i don't feel like updating. though i've actually got stuff worth putting down here. haha. so, too bad.
but let me tell you, things are not what they seem alright. some swans, i assure you, are NOT graceful. they attack you and walk like ducks, but only worse. unfortunately, only a few people will understand and laugh about it with me when i mention "black swans" or "the farm". haha, the silly moments like those are what makes life worth living. the silly, simple moments...
Anger opens the mouth and shuts the mind.
couldn't agree less.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Thursday, January 22, 2004
so i finally watched it. lord of the rings: return of the kings! i loved it! despite the fact that it just seems to go on for like..forever! there just seemed to be so much in the show which i could identify with too. however, in consideration for those who haven't watched it or read it and do not wish their experienced to be marred because they accidentally stumbled upon some crap blog entry, i shall refrain from commenting further on this topic.
lets move on. so, i'm still jobless. but then again, i'm also fussy. but hey, i don't wanna spend these last few months of my last real long breaks before i enter into the "realer" world being stuck in a job i hate. i really do want to work, though i'm not really in a desperate situation now. ok, who's not doing it for the extra bucks? but i also want to do it for experience. so i feel that i have a right to be fussy to some extent. not everyone thinks so. but who cares? haha. this is me. at this moment.
ah yes, met my ex-netball coach on the way out of the theatre just now. i used to be so afriad of her. in fact, when i was in netball in sec school, i really wanted to quit to join softball because i really loved softball. but i just didn't have the guts to face the coach to tell her i wanted to quit...but she heard rumours! and she confronted me abt it one day. i was shivering in my bones man. but she was really nice abt it. she didn't force me to stay. but she showed me how much she believed in me. and i just felt that i couldn't let her down. and so i stayed till the end. and never did join softball. don't get me wrong, the netball experiences were worth it. we went further than i ever thought we would. whether others would beg to differ or not, i thought she was a really good coach. once, when i sprained my ankle at training, she drove me to the sinseh and accompanied me. i think the best kind of coaches are those who do not just discuss game strategies but life strategies as well.
i didn't give up my softball dream though. i swore to myself i'd join softball when i left secondary school and got into jc. and that's exactly what i did. but it was short-lived. i had to leave rj and go to ac after the fist 3 months. i was devastated mostly because my softball dreams had been dashed, just like that. and so my cca for my whole jc life was really screwed up and one helluva mess. there was just nothing else i was really interested in. i ended up joining and quiting so many. i don't know whether i'll ever get to join softball again, but i'm still holding on to that dream. cos it ain't over till it really is.
i realised that ever since i started blogging, my writing style has become very..extremely disorganised, almost as bad as my mind. and today, as i was practising for my SAT II writing which i'll be sitting for this sat, it was more apparent than ever. so many random thoughts and ideas, i just keep going, and there's no stopping. and noone will understand what i'm saying other than myself. it's probably the same for this blog.
u know i feel that i'm learning and changing so much inside these days. i feel like i'm starting to see things so differently from how i used to see them before. i still crack the same jokes. i still do the same old things. i still feel i'm the same shireen as before. but not really the same. and i want to share so much and tell u so much but i'm afraid it'll only be in vain. because u haven't seen or experienced or felt what i have. (i don't really know who this "you" is. ) and so, i feel so helpless that though i know and understand what you're going through or feeling, i can't help you or tell you what you need to know. because you can't and won't be able to see it. so i just sit there and listen and take it all in. i try to say part of what i need to tell you but i realise these words are merely words to you, all futile. so then, maybe it's not my place to tell you all these but for you to learn the lesson you must learn yourself. i feel like a bird trapped in an open cage. (yea, i ripped that line off U2's "walk on") that i can fly away, but i'm still shackled here. by what, i don't know. ok, i do know.
if you understand what i'm trying to say, you who read this, my my , i applaud you. i'm not really typing out everything i really need to say. there's too much and what does it matter anyway, all these words...
anyway here's a pretty neat song. with pretty..interesting lyrics. by a pretty cool geek rock band. the kinda song which says hey so the world's all weird and screwed-up but i don't care i'm just gonna sit here and drink my mexican wine cos nothing's that serious and life's still sweet.
ah this entry's turning out like crap and it's misery and humiliation should be put to an end. and shireen should actually try to sleep.
but in the meantime, here's fountains of wayne's "mexican wine".
