A Tan

Today (which really is the day until about 4pm) saw me and Sim studying at Chinatown Point's Coffee Bean. Which has overpriced coffee and food. Not that Starbucks is any cheaper -- but it really is . Starbuck's coffee really is cheaper! At least, from my very bad memory! But oh well. Coffee + Vanilla is tasty tasty. So it was all good in the end.

What was really funny though, was how the counter staff (this hulking Indian man) convinced me to spend $10 on my lunch. 10 fucking dollars! Which I could have spent on MUCH MORE DELICIOUS FOOD. But yeah, I was considering pasta, or a cheapo piece of pie or cake but just looking at the menu had the Indian Man tell me how I should get their gourmet sandwiches instead.

"Um, I wasn't really planning on eating a sandwich for lunch...." I whimpered, because I am Chinese and Chinese people eat nice hearty wholesome carbo-filled meals for lunch (and dinner, not sandwiches -- which are awesome for every other meal).

The Indian Man will not hear anything of it. "These are not just sandwiches! They are gourmet sandwiches!"

"Ummmmm, I really want to get pasta instead."

"Our gourmet sandwiches are really really good! If you don't like them I will refund you your money!"

"Um... Okay..." Because I realized that the sandwich set was like $9.90 and my pasta was like $9.90 too (friggin' expensive, sigh).

"You get a free drink too!"

Hip hip hooray!

So I order a Rosemary Chicken gourmet sandwich (wtf) and get a Swedish (WTF) iced tea. Which was strange. Y'see the Swedish Berry Iced Tea tasted like, water, but everytime I took a sip, I'd get hit by an infusion of berriness. It's like, a smell, a feeling, but no taste. It totally confounded my senses.

Anyway, the rosemary chicken sandwich was good (boohoo cannot get back my money) despite the abundance of evil tomatoes.

( study study study )

Went down to BooksActually after lunch and thought of getting my BBF, Robin, checked out. But since I went there rather unannounced, and it was the lunch hour, Kenny and Karen weren't there (hello! if you're reading this heheheh!) so I hung around with Sim and we tried to choose a present for her friend Prashan. Who I kept calling Prakash. In the end she left with de Botton's The Art of Travel (which I bought for my cousin for christmas); and I grabbed a book on design. Title promptly forgotten because my brother took it out to read. I think I might get Sontag's On Photography next for him to read.

(Yes, it is amazing. My brother, who only touched puzzle omnibuses, now reads! It's really Murakami who did it, because he saw me reading After Dark and was pretty enticed by the cover of a girl's neck [LOL], and asked if he could read it. So I lent it to him -- it, and all my books, come back pretty banged up, pun not intended -- and he liked it! He's now picking up and trying any book I buy, which is a feat in itself, considering how he abhorred books before. It's just encouraging to see him try to read anything, even if he doesn't like it in the end.)

So anyway, embarrassing moment of the day: I discovered a box of little notebooks at the back of the shop (where all the poetry and non-fiction are) and I started rifling through them because they were those first-line little notebooks that I have a few off. Lo and behold there were first-lines from nearly all my favourite books and I started picking them all up - like, 5 or 6 - and then went to the counter to ask how much they were.

The very nice girl there told me that they were not for sale because they weren't ready yet! OMG I THINK I DIED THERE AND THEN. Hahaahaha, I got too carried away with seeing first lines from Lolita (I devour their Lolita items) and Murakami and I can't remember what else I grabbed that I was like "OMG I'M SO SORRY I WILL PUT THEM BACK RIGHT AWAY".

Sorry, book nerdiness is not cool. :(

Anyway, 'twas a fun-filled afternooooon. Have to study now. I like cakes and pies. Nom nom nom.

Oh yes! Parting gift!



Sim's friend thinks that I am like this guy. LOL ORZ.


EDIT:

Aforementioned Penguin book on design is this! Design as Art! By Bruno Manari.

I have been reading!

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And Love itself have rest.

-Lord Byron

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud


Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

-John Donne

(I remember having this as my last PC exercise during JC2, but I never did hand it up!)

Excerpt from Darkness

A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;
Forests were set on fire--but hour by hour
They fell and faded--and the crackling trunks
Extinguish'd with a crash--and all was black.

-Lord Byron

Reading up for my own enrichment (oh wow, I sound like an educational spokesperson!) and for upcoming classes next sem. University has made me read less, much to my disappointment.

Anyway! I am definitely getting these lovely Moleskine City notebooks once they're out!

( Feed my soul! )

( random band ranting )

I wanted to get Tales of Beedle the Bard for my two younger boy cousins but I couldn't find them at Kino (a.k.a I did not want to navigate the throng of people there) so I picked out two pocket versions of the Iggulden brother's Dangerous Book for Boys. To my surprise, they were lovely reads! Yes yes, I read my cousin's presents. I can't help myself. I just read whatever I have at hand - shampoo bottles, sauce bottles, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines - if it has print I'll read it.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of poetry that was included in one of the volumes! (I think it was the Facts, Figures and Fun one?)

( Iggulden's Dangerous Book for Boys )

I mean, the oodles of (good) poetry in there astounded me. And made me more certain that the boys should be getting this book for Christmas. Not only are the nuggets of information delicious fun, there is poetry! I wish that there were books like these when I was a kid! Though, I would've never gotten them for Christmas because I'm not a boy. I'll be adding these lovely books (even though I'm still not a boy) to my collection soon. I love the fact that they're hard-cover cloth books, which makes them really pretty on the bookshelf. Plus, their spines will hold up to the obvious wear and tear. Cheers to the Iggulden brothers for putting together what I think is an awesome book for children (and children at heart)!

Anyway, off to read more and need to wrap presents for the maternal family christmas party tomorrow! My mum wants to pair ham and oranges together. :\

I turned twenty around 2 and a half hours ago, but my family had my birthday dinner celebration at Vivocity's Japanese Gourmet City (or something like that) on Friday. It's one of those weird traditions that we have: Japanese food for my birthday and Thai food for my brother's.

So it was Japanese food for my twentieth birthday. Fitting, because I'll be celebrating my 21st (hopefully not alone!) in Japan -- if everything goes according to plan. I am terrified of fuck ups at the moment and I'm spazzing out at every single ting that goes wrong. Haha. But anyway

FOOD.

( is here! )

Bought this cup at Daiso. It's the most adorable cup ever because the pig looks so forlorn. A forlorn pig cup! D:

Ugh. I'm tired and I need to continue studying.

( money woes )

What's better than a cool mochi ice-cream - blueberry! - at 3am in the morning with the Tonari no Totoro soundtrack playing the background whilst reading up on ASEAN and MAFILNDO!

I have really no idea what flavour the ice-cream is, though it strikes me to be close to black-sesame-ish, and the blueberry flavored skin isn't overpowering at all. Delish.

I have Canele's macaroons in the fridge too. Say hello to ultimate studying comfort food! (Pierre Hermes gave Canele's macaroons 3/5!)


Not sleeping has its advantages. I got to have breakfast with my mum for the first time in ages. I was talking to my mum over a cup of chocolate milk, my mum with a cup of coffee, this morning and we came across a Tiffany's feature in URBAN. Okay, I'm simplifying it. It was an interview with one of Tiffany & Co's leading gemologists. I commented that my Ideal Guy would give me a charm bracelet and send/give me charms every birthday. It's the kind of sentimentality I appreciate.

Though I have a gut feeling that my Ideal Guy would send me Hitman Reborn and Lucky Star charms amongst others. X3

But right now, my Ideal Guy is MOCHI CREAM!