christmas presents

I got presents for my favourite little human beings in the world today. Sent by parents, armed with cash, determined to get each and every one of them something special to them, and to put my parents' money to good, fine use. What I got:

Sai Sai constipated rabbit sister: blue gypsy sling bag with bead chain and little beads and sequins

Su su Isaac: dark grey t-shirt with blue wooden flying birds everywhere

Han Han Reuben: grey volcom wallet with astronauts holding a jewel and the words 'Houston, I think we have a volcom'

Nat: light satin blue butterfly-shaped jewellery or other things box with beads and sequins on the butterfly cover

Shann Shann Seth: Bean the movie (he'll get a bang out of it)

Baby Elysia (she's 4): fuchsia footless tights (for baby fairies)

I like to think that these presents will be special to them for a long time. Su Su got me something from the body shop and I guessed it immediately. The cranberry gift pack! Yummy. Darrel sent me a dvd in the mail and I won't open it till christmas but i've peeked and saw the letters ERIOD in the movie title, i think. Period? AsterOId? To be realistic and at the same time cosy, all i want to do this christmas is to watch loveactually with lots of food, and then snuggle up and continue reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. What will the 6 billion people in the world be doing on christmas day? What will my future husband be doing if he exists? What will bob dylan or paul be doing? What would holden be doing? One thing's for sure, the people watching over us (and everyone has some people watching over them, and the list increases as they grow older and more of their loved ones die or they start loving more dead people like john lennon) will be having a party up above.

die suckers

More rubies, more love

Last night i dreamt that claire died or was going to and it was horribly sad we went to the funeral before she even died at her huge mansion house that existed in my mind, and there was a band and big trees and park benches. Got bad dreams in hongkong, of things like not getting the rhythm of the drums right during a performance and my grandmother dying, which i haven't dreamt of in months.

Anyhow it's a few days to christmas and whatever really. Part of me is madly in love with christmas and the other part of me wants to puke. A few minutes ago i realised that i am completely sick of love songs. Why is that?

Nicest parts of hongkong:

Going to the busy lighted streets on the first night there with people dressed wildly and snugly
Taking the golden carousel in disneyland ("I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream...")

Finding old people playing mahjong in one of the few lighted windows as i looked out the hotel window at the really near hdbs outside one dark night

Annoying my sister with my brother

Eating dim sum in a super crowded place with lots of hongkong people having breakfast and shouting to hear each other

Taking the MTR

Crisp peppermint air

remembering that hongkong has LUSH when i saw it

Baddest parts of hongkong:

Realising that the lighted streets with that i liked so much on the first night was filled with shopping-obsessed crowds

Disneyland parade

When johnny fell on his face on the floor twice


Happy holidays, suckers.

going to hongkong

why don't you write me, i'm out in the jungle, i'm hungry to hear you

Nearly packed for hongkong with a tiny suitcase that is only half-filled. I absolutely love the satisfaction of all that empty space. This could be our last real family holiday with all of us going.

I always thought singtel was good until recently. We waited 10 minutes on the phone just to hear that we have to go down to activate overseas roam when you can do it through the phone for M1. We waited 2 hours at the singtel shop and of course my father was seething with rage and ranted in angry, breathy sentences to the young, dynamic looking people at the counter (as all local phone companies' staff look), who of course just replied with lots of 'sir's and PR smiles. The girl wore a singtel shirt that said 'season of surprises' and my father said 'yes. yes. season of surprises. give me this kind of surprise' or something like that muttered with force and anger. And when we walked away i turned back and the girl gossiped to the guy immediately, covering half her face with a paper. My father walked back to ask them something and she put on that tone again. Actually it might all have been better if the staff did not say sir or smiled obligingly as they did. Can't sales people just speak normally, why do they have to put on such a bloody pretence. Drives people nuts. It was terrible and we will be changing to M1 the moment the contract with singtel is over. In fact at that very outlet we went to today, some time ago, my brother (most impatient person ever) and father cancelled his singtel line on the spot when they were both seething with rage and walked over to M1. Can't stand the idea of insurance too. Had to talk to an insurance woman and the way she spoke was in that same way!! The whole sir-m'am-miss efficient and nice way. Help us all. I don't want to grow up and have the burden of facing the consequences of not filling in an insurance form properly or missing a line on a bill or contract.

Went with my father to the meeting about the house and they were finalising all the toilet tiles to me it just seemed like the same colours, oat and grey but there were so many variants and it was so fudging boring. The funny thing was they were putting in effort into matching those fudging boring colours. Different shades of grey, different shades of oat. Whats the difference? They're not lime or orange or blue or anything vaguely ALIVE and therefore they have no merit whatsoever. What's the house going to look like? A classy prison of marble. But I couldn't possibly tell them this when they asked for my opinion. Now after reading this whole post I know I'm sounding like a complaining moron, but it's just that acerbic kind of mood. The sourness in my heart needs some ranting. Things are too complicated (hate this word, sounds like gurgled intestines) when everything should just be simple.

And that is why I can't wait to take the plane in the morning. On planes, sitting there flying through the night sky, everything just seems simple and magical and it seems as if everything will not only be alright, but wonderful.