He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean
The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of promotion were set into motion
(chorus)
But the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
She lived alone in a small apartment
Across the street from the health department
She left her pills in the glove compartment
That was the afternoon her heart went
(chorus)
And the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading high times
License expired in almost no time
Now I'm retired and I think that's fine
(chorus)
Because the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
(repeat 2x)
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
Won't you have another glass of mexican wine
lets move on. so, i'm still jobless. but then again, i'm also fussy. but hey, i don't wanna spend these last few months of my last real long breaks before i enter into the "realer" world being stuck in a job i hate. i really do want to work, though i'm not really in a desperate situation now. ok, who's not doing it for the extra bucks? but i also want to do it for experience. so i feel that i have a right to be fussy to some extent. not everyone thinks so. but who cares? haha. this is me. at this moment.
ah yes, met my ex-netball coach on the way out of the theatre just now. i used to be so afriad of her. in fact, when i was in netball in sec school, i really wanted to quit to join softball because i really loved softball. but i just didn't have the guts to face the coach to tell her i wanted to quit...but she heard rumours! and she confronted me abt it one day. i was shivering in my bones man. but she was really nice abt it. she didn't force me to stay. but she showed me how much she believed in me. and i just felt that i couldn't let her down. and so i stayed till the end. and never did join softball. don't get me wrong, the netball experiences were worth it. we went further than i ever thought we would. whether others would beg to differ or not, i thought she was a really good coach. once, when i sprained my ankle at training, she drove me to the sinseh and accompanied me. i think the best kind of coaches are those who do not just discuss game strategies but life strategies as well.
i didn't give up my softball dream though. i swore to myself i'd join softball when i left secondary school and got into jc. and that's exactly what i did. but it was short-lived. i had to leave rj and go to ac after the fist 3 months. i was devastated mostly because my softball dreams had been dashed, just like that. and so my cca for my whole jc life was really screwed up and one helluva mess. there was just nothing else i was really interested in. i ended up joining and quiting so many. i don't know whether i'll ever get to join softball again, but i'm still holding on to that dream. cos it ain't over till it really is.
i realised that ever since i started blogging, my writing style has become very..extremely disorganised, almost as bad as my mind. and today, as i was practising for my SAT II writing which i'll be sitting for this sat, it was more apparent than ever. so many random thoughts and ideas, i just keep going, and there's no stopping. and noone will understand what i'm saying other than myself. it's probably the same for this blog.
u know i feel that i'm learning and changing so much inside these days. i feel like i'm starting to see things so differently from how i used to see them before. i still crack the same jokes. i still do the same old things. i still feel i'm the same shireen as before. but not really the same. and i want to share so much and tell u so much but i'm afraid it'll only be in vain. because u haven't seen or experienced or felt what i have. (i don't really know who this "you" is. ) and so, i feel so helpless that though i know and understand what you're going through or feeling, i can't help you or tell you what you need to know. because you can't and won't be able to see it. so i just sit there and listen and take it all in. i try to say part of what i need to tell you but i realise these words are merely words to you, all futile. so then, maybe it's not my place to tell you all these but for you to learn the lesson you must learn yourself. i feel like a bird trapped in an open cage. (yea, i ripped that line off U2's "walk on") that i can fly away, but i'm still shackled here. by what, i don't know. ok, i do know.
if you understand what i'm trying to say, you who read this, my my , i applaud you. i'm not really typing out everything i really need to say. there's too much and what does it matter anyway, all these words...
anyway here's a pretty neat song. with pretty..interesting lyrics. by a pretty cool geek rock band. the kinda song which says hey so the world's all weird and screwed-up but i don't care i'm just gonna sit here and drink my mexican wine cos nothing's that serious and life's still sweet.
ah this entry's turning out like crap and it's misery and humiliation should be put to an end. and shireen should actually try to sleep.
but in the meantime, here's fountains of wayne's "mexican wine".
