of a lunatic but maybe it's just all in my mind. Either way, I do feel excited when I see a rainbow because I feel it's such a blessing. Somehow I feel I've seen more rainbows here in Singapore than back home in Jakarta.On other news, Ayu just tagged a picture with my name in Facebook. It's actually a picture of the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters and for "The good little church girl", she tagged me! Oh my Lord, haha :D Coincidentally, yesterday I had dinner with NanSee, la Gioia, Lois, Starfish, and Gascoigne and in one of the conversation, they jokingly said they would put a reminder in msn and such to tell me to go to church :D I guess this group of people don't think that I'm the goody good one :P
So yesterday, as I said I had dinner with those group of people. I have to say that I loathe having to organize these people. I guess someone has to do it and somehow it's me because I am in the middle of these people. It would be great though if someone else can do the organizing and I just go for the ride. I hope that everyone had a good time though. We had some laughs and we did go quite loud at times. I guess with some very opinionated people, we will get some fun mocking at each other's arguments. I wasn't able to eat much though yesterday. I feel rather sorry and disappointed with myself actually for not being able to eat more. I don't know what's wrong with me. Sigh.
On other note, I just need to say what I hide. Sigh. If only I still have teachers to correct my composition :(
Dico una bugia se dico che non ho un sentimento per lui più. La verità è io penso ancora a lui spesso. Mi manca tantissimo. Mi mancano tutti i tempi che passavamo insieme. Mi manca parlare con lui. Mi mancano le volte quando mi ha detto "ciao". Ma questa settimana mi rendo conto che è finito tra noi. Mi sembra che sono invisibile per lui. Mi sento che non siamo neanche amici. Sono molto triste e nonostante io sappia che devo dimenticarlo, penso a lui ancora. C'è un buco senza lui e mi sento che il buco diventa grande ora. Ora che mi rendo conto che lui non pensa a me perfino per un po'. Vorrei sorridere di nuovo. É triste perchè dopo tutto questo tempo, è ancora lui nel mio cuore. Io so che lui non è per me ma ogni giorno penso a lui e chissà se sta bene e se è felice.
Per favore Dio, devo dimenticarlo, per favore ...
:) eKa @ 8:26:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, February 21, 2009
I thought this week I'm not gonna watch anymore movie but in the end I did since I didn't know what to do with today. I went to watch He's Just Not That Into You. I was interested in this movie mainly because of the many famous actors and actresses in it and I'm also in the mood of something light and perhaps slightly lovey dovey.He's Just Not That Into You is a story about relationship, about figuring if someone is into you or not. This is perhaps the more realistic version of Love Actually. Both movies are about love, both movies are about characters who are intertwined with one another in some way or another. I do like this kinda intertwining movie. As I said earlier, He's Just Not That Into You is perhaps more realistic, it's not so warm and fuzzy like Love Actually and at times it may come down slightly harsh with all the reality check that one of characters, Alex (played by Justin Long), gave. His character really knocked down any romanticism that many girls have about a guy. I feel that he was quite insightful and he's actually my favorite character there. I adore him more than the other guys who were pretty good looking as well. I also love Alex and Gigi's love story the most. Least favorable was the rectangle between Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, and Scarlett Johansson. That was just one unhappy mess, even though I found Bradley Cooper to be quite handsome.
Overall I thought it was quite a nice movie. It was kinda good to see Drew Barrymore there, though her role was rather small. She's just so likable. As for Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck, oh well ... I thought they were so-so, perhaps more on the boring predictable side. One line from the movie that Alex said kinda resonated with me. He said, "If a guy treats you like he doesn't give a shit, it's because he doesn't give a shit". It's something that I really have to bear in mind. Cheers!
:) eKa @ 7:09:00 PM • 0 comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Today I had the chance to visit the temple in Chinatown which I visited last time when Dewi was in town. This was only my second visit to this temple. I kneeled and bowed my head in gratitude because that was the only thing I felt that time, gratitude. There was a feeling of peace and relieved too, especially since there were chanting inside the temple, it was really comforting.Today I did something that I hadn't done for a long long time. I was nervous and scared about it very much but there were people who supported me, especially my mom and my dear cousin, Marlisa. Somehow their support conveyed in Indonesian really lifted my spirit. I don't really know if this is what I want, as a matter of fact I'm not feeling it much but perhaps that's just fear talking. I guess I should just repeat, If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. So if with all my prayers, this is what God gives me then it is really for me. So we will wait and see, we will wait and see.