'Hey Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me. I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to....'

red dwarf theme

Red dwarf theme song

It's cold outside
There's no kind of atmosphere
I'm all alone
More or less
Let me fly, far away from here
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
I want to lie
Shipwrecked and comatose
Drinking fresh
Mango juice
Goldfish shoals, nibbling at my toes
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
I'll pack my bags
And head into hyperspace
Velocity at time-warp speed
Spend my days in ultraviolet rays
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
We're locked on course
Straight through the universe
You and me
And the galaxy
Reached this stage, this hyperpathic age
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun

The most glorious tv series theme song. This is a really old comedy on BBC entertainment about 4 beings in space on board a spaceship called red dwarf. Lister is a spunky unhygienic guy with dreadlocks who was frozen for 3 million years during a radiation leak that killed everyone else at the start of the series. Cat is a genetically modified vain human-cat. Rimmer is a fussy ass deranged nerd hologram guy who was ressurected to prevent Lister from going mad. And Kryten is the humble, upbeat mechanoid who serves them. This and My Family and The Office are the best things on BBC prime. Hurray for tv that never fails.

Oh and I went to update my passport photo today, standing in line for one hour to take a bloody booth photo whereby the women operating it magnify the photo to smoothen blemishes and CHEEKBONES (?!) A boy in line begged his mother so hard for a sweet. A tough-looking chinese man in construction clothes and boots pacified his 2 toddler daughters while his wife queued up. Even little babies take photos with their mothers standing by the side holding up their fat sticky necks. The job of sitting there clicking and taking the photos would be nice. Some people look so honest in their passport photos, like this badass looking indian man who looked ever so handsome and kind in his photo. On the train a man (tourist?) put his special glasses to his eyes to have a better look at the pictures on the train till he realised he was looking at a condom ad of the most popular condom in japan. Then he looked around, saw me looking at him till I looked away pretending not to have noticed. And a little girl shouted in chinese that the statues of the wise men waiting to be set up along the wisma stretch were ugly. My family is slightly amazed that I cooked maggi mee for my brother late last night when he was hungry, and even had the sense to add eggs. WOW! Darn them.

a wednesday

Dammit i suck at Monopoly now even my twelve year old cousin beats me everytime. At least sai sai didn't cry today when she owed money. Things can get ugly during monopoly. The start of the game is always exciting when you choose the token (though we're only left with the ship, car, dog and boot) and hear it clinking merrily. Then it gets more exciting when it's time to plot what to buy. But this is where it confuses me. I get obsessed with the thought of owning park lane and mayfair and guffawing madly whenever they land there, till I'm never satisfied till I get those but it's so hard when everyone wants it and then tries to strike deals without even hearing each other out ("No way." "Give me eternal immunity") ARGH and though we go mad laughing throughout the game it ends in a tiring mess of crumpled waddles of colourful notes and splendid rows of colour coordinated cards and most sadly big red hotels that symbolize death when you're near. That is why things will get crazy-happier when iz buys SPONGEBOB MONOPOLY because the cover is big and yellow and the tokens are spongebob, patrick, mr krabs, SQUIDWARD (yes!! the scrooge can be squidward) and sandy ("sandy's a GIRL?!?!?!!!" spongebob said when she took off her astronaut suit to reveal a bikini) and a few random members (thick-lipped fish?) and when you play it i think it'll just feel like you're in spongebob world!!!! And everyone will go mad, and no children will feel the need to win because in spongebob world failure is funny and there will be no deliberation of actions just mad impulse. It is ever so tiring a game, where is my pictionary?!?!!!!

Anyhow i posted the invites today so check yer mailboxes tomorrow for some granny mail (darn forgot to scent it with intoxicating flower perfume). Don't forget your pearls and checkered socks and chunky shoes for the party. Try to match underwear too. You wouldn't feel too real going to the toilet in a granny skirt and cardigan only to see a thong when you pull down your heavy garments to pee. Oh yes, that's why gretchen suggested the diapers. Ah.....bless 'er. Won't even have to move that way, just do it in secret while playing chess or something. Help I'm getting carried away. But somebody save gretchen, she's getting carried away with that park person it's Harold and Maude all over again. Somebody appear in front of her someday who might set her heart blooming and face glowing so that the clouds will pause in their swirling for one millisecond before the soundtrack to her life plays "at last! my love has come along". And then wedding! and then babies! (more delirium) and then being sixty-four and meeting as real old grannies. it probably sounds stupid putting this into words but it must be incredible seeing your friends get married. Incredible in a help me i'm going to cry and laugh like a mad cow way. Imagining everyone's weddings is just so sweetly uplifting and heavenly. It's a girl's daydream. But everyone, dream away! Because all this is going to happen someday to some of us, and when it does, if we're watching from the aisles, we'll clutch each other with hankies and flowers and girly screams waiting to jump out from our throats. "Oh!!! She's getting married!!!!!"

........

Someone save me from all this insane daydreaming.

how does the moon shine

How does the moon shine
How does the wind howl

amelie