He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean
The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of promotion were set into motion
(chorus)
But the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
She lived alone in a small apartment
Across the street from the health department
She left her pills in the glove compartment
That was the afternoon her heart went
(chorus)
And the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading high times
License expired in almost no time
Now I'm retired and I think that's fine
(chorus)
Because the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
(repeat 2x)
Think I'll have another glass of mexican wine
Won't you have another glass of mexican wine
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
it's been raining since afternoon, but i'm not complaining. just returned from taking my dog, Reno Rally Royal, from his walk. that dog really behaves like some royal highness. quite annoying, and yet, cute all at once that you can't really stay mad at him for long. and it was such a fresh feeling, walking under my red umbrella in the rain with my Reno. The roads and pavements were empty, noone in sight, besides the occasional car driving by. it felt like the night, the raindrops and the cool breeze were all mine. and this is also the reason why i love the nights. it's like everything's just mine, as though the moon, the trees, the stars, the clouds, the symphony of the crickets and the toads, were all created especially for me. around me, all are asleep. they're missing out on something really beautiful. the night and its calm and stillness. i love it.
but they don't understand. they tell me to sleep early so that i can wake early. but i was never really a morning person. they say the most productive pple are the ones who are early to bed and early to rise. they say it's been proven. yea, they're right probably. they say that i'm cutting short my experience of life in the daylight hours. i agree.
but i don't want to cut short my experience of life in the twilight hours. those moments are special, almost sacred. i guess it's just me, always trying to make a coin or a fish more than what they appear to be, simply because it's that magic which makes this life more bearable for me to live. and maybe even makes me look forward to living it.
life's pretty good. a new week's started on a brighter note. nice fresh start. though i'm slightly nervous about what tomorrow brings, i trust that it's all gonna be good. cos all these moments now will lead up to the next moment which will lead up to the one after. and then, we'll finally see the reason and purpose for all this.
lalala : Fresh Feeling by the Eels
but they don't understand. they tell me to sleep early so that i can wake early. but i was never really a morning person. they say the most productive pple are the ones who are early to bed and early to rise. they say it's been proven. yea, they're right probably. they say that i'm cutting short my experience of life in the daylight hours. i agree.
but i don't want to cut short my experience of life in the twilight hours. those moments are special, almost sacred. i guess it's just me, always trying to make a coin or a fish more than what they appear to be, simply because it's that magic which makes this life more bearable for me to live. and maybe even makes me look forward to living it.
life's pretty good. a new week's started on a brighter note. nice fresh start. though i'm slightly nervous about what tomorrow brings, i trust that it's all gonna be good. cos all these moments now will lead up to the next moment which will lead up to the one after. and then, we'll finally see the reason and purpose for all this.
lalala : Fresh Feeling by the Eels
Friday, January 16, 2004
it seems like you never even existed. yet, i have these visions once in a while. memories. moments of laughter and foolishness. the way you made me laugh. then, the way you made me cry. the way you you showed you cared. then, the way you didn't even bother. how we got through it all together. then, how we hurt and judged each other. and then, you were gone. i know you really aren't. i know alot of it was just in my mind. but, was it really just my imagination? or was i right all this while, and that you just never realised?
well, life still seems to go on, with or without you. it seems easier now that you're not here. but, being human, there's just this tendency to desire that which turns our worlds upside-down and messes our insides. and we think we'll be happy. we think that those few moments of nirvana will be worth all the pain. i really don't know.
not that i'm even missing you. or longing for you. i was just thinking about you.
but you never really knew anyway.