The title of the post comes from a line from the movie Slumdog Millionaire which I watched today, which I must say I love it a lot. I truly like it so much more than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I thought the cast were great, especially the 3 actors who were chosen the play our hero, Jamal Malik. They were just so lovable! They really made you fall in love with the main character and really made you hope the best for him. I thought the movie was smart, touching, and entertaining all at the same time. I have to say though, the love story was so not like what I imagined it to be and I found it to be such a let down slightly, simply because I would have loved a better course of life for our characters. They just seemed to have too much bad luck. But I suppose if it's all too easy and all too happy, it wouldn't be such a nice movie.
I actually knew 2 answers from the questions asked, the Benjamin Franklin and Aramis questions. So I kinda knew that the ending would be a happy one since I knew the answer to the last question. Such a coincidence for me, I wouldn't have known the answer if the question was like, who are the other musketeers other than Aramis. It's totally a good film and I totally recommend you to watch it. Really look out for the main character, Jamal, because he is really really a handsome lovable boy. The ending with all the dancing was kinda silly but I suppose it wouldn't be an Indian movie without it. The dancing was necessary to give it an authentic feel :P and so with that I got reminded to the National Geographic store in Vivocity. Today was my first time checking it out and I have to say it is so cool! Unfortunately I didn't have much time so I couldn't explore the big store in detail but really it's very cool with all the photos. I love the gallery feel into it. Do check it out if you haven't :)
:) eKa @ 9:41:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Let me share with you how I spent my Saturday morning stupidly today. I had to renew my permanent residency status here in Singapore. Checked the website and I actually saw that it can be done online. But I got confused because it was written there that after the whole process I only had to print a piece of paper and the validity of the new PR status is only for 5 years. Currently I have a green card and was told by Oshie that when he renewed his PR status, he got 10 years easily. So since I wasn't sure about all this, I decided to go to Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).For whoever have dealt with applying for PR in Singapore or been to ICA, know that there's always a long long queue in ICA, so you gotta be there early because people are actually already forming long queue even before the building opens at 8 am. So I had to get up early today and I made it there by 9, where there was already a long queue. Got my queue number and form and after waiting for 2 hours, I finally got to the counter only to be told that since I didn't bring all the necessary accompanying documents, the lady cannot process my application and she said just do it online! I am a bloody idiot, don't you think? I want to kill myself more because of my stubborn brain who refused to read all the requirement correctly. I read the accompanying documents part but I just ignored those and I could actually be saved if I had asked the customer service about the things needed when I was queuing for the queue number and yet I didn't do that. So I wasted 2 hours of my life. Just now I did the online process and less than 10 minutes, I got approved! I don't even have to wait at all. I'm a moron!
Nevertheless, I am still very confused with this new system. The lady at the counter said they have changed the system, they're not giving green cards anymore. My biggest concern right now is when I am traveling out of Indonesia. All this time, I don't have to pay fiscal tax because of the green card as my proof of residency. But now without it, I wonder if the process will be as smooth or I have to declare some sort of certificate of residence as I was advised by a friend some time ago, which require me to fill in some form and passing to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Currently without the proper document, Indonesians who are traveling out of Indonesia may have 2.5 million rupiah if they are going out of Indonesia, that's about S$300 plus, so I am getting really nervous about this. I guess I have to ask around if anyone with this new system have gone through Indonesian immigration *sigh*
Okay, enough about me complaining and ranting about my stupidity. I do get stressed out easily, huh? After the 2 hours of my life were wasted, I went to meet up with La Gioia for the The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I was already planning to watch it today, alone but then she sent me an sms during the 2-hour wait so since she could make it today, in the end we watched the movie together.
I was rather sleepy and disappointed with the morning mishap and Benjamin Button was really long that I thought the movie was rather so-so. I do have to say that Brad Pitt is still so gorgeous. How they made him look so young like a 20-year old is so much more interesting than how they made him look old. He looked so young and handsome that it was rather unbelievable and of course enviable. Story wise, I thought it wasn't bad but somehow I don't find it extremely amazing. There were little parts of the story which I found to be pretty nice but overall I did find it to be quite long and slow moving. Of all the parts, I love the ending the most when Brad's character grew younger and younger, the dynamic of his character and Cate Blanchett's character was very moving for me. There's something affectionately comforting about it. Imagine what it's like looking at a boy who can't remember that he's old and you had much history and love together. It really is touching for me.
