Trainspotting & THE Johnny Cash Movie...

Night out last friday was to

His Majesty's Theatre

to watch

Trainspotting

I can't remember the time I watched a play?

The last play I actually wanted very much to watch was

The Physicist

(I think that's the name...)

but I never got to watch it!

Trainspotting

had wonderfully real actors

(and the Scottish accent! OMG!)

and used their very few and simple props so cleverly!

Being about drugs, junkies, and psychos,

it was a dark play which grew gradually darker

and eventually ended pitch-black.

Shocking.

Savage.

Honest.

Funny.

Brilliant.

Now I have to watch the movie and read the book.

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Have you heard about the Johnny Cash movie yet?

Neither had I...

Until last Saturday.

I didn't even know who Johnny Cash was!

Not my generation!

WALK THE LINE

U.S. Release Date:

18th November 2005

U.K. Release Date:

Not Yet Known

Singapore Release Date:

???

The movie chronicles the life of Johnny Cash

from his pre-fame days

to his rise to be a Country music Legend.

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Stop reading here

if you don't want to know any more

before you watch the movie!

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In the process, his marriage broke down

and when he dabbled with drugs,

his life practically went to hell.

Had a happy ending but

Country's not my kindda music,

and Walk the Line is not my kindda movie...

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I almost walked away from the movie twice.

Once, early on in the show

because the beginning was real slow...

The second time was because

of a particularly disturbing scene...

It was a scene where Johnny Cash was having an argument

with his wife (soon to be ex-wife)

The argument progressed to a point where

he had her pinned to the ground.

The camera panned off to the side

to focus on their children

who were standing in the hallway

watching in fear...

and crying.

Nothing overtly violent.

But, still...

physically aggressive.

Not acceptable.

At all.

You hear that, guys?

Disturbing...

Lunar New Year Dinner

Had the first dinner of the Lunar New Year with

Elli, Julia, Steph & Laura.

Being the bum that I am,

I decided not to cook!

Starters: Spring Rolls

Had to have something vaguely chinese right?

Main Course: Chicken Pasta Bake

With white wine...

Dessert 1: Chilled Mandarin Oranges

Nono... I served a FULL plate...

Just that before a picture could be taken,

half of it had been eaten... =)

Dessert 2: Apple Strudel

with Vanilla ice-cream...

Sometime during dinner, we suddenly realised

the food we were having were a

perfect match for the people present.

The spring rolls and mandarin oranges were "Chinese"

Pasta was "Italian" (Laura)

Wine was "French" (Steph)

Apple Strudel was "German" (Julia)

and the Ice Cream was from UK (Elli).

We were strangely pleased with this...

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Even though everything was "ready made"

it wasn't easy ok?

Had to time the spring rolls and pasta to be baked

so that the spring rolls would be ready for 7:30pm

and pasta ready for shortly after...

Then had to estimate how long it would take us to finish the pasta

so that the apple strudel can be baked in time...

*stress*

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We had a "no left-overs" policy...

...until dessert.

Apple strudel with ice cream, anyone?

Her Piano

The piano stands in the living area, in the exact same spot it has been standing for the past 6 years since it was brought along from the previous house. Once, a long time ago, the piano produced delightful melodies under the tentative fingertips of its young owners. Week after week, they practiced on it for their weekly piano lessons, annual concert and annual exams. Classical songs, pop songs, chords, scales, arpeggios, random senseless noise, the piano has produced them all. But that was a long time ago…

Over the years, the piano was replaced by other “more important” activities. Lessons were stopped and the piano was played less and less. Gradually, the piano lapsed into a period of silence. It was a black piano, but it could easily have been a white elephant, for all the difference it made.

Then 4 years ago, during a particularly sad day, she was drawn towards the piano for some inexplicable reason. Unexpectedly, she found comfort in playing the piano… As she played, the tears fell. The tears clouded her vision… She couldn’t see the keys but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to see the keys. She was simply letting her fingers dance along the keys they were so familiar with. Before, practicing the piano caused her endless amounts of frustration. Now though, the piano was her outlet for ventilation… a private world where she could escape to block out all unhappiness and frustration, even if it was for those few minutes.

From then on, she returned to the piano whenever she was upset. In fact, she thought of the piano only when she was unhappy. It was during these moments that she put all her feelings into her playing. It was these times that she played best and the music didn’t sound hollow. Sometimes she played in the day, sometimes she played at night. But she always played when she was alone, never with anybody else around. Over time, it was no longer the piano… She had come to view it as her piano…

Throughout this time, there were numerous discussions to sell the piano. The reasons were always the same: nobody plays the piano anymore; it only takes up space. She would always object to the sale of the piano and insist on keeping it. Sometimes, immediately following such discussions, she would play the piano for a few days just to prove that someone was playing the piano but at those times, the melodies always sounded strangely hollow to her ears. Nobody asked why she was so insistent on keeping the piano… and she never did explain.