hear ye, hear ye : Turn My Head by Live
well, life still seems to go on, with or without you. it seems easier now that you're not here. but, being human, there's just this tendency to desire that which turns our worlds upside-down and messes our insides. and we think we'll be happy. we think that those few moments of nirvana will be worth all the pain. i really don't know.
not that i'm even missing you. or longing for you. i was just thinking about you.
but you never really knew anyway.
hear ye, hear ye : Turn My Head by Live
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
my friend commented to me the other day that i was getting lazier and that it was quite disturbing. "Nar," i thought. "It's not so bad."
but, know what? i think it's gettin quite bad! like here i am sitting infront of this blogger screen. there are so many things to write about. but i'm too lazy to start on any of it.
and when i'm infront of the tv, and i know i need to be somewhere else, i tell myself, ok, wait for the next music video or the show to end. but the butt is heavier than the mind and i stay there for yet another show or music video and it just goes on!!
or when i wake up in the morning, i just continue lying on my bed cos i just can't bring myself to physically get up from the bed. and before i know it, it's like 10, 11...
why am i so perturbed by this? because i hate the idea of waste! wasted opportunites, time...seriously. i have all these dreams and ambitions. but what's the point? none, unless i get up of my ass and do something!
sloth is one helluva deadly sin. it really is.
an afterthought:
but anyway, life's still sweet. i may not have enough bummin' days left. so better relish these moments of devastatingly fatal laziness. hehe. now we know why it just goes on....
but, know what? i think it's gettin quite bad! like here i am sitting infront of this blogger screen. there are so many things to write about. but i'm too lazy to start on any of it.
and when i'm infront of the tv, and i know i need to be somewhere else, i tell myself, ok, wait for the next music video or the show to end. but the butt is heavier than the mind and i stay there for yet another show or music video and it just goes on!!
or when i wake up in the morning, i just continue lying on my bed cos i just can't bring myself to physically get up from the bed. and before i know it, it's like 10, 11...
why am i so perturbed by this? because i hate the idea of waste! wasted opportunites, time...seriously. i have all these dreams and ambitions. but what's the point? none, unless i get up of my ass and do something!
sloth is one helluva deadly sin. it really is.
an afterthought:
but anyway, life's still sweet. i may not have enough bummin' days left. so better relish these moments of devastatingly fatal laziness. hehe. now we know why it just goes on....
Friday, January 09, 2004
i think i run away so much because i'm so afraid to face my demons. i never believed that running away was a solution. but now, i keep heading that way more and more. i know i can run away from everything but i can't run away from myself. so there's really no point in running....
why are we so far away from the deepest part of ourselves? why does it have to be so complicated? well, i guess there would be no kick otherwise..i just want to know what not being stressed is like.
i want to be 18 forever. i don't want to pay the adult fare and tap my card twice on the bus. i don't want to be stuck in a job i'll hate. i don't want to make all those super big decisions with greater consequences. i don't want to say so many goodbyes to the ones i hold so dear. i don't want to grow up so fast. but i guess it's inevitable.
wish me luck and say a prayer for me...tonight, i may have to finally face those demons and fight them.
sidetrack : Angels of the Silences by Counting Crows
why are we so far away from the deepest part of ourselves? why does it have to be so complicated? well, i guess there would be no kick otherwise..i just want to know what not being stressed is like.
i want to be 18 forever. i don't want to pay the adult fare and tap my card twice on the bus. i don't want to be stuck in a job i'll hate. i don't want to make all those super big decisions with greater consequences. i don't want to say so many goodbyes to the ones i hold so dear. i don't want to grow up so fast. but i guess it's inevitable.
wish me luck and say a prayer for me...tonight, i may have to finally face those demons and fight them.
sidetrack : Angels of the Silences by Counting Crows
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
it's incredible how much i've been changing everyday, and how much more i'm learning about the universe and its ways through these changes. i'm at a loss at what to make of all i've learnt and been told. but all of a sudden, the walls of my world have grown further apart and life seems more exciting. there's so much to explore and learn through experiences. and God is closer than i ever thought he was. they tell you God is everywhere but it's different when you can say it for yourself. which goes for almost everything else in life.
there's really nothing much to say now. it's time for me to listen. cos i just realised how much i do not know.
thank you, my angels.
there's really nothing much to say now. it's time for me to listen. cos i just realised how much i do not know.
thank you, my angels.