:) eKa @ 11:21:00 PM • 0 comments
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Back From Home - Chinese New Year Trip 2009
I am back again in Singapore. If you do not know, all this while I was away. I was at home for the Chinese New Year holiday. Left on January 22nd and came back Monday morning at 1 am. It's the earliest I've been upon reaching Singapore. Anyway, here are some stories and photos about my trip home.For the first time, I took Qatar airline to go home. It's actually the cheapest (non budget airline) ticket available. I was quite surprised to find out that I was departing from Changi Terminal 3 because I haven't experienced this terminal before. It was really nice but I found myself not familiar with where the shops are :P It made me kinda miss the other two terminals but overall it was quite a nice experience.
There were many maids on the plane. They were going back to Indonesia from their work in the Middle East. Such a long journey for them, even longer because when they reached Jakarta they had to continue their journey on buses or trains to wherever they came from. I seriously think these foreign workers ladies are awesome. I got nervous when I was going to Singapore for the first time and these women with all courage decided to go to a foreign place where they don't really speak the language, they don't even speak English much, and they have most probably never left their village. So the courage and strength that they have is amazing for me.
Sitting next to me was this Indonesian engineer who's going back to Indonesia after a stint in an oil company in Saudi Arabia (I think). He didn't have a good experience there so he decided to go back for good. Apparently there were quite a number of Indonesian engineers there. I found it to be very interesting. He said the pay was really really good, so much better than his previous pay when he was working for a foreign company in Indonesia. I guess it's just wasn't his luck that he didn't have a good time there.
My dad and cousins picked me up from the airport and the traffic jam was rather unbearable. My cousin said when they were leaving their house to pick me up the sky was still bright but when we reached our homes, it was dark!
The next day, I went to the mall alone and had a hair cut. Eka is now in a short hair, peeps. Some people here had said it's nice though my mom had difficulty getting it. Anyways ... during my stay at home, I didn't really go anywhere outside Jakarta. In fact, I stayed home most of time. I guess it's because I was lazy to go out, I wanted to spend more time at home (since I don't experience what home is here) and I also wanted to spend as much time as I can with mom. I miss mommy so.
At home, I did House season 3 marathon. Love that so much that I feel like doing a marathon from the first season, since I haven't watched all the episodes. I really love Dr. Chase, simply because he's so handsome. I really like House too. Man if only I'm a brilliant smart person like him, then I can get by with all the sarcasms. I totally like how he can just say nasty things. How I really wish I can do the same. I also try to be in front of the telly at 5 pm for 2 episodes of Spongebob Squarepants Monday to Friday, though my mom was shaking her head. I hate it that they were dubbed in Indonesian but I began to accept it and run the English lines in my head. Spongebob in Indonesian can be extra funny because of the stupid translation that they used. Indonesian TVs still pretty much show a lot of junk but I do watch them, including the "sinetron" with mom. At the very least, I got to know more Indonesian musicians and there are really many talented acts in Indonesia. So cool!
Did go out with the girls, Marlisa, Dewi, and Emilia and oh I should add the boy also, Idrus. He has somewhat joined the monthly meet-up that the girls have. The girls and him always try to meet up at least once a month. I know it's my cousin, Marlisa, who's really "on" about it. I guess it's really good to do so. This time around I got to meet other friends too, my primary and junior high school friends, Shervin, Dian and Inneke. It's so nice to meet them and we really had a good time talking. Darn, we were loud and with so many things to catch up, there were much laughter, teasing and all in a volume which perhaps can be quite annoying and frightening to the people in the same restaurant as us. It's really something meeting these people and talking about those days when we were 10 - 12 years younger. Gosh! Oh yeah, I also got the chance to meet Dewi's boyfriend, Sofyan. Man! Those two were so chummy together that I was feeling quite uneasy! Apparently Eka showed her bitchy side to Sofyan. Not a good first impression, I guess. But oh well ... I do get cranky a lot and often.
