The iPod Game

Not to be childish, but remember when these kind of quizzes were all the rage? I found this on FB the other day - one of my friends posted it, and I couldn't resist the urge to try it myself :)

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button (ONLY ONCE!!!) to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS - even if it is incredibly embarrassing.
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1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY...
The Reason (Hoobastank)
Surprisingly logical...

2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Dear Old Shiz (from Wicked, the musical)
um...

3) WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Forever and For Always (Shania Twain)
Embarrassing, but true.

4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
I Promised Myself (A*Teens)
...to enjoy myself :)

5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Carry On Dancing (Savage Garden)
YEAH! Salsa is in my life for a reason.

6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Love Is (Brian McKnight/Vanessa Williams)
Okay, my iPod is a mind reader.

7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Love Doesn't Have to Hurt (Atomic Kitten)
...i have really sappy music...

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Ocean Travel (Tearliner - OST Coffee Prince)
yeah, does this mean i'm going on a trip soon?

9) WHAT IS 2+2?
Higher (Creed)
lol.

10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Fergalicious (Fergie)
LOL..

11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Sexxx Laws (Beck)
ooh i am looking forward to this.

12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I'm Not Moving (Phil Collins)
ironic considering my history.

13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Unwell (Matchbox 20)
oh crap.

14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Next Episode (Dr. Dre feat Snoop Dog)
what's next, love and marriage?

15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Bare Necessities (OST Jungle Book)
um.

16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Chu Shen Ru Hua ("Superb"; Fahrenheit)
yup, we will break out into a chinese dance routine. go hubby!

17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I Was Looking For Someone To Love (Leif Garrett)
they'll have to look beyond...

18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
I Miss You (Darren Hayes)
I've definitely moved around enough for this to be the case...

19) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Makes Me Wonder (Maroon 5)
LOL.

20) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
I Like That (Houston feat Chingy/Nate Dog)
when i like something, i do get addicted...

21) HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Lunar Gala Dance Song (unknown)
apparently I die of embarrassment while waving neon orange scarves about on stage. yup, that sounds about right.

22) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
How Sweet It Is (Michael Buble)
If by that it means the CNY snacks I just ate...*hangs head*

23) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now (Joss Stone Feat Common)
?

24) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Under The Sea (A*Teens)
yeah, Ursula's death really cut me up.

25) WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
En el Amor ("In The Love"; Joe Veras)
that means yes :P

26) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Now and Forever (K-Ci & JoJo)
commitment phobe, check!

27) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Buddy Holly (Weezer)
lol.

28) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
'Til I Say So (3LW)
hee i would be a dictator

29) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Overture (from 'My Fair Lady', the musical)
does that mean the big picture?

30) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Hot hot hot (Sebastian)
HAHAHAHA

Love Stories with a Jagged Edge

I've been having one of those days - you know, the kind where at the end of it, all you want to do is wrap yourself in blankets and be looked after by your kind and caring soulmate (all prince charmings welcome to apply :P). I think it's partially to do with the book I'm reading, a collection of "love stories with a jagged edge", written by Mary Westmacott, more famously known as Agatha Christie. The stories are very poignant and bitter sweet, very intense, and always very sad. The writing is rich and vivid, and oh-so-compelling, but somehow leaves me feeling very moody and blue. Things feel off-kilter whenever I finish one of her stories - the awkwardness and distress that the characters feel somehow manage to weave itselves into the fabric of my day, throwing off my interactions with other people.

Which makes a perfect foundation for a night of social interactions - i.e. a salsa night! Dancing is all about interactions - from the slight pressure that signals a lead into a move, to the interpretation of the pressure, to the actual execution of the move. Yeah. it was a 'good' night.

Bailamos Para Siempre 2009

A startling conversation with a guy I was dancing with at this year's Bailamos Para Siempre at Zouk, a special latin/salsa night hosted by various collegiate dance teams.

J: So, what do you do?
BX: oh, I just started work a few months ago.
J: cool, enjoying it?
BX: yeah. what about you?
J: oh, i start university in may.
BX: ...

Wow, for the first time ever, I feel old.

*addendum* i told my colleague about this, and she told me that the guy was probably 20/21 years old thanks to NS, so I don't feel TOO much older anymore. but still.

An "idol-and-ordinary-girl" love

I was reading an article about an upcoming Taiwanese drama, when I came across this sentence:

Because of an incident when Mike, as the star, was being chased, they developed an idol-and-ordinary-girl love.

The phrase an "idol-and-ordinary-girl" love utterly fascinates me. It describes oh-so-perfectly so many of the dramas out there - "Smiling Pasta", where a naive Cyndi Wang falls head-over-heels for pop star Nicholas Teo, "Full House", pretty much the same thing but in Korean with an older cast. Even "ISWAK"/"TKA" fall under this category - Ariel Lin is madly in love with her idol, a well-known and stunningly brilliant top student.

Why is it always an idol boy and an ordinary girl though? why can't the girl be the idolized one for a change??

reflections and other things you do around the new year

So much has happened in the last year - I think that every year, but this year really has been pretty eventful. The first half of my year was filled with lasts: I started my last ever college semester, went on my last spring break trip, took my last finals (at least for a while!), danced at my last prom.

The summer heralded a bitter-sweet combination of firsts and lasts: the last time I would messily pack and move out of a Columbia dorm, my first spa night in Flushing, my first walk from Columbia down to Times Square, the first (and hopefully last!) time I rowed a boat, my first visit to Long Island, my last meal of chicken-and-rice, and, sadly, my last karaoke party in the city.

But that was soon followed by another half-year of firsts: my first trip to Hong Kong, my first Taiwanese drama series, my first real job, and most importantly, my first time being home in Singapore for longer than 8 weeks since...well, since I was born really. Life's changed a lot since January 2008...

It's strange - you only spend four years in college, but transitioning out of it takes a while. I moved to a new city (pretty much), moved back in with my parents, and started working in something completely unrelated to my major. I'd forgotten how hard it is to move somewhere and start over - new places to get familiar with, new foods to try, new weather patterns to adjust to, new friends to make, new interests to find.

Luckily, I found one of mine pretty quickly - salsa! chacha! bachata! In other words, latin dancing love. Love number two - taiwanese dramas. And love number three, perhaps the strongest one of them all, my family. I'd forgotten how amazing it is to be home. And it kind of shows, at least physically - since I've come back, I've lost like, 16 pounds - probably through my mom feeding me healthy food (though I think I've put back at least 2 since the holidays!!) and I've rebonded my hair straight.

Which brings me, finally, to my resolutions for the year. I usually don't really believe in resolutions - why wait till the New Year if you want to change your life? But this year, I figure, why not? They sound a little trivial in writing, but whatever. So here goes - my resolutions for the year, in no particular order:

1) Keep off the weight I've lost! And lose a couple more pounds, if I can :)
2) Become a good salsa follower: i.e. get the tension thing right, and figure out how to turn in a straight line!
3) Start reading "The Straits Times" or "AsiaOne".
4) Maintain work-life balance.
5) Start taking pictures of daily life again.
6) Write regular blog posts - at least twice a month.

Wish me luck!! Let's see how well I do.