Friday, December 26, 2003
i believe that some things we receive in life are truly graces from God. i believe that there's a fine line between letting go and giving up. i'm glad i let go but did not give up. i believe that below all our coping stances, emotions, yearnings and desires lies not original sin, but original goodness. i believe that we are enveloped by an immense love which no words can describe or do justice to, and which many things in this world blind us from seeing or feeling. i believe that we are all yearning, whether we realise it or not. yearning for God to fill that God-shaped hole in all our hearts which only God can fill. but we don't know that and fill it up with other things, which shut that yearning voice up, temporarily. before long, we start searching again. is that why we're never really contented?
i've been thinking....
oh yea, merry christmas, a day too late. ;)
i've been thinking....
oh yea, merry christmas, a day too late. ;)
Thursday, December 18, 2003
To noone in particular, and everyone concerned (huh?) :
I don't understand why you do the things you do.
but i'm trying to.
because i don't want to hate you.
i want to understand and move on.
but i guess not all of life's questions can be answered in a single moment. some questions are answered throughout the whole course of life's journey itself. others, at the final second. some, maybe not even in this life. but i believe they'll all be answered one day. for a question to exist, there must most probably be an answer already. patience.
i believe that one must have compassion to love. if i didn't try to understand why you do the things you do, and accept the fact that you're human and weak, and embrace it, i would have hated you long ago. i realise trying to change you was a mistake. it is not my role to play. i still don't understand you much. but i understand you're human and weak; frail. we all are. and so i love you inspite of that, and maybe, because of that.
I don't understand why you do the things you do.
but i'm trying to.
because i don't want to hate you.
i want to understand and move on.
but i guess not all of life's questions can be answered in a single moment. some questions are answered throughout the whole course of life's journey itself. others, at the final second. some, maybe not even in this life. but i believe they'll all be answered one day. for a question to exist, there must most probably be an answer already. patience.
i believe that one must have compassion to love. if i didn't try to understand why you do the things you do, and accept the fact that you're human and weak, and embrace it, i would have hated you long ago. i realise trying to change you was a mistake. it is not my role to play. i still don't understand you much. but i understand you're human and weak; frail. we all are. and so i love you inspite of that, and maybe, because of that.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
all my entries from now on are really long overdue.
lets see. we had our prom on monday. honestly, the moment i walked through the doors of ritz carlton, i wanted to turn around and run back out again. everyone was clad in their finest, flashes were going off here and there, and the whole scene just seemed to unnerve me. probably also because i couldn't seem to find a familiar face through all the make-up, dyed hair and glitter. but the rest of the evening proved to be a rather enjoyable one. yes, everyone was simply obsessed with taking snapshots together with their friends. i guess i was too. but at times, i was just contented sitting at the empty table where almost 80 times 10 buckeroos worth of food was being laid with noone to finish it up. haha. by the end of that evening though, my jaws were aching like mad. funny and stupid thing is, i look the same in every photo anyway. smiling the same way, posing the same way...haha..whatever it was, i'm glad i came for prom, even if some might beg to differ. and post-prom was just as fine too. =)
anyway, at this moment, i'm rather busy sorting out university applications. i really do want to fly away from here. not because i hate this place, but because i'm seeking change. i need a kick. and i need money too. sponsors, anyone? anyway, i procrastinated for God knows how long and i started getting desperate because only up till recently, i hadn't done a single thing for my future education. then all along, comes this old-time friend of mine who offers to help me...start from scratch. i don't know what i'd have done without you, phaemie. so now, i'll have to rush my applications like mad! and i still need to see my teachers for recommendations! oh boy! pray for me!!