Her piano stands in the living area, in the exact same spot it has been standing for the past 6 years since it was brought along from the previous house. Once, a long time ago, the piano produced delightful melodies under the tentative fingertips of its young owners. Week after week, they practiced on it for their weekly piano lessons, annual concert and annual exams. Classical songs, pop songs, chords, scales, arpeggios, random senseless noise, the piano has produced them all. But that was a long time ago…

Her piano now produces soulful melodies under her fingertips. Usually dark and haunting but always infused with emotions. And always alone…

Box 1 Has Arrived!

I was supposed to blog about this 2 nights ago but I got distracted the first night when Francois appeared (literally out of nowhere) and whisked Steph and myself out of the flat for a meeting.

A “climbing club” meeting…

Haha…

Me going for a “climbing club” meeting.

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The second night I was preoccupied trying to figure out a show Steph and I watched.

Memento.

Billiant movie.

One big puzzle.

------------------------------

So tonight’s the night I finally sit down and blog about the arrival of Box 1!

3Kg!

I have NEVER seen a $10 stamp...

But this box came with MANY $10 stamps...

And inside the box?

Contraband

Chinese New Year Goodies!

Preserved Plums...

Prawn Rolls...

The ultimate item...

BAK KWA

(I half-expected the dogs that sniff the mail to eat it)

Got Merlion somemore...

Very patriotic.

Yummy spices...

Chocolate ingots...

Pork floss...

and lastly,

Pineapple Tarts!!!

A grand total of 8 items...

Very auspicious indeed.

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Thanks DT!

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Cannot pass customs?

=_=

Mail it, please!

Scott's Birthday!

A very tame night out...

But it was nice to go out all the same...

Myself, Stephanie & Francois (France)

Ok, stop thinking I'm very "extra".

They are not a couple.

So I'm not "extra", alright?

Laura looking very pretty and pleased with her Oriental jacket


Me with Soren (Germany)

Soren thinks we'll look taller if the picture is taken from wayyyy down below...

I think not.

We don't look too short either way...

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As the title says

It's Scott's birthday.

But I have NO photos of Scott...

Haha...

He's very good at disappearing!

Hardly saw him the whole evening...

Oh well,

Happy Birthday anyway!

Business Administration Night Out!

Ok, so Steph and I are not BA students... but that's alright!

You don't have to be a BA student to party!!

From left: Laura (Italy), me, Elliot (It’s a long story… ok, I’m from Holland), Stephanie (France/States) and Julia (Germany)

That was us holding our books together in the library with the

“we survived the exams”

looks on our happy faces!

Then someone fooled around with the photo...

... and made us look like we were in a sports pub

holding sparkling something-juice.

Photoshop REALLY is something!

*winkz*

THAT is a crap photo.

But it was on my camera (?mysteriously) and there are a few things I want to say about it:

1. It was not taken by me.
2. I think I know who took it – and I think he’ll make a lousy spy.
3. Since the photo is so dark, I might as well tell you that it’s a photo of 6 of us standing over the pool table discussing velocity and angles – serious mathematical stuff.

Second place of the night!

Some bar called Paramount that was super super super crowded.

That it was after exams AND "Student Night" didn't help at all...

Actually there were 12 of us!

But for some reason, only the 4 of us kept taking photos…

Haha…

Then there was a THIRD place...

A club called "Espionage".

But there are no photos even though cameras were allowed.

Why?

Because.

Go figure. =)

Bed-time!

Not the most glam of photos...

But I LIKE!!!!!

So there!

Live.

After almost a week of trying to fool everyone that I was a zombie,

it's finally time to live...

Last week was dedicated to

reading numerous journal articles and text books,

trying to synthesize the contents,

forming opinions,

squeezing 3000 words out of my miserable brain,

trying to string them together to create a half-decent essay,

AND

designing a poster.

NOT BAD FOR A WEEK'S WORK HUH?

16-hour days.

Starting at 12pm.

Ending at 4am the next day.

Not because I poor time management,

or that I'm a "last-minute person"...

But because I believe that:

"Efficiency is inversely proportionate to the time left before a deadline"

And one should always live according to their beliefs.

It's part of being true to oneself...

Conversation of the Week...

I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and she suddenly asked me:

How often do you wash your bathroom?

Strange topic, and the fact that I don’t technically have a “bathroom” as such (I have a small shower “dish” that’s like 2 by 2 feet) aside, I told her:

Once a month

For some even more bizarre reason (bizarre was when she asked me that question in the first place), she started to tell me that I should wash it more often…

Friend: Just like my mother! She washes our bathroom once a week!