Oh yeah, I got to watch Bride Wars with my cousin, Marlisa. I thought the movie was nice and I love it. There are many Indonesian movies right now. I actually wanted to watch Asmara 2 Diana because I wanted to see Jamie Aditya who was acting in it but I didn't get the chance to do it :( All and all, I only managed to watch that one movie there. Hmm, the next parts will be with pictures.
Let's start with a picture of the table where my family prepared offering for our grandparents / ancestors. I have to say the praying is perhaps the highlight in our family Chinese New Year tradition. Here you see a table for my father's side. There's another table for my mother's side which contained similar things and there's also another altar with similar things at the kitchen for the God which was supposed to be my brother's God protector. Something like that.
After the praying was done, we did the burning of the hell notes and the paper clothes. I actually really like this burning part a lot. But these few years, mom decided to pack the paper clothes in bundles so this burning session lasted so much shorter :( Behind you can see a pot which we used to burn the things for the Kitchen God. So that's pretty much our Chinese New Year custom. In Indonesia there's only 1 day holiday for Chinese New Year and as usual we were visited by relatives and we went to my mother's older brother house. Pretty much the same old stuff.
So what else do I do on my days at home? I took pictures. This is a close up of the gladiolus that mom bought. The flash made the colour to be orange-y :( the colour was actually more softer and a bit pinkish.
One of the evening I was there, there was actually no electricity! Me and my mom was watching tv and just like that it turned pitch black. I was really really amused and was actually laughing because I haven't experienced this for a long long time. Things like this are really common in Indonesia. It's annoying but for someone like me who hasn't experienced it for a long time, I actually enjoyed it, getting candles and all. It was really pitched black and so there's nothing that we could do but to go to bed early.
It rained a lot in Jakarta. In fact mom was sending me an sms some minutes ago telling me that it rained right now. The rain at times were quite heavy with strong wind and at times was a little shower that lasted for some minutes, then stopped, then rained again. Singapore on the contrary is so freaking hot! When I was out and about on Monday afternoon, the heat was totally killing me. It's rather funny that when I was flying back here, it was raining in Jakarta with a wet runway and yet when I arrived in Singapore, it was so dry. Anyways, so here you are a peek of the wet Jakarta.
Today I was listening this song, When Will I See Your Face Again from Jamie Scott & The Town and a part of the lyric reminded me of these flowers.
I'm a flower, soaking in the rain ...
The last 2 pictures are from a small aquarium in Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport. I arrived early because the flight was very late and I don't want my mom and my cousins to go home late if they drove me later. So I had much time to kill. One was spent taking of pictures from the aquarium.
We talked about stuff like how he found out about Indonesia and Puncak nonetheless. It's hardly a place that people will know about Indonesia. He said for a Muslim like him, Indonesia being a country with a lot of Muslims is perfect for him. He doesn't like Bali because it's culturally and religiously different for him. Being the straightforward me, I asked if Kuwait is a safe country. He said it used to be before Iraq invaded them. He asked me if I know about it. I said no. I'm so sorry about it actually, but he did say it happened in around 1991 when I was only 9 years old and perhaps more interested in barbie dolls then world politics. Anyway he said Kuwait is not so safe now. Upon knowing the Iraq invasion I actually wanted to ask if the Kuwaiti are happy that Bush invaded Iraq and I want to know his opinion as a Muslim from the Middle East about Israel's attack to Palestine (an issue which the Indonesians feel so strongly against!). Unfortunately I didn't the time. I had to go. Before I left, he gave me a chewing gum which I almost threw away because I felt accepting food from a total stranger can be dangerous but in the end I decided to put it in my mouth anyway and I am still here. Thinking about it, I feel it's one of those stranger that sometime God send my way so that I don't get too lonely. I kinda regret that I didn't talk to him more.
:) eKa @ 8:58:00 PM • 0 comments
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"The Time Has Come to Set Aside Childish Things"
Do you know where the title of the post comes from? I'll tell you soon.Anyway, so home is tomorrow. My whole being feels like running out of this body however I still have to go through some things (tough things) first before home. I think tomorrow morning is gonna be hectic. I just hope that everything will just go smoothly and no bad news being dropped on me. So the time window for me to reach the airport tomorrow is quite tight but the flight was re-scheduled to 45 mins later which makes me quite relieved. I hope with the extra time, I am really able to get all my things and finish whatever things that I need to finish correctly and well.