and well, life suddenly seems brighter and filled with renewed hope. and sometimes, the most incredible things which we least expect to happen actually do. it seems that they only happen at the moment we finally choose to let go. when we finally choose to stop worrying about them. through the recent events that have occured in the past few days, i can genuinely vouch for that. when life takes away something from you and you feel that all is lost and you can't go on, just remember that something better is always about to come your way. it just takes a little faith. God takes things away only to replace them with something better. some may liken Him to a cruel witch who gives a child a sweet at one moment and takes it away from him the next. but hey, if we don't spit that pathetic little sweet out of our mouths, how are we gonna make room for the delicious chocolate cake? and if we don't get rid of that either, how are we gonna make space for that yummy ben & jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream? huh? huh?
well, as cliched as this may sound, i truly believe that there is a source behind all things, most of them invisible to the human eye but visible to the heart. and that source is love. and only good can come out of it. and it's this belief that allows my heart to keep on smiling even in the midst of all the pain that this life brings. am i just kidding myself? am i just consoling myself with such delirious delusions? whether i am or not, i choose to hold on to it anyway. what's the point of sulking? since we're already here anyway.
lets see. we had our prom on monday. honestly, the moment i walked through the doors of ritz carlton, i wanted to turn around and run back out again. everyone was clad in their finest, flashes were going off here and there, and the whole scene just seemed to unnerve me. probably also because i couldn't seem to find a familiar face through all the make-up, dyed hair and glitter. but the rest of the evening proved to be a rather enjoyable one. yes, everyone was simply obsessed with taking snapshots together with their friends. i guess i was too. but at times, i was just contented sitting at the empty table where almost 80 times 10 buckeroos worth of food was being laid with noone to finish it up. haha. by the end of that evening though, my jaws were aching like mad. funny and stupid thing is, i look the same in every photo anyway. smiling the same way, posing the same way...haha..whatever it was, i'm glad i came for prom, even if some might beg to differ. and post-prom was just as fine too. =)
anyway, at this moment, i'm rather busy sorting out university applications. i really do want to fly away from here. not because i hate this place, but because i'm seeking change. i need a kick. and i need money too. sponsors, anyone? anyway, i procrastinated for God knows how long and i started getting desperate because only up till recently, i hadn't done a single thing for my future education. then all along, comes this old-time friend of mine who offers to help me...start from scratch. i don't know what i'd have done without you, phaemie. so now, i'll have to rush my applications like mad! and i still need to see my teachers for recommendations! oh boy! pray for me!!
and well, life suddenly seems brighter and filled with renewed hope. and sometimes, the most incredible things which we least expect to happen actually do. it seems that they only happen at the moment we finally choose to let go. when we finally choose to stop worrying about them. through the recent events that have occured in the past few days, i can genuinely vouch for that. when life takes away something from you and you feel that all is lost and you can't go on, just remember that something better is always about to come your way. it just takes a little faith. God takes things away only to replace them with something better. some may liken Him to a cruel witch who gives a child a sweet at one moment and takes it away from him the next. but hey, if we don't spit that pathetic little sweet out of our mouths, how are we gonna make room for the delicious chocolate cake? and if we don't get rid of that either, how are we gonna make space for that yummy ben & jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream? huh? huh?
well, as cliched as this may sound, i truly believe that there is a source behind all things, most of them invisible to the human eye but visible to the heart. and that source is love. and only good can come out of it. and it's this belief that allows my heart to keep on smiling even in the midst of all the pain that this life brings. am i just kidding myself? am i just consoling myself with such delirious delusions? whether i am or not, i choose to hold on to it anyway. what's the point of sulking? since we're already here anyway.