Me: Ok. But that’s your mother… not me.

Friend: But it would be cleaner!

Me: Ah, wait. Wash more often doesn’t mean it’s cleaner, ya noe? Hospital toilets are washed everyday (maybe even more than once a day) but I don’t consider them cleaner than my own toilet at home.

------------------------------

It’s kindda more dependent on the number of ppl using and how they use it. Like for that friend, there are 4 people in her household.

That’s 4 ppl using 1 bathroom for 7 days = 28 times that the bathroom’s been used. This is assuming that each person uses it once a day. Bathing more than once a day is alright. Bathing less than once a day is also normal. In some tribe. Somewhere in the world… but that’s not the issue here.

I’m 1 person using 1 “bathroom” for 7 days x 4 weeks = 28 times.

SAME WHAT!!!

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Anyway, THAT was the conversation of this week.

BECAUSE…

Everybody else is talking about

RAIN.

So much so that 8 hours and 10834km (6733 miles) away, I know that:

It’s been raining practically non-stop for the longest time ever,

The last time Singapore saw the sun was on Friday, and before that, on Monday,

Turf Club races were cancelled,

There is soil erosion on Bukit Timah Hill, and that

Vegetable prices have gone up.

------------------------------

I don't know what is scarier

Me knowing what's actually going on in Singapore

or

everybody talking about rain.

Take A Break...

Mid-week entertainment

Try the online version of this popular international game!

SUDOKU

The rules are so simple that I'm not even going to bother explaining it here.

Rules are available at the site itself.

Beware though...

It's addictive!

Oh ya, there is a catch.

This game requires l-o-g-i-c.

Enjoy!

I Almost Got Myself Killed

Actually, a more accurate title for this post would be:

I almost killed myself.

The intent was boringly ordinary.

The consequences were potentially fatal.

It all started when I went to the cutlery rack next to the sink to get a fork for dinner...

As I pulled out a fork, a knife that was also drying in the rack got hooked up along the way.

As the knife flew through the air...

I instinctively reached out to grab it.

My fingers touched the tip of the blade but I was too slow.

Still functioning on auto-pilot, and watching the knife continue its way down to the ground...

I made another mistake.

I leaned forward to try to catch the knife between the cupboard and my stomach.




Surprisingly, I succeeded.

Without stabbing myself.

At this point, having stopped the knife and therefore ending the instinctive reaction,

intelligence comes to the forefront and organizes my thoughts.

First thought:
That was very dangerous.

Second thought:
I shouldn't have done that.

Immediate reaction:
Lean away from the cupboard to let the knife fall to the floor.

Did it ever occur to you that a knife free falling through the air is a very mesmerizing sight? All movie producers must have been on to this for the longest time... Just think of the numerous fighting/kung fu/mafia/samurai movies that has a scene of a glinting knife flying through the air, artfully reflecting the light from the flame of an oil lamp into a dazzling flash of white. But I digress...

Watching the knife fall to the floor,

my next immediate thought was:

Bloody hell! I'm wearing slippers!

(I'll ask you to be understanding and pardon my non-ladylike language. Because, you know, when one is in danger of having one's toes involuntarily amputated, it's kindda hard to simultaneously consider if one's language is socially acceptable. Moreover, here at missyminz.blogspot.com, accurate reporting and editorial integrity is of utmost importance.)



Miraculously
(yes, just now was surprising, but by this point, i think it's miraculous already)

and thankfully,

I am still unhurt.



Not my fingers.

Not my stomach.

Not my toes.



Some things I can attribute to luck.



But sometimes, I cannot deny the existence of God.

If You Wear Make-Up Or Knows Someone Who Does...

As I was passing through the customs in London, on my return to Aberdeen, I saw and heard an exchange between a customs officer and a lady, who was having her bags checked by the officer.

If you wear make-up, or knows someone who does, I strongly recommend you pay attention starting now.

------------------------------

Customs Officer: Are you carrying any explosives? *I know, very tactful...*

Lady: No.

Customs Officer: Do you wear make-up?

Lady: Yes.

Customs Officer: Well, some make-up contain explosives.

------------------------------

So please...

Next time you buy make-up

Or accompany your girlfriend, wife, mother, aunt or your friendly neighbourhood ba-pok to buy make-up,

remember to ask for

NON-EXPLOSIVE MAKE-UP.

Seriously.

1 Mark Lee is enough.

You are Invited...

Now that I'm settled back in Aberdeen, at least for the next 4 months, it is now possible for me to host visitors! So if you are interested to come to see Aberdeen (or Edinburgh... or Glasgow... or me...), please let me know and I'll be happy to consider hosting you.