Okay, so the title, where is it from? Well, if you don't know, it's from Barack Obama's inaugural speech. I did stay up last night or this morning to be exact to watch the inauguration ceremony which was actually quite fast. I have to say I was very sleepy that somehow I wasn't really captivated with the speech, or perhaps it wasn't an amazingly great speech to begin with? There were debates whether this speech was a great one. Anyways, the line above was the line that stayed in my head. On a personal level, I should really do as the line says but I have to say I am still dodging my life responsibility *sigh* Okay, I'm going home, maybe I will get more perspective at home. At least, I know I will be comforted there. It's detox time!
Allora, arrivederci tutti. Happy Chinese New Year. Take care
:) eKa @ 9:32:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hello peeps. Honestly without having to be anywhere on Saturdays, I kinda have lost the free liberating feel to it. Now I am just left with the emptiness to fill my time with and believe it or not, it's kinda depressing. I know, I am pathetic, aren't I?Don't get me wrong. There are aspects of it that I like. For example, without having to be anywhere, I can actually afford to sleep until whenever I like. However, really without the obligation, I am kinda unable to be disciplined to go through with my own plan that like today I ended up waking up late because I was ignoring the alarm and in the end I wasn't able to get my flu vaccine because the doctor was already full. Aaaarrrgghhh ... Actually the part of not waking up early is the only thing that I like about not having classes on Saturdays. I still think if I use the free time for movies or meeting friends, they are still not a really good use of time. Gascoigne said it's a matter of whom you spent your time with but for me (maybe I am a real geek), one should really use the time to do something useful and somehow for me it's about having more things in my brain. I really need to plan out something, if not, I am really just gonna waste my life more.
Anyway, so today was like the previous free Saturdays. The movie that I watched was Changeling. I was really ambivalent about whether or not I should watch the movie because I wanted something light and the movie just seemed heavy. In the end, I decided to go ahead with it, simply because of the many good praises about the movie, the director, Clint Eastwood, and also of course, Angelina Jolie. It turned out to be quite a nice watch. Instead of heavy, I would use emotional to describe the movie. It is really an emotional movie that I did tear a bit here and there. I thought Angelina Jolie was good, but I don't think she was exceptionally extraordinary to warrant her an award in all the awards thingy. But I haven't seen the other movies where her competitors come from. I was actually more drawn to people like John Malkovich, whom I found to be really a person with such a commanding presence, a real strong personality. I guess in any movie, I am always drawn to this kind of character. I really think he is awesome and cool. Then I still like Jeffrey Donovan, though he played one of the bad guy. After an IMDB search, I finally realized why he's so familiar (Burn Notice) :P Overall, it's quite a good watch. It's not boring at all. The pace was good. The actors and actresses acted really well and because of the nature of the story, I am sure if you watch it, you will also sympathize to the victims.
Home is in 5 days. I am half packed. Should finalize all the other things that I want to take tomorrow, but I can be so undisciplined so maybe I will end up lazing tomorrow. However I don't really have much time left.
I can't tell you how much I am so looking forward to going home. On the bus today, I was thinking that it's like I am so ready to leave this body that I use here in Singapore and just be released to be who I am, to be not so high-strung like now. I am quite in a paranoia mode actually because I keep on thinking of things that can go wrong in my remaining days here and I just can only hope that please God, please, let me leave in peace. Please God let nothing be wrong! I am so in this paranoia state that my depressing thoughts (thinking of the fact that I have to come back to Singapore) that normally comes when I am going home hasn't come yet. It normally comes when I'm going home but now it hasn't made an appearance. I guess because I still have this mountain of worry to face first. Am I not making any sense to all of you? Yes I know, I am pathetically weird.
:) eKa @ 7:34:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Hello all. There's no movie today. Instead I went to the bank and gave a bail out to myself. The sum that I gave myself was quite a lot but with all the expenses, I am actually having difficulty seeing if I can manage and survive until I go home, which is in 12 days by the way. I am getting really poor but as much as I find it hard to part with some money, I keep on recalling things that Astley told me and what other people once told me. On some things I really cannot be calculative.Yesterday, I decided to just stay in because I was too tired with everything. So though I only had little flu and cough (it wasn't really bad), I used that as an excuse to stay in bed longer. Did see the doctor and did end up paying S$38 for all the medicines but I felt that at least I would be properly medicated and my flu wouldn't drag on and on which I think has been happening all this time. I got to really rest nicely. I also went to see the optician and found out that I overused my contact lenses by around 9 months! Yes, it is by God's grace that I am not blind. So got myself new lenses and a pair of glasses. Those gonna set me back by S$300. Sigh. Being poor does suck!