Sunday, December 07, 2003
konichiwa.
i just returned from the land of the tamagotchi last thursday night.
japan is one helluva interestin place. there's so much to say i don't know where to start. lets see. people there speak japanese without any punctuations whatsoever. it's like a whole string of multiple-syllabled words with no pauses in between it leaves me, the listener, gasping for breath instead. and yes, the girls really do sound that cute. and look that cute too with their two ponytails and bangs and little eyes.
my gosh. almost everyone you come across in the streets is decked in branded goods. japanese lasses go to theme parks like universal studios and disneyland in burberry skirts and stiletto boots which reach up to their knees. and if your hair isn't died, you're considered to be a countryside folk. serious. and it's considered rude for girls not to wear lipstick and dress up when they step out of their houses, even when it's just to get a can of coke from a nearby drink machine. ahuh.
in fact they're so crazy over branded goods that when LV first opened or held a sale(can't recall which), women were queing up with their stools 3 days or so before. just sitting outside there on their stools while their hubbies brought them their lunches and dinners. ah yes, japanese seem to love queues. in fact the longer they queue, the longer it'll get. cos it must be that good right?
at the theme parks, queues stretched like there was no tomorrow. it was a culture shock man. in singapore, i can't imagine pple queuing up so patiently. ah yes, the japanese form a rather gracious society. it was so clean everywhere i went. when someone drops a piece of litter on the floor, he or she'd pick it up. if there's a lack of dustbins around, they'd simply put the trash in their pockets and throw it away later. even if they spilled a drink onto the ground, they'd whip out their tissue paper and wipe it up. yes, i witnessed it. and when we were watching the parade at disneyland, all those at the front would sit down on the ground without being told to do so, just so those at the back had a proper view.
but oh my. everything in japan is so friggin expensive. if i were to stay there any longer, i would've turned into a pauper soon enough. a bowl of plain rice cost almost S$4. can u beat that? for a family of 5 dining at MACS, the damage can reach up to S$60!! if you can afford to take the taxi there, you're a king or queen. it starts of with S$10. so u can imagine the rest! next time any of you wanna start a gp essay with "as standards of living in singapore are getting higher and higher...", just think about japan and shut up. pple there just spend and spend on the craziest things! in singapore, a table at a wedding reception probably costs say $500 or so. it'ss $500 a head there! just too many examples of why i'd be scrounging for your lose change if i were to live there. no wonder why the japanese go crazy when they go shopping in singapore. when i exitted the gate after our plane touched down in singapore, there were already japanese ladies rushing into a bally store at duty free.and i used to wonder who'd go to all these overly-priced stores.
one of the nights, my tour guide brought us to this really good japanese steamboat restaurant in shinjuku in tokyo. however, this restauant happened to be situated near a red-light district. my family finished dinner quite early so we decided to walk around and explore. we saw a building with the letters "HMB" lighted up and it looked exactly like the trademark "HMV" purple logo. so we walked closer to take a well..closer look. "HOT MEN BOX." hahaha.
there's this place in shinjuku where hopeful musicians go to strut their stuff and hopfully get talent-scouted by some big-shot producer. but instead of a big-shot producer, who should come along but the hottest babe ever clad in strips of cloth and stilletto boots and long flowing hair and perfectly flawless skin and a tattoo on her back. "She" starts flirting with the bunch of young musicians and then, struts down the street with the perfect swaying of hips alas, putting a catwalk model to shame.
japanese love to paste instuctions all over their shops. there was this McDonalds which we walked into which had a sign. "You are not allowed to come in just to use the toilet." i found that rather funny. there was also this tourist shop which had more instructions than souvenirs if you ask me. guess that's why everything seems so orderly there.
food there was great. i ate soooo much!! there was one night we went to a hot springs hotel and had a typical japanese dinner. we even had to dress up wearing our japanese "happy coats." it was my first taste of sake. potent stuff man. i drank the whole bottle. since you know, everything in japan is expensive and it would be a waste not to finish it. whoa. i puked my whole stomach and more out man!
ok i have so much more to type but...there's just too much and this is getting too long! so if you wanna know more, come ask me. japan in the eyes of a singaporean 18-yr-old girl.
i just returned from the land of the tamagotchi last thursday night.