As I am expecting to be flooded with requests (free food and lodging is always an attractive offer), please do not be disappointed if I am unable, for whatever reasons, to host you.

However, I can tell you this much - you have a higher chance of me agreeing to host you if:

1. I actually know you and
2. I like you.

Goodbye London... Hello Aberdeen, Again.

As the festivities die down, I bid farewell to London and return to Aberdeen, hopefully for longer than 6 weeks this time.

4 of us are back at the flat, all having returned from a break that went by too quickly. Only Steph is not back yet, still enjoying herself in France.

Before the Christmas break, there was a mass "giving" season. Students from all over Aberdeen who were going away for the holiday gave their perishables away... Bread, cakes, pies, eggs, vegetables, cheese, milk, and fruits made their way around Aberdeen. Students who left immediately after school closed gave their food to others who were leaving a week later. When those students left, they passed the food to the rest who were not going away for Christmas. Afterall, it would be inhumane to let them starve while we were all enjoying our holidays. Bless our kind and loving hearts...

Hence, one of the first things all of us did when we got back was to buy food. Obviously many other people did the same because when I got to the supermarket, many of the shelves were empty and I couldn't get half the things on my shopping list. No bread! No mushrooms! No tomatoes!

Anyway, Julia went shopping first thing in the morning, Karina went shopping with her mum and sister, while Elli and I did online shopping and had our stuff delivered (otherwise she wouldn't be able to get 16 bottles of lemonade up the hill) then decided we didn't have enough and went to the supermarket again in the evening and bought more food! So now, all the freezers, fridges and cupboards are stuffed full of food and all of us need not worry about starving for the next week or so.

I have decided, after a period of over-eating (Elli's dad is a fantastic cook), to have a "detox" week and hence filled the cupboard and the fridge with healthy food - lean meat, cabbage, carrot (yes, one large carrot), potatoes, beans, grapes, green tea, ribena (Zac says drinking Ribena will make one clever), Hoegaarden (it's barley AND wheat. How much more healthy can it get?) and eggs.

I'm very pleased with my attempt to have a healthy diet this week...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year’s Eve this time was an odd assortment of activities. Unlike any other New Year’s Eve I’ve had.

Started the day as per usual, getting up and having breakfast, and got ready in good time to go to the theatre for a pantomime of “Peter Pan”. Pantomimes are not only for kids, alright? Adults can enjoy them too! It was a very enjoyable hour and a half and I heard some of the lamest jokes in a long time.

One of them was:
Pirate 1 to Pirate 2 (who had a headache) – Why don’t you go take an Aspirin?
Pirate 2 (who was also holding onto a huge stuffed parrot) – I can’t. The parrots ate them all.

Really WTH right? Hahaha...

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Went with Elli and Hugh to visit Elli’s Grandmother and Aunt.

I told Elli the other day (on the way to have coffee with Elli’s friend’s grandmother) that this is indeed a different experience for me.

I have never specially gone to meet any of my friend’s grandparents (or parents, for that matter). It’s one thing to meet them if my friend jumps out of the car with his/her family in it, or if they are at home when I go over, or if they are shopping in the same shopping centre… you get the idea. But it’s another story altogether to specially meet up with their (grand)parents without my friend.

I have also never brought any of my friends to meet my grandparents.

Hey, are my grandparents missing out on something here?

Ok, I’m now looking for volunteers to have coffee with my grandparents while I’m away (that will be me visiting my grandparents by proxy).

And who wants to go with me to visit my grandparents when I’m back?

In return, you will be treated to an afternoon of lovely conversation, tea and cakes. You know how to reach me if you’re interested =)

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Later that evening, my dad bought Elli, Hugh and Rae (her sister) dinner at a restaurant to thank them for their kind hospitality, hosting me for 2 weeks during this festive season.

My dad, at the point of the dinner, however, was in Singapore and didn’t know that he was buying dinner, of course.

Oh well.

Minor detail.

He would know when the bill arrives.

I, as his daughter, did what he would have done had he been here. It was just done differently - dinner by proxy. *grin*

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The rest of the evening was rather sedate (the wine might have had something to do with that) and we watched “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” on DVD, pausing mid-show and switching to BBC just to watch the countdown.

The countdown in London was done opposite the London Eye and the fireworks were just beauuuutiful… It was burst after burst of colour, carefully choreographed and timed. You get the feeling, as you watch it, that it was a no-expense-spared festival of fireworks. It was so intense and went on for much longer than expected. I would not have been surprised if they said it would continue until 2007.

We celebrated with a bottle of champagne (yay!!) and after 15 minutes of fireworks, returned, more sedated than ever, to watching Charlie and the weird Willy Wonka.

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Cheers, everyone!

Happy 2006!