Did have movie this week. Finally watched Yes Man. Went to see it with NanSee on Tuesday. It was her treat. Hmm ... somehow I feel it's rather too sad to be accepting treats when I am poor. I mean, when I have money, I would gladly take it but when I am low on cash, it just feels rather too pathetic. But still the treat did help to ease my financial burden. I enjoyed Yes Man very much. I can't really say that I am a fan of Jim Carrey. I don't like it when he contorted his body or facial expression, which he is famous for. So I can't remember any Jim Carrey's movies which I like a lot. Yes Man will perhaps be the first movie of his that I really like. He's not too slapstick in this movie and he appeared as a really regular guy, one which is perhaps quite lovable. I was really interested about the theme of the movie and I have to say for someone like me who is so enclosed in my walls, this movie should be quite an inspiration to say "yes" more often. However I don't think it changes me much. It does in a way of urging me to just do the things that I want to do but even that ... well I don't know if I will take any action *sigh* Anyway, I found the movie to be really entertaining. I really like it. So many movies to watch and yet so little money *sigh*
I have to really start packing which I really don't like doing. Simply because this time around, I want to move many of my unused stuff here and to go through all those stuff and the dust and I don't know what else they have there in those old boxes are just such a turn off. I know at most it will take me only 1 hour but really I just can't make myself do it but I have to do it tomorrow nonetheless since I don't have much time left.
Hmm ... don't feel like writing much. Just watched Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ... and Spring on OkTo. Beautiful scenes but man how I really hate unhappy ending. So much sadness in this movie, at least for me. The repentance of the main character doesn't make me feel better and seeing the last scene, I just don't like it. I have to say that even though I don't like how some things unfold, the movie itself is a good one. Things couldn't go as I want them to, I suppose. Take care peeps!
:) eKa @ 11:21:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The whole idea of sleeping without an alarm is very liberating for me, provided that time can stand still and the day doesn't move. I know what some people will say. I will get to do that when I am dead. So this morning, you could say that I wasn't actually sleeping but I just didn't want to get out of bed and I rolled, turned, closed my eyes just to be in bed longer. Got out at around 10 am and I do know that's like a waste of life but I just wanted to sleep longer. Speaking of which, doing Saturday without a nap is kinda tiring.So today, I took myself out to watch Seven Pounds. It was grimy, gloomy, slow moving, and I feel rather bad saying this, but it was close to boring. Some people say that Will Smith doesn't really succeed in playing dramatic roles but I feel it's the whole pace of the movie which is the downfall of Seven Pounds. Will Smith is not a bad actor. Story wise, this movie could be interesting though I don't really agree with the whole suicide part but you see if the emotional process of why the character chose to do a suicide had been explored more and better, I may would have loved this movie more, for example like in Denzel Washington's movie, John Q. So I feel Seven Pounds wasted much time in showing the gloomy and mysterious side of Will Smith's character rather than exploring his reasoning or making more connections with the other characters and make them more lovable. It's quite a so so movie, mediocre perhaps.
So let's talk about the past few days. Going into yesterday, I was really worried about something that I put it in my prayers a whole lot these few days. Luckily and amazingly (praise the Lord), it went smooth sailing and okay. I am truly thankful to God but I do have to say I don't think I have prayed enough saying thank you. However yesterday did have its own ass to piss me off. Seriously, I can seriously hate people and most of the time when I have formed my opinion and judgment from something that someone has done wrong to me, it's pretty much unrepairable *sigh* Even thinking about it now makes my blood boil again. I know I have to be more forgiving but I can just really hate people!
Yesterday ended better though because I got to meet Mr. A who brought with him, his friend, another Mr. A. They wanted me to help them with something. It was Mr. A's idea actually. He thinks too highly of me *sigh* It was really really good to see him again after quite a long time. Glad to see his hair is short again. The most exciting news is that he's expecting twin!!! My goodness, I was actually so happy and excited for him. Saw pictures of his other 2 kids. They were very cute. We went to Dempsey Hill which I found to be quite a nice cozy place. Being the not-happening me, it was my first time there. I have to say, it's kinda hard to go there if you don't drive. Luckily the dads I was with drove and I was amazed to find that the parking was free. Anyways, I hope I don't disappoint Mr. A though he keeps on telling me that he just wants me to be happy doing it. We will see!