japan is one helluva interestin place. there's so much to say i don't know where to start. lets see. people there speak japanese without any punctuations whatsoever. it's like a whole string of multiple-syllabled words with no pauses in between it leaves me, the listener, gasping for breath instead. and yes, the girls really do sound that cute. and look that cute too with their two ponytails and bangs and little eyes.
my gosh. almost everyone you come across in the streets is decked in branded goods. japanese lasses go to theme parks like universal studios and disneyland in burberry skirts and stiletto boots which reach up to their knees. and if your hair isn't died, you're considered to be a countryside folk. serious. and it's considered rude for girls not to wear lipstick and dress up when they step out of their houses, even when it's just to get a can of coke from a nearby drink machine. ahuh.
in fact they're so crazy over branded goods that when LV first opened or held a sale(can't recall which), women were queing up with their stools 3 days or so before. just sitting outside there on their stools while their hubbies brought them their lunches and dinners. ah yes, japanese seem to love queues. in fact the longer they queue, the longer it'll get. cos it must be that good right?
at the theme parks, queues stretched like there was no tomorrow. it was a culture shock man. in singapore, i can't imagine pple queuing up so patiently. ah yes, the japanese form a rather gracious society. it was so clean everywhere i went. when someone drops a piece of litter on the floor, he or she'd pick it up. if there's a lack of dustbins around, they'd simply put the trash in their pockets and throw it away later. even if they spilled a drink onto the ground, they'd whip out their tissue paper and wipe it up. yes, i witnessed it. and when we were watching the parade at disneyland, all those at the front would sit down on the ground without being told to do so, just so those at the back had a proper view.
but oh my. everything in japan is so friggin expensive. if i were to stay there any longer, i would've turned into a pauper soon enough. a bowl of plain rice cost almost S$4. can u beat that? for a family of 5 dining at MACS, the damage can reach up to S$60!! if you can afford to take the taxi there, you're a king or queen. it starts of with S$10. so u can imagine the rest! next time any of you wanna start a gp essay with "as standards of living in singapore are getting higher and higher...", just think about japan and shut up. pple there just spend and spend on the craziest things! in singapore, a table at a wedding reception probably costs say $500 or so. it'ss $500 a head there! just too many examples of why i'd be scrounging for your lose change if i were to live there. no wonder why the japanese go crazy when they go shopping in singapore. when i exitted the gate after our plane touched down in singapore, there were already japanese ladies rushing into a bally store at duty free.and i used to wonder who'd go to all these overly-priced stores.
one of the nights, my tour guide brought us to this really good japanese steamboat restaurant in shinjuku in tokyo. however, this restauant happened to be situated near a red-light district. my family finished dinner quite early so we decided to walk around and explore. we saw a building with the letters "HMB" lighted up and it looked exactly like the trademark "HMV" purple logo. so we walked closer to take a well..closer look. "HOT MEN BOX." hahaha.
there's this place in shinjuku where hopeful musicians go to strut their stuff and hopfully get talent-scouted by some big-shot producer. but instead of a big-shot producer, who should come along but the hottest babe ever clad in strips of cloth and stilletto boots and long flowing hair and perfectly flawless skin and a tattoo on her back. "She" starts flirting with the bunch of young musicians and then, struts down the street with the perfect swaying of hips alas, putting a catwalk model to shame.
japanese love to paste instuctions all over their shops. there was this McDonalds which we walked into which had a sign. "You are not allowed to come in just to use the toilet." i found that rather funny. there was also this tourist shop which had more instructions than souvenirs if you ask me. guess that's why everything seems so orderly there.
food there was great. i ate soooo much!! there was one night we went to a hot springs hotel and had a typical japanese dinner. we even had to dress up wearing our japanese "happy coats." it was my first taste of sake. potent stuff man. i drank the whole bottle. since you know, everything in japan is expensive and it would be a waste not to finish it. whoa. i puked my whole stomach and more out man!
ok i have so much more to type but...there's just too much and this is getting too long! so if you wanna know more, come ask me. japan in the eyes of a singaporean 18-yr-old girl.