So, I didn't do anything special for the new year. I remember thinking that it's such an ordinary day. On New Year's eve, I was actually quite tired that I was thinking of sleeping early. Prayed before I slept. Asked a lot of things to God. With my mind jumping all over the place, I hope He still hears me. Oh yeah, I went to buy my first Italian book on that last day of 2008. It's so hard to find an Italian book. Life would have been easier if I had taken French or German. So with the very very limited options (like only 3 or 4 books) in Borders, I settled with Le Avventure di Pinocchio. It's a bilingual edition, so on 1 page there's the Italian version and on the other there's the English version. Perfect for me! This way, I don't have to run to the dictionary every time :D
Oh yeah, I went to a choir concert on December 30 with Vivy. She had some free tickets and asked me along. The choir was the A CAPPELLA CHOR VILLACH. It was quite a pleasant performance and it was quite amazing to hear them perform the songs in Malay because their pronunciation were nice. Actually even for the song with the Italian lyrics, they also pronounced the words really well. So I feel it's really awesome that they could sing really well in whatever language it is.
So before I go now, let me leave you with the the picture of the new year spheres near the Esplanade. They were lighted differently and of all the colours that came, this red one was salvageable. The rest were so blurry :(
:) eKa @ 6:38:00 PM • 0 comments
Saturday, December 27, 2008
So today is my first free Saturday. No class, in fact there will not be any class until I figure out what I want to do next. I do have to say, it's kinda weird to have such free time that I normally don't have, that I really do not know what to do. Entertaining myself can be such a difficult task, especially since I get bored easily.One of the good thing about this free Saturday was that last night I got to sleep without setting the alarm! That's really comforting to know. I have always had an alarm to wake me up even on a Sunday but since I don't have any place that I have to be today, I can sleep and wake up as my body sees fit. My mother, being my mother that she is, figured that I would laze around in bed that she actually sent me an sms this morning at around 09:30 am, telling me not to laze around in bed and get some exercise.
Obviously I don't exercise but I did get myself out today. I went to watch AUSTRALIA. I have heard some people say they were told or read that the movie is quite a bore. Going into it, I know it's gonna be epic, what's with the 2 and a half hour of running time. My take of it, I love it! Yes it is epic and yes I am most probably not gonna watch it again anytime soon because it's such a long movie with long story but I really do love it. One is because of the astoundingly beautiful Australia. I was already mesmerized with the opening scene in the billabong. Seriously for any Australian out there, you should be proud that your country is amazingly beautiful. Two is also because of the Aboriginal theme in the story, which I feel actually is really the highlight of the movie. I really like the boy who played Nullah and I wonder if he does know some magic. As for Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, I've never really thought much of them but I do have to say that Nicole Kidman is really pretty and a good actress. I know that she is but somehow she charmed more in this movie than any other movies that I have seen her in. Then Hugh Jackman. When all the girls out there went gugu-gaga about him as Wolverine, I thought he was rather ordinary (I've always liked Cyclops more) but in this movie I really think he's hot! A real hunk he is.
Story wise, well I feel that the movie actually comes in 2 parts. I kinda like the first part more, but I feel it would have been much better if their journey in the Never Never Land had been explored more rather than they came out of it triumphant easily. The second part was so-so for me. The bombing scenes were reminiscence of Pearl Harbour. There were much drama in this second half and some of them were pretty cliche. Seriously some of the scenes did make me roll my eyes, like the dancing and making out in the rain. Overall though as I said, I quite love the movie. It's not a bad one. Unlike Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge from Baz Luhrmann, this movie is in a more "proper" manner, unlike the other funky two. It really is epic and though many people may find it boring, I really love all the adventure but not so much of the romance :P Oh yeah, I have to say, I really do love happy ending, so when the good guys died, I did tear up a bit :P
PS: I posted the picture in Facebook when it was more intended to be here. Took it during the Christmas holiday. It's the Santa inside the snow globe Dagi gave me. Anyway I do get bored darn too easily that even right now (28/12/08 - 09:10pm) I am feeling so restless. Gonna call mommy.
:) eKa @ 7:09:00 PM • 0 comments
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